Equipment,Training-Virginia Warrior Guild

Warrior Training: Equipment

Members of the Warriors Guild will receive their own shield. This is for their own protection, however shields must be returned if the member chooses to leave the Guild. A one-time $25.00 fee upon membership makes one the owner of their shield and guarantees future repairs as long as the straps and handles are kept for re-use.

Basic Equipment: Shield, Boken, Hand Protection (and eventually, uniforms)

Advanced Equipment: (all basic equipment plus) Shin/leg protection, Head protection, Sword, Chest protection, and athletic cups for men.

Basic Equipment

Shield
Members of the Warriors Guild will receive their own shield. The Shield is a black board made of three-quarter inch plywood with a sturdy steel handle and a thick leather arm strap. A one-time $25.00 fee upon membership makes one the owner of their shield and guarantees future repairs as long as the straps and handles are kept for re-use.However shields are property of the Guild and must be returned if the member chooses to leave the Guild.

Bokken
A bokken is a wooden practice sword for sparring. These can be purchased from a number of places including some martial arts dojos. They can also be purchased from the guild for $7.50.

Hand Protection
This can often be found in sporting goods stores or martial arts dojos as hand and forearm protectors. Once you become more proficient you may want to purchase gauntlets for more rigorous sparring.

Uniform
The Guild voted on the use of Tabbards for our uniform for all events. For order information see Tabbard Order Information.

Advanced Equipment

***This equipment is in addition to the basic equipment.***

Shin/Leg protection
This can be purchased from sporting goods stores or martial arts dojos.

Head protection
Initially this can be a sports helmet, but once you become more proficient you may want to purchase a stronger wooden or metal helmet for more rigorous sparring.

Sword
The Warriors Guild does a great deal of sword training and though initially a bokken is perfectly fine to participate (as most sparring is done with the bokken for safety measures), eventually you want to look into purchasing your own sword. This can be a big purchase. However, both the members of the guild and the site are here to help you find the sword that is right for you.

Chest protection There are several things that can be used as chest protection. For light sparring a Gambeson set or a rapier fencing vest can be worn on its own or with chain mail for comfort during heavier sparring. A baseball catchers chest pad can be used as well and can be ordered from most sporting goods stores. Most martial arts dojos can also order a martial arts chest pad.

Athletic Cups (for Men)
Not much needs to be said about this. I think most men would agree this is essential gear. These can be found in a number of places, including Wal-mart sports department or sporting goods stores.

Warrior Training: Equipment

Basic Equipment

Advanced Equipment

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