MN armor event 9/13/06

[ElizabethPangerl]

I received the following e-mail from Craig Johnson of Arms & Armor and the Oakeshott Institute and he requested that I extend the invitation to other ARMA members:

>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Craig Johnson [mailto:cj@armor.com]
>> Sent: Monday, August 28, 2006 7:02 PM
>> Subject: Invite for WMA types in Mpls-St Paul Area
>>
>> Hello All
>>
>> I would like to invite everyone down to the shop on Wed. Sept 13th
>> for
> a
>> informal meet and greet of the local WMA practitioners and interested
>> parties. There seems to be at least four or five groups actively
> working
>> on
>> stuff and I thought it would be good to put names to faces and fill
>> everyone in on who is doing what. I am constantly fielding queries
>> from local people
>> who are interested in becoming involved and it would be a great way
> for
>> all
>> of us to support the efforts of us all and increase our pool of
>> potential students and conference attendees.
>>
>> There will be some light refreshments and you can get a look see at
> Arms
>> &
>> Armor and depending on interest I can probably arrange to have a few
> of
>> the
>> Oakeshott Items available to look at as well.
>>
>> If you are interested drop me a note back so I can roughly plan on
> how
>> many
>> will be there. I look forward to seeing you all and please invite
>> students and acceptances who would be interested as well. This will
>> be a nondenominational event and we will welcome everyone interested.
>> I
> have
>> invited a few Asian martial art people as well who have expressed
>> some interest in the work we are doing.
>>
>> Hope to see you on the 13th .
>>
>> Best Regards
>> Craig
>>
>>
>> Starting at 6:30 till 8ish
>> Wednesday Sept 13th 2006
>> Arms & Armor Inc.
>> 1101 Stinson Blvd NE
>> Minneapolis MN 55413
>> 612 331 6473
>>
>> Building is on the NE corner of Stinson and Broadway.
>>
>

[Shane Smith]

I can't personally make it but I have met Craig and he seemed like a very good fellow to me. I'd recommend anyone able to stop in. The Oakeshott collection is not to be missed if theres a chance of handling a piece or two

[ElizabethPangerl]

Forgive me if my original post went through and I misinterpreted its apparent absence.

This event at Arms & Armor on Stinson & Broadway was attended by I think more than forty people. I was able to meet up with Bob Ferdinand again and meet his daughter. Unfortunately, my husband Steve was unable to join us due to a previous obligation.

There were some blunts, sharps, and six historical swords available to handle. I will post photos after the Columbus event - too much going on.

The pleasant surprise at this event was that there were a few people there who had a definite interest in ARMA and sought out ARMA members in particular. We were the only organization where there was an announcement that someone was looking specifically for our members. Of those we spoke with, at least one had a history with HACA but had been out of the country for some time. The others were definitely knowledgeable and enthusiastic about the information on the main ARMA website. Bob's daughter Kate and I took down contact info and we're all hopeful that new members, regular practice, and maybe a study group could result from this "nondenominational" event.

Thanks to Craig for having the gathering.

[Kyro_Lantsberger]

Wow, you beat me to it.

Ditto to everything Elizabeth said.

Very good crowd. Lots of knowledgable folks and a wide variety of martial arts experience represented in the group.

The guy you mentioned had almost the exact same experience as myself. I lurked around on the old HACA website, similar to him. We are also both OIF veterans who currently sell insurance and IRAs/Annuities for fraternal companies. That contradicts what I said before about the diverse group, but oh well.

The 6 originals from the Oakeshott collection were fantastic, I hope your pics turn out.

Good experience, good networking, strong coffee.......wonderful event.