Hi all!
I actually would consider myself somewhat of an Indian weapons researcher. Though I'm relatively new to it, and as a result spend most of my time reading/learning what I can that's out there right now, one day I'd love to be able to conduct my own research. Currently the closest thing to research that I do is simply looking into how the names for different weapons have changed over time, and how the definitions of the names seem to shift over time. Kinda like how "pata" (patta, puttah, etc.) apparently used to refer to a long blade of grass, like the long blade of a pata, but nowadays many Indian martial arts practitioners see the proper name as "dandpatta", with some part of the word meaning belt, in reference to how flexible modern pata blades are when made for modern Indian martial arts (so flexible they could be worn as belts). I'm sure this isn't new to any of you, but it's still just an example of what I mean.
@Ian, I'm actually a "young person" that lives in Minneapolis (assuming you mean Minneapolis, Minnesota)! I'd love to talk in person with people that share my interests! If they still live Minneapolis, please, let me know how I could get in touch with them!
For everyone else, honestly, just throw stuff at me! Links, books, whatever, I'll do my best to find and acquire it. Money and traveling is a problem, sure, but I'm continuously surprised by how many different facets this hobby leads into and I love it!
|