FAQ
Those new to to the study of Western Martial Arts normally have a number of questions. The following FAQ is an attempt to anticipate the most common. If you do not see an answer to your question, feel free to contact us.
- What is the Chicago Swordplay Guild?
- What are Western Martial Arts?
- Will I get cut practicing with swords?
- Are you part of the Society of Creative Anachronisms (SCA)?
- I'm far away from any groups on your map, but I really want to learn Western Martial Arts! What can I do?
- How does the CSG relate to modern Olympic or sport fencing?
- How do I join the CSG?
- What are the benefits of practicing swordplay?
- Why practice an art that has been dead for so many years?
- Do women ever get involved in this?
- Do you ever do competitive fencing?
- How many groups like the CSG are there in the US? The world?
- What is the age range for people who practice Western Martial Arts?
- Is using a sword the only thing you do in Western Martial Arts?
- How do I submit a post?
- Can I add pictures or videos to posts?
Q: What is the Chicago Swordplay Guild?
A: The Chicago Swordplay Guild (CSG) Is a non-profit organization dedicated to studying and
practicing Western Martial Arts (WMA) – the personal combat arts of Europe. CSG is both a
scholarly and practical fencing group, seeking to practice these martial arts in a safe,
friendly and informed way.
Q: What are Western Martial Arts?
A: Western Martial Arts are methods of personal combat derived from historical sources in
the Western world, primarily Europe. Eastern martial arts are drawn from primarily Asian
sources.
Q: Will I get cut practicing with swords?
A: The CSG does not practice with sharp swords. Our training weapons are made of wood or
blunt metal, depending on the user's experience level. The CSG has strict rules about safety and
protective gear. However, it is important to remember that ALL physical activities involve some
risk.
Q: Are you part of
the Society of Creative Anachronisms (SCA)?
A: No, the CSG is not affiliated with the SCA in any way.
Q:
I'm far away from any groups on your map, but I really want to learn Western Martial Arts! What
can I do?
A: See our links for historical training material. Attend seminars
(such as the annual Western Martial Arts Workshop); they will be worth a lot to you. Also,
email us and we might be able to
suggest a group near you.
Q: How does the CSG
relate to modern Olympic or sport fencing?
A: Modern Olympic fencing is a sport that uses three weapons: the foil, epee and sabre. The
sport is devoted to competition with these weapons. The CSG studies and practices real combat
arts, with a wide variety of weapons and fighting forms. There is little resemblance between
what we do and modern Olympic fencing.
Q: How do I join the CSG?
A: By taking one of our introductory level classes, and asking your instructor about joining
CSG on completion of your course.
Q: What are the benefits of
practicing swordplay?
A: Exercise, cardiovascular conditioning, stress relief, character building, and you get to
meet lots of wonderful people!
Q: Why practice an art
that has been dead for so many years?
A: The Western Martial Arts are very much alive and kicking. If you are interested in
martial arts, or are just looking for a better understanding of the sword, swordsmanship or
personal combat, this is the place for you.
Q: Do women ever get involved in this?
A: Women make up 25% of CSG membership, the highest of any Western Martial Arts group we are
aware of.
Q: Do you ever do competitive fencing?
A: Presently, there is no form of formal competition within the Western Martial Arts
Community. Fencing is part of our curriculum, however.
Q: How many groups
like the CSG are there in the US? The world?
A: Lots! And the WMA community is growing. Please see our map.
Q: What is
the age range for people who practice Western Martial Arts?
A: We have a policy requiring students to be minimum 18 years of age.
Q: Is using a
sword the only thing you do in Western Martial Arts?
A: The Western Martial Arts encompasses the study and practice of many weapon and combat
forms, including the medieval longsword, arming sword, dagger, staff, spear, poleaxe, dusak,
rapier, smallsword, broadsword, singlestick, sabre, wrestling, pugilism, and hand-to-hand
combat. Some groups focus their study on special aspects of WMA, like horsemanship and jousting!
Q: How do I submit a post?
A: Only CSG members can submit posts. The process is as like logging in to your email and sending a message. To submit a post, a member must
Login first. [Note: Your personal login to the CSG site is different from the shared login to the "Members Only" section.] After you login with your personal account, one of the options will be "Submit a Post" which will take you to a online form. For short posts, login at CSG, compose it at CSG, and then press submit. If you have a long post, then compose it off-line, login at CSG, paste it, apply any formatting, and press submit.
Microsoft Word has a lot of troublesome formatting code that you don't normally see. I suggest pasting your post into a plain text editor (like Notepad), and then copying the plain text from that editor into the CSG form, and then apply formatting at the CSG form.
Also if you're entering old posts, don't forget to enter the "Post Date". For example if today is 2/2/2007, but you're entering practice notes for 1/13/2007, then enter "1/13/2007" in the textbox for "Post Date and Time".
Q: Can I add pictures or videos to posts?
A: For pictures or videos, you have two basic options:
- If you have a few pictures or videos, then you can send them to the CSG Webmaster and the CSG Webmaster can make a CSG post for them. You can also send text for the post and captions for specific pictures or videos.
- If you have many pictures or videos, then you can put your pictures or videos in an online album and then make a CSG post linking to that album. You may want to check out Flickr.com for photos. They're free and you can upload pictures for all sorts of events (CSG related or not) and share them with whoever you want. You can add captions to your pictures and stuff. You can download their little software so you can upload a batch of pictures (instead of one at a time). There are, of course, other online album choices like Picasa.Google.com (also free) and KodakGallery.com (not free) for pictures and YouTube.com for video.