WMAW 2004
Anyone here planning on going to the Western Martial Arts Workshop in Amsterdam, NY? I'm working out details with my job to take off that weekend, but I hope I'm able to make it.

http://ahfi.org/wmaw2004/
I'm heading out for this on Thursday morning. A couple people PMed me, so I know some people from here are going. Hope to meet some of you face to face for the first time. :)
Wow, what a fantastic weekend. I've been home for a full day now, and I'm still sore all over.

The workshop was such a wonderful experience, not only in practice, but in spirit as well. Got to meet some fantastic people that I've previously only "known" online. I also was able to renew friendships with people that I only meet at events like this, and I even made many new friends whom I'm already excited about meeting again at the next big event. This truly was the best part of the event, which says alot, because the entire experience was just so excellent.

Got to meet Harlan, who was manning the Albion table. Harlan's no stranger to us here on the forums, and it was great to be able to talk to him in person. Also got to handle his Peter Johnson swords that we've seen pictures of, and MAN, are those nice! Not to mention the other fantastic Albion next gens he had, and also the gorgeous Brescia Spadona, of which I really love now.

Mercenary's Tailor was there, though I didn't have much time to really get into their stuff. The time I spent there was admiring their wonderful antique pieces that they brought along.

Darkwood Armory had some really beautiful stuff, and it was very tempting for me to pick up another practice rapier, especially with some of his new hilts. Scott Wilson is really underrated in terms of his ability to make some really beautiful rapier hilts. Mostly people are familiar with his fairly straight forward basic hilts, but what he had on his table this weekend was gorgeous.

A&A, to my surprise, had a booth, and I got to meet Chris Poor. I also got a chance to handle the fechbuch swords, which I've been curious about for so long. And there was a writhen rapier on their table that was to die for. I have only slightly cared for that piece in photos, but seeing it in person made it suddenly come alive. It practically glittered. The casting looked even cleaner than other photos I've seen, and I don't know if that's because of the illusion of photos or if A&A has improved the quality. I also finally got to handle one of their German rapiers, of which I've always been in love with, but now know that I HAVE to own. *sigh* Too bad I'm entirely out of sword money for quite a while.

The classes were fantastic to take. I went practically non stop throughout the weekend. The first day and a half was mostly dedicated to rapier, and my forearm screamed thank you when it was finally time for Christian Tobler's class, where I could finally put BOTH hands on the same weapon. :)

Next year it will be in Chicago, and to anyone who has even a passing interest in western swords, I highly recommend it. There were people of all levels there, from bare bones beginners to highly experienced instructors, and there were also lectures on related topics as well, so there was something for every sword aficionado. I will do everything in my power to make sure I don't miss it.
Gotta agree with Bill . What ablast ! A great group of animated,dedicated fun folks . The classes ranged from longsword
to "how to use a bullwhip" and included pugelism and native American knife and tomahawk fighting . Got to meet Divid Edge and have him sign my dogeared copy of Arms and Armour of The Medieval Knight as well as talking with Chris Poor
(I used to watch Chris joust in the late 70's when I was in grade school at the faire here ) . Watching Dave Svet sing
Stand By Your Man to kerioki in the bar was unforgettable . Well managed and planned the event culminated with a fencing tournement with tons of lively action . Great time all around.
Allen,

Would you by chance happen to remember who was teaching the "how to use a Bull whip" class?

Kind of curious as whips are the other expensive hobby that i have found my self getting involved in lately.
It was Anthony Delongis. He's got a DVD on it: http://www.delongis.com/ADLactionclass.html

It was a surprisingly popular class. Not to mention loud. :) There was a funny moment when I was taking Brad Waller's class on Marrozzo's pressas in the next room (separated only by a curtain) and Brad snapped his arm up. At that exact moment we heard a loud gun-shot like noise, as he stares at his hand in amazment. So he tries it again, snapping his arm like that, and in perfect timing, "CRACK!" A big smile goes on his face, and he goes, "Cool, let me try that again!" Sure enough, the third one was in exact timing, at which he decided not to use up his new found power.

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