My Girlfriend

[Zagatto]

If you're interested in sword play you could check for a local chapter of the Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA for short). They don't allow people to start practicing armoured combat until they are at least 16 (until last year it was 18) and lots of people don't start until their late 20s.

I've got lots and lots of links for people who are interested. SCA is one of my only hobbies that rivals anime for amount of time and energy invested in it. The main link to start with is http://www.sca.org if you're interested in seeing what we do. We have clubs world wide (although I'm not too sure about Portugal... I'd have to look). I actually met my wife when I was up in Canada for a tournament.

The thing that made me think of SCA is the fact that Kendo was mentioned. We have people join from time to time who have years and years of Kendo experience who arrive believing that they'll be able to do very well. It's fun when they learn that Kendo isn't a very practical style against other mixed armed combat styles. If they stick around, they tend to learn a whole lot faster than a new member but that initial shock of getting walked all over is lots of fun to watch... I just love watching an ego deflate...