My Thoughts on Life

Fighting off-hand is not something anyone wants to do but if you lose your sword arm, it is required. I finally got to experience this at practice this past week. And I found out I am not too bad at it.

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There are SCA events almost every weekend somewhere. Depending on your kingdom/barony they could be very local or far away. Part of this is because kingdoms consists of several states. Going to an event is a great way to meet new people from other areas, whether your own or another one.

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One of the more interesting things about the SCA is that you get to create and name and persona. It is a bit D&D in a way because you creating this fictitious person to “be” while attending events and other functions. You can pick you name from anywhere in history that is part of the middle ages/medieval times. You can pick any nationality you wish to. Some people go with their ancestry, others branch out and pick one they know nothing about, and some go somewhere in between. It is recommended that you pick a culture and then time period before picking a name, not finding a name you like and then making your culture and time period fit it. The name does not have to be registered with the SCA for use, but if it is no one else can ever use that name and it will be printed on your membership card. Real names in history are not allowed to be used. So you can not be William Wallace, Attila the Hun, or Joan of Arch. This is not a re-enactment of battles or certain events in history but a group with the same interest, learning about history and doing things that people did in those times.

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It might help to understand how armor works for Heavy Weapons to delve a little deeper into it. Helms can be just about any shape and style that a fighter wants. The big things about them is no big gaps for a rattan sword to get in between and actually hit someone in the face, a chin strap to keep it on, the minimum thickness, and padding. Some people have very elaborate helms while others get a basic one they like. Some have a front that flips up so they can take a drink during rest times without having to remove their helm. Of course the front must be secured so it does not flip up during combat or practice as well. Nothing can protrude from the helm that could harm someone. You can have a pointed top helm and even have a neck cover on the back, but no spikes or such things that could harm a sword or person if they were knocked into the helm.

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So I thought perhaps I should share what you are required to wear and what is optional to fight Heavy Weapons. It is interesting to note some things that are NOT required to fight someone.

First thing you have to have is a helm to protect your head. The minimum gauge is 16 but no one really fights in 16. Most people fight 14 and 12 is not uncommon either. You don't want to go heavier than 12 though because you won't be able to move your head to fight. Padding inside the helm is a must to protect your head from the helm as well. A heavy metal object bouncing on your head is not fun. How much padding is pretty much up to the individual, although minimum is 1/2 inch closed cell foam. Most people actually use more than that. The better the helm fits your head, the easier to move in it and see to hit your opponent. Also the helm must have a chin strap to keep it on securely and no gaps in the front can be more than 2 inces. This is so the "blades" don't get in and hit you in the face. Also glass glasses are not allowed.

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Continuing to go to practice is a good thing for Heavy Weapons. I don’t feel very confidant yet but I am getting better and tiring less often. And it does take practice to get better. Even going against someone who is not much better than you is good because you see how easy it is for someone to get hit when they don’t know it all either. This happened two weeks ago when everyone else was paired up and it was just me and a guy whose been doing this for about 5 weeks longer than myself. He even decided to use two sticks instead of a weapon and shield. He had never done this and wanted to try it out. I thought he would best me quickly but he kept leaving his belly open because he was used to the shield protecting him. It was a nice feeling to get a “killing” shot in a few times and then the novelty wore off. You can only easily “kill” someone so many times before it becomes boring. But going against someone that hits as much as I do was refreshing for a change. Of course at the end of the night, that had been the only bout I had gotten to do because of the pairing up and him then being taught was an authorization will require. I was upset over this event but watched the ending of how an authorization would work. An authorization is where you prove that you can compete on the battle field safely. Skill is not a requirement, just the knowledge of what to do in what situation and that you can hit and take a hit basically. You are being watched to see if you take the obvious openings but otherwise skill is not in use.

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Practice, practice, practice. It's what you have to do to get better at anything. Heavy Weapons is the same. Each week I got and train, I'm getting better. Some times it takes me a little bit to see the open shots, intentional or not, but I'm getting there.

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The third week of practice I was geared up with the help of one of my new friends. He gave me some gear to wear so I didn't have to use some of the regular loaner armor. I didn't much like the elbow armor that was given to me because it was lose but it was better than the other loaner armor so I dealt with it. He also gave me gloves and then we found a shield to use. He brought some chest armor he used to wear and I used that instead of the leather from the week before. And then one of the other guys suggested that I put my elbow pads I had bought to protect my upper arms in the helmet. It was perfect and I was able to see.

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The second week of practice, one of the guys brought loaner armor for me to try on and us. I started talking to a girl who showed me some of it. She fights as well but was sick that night. It helped to have another female show me what went where and how it worked. All of it was leather armor.

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So after many years of thinking I decided to join the SCA and get into Heavy Weapons, or Armored Combat. It's always been appealing to me but I was afraid to try it. More that I couldn't take a hit and would whimp out. Now I haven't really gotten hit yet but some and it's not too bad. But anyhow I went right after practice started up again after the holiday. I just watched the first night, although one guy had me hit him to see if I liked it. I knew right then I was hooked.

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My last post was about a new writing job I had. It seemed very nice, easy, and paid well. Unfortunately it didn't turn out to be as great as it seemed. The pay was decent because several of the "articles" I had to do took at least an hour to do research and write it.

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I haven't posted in a long time. I have been busy. Mostly just with life and for a while working on my book. However the last month has been with a new writing gig I found. I had a few last year that were consistant and then they stopped.

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I hate reality shows. They get old and boring after the first season normally. I watched some of Survivar when it first came out and Big Brother but that's about it. Most of them now remind me of The Real World on MTV, childish and stupid. But then I saw a commercial for Pirate Masters and knew I'd watch this. What can I say, I married a pirate er privateer.

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My writing is coming along. Not as well as I would like but I am doing it just about every day. That is much better than even last year. The more I do it, the more I will keep at it. Some days it's harder than others but that's nothing new. I don't get writer's block perse but I can't get through the scene I'm in to get where I want the story to go. I have the basic story in my head and it's some of the parts I don't have pinned down that kick my ass.

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How many people want a tattoo at some point in their life? Probably a lot more than most people think. Not everyone acts on it. But if you honestly want one, there are things you should do before getting one.

The first is make sure you REALLY want one. Too many people think they do and get one spur of the moment and then regret it later. Wait a fews years after thinking about getting one before actually doing so. If you still want one, then pursue it.

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