Fencing, Oct 24, 2018

Still working on my parries.  I figure I will always be working on my parries.  I did better with not rushing my opponent, though I was fencing one of the newer fencers who likes to rush her opponent. I did okay against one of the newer fencers with his shield, but I need more practice against shields.

Overall, it was a pretty laid back practice.  I didn't feel great but I didn't feel horrible like last week.

Also, I am still running my smol runs.  I am considering moving over to C25K next week, to see how that feels.  I need to think about it more.

Anyway, those are my notes.

Let's Talk About Running

"Cardio wins Crowns."

His Grace Brennan says this.  It is my new current mantra when it comes to running.  That and "I will fence better."  Even if it were in the realm of possibility, I don't want to win a crown.  Actually, I am indifferent to winning things in general but I do want to be a better fencer.  So cardio.  Stamina.  Being able to run into battle and stay in battle.  That is the goal.

Running is something I really like.  I don't dream about flying.  I never have.  My "flying" dreams are about me running, fast and sure, from one place to another.  In some ways it feels as impossible as flying.  Still, it can't hurt to try.

Once, at Tales of Valor, I was playing a young woman who was going back and forth between the players and another NPC.  I don't know what possessed me, but I did this by running.  I was nimbly jumping over rivulets in the paths, up hill none the less.  I remember being a bit out of breath but it was thrilling and almost like my dreams. It made me start thinking about trail running but as I looking into it, I realized that I was likely too slow and too out of shape to keep up with any of the groups in the area.

In my younger years, I was tormented by the Presidential Fitness Challenge.  I failed at it every single year.  I remember one year, it was both picture day and the day we were being tested on sprinting.  I wanted so badly to pass the sprint test and tried so hard.  I ran as hard I could all the way past the finish line and stumbled and tumbled to a stop. I put everything my little, chubby, fourth grade legs could put in. I still didn't pass. 

Anyway, all of this is to say I am running again.  I am doing what I call "smol runs".  I am putting on my gear, bluetoothing up my headphones, and going out to run short intervals.  I have done this three times in the past week.  This morning when my brain said, "ugh, you have to run today," I told it, "no, I get to run today."  I am never going to win a Presidential Fitness Challenge or a Crown, or a fencing tournament, but maybe I will be better.  Maybe I will learn to fly.

Fencing, October 17, 2018

Last night was one of those nights where you hope that your suckatude is leading to a breakthrough.  I was trying to focus on the things from last week: low stance, small parries, keeping from squaring up.  Thinking while fighting makes you slow.  And that is what I was facing.  So it was a bad night of fencing. 

However, at the end of the night I faced Grim and his long sword.  I hate facing long swords.  I constantly feel out of measure against them.  And I tend to get thuggy (hitting too hard) in my attempts at aggression (you have to work on getting inside the long sword's range to even have a chance at a point).  I was a bit thuggy, but I got several good hits on Grim.  I think I gave as good as I got.  So that felt good.

Also, after talking to Rob a bit about exercise  outside of Fencing, I took a short interval run this afternoon.  When I wanted to quit, I told myself, "You are doing this to be better at fencing." 

I don't have any illusions of ever being a great fencer, but sometimes I see myself being a good fencer.  And even bad practices are fun.

Fencing Oct 10, 2018

Things I am working on:

Keep my stance low.  Looking a pictures of a recent tourney, my stance is crap.  I tried to remain mindful of keeping my knees bent and my right shoulder back. 

Smaller parries.  With all my off hand parries, my movements are too big.  I need to bring my parries in so that I keep my lines closed. 

Lunges and not rushes.  I try to rush people and that leaves me open to easy attacks.  I need to just lunge and redouble and keep my stance so I keep my lines closed.

Watching for tells.  I want to be better at telling when others are moving.  Right now, I can only see the big tells and I tend to watch on area of the body.  I need to work on being able to see the whole body and watch for the tells.

Anastasia's Vigil Book

I was asked to make a Vigil Book for my friend Anastasia's elevation to the Order of Defense.  Here are my "in progress" and "finished product" pictures.

Twenty signatures with four folded pages in signature.  The paper is Mohawk Superfine Text Weigh (70lb), short grain.  You can see the sewing holes in the signatures

The signatures were sewn on jute cords with 4-ply waxed linen thread. 

After the text block was sewn, I added the end pages.  They are glued on.

This is the pretty side of the end paper.

First later of glue.  The signatures got a little wonky in the press.

My cover decoration is based on St. Cuthbert's Gospel, an early 8th-century pocket gospel book.  The cover of St. Cuthbert is a raised clay design under leather.  This is the first time I have used clay to make the design.

The book covers are modern Davey Board.  They are added to the text block by slipping the cords through a hole in the board.  You then fan the cord and glue it down.  You can also see the gold and black head and end bands.

Lizard glued on the cover with painter's tape to hold it until the glue dries.

Cover added.  The leather is 3 oz. purple goatskin.

End pages glued down.

Final press!!

Finished cover.  The lizard is part of Anastasia's SCA heraldry and the swords make up the badge granted to Masters of Defense.  I panted the cover with leather paint.

Back of the book.

Black and gold end bands.  Both the end and head bands made of lengths of jute cord wrapped with pearl cotton with a drop of glue at the end to keep the thread from wandering off.  You sew in the bands while you wrap the cord.  Black and gold are the colors of the Handsome Boys, the SCA fencing "gang" Anastasia founded.

Coming back

Well, there is a lot of failure going on around here.

So, let's work on failing better.

Fencing is going forward.  I finished Pennsic only fighting two battles, though I Marshaled a battle so that others could play.  Depression has been playing havoc with my training and my strength to push through it to get to practice or to armor up at events.  The humid summer hasn't helped with any of that.  Likely I need to move to a lighter set of armor so I don't have to be completely wrapped in three layers of linen.  I did switch from my running tights to linen pants and found that to be nicer overall.

I still need to work on cardio.

I am also going to work on adding my crafts to this blog to get them off Facebook.  I am also going to work on more documentation around my crafts so I can start "showing my work".