AEdult Swim Fighter
Practice
Days don’t get much more awesome.
When Tim announced the AEdult Swim fight practice it was
supposed to be a nice regional get together. The Aethelmarc fighters, a few
Easterners and Atlantians—no big deal. But then Dukes from Ansteora and
Artemesia got involved, and it just snowballed. It was one of the best weekends
of fighting I’ve ever experienced. There was no war, no prize, nothing but the
stick mattered. It was the Pennsic
pickup field with no other distractions. That’s hard to beat.
Until last week I wasn’t sure I’d be able to attend. I had a
deadline coming up, but I got my manuscript in early and was able to go. I rode
out with Darrek and Cat from Midland Vale, and I rode back with Ulfr from An Tir.
Both trips were a joy.
Years ago I used to journal my fights. I’d take a marbled
notebook to practice with me and write down what I’d done in each set of bouts.
That came to be replaced with this blog, but I don’t always write this blog
right away, and I’d write different things. Journaling had been lost. At Birka
I dictated a journal into my phone each time I took a break, and for this practice
I bought a marbled notebook, and journaled each set once again. A good thing, too.
The overview is like this: in an old shoe factor in Milton
PA, there were 269 authorized fighters, about 220 of whom were heavies. The
second day was smaller, but another 20 showed up who weren’t there on Saturday.
Some people got there at 8 AM and put armor on, and fighting went till 5:00. I
spent seven hours in armor on Saturday and 4.5 or 5 on Sunday. I fought 20
people on Saturday, 10 on Sunday, plus Auzer (who was going for a number and
was short so I gave him a bout—I had planned not to fight any Easterners, but he
was an exception). I think I fought 7 Dukes, but I was relying on others
sometimes to identify them, so I might have been wrong (I thought a couple guys
were there who weren’t). I had pulled
out an old, light stick that had been abandoned with the thrusting tip broke
off. I gave it a new tip and used it till it was a broom. Here is how my
weekend went according to my journal:
1.) I warmed up with an unknown Aethelmarc unbelted
with a Scutum. I took his leg a lot. He got me twice (I think). I killed him
several times. I feel loose.
2.) Byron, Crown Prince of Aethlemarc: I fought him really well. He’s fast. Opens
with a straight thrust from an A-frame.
Likes a vertical cut as well. Squares up too often and moves his shield
WAY too much. Fights I won were with a top-edge hook (once combined with a wavy
rising snap).
3.) I fought an unbelted fighter named Guilbert from
the Midrealm. He uses the classic Midrealm center grip tear drop. He’s short.
He got me with an off-side head once, and a slot once. I killed him with
stutter-wraps (double pump fake to freeze them then wrap), and with butterflies
(rising snap that turns into an off side body shot), both standing and when he
was on his knees. I might be squaring up too much.
4.) Duke Sean, Artemesia. OMG!!! Sean was one of the main reasons I wanted
to come out. I’ve known him since AS 20, when he was about 14 or 15. He’s one
of the best fighters I know, and he fights very much like I do, or at least
like I used to, with small misdirection fakes and molinees to freeze his
opponent. He was top of my dance card, and I paid in pain! Our first three
fights he kicked my ass like I was a newbie. I was tense and wound up, and I
was biting on what Ron calls “the puppet show,” the way he moves his hand to
distract you. It’s something I do myself, and I was waiting for it, and then
when he did it I lasered in on it—like he wants me to—and he plowed my leg,
then threw one of the slickest off-side body shots EVER. He either turned it
down a gear or I got focused, because after our first three fights I won the next
three. With us both legged I used a hidden snap (hiding my hand behind the
forward corner of my shield and throwing a snap); once when he was legged I
used a hook-thrust; then I killed him with a hidden snap while we were both
standing.
5.) Duke Lachlin, Ansteora: Opposite of Sean, in
that he didn’t force me into anything. His technique is what I use against
newbies—from an A-Frame or High Closed guard throw quick snaps or off-side
headshots as soon as their sword is engaged. He likes to tap your sword before
anything else, like Sebastian van Baden’s old “bug feelers” technique, so he
knows where it is and can control it. It was embarrassing! I killed him with a
hook/thrust and a hook wrap (the best discovery of the day may have been
finding my hook wrap, which I probably haven’t thrown for 20 years or more but
was really effective this weekend). He uses a big-ass scutum and I never took
his leg. He hits light but clean, and I took what he was throwing. He can plow
you when he wants to.
6.) Next I fought Meg, a new fighter from
Aethelmarc. She was super enthusiastic and bouncy. She uses a center grip
shield and is a sucker for an off-side head. She took my arm and then, for some
unknown reason, I fell into Brian
Taragon’s stance, where the sword is held almost verticle in front of the
shield. It worked on here very well. Got me tattooed later in the day.
7.) I fought three fights against an unbelted
fighter from Aethelmarc named UlrichI was lousy! Getting tired. Arm got hit
hard that last set, and it’s a bit tight. I was lazy and I missed him,
torqueing my wrist all to hell. Probably
killed him once out of the three.
8.) Duke Vik from An Tir, now Avacal. He’s a tall
big Viking with a scutum. Favors a weak-high-closed from. (sword foot forward,
sword forward, high guard). I took his leg and then killed him with a Gendy
butterfly (step deep and fake the wrap then, like the butter fly, bring the tip
over and around, hitting him in front center body or face). Our second fight he
took my leg and killed me. Our third fight we double killed after he took my
leg.
9.) Duke Cuan, Atlantia These were great fights!! He has a very
relaxed style with a lot of out-front sword work, like Brian. He was cheating a
weak closed stance to increase his range, but I was hitting his leg fairly
regularly, usually with a high fake, low cut. What I learned is RELAX!! When I
was fighting a targeting game from range, like he was, relaxed and precise, I
was winning: when I tried to press him I lost. As with all my fights I was
alternating guards: A Frame, High closed form, high open Bellatrix style. High
closed form was the best against him.
10.) Lothar, and unbelted from Aethelmarc. I’m
getting tired and lazy again. Cuan took a lot out of me. I’m looking too much
for those counter punch off-side timing shots like Cuan and Lachlin throw, but
my technique is bad. Hand below the edge of my opponent’s shield. Bad. That’s
the fatigue.
LUNCH BREAK!
Already my arms are lead…. I’m really tired….. I should have
shucked my vambraces for my break, as I did my leg harness… It’s nice outside…
warm… my goal is ten more fighters, six of them knights.
11.) Sir Steiner, Ealdomere. I’m tired. I’m
sloppy. He landed a thrust that had no
positive force on it because I was throwing my head back. We talked about it.
Everything is cool (NOBODY has had calibration problems today with anybody as
far as I can tell: it’s great when it’s all for fun! ) He uses a small center
grip scutum and ducks a lot. He creamed my arm, the unarmored upper forearm,
inside the elbow cop. I killed him once, I think (?). My neck is stiffening up.
12.) Duke Aaron, Ealdomere. I’ve fought him before,
beat him once in a tourney at Pennsic He’s a lefty with a small center grip. He
beat me good! He’s a counterpuncher, great movement, all over me forcing me to
move where he wanted me to go. I could take him when I got his leg. He hit my wrist and it’s really hurting now.
13.) Signey, unbelted fighter from Atlantia. She is
so small there is almost no target. Gets underneath your defense and chews on
your legs. She has a great body thrust. I tied myself up a few times trying to
find her. Once I found the off-side head
I could hit it.
DAY TWO
A much smaller field, but everybody is also really tired. My
arm ached and my wrist, which got hit yesterday, felt a bit inflamed. I threw
away the sword I had been using and taped up a stick I’d gotten from William
McCrimmon a few months ago. It’s planed and extremely light, and because it was
designed for a shorter basket hilt, had a very short blade once I taped it to
my Baldur hilt. That’s ok because (a) It gave me a really fast counter-punch
snap, a technique I’m trying to build upon and (b) I’m not sure I could have
thrown a good snap with anything heavier.
On that straight quick snap, which is also called a molinee snap by some people (it's the saber cut to 5), I had a good conversation with
Roger Stockton about the difference between people who learn lots and lots of
techniques and those who have just two or three blows. Roger was squired to
Duke Andreas die Eisfalke, putting him (like me) in Alfrik’s line. Ice really
has two shots—a quick nap and an off-side leg. He reminds me a lot of Duke
Christian du Glaive. I come from the Western tradition of learning lots and
lots and lots of different techniques, fakes, hooks, timing blows,
combinations, etc. None of that served me well when I moved to the east, because
the style of fighting we do here is based on a tight defense using a big shield—one
that doesn’t get moved around by all those fakes and combinations. Hooks were
still ok. My fighting over the last few years has been built on narrowing my
techniques (though you couldn’t tell by the way I was fighting this weekend),
and trying to fight more like Christian and Andreas. I’ve never beena counter-puncher, I never worked a lot with
Sagan, who was the teacher of that style in the West, so it’s a big transition
for me. It is also what I was trying to do on Sunday.
1.) Sir Pelandreas from Tir Mara: I was avoiding
Easterners, but I never see the Canadians so I broke my “no Easterners” rule.
He fights with a medium-sized round
shield and a low-closed form (holding his shield low and his sword vertical
above it). I killed him with a hook-wrap. Having trouble getting my shots to
count with the light stick. A longer sword would open him up to a leg shot. My
wrist hurts enough that I’m not sure I can throw a snap. Using Bellatrix style
tired me out. Pace yourself.
2.) Duke Tim: Ow! My bruised leg! Ow! My tender
wrist! Tim and I had a great set. I killed him with a stutter wrap and with a
hook-thrust. My high-closed form worked best. The whippy stick robbed me of two
kills. Best win for me: he legged me and I got him with Houghton’s “sit down!”
shot.
Reading this, it sounds like I lost a lot more than I did, because
I’m mostly concentrating on what I did wrong. I beat all the unbelted fighters
and most of the knights I faced. I traded even with some of the Dukes and was
only really outclassed by Lachlin and maybe Sean. I’m sure I was plus 15 or 20%
for the day.
The best things I found were my hook-thrust and my
counter-punch molinee/snap (the saber cut). The best thing I practiced was patience.
This was a very good practice for that.
Here’ some video that Cat Woody took of me fighting Duke
Vik:
Over all, the great thing about this was that it really
speaks well for the SCA and its future. Seriously: here were almost three
hundred fighters, most of the heavies, meeting together just for the love of
fighting—no war points, no prizes, no crowns, just stick. It is the kind of
thing we need a lot more of: not that that other stuff isn’t fun, but fighting
for the love of fighting is what will keep this game going.
It is 66 days until Crown. My next time in armor will be at
the Viceroy’s birthday tourney this Sunday.
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