Practice partners in South East Wisconsin?

[Robert R. Hinds]

I live in Whitewater in the South East corner of Wisconsin, and was wondering if there are any other like minded people in my area I could train with?

I am not currently a member of ARMA but am looking into it and would really like to know if there's anyone in my area.

[Stacy Clifford]

You're pretty much right smack in the middle of three Study Groups: Appleton in Wisconsin, Twin Cities in Minnesota, and Quad Cities in Iowa. All are fine groups worth training with, and the Appleton group is run by ARMA Deputy Director Aaron Pynenberg. Contact any or all of them from our Practice Partners page for an introduction, and if you decide to join ARMA then they can help you find or attract members in your immediate area.

[Robert R. Hinds]

Thanks for the advice, I already checked out the appleton study group and its about a whole days drive from me, and with the price of gas being what it is any regular practice there is out of the question.

I'll have to check out those other two groups and see how far away from me they are, although their probably not much closer.

[Sal Bertucci]

Well they may not be close enough for regular visits, but you could make occasional visits to get supplemental help every 1-3 months. That's how I got started.

It's also good b/c there have been two events held by those prospective groups over the last year, and you're reletively close to attend those major events, which play a huge part in the learning process.

[Robert R. Hinds]

That's an idea, I didn't think visits that often would help very much but I guess I was wrong.

Thanks for helping, and btw, aren't you the guy who "stabs people in the face"?

[Steve Pangerl]

Hi Robert,
You're more than welcome to vist us, but we're a little over 5 hours away. Your best bet may be to get in touch with Jeremiah Backhaus who coordinates the Milwaukee branch of ARMA Wisconsin. Out of all the groups in the Midwest he appears to be the closest to you.

[Robert R. Hinds]

ok, thanks. I think I'll go with milwaukee since its just over an hour away from me apparently.

[Sal Bertucci]

Well, I guess my reputation precedes me, but yep. That's me.

[Stacy Clifford]

Sal, you should get that on a T-shirt and wear it to the IG next year.

[Jeremiah.Phipps]

Hi Robert,

Although I am not practicing (yet) and not an ARMA member, I am about an hours drive south of White Water in Woodstock, IL. There was also an interested member, Dak Wade, in Lake Geneva. It's been a while since I was in touch with Dak, so I don't know if he's active anymore.

Definitely contact the Milwaukee group though.

Regards,
Jeremiah

[Robert R. Hinds]

Alright, thanks. And yea, I'm gonna be contacting the milwaukee group once I finally join. I'm only 18 and im trying to get my equipment straightened out before I join, so on my salary that could be a few months.

[Sal Bertucci]

If you're going to go visit a group I'm sure they'll have loaners. Besides, if they have a good variety it gives you the opportunity to try different models out before making your purchase.

There's so much you can do with a stick if you know the drills and stuff.

So I would suggest the opposite.

[Joshua Welsh]

Yes, do get in contact with Jeremiah B! He'a a great guy, an awesome teacher, and an all around good time.

And no need to hold off until you have equipment, we all started with nothing. You can get by in solo practice with just a broomstick for a while if need be. And if you visit Jeremiah, he'll likely have some extra equipment to lend you while practice with him.

And if you ever feel like making a 3 hour drive, you are very welcome to come on down to the Quad Cities as well! We'd love to have you.

Josh Welsh SA
ARMA Quad Cities - Iowa/Illinois

[Robert R. Hinds]

Well, I've already got a Cas Iberia Hand-and-a-half (I think its the newer bad version...) that I got for my 18th birthday. But I would really like to get a few peices of armor too. (mainly because im obsessed.) Aaand I'm trying to get my friend to join too so I'll have someone closer to spar with, plus he likes old forms of combat aswell, but he's out of work at the moment so he wont be joining for a while.

But I get your point (no pun intended) it would be smarter to join right away so I'll have to think about it.

And thanks for the offer, maybe I'll come down there and spar or something, sometime.

By the way...does ARMA do half armor free play? I know they do full armor free play and gambeson free play but could I still do armored free play if all I had were sallet, bevor, full arms and gauntlets with gambeson?

And thanks to everyone who's responded to this thread, when I posted it I didn't think I'd get nearly this many responses. I admit this is a much more active community than I thought.

[Stacy Clifford]

We don't have any specific rules about how much armor you can wear, that's up to the individuals involved. We emphasize control as our main measure of safety, so you can spar full armor vs. no armor (except a fencing mask) if both participants feel comfortable with it, but the key thing is to be reasonable and sensible. Keep in mind that aside from the hazards of things like punching with steel gauntlets, metal armor can do a lot of damage to wood wasters, or clothing and skin in grappling situations with only partial armor, so be respectful of your training partner's equipment as well as his health. There are many other discussions about sparring protection, masks and (especially) gloves on this forum, so do a little searching to find out more.