Looking for something free, fun, athletic, and safe? KSU’s Iron Springs Amtgard club provides. Every Wednesday from 1 p.m. to sundown at the Kennesaw KSU campus and 1 p.m. to sundown every Thursday at Marietta campus, Iron Springs offers free sword fighting and archery for anyone over the age of 14. Participants are allowed to come and go as they please, accepting people arriving at the park at any time during practice.
Join for a safe, accepting community of open-minded people eager to whack one another with foam covered “Boffers” in high energy frenetic battle games, enjoy fantasy cosplay, get into arts and crafts and socialize with like-minded individuals.
What do you enjoy about Amtgard as a whole?
Mark Benton, in game name “Dorian Vanguard”
“I think the community, I came into Amtgard at a fairly rough time in my life, and the people in there have become essentially my brothers and sisters– Sure I can talk all day about how X spell interacts with Y class. but Amtgard is a medium towards a community, filled with silly and awesome people that will make sure your taken care of. Yesterday I got into a call with someone who had just been knighted, The highest honor you could receive in the community. His entire ceremony was filled with symbolism and utter care and pride. He wore the bandana of his deceased mentor figure/friend and got knighted with someone he had known since he was a kid. You can tell everyone really cares for each other like family.”
Declan Griffith-Mclean, In game name “Liege Teddie Bonk”
“Everything about it. The community, the game play, the discussions, the crafting components, everything. What I like most about amtgard is the experience/lifestyle itself.”
What do you enjoy about fighting?
Mark Benton, in game name “Dorian Vanguard”
“I find there is fun to be had with the vast amount of interactions, Similar to video games, there is such a low skill floor (swinging stick), but an infinitely high skill ceiling—Being able to make split second decisions that factor in a numerous amount of decisions and predictions allows for my brain to concentrate and gives a dopamine/adrenaline rush that not a lot of other sports can.”
Not everyone in Amtgard fights all the time, some of them prefer to get in depth with the arts and crafts of the medieval fantasy setting, creating elaborate clothes, jewelry, and weaponry.
As a non combatant, what is your favorite part of Amtgard?
Quinn Owen, in game name “The Unloved Hive”
“My favorite non-social, non-combat part of Amtgard is the breadth and depth of things to do. I’ve got both autism and ADHD, so I crave both stability and change. I can let myself focus on a new skill, or deepen an existing skill for as long as I want. Then, once I get bored, I can jump over to another craft or skill and work on that. As a specific example, I can work on chainmail jewelry (which I was doing before I joined Amtgard) until I get bored or burnt out, then jump to sewing, then foam smithing, and so on.”
Amtgard provides a safe place for people of all different background and interests to find common ground in the Fantasy Live Action RolePlay (LARP) medium. Providing great resources for exercise, art, crafts, weapon smithing and DND campaign hosting. Everyone is welcome to join in on the fun of dressing up and hitting each other with foam.
