Links
Here is where all the cool sites and places on the web that I hang out will reside. It's not going to have any real structure, outside of a few categories. Please note that each site is viewed at your own risk, and may violate federal, state and local laws. If it does, it ain't my fault.
Western Martial Arts:
The Tattershall School of Defence- At the risk of being biased, it doesn't get much better than this. TSD is a non-profit martial arts school dedicated to researching and teaching historical combat. William Wilson, Gary Chelak and I formed TSD a few years ago to give us a place to do the stuff we wanted, in a manner that was safe, enjoyable and fun. Since then, we've grown into a pretty decent presence, with books, articles and classes available all over the US and the world.
The Chicago Swordplay Guild- Founded by Greg Mele, a true gentleman and scholar in 1998. The Guild is a modern school of swordsmanship and martial arts. They seek to be consistent with the methodology of the ancient European fencing schools by combining scholarship and research into the teachings of the historical Masters with the practical knowledge gained through solo and partnered drilling and fencing. Good folks, and wonderful martial artists.
Alliance Martial Arts- Based in Ithaca, NY, Pete Kautz is a damn fine guy. The purpose of the Alliance Martial Arts site is to raise the level of awareness of western martial arts, and to provide a resource of information, articles and events relevant to the martial arts. Alliance focuses on medieval close combat, bowie knife and American Heritage and Filipino martial arts. Plus, Pete is one of the finest people I've had the chance to meet. If you ever get a chance to take a class, or even just hang out with him- do it!
The Northwest Academy of Arms- Run by Maestro Sean Hayes, is a school which is engaged in the development and training of traditional fencing techniques including a classical curriculum Italian foil, épée and sabre. Other areas of research and instruction include shortsword, sidesword and rapier. Sean is a Tattershall member, and his humility and nobility are an inspriation to all of us. Especially when you realise just how good a teacher and fencer he is!
SwordForum- Sword Forum International was founded in June 1998 and has since served the international community as an educational organization and conservation society which promotes history and culture through the study of swords and swordsmanship. Primarily it's greatest asset is it's discussion boards, which provide a good place for people to meet and share information.
The Gallowglass Academy, Inc.- Gallowglass is the brainchild of C. Allen Reed and Andrea Dubnick. Allen is a veteran U.S Marshal, and nice guy to train with. They've helped bring me out for seminars a number of times, and have always been unfailingly helpful, knowledgable and courteous. Apparently now they've even got a big practice centre to work with...It's just not fair. But if you're in the Chicago area, look them up and get a good workout.
Asian Martial Arts:
Shodokan Aikido- The competitive variant of O-Sensei's Aikido. Shodokan is a blending of traditional aikido technique with judo's philosophy. Competitions take the form of tanto randori (unstructured work with a knife), and can be quite...forceful ;)
Daitoryu Aiki Jujutsu- The Daibukan is the organisation founded by Shihan Ohgami, my instructor. Although I am no longer affiliated with the Daibukan, it remains the best place to receive training in Daitoryu.
Other sites:
Ok, I'm a geek...What did you really expect? So I spend a fair amount of time on /. (slashdot.org) as well as the forums at www.mma.tv; martialtalk.com and the Self Defense Forums at www.selfdefenseforums.com
...and of course I Fark. I tend to get most of my news headlines and fark info via a RSS/XML newsfeed. I have that ported into my system monitor using a program called CoolMon.