[Sam Gordon Campbell]

Hey guys,

I'm trying to pursue a career at university to become a teacher of medieval history (i'm a soon-to-be-second year student) after being inspired in about the 3rd grade, and as such I've been trying to asorb the knowlege from all the fine users of this site (and other places of course), but alas I'm a tad overwhelmed by all the different infomation even though I'm a collector (well, not yet, but hopefully with your help soon).
I currently dabble in the S.C.A. (though it's fun to be a weekend warrior, I'm aware it's maybe not the best place to learn the SERIOUS ropes... if that makes any sense) and am trying to get into 'The Stoccata School of Defence' ( http://www.stoccata.org/ ), so my question to you, oh knowledgeable superiors, is thus: Where and what would you recommend starting collection-wise? For example, I've got a few things from a store called Medieval-Fightclub, and at the risk of offending them, I'm dubious about some of their items.
BUT! Here's the kicker, I live in Tasmania! And as such we have very little in the way of 'professional' re-enacting (obviously we have a S.C.A. group, everyone has ) let alone anywhere where one could purchase (with the exception of a man called Ken Bradford of Bismarck Metal Craft).
So yeah, sorry if this is all a bit jumbled, but as one could imagine I'm kind of friggin' confused about my future career that I might try to implement down here haha.

P.S. Any educational re-enactors out there want to hire an enthusiastic Taswegian peasant haha.

[Gabriel Lebec]

Hi Sam. I believe the best place to start any collection is with a collection of Books - learn the subject before spending big money on the items themselves. You'll have a better basis of comparison and a more developed sense of what it is you really want.

Regarding arms and armour themselves, however, you might have noticed our Reviews of a number of different swordsmiths' and manufacturers' products, and we have a page of Links to some others besides. The trick will be checking the international shipping policies of any smith, company, or retailer that you are interested in.

Regards,
-GLL

[Jared Smith]

Sam,
Good luck on the future career. I am wondering where you intend to teach, and what kind of interest and demand there will be for that type of study there? If I remember correctly, Rod Walker is Australian, and is a world ranked jouster. He is a forum member you could send a private message to. He might offer some feedback and be a good a barometer for regional interests related to medieval study/ enactment.

[Bill Tsafa]

[Sam Gordon Campbell]

[Sean Flynt]

DIY

Take Gabriel's advice about books. Don't worry about arms and armour yet because, for you, mistakes will be more costly than for those of us with relatively easy access to manufacturers. Read, read, read. There's some great free stuff out there (tons of it right here in front of you at this site).

If living history is your interest, absorb the gallery section of this site:
http://www.olofsgillet.org/

Then, go to this site and download (and read) every issue of Dragon. Save the "Costume Guide" as well.
http://www.companie-of-st-george.ch/cms/?q=en/The_Company

These are two outstanding groups.

Follow their lead by building your soft kit first--clothes, shoes, etc. With some guidance and experimentation you can make this stuff yourself. There are plenty of folks around here to help you. You can modify a carbon steel kitchen knife and make a sheath for it. Presto--medieval civilian costume for very little cash. You'll be the founding member of your new group and show that you're serious.

When you decide to arm up, you might look to Manning Imperial, in Oz.
http://www.manningimperial.com/index.php

[M. Eversberg II]

I too considered teaching history, at high school, college or university level. I'm unsure, however, as the thread I started at SFI about it seemed to contain a lot of very sensible downers.

M.

[Bill Tsafa]

Teaching H.S. history is a totally different animal vs university. All you need is a teaching license in NY. Unless you are tenured, you often don't get to teach what you want. Sometimes its not related at all to your area of interest. Its just a job. It does however put you in a unique position to draw in people to your area of interest. Even if you get stuck teaching English, you can find ways to slip in some history hear and there. If you talk about weapons and warfare the students will think you are the coolest teacher. Many schools have rules against bringing swords in for show and tell (even if you are the teacher), but you can always bring armor and shields in and let kids feel history. That will at least get the boys interested.

[Sam Gordon Campbell]

The only group I've been able to find (so far) that does the things that are relevant to my interest are these fine people who go by the name 'Days of Knights':

http://www.daysofknights.com.au/

I have yet to contact them (and shall endevor to do so at the nearest possible point in time), but does anyone else have any similar links to similar groups based in Australia, as I'm struggling to find them of my own accord.

And thanks Sean, followed your advice and am now on my way to attempting my first 'soft kit'.

[Randall Pleasant]

Become English , then become either an actor or a druged out has-been musician.

Sorry, I just counldn't heal myself.

[Lafayette C Curtis]