Sword Arts in Richmond, VA area?

[Byakku]

I am looking for any sword arts in or around the Richmond, VA area? Anyone know of any that are fairly close by?

Thanks in advance for any help or ideas,
Matt:samurai:

[Langenschwert]

Virginia is a veritable hotbed of Japanese swordsmanship, apparently:

A thread on JSA there: http://forums.swordforum.com/showthread.php?t=92082

There are also excellent European swordsmanship schools there if the various JSA schools don't fit your schedule (unlikely, since there's so many), such as the very highly regarded Order of Seven Hearts (Italian rapier, Bolognese sword and amazingly, Halberd), Salle Green (classical fencing, very handy to learn no matter what sword art you specialize in: I'm very sad there's no classical fencing in Calgary) and the Virginia Academy of Fencing (German longsword, Italian Rapier, and German Grossemesser).

Good luck! Swordsmanship is a very rewarding discipline. It's counterintuitive to begin with, but above all have patience. For most people, it doesn't come easily.

Best regards,

-Mark

[pgsmith]

Hi Matt,
As Mark said, there is quite a bit of JSA in the Virginia area. However, the only one that I know of in Richmond itself is kendo ... http://www.koryomartialarts.org/Home/Kendo.html

Rob Rivers runs a Mugai ryu iaihyodo study group up in Stafford, about an hour north ... http://www.virginiakempo.com/mugai_ryu_iaido.htm


Good luck in your hunt.