So you want to learn weapons.

Discussion in 'Weapons' started by Polar Bear, Sep 30, 2011.

  1. Polar Bear

    Polar Bear Moved on

    PART 1: HEMA WEAPONS.

    Given the number of threads recently where the OP has gone postal when questioned about their weapons training I thought I would start a thread about how to go about getting into proper weapons training. I will write one on how to go about learning Historical European Weapons. Hopefully other will contribute relevant information about their respective areas of expertise.

    So your sitting in the cinema/re-enactment field/roleplaying group/infront of console and you something inspires you to want to go learn some form of weapons fighting. For me it was a young life of playing Dungeons and Dragons. In those dark days there were no HEMA groups so I ended up doing Aikido. However, some years later I stumbled on a chap who was teaching European sword. I trained with him for a while and realised he didn't really know all that much. This didn't put me off because he showed me methods where I could start my own research. So off I went and promptly fell flat on my face. It was a few years later that I actually met a chap who did know what he was taking about and even better could teach it. I studied under him and joined the national federation and worked my way to instructor level.

    OK. So where do you start in HEMA (Historical European Martial Arts.)
    Well, first of all don't go looking for a weapon. (you'll be amazed at the number of people who turn up to my club first day with weapons that frankly are nothing more than wall decorations)



    1: Find someone who can teach you.

    This is the hard part. You can go through a national organisation like the UK's British Federation for Historical Swordplay. Failing that web searches and forum requests are your next port of call. If you find someone then go visit them take part in a class. Then ask questions about their training and where they learned. If an instructor gets annoyed by this walk out the door. No instructor of any quality will hide their past.
    Now if you can't find an instructor all is not lost. There are usually national or local seminars which you can attend without being a club member. The BFHS hold one and there is also fight camp in the UK. There are several across Europe and North America too. So go there and talk to people and see if anyone else is trying to train in your area. Also these seminars can give you enough grounding to form a study group. Study groups are the next best thing to an instructor. This is a group of peers who are interesting in training but none of them have the relevant experience. If you form a study group get an yourself associated with an established group. Most people i've met in HEMA bend over backwards to help other groups get started. I have a young instructor from another group in my area studying with me. As part of his training I point out to him aspects of how I teach and why I do certain things in class.


    2: Stick at it.

    Exciting as weapons seem, training in them is very dull. It takes thousands of hours of repetitive and boring training to properly learn weapons. You'll be doing the same damn exercises week in week out. It will bore you to tears but if you stick at it, you are richly rewarded.


    Part 2 to follow with so now you want to own your own weapon and pitfall to avoid in weapons training.

    The Bear.
     
    Last edited: Sep 30, 2011
  2. pgsmith

    pgsmith Valued dismemberer

    Thanks for that Bear!

    Strangely enough (or not so strangely depending upon how familiar a person is) it is almost exactly the same for the Japanese sword arts. I would suggest that forum requests are more necessary as a large number of Japanese instructors do not advertise, but the rest is pretty much spot-on.
     
  3. Pat OMalley

    Pat OMalley Valued Member

    And strangely enough it's about the same for Filipino arts. In the UK check with www.bckeai.co.uk and the have a whole host of time served instructors and they will also recommend bonifide instructors outside the organisation.
     
  4. Polar Bear

    Polar Bear Moved on

    So continuing on from my first post.

    3. So you want to own your own weapon.

    Ok first ask yourself why you want to own one. This may seems strange but people buy weapons for the craziest of reasons.
    - If it is for personal defence then I would recommend spending the money on finding a place to live that does have you spending money on weapons just to live there.

    -If you want some thing to look cool on a wall. Then go buy a wallhanger made from stainless steel. Hanging real weapons on the wall is a pain in the butt. The general moisture level in a room just doesn't mix well with high carbon steel and unless you know what you are doing that ornament is going to look terrible in about two months.

    -If you want it because you want something that suits you for training then we can go alittle further. First off all lets talk money. When buying your first weapon DO NOT OVERSPEND. This may seem like a false economy but it isn't. You won't know at this early stage in your training what you actually want out of your weapon. You probably haven't developed a deep enough understanding of the principles to develop your own fighting style and are probably just trying to emulate your instructor at the moment. So first time out go for either a serviceable budget weapon or a lower mid range priced weapon. How you find this out is talking to other people at your club or by asking on forums, though be wary of forums because you often get rich idiots who claim that anything less than £1000 price tag isn't worth having. Keep it cheap, keep it robustly built. People overlook weapon endurance because they think steel is tough but the truth is weapons are generally quite fragile and if you use them poorly they tend to be unforgiving. It is very easy to break or damage your first weapon so never spend more than you can afford to lose. However, ensure that your weapon is fit for purpose. I've seen more than a couple of cheap weapons literally come apart in training. So look about and ask people what they are using and how it stands up to training. I recommend Hanwei practical range for my beginner because for a blunt longsword it is £75 and they will remain in service for well over a year even under harsh conditions.

    Mid range weapons offer better performance and usually better servicing options from the manufacturer. I use a local company called Armour Class as my personal armourer for three reasons they make good solid weapons at a decent price and they offer a lifetime guarantee on the blade. So if a student says they want something better than a cheapy I direct them to Armour class.

    I'll come back later an talk more about custom weapons making later but this is good enough for now.

    The Bear.
     
    Last edited: Oct 4, 2011
  5. Neil Gendzwill

    Neil Gendzwill Valued Member

    So you want to learn kendo:

    Go here. Scroll down near the bottom and find the world map. Click on your zone (America, Europe, Asia) etc to find your national federation contacts. Go through them to find the nearest dojo.

    Alternately,

    Go here. Set up an account, post a question under "dojo" about where you can find the nearest club.
     

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