Well, my Belegarth cherry has officially been popped. After being away from a padded sword for a few years (during the late Shogun--may it rest in peace), it felt good to get back into action. Our unit, the House of Einherjar, made a showing three strong, and we had a skirmishtacular time on the battlefield. My sword and shield work was sloppy at best, but through practice, I hope to regain my edge soon enough.
Belegarth Rule #1: Don't power-drink until 4:00 am the night before the fighting.
Special thanks goes to Clan of the Hydra for being incredibly hospitable and approchable, House Dregoth for allowing us the use of their enchanted light-conjuring device (without which we would have been doomed to set up camp in the dark), and Lady Feri (sp?) for dispensing helpful information and assorted foodstuffs throughout the event--your chicken sandwiches are practically orgasmic, and I have the stains on my garb pants to prove it.
Our numbers are already on the grow, and a couple of us are planning to make Melcaorme (Beltaine's just too far and too soon, unfortunately), so we hope to see some of the same faces there and meet some new people to boot. Here's to the growth of the House of Einherjar, and, with luck, the beginning of good relations with the other units in the Midwest.
One morning, as Shannon Heibler was waking up from anxious dreams, she discovered that in bed she had been changed into a monstrous fighter in the making…
I came back from Oktoberfest a pretty different member of Belegarth.I came back wanting more.Wanting to be a more helpful part of it, nationally and regionally. I came back wanting to be worth a damn on the field.I came back wanting to improve my unit and realm even more than they have already improved.(And they have – I’m so proud!)So I came back with a plan.More to the point, I had several plans about my role in Belegarth.The first part was cozying up with a copy of the Book of War and getting, erm, familiar with it and all its bizarre nooks and crannies.I’m able to answer most questions now without checking it, but I always keep it close by at practice, just in case.I’m still a little weak on weapon construction rules.I also started brain storming ways to make Clan of the Hydra and Rhun even better.I’m super protective of Hydra as a unit so I’m always wary of us going down “the wrong path.”It’s come close a couple of times so I’m trying to steer our recruitment in such a way that we will almost never have to worry about that, just because of the mindset of the people we get.I’d like to see a bit of focus as a unit on helping Belegarth as a whole and making that part of becoming a member – be it recruiting, helping at events, or generally being active and aware of what’s going on in a healthy kind of “Go team!” way.I’m a little concerned with the slight sense of emphasis on sport wide popularity going on (the who’s who of Belegarth and so forth) which I’m fine with as long as we don’t forget about our pre-existing members.Once they get left by the wayside… well, I’m honestly assuming it won’t happen.I just get paranoid.
Personally, I’ve begun a quest to be a better all around fighter.I generally prefer fighting with a 48” red sword, but I want to learn sword and board so I can help other realm and unit members with the same.Also, sword and board is much more effective for me (at this point) on the field.Once I have the basics of the basics down, I’m going back to red to hardcore train on that.I approached Bo and he’s been awesome about breaking things down for me and other people.I’m ecstatic to say that I have already seen a pretty notable increase in my skill though I have miles to go…I need to pick one or two things, or ask Bo to suggest some, to focus on at each practice.I’ve been overwhelming myself trying to integrate everything and that’s just not going to help me in the end.It’s funny.The thing Bo has said (jokingly) to help me the most was to compare (don’t judge!) Belegarth moves and stances to dancing.I used to be big into ballroom dancing so now I just practice things at home like a dance routine.My poor downstairs neighbors must hate me.
I’m cross training as well.I have a blue sword in my cubicle to practice switching grips and positions while I’m on the phone with customers.I’m picking up some training weights tonight to wear on my shield arm at work so I stop getting tired so quickly (pathetic red wielder that I was…).I’ve also been trying to run everyday around my neighborhood.This is the hardest part because a runner, I am not.I’m actually a great sprinter, but endurance escapes me.I hope to change that a little bit.This pesky respiratory ailment that I’m dealing with may stop me briefly though.Boo.
I’m excited at just how much a change in attitude, or rather, an increased focus can improve me as a participant of this sport.I encourage other people to do the same if they feel like they’re stuck in a rut, like I was.I also encourage a strong sense of unit or realm pride.If you are unhappy about something, bring it up to someone you can trust.Don’t just let things suck.Other people probably feel the same way as you, to an extent.And if there is no one to go to and nothing you can change from the inside, check out another unit.
I personally hate the term "noob" but it's become such a part of our terminology along with "hold", "rhinohide" and "gimp". To some, a new member is fresh meat, a "willing" pell to be beaten on. To others, a new member is the grating, and at times annoying, person who is still trying to figure out where he fits in. And to some, a new fighter is a person with a lack of control, who swings excessively and headshots every person they fight. But they bring such boundless enthusiasm and driving willingness to learn. Ah, how quickly we forget that we were that noob once. And that's really what I'm getting at.
We all had to start somewhere. Look back on when you first started. Were you left to fend for yourself or did someone help you through the growing pains? I remember my first mentor in fighting, Sir Killian of Valdemar (no relation to the current Sir Killian). When I first started coming out, he epitomized what I thought a knight should be...hell on wheels with an undeniable presence on the field. When he commanded you, you followed without hesitation. But without him, I wonder if I would be where I am now. Time and time again, I hear stories of veterans who ended up staying in because of someone or perhaps a few people who saw their potential beneath the surface. Can you be that person?
Here are a few things you can do to keep your new members going:
1. Be mindful of the example you set. New fighters will pick up on the fighters who throw tantrums, storm off the field, blow off shots, or argue with the marshals. If a veteran gets away with it, why shouldn't they? Conversely, if the new members see veterans taking their hits, enjoying what they're doing, and being respectful to each other, they're going to see that too.
2. Take them under your wing. It's far easier to let them fend for themselves, to let them continuously be beaten down until they either step up or walk away. But oftentimes that leads to alienation and a person leaving the sport. For many of us, it's how we learned. Why should the fighters of today have it any easier? Teaching them takes work. Mentoring them takes work. However, it can be difficult to stick around when you're crushed on a regular basis and it seems like there's no one willing to help.
3. Be approachable and take the initiative to seek them out. Vets are often intimidating and sometimes outright terrifying to our new fighters. Don't make it any harder for them by making that expectation a reality.
4. Be patient. It can be difficult and frustrating especially when they keep making the same mistakes over and over. But, again, did you not go through that yourself?
5. Introduce them to opportunities outside of fighting. Do you know fighters who look at non-fighters with derision as if they are somehow less because they cannot or choose not to fight? That's a lousy attitude but it's one that can be easily propagated. Everyone contributes in their own way and fighting should NEVER be considered the only meaningful thing out there.
6. Hang out with them outside of practice. Make them feel welcome. Show them that the social interactions in Belegarth can be just as fulfilling as the fighting aspects.
7. At their first event, look out for them and introduce them to the people you know. Don't let them fend for themselves and end up doing something that may haunt them later.
8. Encourage them to make their own garb and weapons. That time and emotional investment is often the spark that keeps them interested in Belegarth.
9. Impress upon them how Belegarth MUST take a back seat to real life. If they're not doing well in school, then they need to focus on their studies. It's so easy to get caught up with hanging out with friends instead of studying or going to class, particularly in a college environment.
New members of Belegarth are the children of our community and you, the veterans and established members, have a direct effect on their growth and development. It's up to you whether you choose to embrace them with open arms or weed them out with indifference.
The day was both exhausting and utterly exhilarating since I came to the realization of how much I enjoy teaching especially Belegarth-related subjects.
It started first with our third training session. My thanks to Squire Cyric for helping with the class since Sir Fox just started a second shift job and has to work on Sundays 8(. We started with everyone stretching and then reviewing the subjects from the previous training session.
The first topic we went over was about how to mesh defense and attacks. You can't kill your opponent if you just block all of his shots but you won't survive if you don't defend yourself. We did a drill in pairs where a person would block a shot and then immediately lead into a two-hit combo. Then the two fighters would switch roles.
After that, we discussed range using the terms "close", "medium", "far", and "outside". "Close" is when you're close enough to touch your opponent while "medium" is where your weapon can hit your opponent. "Far" is where you can hit your opponent once you take one step while "outside" is where it takes more than one step to reach your opponent. We had the pairs work at visualizing their ranges.
The next topic we introduced was footwork. After we covered the major points about trying to avoid crossing your feet--(if your opponent bashes you when your feet are crossed, you're probably going to fall over)--trying to move your feet in concentric circles to face your opponent, and stepping in at an angle to your opponent, we went into the drills. We had the fighters form two parallel lines facing each other. We had one line move forward while the other line moved backward to maintain the same distance. Once it looked like people got a feel for this, we had them do the same thing going left and right. We split the fighters back into their pairs and then had them practicing shifting around their opponent in a circle. One fighter would basically be in the middle shifting only slightly to face his opponent while the other was shifting around him while being careful not to cross their feet.
After footwork, we moved into the basics of wraps. We told the new fighters that you can do wraps at essentially three heights: high (also known as the scorpion since it goes over the opponent's shoulder like a scorpion's tail), medium targeting the lower back, and the low wrap which either hits the back of the leg or the buttocks. We focused mainly on the medium and low angles since it's very easy to hit someone in the head with a high wrap shot unless you have good control. We talked about good form-rotating the wrist the full 180 degrees to prevent flatting and adding that additional wrist snap at the end-and trying to hit with the top third of the weapon instead of closer to the hand. We referenced the range exercise to emphasize how this is a type of attack that tends to be most effective at close range as well as stepping in as a means for generating power for the wrap. After the instruction, we had the pairs stepping to close the distance while executing a wrap and then switching roles.
The last subject of the day was grappling. We talked about what you could do, how armor affects grappling, as well as some of the things you can't do, i.e., strikes, joint locks, etc. when grappling. Then we did two drills. In hindsight, the first drill was pretty useless since it assumed that a person has no weapons with which to attack. We will most likely not repeat it in future training sessions. In the drill, one person wielding a sword attempted the number one attack to their opponent's left shoulder. The defender would step in and grasp the attacker's sword hand with both of his hands. After that, we discussed options such as attempting to disarm the attacker or holding him in place until help could arrive. The second drill had both fighters armed with a single sword. The attacker would attempt the number one strike while the defender would block with his sword, check or grapple the attacker's hand, possibly pulling the attacker off balance, and then the defender would follow up with a couple of strikes. After the drill we released the fighters to go do regular practice.
The session ran very long and we'll probably have to shift a couple of topics to other sessions to shorten this one. At the very least, we'll shift the grappling section over to Session IV.
A little while later, I helped one of our brand new fighters learn archery. We had started the previous week and picked up where we had left off. I had her learning using two basic techniques. One is the "group of five" while the other is individual feedback/replaying the shot. In doing the "group of five" a person has to complete five perfect iterations of whatever he's learning before he can move onto the next milestone. In starting out, I first had her just focus on bringing up the bow and drawing the bow with no arrow. After she completed that group of five, I introduced the arrow in and had her release it, not concentrating on trying to hit a specific target. After that, she had to hit a large shield. Once she was able to hit the shield five times in a row, I had her tighten it to a specific section of the shield. When she wasn't able to do something properly or if she missed the target, I'd ask her what went wrong and to try and visualize the events leading up to the shot. The iteration count would be reset back to zero and she would again start working on doing five in a row. It can be a tedious process that requires a lot of patience but I think she's making solid progress.
Towards the end of the day, I helped one of our fighters on Florentine. At several times during the training, I could see the light bulb go on and the look of realization after showing him a particular approach or technique. I went over some of the blocking techniques-pivoting from the elbow, swinging down, dropping the pommel-as well as using the bounciness of our weapons and shields for redirecting attacks. I showed him how to do the concurrent block and counter swing to the sword arm as well as a technique for dealing with a spear: Sweep the spear up with the right sword, check the spear with the left sword, and then immediately follow up with attacks with the right sword. I explained that I preferred to send the spear up since if you hit it down, the spear fighter can bounce the spear off the ground and into your legs or groin. He had mentioned that he was having some issues with footwork and I showed him some drills he could do with his swords. I had him lay his swords at his feet in a vee pattern while standing at the point. I then had him step at an angle to one end of the vee, back to the point, and then on to the other end. Then we flipped the vee over so that we were standing at the point of an upside down vee. Again, we stepped not directly back but at an angle to the side, returned to the starting point, and then to the other end. With regards to the spear technique, I illustrated how this same technique could be applied to both single sword (use the open hand as the check) as well as when using a sword and shield. One of the last things we did was a variation of a Sinawali ("weaving" in Tagalog) drill. Here's a video showing some sinawali drills: http://youtube.com/watch?v=jFuwLhXNgmA.
While I didn't get to fight all that much, it was a very busy and fulfilling day.
Wolfpack is booming right now. We have had to alter plans due to supplies issues for our weapons building sessions but our noobs don't seem to mind one bit. Our practices are averaging about 35-40 fighters every Tuesday and Sunday. Last weekend we got some of them even in garb I believe thanks to Faline. This saturday and for the following 3 weeks our residentgypsy caravan, Kampina Del a Ruv, along with Faline and anyone with a sewing machine are making garb for our enourmous influx of new people. We are busy hashing out runs to the fabric store, getting an idea of what our want to wear and whether or not it is possible, and getting prepared for Octoberfest. This year is going to be great.
Opener this year is already underway. I have appointed Rhys, our student advisor, with the task of speaking with ISU administration so we can get the Horton Field House again this year. As soon as we have a date, I will be posting up the details so people have time to get off from work and prepare for the best single day winter event in Belegarth. As a side note, I am also trying to see if ISU would be willing to let us use that site as a practice area for winter fighting. With fingers crossed and a hefty donation to ISU athletics, I think we can grease the wheels on this. I have big dreams for Wolfpack both at ISU and within Belegarth. Getting there is going to be the fun part.
I usually thank a ton of people for things going on in the realm but individually I can't do that. I have to thank the Wolfpack Knights, Squires, Vets and Noobs all together because honestly were it not for our dedication to one another, we wouldn't be where we are now. This has been a group effort and I am so proud. Thank you Wolfpack for being my friends, family and working to expand our realm and our sport.
Belegarth, as a national entity will not succeed unless we as the society come together and start working towards a common goal. Armageddon was so much fun this year but was put down by people who were not even present at the event. Why has it gotten this bad wrap for being a bastard event in the middle of the summer? "Because it hasn't been fun sinceArm I." (a frequent answer I have recieved). My only question is what did you do to make it fun? Did you go out and pull people to main fire to sing, tell stories, joke with new and old friends like Thorn did this year or did you sit in your campsite drinking wondering what someone else was going to do to entertain you? I wonder if people realize it or not that Armageddon is the only way the National Organization gets any funding. Guess what people, in order to keep this sport alive, it needs to have some source of funds. I know I was not around for the split from Dag but you know what, lawyer fee's need to be paid because as a national organization you need legal representation. Our sport should have a blanket insurance to protect itself, its officers, and its members. Either that comes from a huge fucking event that we throw for a week, where people can take pride in their being apart of this organization, or they can sit on the sidelines and not take up an initiative to make it better. It is so much easier to sit in the cheap seats and criticize. Since the National Organization can not self sustain off of Armageddon, then I would say membership fees would be in order. OH GOD NO!!! I am not saying individuals have to pay the national organization but I believe Realms should be held accountable for investing in this organization. You want war council representation, you want speaking/voting rights, then earn them by investing in this thing you love so much. I am disgusted with the attitudes by a lot of people in this sport and it is disheartening. This sport could be so much better than it is but we sit aside from everything and bicker back and forth. Yes, it is fun to play politics, but in all honesty, we need to start moving forward instead of sitting back slowly killing the one thing many of us fine enjoyment in. These are just my own personal feelings towards this topic, this message isn't meant for the people who give a shit and actually try to make things better, you few from the many know who you are. This is for the people who have nothing better to do than criticize without stepping up and taking an initiative.
If you compete when you fight, you should know that the fight is not about your ego. It is a spiritual endeavor. You are fighting to attain something higher than your present self. If you lose in a one-on-one tournament, it means that the other person was better than you, and you were destined to lose. So you Should lose. And you will become greater because of it. ;
