Hey there, welcome to the forum!

I am on the wrong side of the country to be able to answer this with regards to socials but one of the easiest way to get started is to go to a live show to get a feel of the events and see some fighting robots in action. You don't note where in the east you are but there are a few events coming up. There is Extreme Robots in Maidstone (27th - 28th October) and Extreme Robots Gloucester (10-11th November). A little short notice but there is also Robots Live! in Stevenage (this weekend).