Welcome to Heavy Cavalier.
In the SCA I am Sir Morgan Ironheart of Meridies. I started playing in the SCA over 25 years ago in Ansteorra where I was squired to Sir William the Bear. After a couple of years in Texas my wife and I traveled around the country working renaissance festivals before we finally settled down in Atlanta, GA.
I started off fighting with a very generic kit, you know the free and cheap stuff hidden mostly by a tabard. Then I went with a Viking kit, then an Eastern Viking kit and then a Turkish kit for about 12 years. I started fencing in 2008 or so and decided I wanted a kit that would fit in on both the Heavy and Light field. The true catalyst of this transition was the purchase of this helmet......
In the SCA I am Sir Morgan Ironheart of Meridies. I started playing in the SCA over 25 years ago in Ansteorra where I was squired to Sir William the Bear. After a couple of years in Texas my wife and I traveled around the country working renaissance festivals before we finally settled down in Atlanta, GA.
I started off fighting with a very generic kit, you know the free and cheap stuff hidden mostly by a tabard. Then I went with a Viking kit, then an Eastern Viking kit and then a Turkish kit for about 12 years. I started fencing in 2008 or so and decided I wanted a kit that would fit in on both the Heavy and Light field. The true catalyst of this transition was the purchase of this helmet......
The second I saw, it I loved it. I only recently found out it was made by Master Glendour of Talon Armory out of Calontir about 15 years ago. I don't really want to go with too much plate armor as I feel it will slow me down ( and age is doing that enough for me right now ), so a friend made me an armored doublet. He made it to be worn under a shirt but it bulked me up too much ( because my gut doesn't do that enough ) so I wore it on the outside, you know, like a real doublet. I like it. Now a word on terminology. What I'm wearing is not really a doublet because it doesn't have sleeves. It's a jerkin, which was worn over a doublet. Many people in The SCA call these doublets and they are wrong.
So far I like the new harness, just need to tweak a few things.
1. Pants need to be slightly baggier to accommodate the knee cops better and they need a way to secure just under the knee.
2. Need to adjust the padding in the helmet for that perfect fit and put in a different chinstrap
3. Better boots. Alas, the bane of all the late period fighters. I have yet to find a good quality pair of fighting boots that are affordable. BTW, scaboots.com suck for heavy fighting and aren't much better for fencing either.
1. Pants need to be slightly baggier to accommodate the knee cops better and they need a way to secure just under the knee.
2. Need to adjust the padding in the helmet for that perfect fit and put in a different chinstrap
3. Better boots. Alas, the bane of all the late period fighters. I have yet to find a good quality pair of fighting boots that are affordable. BTW, scaboots.com suck for heavy fighting and aren't much better for fencing either.
So I'll fight in this for a while and see if I like it. I plan to make a jack of plates at some point. I figured out a lacing pattern using the holes in the lamellar from plasticlamellar.com with the addition of one hole.
Seven months later and I'm still loving the kit. I've made a new shield based on a jousting shield because I really hate the round. Haven't really had a chance to tweak the kit too much. My buddy, Ingelri of Keldon, made me a spiff, lower profile half gauntlet that rocks. Thanks Dude!
BOOTS: So the boots I bought from scaboots.com died. My local cobbler couldn't re-sole them due to the amount of cardboard. My grand plan is to buy some slip on black shoes and glue/stitch the old uppers on. So far I can't find any shoes cheap enough and that look right. This has been an ongoing quest for three months now.
9/28/16
Wow, been a while since I updated this.
Not too much has changed, Oh Wait! I was recognized as a Captain of Meridies and then I was made the 3rd Master of Defence for Meridies.
So as you can see I've changed my kit up some. The armored jerkin is about dead, I'll be making a Jack of Plates sometime this winter similar to this one.....not as tapered cuz I'm not tapered
Again, it's been a while since I've been here. I tried other blogging sites but I think Weebly is the most user friendly for Luddites such as myself. I recently decided that I had stuff to say so I would update this site much more often.
I've been a MoD for a bit now and I have to say it's been interesting. Being a fencing peer in a kingdom that has not always supported fencing has been a challenge. There are still many folks who hate fencing with a passion but just as many are at least seeing it as a valid endeavor in the SCA.
I've been a MoD for a bit now and I have to say it's been interesting. Being a fencing peer in a kingdom that has not always supported fencing has been a challenge. There are still many folks who hate fencing with a passion but just as many are at least seeing it as a valid endeavor in the SCA.
This is a trading card that Captain Jack Marvel made for The MoD, Captains and other sundry and assorted fencers in Meridies. I think it turned out well.
I recently took my first student associate in the fencing community. Lars Rikardson of Bryn Madoc is now my valet. Someday as our relationship grows he may be promoted to yeoman. I dont particularly like some of the terms being applied to MoD students as I want something that I feel is more appropriate for my persona.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valet
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yeoman
should you wish to read more.
I currently have one active squire, William Scrivener who many call Billy the Scriv for some odd reason. Some day I'll get a picture of his new spiffy helm and fighting rig.
Dealing with Royalty in mostly a casual setting
So I was having a discussion with a former king who commented that he found the rapier fighters of Meridies to be a fun group, but to him it seemed like they were very uncomfortable around him and most didn't know how to act around TRMs. YES! There are specific way you SHOULD act around TRMs either together or individually. He wasn't offended in any way, he just found it....quaint. So I took it upon myself to write up a short paper on ways to interact with TRMs while at events. Mostly this applies to interactions not in court or on the field. Those will be covered later.
Dealing with royalty
When I was a young man first starting out I was taught by the man, who would go on to be my knight, that we should always show respect to the crown. We might not like the man or woman wearing the brass hat but we must respect the hat. A King and Queen only reign for a few short months but the Crowns represent the kingdom itself. Many times I have been sitting around a fire or a pavilion chatting, resting or eating when royalty walk in. As we start to stand most of them tut-tut the motion and tell us to stay seated, but the beginning of the motion from us is still showing the respect that the crown deserves and is entitled to. Many years ago there was a saying “When the kings off his ass, no one sits”. I’m not sure that was entirely true but the intention was there. Show The Respect.
There are several ways in which to show obeisance. Ladies may bow or curtsey. Lords should bow and in most cases remove their hats (helmets may stay on due to the nature of taking one on and off). If you are showing a particularly strong affinity to the current crown you may kneel or prostrate yourself in some way appropriate to your persona but this would be viewed with some major eye brow raising unless being done tongue in cheek. In armor saluting the crown with your weapon is fine although some purists might argue that raising a weapon to the crown is inappropriate, I can think of no past king that would find this so.
When should you bow? When the Royals get within approximately 10’ of you, you should start some sort of motion. When the royals enter or leave court you should stand and as the royals actually pass you, you should bow or curtsey. Oddly enough I notice many people bow, and continue bowing as the royals and all of their retainers pass by to or from the thrones. It might be the Ansteorran in me but I find bowing to retainers not suitable for my current station. I bow when the royals themselves pass by. I may bow several times in a processional with landed baron(ess)’s thrown in but so be it. Also, when royals approach a group you are in, it is polite to call out “Their Majesties/Highness’ approach” to let others know who may not see them.
When you are in the presence of the royals in an informal setting (standing around the field or fire, walking through the merchants etc.) and you need to speak to them, it is respectful to approach within 10 feet or so, bow or curtsey, and then ask permission to speak with them. When you need to leave them, it is considered polite to ask their permission to leave, possibly citing the reason of why you need to leave. But as a follow up to this a king and queen should never be left unattended. Most royals have retainers already lined up but some of the sneakier ones make a joke of leaving their retainers behind. (retaining will be covered in another post)
This is by no means a complete guide to showing respect to the crown but hopefully it will give you a basic idea of what to do and when.
When I was a young man first starting out I was taught by the man, who would go on to be my knight, that we should always show respect to the crown. We might not like the man or woman wearing the brass hat but we must respect the hat. A King and Queen only reign for a few short months but the Crowns represent the kingdom itself. Many times I have been sitting around a fire or a pavilion chatting, resting or eating when royalty walk in. As we start to stand most of them tut-tut the motion and tell us to stay seated, but the beginning of the motion from us is still showing the respect that the crown deserves and is entitled to. Many years ago there was a saying “When the kings off his ass, no one sits”. I’m not sure that was entirely true but the intention was there. Show The Respect.
There are several ways in which to show obeisance. Ladies may bow or curtsey. Lords should bow and in most cases remove their hats (helmets may stay on due to the nature of taking one on and off). If you are showing a particularly strong affinity to the current crown you may kneel or prostrate yourself in some way appropriate to your persona but this would be viewed with some major eye brow raising unless being done tongue in cheek. In armor saluting the crown with your weapon is fine although some purists might argue that raising a weapon to the crown is inappropriate, I can think of no past king that would find this so.
When should you bow? When the Royals get within approximately 10’ of you, you should start some sort of motion. When the royals enter or leave court you should stand and as the royals actually pass you, you should bow or curtsey. Oddly enough I notice many people bow, and continue bowing as the royals and all of their retainers pass by to or from the thrones. It might be the Ansteorran in me but I find bowing to retainers not suitable for my current station. I bow when the royals themselves pass by. I may bow several times in a processional with landed baron(ess)’s thrown in but so be it. Also, when royals approach a group you are in, it is polite to call out “Their Majesties/Highness’ approach” to let others know who may not see them.
When you are in the presence of the royals in an informal setting (standing around the field or fire, walking through the merchants etc.) and you need to speak to them, it is respectful to approach within 10 feet or so, bow or curtsey, and then ask permission to speak with them. When you need to leave them, it is considered polite to ask their permission to leave, possibly citing the reason of why you need to leave. But as a follow up to this a king and queen should never be left unattended. Most royals have retainers already lined up but some of the sneakier ones make a joke of leaving their retainers behind. (retaining will be covered in another post)
This is by no means a complete guide to showing respect to the crown but hopefully it will give you a basic idea of what to do and when.
My feelings on HEMA
So I feel that HEMA is a fantastic organization in all its countless iterations and clones. Most of the people have spent countless hours studying, practicing and teaching and they like to talk about it but not as much as some Crossfitters who shove it down your throat. (That's never actually happened to me I'm just jumping on the bandwagon.If you have ever seen me in person you'll understand why no crossfitter has ever talked to me about Crossfit). The HEMA folks are just a big a bunch a goobers as any SCA group is. I have been to a few of their events in the Atlanta area and really enjoy watching what they do. But it's not for me. I guess I have spent too much time in the SCA and I am stuck in the process. I really don't like the HEMA version of judged blows and I really can't fathom why a group dedicated to the study and reproduction of Medieval/Renaissance swordplay doesn't want to wear period armor but to instead look like a SWAT team on a team building exercise.
I have watched one SCA fencer with a strong HEMA background do very well in an SCA tourney, fighting with what we would call a Bastard sword, but he only did good against other two handed weapons and Meridies is primarily a sword and shield kingdom. But mad props to him for that. All that being said, I found small bits of this video to be very funny.
I have watched one SCA fencer with a strong HEMA background do very well in an SCA tourney, fighting with what we would call a Bastard sword, but he only did good against other two handed weapons and Meridies is primarily a sword and shield kingdom. But mad props to him for that. All that being said, I found small bits of this video to be very funny.
Injuries and fighting
I had a good conversation with a friend of mine today and it came about that he was currently injured and wasn't able to fight. For those of you that don't know me I have a pretty good history of injuries that have side lined me over the years. About 16 years ago I tore the lateral meniscus in my left knee. A " simple surgery " ended up being three surgeries, a Staph infection and being out of work for 6 months. I had my Right shoulder scoped 10 years ago and that was one of the best things I could have had done, so much more range of motion. Two years ago I had a bone spur removed from my Left heel that kept me off the field for 8 weeks or so. Then a pinched nerve in my neck kept me off the field for 4-5 months. So as you can see i am no stranger to injuries.
My friend said his Right shoulder has a possible torn rotator cuff pending an MRI at some point. I recommended two things to him. The first is to still go to practice and watch. Watching is a huge part of training in my book. You can see so much more about your opponents from the side line and while you're doing this you should be taking notes on opponents or potential future opponents. Now I know some folks that sit around and watch video of themselves fighting to fine turn their performance. If you want to take it that far that's fine. I highly recommend keeping a fighting notebook, but more on that later. The second thing I recommended to him was to possibly try fighting with his other hand to improve his off hand performance. Now I told him to only try this with out doing any more damage to his Right shoulder if he could. Fight Left handed but If he just has to use his right hand for balance, parries, etc, then maybe he shouldn't try this. He could take the haughty stance of Right hand on hip that seems to infuriate some other fencers. But even if he is able to do slow work, off the field, to help strengthen his off hand, then maybe its worth a shot. Obviously you shouldn't fight through most injuries but in his case it might work out for him. YMMV.
My friend said his Right shoulder has a possible torn rotator cuff pending an MRI at some point. I recommended two things to him. The first is to still go to practice and watch. Watching is a huge part of training in my book. You can see so much more about your opponents from the side line and while you're doing this you should be taking notes on opponents or potential future opponents. Now I know some folks that sit around and watch video of themselves fighting to fine turn their performance. If you want to take it that far that's fine. I highly recommend keeping a fighting notebook, but more on that later. The second thing I recommended to him was to possibly try fighting with his other hand to improve his off hand performance. Now I told him to only try this with out doing any more damage to his Right shoulder if he could. Fight Left handed but If he just has to use his right hand for balance, parries, etc, then maybe he shouldn't try this. He could take the haughty stance of Right hand on hip that seems to infuriate some other fencers. But even if he is able to do slow work, off the field, to help strengthen his off hand, then maybe its worth a shot. Obviously you shouldn't fight through most injuries but in his case it might work out for him. YMMV.
Blogs I follow
I'll update the list when I find more so check back:
http://www.weeklywarfare.net/ fencer specific but a lot of other stuff that relates to fighting in general. The article on concussions is amazing
http://boxwrestlefence.com/ non-SCA but mostly pertains to fencing
https://thetavernknight.wordpress.com/ late period and fencing centric
https://doncael.tumblr.com/ my buddy Cael's tumblr
http://www.thecoblog.net/ Italian style fencing from a guy with a Masters degree in fencing
http://jmaucoin.com/blog/
http://www.weeklywarfare.net/ fencer specific but a lot of other stuff that relates to fighting in general. The article on concussions is amazing
http://boxwrestlefence.com/ non-SCA but mostly pertains to fencing
https://thetavernknight.wordpress.com/ late period and fencing centric
https://doncael.tumblr.com/ my buddy Cael's tumblr
http://www.thecoblog.net/ Italian style fencing from a guy with a Masters degree in fencing
http://jmaucoin.com/blog/
Maxims and Reflections of a Renaissance Meridian
1. Rarely should you say " Light, Your Grace ", it is an invitation to a whole new level of pain.
2. Heavy fighting is hard and takes years of constant practice to be competent.
3. Rapier fighting is hard and takes years of constant practice to be competent.
4. This is a hobby. Don't let it obsess you
5. Be loyal to the throne.
6. If someone doesn't like you and they don't have a reason; give that villain a reason to not like you.
2. Heavy fighting is hard and takes years of constant practice to be competent.
3. Rapier fighting is hard and takes years of constant practice to be competent.
4. This is a hobby. Don't let it obsess you
5. Be loyal to the throne.
6. If someone doesn't like you and they don't have a reason; give that villain a reason to not like you.
Resources:
The Book of Five Rings
The Art of War
Living the Martial Way
Zen in The Martial arts
Dreyfuss Model of Skill Acquisition
OODA Loop
https://youtu.be/n-O2PO3m_Ts
The Book of Five Rings
The Art of War
Living the Martial Way
Zen in The Martial arts
Dreyfuss Model of Skill Acquisition
OODA Loop
https://youtu.be/n-O2PO3m_Ts