Sword Techniques

If you want to know the true secret to becoming a great swordsman it is simple, practice.  A true master of any art dedicates some of his or her time to practice on a regular basis. It is also good to gain instruction from others that are better than your self. Ask for advice, ask them to point out weaknesses that they see in your technique, and try to pick up tips and tricks that work well for them.

When most people first begin this sport they rely on speed and ferocity to win them battles. This works against many opponents. However, it does not replace good strategy, foot work and technique. Especially as a swordsman grows older. A warriors reflexes slow, his stamina lessens and his ferocity becomes displaced by wisdom. This warrior learns that he must cultivate precision, patience, and strategy to win the day. He learns to conserve his energies for the proper moment when he can deliver the proper strike. That makes this kind of warrior much more dangerous than the warrior who charges in wildly swinging his weapon around.

I've chosen a few videos that I hope you will find entertaining and educational off of you tube. It is a great source for information if one knows what they are looking for enjoy.

shield fighting techniques

I'm always interested in fighting techniques that can improve one's game. I think that it is important to remember that your shield is more than just a defensive device. It has many strategic uses that can make it dangerous in combination with a sword.

This first video was put up on our Facebook page by Will, one of our members and it demonstrates a great sword trap with a shield.

This next video is a nice discussion of the physics of fighting and some individual skills which could maybe work with a big round shield.

And this last is a nice documentary about the development of the shield which has some real interesting history as well as some good fighting tactics.

Making a Character

Making a character for Belegarth can be both challenging and rewarding. It can give you a basis to design your costumes, decide what weapons to use, and it can give you something extra to do both on and off the battlefield. You don’t have to create a character. You can just show up and fight but if this sounds like something interesting to you then here are a few helpful hints.

Pick a piece of history or fantasy that intrigues you. There is so much to choose from. The middle ages was a smorgasbord of interesting people and events. The fall of the Roman Empire and Barbarian invaders called Vandals and Visigoths poured into Europe, the Caliphate conquered North Africa and the Middle East. The Franks formed the Carolingian Dynasty. Vikings, Magyars and Saracens invaded. Crusaders fought back against the march of Islam. The Byzantine Empire struggled to survive Islam. The Mongolians conquered Asia and began pushing into Europe and the list goes on and on. So weather you make a choice based on real history or fantasy pick something that interests you.

For example lets say that you are interested in Vikings. Vikings were raiders from the north that were partially responsible for ending the Carolingian Dynasty. They were known to be great sailors and explorers. If you wanted to play a Viking then your costume might include furs, your choice of weapon might be an ax and a round shield, and for fun at camp outs you might drink honey mead and sing dirges and sea chanties. 

What ever your choice might be take this as an opportunity to learn about the people, the clothing, the culture, the weapons, the cuisine, and the history of these people. Learn as much as you can and incorporate some of it into your reenactment experience. 

Maybe your choice is something more fantastic. Perhaps you are interested in playing an elf or a dwarf from a book like Lord of the Rings for example. The method is still much the same. Familiarize yourself with the character type and build your costumes and persona around it. It doesn’t change the rules of Belegarth combat but it can make it more fun for you.

Next you might want to have a trade for your character. Your trade could be a soldier or a warrior but maybe you want to be something more than that. My own character is a mercenary, a warrior for hire. You could even be interested in becoming a knight. There are groups that can take you through a whole right of passage to become a knight. If you don't want to be a warrior type then you might choose to be a trader, a pirate, a craftsman, an assassin or a thief. It really doesn't matter because in the middle ages if you didn't know how to fight then you probably wouldn't have lived long. Members of the realm often had duel roles as both temporary conscripts during war and whatever their daily job was. Securing a good position in a knights entourage was beneficial to both parties. 

For example knights needed someone to care for their horses. If a person was lucky enough to get hired into this position then he got to borrow the horse when knight wasn't using it. This put this person in close proximity to the knight and his training facilities. The knight would often use his people for sparring partners during his personal training. So the guy working the horses would pick up a few fighting skills from his knight. A wealthy knight might even provide equipment like weapons and armor for his people. The point is this. In order to survive the middle ages people either learned to fight well so they could protect themselves, they learned to fight so so and made themselves valuable to a person that could protect them, or they made themselves very valuable to someone that could them.

Your trade will also effect the battle tactics that your character would use. A barbarian type might be rash and charge in, a knight would behave honorably in battle, an assassin/thief will use sneak attacks, an archer will use a bow, and a woodsman or scout type while also using a bow will attempt to use stealth in combat, etc. 

Having a trade can give you something to do off the battle field as well. I have a friend that is a brewer. He enjoys this as a hobby and he incorporates this into his character. He brings his home made beverages to events. If you have a hobby then you might consider incorporating it into your character. Some things that you manufacture might even be profitable for you to sell.

The point of this is that it can give you a direction for arts and crafts that might interest you to enhance your character. This game can be more than just battles on the field if you want it to be.

Where ever coin jingles or plunder is promised you will find a mercenary.
Thorne

Interview with Angel; President of Dur Demarion

Me: I am here today talking with Angel who is…. I guess what are you the Event Coordinator of Equinox?

Angel: President of Dur Demarion.

Me: Ok, President of Dur Demarion. Would you mind telling us a little bit about your realm?

Angel: Dur Demarion started close to 25 years ago in Nashville, TN. We started practicing at Centennial Park and about 5 years ago moved to Elmington park in Nashville. Our group was started by a close group of friends, which is how most groups are started then it grew from there. The Triad and the Hoard both started in Dur Demarion. Our group places a lot of emphasis on characterization and this continues to be important in our realm. Dur Demarion is currently the only Belegarth realm that still allows healing. 

Me: So how many have showed up for this years Equinox

Angel: We are up over 300 right now.

Me: That is a pretty good turn out. What is the secret of Equinox’s success? 

Angel: Well, strong field battles, we always try to have field battles going on from morning till night Friday and Saturday and we always have some kind of entertainment planned, if not for both nights at least for Saturday night. For example last night we had The Secret Common Wealth play. They are a band that plays at the Tennessee Ren Faire here as well as several of the local pubs and clubs in the area. Tonight we have Bella Donna performing. She is a professional belly dancer and has a  troupe of belly dancers and musicians with her. She currently resides in Washington DC but she originated in Dur Demarion as a fighter in our realm. So we got the fighting and the night life and when you combine those two things together they make a perfect storm.

Me: Yes, I totally agree. I love this event. I have been coming to it every year for the past several years and I’m pretty excited that I got to come again this year. 

How did you get started doing this? I know it has to be a big sacrifice. I’ve watched you and some of the others working the event and you are always having to run off and put out fires. I’m sure that doesn’t allow you to fight as often as you’d like to.

Angel:That’s true.

Me: So what motivated you to step up into a leadership role like you did?

Angel: Love of the realm and the people. They needed a leader and they looked to me. So I try to do the best I can for them to take care of them and our realm continues to prosper. We do various things in our realm like we have a meetup.com site that helps to generate interest. We put out flyers, we have business cards, and we keep plenty of loaner weapons in stock for new people to try when they show up on the side lines. We just try to keep a positive attitude and make new people feel welcome. It seems to be working in our favor.

Me: Yes, you do a great job

Angel: Thanks

Me: One last question. What advice would you give to someone that was interested in organizing an event for the first time?

Angel: It takes a lot of planning and dedication. You need to surround yourself with people that you know aren’t going to bale on you at the last minute. You have to have people that you can trust. That is very important. You need to be organized. You need to decide ahead of time. Are you going to have pre registration for this event and what are your prices? To figure out what your prices are going to be you have to scope out some sites and find out what they are going to charge. If you are going to have feast then you need to check on food prices and determine what it is going to cost per person. For instance if it is going to cost $8 per person to feed them then you might want to ask for $10 to give yourself a little lee way. Above all be organized. You have to have a schedule and make sure that all your people know where they need to be based on that schedule. One secret of our success is walkie talkies. We started using them several years ago and they are indispensable. I don’t know how they ever ran events before they had the walkies. I can communicate with troll, I can communicate with the kitchen and I can communicate with the heralds in the field. This way I always know what is going on. I know if someone has been hurt, I know if there is a problem with the cabins and I can get over there more quickly. I highly recommend investing in walkie talkies. Other than that just have a good idea. Just pick a theme and have a few theme based battles. You can base your feast on the theme and even try to book your entertainment to fit it. Like this event is based on pirates so we have corn, apples and fruit to keep away scurvy.

Me: You have to say it right Scurrrvy arrrr. (in my best pirate voice)

Angel: *laughs* Scurrrrvy. (In her best pirate voice) You should have prizes like belt flags which aren’t to expensive to produce and they look nice.

Bystander: And people love collecting them and showing them off.

Angel: Right and they create advertising. When people see them they are like that is a cool sash. That says Equinox what is that? That way you are generating word of mouth about our event. Above all keep a positive attitude. Don’t get shitty with people and they will keep coming back and they will bring their friends. Then in no time you’ll have an event like this 300 people strong.

Me: Alright well thank you for your time Angel.

Angel: Sorry that I’ve been so busy and couldn’t get with you sooner.

Me: Hey, that is totally ok. I understand that you have your hands full.

Equinox 2014

As promised I just returned from Equinox and I had a blast. There were about 300 fighters on the field this weekend and the action was non-stop. The theme of this years Equinox was pirates and there were tricorn hat on many heads including my own, AAARRRRRRR.

The unit known as the pirates helped out with set up as depicted above and with feast this year. So I want to give them a special thanks for doing a great job this year. The itinerary this year was packed full with tournaments, large scale field battles from morning to night, a knighting ceremony, live music, belly dancing and excellent food.

We had vendors that sold crafts for the smart medieval shopper and this year they added a wooden castle which was utilized for some of the war games.

We also had a good turn out from our own realm. Coach, Ciaran, Jesse, Adrian and myself all made the trip this year. I hope they all had as good a time as I did.

While the vast majority of this years equinox experience was fantastic there was a problem with weapon checks. This year the weapon checker broke my great sword and I believe that he did it on purpose. When the weapon checker was checking my great sword for flex he struck the edge of a wooden shield full swing as hard as he could causing my core to snap with a loud crack. Mind you this is a sword that I have used in many practices, fought a red tournament with, and have had at other events without issue. 

I don't understand what the issue is with weapon checks at Equinox but this isn't the first time that they've pissed me off and I am not the only one to complain about it by a long shot. Last year they failed 6 of my arrows. Normally when a weapon is failed they put a sticker on it describing the reason for the failure. In my case I got 6 stickers with "Fuck You." written on them. 3 weeks later I took those same arrows to a different event and they allowed me to use them so I have no idea why the profanity was on there. 

My point is this. I spent time and money crafting my equipment and destroying my sword was a real jerk move. I also can't think of a single good reason why someone would write "fuck you" on my failure stickers. That is just totally inappropriate. If my stuff fails I'm fine with that. I've never given a checker grief and it is nice to know what a problem is so that it can be repaired. The "fuck you" stickers could almost make me think this is personal but I can't think of any reason why it would be. I don't know any of the weapon checkers, I've never lived in Tennessee, and I've certainly never done anything to any of them to earn their disdain. So that just makes me think that they have a person doing their checking that is a problem. I'm sure that he must have been unaware that the person who's equipment he just destroyed happens to be the person that writes the news letter for the realm next door. Because that wouldn't be the brightest move. Of course I have to write about it. I really prefer to keep my blog positive but I had to get this off my chest.

I'm not the only person that had their equipment damaged by weapon check either. One of my friends told me that the foam edging of his shield was damaged one year because they used his shield for flex checks and kept smacking the same spot on his shield until it broke down the foam. It was already passed so he went ahead and used it but he still had to repair it when he got home. 

Our equipment is just foam wrapped around some kind of core. If it is abused with excessive force or repetitive blows then it will become damaged or broken. I don't care how well it is manufactured. Also just because you have been given a little power is no excuse to be disrespectful and destructive of other people's property. That being said I hope that in the future the officials will take a look at this problem. It is the one bad thing that I have to say about an otherwise extremely well organized and well officiated event.

Coming soon an interview with Angel, the president of Dur Demarion and the organizer of Equinox 2014.

Hope to see you at the next event.

Thorne the mercenary 

Why Go Medieval? Ten Reasons Why I do Boffer Combat and Medieval Reenactments.

When someone walks out on to the field wielding a foam sword they have their reasons for doing boffer combat. And as the crowds gather around to watch I have heard the full range of comments sent in our direction. I have heard everything from admiration to ridicule. Sometimes people watching even ask if they can borrow a boffer and try it for themselves. When that happens we are always happy to let someone try it out.

Whether you are visiting my blog by accident, you are looking for information about Belegarth or you are one of my regular readers I think that sometimes it is important to reflect on why we do things. That is why I am writing about my top 10 reasons for doing This occurred to me this weekend when I was having a discussion with a women that was watching us practice at the park. She told me that she thought all of this was a little silly.

Reason 10: BECAUSE IT IS SILLY. Is boffer combat silly? Yes it is. Are reenactments silly? Sure they are. That is one reason that I do it. I do it because in a world where everything is about responsibility and where everything has to be so serious that it is like a breath of fresh air to just let myself be silly for a couple of hours.

Reason 9: BECAUSE IT IS EDUCATIONAL:  I have always loved learning. I know I'm a geek, and history has always been one of my favorite subjects. I know, weird right? One thing that life has taught me is that their is no better teacher than experience. It is one thing to read about Medieval history and quite another to try to walk a mile in someone else's medieval shoes. I mean that rhetorically of course. While I would love to hop in a time machine and go back to witness history doing reenactments is as close as I can get. I have experienced aspects of medieval life that you can never communicate through a book or a film. I know what the clothing feels like, the adrenaline rush of being in battle and the satisfaction of crafting my own armor and seeing what it looks like on me for the first time.

Reason 8: BECAUSE IT IS AN INTERESTING EXPERIENCE: This goes right along side of reason 9 because they compliment one another. Experiencing history lends itself to learning about it, and learning about it make the experience interesting.

Reason 7: BECAUSE IT IS AN ADVENTURE: Life needs an adventure every now and then just to spice things up and I try to have as many adventures as possible. What can I say I like things spicy! More than that adventure builds character. It forces us to learn to choose our battles wisely in life. Adventure is about learning one's own weaknesses and strengths. It is about learning from our mistakes and moving on. That is why I say that people don't just want an adventure they NEED them.

Reason 6: BECAUSE IT IS A GREAT WAY TO MAKE FRIENDS: In my day to day life there aren't a lot of people that share my interests. It is a good feeling to be in a community of people who share my interests and enjoy them as much as I do. It is tough always being the outsider. John Donne said, "No man is an island entire of itself." This is a truth of our human condition. We are all a part of the whole. We all have a need to be a part of a family and a community. What is more these things are all the better for our being a part of them and they are made something less when we are not there.

Reason 5: BECAUSE IT IS GREAT EXERCISE: I have tried a lot of exercise programs but this is one of the best. His is a full body workout that will impact your muscles in ways that you have never imagined. This will build you up physically and mentally. I believe that it is at this point that I need to recommend that thou shalt check with thine physician before trying this.

Reason 4: BECAUSE IT IS COMPETITVE: I have played a lot of sports but this is my favorite. Whether your favorite sport is football, basketball, baseball or this these truths remain consistent of competitive sports. Competition motivates people to try harder, to be better, to set goals, and to work towards them. In competition we learn the value of being gracious in victory and defeat. We come to gauge the level of our own abilities and seek ways to improve them.

Reason 3: BECAUSE IT IS HONORABLE: This is a tough concept to write about, but honor is important to us. In Medieval Europe they had a code of chivalry, In feudal Japan they had the Bushido, and even today the modern soldier have a warrior's code of honor.  I'm not sure if honor is a thing that can be taught. Warriors throughout time have always seemed to hold a kind of reverence for it. It has always been a thing difficult to cultivate and easy to lose. Honor is a concept which the world needs to embrace but which few can truly understand. I don't believe that you have to be a warrior to understand honor but for some reason more warriors seem to get it than not. Maybe that is because honor requires sacrifice, and few sacrifice as much as a warrior. I want to take this moment to say to any reading this that are members of the armed forces, "Thank  you for your service, and thank you for being honorable."

Reason 2: BECAUSE IT BUILDS CHARACTER: Belegarth like any sport does not define the people who play it, rather the people who play it define the sport. You are the one's who make Belegarth great. You are the one's who get out there on the field and battle on through sweat, exhaustion, heat, and cold always giving 100%.  This sport like any sport builds a person up mentally as well as physically. It gives me confidence knowing that I can do things that few others can. That is a confidence that travels with me in everything that I do and that is priceless.

Reason 1: BECAUSE IT IS FUN: The other day a man drove by our practice field screaming ridicule at us from his car, and I thought how could any one ridicule something this fun. I have never gone to a practice that I didn't enjoy. And as I look around the field and see all the smiling faces of my fellow combatants I know that they all feel the same. Something tells me that whatever our critics are doing that they are probably not having near as much fun as we are. What is more I have no respect for a coward who hurls insults as he is running away in his car. We all have the courage to stand here on the playing field in front of anyone who cares to look and we aren't going anywhere. So what if play our game with weapons of foam and while wearing medieval costumes. How is it that so different from playing football, basketball or any other sport where they put on funny looking costumes (uniforms), protective gear, and play a game. I don't particularly like watching football, but I don't ridicule people that enjoy it. I wish them well and I hope that they are enjoying their sport as much as we are enjoy ours.


I hope that some of this convinces you to join us.
See you on the field
Thorne the mercenary

Practice 9-7-14

It was a beautiful day today. I mean you couldn't ask for better. It has been a pretty brutal summer for practices. Most of the summer it has either rained on Sunday or it has been hot and muggy but today was as close to perfect as it gets.

Here is a nice group shot of some of our combatants. I must say that I am impressed by the armor that I am seeing showing up on the field.

Here are a few shots of the action. This is some great skirmish fighting.

Great strategy at work, two shield men flanking a spearmen. Notice how they have placed their left handed fighter on the left flank and their right handed fighter on the right for maximum effectiveness.

How to Fake a Period Encampment

Ok so you are going to an event and you want to make your encampment look period, but lets face it. You don't have hundreds of dollars to pay for a custom pavilion and a bunch of period furniture like in the picture above. However, when you look at your camp it doesn't give you the impression of traveling back in time does it?

Getting rid of all your modern camping conveniences is easier said than done though. So here are a couple  of ideas that might make your camping event at least appear to be period. After all if we can't afford to have all things period nothing says that we can't fake it.

It is real easy to say get rid of all the soda cans, plastic coolers and folding nylon chairs and quite another to do it. So one easy trick is to hide it or make it look like something else. One thing that can be done for those folding chairs is to cover them with fabric to make them look period. Another thing that can be easily done is to build the wooden star gazer chair that I discussed in a previous article. Plastic tables can be covered with period looking table cloths. And plastic cooler can be placed inside of a wooden box or covered with a cloth cozy.

If you are camping in a small enough tent then you can hide it under an easy up canopy by wrapping it with fabric or a tarp. You could even camp under this as a pavilion but it won't screen out insects or weather a storm very well. If you really want an inexpensive period style tent you can make a viking style tent very easily. It is basically a pup tent made with a canvas tarp, wood sticks, rope and stakes. A canvas tarp can be purchased from most hardware stores.

Additions of furniture can not only help make your campsite look period but also make your event more comfortable. Wood chests, chairs, etc. can sometimes be found at yard sales, flea markets or thrift stores if you keep your eyes open. If you are tired of sleeping on the ground an easy bed can be made using milk crates for legs with plywood on top for a platform. You can put an air mattress on top of this and cover it with blankets and throw pillows. The milk crates are useful for storing items when you are traveling as well.

Storage can be wood barrels, boxes and wicker baskets. They can be found at Marshals, TJ Max, Pier 1, thrift stores, etc.

Utensils, plates and cups can be wood or metal. Glass is period but not durable for camping. If you find metal cups or plates make sure that it is a metal that is ok for human consumption. Copper and lead can make you sick so steer clear of using them eating or drinking.

Happy Camping
Thorne the Mercenary

Star gazer chairs

As promised here is how to build a Star Gazer Chair. If you are looking for a simple way to make your medieval encampment more authentic then this is a good start that can be made on a budget. You are going to need a few tools to do this. A circular saw, scroll saw, sandpaper, paint brush, tape measure (optional: router or wood burning iron if you choose to decorate with scroll work or design)

I originally saw a design like this in a boy scout camp. I've since seen similar designs at many different reenactments. I've heard them referred to as star gazer chairs, Viking chairs, bog chairs. There are a couple of simple ways to make these but any way you go you end up with a comfortable wooden chair that takes up very little space when packing and will last you for many years.

First go to the store and buy a 2"x12" board 8 ft long. Treated lumber isn't a bad way to go but if you want to be fancy you can also purchase a hardwood piece of lumber like oak or walnut for a few more dollars. You can also purchase a stain of your favorite color for when the project is finished.

Cut the board into 2 - 4 ft long pieces. Now there are a couple of ways that I have seen this done and it is really just a matter of personal preference how you choose to do it.

One way is to come back 12" from one end and cut a 1 1/2" x 7" hole in the center of one of the boards. The other board come back 12" from one end then cut the rest into a 7" wide piece centered on that piece. To assemble the chair the 7" piece is inserted into the 7" wide hole forming an X pattern. Or you can use the dimensions from this drawing.

The other way I've seen is simpler to cut out. The two boards are cut with a 1 1/2" slot in the side 12" from the end exactly half way through the board. To assemble it slide the slots into one another forming the X pattern.

Now for decorating it is up to your imagination and artistic ability. I have seen some very nice scroll work and burn work done on these. I have also seen people that just cut their chair out of a board and used it as is. It is all up to you. Enjoy

Thorne the Mercenary.