[Ben Milstead]

Hail - I'm an utter noob but, there is an inexplicable, magical quality to the pre-modern era - and to the martial arts of that era - that draws me in.

Comment - Being in the business of information/content design & programming myself, I can't help but praise the way in which this website has been put together - very tastefully done, detailed, lots of content and what an impressive community. I won't be making my first real sword purchase until I've paid for a subscription here - that much is clear.

Question - Will anyone recommend the best starting book and/or DVD for the wannabe western martial arts student? I've located a list at http://www.thearma.org/RecommendedList.htm, but needless to say I'm still not quite sure where to start.

Question - Does anyone know of any classes/groups who practice western martial arts in the Northern California Bay Area? I live in Walnut Creek. I would also be interested if anyone knows of any artists in this area who offer tours and/or familiarity-type classes on the construction of medieval weapons and/or armor.

Cheers,
Ben

[James Nordstrom]

Bay Area has these two schools:
http://www.scholasaintgeorge.org/intro.html
Davenriche Academy (no link as of yet).

Sacramento has BYFA.

What era are you looking at?

What styles are you interested in?

I personally like the German material, I.33, dussack, and Ringneck, translations of which can be found at http://www.chivalrybookshelf.com/.

I also am quite handy at Swetnam rapier and George Silver.

You can sample lots or focus on just a few.

You can check out this site http://www.calsmith.org/ for classes on handling hot iron and hammers.

Cheers
Jim

[Bill Grandy]

Welcome to myArmoury, Ben!

James listed some great stuff already. The link to Chivalry Bookshelf is your best bet, but you may also want to take a look at www.aemma.org and download their free longsword training manual. The manual is a little out of date, and they've been working on a newer version, from what I understand, but it's still a good starting place, especially considering the price.

Since you've already located ARMA's site, browse their historic manuals. Not all of them are exactly clear as day, but the historic texts are the best source available. They just take a lot more determination to decipher.

One of the big tricks is finding out what system you want to study, and of course that is usually determined by what your local practitioners (if any) study. So good luck finding a teacher and a group! If you've got any other questions, by all means, feel free to ask, as some of us are regular practitioners!

[Allen W]

As a noob I suggest two primers. The first is A History of War and Weapons 449-1660 by A.V.B Norman and Don Pottinger. This is a parallel discussion of the evolution of arms, armour, fortifications, and tactics in England over the years stated. It is remarkably succinct and probably the best general source to set the overall context in which to study swords the middle ages and renaissance. The second is Ewart Oakeshott's Archaeology of Weapons which is probably the best general discussion of the evolution of the European sword.

[Ben Milstead]

Thank you all for your recommendations!

As far as era, I can only loosely categorize that as Medieval at this point; anglo-saxon toward the middle period swords appeal to me aesthetically a bit more than later period weapons, although all of it is fascinating. In terms of style, two-handed swords and polearms are most appealing.

Sounds as if I have a lot of reading to do!

Cheers,
Ben

[Roger Hooper]

The Davenriche Acadamy does have a web site - www.knight2day.com - classes in San Jose and Gilroy, CA