Breaking silence

Unfortunately I have had some real world issues that have prevented me from enjoying HEMA. The worst has passed but I will be erratic until I have finished making adjustments to my new lifestyle. Or maybe spring, when outdoor training is more pleasant and practical.

Mr Charles Stross, would you care to step forward?

I picked up Halting State today, it's a book set in a world where Augmented and Virtual Realities are commonplace and Real World people have been called in to investigate an MMORPG bankjob. It's first film matrixy but English and real. Anyway, I've not brought this up as a book review.

What grabbed my attention was a fight scene with Augmented Reality (for those not in the know, the software is just coming into mainstream mainly through the iPhone- the GPS and inbuilt video camera work to create an overlay to your reality.) In this case AR was used to increase the realism of a swordfight. Below is an extract:

"'Your mother wears army boots!'

You're not sure that's the right thing to say to a late fifteenth-century main battle tank, but he takes it in the spirit you intended- and more importantly he spots you changing guard, lowering the point of your sword. And he goes for you immediately, nothing subtle about it, just a diagonal swing, pivoting forward so he can slice a steak off you.

Of course, this is what you expected when you twisted your wrist....... You dip your pont and grab your blade with your left hand, blocking him with a clang...... You're using sword like a short stabbing spear now- and hook the tip into his armpit like a one-and-a-half-kilo can-opener while hooking his knee with your left foot.

Unlike a modern main battle tank, the old fashioned version can fall on its arse".

Later, the AR works to show the efficiency of a hit and projects blood all over the place. The tech to build that into fencing masks is quite some time away, but it's a fantastic idea.

However, a few things struck me:

"Thirty seconds of combat feels like thirty minutes at the gym or three hours slaving over a hot spreadsheet"

"... when you either did dress-up re-enactment or actual martial arts (and never the twain shall meet)"


"... and stuff it in your briefcase with the usual: pen, iPod, your father's antique pocket calculator, and a dog-eared copy of Tobler's manual of sword fighting that you borrowed from Matthew"

Mr Stross also technobabbles D20 gaming, LARP, Renactment, the embarrassment for all of this. He hits the nail on the head too often- I suspect he is One Of Us.

In which case, I must say: Hey lazerlips, your momma was a snowblower.

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.

Tournaments.

My esteemed and honourable maestro is a particular fan of pressure testing and throwing himself into the deep end. It is something he recommends to anyone that will listen. A good way of creating pressure is by entering tournaments, especially with unfamiliar weapons. In fact, the harder you make it for yourself, the better. This is not my way, I am trying to maintain some kind of focus with my fighting. It is too easy to be distracted by all the interesting things to do and end up knowing a little of everything. I will permit myself that distraction once I'm happier with my rapier.

However. One of our Scrappers (I should do something about naming them at some point) bravely embraced his ignorance of the rapier and followed our maestro's example. The first match was painful to watch, he froze and was beaten to within an inch of his dignity and barely out of his corner. Still, every thing is a learning experience.

The second match was much better, he was facing a smallsword- something that is close to an epée in weight, reach and size. This gave him an advantage of around a foot, obviously this gave him the courage to attack and move around. Some strikes landed and when it was all over, he actually looked pretty good. He lost, but he had clawed back some dignity.

I'll be honest, I was expecting the last fight to turn into an absolute bloodbath. Our Stalwart Scrapper was up against Mr N. who graciously came and gave us a little instruction a while ago. Mr N. knows his stuff, whereas our Scrapper knows which end should go in the bad guy. This was a match with rapier and dagger, after all, if you're going to get obliterated you may as well really confuse yourself.

As the air rang with the word 'Fight' I was counting the seconds until the first 10 hits. Expecting our chap to be stabbed, cut, pommelled and disarmed every time he thought about striking. Except this didn't happen. Somehow he had found his game. Mr N. had difficulty predicting what was going to happen because he was up against an inexperienced fighter- the textbook precision of Mr N. was reduced because our fellow didn't read the damn thing. Our chap defended himself very well. In fact, according to one of the judges, he spent a little time in the lead.

So, I say well done our man. You may not have won any of those matches but you should hold your head up high. You did very well, all things considered.

The idea of pressure testing is a great one. Your fight changes utterly in competition, experimentation goes out of the window and you stick with what you have coded into your muscles. I think the orientals have a word for when your mind goes blank and you stop thinking and start fighting. I find this much easier to achieve under pressure- during freeplay/sparring it's about finding new methods and intellectually choosing openings. But a fight is not the time to be thinking, a second's thought is a second you're not protecting yourself.

Fightcamp 2009. Part 1: lessons and thank you's

I have recently arrived home after a weekend of training. The 6th annual FightCamp is currently winding to a halt, the events officially finished yesterday, but there has been socialising and people sleeping on site. Alas, I heeded the psiren call of hot water and soft fluffy pillows and was back yesterday. This may was probably for the best. The bar was lovingly stocked with 3 casks of really nice beers for the first two nights, we drank it dry. Then the bar was restocked with Black Sheep and Adnams. There was no Black Sheep left. My outside is bruised and I don't think my liver could handle any more violence.

Now, Fightcamp more-or-less marks my anniversary in HEMA. I started a few weeks before the last one and I believe it has shaped my vision of the international scene. This year has moved to a new venue, which increased the cost of the 4 days of camping and 3 days of events by 100%. I must say, it's the best £20 I've spent in a long time. In fact, the last event I attended that was this packed, interesting and cheap it was held by the Scouts- and they have a phenomenal amount of funding and facilities compared to us.

Firstly, I should thank Jim and his staff. They were all great. If you need something HEMA based and don't know where to look. Start with the Grange (http://shop.suspensionofdisbelief.co.uk/hema)- the prices are low and the service is brilliant. There were times when you looked at Jim and saw his 10 year old self looking back and thinking "this is sooo cooool". I like Jim.

The next on the list to thank would be Matt Easton and his charming fiancée, Lucy. I can't imagine how tiring and complex organising something like this would be. Still, they managed it without apparently breaking a sweat, although Matt's Godlike powers obviously stop before weather control. His collection of marshals dealt with any problems in a swift and discreet manner, allowing us to get on with the important things in life, like fighting and drinking. Hats off to all involved there- your dedication and insight makes FightCamp the enjoyable event it is.

And finally, thanks to everyone that took part. My partners during lessons were great and I did not have an unenjoyable bout. There were similar grins from the attending Saturday Scrappers. Despite the trecherous ground and some very intense fighting (Sparks flew. Literally), there were few injuries that and seemed to be fingers. Which justifies my preference for complex hilted weapons.

There are two main parts of FightCamp (three if you count the socialising)- Fighting and learning. I decided it would be more productive to learn... well, actually the lessons were so good that I didn't really have the energy to spar. I could have done some sparring today, but everyone was either being careful due to the main tournament or feeling delicate after some enthusiastic socialising.

The highlight of the lessons was (unsurprisingly) Mr Marwood's Bartitsu class. It was engaging, enjoyable and principle based. His teaching style is fantastic, he explains a principle and moves that use the principle and tells you to play with those ideas. (Described by one of the Saturday Scrappers as "here's 100 ways to cause intense pain.. have fun trying them out"). Although there were constant warnings to be careful, and it's obvious why they were needed- even at 1/4 speed there were times when you'd accidentally find your partner on the ground and you have no idea how it happened.

Those of you familiar with Neverwhere will know Mr Croup and Mr Vandemaar, in particular the scene where they are instructing Richard on the force needed to cause pain... well, imagine that scene with a one better dressed person replacing the two. Although, generally lovely, Marwood gives the impression that he would (if provoked) pull your arm off and use it to give you a practical demonstration of force multipliers and why it's better to use the end with the hand rather than the bloody stump.

Everyone I spoke to who took Mr Marwood's lesson on close combat gun use was enthusing about that.

I would like to expand on Mr Stillwell's Gatka instruction but all I got from the Scrapper that attended his lesson was "that's cool. We should get him down for one of our sessions." My dear brother would certainly agree, since Gatka has been interesting him for a while.

My honourable maestro held two classes that went down well, despite a few teething problems with one of the first lessons of the weekend, I believe I've mentioned his style and strengths before so I won't waste valuable space here. This is a mere fraction of the events, there is a lot more to say, but for now I shall just say:

Bloody hell, that was a fantastic weekend.

Safety and HEMA

My main reason for staying with HEMA for so long is that it's fun. The health benefits, the ability to purge my fight or flight instincts, the fact that I do not look like an easy target (quite important if you're wandering the streets at night wearing eyeliner and flouncy shirts) and all the other bits are side effects. I'm not competitive, except against myself so I'm not out to win fights. In fact, part of that is not doing my best in a fight and helping someone else improve- explaining things to other people helps your own understanding.

And this is the position I come from when discussing safety.

As far as I'm concerned, masks are essential. I will not take part in anything resembling a real fight without a mask on. My primary targets are face, neck and chest. No mask means I will not go for the face or neck. Why? Well, I refer you to my main reason for doing this. Pulling your friend's eyeball from your sword does not come under my definition of fun. (And friend they will be, or at least someone you trust and respect- unless you're an utter moron). In a good fight, things move fast and get confusing, your brain switches off and you run on instinct. In this situation, accidents will happen. It's just a matter of time and hoping that it's only a minor one. I've recently had a blade break on me- the flexible bit just went sproing as it was thrust into me. These things happen and if I wasn't wearing a decent jacket it could have been quite nasty- hospital visit, stitches and several weeks off training kind of nasty. Instead, I had a rather pathetic bruise.

Don't get me wrong, I don't mind hurting and getting hurt, but I draw the line at harm. In fact, I don't want to cause any damage that requires more than a 10 minute pause for things to ease. I certainly don't want to cause any damage that prevents the post fighting beer.

So how does this affect my fight?

I tend to pull blows when they look like they'll land on unprotected areas. I'll never try anything particularly dastardly unless I know my opponent's wearing a box. This means that unprotected fighting is not going to help my technique. Some people may be able to override those instincts, but it serves no purpose for me to do so. I know I don't treat blows as seriously as I should if I were training for combat.

If I were to get into a real fight, I know things would be different. For one thing, I would not be armed (unless you count an umbrella or a beautiful blackthorn and yew dress cane that would look terrible covered in the blood of a ruffian...anyway), I would be as weary of getting hit as I am now, but I would use all the dirty tricks. Stabs to the throat, eyes, testicles, knee stomping, the lot. Why? Because I would be fighting for my life. The fundamental difference is that I don't want that person to come back, I don't want a beer and a laugh with them when it's all over. I want to see them running away or down and staying there until the police arrive. Preferably the latter.

More park thoughts.

As I have said recently, we are making the most of the weather and meeting for informal training in the park. Now, I should explain the setup of this. There are lots of groups around the City, but for some strange reason we don't meet up much. In an attempt to alter this, myself and a few people from another group are meeting. This is not the optimal situation. Although we have different weapon preferences and different backgrounds, our basic strategies are shaped by the instruction of our honourable maestro.

I do not think I'm giving too much away by saying that he is a fairly static fighter, holding a strong defence and waiting for the other to become impatient or knackered through running around. It's an effective strategy. In a lot of systems the defender is considered to have an advantage. Even the German concepts of Vor and Nach- where you gain the initiative by forcing your opponent to do something can be used to explain a deliberate defence (probably..I'm not too familiar with the German stuff). I may remember to explain this in a later post.

One of the strengths of HEMA is that it is still evolving. This can be perceived as a weakness, but sod those people- they have no imagination or understanding.

Why is this a strength? Well, we have hundreds of people across the country all looking at the same manuscripts and getting different things out of it. Is this a failiure, a sign we're doing something wrong? My answer would be no. Look at sheet music- that's a precise notation, yet you will get people playing the same notation on the same instrument in remarkably different ways. This is the nature of art. Art rarely means the same thing to different people. This means that different schools have different focuses and interpretations, something considered minor to one group can be very important to another. It's not a matter of right and wrong, this is an art after all.

George Silver says that to become a true master you should be able to hold your own against a drunk, because he will know no fear. Someone untrained but determined, because they will not be predictable and a master because they will be the better swordsman. Safety does not permit the first option and most of my fighting is against my esteemed maestro, or the occassional newbie.

With this in mind, I was rather glad to hear that someone I've been wanting to fight since I became competent with rapier was heading to this city and had some time to kill after taking in a few museums. I met Mr N once, about this time last year, my first impressions were of an intelligent man and a good teacher.

It sounds pretentious to call our little band of scrappers a study group, but I suppose we are. This title was certainly earned this week as we enjoyed Mr N "waffling on" (his words) at us about how to use the rapier and pointing out a few subtleties that I've overlooked. Once the others were in a position to engage in swordplay, I got the bout I was looking for.

I have been working on a little project, I suppose you could call it the viola of the rapier world, I don't really want to say much more than that for the moment, I'm still working on it, and I'd like the element of surprise to be on my side when it gets to competition time. So this fight was testing a few things. Does my interpretation hold water and do I think my skill is at an acceptable level, all things considered.

The answer to the former is, probably. I blatently need to do more drilling and become more competent with muscle memory, but I didn't get hit that much