Tag: day 28

The last few days leading up to MCA were brutal. It seemed like there was a ton of stuff to do and not a lot of time to do it, and then there were days when we couldn’t work ahead, so we had all this idle time. It’s hard to explain.

Anyway, I left off on Wednesday. Let’s get caught up.

Thursday: I didn’t have much time, so I did 15 minutes of cardio (elliptical with the mask on) and then met up with a handful of people for extra fencing practice. We all kind of phoned it in, but I fought a few passes with everyone.

Friday: We had regular club practice and then did a few hours of setup. We didn’t have time to go to the gym, but I definitely got my steps in (and then some).

Saturday: THE BIG DAY. I fenced every tournament that I was eligible for (minus the sword and dagger tourney). I did good fencing but didn’t advance very far. I did have some issues with fighting my gear, but I mostly stayed in my headspace. I had taken off and packed up most of my gear when the King and Queen came to me and asked me to participate in the championship tournament at the end of the event. I was honored and gladly obliged. Again, I didn’t advance, but I did good fencing.

That’s me on the right.

I took it easy yesterday. Today I’m headed back to the gym. Everyone in the club is pretty spent, so I think we’re going to check in with the club fencers and then go lift instead of fencing. My legs are really sore, so I feel like a day off won’t kill me.

In other news, I compiled a bunch of superhero-inspired workouts to share with my friends, and I took photos of some sample workouts from a book I got from the library. I’ve deleted BodySpace since it wasn’t really meeting my needs. We’ll see if compiling workouts helps or if it’s just another form of research rabbit hole that I can fall down without doing any actual work.

Day 28

Today was my first SCA rapier practice of the new year. One of the ladies who used to fence with us is back, and I’m super stoked to have another day of practice each week. Some of the students from UWF joined us as well, and we had a new(ish) face – or maybe old-new faces, people who used to fence and are coming back.

I started with a review of hand positions and footwork, and then I did 100 lunges. It was a good way to talk about the mechanics of a lunge, hand placement, and recovery.

I spent about an hour and a half drilling, reviewing, and fencing, and then I put on my armor for the first time and tried out armored combat. I’m completely out of my element, but I like trying new things, so I’ll keep at it until it makes more sense. Everything I know about blade mechanics is irrelevant since we’re using rattan simulators. The pedagogy is also totally different – you learn by trying it out and figuring out what works. There isn’t a lot of instruction, so I have my homework cut out for me in the meantime.