Dreaming Realistically

It's critical, when setting goals, to be a realistic dreamer. Set your goals higher than you can reach, but not higher than you can jump. In business terms, they're called "stretch goals". But it doesn't do you any good to set a goal that is doomed to failure. Or, more succinctly, you ain't gonna be the guy pictured to the left.

That guy is King Siegfried of Northshield. More properly, he's Siegfried II, since he was also the First King when Northshield went up in status from Principality. The photo is from his first reign, in fact, at Fighter School XV, where he taught a class on two-sword fighting, a style in which he is properly recognized as a master.

He's in his late 30's now, but he's been fighting in the SCA since his teens. In addition, he's an accomplished no-holds-barred fighter. He is in superb physical condition, possesses a natural feline-like grace and sense of balance, and has reflexes like a striking snake. His ability to deliver a face-thrust... accurately, while dodging sideways on one foot... is well-known.

See why I say "you ain't gonna be him"? If you try to use Siegfried as a yardstick to measure your own performance, you can forget ever having a sense of accomplishment in this sport. He's just too naturally-gifted to use as a role model, particularly if you're like me: short, built like a Boston terrier (wide chest, short legs), and out of shape, overweight, and with limited time to spend.

There are such role models as you can use, however. You just have to be a little discriminating. Do not let the presence of a gold hat or a white belt cause you to be blinded to the very real weaknesses that anyone will have as a model for your goals. I wrote about THL Roisin in an earlier blog; she's an excellent choice. So is her knight, Sir Kaydian Bladebreaker.

Sir Kaydian is a Midrealm knight who moved to the Barony of Jararvellir before the beginning of the Kingdom. He is not the fastest knight we have, nor is he the most physically able. He has some trouble with his knees, his eyesight is such that he has to wear glasses in his helm. Yet, he's still a knight, he's still a dangerous fighter, and he got that way by using the same tools available to us all: perseverance, practice, and a willingness to learn. In exchange for using those three tools, he's developed shot power that is derived not through the strength of his arm, but from his understanding of the dynamics of throwing a blow. It has yielded skull-crushing power. I've witnessed Sir Kaydian putting then-Viscount Siegfried flat on his butt with one shot to helmet. In short, Sir Kaydian as a role model for someone getting back into fighting is a good one.

After you get good enough again, you can aim for King Siegfried.

Stamina: It's what counts

I give you Her Ladyship Roisin ingen Ailill, Legionaire and premier of the Griffin's Sword, squire to Sir Kaydian Bladebreaker, and as of last weekend, King's Champion. It has been far, far too long since she and I crossed swords. She'll probably kick my ass the next time we do. At least, that's how I'd bet. In this picture, she's fighting at the Coronation of King Siegfried and Queen Gwyneth. Take note of that armor. If you cross sticks with her, know this: you won't wear her down in the fight.

She isn't a Knight, yet, though I suspect she will be unless something untoward happens to her. While she is a good fighter, she doesn't have a lot of tournament victories to her name. She is not the largest, strongest, fastest fighter out there either. She is, however, a grand inspiration when it comes to a critical combat ability: staying power.

One of the reasons Roisin was made a Premier of Northshield's AoA-level fighting award, the Griffin's Sword, was referred to by King Siegfried I at his Coronation Court. He said she was always "first on the field, last to leave." Her stamina is acknowledged by Belted and un-belted fighters alike. She can literally fight until everyone else drops, and she demonstrated that so well at Gulf Wars XV (2006) that she was awarded the Nordhrband, a Northshield award which is "bestowed upon gentles who have committed those heroic and specific deeds of valor, courtesy, or prowess in the arts martial and which have increased the renown and reputation of Northshield."

In the end, it doesn't matter if you have such speed that your blows are just blurs flying through the air. It matters not if your strength can hew boulders, or your skill so refined that you can strike individual rivets on your opponent's helm at will. If you can't stay out there for more than a minute or two, you won't get far.

My objective is to increase my stamina to the point where I can run 100 feet in full armor, and arrive with enough juice left to fight a four-minute engagement. I won't hold a candle to THL Roisin, but then, I don't expect I ever will.

Answering the War Arrow

In August of 2000, at the age of 37, I put on my own armor for the first time, and took the field at the Stock Pavilion in Madison, WI. This had long been the place of practice for the combat arts used by the Barony of Jararvellir, a Barony in what was then the Principality of Northshield, the northern holdings of the Middle Kingdom of the SCA. The photo to the left shows me in my first armor rig, an early-14th century-style coat-of-plates and a bascinet.

In 2001, I joined a fighting house called Bluerose, led my Viscount Belrix of Bluerose. I squired to him during 2002, and left his service in 2003, just after he was accused of un-Knightly behavior and Banished from the Midrealm by then-King Valharic. He was stripped of his Knighthood and his membership in the Society, and I've had no contact with him since... and precious little with my former comrades in arms, who mostly left the Society with him. The photo to the left shows four of Bluerose, from a newspaper article on a non-SCA demo we did in Chicago. I am the one on the left; the others from left to right are Byrd, Belrix and Oswin. The armor I'm wearing in the photo was largely created by my wife, who hand-carved all the intricate (and in this image, barely visible) Celtic knotwork animals, knots and Green Men. The armor itself is still on the field, being worn by Maestro John Chandler.

Later in 2003, I was taken in by House Kulmbach, led by then Viscount Siegfried (he is currently King Siegfried of Northshield, on his way to becoming Duke). I attended Pennsic with him in 2003, and again in 2004 when he was Heir to the Kingdom of Northshield. I acted as Chamberlain for him and Bridei when they stepped up as King and Queen for our new Kingdom. Just before that, however, at Love Feast (held in Lub Suichil), I put on armor for the last time. That was September, 2004.
The picture to the left shows the battle line for Northshield at Pennsic in 2004. I am at the far right, in black with the gold stripe across my chest.

Time moves on. It's now been 2 years since I last put on armor, a length of time I wouldn't have believed could pass. But I'm 43 now, and getting myself into shape enough to get the armor back on is... well, daunting. Still, I love the fight, and I miss my friends. I'm going to get this done, by Gods.