Hello all, my name is Rob Burroughs and I have recently joined ARMA and also this Forum.
I have been interested in ARMA and its mission for several years since seeing a scene with John C in a History Channel special. Prior to that I was not aware of any schools or organizations readily available who's focus is on early Western martial arts.
A bit about me:
I'm active duty military for about 9 years now. I speak some French and Arabic. A few years ago myself and several others engaged in basic swordsmanship and free play. One person had a background in modern sport fencing and the others had background in Eastern sword combat. I have a lot to learn from this course work both in application of technique and craft specific vocabulary. I also collect swords and knives when ever possible and have been learning to make knives for a few years.
I look forward to learning in this group and sharing my experiences.
I am currently assigned for Military training in Biloxi, Mississippi.
My gear:
Currently no armour or padding. I have a shini and bokken from the days of practicing with my coworkers. I have a waster I made from two stems of bamboo lashed together with a small rawhide cross guard. I have leather frog/hanger for longsowrds and, I have recently accuired a CAS Hanwei Hand-&-a-Half blunt and ordered one of the Cold Steel poly-wasters so I'll see if thats any good or not.
Any questions please ask.

