Sadly, I won’t actually be fighting in the tournament. They actually need me to direct it. Ordinarily this would be a tremendous relief, as it would spare me the humiliation of getting my ass cut up.
However…
Most of the people coming are from the stage combat group. Which means, of course, that they don’t know how to use a rapier either, nor have they mastered such concepts as timing and distance. So in all likelihood, I would have done very well.
But I’ll still do plenty of free assault matches after the tournament.
Second, the hotel is quite a bit more expensive than I thought. So, is there anyone within spitting distance of GMU who wants to shelter a mercenary down on his luck? I can spring for the hotel if I have to, but I would much rather stay with a Doper. If you’re close, I can get rides to and from the event with my teacher, so this shouldn’t put you out too much. Please email me ASAP, otherwise I will make a reservation at the HoJo or whatever.
In case someone was going to post saying they had a place, I wanted to inform y’all that Maeg will be staying in my room.
And no, I don’t know where my roommate will be. But Maeg has assured me he will have his corn hole protected.
All the same, though, Maeg, I’d rather two guys I don’t know get cut up than you. I mean, you’ll be sleeping in my bed! I don’t want the (lack of) sheets to get bloody!
It was but a joke, Maeg, my friend. Hell, sleep on the bare bed nude if that’s what you want. I’ll be coming through to get the rest of my stuff in Tuesday anyway.
Hey! I know this guy! He’s performing in the Orlando-UCF Shakespeare Festival (until May 6th). He’s performed with the company in the past, too. (Ask him about the Malvolio costume!)
And I have a personalized autographed copy of his book!
Nuh huh, dude. I think that would tempt your roommate just a little bit, no?
Yeah, he’s pretty good. I am not a big fan of his rapier style, though. He has this attack curiously labeled “The Flying Dutchman” in which he springs at you, sword and dagger flashing. Anyone with a bit of presence of mind slides to one side and whacks on on the ass as he passes by.
Good guy, though. Which book? The Tallhoffer translation?
I’ll see him in October when my org hosts the Western Martial Arts Workshop.
I particularly like the illustrations of combat between a man and a woman (he is waist-deep in a hole, and she has a 4-5 lb. stone wrapped in her veil).
It’s a good book, and a solid translation. Though I wish he spent more time discussing the actual German text.
He did benefit from the fact that Tallhoffer was translated into modern German, to which he could refer when he found the 15th century Swabian confounding.
I am working on translating a dussack fighting manual in the same dialect right now. It’s friggin killing me.
Maeg is either out eating right now or trying to sleep in my room. When we went by there so he could drop his fencing stuff there, roommate was not.
Sunday I will return to watch fencing and hang with him again. I expect to be accompanied by Falcon. Anyone else who wants to come is hereby welcome and such. I have no Earthly idea where we’ll be eating, but there will at least be blood and guts;-)
Just kidding. Maeg thinks each bout could be over in a matter of seconds. He also REALLY wants to fence on Sunday.
The people who spent Friday night and twelve hours on Saturday learning real technique promptly discarded it when they fought in the tournament. The bouts were not pretty, consisting mainly of posing, poking, and praying.
I did the pairings, so I did not actually fight in the tournament. I did fight several free assault bouts afterwards. In one hour of fencing, I received at the most 6 solid hits. Falcon, Weirddave*, and punha, if they weren’t too disgusted to still be watching, can testify to the number of hits I dealt out.
I am not a good fencer. This was my first experience with this particular weapon. I just tried to use what I spent all weekend learning. It should not have been that easy.
Well maybe it is because you are a kick ass fencer! (That’s always been my opinion. I really do need to go watch you at practice one day, just to confirm things…)
