My name is Lori. My husband and I started sword training in March of 2000. Growing up I was a tomboy, I loved beating boys at their own abilities what ever they might be. For example jumping of the roof of my house, challenging the boy next door I could jump further. Also I love soccer which now thinking about it has a lot of the same properties as sword fighting, like thinking and reacting quickly, balance and good posture, knowing your surroundings like where your team partners are, and a lot of what you look at is using your whole sight spectrum. Also I love gymnastics, which also has a lot of things in common with sword fighting like strength, agility, and gracefulness, at least with this type of sword fighting. It definitely has a martial arts flare to it as well. That's another thing I hope to go into someday. I've noticed these things I enjoy so much were drifting from me. I was becoming a normal female who was worried about breaking a nail, or getting dirty. Maybe someday in my 60's perhaps, but not now. I am so glad to be a part of something so rare and challenging and to have met such interesting and unique people. It also it gives me an excuse to beat up my husband. Just kidding. Bye for now. Lori