I really want to find a Kendo club that I can go to. There are some around here but they are a little bit farther then I'd like. I've been trained to use a rifle and it just doesn't sit well with me. It feels awkward and it feels like I shouldn't be holding it in my hand. But I have also had knife combat training, knifes and weapons like them just feel right, especially a sword. When I grip the hilt of a bladed weapon it feels as if I can do anything. As long as that hilt stays clenched in my hands I can take on the world and anything it throws at me.

They say that a sword is an extension of the wielder's soul, that may be a cliche for some but I believe in that saying. I also believe that since melee weapons have become obsolete in battle that this world no longer has honor. Maybe I'm just old fashioned, but I would love to be in an era where the sword wasn't just a weapon but a way of life.

How about you guys? Do any of you have combat training, if so with what? Have any stories about your encounters with weapons or your training? I have some I could share if you guys are interested in this thread.

I've had training in all manner of firearms. Not really PROFESSIONAL training, I'll be fair, but chances are if I had one and I wanted you dead, you'd be dead pretty soon. I'm a good shot with rifles, shotguns (The kind you use for clay pigeon shooting, not sawed off ones you don't need to aim), and pistols. I don't own any though. I don't trust myself enough to own a gun, but I at least know how to use em. Oh, also, I had classes in Bows and Arrows. But I really sucked at it.

As for other weapons not of the shooty sort, I own a sword. It's super dull and was only ever made for decoration, I believe, but it pokes well. It's small, and I'd NEVER say I have training in it.

I like staves though. I'm not much for swords, since there doesn't seem to be much of a way to NOT kill someone with it, but staves are cool, can be used to disable instead of kill, and all that. But they can also be unwieldy, from experience, especially to the inexperienced like myself.

I wouldn't ever really get weapon training (other than my firearm training), I'd just go to a martial arts school and learn some of that. For self defense only, of course.