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whenever i'm trying to talk myself out of buying something i don't need i always hear my old russian professor's voice echoing in my head: "WHAT??? WILL YOU DIE THE RICHEST MAN IN THE GRAVEYARD?" and then i make an unwise financial decision

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make a girl smile today.

give her a sword.

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About the dagger seminary I took part in

The good:

The seminarist was very clear in telling before the start what were the circumstances in wich the tecniques he would show us were developed. It also spelled out that they made for poor self defense tecniques and not to try anything if we were met with some guy trying to knife us in the streets.

The bad:

Demonstrating the tecniques with the seminarist was his wife. Very not enthusiastic of being there. The optics were atrocious, I cringed so bad at watching this man doing a pretend punch to his wife's face time after time. Pulling her in armlock after armlock with a smile, underlining how if he just tugged a little bit more he would have dislocated her shoulder. Maybe the worst were the takedowns for me to watch. Midway I tought: is this a domestic abuse seminar???

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What Your Favorite Sword Says About You (Slanderous)

Arming sword: you cannot fight without your emotional support buckler

Backsword: you’re the weirdo at the saber event

Basket-hilted broadsword: you’re an American with a kilt collection

Cutlass: you’re willing to spend $400 to lose at saber

Dagger: you like to grapple but can’t close distance without getting cleaved

Dussack: you don’t understand why no one wants to play with a 400-year-old boffer

Katana: there is a 90% chance you have no idea what you’re doing

Kriegsmesser: you’re willing to spend $800 to lose at longsword

Longsword (German): wall of text about why your feder is a real sword

Longsword (Italian): you get scared and confused whenever your opponent switches to thumb grip

Messer: wall of text about why your messer *isn’t* a real sword

Montante: you have no friends

Rapier: you’re scared to get hit with a sidesword

Saber (dueling): you’re a sport fencer who wanted a flashier outfit

Saber (military): you will burst into flames if you lose to one more dueling saberist

Sidesword: you’re not dexterous enough for rapier

Shashka: you like wearing furry hats better than having fingers

Smallsword: you can’t lift a rapier

Spadroon: you’re outnumbered by people who have never heard of your weapon at your own event

Viking sword: there’s a 100% chance you have no idea what you’re doing

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IT'S HERE AND IT'S BEAUTIFUL, LOOK AT IT!!

I spent so long unwrapping it that I was almost late for a class and couldn't try it out yet but I will do that now!

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Putting on your long sleeve button up to go to Sunday's lunch at nonna's to cover up the bruises on the forearms imma right my fellow HEMAist?

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About yesterday's meet

I took part in the two handed sword and in the sword and buckler tournaments, and did bad in both of them.

They are structured so there are round-robins and then the two partecipant with most wins (breaking ties with points earned) go on to the direct elimination bracket. I stopped at the round-robins both times.

I can't quite put my finger on how I feel about it. I liked how I fenced in the two handed sword even if I took more losses than wins. I think I've done well enough. Against my first opponent, a guy on the smaller side that played it more on the technique and mindgames side, I almost pulled off a parry in hengen with thrust to the throat in indes. It slid by the neck. Play was so good people from the sidelines gasped, play was so good the referee adwarding the points said "congratulation on the action, but it didn't go thru, I'm sorry".

Then I had two opponents in the ring, the fencer and the frigging sun blasting in my face if I tried to position myself in the centre. The blinding effect of sunrays hitting the mask mesh, IYKYK. In retrospect, it messed me up a lot more than I gave it merit for.

So like, I was happy on how I fenced but I did not really win. It bums me out.

On the sword and buckler side, this was what I was working with:

I have not trained it for a long time

The weapon provided was a sidesword, with finger rings and a knuckleguard

Everyone else was used to sideswords and reinassance sword and buckler

The I.33 system I studied sorta of expect the opponent to fight you using the same style

I haven't even seen a buckler since last May

This meant:

My coordination with two weapons in hand was miserable

The longer blade and the complex hilt made I.33 fencing even more cumbersome

I was not familiar with the guards they went in and the stikes they threw out

I had nothing on them, while they were confidently doing their own thing

You can bet I forgot after years of only longsword sparring that the legs are targets and you have to defend them

But! Newbies where happy with our matches! They told me I had them run for their money. A more advanced fencer told me I was good, not playing into his ruse. I had no idea what he was talking about. I still had the damn sun in my eyes. The outside of my upper left leg is black and blue from at least three hit to the same place. As I said, I don't know how to feel about the whole ordeal, because I don't feel like I was competent but I got positive feedback from the people I fought against.

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guys I'm watching so much martial arts youtube again... should I get my ass in a dojo or something? dabble a bit in wing chun? be utterly destroyed rolling bjj?

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me, on this very blog: I am obsessing less over fencing

my mother, when I skip my third training a week: are you still liking it? you seem less engaged

me, 15 minutes ago on my main blog: so i'm posting less on this sideblog I have

me now in my room in my socks with a meyer square scribbled on scrap paper trying to figure out the blocks you gotta do to defend from the form: ah

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I signed up for a meet next saturday! It's for people from my club only but from every hall, I think I will meet at least one guy from my old hall, and people I've only met at tournaments. I am quite hyped! Gotta stitch my initials on the new pair of light gloves and stitch up good the blackout patch over the colorful patch.

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The hall we train in is rather small and we have just enough space to spar one pair at the time. I ended up agaist the noobiest noobs we have in our noob hall, landing some clean actions. In the debriefing the instructor was like: "you did good, you are good. You gotta understand that you are good even if you don't think you are". My objection was: "I don't think I am fit enough" <- a shorthand for the mental process going on when I am sparring and going on about what should I do and that brings me to strike out all the movements I know I cant pull off with the gear on and under pressure, (like Zornhau, or some tecniques that are just a bitch to pull off if you are shorter than your opponent)

I don't feel like I am ad advanced level fencer, I am proficient basic fighter. Like, dunno, a bbj blue belt with a couple stripes but without the crazy body conditioning even a blue belt has. I do not aspire to be an advanced fencer, see my previous post about accepting fencing as a hobby.

The instructor went on saying not even he is fit and I don't have to bring me down and I have to keep in mind I am good and I can get better even.

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Variation on Swords I

| PRINTS | | Other Swordtember prints & more |

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I'm posting less and less because switching halls and instructors has caused me to not obsess over fencing so much in my free time. Is this good or bad only time shall say.

But! We have a new date for a meet! With much experienced guys from our club but from the next province over. I'm dead set on going, even if from some time I've been thinking of me fencing like any other hobby-sport there is. You know, how my father goes playing tennis a couple day a week or some people go to pilates classes. I had to talk myself into this workframe, because everyone doing HEMA in our club is somewhat so intense. They are really pushing the Martial angle and it is advertised as a good and just, a way to distinguish ourselves from LARPers and reenactors.

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Reblog to give your followers each their own sword.

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After the Zornhaw drills yesterday my right hand still shakes if I put it palm up ???

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Ok but should I, like, get a cheap second hand epee from ebay while I struggle over and over again about buying a feder? To fiddle with at home and stuff. French grip. Anyone has experience with using one to do stich drills at home?

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Reality check: i am not 19 anymore, I cant go to the hall and do breakfall drills with abandoment. It's not that I shouldn't do them, I don't have the carelessness for it. I am scared of going down, I put my arms down.

Also takedowns are so scary I really sucked at them.