you might be an ARMAteer if...

[Eric Allen]

Oh, and:

you read through this thread, giggling that "that is SO me!"

your wife is afraid those that do not apply probably will in the future.

[Will Adamson]

…Your wife informs you that the shields you made is are your birthday presents, and the Albion Liechtenauer you pre-ordered is your Christmas present, and you won’t be getting anything else.

Dude! You need to lodge a protest on that one! That is just plain wrong! Tell her that she is single handedly destroying our economy!

[Travis Beamon]

When going down to Houston for a dagger class, you have to explain to your entire extended family that - no you were not challanged to a duel to defend your family's honor and infact you were just simply learning the art of killing with a very large knife.

[Shane Smith]

You may be an ARMAteer if you've ever spent 30 minutes pulled over on the highways shoulder explaining to a patrolman/State Trooper exactly why all of that bladed weaponry is in the back of your truck.

Hint;
Tell them you are on your way to either a "training session" or a "performance". Any other answer is the wrong one according to the men in blue here in VAB.

[Lorraine Munoa]

...the people in your local knife shop love it when you come by and geek out over the nicer steel with them.

...most of your christmas list is sparring gear and other sword stuff.

...you have weapons as wall decoration in your college-student apartment.

[Matt Bryant]

...the people in your local knife shop love it when you come by and geek out over the nicer steel with them.

...the people in your local knife shop hate it when you come by to re-educate yourself on the disparities of the modern replica market. (the nicest thing they have is the practical blunts from Paul Chen) The pointing out of flaws, unhistorical dimensions and inaccurate handling, though merely overheard by them, begins to wear understandably thin.

[ColinWheeler]

...ever run over an 8-point buck on the highway at night, and decided that the only good that can come from the wasted meat and dented car is if you haul it home for some test cutting.

...have ever gotten excited when a radio station announced a "contest to find the best Krump in the city" only to find out that the contest was about dance moves.

...seen your daughter terrify the other kids at a birthday party by splitting the pinata with a crisp Zornhau on a pass (Look! Daddy, I really hit it with intent! I intended to tear it open and I did!)

...accidentally pissed-off friends by teaching them enough that they can't enjoy swordfight scenes in movies either.

...struggled to keep a straight face while the ren-faire booth saleman splutters after you pulled out a test-cutting stand and asked if you could try out his "battle-ready" demo model on a few targets...in front of a crowd of potential customers.

[Mars Healey]

....You burn out the office printer making copies of fighting manuals

....(Related) You the only one in the office who knows how to use the spiral binder because of all those fighting manuals you've printed

....You tell others that the swords they picked up from Knights Edge are "nice toys"

....When ever you go by a stand of trees, you look for any that are straight and would make a nice staff

....You get bummed out when that shot you took to the face doesn't even have the courtesy to turn black & blue

[Will Adamson]

...have ever gotten excited when a radio station announced a "contest to find the best Krump in the city" only to find out that the contest was about dance moves.

I think some eggnog just went up my nose!

[Randall Pleasant]

...seen your daughter terrify the other kids at a birthday party by splitting the pinata with a crisp Zornhau on a pass (Look! Daddy, I really hit it with intent! I intended to tear it open and I did!)

Colin

At the 2001 ARMA test cutting (http://www.thearma.org/spotlight/TestCutting/TestCuttingEvent2.htm) someone got a nice picture of my daughter decapitating a pinata with a waster.

[RayMcCullough]

That is so awesome! I've been trying to get my 3 girls to get interested but they only want to do it if I dont push them to do it. There may be hope in the future.
I might have "daughtered out" , but my girls are a rowdy bunch. They might come around one day.

I might need to get some Pinatas

[Randall Pleasant]

Ray

I had very high hopes for my daughter. Signed her up in the ARMA Youth program, she would go to practice with me, life was great!
Saddly, I lost her to music, the mall, and her friends. On the bright side, she stills hugs me when she needs money or a ride to the mall.

[ColinWheeler]

I have two daughters; my eldest currently holds boxing, horses, ringen, ballet, longsword, Harry Potter, and tae kwon do all in equally high esteem. Which will win out before before before boys come to occupy large portions of her brain, I cannot guess. My youngest has only intermittent interest in martial arts; oddly, she can perform an almost perfect zwerch (one of the least intuitive cuts) from only watching me and her sister. The wierd thing is, her zwerch is often cleaner than mine. Keeps me humble...

[Justin Lompado]

WOW I can't even count how many of those I've done its hilarious when you stop and read it. Great thread.

[Richard Strey]

It's great to hear everyone is busy building a new lineage for our art. I am sure that having some WMA training will do a good service to your daugthers. From my experience, girls exposed to an activity like ours tend to be more confident in themselves than average and are more likely to demand a well rounded character (read: physical as well as psychological) from their prospective boyfriends.