100 Minutes War

I'm not going to write about politics. I'm not going to write about cheating, or calibration, or conduct on the field. If you have been paying attention, there is a crisis going on in the Kingdom of the East stemming from finals in crown. I am in the minority in my opinion of almost every aspect of this debate. I will address that in a later post, but only in the most general terms. Frankly, I'm tired of it.

I will instead talk about 100 Minutes War.

WORKOUTS
Workouts are hard to come by this time of year. I have lots of time but I'm exhausted. I've done push ups every day. I've done some good gym workouts, and I'm making at least one yoga class a week, but I am specifically not being organized in any way. It's the off season.

TECHNIQUE
I had not intended to work on any technique, but I ended up doing a lot. I did not even pack my shield (Had I realized that Duke Edmund from the Midrealm would be there I would have). It was spear, pole arm, and bastard sword for me. Mostly it was spear. Now, for the longest time, I didn't fight spear. I was a sword and shield guy in wars and that was what I liked. I could use a spear but I wasn't particularly good with one. I started fighting spear in bridge battles a few  years ago out of respect for my knees and a desire  not to get hit six times in rapid succession. I was having some neck problems at the time, and found that the occasional multiple shot, which happens in a fixed position battle fairly often, was causing me problems. Then I found that I liked spear. I have fun in the spear duels, and I've been getting good at it over the past two years. But this weekend I had a minor breakthrough with my spear technique. I fight with my left foot forward most time, feet not in line but close to it, almost in a slight lunge. Occasionally, for reach, I place my right foot forward. When I use a right hand lead I basically fight in a fencing stance and use the spear like a very long foil. I keep my forward toe pointed at my primary target. The problem with all of this is, this is not the way I fence rapier. I take a wide, slightly square stance with rapier. I move side to side as much as I do forward and back. This is what I started doing at 100 minutes--not a deep super wide stance, but fighting a bit more square-- and it worked really really well. My kills went up, my defense has always been good but my situational awareness was better. I had a lot of fun.

FIGHTING
100 Minutes war is always awesome, and this was no exception. Its' a 100 minute resurrection battle with about 130 on a side, not unlike the old all-day res wars we used to fight for Mists/Cynagua war, or the Acre crusade event. No flags or anything like that, just kill as many guys as you can all day long.

I was on Ionnis' side, and we fought most of the day uphill in a narrow wooded battle field. We were fighting between two roads that ran parallel through the woods. There was not much space between them (50 yards at most). There was a gully that ran through the center, also paralleling the roads, that was deeper at the bottom of the hill and about six to ten feet wide. Most of the fighting took plase on the roads. We were fighting up hill, and after awhile it evolved into a staring contest. We didn't want to charge up the hill, they wouldn't be baited down. After about an hour they rotated us and moved us uphill, so we were fighting across the gully, with the roads as our rear boundaries. This gave us a wider front and nobody had a terrain advantage anymore. In other words, they changed it up so we would have more fun. That is good autocrating.

I was doing my best work on the road before we rotated. The ground was smooth so I had good foot work. Between the roads it was all rocks and snags. I was also using the slope defensively by staying on my toes and, when dodging, just lifting them so I was doing a little hop. This would carry me backward down the hill about six inches. It made me seem much more agile and quick than I probably was being, and it helped my defense a lot. With the wider stance, I was getting a lot more kills to the side, following the rule don't try to kill the guy in front of you. I was having an awesome day. When we rotated the terrain proved my downfall. I got piked in the leg early on while fighting at the top of one side of the gully, and spent the next ten or twelve minutes on my knees and out of range of everything. I don't kill myself when in a res battle--it's a point of pride to me that I don't give up in that situation, but I considered it at that point. Eventually I crawled to my left to where the walls were less steep and there was more fighting going on, and then kind of slid down into the bottom of the gully and fought there from my knees until I was finally speared. I don't think I killed anyone, but the guys I was dueling got killed by people around me, so I was helping out.

The one hard hit I took was form King Edward when he launched a breakthrough. I stood him up with a cross check from my spear as he laid me out,  with a blow to my elbow then one to my shoulder/back, but he got killed while he was doing it.

At the end of the battle I switched downhill to where Ostgardr had migrated to. We had pushed that side back, so were were fighting in almost the same spot where we had started the day. We were back on that road but down hill a bit, so we weren't on the slope. I speared for awhile there until Balfar went up the line and killed a bunch of us from my right. Then, as there was five minutes left, I ran back to the res point, got my bastard sword, and waded in for some rock-em-sock-em. I killed three or four guys in the final press. I did accidentally hit Nico, who was on our side, from behind. He had pushed past me on my left and I was swinging at every helmt that was in front of me. Oops: but he didn't notice and, anyway, I didn't have engagement with him so it didn't count. It was kind of like that moment in Baldwin of Eriabor's "Talking Grand Mellee Blues,"

I soon saw that wouldn't work
That's when I started to berserk
Eleven or twelve of the enemy died
Plus two or three from my own side
Oh well: easy come, easy go.

It is 59 says until Birka (though there is a good chance I won't be going this year). My next time in armor will be after Thanksgiving, probably at Hawthorne. 

Crown Tourney #90

I hate myself.

I was planning to start this blog by saying "I hate myself," because in the fight that knocked me out of Crown yesterday's did something stupid and paid the price by losing. But that was yesterday. Today I hate myself because I just left my bag on the train. It was my best Eagle Creek bag, and it had my regalia in it, along with my only pair of 501s. It gets worse. I put it on an overhead rack in Seacaucus to go one stop to NYC. I was on the phone when I got off the train. I walked a block to the subway. I was about to get on the F train when I realized that I didn't have my suitcase. I hurried back to Penn Station but I wasn't sure what track it was on. The track I though it was turned out to have an Amtrak train on it, but the track next toy hat one had a train going to Trenton that look right. I rushed over to that track. The train was crowded no it was about to pull out. I pushed my way on and looked around. The door started to close. I didn't see my bag. I wasn't even sure if this was the right train, so I got off. The doors closed. As the train pulled out I saw my bag through the window. It was like a scene from some pathetic comedy, like a sad-sack (literally) Woody Allen or Harold Lloyd movie, and there I was, running down the track, watching my bag roll out of my life forever. I wanted to scream and hit things. I am angry and depressed and angry. If I'd just stayed on it and gone back to Seacaucus I would have gotten my bag back. The station agent said there was no way to contact the train. I filled out a report, but I don't hold out hope. My coronet was in that bag. 

So I guess I will have to win another. 

Crown #90 was, as I have indicated, frustrating. We fought in a mud puddle, in the freezing rain, with some wicked injuries and some serious screw ups (William McCrimmon suffered a detached biceps, Duke Randal was dropped from the list by mistake after only one loss and by the time it was discovered the response was "its to late to do anything about it now" which really infuriates me)--all to see the four guys most people expected get into semi finals, the two dukes most people expected get into finals, and the duke most people expected to win win. My day was ok but, as I said, I made some mental errors and they cost me.  This photo kind of sums up my day, even though it was taken at the beginning (I fixed that shoulder on Thursday--Ha!) .

WORKOUTS

My plan had been to take it easy the week before crown, but in fact I had a great week. I rode my bike to Coney Island and back, I went to yoga, and I ran a 5k fun run at school (several students complained that they couldn't keep pace with me). I rehabbed my shoulder and did push ups every day. 

FIGHTING

The important fights were in the rounds I lost.

The format was double elimination, best two out if three each round. It's not as format I do well in, but my endurance and defense are both good right now. I beat Duke Randal for the first time (a long time quest) and went to sixth round. I suffered my first loss to Breeder and got knocked out (again) by Culann Mac Cianain--two great fighters and contenders. That's a pretty good line and, for the most part, I'm happy with my fights, except for how I suffered my two defeats. 

Against both Breeder and Culann, I lost two zip. The first fight in both those rounds I fought well (against Breeder extremely well), but in both I had my leg taken and was then killed. They were good long fights in which I simply got beaten. The second fight is each of these rounds, that is where I was frustrated. Perhaps it's because I was mentally tired. I think it's just because I screwed up. 

Against Bredder in both our fights I had been fighting him with a boxer style. It worked well, and I almost got him with a thrust that I threw like a right hook. In boxing, a right hook (upper hook?) is a good attack against a south paw. Witness this video that's been floating around the interwebs:



Breeder said that he finds the boxing style confusing, and it seems to work pretty well against him, even if I did lose. In our second fight I ducked behind my shield to do the circling leg attack I've been learning from Gui. I noticed that he opened up his right leg when I did that, but to the inside of his shield--I could see the target past the bottom of my shield: only I focused on it. I got target lock and instead of moving out and looking for it later I just targeted the spot as though I was waiting for the opening to be perfect. It was just a fraction of a second, but it was all Breeder needed, and he threw a big dropping wrap that killed me. 

In my second fight against CulannI decided to change things up. My A frame defense had been really good up to that point, but Culann'sis better, and with that big kite shield covering his left side there are zero openings. In our first fight I almost got him with an inside dropping shot, but that shot works even better from a high open form, so in our second fight I fought my old fight, a Western heater style. It was working too, but I was fighting on automatic--that is my style, and the offense was just flowing. I stopped using molinees a few years ago becuase they don't work well against big shield fighters and they expose me too much. I've pulled a couple out recently, but they don't set up well from an A frame, so I use them sometimes as second or third shots ina  combination. I often use a set up where I throw two off side molinee leg shots then change the third into an on side head shot. I used it in the second round, although it did not work. I did not plan to use it against Culann, who is a trigger fighter, but in the flow of things, on auto pilot, I did. I through that low molinee leg shot and he threw a snap to my face. It was light and tippy, but right in the grill at about cheek level. I said "I hate myself," and bowed. (It was way too muddy to fall dead). Lucan saw it from clear across the field, rushed over and said "you know better than that!" I just hung my head in shame. "it's not like you were fighting Beck!"he said. We both laughed--he recognized that Duke Stephen of Beckenham was who I learned a lot of that technique from--or rather with, since we came up together and authorized on the same day. Of course, Beck is a Wulfsagan Von Ostensee student, so he's an even better trigger fighter than Culann. He'd have fired right through that weak ass shit as well. 

Argh! 

The fights I won were less informative if more fun. I beat Randal both times with a hook-thrust. In between that we legged each other and he killed me with a wicked backhand.

I fought Griffyn and I controlled the fight well. I don't know how I won those fights, but they were energetic and a lot of fun.

My second round opponent was really really tough. He jumped into my shorts and killed me with a face thrust our first fight. Then I bore down and tightened my defense up. I killed him with  awrap to the back in our second fight, then took his leg, stepped off line, and hit him in the head in our third. I was trying to use the technique below, but I blew it. However, he dropped his shield after the pass and I hit him. I could tell he was frustrated, and after the conversation I'd had with Tycho a couple of weeks ago, I was worried that I had stepped too deep on him. He and the marshals insisted that that was not so. I offered to keep fighting and he declined. Afterward he came up to me and explained that he had dropped his guard because I had been throwing on technique, stepping out, resetting,a nd coming in again, and that that time he had expected me to do the same thing so he ahd started to re-set while I was still in range. He was frustrated at himself. He gave me a very nice arm ring as a gift for having taught him a lesson--protect yourself at all times.

My first round fight was against Haakon Ragnarson. I controlled that fight well. I forget how I won the first bout, but thankfully Tally got out second fight on video. This is nice because I used two clear techniques that I talk about a lot. First, I use a leg shot off a faked face thrust. Then I use the mis-direction trick, where I flash the thrusting tip and get him to look at that while I pass forward and wrap to the back of his head. Check it out.



The video was yet another from Tally. He's got a lot of them up on his YouTube channel. Check them out.

It is 82 days until Birka. I don't know when I will next be in armor. I may take some time off for hunting season. 

MSR Practice 10/16/14

I totally hogged out at 7-11 after practice last night. This is a bad thing. Must maintain weight, 

It's important to have good equipment. I'm a generally sloppy, lazy person (just ask my lady). Like a lot of people who live in their heads (to borrow a phrase from my dissertation advisor), I'm always thinking about something: my next writing project, tomorrow's lecture, something stupid that I said on the internet --usually with such concentration that I will forget the thing I thought I should do this morning, or not notice the thing right in front of me (like that pile of laundry in the corner). Compounding this is the fact that my knight, though he taught me the value of looking good, it was only through covering up. Underneath a nice tunic, leather jerkin, and harem pants, his armor was a rat bag of gear put together from whatever bits of scrap metal, foam pads, and used sports gear he could lay his hands on. And to him, a sword was just a stick of rattan. It was not planed, it had no thrusting tip, and no basket hilt: just a bit of whittling to form a handle and a short rattan cross hilt. 

I am a bit more thoughtful about my gear, but I'm only handy when I think about it. I know what I like in a sword but I rarely put the effort into building it (the fact that I live in a Brooklyn apartment without a shop is also a factor). Usually, I don't put the effort into building my swords that they deserve, and I use my swords much past their useful life. I've also never found a basket hilt I really like that I can afford (I fought for ten years with a cross hilted sword, and I don't like them very much). Right now I'm using a Baldar cup hilt which, when combined with a fairly light stick, provides good results. The best baskets I've found for weight and balance are Iron Monger hilts, but I own half a dozen basket hilts right now, and whenever I'm at Pennsic I have better things to do with the $75 they would cost me. I just don't feel like buying one. So I stick with what I've got, and I can still kill with it. I'm kind of like Kevin Mitchel, the one-time Giants slugger, who could never find a bat he liked but he could hit home runs with anything. 

The stick I'm using right now is a broom held together with too much tape. It is way too tip heavy for the techniques I'm using these days, and it only lands a good blow one out of three times it lands. This is ok for practice, but probably explains why my arm is so tired this morning. 

WORKOUTS

This has been a good week: Push ups every day, two long hikes, and two good workouts: Wednesday was a good kettle bell workout, and yesterday I went to the gym for 20 minutes of yoga and 20 minutes on the treadmill. I did not have time to lift, but it was still effective.  

FIGHTING

I am so beat up from practice on Thursday. I went there mostly to work on my great sword techniques, tough I planned one or two sword no shield fights as well. The two people I knew I'd be fighting great sword against were Gui and Zack, both of whom are left handed, marking them odd fights. Since I was fighting without a shield I wore my kendo breastplate. Unfortunately, both my shoulder pauldrons are blown out, and so I was without them. I've mostly fought without pauldrons for the last 35 years, but you do pay a price. My main project was to go back to my roots and use Rolf's bastard sword style, the one where I hold it in front of me, diagonally up and back guarding my head, body, and both arms. Problem with that is that against left handers that opens half those targets up, of which my right shoulder was eventually reminded. As a result I also used a bit of Gui's horse stance technique. 

Gui likes to fight in close and I like to fight at range. Usually I try to beat Gui at his own game and I get crushed. I do, however, get to practice all those cool backedge techniques he uses, and I used them to take his leg and double kill with him. My one good kill was in our first bout, where I used that straight cut/thrust, which is becoming my go to shot. 

Against Zack that shot worked very well. I got him with it from both wards (mine and Gui's). I also got him with it from my knees, as he was stepping in after taking my leg, which was particularly satisfying. As long as I controlled the range I was doing well, but when we closed distance we were more or less even. 

I fought sword and shield against Tycho. I was told I circled too far behind him after taking his leg. I was using the "One step" convention, so that surprised me. I have a technique that I use with a legged opponent (no comments about how the answer is to get rid of fighting from our knees because I have no problems with that convention). I show him my thrusting tip, slide to one side and then take a step forward. Normally, I go to my right, but against Tycho, who is left handed, I've been experimenting by going to the left. I think he thought i was "behind him" because I had gone to his shield side, so his shoulders were turned away from me. As far as I can figure out the technique is legal, but both he and Gui thought it wasn't. 

I also fought Brad and then went through the field in a bear pit. 

It is two weeks to crown. My next time in armor will be this Wednesday at Nutley.

Grants Tomb October 5th

Gui had an interesting thing to say about my fighting yesterday. He says my problem is that I push myself in ways and places that I don't need to, that instead of finding my weaknesses and shoring those up I try to learn new techniques or develop new shots that I really don't need. I think that was more of a criticism eight years ago than it is today. That is when I made a conscious decision to switch from being primarily an offensive fighter to primarily a defensive fighter. I simplifed my style, abandoned nearly all of my offense, which was based on molinee's fakes, and combinations, and went to a very pared down simple style that was mostly counter punching: so I see what Gui is talking about, and I probably need to move further in that direction.

Sunday at Grant's Tomb was awesome. I got to practice several different things. There were three knights in armor--Myself, Gui, and Luis--as well as five unbelted fighters--Avran, Torvrikr (sp), Samale, Nikolai, and Tycho.  I manged to fight everybody, and Samale twice. Not only that but I got some good weapons practice in. I fought sword and shield against Luis, Samale, Tycho, Nikolai, and Gui, I fought polearm against Avran, long sword against Samale, and single-sword against Torvrikr.

WORKOUTS:
Just Yoga, walking, and push-ups.

TECHNIQUE
Building on what was working at Nutley on Wednesday Night, I wanted to work on aggression and movement in my sword and shield fights. In addition, I wanted to use two specific techniques in my longsword fights that  I had not used at Cloisters--a horse stance technique with the edges held outward and the first Bastard Sword style I learned from Rolf, which is cocked with hands about chest high. In my polearm and my single sword fights I wanted to run through every technique I have.

FIGHTING
Against Gui I won two fights and got creamed six or seven times. I had a real problem with my fights against Gui, which I discussed with him at length. I usually have pretty good footwork. Yesterday I was trying specifically to throw Gui's leg attack, which involves repeatedly throwing wraps and snaps at an opponent's leg while moving around their shield to their sword side in kind of a waddling movement (it's similar to the movement Belatrix uses when fighting agaisnt great weapons with sword and shield). I was doing it either without footwork, in which case he didn't have to move his shield to block, or I was doing it with lousy footwork, with the same result. Normally, even against left handed fighters, my footwork is good enough to win me fights. Against Gui it's terrible. I don't step into my shots enough if at all. Part of it is that he's defending it well because it's a technique he uses, but part of it is I'm not executing at all. I think I'm afraid to come out from behind my shield against Gui and so I'm not stepping out to get around his defense the way I need to. Against Tycho I had no problem with that.

Against Samale, Tycho, and Nikolai my offense and defense were both good. I was trying to be more aggressive--especially against Tycho, and that was working well. I am using a lot more movement and body fakes, so that my A frame is not as static as it has been in the past.

I like to say I have five tricks with a polearm. I used all of them against Avran. My favorite one is to hold the pole like a kayak oar and swim with it. If I can catch the fore of his pole between my hands I will usually kill him with a short chop. If he comes over to my off side and I can knock his attack down I'm on top and will kill him. This worked pretty well. All of my other techniques are more standard, with my thumbs in line not opposed. I also got him once where I just grabbed his pole, choked up and stabbed him in the belly.

My long sword fights against Sam were great. I adjusted my ward so that I was using the Bastard Sword style I first learned from Rolf 35 years ago, with the hands held at about chest level, the blade cocked back and at a slight diagonal toward my right shoulder to that the blade offers cover to both my forearms. I tried a couple of techniques against Samale--Zornhau Ort, Hanging Parry--at which he laughed and said "Ha! I read your blog!" which was pretty affirming. I got some good kills on him with countering shots--parrying and passing either under or over his blade and striking him. Then I fought three fights using Gui's technique, where he adopts a horse stance and holds the sword straight up and down in front with the quillions going parallel to his shoulders-side to side. The idea is that you can use either edge of the sword equally by turning the blade in your hand, I won all three of those fights: once with a thrust, once by blocking and countering to his right side helmet with the true edge, once by blocking and striking his leg with the false edge, then using a technique I'd forgotten about for a legged opponent, where I move my hand above the quillions, strike to the off side, wind, pass on the left, and pull back then short stick him.

Naturally, it was in single sword that I got hurt. This is because I was getting fancy, and the fancier you get the more risks you take. Single sword might be the pinacle of our art--it is certainly the hardest and riskiest thing we do. I have a very well developed single sword style based on techniques from Firoe di Liberi, George Silver, and Dukes Rolf, Paul, and Radnor. I use four wards normally, and I have been working on a 5th, and they all flow one into the other: Right foot forward, weight 70% on the left foot and sword at your left hip (Liberi); weight evenly distributed, sword in a hanging "saber parry" (Sliver); left foot forward, sword above your head (either straight up, as in Silver, or cocked for a snap as in Bellatrix/Radnor), sword cocked in front of you, held diagonally toward your left shoulder (Rolf--same has his bastard sword above), and the one I'm working on now, a fencing stance with the sword held at the right hip, point toward the opponent's face. I'll post some pictures of all of these later. The main goals are to either get above the opponent's sword to make a true edge cut; get a parry 6 (window parry) below your opponent's sword and get a back hand cut; or beat them on timing. You can also use the silver technique of, from the high guard, passing back and striking their arm when they strike at you ("This art is about the lopping off of hands, arms, legs, yea, and even heads."--G. Silver, Gentleman). I did all of this in my fights against Torvrikr. I got hurt when I ducked and he bashed me right on the crown of my helmet while I was bent over. Jammed my neck a  bit. I'm all better now.  Here is a picture on FaceBook of me just starting a technique I learned from Duke Radnor. It caught me in motion, as I've started to strike. I'm going to swing under his blade to draw his defense down, pass on the left and back hand him. If that doesn't work I just come back across his face with a forehand.

This was a great practice. I got in lots of good work. I limbered up my long sword and my polearm. I worked hard on my footwork vs. left handed fighters. I was strong and aggressive.

It is 26 days until Crown Tourney. My next time in armor will most likely be Thursday Night in Hawthorne.

Nutley Practice, October 1 2014

I’m too much of a chameleon. It’s a theme you find in this blog all the time (in fact, it’s in the description). I mention this because Duke Gregor brought it up at Nutley Practice Wednesday night. He said he reads my blog and he sees me writing about this style and that style, identifying them with the people I learned them from, and he asked “when am I going to hear about Val’s style?” I need, in his words, to fight my own fight. It’s a fair criticism. He also said that he is amazed that I can analyze a fight I had in Crown and know exactly what happened. He says he never really knows exactly what he just did, especially in the fights that he wins. He just does it. The implication is that I am thinking too much about what I am doing.

I know what he is talking about. Every fighter seeks to find that place where he is fighting without thought, where he or she is reacting without thinking, where muscle memory and reaction just take over and the lower brain functions are in control. I call this “fighting from within the void” borrowing terminology from translations of Musashi—mostly because it’s cool and makes me sound totally Zen when I say it. But it is true—the best fights I’ve had and the best days I’ve had have always been when I was fighting without thinking. I can still often say what I did, but it was like I had observed myself doing it, not like I had told myself to do it—if that makes any sense. I certainly felt that way in a few of my fights in the Queen’s Champions tourney this summer. I felt it in one or two fights Wednesday night at Nutley too.

But Greggo’s larger point was that I don’t have my own style, at least I don’t write about my own style in this blog.  The truth is that I had a style. It was a distinct style and it was mine. It was not truly unique—it was a Western flat-heater style, based on techniques developed by Radnor and Paul, but with a slightly larger shield than they used. It was identifiable as being similar to all the right handed Western Knights who used heater shields in the 80s and 90s—Duke Christian du Glaive, Count Obadiah,  Steven MacEnruig, William of Houghton, etc. I used combination blows, misdirection, and especially molinee’s (a lot of molinees). In that regard, if it was like anybody else, it was probably closest to Steven of Beckenham—except that Steve being student of Wulf Sagaen von Ostense he was a counter puncher and I am not (most of the people who won crown in the 80s or 90s were Sagan’s students—he occupies a place in the West and now Artemesia similar to the place occupied by Farrel von Halstern in the East and that Eichling von Arum once occupied in CAID, the trainer of kings).  The only person who really fights like me in the East is Duke Ronald, because we were squire brothers and were greatly influenced by Houghton—but he had altered his style radically by the time I moved out here. Regardless, I had a style, and my style was not anybody else’s. It was mine. I had blows and techniques that I had developed for myself. I did things with my sword that nobody else did. When I moved to the East I found that my offense could not get past the longer shields used by the Northern Region fighters and my defense could not cope with an off-side face shot that came from in front of the head (Thorsen in particular destroyed me with that). I tried all sorts of things to compensate—different shields, learning a sword forward style—before finally settling into the A Frame heater style I use now, and to which I am now committed. (Yes, I should have spent a year with Ronald learning how he had coped, but even though he was in South Jersey I didn’t see him much). The A Frame still doesn’t feel like *my* style. My style is the Bellatrix influenced heater style that I fought for 15 years in the West and 5 years here in the East, but which I’ve now mostly abandoned.   

WORKOUTS

Since last I wrote on Monday night, all I’ve done is fight and push ups.

TECHNIQUE

At Nutley I just wanted helmet time. I wanted to jump into the deep end of the pool and trade stripes. I wasn’t working on anything and, in fact, was specifically trying *not* to have a plan in any of my fights.

FIGHTING

I fought Breeder, Duke Kelson, Tseitchel, Duke Gregor, and a fighter I did not know. I’d brought my old leather vambraces because since I started using my splint arms with the 5 piece elbows my neck, back, shoulder, and elbows have bothered me, and I’m pretty sure it’s the vambraces. Unfortunately, I pulled the vambraces out and then forgot to put them on, so I fought without them most of the night. I only realized they were missing after I fought Gregor. I lost my arm twice, but thankfully nobody hit me on the elbow.

Beating someone at practice doesn’t matter, but how well you execute at practice does. It feels good to kill fighters who are good at practice, but it doesn’t mean a lot. Still, I had more success against the top fighters than I am used to. I rarely kill Breeder, I killed him twice. I never kill Kelson, I killed him twice. I rarely kill Gregor, I killed him twice as well. But the better thing is that kills on all of them were basically unplanned. They were shots that I threw in combinations or they were reaction shots. I was fighting from within the void.

Against Breeder, the difference was that I was much more active. I have morphed my A Frame style into a bit of a boxer style. I am moving more. I am switching between a right and left leg lead—even against good lefties. When I killed Breeder the first time it was with a face shot in the middle of an exchange, in which he clearly thought I would be farther to my right than I was, but in which I had stepped off line to my left and got in behind his block. The second time I killed him was just  a blind shot I threw to break up his combo that ended up hitting him.

Kelson beat me handily in our first tow bouts, and I only beat him because he got tired and sloppy. But I still felt good about both my kill shots. The first was a straight down the middle head shot that hit him as he moved off line to his left. The second was a thrust that went straight up the face of his shield and into his grill. Both of these were reactions to what he was doing and I was not conscious of a decision to throw them in either case.

Agaisnt Tseitchel I was getting fancy, but of course the fancier I get the sloppier I get. I had some good fights with her and won a bunch of them.

Against Gregor we started with a very long, intense fight that involved several exchanges and ended with me hitting him in the face as he was disengaging. I killed him once more, but he killed me three or four times. Nonetheless, he said later that I was fighting better than normal: he had been unable to control range with me, and that I had a very tight defense the whole time.

My shield strap broke in my last fight and I ended up borrowing Avran’s great sword and using that as a shield. I fought pretty well, and outlasted my opponent, killing him at least twice. That was mostly for fun, and while it allowed some offensive work it really was not serious practice.   

Another thing I discussed with Gregor is that Farrel taught him, as Bellatrix taught me, that you should train your offense to the point that it is automatic so you can use all your focus on your defense. This is worth thinking about.

There are 29 days until Crown Tournament. The next time I will be in armor will be this Sunday, most likely at Grant’s Tomb. 

Cloisters Demo

Sometimes you don't know why you are doing a thing. Demos are great fun but they are odd. You are often fighting for a different purpose--to please an audience and put on a good show--than you would normally fight for. I have tried recently to treat demos a bit more like a small tournament, one in which I may goof around with odd weapons or techniques I would not normally use, but in which I am still trying to best my opponents and not playing so much to the crowd, but that with varying results. Cloisters demo is one of my favorites. It takes place at the Ft. Tryon Medieval Festival every year in Manhattan. It's a one day ren-fair that, like every public festival in Manhattan, draws an unbelievable crowd of people--theofficial number has been 60,000 people the last five years, that's in a park that has only one main road coming and going, is served by only two subways stops and those on the same line, one of which requires walking down a steep stairs for several hundred feet and the other to take a big freight elevator down to the platform, and for which there is like all things in New York almost no parking. The whole  fair is laid out on either side of a road about 1 mile long that runs north from the park entrance and then loops around the Cloisters Museum (probably the Best Medieval museum outside of Europe). For most people (those who don't want to brave the stairs down to Dyckman Street) There is only one entrance to the park, so what you've got is 60,000 people milling about up and down one short stretch of road. But, like a midtown sidewalk at lunch time, it is kind of thrilling--the greatest sight in nature being man in all his infinite variety.

It also means we get a great audience. For years the SCA has shared a tourney space ont eh south lawn with other sword play groups while the big choreographed shows and mounted jousting go on at an arena. Fort he second year in a row that included our friends from the Armored Combat League. This is both frustrating (because, let's face it, they draw a bigger crowd than the SCA does) and relaxing (because, let's face it, it takes some of the pressure off of the SCA). There is, of course, a lot of cross over between the two groups, and a couple of our regulars were unavailable because they were fighting in the ACL tourney and were committed to that. Their show was excellent, by the way, and they had a team come down from Quebec and a few people come in from Russia for the event. I continue to believe that ACL represents an existential threat to the SCA because they put on a more violent and athletic competition than we do and are siphoning off many of our best fighters into their game while, at the same time, presenting an option more attractive to many who are interested in the sport combat activity that has long lain at the heart of the SCA structure. The thing is, I'm content with that. While I would like to fight ACL my main focus continues to be training for crown, and I only have so much time and so many knee ligaments to give to any one art. I don't believe in fighting progress and that is what the ACL is--the next logical step in medieval style combat. The ACL has the opportunity to grow the SCA a bit as well since they have nothing to offer but the fighting, and they currently have nothing like Pennsic. Many of the dukes who have been doing ACL have kept up their SCA participation. Lucan in particular is doing great things for the SCA with The Knight's Hall. On the whole I love the ACL,

In addition to the ACL and the Knights of Avalon (a kid show) we also shared the space with Sword Class NYC, a HEMA group. I was actually as impressed with their fighters as I was with ACLs.

Anyway, it was a really good day.

WORKOUTS:
It's only bee two days since my last post. I've done one Yoga class and my push ups.

TECHNIQUE
I went to Cloisters planning to work on my Long Sword and my pole arm technique. I wanted to use two of the German Longsword  seen in Ken Mondschein's video below in my longsword this weekend. Did not work one bit.



FIGHTING
I fought mace and shield, long sword and pole ax. I never use the rubber headed mace or ax heads in serious competition because, although they look good, I ahve trouble striking a telling blow with them. The just bounce off. But in Demo's i'm happy to use them. I hit a few people blows with the mace that they did not take, but I got a few kills with it. My mace technique comes from Rolf the Relentless, the best Mace fighter I know, and involves no only wraps but rising snaps, dropping face shots, and--especially--figure eights.

I also fought a few fights with the pole axe. When I do that I normally use a thumbs opposed grip (like a kayak paddle of a movie quarterstaff) and fight the technique employed by Duke Visivald of fighting in close and mostly chopping at the head with short almost punching strokes. It's pretty effective, and I even got one person to count that ax head with it. I also was victorious with my disengage thrust discussed in the last post. Mostly, however, it was an exercise in futility.

I was very unhappy with my longsword. Although I've worked the stuff I was doing on the pell I was not doing it properly in armor. I was also very indecisive. I was kind of in between using Vom Tag or Alber and using the high center version of Vom Tag common in the East (mostly thanks to Gregor). This is a totally bogus SCA technique, since it relies on the invulnerability of our hands. In it you hold the sword cocked with the hands basically in front of your face and use short chops mostly at the head and shoulders. I did not use any Bellatrix technique at all.

My two best kills were my first longsword fight, against Avran, and my last fight of the day, against Auzur. In the fight against Auzur I used a Zornhau Ort, probably the most common technique seen in  HEMA competition. In it you strike a diagonal downward strike and then thrust quickly at the face. It's the most basic technique in longsword because it works, but I don't think Azur had ever seen it. Of course, this being the SCA, there was really no footwork involved.

The other fight I was very happy with was against Avran. It's up as a video on Facebook here:

As I note in the comments, this fight started out terribly for me. I start out in long pint but leave that quickly. You can see that I want to fight in Alber or in Vom Tag and in both cases I wont commit to either, though mostly becasue they aren't drawing Avran in. Avran, meanwhile, is doing what I told him to do six years ago and using the classic Bellatrix technique. (Paul's stuff, although he developed it himself, is all found in the German manuals and it all begins either in the plow with a right foot lead or in Vom Tag). I end up in a stupid ward, fighting with the SCA version of Vom Tag but without my sword cocked the way it should be. I win this fight by going back to where I started in long point and just beating him on timing. The whole time I should have been taking a right foot lead and I didn't. The technique I won the fight with is probably my favorite cut, though, a simple downward timing strike.

It is 33 days until Crown. My next time in armor will be at Nutley practice on Wednesday.

Grant's tomb and Wantagh

I started this bog on Sunday 9/14, right after the Beau Geste at Grant’s Tomb practice, but I didn’t finish it that night and for a lot of reasons (work work work) I’m just getting back to it. Too bad, because I have a few interesting things to say.

So here is a simple truth: most SCA fighting is based on the broadsword. Impact weapons aren’t fast with that second shot, but they are really good for rising snaps and high wraps. Some of the best Florentine fighters use the same sword work that sword and shield fighters use. I learned a long time ago that a great sword is just a big broadsword, and I can throw lots of the same fakes with it that I would with my broadsword.  That is the basis for the Bellatrix greatsword style: with the variation of a slightly wider stance, it uses the same body mechanics as broadsword, and the right hand travels in pretty much the same arc.

 I left my shield at home for the Beau Geste.  The biggest reason was I’ve had a mild tendonitis in my elbow. It started at the feast last Satruday after Barleycorn. I have a strong suspicion that it’s because I was using my steel arms and not my leather ones (my bauzbauds are with Torvaldr getting shortened, but I just found that I have my old leather arms downstairs. I thought they were in California. However, with elbow pain I decided that 5 pieces 16 ga elbows were just a better idea to I stuck with those). Also, I intend to have to fight with greatsword at Crown.

I also went out to Wantagh practice last Thursday. I hauled my gear to the subway, took that to the LIRR, from Wantagh station I packed my armor over to the church where practice is held (only about two blocks). Unfortunately, Tycho had forgotten his helmet and the only other person in armor was Bob Fox.

WORKOUTS

It’s been really, really hard to get workouts in. It’s not that I don’t have time, it’s my new schedule I have a 5 AM alarm Monday and Wednesday (it should actually be 4:30, but I’m trying to stay a bit sane), a 5:30 alarm on Tuesday and a 6:30 alarm on Thursday. I’ve got lots and LOTS of time to work out—Monday and Wednesday I’m done by 9 AM-- and a gym that’s open from noon till 9PM four days a week at school. Trouble is, I’m barely able to stay awake. I only have an afternoon class on Friday, so I slept in, but I *still* slept 12 hours Friday night. So it was 50 push ups every day, Indian club workouts, one kettle bell workout, and one nice bike ride on Friday (7.5 mile commute each way).

Since the 14^th my workouts have picked up. I’ve been to two Yoga classes, I’ve been to the gym twice, I’ve been doing pushups every morning and Indian clubs most nights. Sunday I did a bench press WOD and pressed a personal best of 205—not a lot, but a lot for me. I also got in some cycling and a walk across the Brooklyn Bridge.  Yesterday I did the same gym workout, only instead of bench press I warmed up with dumbells and then did a clean and press from the floor with a 50 pound dumbell, ten times each arm, which is another personal best.  Those pushups are working.  

TECHNIQUE

I was trying to return to my roots with the Bastard sword—the Kenjitsu based techniques that Elric taught me long ago, the Belatrix based techniques that I studied for a long time. That went out the window as soon as we laid on.

At Wantagh I was just fighting to fight, with no real plan for working on any technique.

FIGHTING

 There were only four fighters at Grant’s Tomb—Brian (the Brian from Loch Laven, not Avran), Nikolai, myself and Gui. I was fighting with my two handed sword. (a lot of people call it a bastard sword, but to me a bastard sword is about four feet long and this is five. It has a handle about 16 inches long, which is way longer than a bastard sword). 

I warmed up against Nikolai. He got me once. I hit him using what is essentially a Kendo technique: stand in long point with my right foot forward and, as he throws, raise my sword, pass off line to the left, and hit him in the shoulder. I got him once more on a short chop to the head.

I found that most of the day I was passing back and firing,

We fought  a modified bear pit format. We each took turns holding  the field against the three others, meaning each of us got six fights total, but wins and losses only counted when you were holding the field.  Theottetically, we could have ended up with a four way tie. But we didnt’. Gui won handily.

I won both my fights against Brian and split my fights with Nikolai (although I beat him when I was holding the field). I found that I was not using any of the Bellatrix technique. I did kill Brian once with the disengage thrust I made up thirty years ago (Fake a thrust to the face, circle down toward the right and back up, then thrust to the face of neck). Gui just destroyed me.

I had a few sword and shield fights with Nik and also , after his shield broke and he took the one I had been borrowing, I did that silly thing with the upside down greatsword in lieu of a shield. On instinct, I used it to thrust him in the chest once. I fought those fights pretty well.

I had more to say ten days ago.

Thursday against Bob Fox I learned a valuable lesson. Bob has a snap that goes straight down. Usually when someone throws a straight down shot it’s a chop. It follows a wide arc, and I just move off line to the left and throw an off side, and they are usually open: but Bob’s isn’t a chop, the way most people throw it, it’s a snap. It’s a snap that comes straight down. This means that I can’t tell if it is going to be a regular flat snap or one that will travel downward until it breaks, which is too late to step around it and, besides, I run the risk of walking into it if it is indeed a flat snap. The important thing that I learned was not that, it’s that this technique eats my A Frame up. It’s really hard to defend against. When I fought a high closed style, when I fought a Bellatrix style, when I just grabbed the initiative and attacked, I won nearly all of those fights. But when I fought my A Frame, the way I would if it were a crown, Bob beat me up and stole my lunch money. It’s a very valuable lesson. Any center line attack is going to be effective against that A frame/boxer style.  Because I don’t have a downward shot in my repertoire, I’d never figured that part out. Inside line thrusts I was aware of—both throwing them and the need to defend against them—but not that downward snap.  

It is 35 days until Crown. My next time in armor will be at the Cloisters this Sunday.      

Grant's Tomb and John Barleycorn.

After John Barleycorn.

Crown will be November 1, opening day, which sucks. It will be in southern New Hampshire, which is almost as close as it could have been this time since it had to be in the Northern Region. 

I managed to fight twice last week, and Grant’s Tomb on Sunday and on John Barleycorn on Saturday. We had thought Barleycorn was going to be a disaster. Rain was forecast, we didn’t know if any fighters would show: but it turned out to be a great event., especially for fighting!

WORKOUTS

I managed one Yoga workout and one Kettle Bell workout last week, plus I did pushups every day. I have to kick that up a notch.

GRANT’S TOMB

Technique:

I was really trying to work on distance. I wanted to fight mostly at my max range. This was good in all my fights but especially important against Gui.

There were four of us in armor: myself, Sam, Tycho, and Gui. Two lefties, two righties, two knights, two unbelted fighters.

I was in training mode fighting Sam. I warmed up against him with some slow work then we did some situational drills. We did a few straight up fights,  then block and strike drills. Then a few more fights. Sam is getting much better but he is not good for me. I have a tendency to fall into old fun habits against Sam because he is not good enough to beat them, and because he is trying to learn a Bellatrix style and that’s the old habit I like most.  The result is that I get a bit of indecision in whether to fight my current A-Frame style, where I need to work, or to fight the fun fight, which is what he is fighting, and do stuff that I don’t do against the better fighters. Of course I usually go for the fun fight.

Against Tycho I was nice and tight. I got him (he’s a leftie) with a shot where I wrapped to the body and, when he blocked it, I turned it into a thrust. That’s the one blow I really remember.

I fought two passes with Gui.  He had been watching Duke Branos’ fighting video  viewed here:

So he was fighting an A Frame, which he never does. Totally freaked me out and he clobbered me. I mean it was embarrassing.

Our second pass I did much better. I fought him well in both the A Frame and the high guard. When he went into a high guard I stabbed him in the belly behind his shield. When he went into the A frame I threw thrusts at his inside line. It worked a lot better than the first time. I found that, for the first time ever, I was timing his leg shot. He would throw it and I managed to block and throw in half-time a wrap to his head.  I hit him with it three times.

JOHN BARLEYCORN

So there had not been a lot of fighters showing up to Barleycorn lately.  Last year I think there were four of us. This year Gui and I had made a big push to get more fighters there. Tormundr made a really cool bar mace as a prize for the tourney, plus Sir Edward’s Unbelted Challenge was also taking place. It turned out people wanted that bar mace. There were eight fighters taking part in Sir Edward’s tourney. Six of those fought in the second tourney, plus five knights: myself, Sir Balin, Duke Conrad, Duke Keneric, and King Brenan. Umm, yeah. Top heavy!  J

The list was a double elimination fight, best two out of three, with a challenge round. In the challenge round I was the last fighter left and was picked by Avran.  He wanted to fight great weapon, so we ended up using His Majesty’s matched Danish axes (no thrust, which saved my bacon in our first fight). The first fight I used it the way I normally fight Great Ax, thumbs opposed and fighting like it’s a pugil stick. This worked well. Second fight I used it like an ax, short grip at the bottom of the haft, longer swings. That was more satisfying, as I used a good technique to win, avoiding Avran’s blow and hitting him on the head from Vom Tag.

My second fight I drew Brenan. In our first fight I started out in an A Frame but switched quickly to a high guard and he showed me right away why I don’t fight that style out here—hit me in the face with that little flick from the A Frame guard that travels right down the top of my shield and into my nasal. My second fight I went into an A Frame and we fought for some time before I killed him with a hook thrust. The third fight I got sneaky. Jade has this this thrust that is like Bruce Lee’s  floating punch. It’s designed to look like it’s not coming. It’s kind of an attitude/no attitude technique. You circle to the right, out of range, relaxed, shield and sword  at your side. You step with your left foot to just outside range, then pass on your right into range, raising your sword from your side but, instead of bringing it up to a guard position, you extend it into a face thrust , turning the knuckles slightly up so that the tip drops a bit as it comes over the shield.  I put it right into his left eye.  It’s the fourth tourney in a row that I’ve beaten Brenan.

Next I fought Duke Keneric. In one of our fights he took my leg and then I put a thrust up the inside of his shield as he hit me, so we double killed. The other two fights he did what he usually does, took my leg (once by switching from a sword foot lead to a shield foot lead, changing the angle and getting a deeper passing step), then killed me with that wicked deep off side that is almost a butterfly shot. They were good long fights and I managed to take him off his game a bit with my thrusts, but in the end he got me.

Next I fought Tycho. I was really proud of my second kill because I changed the angle of that shot. I was throwing a shot that could have been a wrap from slightly to his right but, on the fly, I pulled my elbow in, pushed my shoulder up, and hit him with the true edge in the face.

My last fights were with Balin. Those were awesome. He is one of the top two sword fighters in the kingdom but he hasn't been active for several years. But he was at Pennsic and has been getting back in, and he is still pretty amazing. I think we double killed but I’m not sure. He took my right arm and I took his left at the same time, then we got into a single sword fight until he took my left arm. Our last fight he took my leg then got me with a body/head combo and landed them both. In that last fight I almost got him with a  thrust, but in my single sword fight I had picked up Gui’s sword to guard my right hand and afterward kept hold of it. It’s shorter than my sword by more than an inch, and with that extra length the thrust might have counted. I always feel with Balin like I just need to improve my timing and I can beat him. He creates a lot of slop. His sword blocks are so crisp and he’s got some nice sabre technique, and it’s a really fun fight.   

At some point during dinner my right elbow, inside, started to hurt. I may take it easy this week. I’ll still do my pushups.

To illustrate what I was talking about regarding fighting Sam, Here’s a video of me fighting Arn. Arn is a talented fighter, but new. He doesn’t have the experience to know what to do against a style he’s never seen. I described this fight back on June 10, (http://scafighter.blogspot.com/2014/06/on-winning-caid-queen-championship.html) . That stands out to me in this video is my indecision as to what style to fight. You can see me switch back and forth from a high open form to an A Frame. If Arn had thrown shen Iw as in that transition he would have pasted me.

It is 54 days until Crown. Unless I feel really good on Thursday, or end up going to River War in Iron Bog, my next time in armor will be Sunday at Grant's Tomb. 

BACK IN ARMOR

Back in armor!

 So I haven't written in this blog all summer, and with good reason. After the Riverfest Demo I quit fighting because I was playing Hamlet (Awesome experience! Great production--though I am biased). I didn't fight again until Pennsic. Immediately after Pennsic, I went on a road trip to California, during which I attended CAID crown and delivered a car to a friend. It meant no fighting and really no time to blog (can't type while you are driving).

HOWEVER It is now time to train for Crown. No announcement has been made as to where or what weekend Crown will be held (which is late, it was due 8/15). However by rule it is supposed to be either the last Saturday in October , alternately the first Saturday in November (which would suck, that's opening day of deer season). So going on the premise that it will be on October 25 (as early as it can be) there are 61 days until crown. I started training yesterday.

WORKOUTS

I ran a mud race in June, and I walked all over Pennsic, and I went on a back-country horseback pack trip (more work than you would think) but all I've actually been doing for workouts in 50 pushups every day. Haven't skipped once.

FIGHTING

I fought in all the open heavy combat battles at Pennsic, plus the allied champions battle (as Queen's Champion of CAID). I fought with spear in most of them and got lots of kills. I did pickups and did really well against both the King of An Tir and the King of Atenveldt, but got worked over by a squire from Meridies. All in all a pretty good Pennsic. I lost weight which I promptly gained back driving cross country.

Yesterday was the barbecue and practice out at Count Horic's on Long Island. We knights spent the first half of it teaching. We started out with two group lessons, spear drills and footwork drills. Then we broke into groups and ran pairs of fighters through various drills: I ran the strike/thrust drills: Teric ran block/strike drills, Gui ran more footwork drills, Mordreth ran Man on ground drills, and Horic floated and worked on technique.

Then we held a few melees, including a roman melee.

Then we ran the Beau Geste Tournament. Myself and Sir Jabril were in armor and fighting. We advanced to the Semi finals but withdrew, leaving Tycho and Conrad to fight for the honor of facing Nicolai Wegener in finals. Nicolai beat Tycho 3-2.

I got some good pickups in and some good fights in the tournament. When I was wearing my breast plate I was totally gasping for air, but once I took it off and picked up my shield I had my wind. Because I had given my bauzibands to Torvaldr after Pennsic to be re-sized, I had to borrow vambraces, which really slowed me down.

TRAINING
Counting yesterday, I plan to be in armor 16 times before  crown. That's basically twice a week. I will lift or do some Cross fit training 16 times and have at least ten cardio days. I will fight at Barleycorn, Cloisters, hopefully at Great Western War, and maybe at the Roses tourney, River War, and/or  Fiery Beast.

There are 61 days until crown (we think). My next time in armor will be this Sunday, assuming there is actually a practice anywhere nearby, it being Labor Day Weekend.  

On winning CAID Queen's Championship

In 1987, pursuing a career as a television writer that never came to fruition, I moved briefly to the kingdom of CAID. I had been spending time down south fairly regularly. Yaroslav the Persistent had a large household down there, Seitch Persistent, and a couple of years before the Seitch had merged with the tribe, so that members of one were considered members of another. In other words, I had a household, friends, and sword brothers ready and waiting for me when I got there. I didn't live in CAID long. My lady got a great job offer in San Francisco and a writers strike shut down Hollywood. I toughed it out for awhile but left sometime that summer--but not until after I fought in CAID Queen's Champion tourney. It was won by Njal Grimmson, who defeated Freewind Bahadur in the finals. I got knocked out by Njal sometime late in the tourney, I remember it as quarter finals, but it might have been earlier.

I think one of the things CAID does best is the Queen Champions tourney. It has expanded to include rapier and cut and thrust, but back then it was just armored combat. There is only a four month lag between crown and coronation in CAID, and Queen's Champion Tourney is the day after the coronation--the first order of business after that event. This means that in CAID, where they only have two crowns a year, there is a major Kingdom level tournament every four months and the Queen always has her own champion, not one whom she inherited. CAID does have a King's champion too, but that is the runner up from crown. Usually the winner of the tourney is named champion: In fact this past weekend, when Bridgit said she was going to choose her champion from among the combatants, it was so unusual that people said they'd never heard of that before. I've lived in two other kingdoms. In the East a tournament is held in whichever he winner is the King's champion and the queen chooses her champion from the competitors. In the West how the champion is picked varries from queen to queen. Usually he or she is simply appointed without a tourney, but it has been done the other two ways as well. They don't have a King's Champion. 

Ever since I lived in CAID I have had a fondness, a fascination, for that tournament, and I always wanted to fight in it again, and now I have. 

This blog is late, because I didn't write about Grant's Tomb practice last week. I Will cover that briefly. 

WORKOUTS

The same: push-ups every day, yoga, long walks  and occasional bike rides. I'm training for a mud run in three weeks, so I have to get out and do some running this week for sure. 

TECHNIQUE

the only technique I was specifically working on at practice was my two weapon, which I normally fight sword and short-sword. (The short sword is an anachronism left over from the days in the West before low-profile thrusting tips, when only two weapons, short swords  and glaives, could have thrusting tips and still be considered "knightly," meaning you could not refuse to fight them in the lists. It could be a gladius or a cinqueda or even a Bowie knife as well as a true shortsword. It was my knight's favorite weapon). I took it out against Arn, the champion of Rusted Woodlands, a fairly new freighter who is one of those naturals. He said he didn't think that could be a very good style, but I killed him six or seven times  losing once. I fight that at range and take advantage of my visibility. I use the same offense that I use sword and shield, and rarely attack with the knife following the advice of George Sliver-- but like Silver I do use the short sword to pin my opponent's arm, which worked against Arn and shocked him. When I take someone's leg, I switch the sword to a dagger grip to guard my own leg, and then I will use it for face thrusts. I got him with this as well. 

I fought Arn again with Sword and Shield as well as Lou, Samalle, Ansel, and I think Zack, It was a great practice, with nine fighters, three of whom were knights. I did get Lou with a great technique. He fights sword and great ax, like a maud with an ax head on it. I attacked his ax handle with a down award cut. He is used to people sweeping the handle and then trying to come with a cut to the off side or a snap, but much like I do when I use the Fiore technique against Madus, I let contact with his weapon stop the momentum of mine. Then I just turn it into a body thrust. I made this variation up on the fly, and it worked. 

QUEEN'S CHAMPIONSHIP

You don't win a major tourney every day. In fact, although I've won some small tourneys recently, I think the last truly big tourney I won was Crown, and that was 20 years ago. I did not go to CAID planning to win Queen's Championship. I went because my squire, Agrippa, was being crowned King. I expected to hover around, see some old friends, suit up and have some fun. Instead i got to accomplish a goal I've had for 36 years. 

I'm sorry, I wasn't fighting people I know well, so I don't recall names. I also was in kind of a fog for half the day and it all runs together. I can point out a few things, however. 

Agrippa made a speech on which he quoted Sun Tzu about winning with ease. Part of the quote described how the great fighters of old would make themselves invulnerable to loss and then await until their opponents gave them an opportunity to kill them. This is probably where Radnor got his saying "we let our opponents tell us how they would like to be killed." This ended up being my day for the most part. I was using a borrowed sword and shield but my own armor (with the gamboised cuises, because I was flying). The sword was Agrippa's and it was tip heavy, and heavier than I use these days, and the shield was a large center grip oval. I could not use most of my regular offense and defense--the center grip meant I could not do a hook-thrust, the sword was a touch slower on the second shot than I like, but it was a perfect sword for some Bellatrix technique. The big shield was big, and saved my leg once or twice, but it also got me killed in my one loss before the finals. 

My first bout was against an unbelted fighter with a tear drop kite. He was very solid. I was told everything about this guy--he's super aggressive, he lays back, he can't hit hard, he is really tricky, he's a push over, he will give you real trouble. I found him to be very solid. If the blow he landed on my calf is any indication he has no problems with power. I can't remember how I won't the fight. 

I fought a polearm fighter named Renfield. Like Sir Diablu, he holds his pole straight up int he air right in front of him. This got him killed. It meant I could set up closer than I would against most polearm fighters, and I was able to pick up his first blow pretty easily. I only had to take one step to be in range. I stepped in, took his leg,and killed him. 

I fought a lady on the Queen's Guard named Blue. She was tough and had a good defense. She used a pointed triangular kite shield, one with no curves, and it kind of got her killed. I started her out with a rising snap, and then a straight thrust. Neither worked. Then in a flurry I took her leg. expecting me to wrap to her head, she set up in kind of an a frame, which exposed her whole torso. The straight line of her shield made the gap even mor pronounced. The first time I thrust there she covered it but the second time she didn't. 

There are two tall Liams. One is a knight and the other is his man at arms. They are both about six six or seven and built like oak trees. The man at arms is left handed, and he is the one I fought. He was fast and strong but inexperienced. I tried my usual opening against a leftie -- the step through off side attack and it didn't work. Neither did Gui's punch shot. But he was setting up way over to the left side with his shield, and I took his shield arm as a result (because he is so tall. A normal sized fight would gave been Hilton the head) It being CAID, I gave up my shield (which I have stopped doing since I made the switch to fighting like an Easterner). We had a long fight with single swords because I was being cautious. I used the Fiore sword in one hand technique, Radnor's technique in which a faked body shot draws the defense out and then a back hand is aimed at the head, and my usual Rolf inspired technique in which I hold the sword cocked in front of me and use short cuts. That's the best defensive style. I eventually threw a double strike, the first time hitting his sword and the second time passing beneath it to hit him in the body. 

About this time I took my loss. I fought Kuma, a big power lifter who is supposedly the top polearm fighter in the kingdom. That was an intense fight. He tried to draw me out of my defense but I wouldn't let him. I followed his attacks and closed behind them, but could not hit him. His footwork was really good. At one point I could tell I had him a bit frustrated because he asked how I was able to see him with only one eye--that was all I was allowing to peek from behind my shield, and that was defended by my sword. Eventually, however, I had to close. The third or fourth time I did so he struck while I was striking--three quick blows that were so strong, even though I blocked all three of them, they blew right through my shield. The first one had been good but I couldn't fall down fast enough. ThAt is how the center grip got me killed. He was so strong he was able to just brush it aside. 

I fought a fighter I can't name in green and black with a 24" round shield, I thought ah! My specialty, but again none of me stuff was working. I threw a rising snap, nope. I threw Martin the Temperate's leg shot. Nope. But I noticed that he was trying to use the Hauoc technique of leading with the weak side, parrying with the shield in 2 and the sword in 5 (a saber parry) and then cutting. unfortunately for him, he was striking an onside blow out of it, whereas an offside slot shot would be more effective. I was fighting a closed form, as close to an A frame as I could with the center grip, with the shield protecting my left side and the sword my right. As he stepped forward, guarding in that same window parry, I just shot thrust  down the middle and he ran his face right onto my sword. That was how he wanted to be killed. 

Then I was in Semi finals against Germanicus, another pole arm fighter. He was tough as well. He had seen what Kuma had done and tried to circle to my shield side to blind me, but I just adjusted and followed him. Both our fights were long and exhausting, in our first fight I closed behind his attack and eventually took his leg and killed him. In our second fight he tried to close with me and throw some back edge attacks but I was too close to him for that and I hit him in the head. Afterword he said "man! You East Kingdom boys really bring it! I'm glad you don't come to any of our wars!"

In the finals I faced Duke Sven. Another leftie taller than I. That's my bane, tall lefties. In the first fight I managed   to hit him with a off side head shot in the middle of an exchange. In the second he got me with a nice one-two across the face. In our third fight I took his leg and noticed that he was setting up to defend the wrap so I figured "what the hell," and threw Patrick Livathan's behind the back shot, which I'd never tired against a leftie, and he fell over. Cheers. 

I may be forgetting a round in here. Like I said, a blur. 

I had a lot of advantages. There were very few knights in the list and I didn't fight any of them till I faced Sven in the finals. I had never fought any of the people I faced before so they didn't know what to expect.  I was out of kingdom--I had nothing at all to prove and no pressure (unlike at a Crown for which I'd trained for three months). 

In every one of those fights I went in with a plan that did not work, and in every one of the fights I won, I looked at my opponent and, often in the middle of an exchange, I saw how they wanted to be killed and I killed them, just like Sun Tzu and Radnor told me to. 

After the finals I made a speech about how I had lived in CAID and was a a member of the Seitch. Which Duke Sven had belonged to as well--he was one of Jaroslav's squires--and how I learned that shot from a CAID Duke. At court I told of how I had lost to Njal Grimson back in 1988, and so this win was a dream I had never thought would come true. Her majesty and I talked about it and she wanted me to  be her champion. Since I will be at Pennsic and hopefully Great Western War as well, I will serve as her champion there and Duke Sven will act in my stead the rest of the time. 

I must admit, I have been giddy for three days. I am the Queen of CAID's champion. How cool is that? 

There are 34 days until Pennsic. My next time in armor will be at Riverfest this Sunday. Because I'm playing Hamlet this July (like us on FaceBook--Hamlet Unmasked) it will be my last time in armor till Pennsic. 

CROWN TOURNEY #89

I've fought in 89 Crown Tourneys and I'm still not a Duke.

This one was pretty awesome in a lot of ways. The fighting was beautifully intense, the local group was amazingly welcoming, the drive up and back through the Adirondacks quite pleasant, I had great travelling companions--William McCrimmon and Astrid Olafsdatter, I got to eat a double Teen burger and a root beer float at A&W Canada: it was a fun trip.

I also fought very well. I didn't do what I wanted to do--win--but I did a lot. I probably fought as well in this crown as I have in any since I moved here, even the two wherein I went to quarter finals.

There were three dukes and myself in the list, so each of us got seeded to separate pools. (the dukes were Conrad, Edward, and Omega). I finished first in my pool, undefeated, to make it into the round of sixteen. I then went three more rounds, to the round of twelve, before getting knocked out by Evaldr. My strategy was first, to stay alive--if you are the one alive at the end of the lists you've won. My other strategy was to fight a mostly defensive fight and keep everything simple.

Best to talk about the two fights I lost first. I lost to Evaldr and to Cullyn--two fighters whom I can beat as often as not (at least when Cullyn is fighting sword and shield as he was Saturday, and not polearm). I was a bit disappointed with those losses, but less so when both of them went to semi-finals.

Cullyn was doing what I was trying to do, only he was better at it. He was fighting a completely defensive fight, and mostly throwing one blow--a diagonal off side cut (a roverso fendente). He may have thrown a snap or two and a leg shot, but not at me. In the video, I think he throws one leg shot, and all the rest are off side shots aimed at my head or right shoulder. It was perfect. I probably should have been more aggressive--but being aggressive against him was what got me killed. I also should have attacked his off side. The video below is of Omega vs. Edward, but I can be seen fighting Cullyn in the background. It gets pretty much all of our fight including my death.



My fight with Evaldr had a bit more action in it. Although I didnt feel tired I think I was getting there, because I got sloppy as the fight went on. I also got increasingly frustrated, and trying to be trickier and trickier. At first I'm being very economical. Then I throw a stutter wrap (which almost get him) then I throw a stomp thrust, then (not necessarily in order) a spinning back hand, a thrust of a fake, a thrust off an off side, and a hook thrust. Most of them he voided by moving, primarilly to his right. Catching him going to his right was how I killed him at Birka.



I don't have video of my fight from the round of 16 (at least I haven't found any).

In my pool (of which there is no video because Tally, who took all the video I've seen so far, was fighting), I was fighting very well. I killed three knights, some very good unbelted fighters, and went undefeated. Of course, there are pools and there are pools: William's pool had both the finalists and one of the semi finalists in it. He went 3 and 5 and should probably be pretty satisfied. I would have had real trouble making it out of that pool.

The knights I fought in my pool were Luis, Antonio, and Sir Gareth Grey de Wilton from Tir Mara. 

My fight with Gareth was very satisfying and very old school. He was using a heater fought in a high open form. I saw this and kind of grinned. I took his leg with that Martin the Temperate leg shot (resting sword on shoulder, elbow straight out, wrist curled under, just fold the elbow into the ribs, open the wrist, and let the sword snap into the leg). Then I killed him with Fast Eddie's direction change shot, which has been working a lot for me lately. (Miss an off-side head shot, curl the pinky finger around so the sword does a really quick teardrop return, and hit him in the head). 

My fight with Antonio was long and hard. I eventually took his leg (dont' recall how) and then killed him. I know I planned, if I took a leftie's leg, to use Gui's punching shot to set up my attacks, which worked for me against Tycho recently, but I didn't. I didn't want to close range that tightly against him. 

Against Luis I got him with a body thrust. He fights with a Dane ax as his left hand weapon, going for punches or thrusts to the face, but I crossed him up. He thought I was going to throw a high body thrust that looped in from his left, but--as he stepped forward with his right shot and threw a snap, moving his ax to block what he thought I was doing, I threw a low-line body thrust from below and he ran right onto it. *snicker* 

I don't remember the details of my other fights, really. I double killed with a buckler fighter, who bit on my rising snap but hit me with an off side at the same time. I killed Tally with a shot straight down the middle that I hid behind my shield after I'd taken his leg. Not sure about There was tall lefty I hit with a double tap to the off-side head. All of that is kind of a blur. 

The lists as a whole were frighteningly savage. Watch the videos Tally shot of Semis and finals to see what I mean. 

I left a lot on the field. I know because my shoulders still ache from the effort four days later and my knees were weak on Sunday. I won my pool--undefeated, I killed three knights, I went to the round of 12, and I lost to the two semi finalists, who were having career best days. It was a good Crown and I'm pretty proud of how I did. 

It is 64 days until Pennsic. My next time in armor will be sometime next week. 

Final Crown Prep

Last night I edged my shield and made a new sword (blade--I still have to put the basket hilt on it). Tomorrow I take the long drive up to Montreal. Time to assess. 

I know I can win this crown. It's a tougher list than the last one, but I am a tougher fighter right now than I was--my defense has improved considerably over the last six months. 

I'm still not settled on how I want my sword balanced with this new style. 

I'm in great shape aerobically--I'm outlasting a lot fo guys--but I don't know if that will be good deep in the list. 

I met few of my training goals. It was odd. My training dropped off at Spring Break when, because I had more time, it should have picked up. Mostly that was poor planing. 

Here were my goals as of February 15: 

TRAINING PLAN/GOALS

I want to be in armor 20 times, which is a lot in 13 weeks in NYC, but not impossible. 

Push-ups every day
25 gym workouts
130 total miles
Fight in Two Beau Gestes, Mudthaw, and at least one other event. 


The actual final tally looks like this: 
Total number of workouts = 130 

16 times total in armor

50 push ups every day
106.77 miles total biking/running/hiking (map my fitness doesn't break it out in their stats)
26 gym workouts
I fought in Mudthaw and two Beau Gests but nothing else. 

That last one bothers me. I really should have been able to be in armor twenty times, stomach flu and spring break not withstanding. Other than that I've been active, I'm in good shape, and I'm fighting well.

It is two days until Crown, which will be my next time in armor. 

Nutley Practice, May 7, 2014

You really need to keep your equipment up—especially your swords. This is an issue for me, as I’ve been fighting a new style, one that works best with a lighter, hand heavy sword. The sword I’d been using was perfect about 50 layers of tape ago. Last night I fought like ass, in part because the sword would not move the way I needed it to. I did, however, get some new rattan, so that won’t be an issue at crown.

WORKOUTS

Since the last practice I went to, I’ve done two yoga classes, biked, walked, and done push ups every day. My workouts have not been what I’d planned three months ago. I have not been lifting weights very much, not been to many intense aerobics classes, just push ups and yoga, walking and biking, occasional running and using the Indian clubs. I’ve barely even touched the kettle bells.

TECHNIQUE

All I wanted to work on last night was my A-Frame defense, my straight inside thrust and my off side head shot.

FIGHTING

I only fought four opponents last night—Arn, Tycho, Gregor and Stephan. I fought long sets with each of them. My wind was good but my arms did tire a bit.

Against Arn I had more steam than he did at the end of our set. I felt really good about that. I took his leg and killed him. I think he slipped past my defense once, and that was after I’d started attacking more and going on offense.

Against Tycho I was trying a variation of the A frame, in which I cock my shield over, the point toward my off side, and hold my sword to the right and up to guard my head. He broke it down pretty handily. The times I killed him I took his leg. My main thing was a need to see is offense more—I was blinding myself.

I didn’t touch Gregor this time. He still couldn’t take my leg, and remarked on it, but he had my number otherwise. I was being just a bit more aggressive, and he was taking me to town. Our first bout I had planned to go for a stutter wrap, but he knew where I was going before I did, and when I got there his sword was waiting for me. It was perfect timing. He got me moving in a couple of times. He exposed my two biggest flaws. The first is that, when I bring my hands in to close off the center line in the A Frame I leave my sword arm exposed. The second is that when I get in tight I’m flattening my sword out. This was because with that tip heavy sword I needed the rotation to get any speed or power on my shots. But by flattening it out—holding it more or less parallel to the ground—I was taking it out of the equation, because he would just shoot above or below it and get me. I need to hold it at an upward angle like I do in the A frame, just a bit higher when I’m in close.

I didn’t touch Stephan either, but that is rare. He was the only person who was able to take my leg all night, and he got it twice. He said my defense is really improved. He can’t get me with his right cross any more, which is his payoff shot.  He ahs to work hard to open anything up. Making Stephan work is one of my life’s goal.

Afterward, my shoulder felt tense and a bit achy. I stopped after four fights in order not to strain it. I iced it after ward and it felt fine by the time I went to bed. He problem was the sword: I just can’t push a tip heavy sword into those shots from the A Frame defense. It is slow, probably light, and puts way too much work on the shoulder.

Crown is in nine days. This was my last practice till then.