Interested in WMA and Dont Know What to Start With

[Jared Lambert]

I am interested in doing WMA and don't know whether to start with a longsword or arming sword to get the basics of swordplay down. I have purchased a fechtbuch by Christian Henry Tobler That focuses on longsword but also has sections on Sword and Buckler, wrestling and half-swording. Any assistance would be much appreciated.

[Stacy Clifford]

This article helps explain why we consider the longsword to be the foundational training weapon in RMA:

http://www.thearma.org/essays/Longsword ... in_RMA.htm

Also check out some of the books listed on our home page.

[Sal Bertucci]

You might want to see about contacting the group in Alabama on our practice partners page. They may be too far away for regular practice, but it's nice to go meet up with some experienced people every once and a while. Especially when you're just getting started.

[Tom Reynolds]

Actually, Jared, I don't know where Chandler Arizona is with respect to Phoenix. But ARMA has a presence in Phoenix, that would probably know local practice opportunities.

[Sal Bertucci]

well I feel stupid. I'll blame that on dyslexia, but yeah, do what Tom said.

[Jared Lambert]

Thank you for the article it was very helpful in understanding the amount of versatility the longsword has over other weapons of the time.

[Jason Taylor]

Just some resources I've found handy:

www.hroarr.com
I haven't been back for a while, but it's got a lot of links and, as I remember, products (possibly reviews).

and

www.hemaalliance.com
This is my group's site. There's a great list of online manuals, plus a few articles and reviews and a forum.

and

Youtube.com (duh, I know). Plenty of training videos out there you can work from. I've structured more than one practice session around them myself.

Hope you find some training materials. I'd definitely start with the longsword. If you're looking for other books, I think Tobler's book about fighting with the German longsword (the one without the sword and buckler, I believe--black cover) is pretty good. i'd persobnally stay away from Guy Windsor until you're a bit more experienced; I had a hard time with it myself.

Good luck,

Jason

[Andrew F Ulrich]

Hey Jared,

Glad to hear you're interested in RMA. I've been training with another ARMA member here in Phoenix, but am actually just about to drive to St. Louis this morning (moving there). The other ARMA member here, Matt Baker, just started training a couple months ago, and lives in Mesa, so you guys could probably start training together if you like. I gotta run, but PM me, and I'll try to send you his email later.

[Jason Taylor]

I am interested in doing WMA and don't know whether to start with a longsword or arming sword to get the basics of swordplay down. I have purchased a fechtbuch by Christian Henry Tobler That focuses on longsword but also has sections on Sword and Buckler, wrestling and half-swording. Any assistance would be much appreciated.

Hi Jared,

Turns out there's actually a group about twenty minutes from you if you're interested in finding direct training partners. There's apparently a Tattershall School of Defense group--I don't know if it's their main school or just a satellite group--located in Mesa, Arizona, which my Google maps puts at around 19 minutes city-to-city from Chandler. They mostly study the Italians, as I understand it, but there's nothing like having a training partner with even a little more experience than you to help you out at this stage of the game.

I found them on the group locator map on the site I mentioned earlier (hemaalliance.com). I'd totally forgotten we had a training partner locator on there. Anyway, you can find them, as well as one or two other groups in AZ that are a bit farther away, over there if you're interested in checking them out.

Anyway, good luck finding some solid advice and training partners. Feel free to PM me if you want some specific advice; I was in your exact position just a couple of years ago.

Jason