ANST -Ladies & Who Protects Who

[Ted Capkanis]

I've  faced Sir Sif, in single combat, twice at two Gulf Wars.
Both times she hit me like a ton of Bricks.  Rarely have I met
any fighter, male or female who displayed such skill, chivalry,
and a willingness to just laugh . . . because it was all fun!

Vivat!

Sir Demetrius, Trimaris

Mike C. Baker wrote:

> Mooneschadeen! Listen up! History Alert!
>
> ---Burke McCrory <bmccrory at mercury.oktax.state.ok.us> wrote:
> > At 02:00 PM 10/29/97 -0500, you wrote:
>
> <SNIP>
> > > shots to the visor or raised welts on the buttocks
> > > will quickly change your mind about the helplessness
> > > of the so-called "weaker" sex.
> > I find this agument of hitting like a girl or I don't
> > want to hurt a girl to be laughable at best.  I started
> > fighting in this game way back in 1979.
> >  Back then Ansteorra had several ladies that were fighting
> > heavy weapons.
> > I remember a certain very young lady that was learning to
> > fight at the same time.  NO ONE EVER accused the future
> > Sir Sif of hitting like a girl!!  I also never saw anyone
> > tell Mistress Mara, Baroness Gunhilda, or Lady Adhysa
> > that they shouldn't fight because they were too frail and
> > might get hurt.
> > In Ansteorra if you don't watch out, some of the worst
> > bruises you will ever get will have a lady at the other
> > end of the sword.
>
> <honor role of well-known Ansteorran lady warriors snipped>
>
> > just to name a few.  I think you will find that in
> > Ansteorra we don't have any of the "weaker" sex just
> > the fairer sex.
>
> Also from the early days in northern Ansteorra, and worthy of
> at the
> least footnotes, were Patricia of Dreamwind (fencing victor at
> the
> first Mooneschadowe Guardian, well before there were "official"
>
> champions in the rapier form) and Leta Amaryllis Goldenglow. I
> raise
> (I will not dare to presume "champion") Leta's case in
> particular as
> an exemplar in the sense that her tenacity, speed, and
> "gumption"
> were a recurrent spur to the expectations and ambitions of
> many.
>
> Most often, our ambitions were to keep Leta from doing more
> damage
> to her own self -- perhaps out of over-zealousness, but as much
> or
> more from genuine concern. It may have been a comical sight at
> the
> time to see her relatively small body partially wrapped in a
> mattress (well, it *looked* like a mattress...) to protect a
> much
> damaged wrist, only her weapon arm and legs really clear /
> free.
>
> She accepted our solicitousness with humor & grace, not to
> mention
> recurrent frustration at her own frail flesh-and-bone -- and
> proceeded to redouble the pace of her attacks.
>
> Any who had not faced her previously, or seen her in full
> flurry,
> came away from their matches shaking heads in disbelief and
> wonder.
> Where did all of those blows come from? How could any human
> move so
> fast? Where was the power behind them coming from, considering
> her
> tiny frame?
>
> That the combat she entered was mostly if not entirely limited
> to
> forms not using rattan is beside and beyond the point. Memories
> of
> Leta upon the field, in any combat form, will always be in the
> back
> of my brain when facing a smaller or apparently over-protected
> opponent.
>
> Borrowing the vernacular of a much later time frame: "Speed
> kills".
> Upon the list field, or practice floor, or in the melee, not
> only
> does speed "kill" an opponent, it kills his or her
> opportunities to
> return a blow... I may be aging now, and slowing down, but I
> know
> better for having faced Leta when *not* to rely on a strength I
> may
> or may not have available.
>
> And I also will know when to expect my opponent to display
> ability
> beyond prior expectation (ALWAYS!)
>
> ===
> Pax ... Kihe / Adieu -- Amra / TTFN -- Mike
> Kihe Blackeagle (the Dreamsinger Bard) /
> (al-Sayyid) Amr ibn Majid al-Bakri al-Amra  /
> Mike C. Baker: My opinions are my own -- no one else would want
> them!
> Homepage: http://www.geocities.com/Area51/8661
> Alt. e-mail: KiheBard at aol.com, MikeCBaker at aol.com
>
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--

So take me back to Constantinople
No, you can't go back to Constantinople
Been a long time gone,  Constantinople
Why did Constantinople get the works?
That's nobody's business but the Turks'

Recorded by "The Four Lads" back in the 50's


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