hello

[Jesse_Jones]

Greetings All,

My name is Jesse and well I'm new around here so I just thought I'd introduce myself. First of all let me start by saying how ridiculously happy I was to discover a group like this existed. I have been obsessed with the sword ever since I was a kid, the only toy I ever touched as a kid was a wooden stick that I would use to challenge the neighbors kids. As I grew older I looked everywhere for a place to learn swordsmanship but as I'm sure a lot of you have found as well the only places were Asian Fighting Arts dojos in which I could never hope to master a blade. So as I grew older I bought a pair of wooden long swords online but I could never find a partner who was willing to go all out with me.

Then years later while sword shopping online I stumble across some ARMA training videos on you tube. So I checked out the website and fell in love. I want to learn REAL swordsmanship not watered down re-enactment or stage fighting.

The only problem it doesn't seem like you guys have spread as far as Canada yet.

I live in Windsor, Ontario which is a border city. Everyday I look across the river and see Detroit. I checked the study group list and I didn't see any in Michigan.

I was interested in starting a study group at the University of Windsor but wasn't really sure how to go about it. When I sign up to be a member how can I learn being so far cut off from the community. I was wondering what my options are. For example are there any intensive classes in Michigan I could take then bring what I learn back home. Or perhaps if I could find enough people willing we could bring someone here for a short while to get us started.

Just throwing some ideas out there. Hopefully someone can help me generate some ideas on to make this work.

Thank you for your time, I look forward to getting to know everyone.
Jesse

[Sal Bertucci]

You got to get out there where people can see you and practice. Put out fliers, and start networking. You're going to get lots of nibbles before you get anyone to train with you, and you will probably have to go through a few people before you get someone consistent. Start now and don't get discouraged. (and if you do get discouraged SNAP OUT OF IT! Go practice!) If you wait for people to come to you, you will have lost valuable training time. Besides, you're on a college campus. That can be a great place to find the people that you need. Get aggressive with it.

[Stacy Clifford]

If you're just across from Detroit then you should be only a few hours' drive from the Columbus, Ohio study group. They're a solid, experienced group that can really help you a lot in starting your own group and getting your training going, I highly recommend contacting them. ARMA Deputy Director Aaron Pynenberg is a little further away in Wisconsin, but looks like it's still within a day's drive if you can get away.

[Jaron Bernstein]

If you're just across from Detroit then you should be only a few hours' drive from the Columbus, Ohio study group. They're a solid, experienced group that can really help you a lot in starting your own group and getting your training going, I highly recommend contacting them. ARMA Deputy Director Aaron Pynenberg is a little further away in Wisconsin, but looks like it's still within a day's drive if you can get away.

A college campus is a good place to recruit. The down side is you must then keep recruiting as people get busy, lose interest or graduate. Also, colleges often have good facilities for use if you can get registered as a student sport club. If you are able to travel to Columbus, we would be glad to meet with you and give some suggestions. I am sure Aaron P. would be equally willing to help and can offer you a higher level of instruction.