Welcome to the home page for Swordfest 2007, an annual event organized to allow the sword community to come together in a spirit of friendship and common goals. To quote the founder of Swordfest from the 2005 FAQ:
What is SwordFest?
A gathering of martial artists that study the edged weapons of various cultures.
Why does it exist?
Many reasons. One is to provide a positive, nonjudgmental forum to share with others what you have worked so long and hard for.
Swordfest began up in Malvern, PA, in 2004 under the direction of Kelly Knight of the Martial Arts & Fitness Center. In the past it has brought together diverse groups--Japanese, Chinese, and even some western martial artists.
It is important to note that SwordFest is not a competition. Each group comes and performs their demonstration without 'judging' or 'points'. This is simply a forum in which those who practice can come together and share without fear or pressure. This is not an exclusive event, and the organizers try to stay out of political discussions of 'legitimacy', etc. What you see is what you get, and the arts will be demonstrating before an audience of their peers.
Anyone is welcome to come and demonstrate, within the constraints we have of time for the event. Please contact our demo coordinator if you would like to demonstrate this year. So far we have the following groups listed:
The Capital Area Budokai is located in the Stonewall Jackson Building, a converted school building on the east side of Luckett's Field. The address is 25 S. Quaker Ln, Alexandria, VA.
To get there from I-95:
Come either direction towards Alexandria until you hit the exit for Telegraph Road.
Take Telegraph Road North. Stay in the Left lane. Telegraph Road ends after less than 1/2 a mile and dumps you out onto Duke St. heading west.
Follow Duke St./VA-236 E for about 1.1 miles until you come to the light for S. Quaker Ln. (There will be a fire department on your right and a Wendy's on the corner).
Turn Left at the light into S. Quaker Ln. The building is on your right.
You can usually park anywhere along the street on weekdays. There are also open spaces in the parking lot, but be careful not to park in any of the spaces marked as private. If you enter the building through the front doors, walk into the foyer in front of the elevators. Go through the door on your right and the Budokai will be the first doors in the hallway on your immediate left.
Because this is a Japanese dojo, we would ask people to remove their shoes at the entrance to assist us in keeping the floor clean.
If you have questions or comments, feel free to contact us.