Menhir
The Shire of Rising Stone
James C Ward Agricultural Center
Lebanon, TN
21 Jan 2023
Started the 2023 fighting season off with a 'bang' at Menhir yesterday. My squire bro Ronan and I journeyed down from the Plateau of the Cumbrians to visit the fun-loving folk of the Shire of Rising Stone at their event, Menhir.
For this event, I decided to take action on the council of several persons of import and not volunteer for anything that would conflict with fighting activities. A common piece of advice that I (and I'm sure most squires) receive is that they need to be in armor and on the field. I'll probably follow this practice going forward as far as fighting is concerned. If there is an opportunity to armor up, I am going to aim to be present and accountable.
Some part of me feels like the attitude above is selfish. And, to be honest and blunt, it is in some small bit. This SCA hobby is dependent on volunteer efforts to keep it moving along. When those volunteer pools dry up, that is when things faulter. I've got a strong sense of that need the SCA has and ignoring a need offends my idea of how this Dream works.
But, the Dream also works when we strive for the personal things we came to perform and love about this SCA. I like to do armored combat. It gives me joy. And, I honestly am at the point in life where some activities have an expiration. I don't have any warning lights on the dash or anything, but the wear and tear on a body in any physical activity accumulates over time. Being a realist, I know that my time in kit is finite.
So, a change in personal philosophy is in play. Fight first. Once the fighting is done, Ill provide what service I can for my hobby. I used to do the reverse of that. It'll take some getting used to. I hate seeing things go undone when I know I am able.
For those folks that have been telling me to do the above for a while, I never ignored you. I'm just slow to act on some things, and this is one of those things.
Now, back to Menhir.
As you may guess from the above, I did one thing at the event. I fought.
I joined in on the Papa Johannes Memorial Tourney that morning. It is a 'Pool Tournament' format. There were 18 or so combatants on the grounds that morning. The first round split the group into two 'pools' of roughly even numbers. Each pool fights a round robin tracking wins and losses. The second round took the top 4 from each 1st round grouping. The round robin repeats. The final was the top 4 from the second round.
There were many fine and esteemed participants in the list. Duke's Boru and Thomas Blackmore along with many peers, squires and unbelts made the groupings challenging and unique with very few common styles in play.
For my part, I had an OK day. There were some evident winter cobwebs in my presentation throughout the day. From the first round I managed to make the cut to the second. From the second I ended tied with Martin and Sir Haldr for the 4th place in the final. After the 3 of us fought it out, Sir Haldr advanced to the final. Duke Boru won the day.
My own assessment was that I was batting .500 all day. I had some good moments and some complete failures. I caught myself spectating in some of my fights causing me to take easy hits from my opponent. I felt my shield movement was out of sync at times. These are things Ill be working on.
After the tourney, I joined in on some pickups. Got to spend some worthy and enjoyable passes with His Highness, Garick. I joined in a loose bearpit later in the day with Sir Eric Griffin, Sir Haldr, Ronan and Arthur.
I sat two classes with HRH Garick (How to beat Garick) and Duke Boru (Footwork). Learned a couple of things Im going to work on from these classes.
Had some great advice presented that I will also be working on related to closing with an opponent and creating more randomization and less static looks to force my opposition out of a position or prevent them from getting 'set' into a strong stance (Hat tip to HG Boru). It all relates to controlling the fight. Which, feeds the 'fight my fight' rule that is another mantra that I hear a lot.
I had fun and our neighbors in Rising Stone did a bang up job as usual. Ronan and I packed up as the sun was setting and made the journey back to the Cumberlands for hearth and home.
Well met friends. Safe journey to thee!
Baron Eoin Mac Cana called 'Clyde'
Squire to Earl Benen MacTire
Warden of the Northern PlateauShire of Easaraigh
Kingdom of Meridies
