Household Tasks update

Hey,

Figured I should update my household tasks as well while I am doing updates.

1) Improve Fighting
2) Improve appearance (through adding finishing touches to garb)
3) Another task to be assigned by Gabriel

So...
1) Improve fighting. Ok I feel I am meeting this one as I have definitely improved my fighting and renown.

2) Improve appearance. Only made myself two hats thus far... need to pick this one up before next GNW.

3) Still waiting. Gabs had the idea of me writing a manual of sorts for GNW stewarding... but Bec is already on this one :)

Latest update

Well... been a while since I did any sort of update, so figured I should do something.

Fighting:
Been doing well of late, won a few smaller tournaments in Rapier but been happy with my performance as it has been up against higher fighters like Sir Somerled and Baron Giles. Also won the Rapier Championship for River Haven, so proud of that. Just gotten two students authorised in Rapier, Steve a local mate, and Darin from a Canton about 2 hours away. Both have been called Mini Dimitrii's because of their fighting style, but both are already doing very well. Very happy with how they are doing. Also heard someone say that they heard a newbie rapier fighter saying that they see my level of fighting as a benchmark to get to... got to be happy with that.

Also doing well with Heavy at the moment. I am keeping much lower stance with my glaive meaning that rather than my point being to the right side of the opponents head, it's now down near their groin. This makes people stand back and be very defensive and not rush me, has worked very well agianst people like Sir Somerled, tomas, even Gabs for a while until he figured it out and now I have to keep my point to his lower left to have any sort of chance. The thrust is mostly doing it for me. Won the Heavy Championship for River Haven as well... twice the Champ!

Service:
Run to events lately, the Newcomers event and the Baroness's Bash. I ran the newcomers one because Bec and I noticed a real lack of events in RH at large, and we have heaps new newbies but no local events. So we ran this one. Was a great success with heaps of newbies coming, and also heaps of the old guard coming out as well. Worked well as the newbies are all hooked now.

Also ran the B/Bash on the weekend just past. Just ran it as a free event and potluck. Ended up being a royal visit which brought everyone out of the woodwork but was a really good event. Made more so because I was awarded the Silver Pegasus for my service and courtesy... HUGE honour.

A&S:
Been quiet with this recently, many plans but done little. Have a class in a week or two on Russian/viking/mongol hats with Glynnis which I am still preparing for. Have some plans for a new Tunic and jacket for the Invest/Devest in November. Not much time between now and then, so really should start. Taught a chainmaille class at a local canton to help them get started, gave them a heap of rings to get them on the way and a how-to handout I had made. Also playing at the moment making another chain for a certain fighter which will be a knight soon... hope I will have it ready in time. (oh and if you read this... don't feel obliged to ever wear it)

New Hats

Well... felt a pang of creativness, so decided to make some new Russian hats for me, and Viking ones for Bec and Emily. Searched the net for a while for different patterns, found a 5 panel hat in some research for Russian hats (wacky Russians) so decided to make that one for something different.

Made myself and Emily one first to try and work out the kinks before making Bec one. First picture is Emily's one, mine is just a bigger version.

Made a few mistakes, didn't roll the top of the fur before I added it, small things like that. All in all I was happy with the end result.

Made a few for some friends that are new to the SCA, as my gift to them (but also to keep practicing my hats). Each time I changed the pattern slightly to go from a square topped hat to more curved to follow the head shape. Finally felt ready to start making Bec's.

Wanted to make her something special, so thought to do a straight white hat, with some purple embroidery and stones on it. Settled on a pattern I had made up from a few concepts I saw when researching Russ Hats, and pencilled it on.

First mistake... don't use pencil on white wool! Hard to rub off.

Did the embroidery and sewed the stones in, attached the lining and was ready to go for the fur. Found a great place in Brisbane that supply's fur and some really nice pure white rabbit fur.

Finished off the hat... and quite happy with the end result.

Have started on some documentation and will use this for my first ever enterance into an A&S comp.

I have made another style of Russian hat, one that looks like a Santa hat, but black with grey speckled fur, with a white knotted snake embroidered on it... but I can't find it at the moment to take a piccy for you :)

Next... I had been asked by a mate to make a Mongol hat for her, which I had wanted to try for a while now. My persona is Mongol influenced Russian, so I can easily wear a hat like this. Wanted to try one for myself first before I made hers, so decided on black with red lining, with some black fur I had recently purchased.

Had to do some experiments with the pattern as I had no idea what to do. Ended up using my original pattern (except now I am doing a 6 panel hat) except made it longer and to a finer point. Had some difficulty sewing it up with the fine point... will make sure to make a broader tip next time. Also need to extend the bottom a bit as it doesn't come down quite enough. Also I had used black wool with red cotton drill as I wanted to make it a bit cooler for wearing in Summer, but found that the red is freying quickly so will only make this hat with wool next time. All in all I like this one, want to finish it off with a metal hat tip, for looks but also to hide the top as it didn't quite work out thanks to the thin topped pattern.

Well... that's it so far. Have heaps of more ideas for more... just need the time and some more nice fur. Have heaps of brown... but not enough big fluffy fur that is needed for Russian hats :(

A&S Class on SCA Etiquette

Well... after the last event here in River Haven I noticed quite a lot of people doing things at events that should not (in my opinion) be done. Things like mobile phones during court, not bowing to the King and Queen, or Baron & Baroness as they pass, not bowing to the thrones, lots of things like that which are a real issue for me. Rather than sit back and whine about it, I decided to run an A&S class on SCA Etiquette.

Was well attended (about 19 people) including people that came to do rapier but stayed inside for the conversation which I ran as an around table discussion involving members that had been in the SCA for quite a while. I mainly covered two sections, what to do (and not do) at an SCA event, and the same for during Court. I also set up the thrones so the people could see examples of bowing, when to bow etc. Also at the end we got them to all give it a try... bowing in a relaxed atmosphere like that is much easier to do for the first time than in court.

I feel it all went really well, got many good compliments after about the session, including a few older newbies (does that make sense?) that said they all learnt something as well.

I feel that the older customs and ways are not being passed down to the newcomers, so I feel that it's about time we do something about it.

Bec helped me (Last minute idea which I had no time to do) make up a simple handout for the attendees to remind them what we spoke about... I have included it down below.

What would I do differently?
Well... I did some simple notes for them to keep, but did leave a bit out of it so I would change that. I did sort of jump around a bit, I tried to keep it into two main sections, during an event, and during court. Having the thrones was good because people liked the practical demonstration, so I would do that again. I would make some more notes for myself as reminders, as really I was just running off the cuff last night, but I hid it well as I used the times that Nina, Steve or Giles were talking to think of the next thing I wanted to talk about... which would explain why I jumped around so much.

Maybe also I would ask to borrow some restricted items, like a knights belt, spurs and chain; a Pelican and Laurels chain, Nina and Dom had their baronial coronets there, so that was good. Things like that.




SCA Etiquette

Etiquette in the SCA follows the ideals of courtly love, basically honour those who are your equal or above; treat those who do not outrank you as your equal. Be deserving of the respect of others – so treat the members of the populace as you want to be treated. Reverence is the most common method of showing your respect. What is reverence? Reverence is either a bow or curtsy normally given when passing about 3m from a person of higher rank. It is a SCA custom to make reverence going in front of or passing by the thrones. The thrones are symbols of the Crown and you should show your respect to them even though there is no king or queen or anyone sitting in them. Some people like to cheat and go behind the thrones to escape the effort, please take the time to show your respect – you never know who notices you. If you are ever called up in court for any reasons (award, announcement or giving gifts to the Crown or Baron & Baroness) it is proper to make reverence to each individual representative or pair of representative in the dais (dais is head of the room or platform). Remember start from the highest ranking and work your way down.
Maybe one of the easiest ways to know who the highest ranking person is, would be by what they are wearing on their heads – crown or coronet.

Court
In the SCA court is normally a time when Royalty or Baron & Baroness gather the populace together and handle matter of state, which may include presenting awards to deserving members of the populace, announcements of tourney results, and sometimes other business like law changes, banishment's but these are not that common.

How should you behave while court is being held?
• Switch all mobile phones off or to silent
• Show respect and don’t speak during court – you might miss something important. If you do need to speak to someone (more than a short comment) it is best to leave the court and return quietly to your seat.
• When court starts – it is proper to stand to show respect and then you will be advised to make yourself comfortable.
• During the court you may need to stand again – this happens in ceremonial court such as Coronations or Investitures normally you will hear a call asking you to do so.
If you get called up in court
• Show respect as you approach the thrones by Reverencing about 3m or 4m away from the throne, continue to move forward and kneel on the cushions (if there is any)
• Listen to Their Majesties or Excellencies as they talk to you and speak politely
• When leaving court Reverence and walk about 3m or 4 m away and reverence again.
• If presentations are being made the recipients may get stage freight and not speak loudly, bare with them
Closing the Court
• The herald will call “There being no further business before this court” you stand and the herald will give some closing cheers such as long live the King etc and if the Royals processes out then bow but if the Royals do not you may leave and go onto your business.

Other SCA customs to keep in mind during an event

Keeping mundane items to a limit
• Phones – keep in a pouch put on vibrate don’t leave them on your belt
• Drinks – bottles or cans either pour them into a period drinking vessel or jug or put bottles under the table or away
• Watches – keep in your pouch, not on your arms
• Names – remember to use SCA names, if you can’t remember, merely use m’lord or m’lady.

Garb Projects

Well... been busy lately helping Bec with her Viking dress. She had already made it a little while ago, but it was just left with basic material. She got me to do a viking stitch down each seam, plus also do several broaches for the bottom of each panel. I did two, while a friend of ours that is really keen to get into the SCA did the remaining 6. Looks really good.

Also starting to go over my old garb and redo it with some pretty's. On the red fighting tunic in the pic on my Blog I have done a simple stem stitch along the black material on the sleves, as well as a butterfly stitch. Will post a pic when I can get one. Looks pretty good (in my opinion) nor I have to remove the trim on the collar and redo that as it looks out of place. Will do this to all my garb... time to start improving my appearence.

Wednesday night training

Woohoo… I have something to report!

Wednesday night

Authorised a new fighter in River Haven… so what you say? Well… this was the first authorised fighter in this Barony for like 2-3 years!

Plus also did some work with Gabs and Mangus. Worked on my point control, and in particular point placement before combat actually started. What I mean is my stance and where my point was in the opening moments of the fight. I used to have it quite high and to the right of my opponent. After my last fights with Scotty (Edmond) he and Lorcan suggested I put my point lower. Taking their advice, I kept my point ranging between stomach to throat on both Gabs or Mangus, and this made them both keep their distance and not rush me at all, letting me control the fight, also enabling me to thrust to their left side (from my point of view) past their shield quite easily. A few times I didn’t quite land it, and tried to cover myself with the glaive but was unsuccessful, meaning that I need to learn to recover much quicker. Also tried putting the point much lower and to their right side (my POV) making them have to peer over their shield to see the point, leaving themselves open. Worked against Mangus with a quick chop, but not against Gabs (I guess that whole “much more skilled” thing saved worked in his favour) so this may work against newer less experienced fighters.

Still of course need to work on my footwork, plus also on my in close game. Not confident yet when the fighter get in on me… want to do some work starting in close.

Squire no more, now Protege

Well... after a lot of thought and internal debate, I took the step to speak to my Knight about my thoughts on what I do in the SCA, and we have made an agreement where I shall hand back the Squires belt, and accept one as his Protege. I do not feel I have the enthusiam and love for fighting as he and my fellow squires all share, and due to my family, personal and SCA office committments, I do nto get much time to play in the SCA, and I feel that I do not wish to concentrate on one aspect of it (Heavy Fighting) rather I wish to enjoy all of it, be it heavy, rapier, archery, service or merely sitting around and having a laugh while watching a tourney.

I feel very good about this step, and it was mainly when I asked myself this question that my decision was made: If the King of Lochac was to walk up to me, and offer me a peerage of my choosing which one would it be? In all honestly, I would ask for a Pelican as I value what people think of the service that I provide them and the SCA at large, more than what people think of how I fight on the field of Heavy.

So there we go. I am now a Protege. :)

Sunday's Training

Had a really good session on Sunday at the RH hall. There was 5 knights in armour and 6 fighters, mostly belted fighters. Again I found myself being fairly aggressive, I guess because I was very low on energy I didn't have much to spare, so I was just getting in and doing it? It's a theory anyhow.

Did some good passes with Mason glaive on glaive to start with. His glaive was much longer than mine, plus he did not have a butt spike, so I made sure to get in and play a closer range game which each time I did, he could not get me. During Lorcan's classes last year he taught us the glaive positioning when facing another glaive, and each time I use this stance my defence against the thrusts of another glaive is quite tight, so Mason could not use his length as an advantage against me in a thrusting fight. Was quite happy with these passes.

Next up was Edmond. Definately enjoyed these passes and afterwards Lorcan pulled me aside and showed me that the tip of my glaive was up far too high, and was not presenting a full threat to Edmond. Edmond joined in the conversation (thanks Edmond) and also agreed that the times that I lowered the glaive he felt threatened by it, but the times I held it up he knew it was not a real threat and could dictate the fights. I used this information during the King of the Hill at the end of the day and did quite well with opening fight kills.

All in all, I was quite happy with my fighting today.

Wednesday night training

Well... finally got in armour Wednesday night at the RH hall and had a hit... made sure I had all my armour before I left home . :)

Was 5 of us in armour, Gabs, Lucas, Paul Adams, Magnus and myself. Gabs spent the night doing some newbie training for 4 people (many thanks for that again) so that left the 4 of us to have a play.

Had a great play with Paul to start with, he is so quick and reminded me that I have been too long out of armour as I had forgotten a lot of the moves and spent too much time thinking. Got a few nice shots in on him though, some he did not expect like the J shot (Fake to the right side of the head (my right) bring it down in a J towards his left leg, then thrust under the shield, got him just above the box. We had quite a few good long passes when I mainly went into defense mode.

Second was Lucas. I was interested to watch him really stand off against me. He took quite a while to even take a step in, and as soon as he started moving all I had to do was twitch and he would step back. He fell for the J as well and also the double tap a few times. Was just starting to really have fun with him when as we were locked up I took a step to my right to make him pass me but our legs tangled at the same time I stepped on uneven ground and down I went. Normally I can fall quite well, but somehow I landed with my head back so taht took the entire weight of the fall. Went black for a second or two until I heard Gabs calling if I was ok. Eventually got back up and lay down on the side for a while... not a great thing to happen a week after being off work with Vertigo. Ended up de-armouring as I was really getting quite dizzy. Dissapointed but still happy with the night.

So all in all I was happy with my first fight back. Thinking about it later on the way home, I realised that I was being a lot more aggressive with my fighting and doing more attacking rather than reacting to their movements. I guess because both Paul and Lucas are fairly aggressive fighters I was being the same back to them? Also when I was fighting Lucas and we were doing up close fighting, when I had enough i found myself shoving him back hard and throwing shots as I stepped back as well. This is something I don't usually do, but did several times last night. It worked as it got some space between us, and also landed a few nice blows as well.

Well... let's see how we go next time :)

Current Projects

So... what am I working on at the moment?

Fighting Tabbard for Household: Working on a fighting tabbard like my fellow squires have already had made for them. Bec has done most of the sewing (ok... all) but I am doing all the hand sewing and embroidery. It has a pheniox on the chest which is my device, Gab's device on one sleeve and Monty the Badger on the other. It also has a white band along the bottom with the River Haven Hippycantus (sorry for the spellling) along it. All this has been done in split stich and chain stich.

Personal Fighting Tabbard: Working on a Russian fighting tabbard with my device on it. Just in the start stages at the moment as I want to finish the household one first.

Ideas bubbling around: I have heaps of nice dark blue and black wool, and just bought some black linen as well... so thinking about some nice cool weather full coats for Rowany... with embroidery around the neck and sleeves, and possibly down the middle where the two sides meet. Thinking about doing a pheniox in the middle of the shoulder blades on one... saw a nice Russian pic of a St Petersburg jacket with that on it.

Fighting for this week

Well... I learnt a valuable lesson this week. ALWAYS check your armour bag before you are half armoured at training. I am currently selling off my old set of armour including the elbows that I am currently using, and had taken the elbows out to take a photo of them, and put them back with all the armour I am selling. It was only after I had put on my chauses, legs, boots, box and kidney belt that I realised I didn't have much armour left in the bag. Most annoying thing is that I really felt like fighting that night. It's a feeling I have not had of late for most of the year, so I was very annoyed that when I finally was in the mood for a play... I could not.

Oh... and of course no one else had a spare set of elbows!

So... other than posing at the photo shoot... I did no real fighting practice or training this week.