Day 33

Last night I went to UWF fencing practice and did 100 lunges and the around the clock drill before gearing up. I fenced one on one with most of the students and had what I hope was one piece of useful feedback for each one.

Then we did a team melee and an every man for himself melee. I hadn’t done the latter in ages, and it showed. That’s on me. In the team melee, we went in with a solid plan, and I think it was a good one, but I don’t think it was the right one for that situation. I’ll need to think about tactics a bit more before Gulf Wars.

This weekend I went to Castle Wars. The only one-on-one fighting I did aside from the prize fight consisted of pickups. Most of what we did was melee fencing.

My friend received the highest level rapier award one can get in the SCA (Master of the Order of Defense). I missed the vigil, but I was happy to fence with him in his prize. He told me he’s seen my “murder face.” I feel like that’s a step in the right direction.

I had the chance to lead a small army in several bridge battles. When we weren’t doing organized fencing events, I did pickups with several fencers I don’t see very often.

I’ve decided to revisit the lunge challenge since someone pointed out that I don’t commit to lunges. I’d rather that be a choice, not a limitation. I’ve always felt like I shouldn’t play the distance game because I’m short, but I know plenty of short people who do killer lunges, so I should adjust that mind set.

So I ended up not going to fencing this Friday either. I’m not going to post about going to practice any more. I’m jinxing myself!

Instead I hung out with one of my fencing friends from out of town. We cooked for the fencing club kids (okay, he did the cooking, but I chopped veggies).

Saturday I went to Panhandle Skirmishes, a melee event. My group brought a lot of fencers, so we split up and fenced each other. I think everyone had a really good time. There was a lot of good fencing, and I felt really good about leading my team.

The rapier program in the south is growing. I think the new faces I saw will be sticking around.

I ended up not ending on Friday because my belly was bothering me. Generally speaking it’s a bad idea to put on tight pants and run around when one’s belly is upset.

Fortunately my belly and I were on speaking terms this weekend, and I led/participated in a successful melee practice on Sunday. I got to teach, learn, make friends, and fight. The group I was visiting also had a tasty potluck lunch. It was a really great weekend and fun practice.