Me and Re-enactment

The second weekend of July we spent at Tewkesbury Medieval Fayre. It was great to see so many friends, most of whom asked whether I would be on the field over the weekend. The answer was no. And for everyone I met over the weekend, and all my friends in re-enactment, this is why…

Dedication

I think it takes a fair amount of dedication to be even a reasonable fighter. Dedication to work on your own fitness, dedication to work on your fighting to ensure it is safe for you and your opponents, and dedication to attend the shows. There was a time in the last ten years or so when I wanted to be in the thick of it; to be, if not the center of attention then certainly in the limelight. (I recognised a while ago that in all aspects of my life I like to be seen as an expert or at least knowledgeable and experienced about a particular subject – although I also recognise that there will always be people with more experience and knowledge than me).

I no longer have the dedication required to be in the limelight when it comes to medieval re-enactment, and perhaps more importantly I do not want it either. There are probably several reasons for this change in attitude.

Risk mitigation

A year or so ago I had a couple of fairly serious injuries, one of which required a trip to A&E. I also witnessed a member of our group suffer a serious injury and go through the worries about life and work that that entails. These injuries occurred at large multi group events. By their very nature they were accidents, there was certainly no malice involved and I don’t think any of them could have been prevented. They did however, highlight to me the risks involved and I decided that I no longer want to take those risks.

It could be suggested that I should just stay in the background at these events and not put myself forward for things like “battle of the champions”. But I know that if I am out there on the field, with a sword in my hand I will want to be at the front of it, because that is the sort of person I am, so better just to not be on the field in the first place.

Personal responsibility

Then there is my responsibility towards others. I have not done any fighting, or practice for six months or so. I am therefore out of practice, and out of condition. If I take a sword onto a field I will be a danger to other people because of those two factors. There are of course those people for these two matters would not be a concern and they would decide to take the field anyway. That also increases the level of risk to a point that it is unacceptable to me. There are other things that are taking up my time and that I am enjoying spending time doing. I am a civilian instructor in the Air Training Corps and I want to spend more time walking in the hills and mountains of the UK.

And finally, and maybe this should be the most important consideration, there is my temper. There have been a couple of occasions when the red mist has descended and I “have lost it”. I know that I hurt my opponent on one of these occasions (unintentionally, although they still got hurt because of my ego and my temper). Fortunately on other occasions my opponents have survived unscathed.

These incidents have been rare but they have still occurred and I can see them happening again very easily.

For all of these reasons I think it is best if I remove myself from the field of combat.

The future

I may still attend major events, in support of Denise who continues to fight, and to socialise with friends. I will also attend local shows that the group does, although at the moment I feel more inclined to assist as a non combatant. And, just to put some people’s minds at rest, I am more than happy to assist in the training of others. Whether it be at shows or dedicated training sessions I am definitely happy to coach others in the Attack and Response style of fighting.

Jousting

Just got back from a two hour jousting lesson!

 

A huge thanks to Denise for a superb birthday present – it was fantastic!!

 

But, a question – Trotting? Why create a pace that is unnatural for the horse and makes your nether regions bounce off the saddle so much? 🙂

 

Thanks to Alex and Polly of the Knights of Middle England for a superb session. And of course thanks to Springs the horse.

 

The Knights of Middle England do experience days and corporate days where you get the whole medieval experience of sword fighting and archery as well as jousting. However, as a re-enactor Denise knew that I wouldn’t be too bothered about the sword work, so it was great to have some one on one tuition in jousting.

 

 

Click on the link below to see me in training -definitely worth a look.

http://cid-3a95c2bcdeb8dfd1.skydrive.live.com/embedrowdetail.aspx/Public/joustingvideos/Jousting034.avi

 

 

Daily Offices

Daily Offices

 

seven Offices of the day, Lauds, Prime, Terce, Sext, None, Vespers, and Complin.

 

 

Talking about EMA Caldicot Castle September 6th / 7th 2008

  Just a test to see what happens when I blog about an Event in Windows Live Spaces

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EMA Caldicot Castle September 6th / 7th 2008

Hosted by: EMA Date and time: 06 September 2008 at 10:00 Location name: Caldicot, Wales View this event on Windows Live

Photos from the Crows Banquet

As a thank you to our members and our friends, the Companions of the Crow had a banquet at the weekend.

 

Photos are available here.