Better Late Than Never

I've come to realize that the scheduled practices in my area do not provide everything I need to maintain and grow my skills.  Full armored sessions do what you'd expect.  Provide a venue for sparring and learning through full contact drills.  This is fantastic for the technical side of things until you realize they do not tend to help you get into better shape.  I've hit a point where my ability to improve will also be dependent on my personal commitment to physical health.  Building up the body will not only allow me to perform with better technique, but also give me the musculature to support blows thrown at opponents and impacts received from them.

With such a mobile style, cardio will be instrumental in developing a higher level of endurance that will enable me to play the game I want during fights.  Teaching myself to recover quickly and maintain will also provide a benefit for tournament performance.  Where I've push into higher rounds previously, my energy was too low to compete at the level necessary to go further.

Building up muscle is going to prove a bit of a challenge for me.  My genetics and my brain want two different things.  While I would like to bulk up my musculature, my genes essentially go great lets get more lean so you can run faster and have more dexterity, but not lift more weight.  I'm hesitant to jump right into lifting due to inexperience.  It's not something I've done much in the past, and I really have no idea about proper form and technique other than what I've read here and there.  I'm perusing options with a personal trainer through my gym to see if they can help me develop a fitness plan.

What do you do to train yourself, physically and mentally, for fighting?

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Inlands Regional Fight Practice

Group Shot at the conclusion of the practice.

I must admit that I love my Kingdom.  Look at this photo, it's from a practice.  There were 17 knights and a total of 33 fighters in attendance.  That is bigger than some kingdom's crown tournaments.  There were fighters from all over, representing at least 8 different baronies and I believe three different states.

My little group hailed from Three Mountains, Stromgard, and Dragon's Mist.  We all blearily meet up at 5:30 am to carpool out to the Inlands for this shindig.  Not a terrible drive considering some of the poorer choices made in the past. [This is in reference to day tripping an event in Grants Pass, OR from Vancouver, WA.] We arrived at our destination around 10 am when the practice was just getting started.      

The next four hours, I can honestly say, were some of the best times I've had in armor since I started fighting.  The large proportion of knights lent to a higher intensity overall in both the teaching and sparing categories.  I definitely felt pushed in several of my sets a have a clearer idea of my strengths and weaknesses.  It turns out, I have a readable transition and delay between attacks paired with an uneven gauging of range.  The uneven gauging of range was my moving in and out of different ranges but not attacking my opponent.  I'd like to attribute this to my larger shield size, but honestly it is most likely improper shield position and a delayed reaction to my opponents movements.  Other feedback included further mastery of technique to improve power on offside blows and overall hand speed.  Also close the barn door,  you know what I mean.     

I would like to thank Dagrun Stjarna and Styrkarr Jarlsskald for opening up there home to us, feeding us, and allowing us to stay the night.  It was a great pleasure to sit and talk with everyone rather than needing to rush home before we crashed.   

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