I started doing reenactment in California in 1988, and in 1989 I was invited to participate in my first armoured fight. I got the living snot beat out of me, and I was hooked from then on. I've been competing with the longsword since 1989, the rapier since 2001, and I've been teaching the sword arts since 2000.
My wife and I met at a Renaissance Faire, and we were even married at the same faire we met at. We both still do Renaissance Faires, but now we run a children's game called Jr. Jousting in which the children put on horse costumes and joust with each other using foam lances.