Help getting started

[Dakota Brown]

Im looking for a good waister ethier a longsword or a bastard sword. I was looking foward in joining arma but then i saw you had to be 18.

[Corey Roberts]

Hello Dakota,
The best wasters I'm aware of on the market are made by New Stirling Arms.
Other good waster manufacturers are Little Raven, as well as Hollow Earth swordworks.

I believe you can join the ARMA with parental consent if you are under 18.

[Dakota Brown]

How do i start training if there is no study group near me?

[Sal Bertucci]

The Armaria has some very good drills for solo practitioners

[John Farthing]

Here are some resources that might help you get started as both a new and solo practitioner.

http://www.thearma.org/wheretostart.htm

And

http://www.thearma.org/Practice/training.htm

Beyond that you will find a virtual cornucopia of valuable articles, essays, training videos and more by perusing our website. Good luck to you as you embark on your journey and we hope you will continue to find our website valuable as you begin your study and practice of the art.

[Kevin Reicks]

How do i start training if there is no study group near me?

What about trying to start one yourself? I've been in ARMA for over a year with no one in my area and I have no regrets.

Since you are under 18, you probably have a hard time getting there, but there is also a St. Louis group in MO. You may also want to try and make it down once and talk to the members before you try and join.

[Matthew Marango]

You can't go wrong with NSA. Their busy season is close to winding down, so you might want to order one soon. If you wait til summer or fall, they start taking stuff to Ren faires and it can take a while to get what you ordered. Any of their longswords are about as perfect for practicing as you can get. Also, their German Long Sword looks much better in real life than the picture.

I'd be wary of hollow earth. Their hilts seem to be overly bulky, and I've heard bad things about their customer service.

[Stacy Clifford]

I'd be wary of hollow earth. Their hilts seem to be overly bulky, and I've heard bad things about their customer service.

Hollow Earth's craftsmanship is very good, and they do have some pieces that handle very well and work for historical practice, but they also have a lot that don't. I would recommend only buying from Hollow Earth in person (which means at a Ren fair) where you can handle the wasters before buying. NSA's models are much more standardized and predictable in handling performance, so ordering from their website is a more reliable experience.

[Atticus Beachy]

Does anyone know of some good fencing masks? Also, how much protection do you want when sparring with wasters?

[Stacy Clifford]

We have some links on our Houston web page to fencing masks and other gear suppliers we have gotten good use out of:

http://www.armanorthhouston.org/equipment.htm

We've mostly been using Blue Gauntlet coach masks for a while, but some folks have had luck with Absolute Fencing Gear, and I had a mask from Triplette that lasted for a long time before it finally had to be retired.

Minimum protection for sparring with wasters (or steel for that matter) is a mask, and perhaps a cup. If you search this forum you'll find many debates on gloves and hand protection, so read the arguments for and against and use your best judgment to decide what's best for you. Beyond that, skill is your best protection!

[Atticus Beachy]

Thanks for the advice!

I ordered a couple of swords from hollow earth before I saw this thread. I got what they called the "ARMA standard" wasters, which I am pretty sure ARMA had nothing to do with. One is blade-heavy and the other has a sharp corners on the pommel that cut into my hand when I grip it.

I could try to exchange the swords for ones with a better pommel and better balance, but even if Hollow Earth agrees I might not get wasters that work for historical practice.

I could ask for my money back, but they don't have a money back guarantee.

I could just buy new wasters from NSA but then I would lose a lot of money.

Any advice on what I should do?