Has any one done the Cold Steel Challenge in Ventura, CA? It will be at the beginnin of Oct. Its a good chance to try ANY of your techniques (well. . . no take downs) in the ring using knife and also sword! Its a sort of padded weapons match, so armor reqs are minimal; head gear, and gloves.
Len Thompson is talking about doing some different weapon types this year like halberd, and sword and dagger, we'll see.
You can check it out on their web site. Last year it was dominated by filipino practitioners, with some fencers, kendo guys, and even a couple of SCA guys.
Its a blast, and a good oppertunity to see some different approches to fighting.
Some cool demos too, our very own JKD Ron Baliki did some fighting sarong and silat blend stuff, pretty slick.


CM