The 2007 ARMA IG was fantastic

[Jake_Norwood]

I'm sure lots of folks will chime in with this pretty soon, but this year's ARMA International Gathering was a phenomenal event. Extra-special thanks to the members of ARMA Houston--the Cooks, Gene Tausk, Sydney Yarborough, and easily a dozen other folks who did everything from arrange space to patching up our boo-boos to driving us around. The entire event was superbly organized from start to finish.

Congradulations is due to Aaron Pynenberg, Shane Smith, and Stew Feil. Aaron completed his Senior Free Scholar Prize Playing in about an hour and 15 minutes of intense sparring with padded weapons, wasters (wood and plastic) and steel blunts. Stew completed the first ever second Senior Free Scholar Prize Playing and the first ever Sword-and-Buckler SFS Prize. Stew's demonstration of blender-like efficiency led to his following class being the single largest of the weekend.

All of the instructors--Stacy Clifford, Jay Vail, Bart Walczak, Shane Smith and Matt Anderson, John Clements, Stew Feil and Brian Hunt, and Gene Tausk--exceeded expectations with quality of both material and presentation.

Many participants told me that the Study Group Leader Q-and-A was one of the most useful portions of the weekend.

Finally, many of us owe a very direct thanks to Nurse Kim Cook for patching us up. Thank you thank you thank you. Glad you were there!

I'm sure more will follow.

Jake

[Rod-Thornton]

I'm sure lots of folks will chime in with this pretty soon, but this year's ARMA International Gathering was a phenomenal event.

Jake

Agreed! It was simply fantastic to see the big picture, gain instruction from so many diverse people, and share in the comraderie of giving faces and personalities to so many of the names. Thanks to everyone who attended, crossed swords, and shared thoughts.

[ElizabethPangerl]

Just to echo everyone else - thank you so much to all of those who organized and attended the IG - especially the guys who drove us back and forth to the hotel. It was so much fun to meet so many people with a common interest and the demonstrated ability to kick my butt. Thanks for the added motivation!

I was wondering if the group picture will be made available. Also, I did take some photos (most notably of the "prohibidas las armas" sign outside the event) and video snippets (<1 min) of some of the freeplay yesterday morning. I plan to share with my small group in MN. I can't say for sure who is freeplaying because of the masks, but I think one group is Keith from Columbus and Corey from Montana and the other group is Stacy and Casper (based on the shoes). Guys - let me know what else you want done with the video snippets.

EDIT: It may be possible for me to arrange something with Mike from FL to ftp files over to him. Will keep you posted.

Thanks for the memories and the bruises. See some of you in October at the rapier seminar in Appleton.

[Stacy Clifford]

This is what I've been telling my friends this morning about this weekend: I've got bruises and sore muscles from head to toe, my shoulder joints ache, my right calf is purple (thanks Aaron), I gave as good as I got, my throat is dry from talking and my face is sore from smiling.

I don't think it's any exaggeration to say that everybody in attendance had a hundred friends in the room and that we have the privilege of training with some of the finest swordsmen in the world. On behalf of the Houston North and South Siders I can say we had a wonderful time hosting all of you, your friendly comradery and martial spirit made all the work that went into hosting this event worthwhile. To all of my Houston colleagues I want to thank you as well for doing such an amazing job, it's been a pleasure working with you to pull this off.

As an instructor I want to thank everybody who took time to give me feedback on my class, I'm extremely glad you enjoyed it and found it useful and I hope I can improve it more in the future. Thanks to Jake for the kind comments, I completely agree with you on all the instructors.

And yes, of course congratulations go to Aaron and Stew for putting on the great display of skill and fighting ability we knew they would and achieving their Senior Free-Scholar Rankings. I love Jake's description of Stew's "blender-like efficiency," he's not kidding about that. I'd like to do my own S&B prize in the future and Stew set the bar high. And last but not least we have to thank the Northsiders' newest white shirt, Morgan Freeman, for providing the feel good moment of the weekend by slaying the mighty Aaron in his prizing. That was classic! I'm already looking forward to the next one.

[Gene Tausk]

I can only add to the comments so far by agreeing with everyone. IG07 was phenomenal and exceeded my expectations, which were already set at a very high bar. We in the Houston North and Southsiders had a great time planning the Event and watching the Event unfold and our planning pay off was a feeling I cannot express in words.

To all attendees: thank you for attendance and participation. Seeing 100 of my friends in attendance and finally getting to match names with faces was the highlight of the weekend for me.

To my old friends whom I was able to see again: don't be such strangers.

I echo Stacy's comment that I appreciate and welcome all feedback on my classes.

If I listed all the "thanx" comments, this post would go on forever, but here goes anyway:

- to my fellow members of the Houston North and South siders: it was an honor and a privilege working with you to pull this off. Now - IT'S PARTY TIME!!!

- to John - thank you for your participation and your teaching. As always, your cutting edge research is an inspiration for all of us to continue to strive for excellence.

- to Bart - thank you for being our guest of honor. We enjoyed your company and teaching which is always first rate.

- to Stew and Aaron - congratulations to you both. Unfortunately, I was only able to spar a few minutes with Aaron before having to leave, but I am certain that the rest of the matches set the bar at an (impossibly) high level. Stew - although I unfortunately was not there, I have no reason to doubt that Jake's comments are correct. I demand a video of both SFS playings.

- to Jake - you modestly forgot to mention your own Meyer class, which as always, illuminates this material in a way we mere mortals can understand. I also appreciate that you were able to arrange leave from your military duties to attend and teach at the Event. Finally, thanx for your time in listening and answering my pestering (and off-topic) questions.

- to Lynn - thank you for being the Event coordinator. We could not have done this without you.

- to Kim - thank you for being our on-duty medical person. We also could not have done this without you.

- to all of our other instructors: Matt and Shane, as always, fantastic. You guys truly are on the cutting edge of this stuff. Stacy - I expect a staff class in Houston. Stew - you convinced me that S&B is probably the most effective weapon combination there is. Jay - although your book is outstanding, it does not do justice to having you in person to teach the techniques.

- Tim S - I can't understand how Spanish wines can be better than Italian wines, but I will take your word for it.

Thanx once again to all attendees, instructors, participants and everyone who helped make IG07 the ARMA event of the decade.

[Nathan Dexter]

Now your making me wish I was there even more.

[Matt Bryant]

Indeed, the event was amazing. Each class was really great. I thought it was amusing that every class seemed to be cut tragically short even though they were hours long. There is just so much material to cover! I really learned a lot and revised much that I thought I knew. The sparring was also great. I wish I had been able to spar with many more folks, but with so much to do...

And is it just me, or did three 12 hour days just go by in a blinding flash?

[Eric Dohner]

Now your making me wish I was there even more.

Hear, hear. But nonetheless it's good to know everything went well.

[Will Adamson]

As with everyone else, if I tried to say 20% of what I have to say about IG07 it would rival Tolstoy in lack of brevity. So I'll just say that I truly had a great time.

It seemed like I could strike up a lengthy conversation with anyone in that room, even if I'd never seen them before in my life.

[Corey Roberts]

It was awesome. So sad it's over. Great to meet everyone and thanks for an amazing weekend.

[Patrick Hardin]

For those of us (such as my brother and I) who had maybe let their training slip a little over the past few months, this event was just the thing we needed to recharge our batteries. With all the information absorbed from the event, and the new concepts and aspects to training and study that were introduced, we took more than enough away to keep us charged up for a long time. Not to mention the friendships that were made and renewed. Way to go everyone, from the Hardin brothers.

Patrick Hardin

[Aaron Pynenberg]

Hello Everyone!

I have many things I wish to say, but that would make this post about four pages long, so instead I'll use Casper as my inspiration and be more to the point.

Thanks to everyone who attended for making this a very special expirence for me. I had a ton of you giving me encouragement and support. You all know I was a mass of energy and nerves on Friday, and I think that was probably one of the longest days in recent memory, but on Saturday the calm settled in, and I was ready.

Special thanks to Shane, Stew, Eli, Gene, Erich, Matt, Kyle, Sydney, Jake, Casper, Stacy, Tim-(awesome to meet you!), Bart, and John C. for the advice, encouragement and praise- you guys and gals have served as inspiration to me everyday for the last three years. It was hard to get out of bed each AM especially after a long PM of COP work, but all I had to do was think about your skills, and the thought of facing them which steeled my commitment. There was no way I was going to let you folks down.

I am very happy that the level of training that I put in showed, as I wanted to be that inspiration to others the way the Senior's have been to me. To all of you working in small study groups, or especially the solo folks, everyday I will be out here training and working to continue to improve. There is no reason you can't pick up a waster, or training aid and get some training in, no matter how short the time is- OK off the soap box.

I also agree that the fun did not end in the classroom, (where some outstanding instruction occurred Instructors) but it continued after hours, at Molly's- that was a fun pub, and I enjoyed being with everyone there very much! (to much perhaps).

Of course this post would not be complete without some note to the "dreaded white shirt of death!- I am training now for you missy! I gave you a waster, and I expect that you will be using it! until we meet again on that honored field of combat- nice work!

I could go on and on, but lastly thanks goes to Herb and Eric Winkler. Thanks Herb for helping us get around and being there to help me get ready. Eric continues to make the best plastic training weapons period. None of his equipment failed, and performs exactly as advertised. He is always looking to improve his products and is a stout scholar of the sword as well- great job Bro!

OK, Lastly also thanks to the other vendors, Albion, Blue Moon, and NSA wasters. Albion- the best without any doubt, and Aaron is truly one of us- thanks for helping me in the ring man, Blue Moon-also one of us without a doubt, and NSA- very nice to meet you guys your comitment to quality is also very obvious. Your products are without equal and will always be needed in this endevour-thanks for being there for us!

Well, that is quite enough, Thanks again! SFS Aaron Pynenberg, ARMA-Appleton Study Group Leader

[Matthew_Anderson]

I won't repeat all that's been said already, but yes, a truly memorable event. A big thanks to the Houston crew who did an awesome job of planning and execution, the hard work and care you all put into this were very evident all weekend. I'd also just like to say it was really good to see so many people teaching, learning, and fencing so well. Our overall understanding of histroical fencing, and our ability to teach and learn these forgotten arts has grown exponetially over the past few years and this past weekend was a testament to that growth and exploration. I'm sure Ringeck, Fiore, or Meyer still wouldn't be all that impressed, but now maybe they would at least recognize what we're doing!

[Matthew_Anderson]

BTW Jake, your class was awesome as well. Although it was short due to being squeezed in at the last minute, everything you covered was extremely well presented and useful-thanks!

[Shane Smith]

It looks like I wasn't the only one who needed a day to recover before posting

Let me say first and foremost; thanks to the gang from Houston for putting this thing together. Second, let me say thanks to all of my fellow Scholars for attending and making this event the greatest gathering of it's type in the world bar-none. It's the people in the ARMA that make it the 800 pound gorilla that it is and all of you really make me proud to be associated with you and our organization.

I tell people all the time that there is almost no-0ne in the Association for Renaissance Martial Arts that I don't find likable and my experience fencing and talking with my fellow scholars at this event has borne that view out yet again. We have people from all walks of life and all levels of education that while coming from different backgrounds, all share that same love for the sword that binds us together. I truly have the same experience among you guys and gals as I do among my own family over Thanksgiving dinner. I like each and every one of you and enjoy the brotherhood that comes from the crossing of swords that much.

I'd like to congratulate Stew Feil and Aaron Pynenberg on playing their prizes with passion and extreme competence. I have been present for six, fought in five and a corner man/second in two of our Senior Free Scholar prizings and I can say in all sincerity that the level of skill being desplayed by those prizing and that of those challenging is truly skyrocketing. The skill demonstrated among our Scholars as a whole is just growing by leaps and bounds and I think that says a great deal concerning the focus and curriculum of the ARMA and it's members. It's happening because all of you guys are working hard to make it so one Swordsman/Swordswoman at a time.

A hearty thanks to all of the presenters at this event. I have to say that Jake Norwoods class on Meyer has really grown and matured. Even the short excerpt he shared with us on sunday was really an eye-opener for even some of us who have seen his entire presentation before. Jake is one of the few guys that can make you laugh in one moment and then show you something immensely deadly the next and have it seem natural and congruent.

Jay Vail's presentation on dagger work was quite an interesting and no-nonsense intro to basic medieval rondel and I found a few tricks and twists of the trade that had eluded me until now...and Jay is a very talented Instructor in general I think.

Bart Walczak's class on interpreting the manuals was both insightful and just plain ol' fun. He handed out a sheet of paper with text from the manuals, told us to pair up and then called us before the rest of the group to have us demonstrate what we'd made of the passage and then compared and contrasted our findings. I really thought that an innovative way of holding a class and had a great deal of fun.

Kevin Cashen's presentation on sword making and "Myth Busting" was both well delivered and well thought out. The man talked in language even I can understand and he was especially manly in the way he insisted that if he says something at a presentation, he'll say it anywhere in any company. I like that kind of integrity in a craftsman! This guy really knows his stuff and every point he made in his presentation is probably one less book on a given point I have to read now. His lecture was that insightful.

Unfortunately, I missed Stacy's class on staff as I was instructing on the other end of the building part of the time and taking Barts class for the balance but if it's anything like his previous presentations I have seen, I'm sure it was delivered as only Stacy can- straight to the point and brutally effective. I also missed Stew and Brians along with John's presentations due to an early flight time. I was unable to attend Gene's class because strenuous grappling is out of the question for me due to a pre-existing injury on my part- but having seen all of these men in action before and taken their classes, I have no doubt all went away powerfully impressed.

Lastly, I'd like to thank John Clements and my fellow Senior practitioners (Whom I'm sure had no small part in the bestowing of this tremendous honor and privilege)for the allowing of my Senior Free Scholar certification. Thanks John, Jake, Matt, Tim,Gene, Eli, Casper, Stew, Aaron, Stacy, Erich, Kyle and anyone else who had a hand in this. I can't express to you all enough how much this means to me.