Western Crown June 2010

I haven't posted on this yet because I had a death in the family and, as soon as I got home to New York had to get on a plane and fly right back to California. But I've got some down time.

Western Crown was a lot of fun for me. About half way across Nevada I decided that I was indeed going to fight and that I was going to do so using a glaive. This is NOT because I didn't want to win. On the contrary, I wanted to win. Yes, I would have done better if I had fought with my center grip kite and sword, but I didn't have it there. With the bunny round I probably would have won at least one of the fights I lost, and I fight most of the guys who were deep pretty evenly. Except Titus, who was *so* much the class of the field as the only duke fighting. But I hadn't been fighting with the bunny round back home, I'd been using my kite for the past year and a half, so I wasn't feeling too confident with it. And my shoulder had been hurting since I'd left Brooklyn, which prompted me to wonder if I wanted to fight sword and shield. Glaive solved all those problems. I didn't know how well I'd do with it--I don't use it often, but when I do I win some of my fights. I figured I'd do at least as well as I did sword and shield (turns out no, I wouldn't). It would be easier on mys shoulder and it would be a lot of fun.

My usual benchmark in Crown is how I did in my first one: make it to the fifth round and kill a knight. I did that. I've got maybe four techniques that I use with a glaive and during the day all of them worked at some point. Mostly I try to use Visivald's opposed thumb techniaue (nobody out West does that).

I warmed up with a couple of guys I didn't know. The first one I killed both with Vis' thrust/block/short chop (stand with a right hand lead, thumbs opposed, holding the glaive in the middle, let your opponent close with you, thrusting as he does to draw his shield up. Block whatever comes in and counter with short chops to the head. Simple and effective. I also killed someone by using a left hand lead and taking his leg on the step. This is a trigger shot I learned from John of Skye, and it is so effective that it should be illegal.

During the warm up mellee I killed Loy by thrusting at his face, passing offline to the left, and cutting his ribs with the back-edge. I lost my arm in the process. More on that later.

First round I fought Titus' man at arms, Edmund. I killed him quickly using Vis' technique.

Second round I fought a florentine fighter named Drogo. I feinted a thrust to his face, hit him in the leg, then dropped the head to ward his lunging shots as he went down. I didn't want to stand out and poke at him, so I choked up a bit and after a few cuts timed him right and hit him in the head.

Third fight I fought one of Uther's guys, Bjornhaven. He was using a center grip round. I tried Vis' technique and he had that blocked. I tried moving him around with thrusts, and even some of Balfar's choping style. He just pressed and crowded me, which I wanted, but I couldn't get around the center grip. He took my leg then killed me.

Third fight I fought Sir Connall. He used his glaive and we had a nice couple of passes. He went weak side on me, which threw me off. But he stuck his arm way out and I cut him on the forearm as he swung at my head. Then he went to his broadsword, in his strong hand. I was weary but I killed him with a cut to the head.

Fifth round I fought Loy. Last time I fought Loy sword and shield I was winning, and I'd killed him that morning with the glaive, but he was ready for that technique and had it covered. I tried a couple other things on him but he took my leg and then killed me good. He was the third place finisher, so he was doing really well.

I did do a bit of sword and shield fighting in Roses. I won all four of the passes I fought (they were all two out of three), including one with the first guy I lost to in the lists.

There were 54 fighters in the lists. Titus fought Sigifrith in the finals. Titus won without having taking a loss all day.