Im 15 and ive wanted to learn how to use a sword since i was 8. The problem is there arent any dojos near my house and believe me ive checked ive just decided to teach myself i have roughly 700 dollars to spend on materials can anyone help??

If you have $700.00, then your best bet would be to spend it on a plane ticket to fly somewhere that their is a dojo that teaches the type of sword you want to learn, because you CAN NOT, let me say that again, CAN NOT teach yourself. Put down the Ruroni Kenshin season 1 DVD and face the facts. If you really want to learn, you need a teacher. Unless you are willing to die, can live a few thousand years, have all the time you need, and an infinite amount of people to combat test with who are willing to die, then you might get somewhere. But other than that, unless you find a teacher, you're not going to be able to learn it.

-Mike Sweeney 1st Dan

Where in Illinois are you?

Im in a suburb out of Chicago called New Lenox its near Joliet

Take a look at aikido schools in your area. Most offer iaido at their school. I know there is an aikido school in Chicago that teaches iaido but that is about an hour away from you. You can also call them and ask if they know of anyone in your area teaching that may not advertise. There are several instructors out that teach only for the joy of teaching.

I don't recomend trying to teach yourself. There is a lot more involved than you think.

Well, I've always wanted to be an astronaut, so I guess I'll buy some books, study them REALLY closely, then crawl into a space shuttle when no one's looking and give myself the thrill of my life!

[IMG]http://www.fightingarts.com/forums/ubb/rolleyes.gif[/IMG]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by MAGon:
Well, I've always wanted to be an astronaut, so I guess I'll buy some books, study them REALLY closely, then crawl into a space shuttle when no one's looking and give myself the thrill of my life!

[IMG]http://www.fightingarts.com/forums/ubb/rolleyes.gif[/IMG][/QUOTE]

WOW your funny as heck

Hard to believe there isn't a school in a town the size of Joliet. Good Luck!

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Swordsman89:
WOW your funny as heck[/QUOTE]

Sorry if I came on too strong. I was trying to make a point.
Unfortunately, I read this thread after coming from a similar one in which one of the more knowledgeable guys who post here made the point that self teaching the sword arts is impossible. Another poster chastised him for his "negative ways" and encouraged self teaching. I was irritated by his attitude and unfortunately mixed up the threads. So I responded here in a manner you don't deserve.
Having done my Mea Culpa, what I tried to do was establish a parallel to make things obvious. My statement is absurd on it's face. Being an astronaut is a complex skill, necessitating not only "book learning" skills, but hands- on training while being coached and supervised by experts. An apprenticeship, if you will. I don't think anyone would argue that. What's often missed by many is that the same holds true for the MAs, more so the weapon arts BECAUSE YOU'RE SWINGING AROUND A WEAPON THAT CAN POTENTIALLY CAUSE YOU GRAVE HARM.
As it turns out, I can give you a concrete example from just last night: The Kenjutsu system I practice has a rich Iaijutsu curriculum. It ALSO has a very well written and illustrated manual (In three volumes, no less!) featuring the systems' present Shihan. I happen to own it, and I study it. NONE OF THE ADVANCED KATA ARE TO BE FOUND THERE. So the ones Sensei has started teaching me I wouldn't be able to learn otherwise. There's a reason for that, as you'll see below.
Last night, while trying to learn one of these new katas, and in spite of Sensei thoroughly demonstrating and explaining the moves several times, on my second try I darn near skewered my forearm with my blade. It turns out that I missed the small detail of drawing the sword almost vertically. Instead, I was drawing it almost horizontally for the first cut. As my left hand moved towards the sword's tsuba (Pommel), it met the kisaki (Sword point) head on. The only reason I didn't skewer my fool arm is that I FOLLOWED SENSEI'S ADVICE AND BOUGHT AN UNSHARPENED BLADE, FOR THE TIME BEING (Here's another example of necessary coaching). As it is, I still wound up with a deep (But thankfully small) cut, because the kisaki in even an unsharpened blade can be awesome!
You might say that my innate stupidity was the cause of this, but I think others here smarter than me have similar stories.

[This message has been edited by MAGon (edited 12-21-2004).]

Magon

I really did think it was funny.

Made a good point too.