Greetings and salutations

[Justin]

Salutations all. My name is Justin. I am a Soldier. I have always had a great interest in medieval times. I came across this place on my quest to become a knight someday. This group seems very interesting. I love the idea of having armor and weapons, though due to military restrictions I cannot have any of my own. Though, I am having a set of armor and weapons made out of styrene for me, so it is a start, I suppose. In any case, I am honored to get to know you all and I hope to get along well with all of you during my time in the forums.

[Sir Edward]

Welcome to the forum!

You'll find everyone to be pretty welcoming and friendly here. And there's a great wealth of knowledge to draw on if you have any particular area of interest, or style of armor that you might like to pursue eventually.

[Lord Dane]

Welcome to the forum.

[Ian]

What is it with all the Army guys that show up here!??!  Go Navy Beat Army!    Welcome to the forum.

[Thorsteinn]

Welcome! Where are you stationed out of?

You'll find a few folks who've been in or are in the military.

-Thorsteinn,
frmr NVANG Airman.

[Sir Michael]

Greetings Justin;
     Let me take this moment to say welcome to the forum as I am new to it myself and thank you for your selfless service to your country and for keeping us all safe. I look forward to hearing more from you.

[Sir Brian]

Hail and Well met! Welcome to the forum!

I was a combat medic a few decades ago in the 7th ID and 3rd ID. Then I did a tour in the Coast Guard (better food and no 3 - 5 mile runs at OMG:30 hours)

What's your MOS?

[Sir Nate]

Welcome!

[Sir Rodney]

Welcome and Well Met!

[Justin]

Welcome! Where are you stationed out of?

You'll find a few folks who've been in or are in the military.

-Thorsteinn,
frmr NVANG Airman.

I am stationed out of Fort Riley, Kansas, but we are currently in Kuwait.

[Sir Patrick]

Hail and well met!

[Justin]

I would love to attend an event or get together with you all once I return stateside. Are any events ever held in the Kansas area?

[Sir Rodney]

I would love to attend an event or get together with you all once I return stateside. Are any events ever held in the Kansas area?

The biggest medieval type event in the Kansas area is known as “Lilies War”.  It’s an annual 10 day camping event sponsored by the Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA) and held every year in mid-June just 30 minutes north of KC on the shores of Smithville Lake.  The attendance this year was just over 1,000.

I make it down to Lilies about every other year on average for the last 15+ years.  There’s something for everyone: singles tournaments, large scale melees, rattan combat, steel combat, fencing, youth combat, archery competitions, falconry, tons of classes, shopping, eating, reveling, fireworks, and a Viking ship that takes several cruises (if you feel like rowing).

I plan on attending next year and all are welcome in our camp (provided you wish to be offered beverages and tall tales).   

The web site can be found here.

[Justin]

Well met, Sir! That sounds absolutely awesome. I love events like that. I will definitely give that a look if I am still in the area next year.

[Ian]

There's also a Historical European Martial Arts (HEMA) club in Kansas City (I realize it's a bit of a hike from Fort Riley)  HEMA is the study of the actual martial arts of Medieval and Renaissance Europe, and uses historically accurate technique based on surviving fighting treatises and manuscripts.  They can teach both fighting in and out of armor with a variety of different weapons. 

Here's the website for the club in Kansas City (The Medieval Swordsman Guild of Kansas City).  I've met a couple of their instructors and they're great guys.

Here's a photo of some of the stuff they do: