Fighting with foam swords is really fun. If your interested in making more advanced weapons and fighting rules check out dagorhir.com. Its a great place and there might be a group near you that you could join.

face and head protection? What's the noodle for?

If you really like these, consider finding an ATA taekwondo studio near you. They have recently added this sport to their training and competitions. It is called Combat Weapon Sparring. You always battle with people your age, rank, and gender. So you don't have to worry about going up against a 3rd degree Black Belt.

As far as cheap and easy protective equipment goes, I would suggest a bicycle or snowboarding helmet and ski goggles. Padded gloves really helps, because you will often get whacked on the knuckles accidentally. You might make some padded gloves by stuffing some foam into the fingers of some large work gloves. Or glue foam strips on the outside of the fingers of the work gloves. You can get really cheap cotton work gloves at any hardware store.

This is how we score points:
1 point for a good strike to torso
2 points for a strike to the head
extra point if the strike is made while both feet are off the ground. That is, you jump up and bop the guy on the head or something.

If you knock the guys weapon out of his hand, you get a point.

First one to 10 points wins. You need a referee to count points.

No strikes to groin. No stabs to neck or face. Every thing else is fair game.

Have fun!

David A

BTW. I am a middle-aged adult and I like playing with these, too! It's not just for kids!