ANST - Martial Arts

[Gunnora Hallakarva]

Greetings from Gunnora.

Before I started fighting in the SCA I had the following:

Green belt, Tai Kwon Do
Fencer, C-rank
4 years as a field hockey goalie
12 years playing softball

I have fought SCA rapier combat, and found that it was (1) completely
different from fencing on the strip, especially as I had fenced primarily
foil and epee, not saber and (2) it scared the dickens out of me, since I
have seen a broken foil blade go through a butcher apron plastron and into
a Polish fencer's lung.

I fought chivalric style from 1978 to 1987, and I have just started back
fighting chivalric last year.  What I fight with is dependent on the
tourney and my opponent.  Most tourney fighting I do is sword-and-shield.
I started with a round shield (they made everyone start with a round shield
when I learned to fight) and only switched to the kite I am presently using
in about 1986.  I am about to switch to a center-grip round Real Soon Now
when I get the darned thing made. As for weapons, I've used
sword-and-shield, mace-and-shield, florentine sword-and-mass-weapon,
bastard sword (badly), and polearm. However, my favorite form is single
mace vs. single mace.

Fencing was actively detrimental to my ability to fight sword and shield -
I tended to use my fencing stance -- lean my head far forward and hang my
butt way out beyond my shield - both got hit a lot.  Fencing was useful to
chivalric fighting only in that it had taught me that defense must be
automatic - but you think about offense like you would plan an offense in
chess.

Surprisingly enough, the Tai Kwon Do really didn't help much at all, other
than balance and how to fall.

What I found transferred best and was most useful in chivalric combat came
from softball - the way you swing a bat is pretty much the way you swing a
sword, and the issue of focus was applicable, too.  To this day I often
train new lady fighters by having them swing a baseball bat into the pell
using the standard baseball swing, then modify it to one hand, then go to a
sword and teach the straight snap -- which is pretty much what you do with
a bat, only in a horizontal plane.

The other interesting set of cross-over skills came from wearing armor and
defending myself with nothing but a stick and a padded glove as a field
hockey goalie.  Field hockey taught me to be comfortable in armor, and
being able to deflect a hurtling wooden ball from your face with your left
hand is pretty good training for a shield later.

Hope this helps your survey!



Wæs Þu Hæl (Waes Thu Hael)

::GUNNORA::

Gunnora Hallakarva
Herskerinde
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
Ek eigi visa þik hversu oðlask Lofstirrlauf-Kruna heldr hversu na Hersis-Aðal
(Ek eigi thik hversu odhlask Lofstirrlauf-Kruna heldr hversu na Hersis-Adhal)

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