Google Maps Can't Get Me There

I recently became a man-at-arms to a local knight and the other day we were talking about how I can get my White Scarf. After a little bit of talking, he came up with an unusual idea. Or at least one that struck me as unusual. He said that I shouldn't worry about trying to get my White Scarf for now. Instead, I should go for a Laurel in fencing. His reasoning was that if I go that route, I'll get my White Scarf along the way.

Of course, that's going to mean a lot of work on my part. I'd like to think that I'm within a year or two of being able to earn my scarf, but I haven't even begun on the road to a Laurel. Or rather, I abandoned that road 10 years ago. So now I have to look back on where I was then and decide if I want to return to those abandoned projects (comparing SCA blades to ones found in period and an attempt to make sense of Williams' Pallas Armata) or if I want to try something new. And if I go with something new, what should it be?

It would almost have to be studying one of the masters. At least if I truly want to get my Laurel for "fencing." It seems to me that just about anything else would fall under some other category and I'd wind up as a Laurel who fences, rather than a fencing Laurel. Not that that would be such a bad thing, but it's not what I want. I want to be a true fencing master, not a blade master or a master smith or any other type of master.

But I do realize that my blinders might be on and that there might be another route that would make me a fencing master, instead of just a master who fences, but I can't see it. What do you guys think? Is there another route that would get me where I'm going?