A sword! A sword! Ah, give me a sword!
For the world is all to win.
Though the way be hard and the door be barred,
The strong man enters in.
If Chance and Fate still hold the gate,
Give me the iron key,
And turret high my plume shall fly,
Or you may weep for me!
A horse! A horse! Ah, give me a horse!
To bear me out afar,
Where blackest need and grimmest deed
And sweetest perils are.
Hold though my ways from glutted days
Where poisoned leisure lies,
And point the path of tears and wrath
Which mounts to high enterprise!
A heart! A heart! Ah, give me a heart
To rise to circumstance!
Serene and high and bold to try
The hazard of the chance,
With strength to wait, but fixed as fate
To plan and dare and do,
The peer of all, and only thrall,
Sweet lady mine, to you!
-Arthur Conan Doyle, "Sir Nigel"
Silver Hair
Silfraharr
Sunday, November 27, 2016
Thursday, November 24, 2016
Happy Thanksgiving!
My thanks to the first Master, and the first student.
Thank you for your courage, your passion and strength that grew your knowledge, and passed it down through the centuries.
Thank you, because I cannot imagine myself not being a Martial Artist.
Thank you for your courage, your passion and strength that grew your knowledge, and passed it down through the centuries.
Thank you, because I cannot imagine myself not being a Martial Artist.
Wednesday, November 23, 2016
Trading Steel
Our Glen Gardner practice was packed last night! We had visitors come down to bring some nice variety to an already varied spectrum of skill.
I fought single rapier, and rapier and dagger. My guards are definitely tighter and the angles of attack and defense are getting smoother.
There was a lot of fast and hard fighting, and we all left sweaty, tired and happy.
I had a lesson in the use of cloak, after the Bolognese Tradition. Instead of a waist cloak or caplette, this is a full length cloak, wrapped around the forearm. It's pretty versatile, being able to conceal and confuse an opponent by masking footwork and blade position. It's also use to redirect and deflect and attack, and to even ensnare.
I'm going to be working with this on a more regular basis, and have been pulling up some period references.
I fought single rapier, and rapier and dagger. My guards are definitely tighter and the angles of attack and defense are getting smoother.
There was a lot of fast and hard fighting, and we all left sweaty, tired and happy.
I had a lesson in the use of cloak, after the Bolognese Tradition. Instead of a waist cloak or caplette, this is a full length cloak, wrapped around the forearm. It's pretty versatile, being able to conceal and confuse an opponent by masking footwork and blade position. It's also use to redirect and deflect and attack, and to even ensnare.
I'm going to be working with this on a more regular basis, and have been pulling up some period references.
100 Minutes
This passed Saturday was an SCA event calle The 100 Minutes War. It's primarily a heavy weapons event, where two armies are assembled and they fight for 100 minutes. It's a serious endurance test and a whole lot of fun.
Fencers are making their own stake in it and we were given some really fun scenarios to fight through. We fought in a "maze", a set of natural patches through a patch of woods, while different conditions of conflict were chosen, some were a basic search and destroy with single "deaths", others had more tactical goals, such as capture the flag where, if " killed" you go back to base and "resurrect".
Aside from having to rely on tactics and team fighting, we had to adapt to fighting on uneven terrain, and clashing with numbers that could become uneven very fast.
I decided to fight rapier and buckler for the entire day. It lent itself to the situations quite well, and fighting off multiple opponents made my shield hand to remain mobile and "live" and working in ending fights fast, as getting tied up men's getting taken out.
It was a good day, with strong comraderie and skilled fencers.
Fencers are making their own stake in it and we were given some really fun scenarios to fight through. We fought in a "maze", a set of natural patches through a patch of woods, while different conditions of conflict were chosen, some were a basic search and destroy with single "deaths", others had more tactical goals, such as capture the flag where, if " killed" you go back to base and "resurrect".
Aside from having to rely on tactics and team fighting, we had to adapt to fighting on uneven terrain, and clashing with numbers that could become uneven very fast.
I decided to fight rapier and buckler for the entire day. It lent itself to the situations quite well, and fighting off multiple opponents made my shield hand to remain mobile and "live" and working in ending fights fast, as getting tied up men's getting taken out.
It was a good day, with strong comraderie and skilled fencers.
Thursday, November 3, 2016
Tricks, Treats and Tarot Cards!
Glen Gardner practice was a lot of fun this passed Tuesday.
Master Orlando devised a Tournment of Arms in honor of Halloween; he produced a tarot deck and drew four suits from the Minor Arcana. Each suit representing an off hand weapon:
Coins = Bucklers
Staves = Canes, Batons and Flintlock Pistols
Cups = Capes/Cloaks (That whole flowing thing)
Magician = Wild Card. Master Orlando gets to pick your weapon choice and number of passes.
Each number not only signified who could challenge who (high cards challenge low cards), but the two cards combined equaled the number of passes fought.
I began with rapier and dagger, then drew Staves. I decided to try something new and grabbed one of the replica flintlock pistols. Holding it by the barrel, it became my offhand parry. It was interesting and I took some good wins. Gripping the barrel created a hook of sorts and I found that I was able to catch the blade between it and the trigger guard.
It was also a night of firsts for me; I fought case rapier (two sword) for the first time. The unbalanced pair was a bit off putting and I didn't show as well as I would have liked, definitely more practice there.
When I drew the Magician, Orlando asked what I never fight with. "Cloak", I answered and with a grin he pinted to a couple. This was really fun, and I do believe it is what I want to qualify in next. Using it as a flexible shied and a way to hamper and ensnare the opposing weapon, while not tripping myself up was a challenge, but I was getting a feel for it, taking a few wins.
A real run night!
Master Orlando devised a Tournment of Arms in honor of Halloween; he produced a tarot deck and drew four suits from the Minor Arcana. Each suit representing an off hand weapon:
Coins = Bucklers
Staves = Canes, Batons and Flintlock Pistols
Cups = Capes/Cloaks (That whole flowing thing)
Magician = Wild Card. Master Orlando gets to pick your weapon choice and number of passes.
Each number not only signified who could challenge who (high cards challenge low cards), but the two cards combined equaled the number of passes fought.
I began with rapier and dagger, then drew Staves. I decided to try something new and grabbed one of the replica flintlock pistols. Holding it by the barrel, it became my offhand parry. It was interesting and I took some good wins. Gripping the barrel created a hook of sorts and I found that I was able to catch the blade between it and the trigger guard.
It was also a night of firsts for me; I fought case rapier (two sword) for the first time. The unbalanced pair was a bit off putting and I didn't show as well as I would have liked, definitely more practice there.
When I drew the Magician, Orlando asked what I never fight with. "Cloak", I answered and with a grin he pinted to a couple. This was really fun, and I do believe it is what I want to qualify in next. Using it as a flexible shied and a way to hamper and ensnare the opposing weapon, while not tripping myself up was a challenge, but I was getting a feel for it, taking a few wins.
A real run night!
Thursday, October 27, 2016
Loosen Up!
"Stab some people for me!"
"You got it, love!"
Yep, it's a normal conversation for us, and my wife's way of wishing me a good practice and encouraging me to work hard.
Since I began fencing, I noticed, and it was mentioned to me, on a few occasions, that I always seems to start my matches a bit stiff and a bit too cerebral (see past post "Out of the Head, Into the Hands").
I headed down to practice, listening to Disturbed and just not giving the upcoming practice a lot of thought outside of stabbing a few people for my wife.
As I faced my first opponent and just before saluting, I bounced up and down a bit (something from my fighter days), then saluted and settled in.
I felt myself much more fluid than usual, it led to some successes! I worked on keeping my weight to the balls of my feet more, making my attacks, counters, and blocks flow with one another more.
There were some encouraging results.
I'm still telegraphing here and there but, hopefully, I can keep the cinder blocks off my feet from the beginning.
Now, to continue researching footwork drills!
"You got it, love!"
Yep, it's a normal conversation for us, and my wife's way of wishing me a good practice and encouraging me to work hard.
Since I began fencing, I noticed, and it was mentioned to me, on a few occasions, that I always seems to start my matches a bit stiff and a bit too cerebral (see past post "Out of the Head, Into the Hands").
I headed down to practice, listening to Disturbed and just not giving the upcoming practice a lot of thought outside of stabbing a few people for my wife.
As I faced my first opponent and just before saluting, I bounced up and down a bit (something from my fighter days), then saluted and settled in.
I felt myself much more fluid than usual, it led to some successes! I worked on keeping my weight to the balls of my feet more, making my attacks, counters, and blocks flow with one another more.
There were some encouraging results.
I'm still telegraphing here and there but, hopefully, I can keep the cinder blocks off my feet from the beginning.
Now, to continue researching footwork drills!
Sunday, October 23, 2016
Roses and Bear Pits
In the SCA, when a Queen's time on the throne is done, she is known as a Lady of the Rose. Each year, these Ladies have formed teams of rattan fighters, fencers and archers to compete against each other.
This year, I had the honor of fencing for Duchess Kienna; she's a great leader and an even better friend.
Great fights, I got to cross swords with people I had only seen fence before. Well worth the wait!
It began to rain, so it was an interesting exercise modifying footwork on the fly so as not to slide and such.
Last week, at our Glen Gardner practice, we ran bear pits. This is when two enter, the winner stays to fight the next challenger.
Depending on the setting, limits can be put in how many wins a fighter can hold the pit for. For expediency, we made the limit three. By doing so, it does not give a lot of time for the body to cool down.
This was a real contest of endurance as well as prowess and a lot of fun; we should definitely do more of them!
This year, I had the honor of fencing for Duchess Kienna; she's a great leader and an even better friend.
Great fights, I got to cross swords with people I had only seen fence before. Well worth the wait!
It began to rain, so it was an interesting exercise modifying footwork on the fly so as not to slide and such.
Last week, at our Glen Gardner practice, we ran bear pits. This is when two enter, the winner stays to fight the next challenger.
Depending on the setting, limits can be put in how many wins a fighter can hold the pit for. For expediency, we made the limit three. By doing so, it does not give a lot of time for the body to cool down.
This was a real contest of endurance as well as prowess and a lot of fun; we should definitely do more of them!
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