My shoulder felt better on Thursday, so I went to Ladies’ Night and went over the material I missed at Krav on Wednesday.
On Friday, I went to UWF fencing. I can hold the sword in my right hand! I figure it’s a good idea to use a lighter sword if I’m using my right hand, and I can’t attack in all hand positions, but I can use it, and I intend to (responsibly) at War.
Speaking of Gulf Wars, I’m working on getting my act together to go. I leave in three days!
No Krav for me tonight. My shoulder is really bothering me. I think I may have done something weird to it at yoga. I’ll be back in it tomorrow.
Man, i’m bad at this, haha.
Okay, so I left off last Wednesday, right? Thursday was Ladies’ Night. I got together with some other lady Kravists and went over some techniques that weren’t quite solid for me yet.
Last weekend was the Pensacola Renaissance Faire (and Pirate Festival). I was there for both days doing fencing demonstrations with the SCA and the UWF club. It looks like people are interested in trying it out. One of my favorite things about Ren Faire is seeing little girls (especially ones dressed like princesses) interested in swords. Nothing is better than a sword fighting princess!
Last night was Krav practice.I’m working on using combinations instead of just relying on the same one or two strikes. unfortunately, somewhere between “throw what you know” and “don’t overthink it,” I end up doing weird things that may not be martially sound. I’ll sleep on it.
My finger is getting better, but I still don’t have range of motion. I’m hoping to try holding a sword with that hand this Friday night at practice. Wish me luck.
Now it’s time to prepare for Gulf Wars. I have a week until I pack up and ship out!
Last night I went back to Krav after a full week off. I can’t make a fist with my right hand, so I substituted palm heel strikes and elbows today. I kept the finger buddy taped during practice and then worked on moving it a little bit afterward. We learned a new combination, and even though it was hitchy at first, it smoothed out by the end of the day.
Two fun things happened to me last night. The first was during warm-ups. My sparring partner accidentally stuck a finger in my eye socket. It was surreal and a little scary (for both of us!), and I hope no one ever touches me there again. I’m fine, but when I was icing my face with a bag of frozen lentils after practice, I couldn’t help but think about the trope of the boxer with a slab of meat on his face. Frozen lentils is definitely the opposite of that. I’m a little tender and swollen, but the eye did not blacken up like I expected (I won’t lie – I’m a little disappointed).
The other fun thing was at the end of practice. We were sparring a little and switching partners, and I found myself squared off with someone much bigger than I am. I thought I’d equalize the situation with a kick, but he went for a punch at the same time. I leaned back (maybe tried to step back?) and completely bought it. I was flat on my back, and I’m sure that from a distance, it looked like he just knocked me right the hell out. I couldn’t help it – I started laughing (which alarmed my friends even more). That was pretty much the end of practice. It was a really good fall though!
This week has been wild. I hardly even know where to start.
I guess I’ll start with skipping practice on Monday. I hate skipping practice, but my finger really hurt from being in the splint, so I took the splint off, took my pain meds, and rested.
On Tuesday I thought I’d get back into things slowly with yoga, but yoga was cancelled when the campus closed because of inclement weather. A storm system with a lot of tornadoes was headed our way. One of those tornadoes touched down in my neighborhood. I lost power for about 36 hours, but my neighbors weren’t so lucky. I am grateful for my life, my loved ones, my pets, and my home.
On Wednesday morning I saw the orthopedist. He confirmed that the finger is not broken, told me I didn’t have to wear the splint anymore (yay!), and cleared me to fence with caution (double yay!). I’m buddy taping most of the time and slowly and carefully working and massaging the finger to get my range of motion back. I still have trouble picking things up, and I swear everything around me wants to bump into it, but I’m seeing some definite progress.
I went to UWF fencing on Wednesday night and practiced left handed (and took a hot shower). When we went to bed that night, we had no idea how our weekend would go. Fortunately life got back to normal on Thursday, so Nik was able to pack us up on Friday, and we headed up to Atlanta that night.
We woke up bright and early on Saturday for Meridian Challenge of Arms (MCA). This was the first ever MCA, and the turnout was fantastic (over 60 fencers!). Before the fencing started, my longtime friend and mentor took me on as a formal student under the new rapier peerage. Then the real fun began! I signed up for every tournament, and I fought all day with my left hand (with my finger back in the splint and refused as much as possible to protect it). I had some really awesome fights. Then I had some fights that I lost and just couldn’t figure out how. Then I had some more good fights. Then I had a few more not-so-good ones. It was an erratic day, and at times it was frustrating, especially since I had trouble looking back and figuring out what went wrong (more on that in a couple of paragraphs).
That evening at court, however, one of my dreams came true. I don’t care if it sounds cheesy – it happened. I was induced into the Meridian Order of the Blade.
If you aren’t familiar with the SCA and its awards, the MOB is “an armigerous [meaning it bears heraldic arms] polling order given in recognition of excellence in skill, instruction, leadership, and service to the sport of rapier, the rapier community, and the Kingdom.” In other words, a bunch of people I really respect voted and decided that I am on their level. I’ve aspired to this honor since I heard about it because I wanted to be part of that group of elite fencers. They recognized me and welcomed me as one of their own last night, and I’m just floored.
Today I have felt every movement I’ve made with my left arm. I try to condition both sides, but I used those muscles in a way they haven’t ever been used. I think I was having a decent amount of fatigue, but I was so hyped I didn’t recognize what it was. I’m home now, though, so I see a bath with Epsom salts in my future.
Tomorrow I should be back to my normal routine. Thanks for staying patient, and I’ll try not to be such a slouch about updating (no promises until after War).
I smashed the index finger on my right hand learning about getting out of headlocks on Thursday night, so bear with me. It still moved, so we kept training (falls and rolls), and then I iced it, buddy taped it, and went on my way.
It still hurt Friday, so I visited the ER for an x-ray. It isn’t broken, but I need to follow up with ortho to be sure.
Nik and I also presented multiple panels
and participated in a couple of demos at Pensacon this weekend. I fenced left handed and wore my splint (except on Friday – then I fenced left handed and hoped for the best).
My plan for the week is to fence rather than go to Krav to get ready for Meridian Challenge of Arms this week. Fingers crossed… or not.
Yoga didn’t happen Tuesday night. I’m kinda bummed about that, but we’ll be back on schedule next week.
Krav on Wednesday night was good. I feel a little more ready for the test after each practice. At this point we’ve re-covered everything, so from here on out, it’s just drilling all those skills into our heads. My chest is a little tender, but I’m otherwise pretty much healed.
I didn’t get to fence on Friday partially because I thought I might be coming down with something and partially because the UWF club did a demo that day, so they really didn’t need two more hours of practice.
I’m looking forward to fencing for the first time in what feels like ages tomorrow.
I went to SCA fencing practice on Sunday. I probably could have geared up, but I played it safe instead and did 100 lunges, some footwork, and the around the clock drill. The realization that my chest protectors would line up perfectly with my bruises helped me reach the decision to sit it out one more day.
I had the chance to go to UWF fencing on Monday, but Nik and I were both too pooped to go, so we declared Monday a rest day. I’ll be back at Krav tomorrow. I’m looking forward to yoga tonight.
My P1 test is right around the corner. I’m excited, but the nervousness hasn’t really kicked in yet.
Since I was still very bruised from Krav practice on Wednesday, I opted to restrict myself to non-contact practice until next week. I went to club fencing practice and did 100 lunges. I also did the around the clock drill and worked on some footwork. Mostly I stretched and observed.
I think that even if you can’t fully participate, just being at practice is good for you. I didn’t really want to go since I knew I couldn’t fence, but I still like being around my students (my team).
We had intended to go to an SCA event today, but Nik is sick, so we’re staying in. We’ll be back at it tomorrow (he fencing and I observing).
I didn’t go see any doctors about the leg. I slept a lot because of the meds. I felt marginally better on Monday and went to work. Walking around and moving seemed to help, so I put on a brace, stretched thoroughly, and fenced that night.
…and I’m fine. I have no idea what the problem was. Tonight was yoga night, and I talked to my yogi about stretches and how the muscles in the core interact with the muscles in the leg.
I was super proud of my fencers again. I’m still having a personal mental block with cuts. I just don’t see them (in addition to my problems with cuts to the head).
Tonight after yoga, Nik and I spent some time in the studio. I practiced some punches and palm heels against my new strike pad because I’m skipping Krav this week, and we got out the swords and messed with tempo a little bit. I’m working on seeing cuts and parrying up instead of just side to side. I feel like I’m 2D fencing in a 3D world.
I don’t have work tomorrow. I may spend some extra time training, or I may indulge in doing absolutely freaking nothing.
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