Hi again James!
Sounds like you should catch onto HEMA (historical european martial arts. Sometimes called HES: historical european swordsmanship) pretty quick. I'm sure as you delve into it alot more that you'll have to unlearn some of what you've picked up from SCA combat. That's not much of a big deal though, just keep your mind open and follow what the fechtbuch's /period texts have to tell you. A good number of other former/current SCA people are involved with ARMA.
If I'm reading you correctly, the "ARMA swords" you brought up in another post are actually just the padded weapons we use for contact sparring. As has been said befor by others, they are just one of the tools we use to relearn/interprept what's going on in the manuals. Wasters, sharps, blunts, and padded weapons. Each of these training tools has it's place, but none is perfect in our modern day and age. By working with the advantages and disadvantages of each tool, ARMA has proved that some real skill and understanding of swords, polearms, ect. in combat can defininently be learned.
As far as making your own wasters (wooden swords)...if you are confident in your woodworking skills (like I am)...go for it! You'll save lots of money and not be too dissapointed when a waster (home made of "proffesionally" made) inevitably breaks. You'll be out $5 rather than $65. If you do a search of the forums, you'll see a good number of threads dealing with making your own. It also helps prior to building one, to have a look and to handle some of the commercial built ones. Also, keep in mind POB, weight, ect of "real swords". By doing that, you'll be able to produce a pretty decent waster.
Oh, also, Wisconsin doesn't have any official study groups. The ARMA members Wisconsin does have are just individual associates. If a group of us lived closer together to be able to regularly train on a weekly basis or so, we'd have one...I'm sure. For now though, since we're all so spread out, we're all just training solo. Seminars, visiting other associates/study groups from out of state, and the inevitable "Wisconsin ARMA Associate Training Day" are where we each can try out what we've been learning. You're in abit more advantagious position than I am...you have your wife and kids to learn with. Get some sticks and start training! <img src="/forum/images/icons/smile.gif" alt="" />
Good to have you around! Keep asking questions and you'll be the next Fiore in no time <img src="/forum/images/icons/wink.gif" alt="" />
Jared L. Cass, ARMA Associate, Wisconsin
