I am trying to start a group, and any advice will be welcome. My problems so far: everyone thinks the garb is lame and there is a complete refusal to make/wear any, our members are afraid to move out of the back-yard to start fighting in a public park, the only weapons between us are ALL owned by me, we only have three swords and one shield, we only have three fighters that are of age. That brings me to my next point, how do you handle young fighters? We get ALOT of interest from the 11-15 group, and as long as they have parental consent (which includes me explaining the probable injury part) I have been letting them fight. Most of our younger fighters are siblings of the older fighters, and we only have two under 14. (One is brother of a an older fighter, and one is the toughest 11 year old I've ever seen. His parents are ok with it, and sometimes watch us fight. -We fight across the street from his house.- He is actually our third-best fighter.) We ALWAYS are extremely careful around them, and none have been injured so far to my knowledge. I have alot of problems, and if anyone has any possible solutions I would love to hear them.
P.S. I have been keeping a sword(or two) with me, so that when I see a prospective member, I can show them how it feels to hit someone, and to be hit. That is how I got all three people of age so far. (I am counting myself in that, because that is how I was recruited by Numenor, and if I lived closer than the 5hour drive I am, I would join them.)