A beginner looking for a little advice

[Vincent D. Pisano]

Greeting to all,

I am trying to get back into the subject and practice of Western Martial Arts after several years hiatus. About seven or eight years ago I was an avid sword collector and was in the beginning stages of cut-testing and sparring. I had read Clements’s Medieval Swordsmanship and Renaissance Swordsmanship and also some Oakeshott books. Then life happened. Now that things have once again fallen into place I feel the irresistible pull to get back into swordplay once again. Thankfully, it seems the art has advanced and technology has begun to catch up with the Western Martial Artist. It’s also nice to see that ARMA is still the only place of worth to go for resources on the art.

I also can plainly see how often the same questions from beginners are asked on this forum, so I’ll try my best not do the same. I have been reading quite a few posts here to gain some insight, and I think I’ve come up with a sound beginning:

My sparring buddies and I want to begin longsword training firstly, as it seems a good base from which to later branch out into other weapons. We have decided that (With Intent) nylon wasters would be most suitable for sparring and perhaps pell work (if we pad the pell, that is). For protection we were thinking of light sparring gloves (from revival.us) and fencing masks, and probably cups. Gambesons also, but we haven’t decided on that yet. For footwear, we are considering wrestling shoes. We have a couple of Albions for test-cutting and we’ll add more to our regiment when we’re ready to move onto a more advanced stage.

If anyone here foresees us having a problem with any of these decisions, or can suggest improvements, I’d appreciate the input.

One question I have in particular is what should one look for in an appropriate fencing mask for WMA sparring? Can anyone suggest a particular, and perhaps cheap ($100), brand or design that holds up to the abuse?

Also, how well do wrestling shoes work outdoors? Should we be looking for something else?

Any information will be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

[Axel Pettersson]

The revival light sparring gloves can be providing insufficient protection for your hands. They are allright of course (I have a pair) but hands get hit alot and break easily which puts you back in training time, especially if you are just starting out and have alot of gusto but not yet equal control (perhaps you have, I know I didn't when I started out). The medium sparring gloves or lacrosse gloves gives some better protection without hampering your movements too much.

That said I'm going back to no or light hand protection again (I have a pair of these on order: http://www.barringtonsports.com/Hockey/Product_Grays_International_Hockey_Glove_2007.htm), but I still mostlu use lacrosse gloves and have never had any serious injuries with them. Had I used the revival light gloves I think I would have.

[Aaron Pynenberg]

Hello Brother, welcome back! sounds like you guys have a good start, you know I certainally appreciate how difficult money concerns could be, but really if you guys have any designs on sticking with it for a time try and either get all of you, or pool your money and send one of you to a 1.0 sometime in the near future. The 1.0 class will get you started on a firm foundation, which you can then use to springboard your group's training. I know it's an investment, but it is one that will pay for years to come. This way you will not have to unlearn any bad habits right from the start.

The only other gear suggestion is that PUMA makes a shoe that has a little thicker sole on it, and is really very nice for fencing. Check out Puma athletic shoes, and you will see some thin soled shoes that are quite nice- wrestling shoes also work just fine.

We have also had pretty good luck with hockey helmets, we altered ours and put a drilled out plastic face-mask in the grill to help for thrusts..

[Will Adamson]

In reference to the Revival.us light sparring gloves; I have both the regular ones and the new reinforced design. With the old design you might as well be wearing plain old leather gloves, or nothing at all. If you're going to bother with the lessening of feeling that you get from some gloves, and you will get it from these, you might as well go with the added protection of the reinforced ones. I'm not completely sold on them as being all that great though. They have been a bear to break in.

If you have the coin, another alternative is some road motorcycle gloves that have knuckle and extended wrist protection. Maybe some of the guys who have some can post a link.

As far as masks are concerned, a 3-weapon mask should do. I got mine here:

http://www.tcafencing.com/catalog/

The main reason I went with them was because I used to live near their distribution facility and I could go try things on. At the time I was giving sport fencing a try.

It sounds like you're way ahead of how most folks start out.

[ChristineChurches]

Welcome Vincent!

You guys look like you are on the right track.

My husband and I both use road bike gloves for freepay - http://www.chaparral-racing.com/Chaparr ... D46DD9D237.
We like the articulation - both of us found lacrosse gloves too bulky when doing certain techniques.

As for fencing masks, any 3 weapon mask will do. We got ours for around $60 on Amazon.

Also, we both wear wrestling shoes - even though they wear out pretty fast, they are inexpensive.

[Jaron Bernstein]

I will second those motocross gloves. I have been using them since the IG and have had no finger injuries since, but am still able to have good hand agility.

[Ken Dietiker]

I second the Puma shoes, very light and comfortable and don't wear out as fast as wrestling shoes. they are a little more expensive though. The least expensive ones are called "Drift Cat". I think JC even found some in red a while ago and dubbed them "Official ARMA Shoes".

Oh, and I do love the motocross gloves. Well worth it.

[Byron Doyle]

As another suggestion for shoes: I wear nike court shoes. They even come in red and black (ARMA colors, in case the site didn't give that away). Great grip and very light. Plus when you get to teaching the bright colors help your students watch your footwork.

[Axel Pettersson]

those motorcross gloves look great, I like the proper wrist protection.

Non of you who use them get any hits on the tip/last joint on your fingers? The gloves don't seem to protect there, but this has not been an issue for you?

thanks/A

[ChristineChurches]

Axel -
I haven't really had a problem with that - I believe the mobility added by the articulation makes for less hand hits.

While one hit did split the tip of my thumb, that was more a product of me not cutting my fingernails than lack of protection from the glove. Silly girl for thinking I can have nails and fight....

[Axel Pettersson]

Thank you for your reply Christine.

[Vincent D. Pisano]

Thanks to everyone for their input. You’ve given me some helpful advice.

I’m going to skip on those sparring gloves and go for those motocross ones. Thank you, Christine, for that link – those look pretty good and they’re a reasonable price.

I may also try and find a pair of those Puma “Drift Cats” in a store around here (I’m flatfooted, so I really need to try shoes one before I can determine if they’ll fit or not).

Taking the 1.0 class is certainly an option to think about, but I just need to make sure that my sparring partners will make the trip worthwhile and stick with it.

I’m sure I’ll have some more questions soon. Thanks again for all your help!

[Ken Dietiker]

Sweet!!

http://www.finishline.com/store/catalog ... prod608394


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