Fehlungs, nothing more than Fehlungs.

Now this is interesting... Well, to me at least.

The Great Triangulation is getting a new and interesting tool. I am not a fan of steel longsword sparring. The more I look at my own motives, it's probably because the affordable options are really tools for drilling rather than fighting. They look great, but being the frilly shirted rapier monkey I am, the low-end steel longswords don't have enough flex in the thrust for me to be happy about using them. This is a problem they share with the other aspects of the Triangulation. I don't think I'll be as interested in longsword as I am in rapier, but that may change if the introductory tools are good enough.

The thing is, I've been privvy to some development. I've not said anything because my opinion on what makes a good longsword simulator is worthless. I don't know if it feels right on the swing. I can't tell you if the way it binds is correct. All I can say is if I like it or not.

The Saturday Scrappers have been trying to fill in some gaps. Our experiences at FightCamp have shown us where we can get better and we've been examining that for the past month. The general consensus (aided by objective comparisons using the rapier) is that we need a different viewpoint. I've mentioned "the bind" in previous entries, this experience is not important once you understand it and have internalised it. However, you need to know how these things would happen.

Our current simulators are bouncy- the reason for that is because they harm less. Unfortunately it makes it difficult to pin your opponent's sword- a good parry will aid your opponent, he will know that any defence will be strong and the good response will be a weak one. (or whatever the Italian version is)

As ever, and as it should be, the thing you are actually holding in your hand is what dictates your actions. The Knight Shop has been working with a Mr Dave Rawlings (you may have seen him on TV recently, beating the crap out of a green beret) to produce a median tool.

I managed to play with these briefly last month, I had no opinion because I did not know what a bad version of these plastic wasters felt like. The Saturday Scrappers have bad versions, they bind well, but everything else is wrong. A good block should not reverberate through your shoulderblades, but the binding acted nicely- to the point where I would "lose" a parry and "win" a cross. The problem with the early generations of plastic wasters is that they are early generations. We're bug fixing, if you like- in fact, that is where my involvement came in. Mr Rawlings and the Knight Shop have asked for a wide sample of people to beta test the new hardware. The first round of testing happened at FightCamp and there was a second round a few weeks ago for people who really knew what they were doing.

The Knight Shop has been working with the community (sometimes asking very old questions) and trying to figure out where the gaps in the weapons are. Mr Rawlings is a perfectionist when it comes to the art, remarkably focused, and Knows His Stuff.

Everything I've experienced so far, the earlier nylon swords, my use, the conversations with the Scrappers, Mr Rawling's attitude, the people involved with the second round of testing and the proposed price. All of that suggests it will be the median tool.