After saving my shekels for a couple months I have managed to put together enough money for some new armor!!!! So today I have ordered a new Gorget (to use as a loaner ) and a new set of Arms and Legs. The Gorget should arrive in a month or two and the Arms and Legs will arrive in 2 weeks.
The new Arms and Legs are an ABS plastic with a Leather covering. I ordered them from House of the Wolf. http://houseofthewolf.com/ This should do a couple things for me.
First, when the Gorget arrives I should have almost two complete sets of loaner armor, if I use my current legs and arms as loaner . If I make a coat of plates I would have enough for two.
Second, I will have a lighter set of armor ( I am not getting any younger ) to fight in that will look better than what I have today and closer to the transitional 14th century look that I would like.
I will have to post pictures when the armor arrives!!
Showing posts with label Goals. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Goals. Show all posts
Friday, June 13, 2008
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Fighting Ramble
As I may have mentioned previously in some of my posts, I have decided to become more serious in how I look at Heavy Weapons Combat in the SCA.
A short history of my SCA fighting: I authorized in 1984 and had fun fighting but did not take it seriously until approx. 1990. Previously I had been happy to put on armor and play the game but did not care how I did. I was not out to win or get better at fighting but more simply hang out with my friends and since they fought, I fought. As my friends and co-belligerents began to improve and advance as fighters I ended up asking myself what I wanted to accomplish as a fighter. In effect was I happy being a nail or did I want to be the hammer. So after 1990 I started putting together a nicer kit, paying more attention and trying to learn how to fight better. Almost immediately I was doing better and pulled myself out of the bottom of the pack of fighters in the Kingdom to somewhere in the middle. By 1996 I was doing well enough to be in the quarter finals of some tourneys but seldom won. In retrospect I had been unhappy at looking stupid on the list field and had worked enough to become average but did not try to progress beyond that point. I didn’t want to put the effort in to win, I simply did not want to embarrass myself.
At this time however my mundane job changed and I found myself both working a lot of overtime and most weekends. I was also in effect on call and found myself unable to schedule my event participation very well. So from 1997 to 2003 I did not regularly pursue fighting practices and attended mostly local (about 60-90 minute drive) events. I kept my authorization current but made no real progress fighting. I would attend the local Stormvale practice held outdoors from May to September with some consistency. I was no longer trying to improve, I was simply attending out of habit and for stress relief. So I went through the motions locally and fought the same people over and over but no longer had any kind of a plan or direction for fighting.
In 2004 my job changed again and I began to have more free time again but had gotten into such a rut SCA wise that none of my habits changed. I continued to attend only close local events and fighting without a real purpose or plan. It was probably a year or longer before I decompressed from my IT job enough that I started looking around and taking stock in my hobbies again.
By 2006 I had increased my event participation and had been upgrading my kit again but was back to my original fighting attitude or lack of one. I was showing up more but really just phoning in the effort. It did not help that by now my family was only peripherally interested in the SCA and many of my long time friends had again retired, moved or had begun phoning in their own effort.
I hit a point in late 2006 and took stock of my SCA participation. Was I going to be serious about the SCA or just a fringe member. I decided that I did like and enjoy the SCA enough to devote the required time and effort to become a good fighter again and to step up my efforts in other SCA avenues as well. At the same time I was going through this decision process my local group started having troubles of their own and it seemed that I would have to go a bit further afield to realize my SCA goals.
After deciding I was in for the long haul SCA wise it was apparent I would need to repair and improve my fighting kit. I had also let my desk job creep up on me and I would need to improve my physical shape as well. Less Pear shaped would be a good start and I needed to work on my stamina, upper body strength and speed if I was going to take up fighting again with any degree of seriousness. So in 2007 I put together a physical workout schedule and a list of fighter goals. The physical workout schedule includes some strength training, Cardio and Yoga/stretching. I have been following the physical workout for a year now with fair results. My stamina is improving and my strength is increasing but not as fast as I had originally planned. I believe I will have to take this up to a higher level and join a gym or other venue to progress any farther on this front.
As far as progressing on my fighting plan I have generally done better. I have reworked much of my fighter kit and like how it is now working. My legs do need work still. My right leg armor will occasionally shift and get in my way. I have not been able to find the cause so I may have to make one change at a time until the problem goes away. I am now attending one practice a week at a minimum and have the first signature for my Marshal paperwork. By May 1st I will be working in a second practice per week with events taking place of the second practice when I attend an event. I have also tried to spread my practices around so as to not only fight the same people over and over. So far I have been to Northwoods and Fearann na Criche and soon hope to attend Roaring Wastes and Sarnia practices. There is talk of starting up Stormvale practices again for the summer so that may become my second practice.
A short history of my SCA fighting: I authorized in 1984 and had fun fighting but did not take it seriously until approx. 1990. Previously I had been happy to put on armor and play the game but did not care how I did. I was not out to win or get better at fighting but more simply hang out with my friends and since they fought, I fought. As my friends and co-belligerents began to improve and advance as fighters I ended up asking myself what I wanted to accomplish as a fighter. In effect was I happy being a nail or did I want to be the hammer. So after 1990 I started putting together a nicer kit, paying more attention and trying to learn how to fight better. Almost immediately I was doing better and pulled myself out of the bottom of the pack of fighters in the Kingdom to somewhere in the middle. By 1996 I was doing well enough to be in the quarter finals of some tourneys but seldom won. In retrospect I had been unhappy at looking stupid on the list field and had worked enough to become average but did not try to progress beyond that point. I didn’t want to put the effort in to win, I simply did not want to embarrass myself.
At this time however my mundane job changed and I found myself both working a lot of overtime and most weekends. I was also in effect on call and found myself unable to schedule my event participation very well. So from 1997 to 2003 I did not regularly pursue fighting practices and attended mostly local (about 60-90 minute drive) events. I kept my authorization current but made no real progress fighting. I would attend the local Stormvale practice held outdoors from May to September with some consistency. I was no longer trying to improve, I was simply attending out of habit and for stress relief. So I went through the motions locally and fought the same people over and over but no longer had any kind of a plan or direction for fighting.
In 2004 my job changed again and I began to have more free time again but had gotten into such a rut SCA wise that none of my habits changed. I continued to attend only close local events and fighting without a real purpose or plan. It was probably a year or longer before I decompressed from my IT job enough that I started looking around and taking stock in my hobbies again.
By 2006 I had increased my event participation and had been upgrading my kit again but was back to my original fighting attitude or lack of one. I was showing up more but really just phoning in the effort. It did not help that by now my family was only peripherally interested in the SCA and many of my long time friends had again retired, moved or had begun phoning in their own effort.
I hit a point in late 2006 and took stock of my SCA participation. Was I going to be serious about the SCA or just a fringe member. I decided that I did like and enjoy the SCA enough to devote the required time and effort to become a good fighter again and to step up my efforts in other SCA avenues as well. At the same time I was going through this decision process my local group started having troubles of their own and it seemed that I would have to go a bit further afield to realize my SCA goals.
After deciding I was in for the long haul SCA wise it was apparent I would need to repair and improve my fighting kit. I had also let my desk job creep up on me and I would need to improve my physical shape as well. Less Pear shaped would be a good start and I needed to work on my stamina, upper body strength and speed if I was going to take up fighting again with any degree of seriousness. So in 2007 I put together a physical workout schedule and a list of fighter goals. The physical workout schedule includes some strength training, Cardio and Yoga/stretching. I have been following the physical workout for a year now with fair results. My stamina is improving and my strength is increasing but not as fast as I had originally planned. I believe I will have to take this up to a higher level and join a gym or other venue to progress any farther on this front.
As far as progressing on my fighting plan I have generally done better. I have reworked much of my fighter kit and like how it is now working. My legs do need work still. My right leg armor will occasionally shift and get in my way. I have not been able to find the cause so I may have to make one change at a time until the problem goes away. I am now attending one practice a week at a minimum and have the first signature for my Marshal paperwork. By May 1st I will be working in a second practice per week with events taking place of the second practice when I attend an event. I have also tried to spread my practices around so as to not only fight the same people over and over. So far I have been to Northwoods and Fearann na Criche and soon hope to attend Roaring Wastes and Sarnia practices. There is talk of starting up Stormvale practices again for the summer so that may become my second practice.
Monday, April 7, 2008
Clancy Day: Clancy goes to Japan
It was a wonderful event!!! The weather was perfect for an early April day. It must have been 65 degrees and was sunny. My wife Giovanna and daughter Saiyuke attended the event with me. Bjarky decided to stay home and go to a friends house instead of the event.
Since it is my goal to become of Marshal of the Field I thought I would spent the day marshalling and get my first signature for helping at an event. The Marshal in Charge of the event, Brutus had me look over some of the armor inspections, watch and comment on 3 new fighter authorizations and help out during the Bear Pit Tourney. I started out teamed up with Sir Ragnar from Starleaf Gate but about half way through the Bear Pit he stepped back and had me run that portion of the list. There must have been better than 25 fighters for the Bear Pit and it was very informative to spend the day watching the fighting. I had not realize how many fighters had taken up small bucklers instead of using regular or center boss shields.
After the Bear Pit ended a single sword tourney was called for 30 minutes later. It was single sword only but it could be one or two handed. I had decided to get a little fighting in and so joined the 9 other fighters who signed up for the tourney. I also had wanted to use my new Great Sword which I had only practiced with once or twice. I thought I did OK in the tourney (I believe I won 5 and lost 4).
We did not stay for the evening feast as my wife was feeling a bit under the weather by this point so we said our goodbyes and left a bit after 5pm.
Since it is my goal to become of Marshal of the Field I thought I would spent the day marshalling and get my first signature for helping at an event. The Marshal in Charge of the event, Brutus had me look over some of the armor inspections, watch and comment on 3 new fighter authorizations and help out during the Bear Pit Tourney. I started out teamed up with Sir Ragnar from Starleaf Gate but about half way through the Bear Pit he stepped back and had me run that portion of the list. There must have been better than 25 fighters for the Bear Pit and it was very informative to spend the day watching the fighting. I had not realize how many fighters had taken up small bucklers instead of using regular or center boss shields.
After the Bear Pit ended a single sword tourney was called for 30 minutes later. It was single sword only but it could be one or two handed. I had decided to get a little fighting in and so joined the 9 other fighters who signed up for the tourney. I also had wanted to use my new Great Sword which I had only practiced with once or twice. I thought I did OK in the tourney (I believe I won 5 and lost 4).
We did not stay for the evening feast as my wife was feeling a bit under the weather by this point so we said our goodbyes and left a bit after 5pm.
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Pentamere Regional Seneschal
I have been chosen to be the next Pentamere Regional Seneschal. This will be effective early in 2008 after Duchess Eanor, the current Regional Seneschal, has wrapped up a couple projects that she is in the middle of. I am hoping to learn as much as I can from her before the change of office takes place.
I have been in the SCA for 25 years but in the last 8-9 years have devoted 80% or more of my time to my local Shire (The Shire of Stormvale) often at the detriment of playing in the larger SCA. In 2006 I took stock of my participation in the SCA and decided to get more active and change my percentage of local activity to a more balanced number. By this summer I had increased my event participation and activity level to the point that I thought I would look for a regional job in the Marshal or Service arena. In October I noticed the job posting for Pentamere Regional Seneschal on the new Middle Kingdom forumhttp://forum.midrealm.org/ and thought this would be a good opportunity so I applied.
This will be my second office above the local Shire level. In 1994-1996 I was the Opinicus Pursuivant which is a deputy position to the Rouge Scarpe and helped make sure that the name and device submissions for the kingdom went smoothly. It was a very interesting job and consisted of a lot of paperwork including informing people of the status of their submissions. Either that they had passed the Kingdom level or that they had been sent back because of some problem or conflict.
I have been in the SCA for 25 years but in the last 8-9 years have devoted 80% or more of my time to my local Shire (The Shire of Stormvale) often at the detriment of playing in the larger SCA. In 2006 I took stock of my participation in the SCA and decided to get more active and change my percentage of local activity to a more balanced number. By this summer I had increased my event participation and activity level to the point that I thought I would look for a regional job in the Marshal or Service arena. In October I noticed the job posting for Pentamere Regional Seneschal on the new Middle Kingdom forumhttp://forum.midrealm.org/ and thought this would be a good opportunity so I applied.
This will be my second office above the local Shire level. In 1994-1996 I was the Opinicus Pursuivant which is a deputy position to the Rouge Scarpe and helped make sure that the name and device submissions for the kingdom went smoothly. It was a very interesting job and consisted of a lot of paperwork including informing people of the status of their submissions. Either that they had passed the Kingdom level or that they had been sent back because of some problem or conflict.
Monday, November 19, 2007
Update on Armoring
I had Robert over Friday night (11-9) to work on his armor. He is taking my old set and we are fitting it to him. He turns 18 in May and would like to be ready to authorize by then. So he dished the dents out of an old pair of pauldrons and strapped them. This is his first riveting job!!!
He wants to make a set of nice Japanese armor so as we finish this set we will start making his nice set. It will be made of ABS plastic and will give me the opportunity to learn how to form the plastic with heat.
While he was working on the pauldrons I fitted my new gauntlets for gloves and added a couple straps to them to hold the gloves on. I now need to sew the gloves on to the leather strips I riveted onto the gloves. I also bent my helmet hinge back so I could fight until the new ones are finished.
All in all a fairly productive night!!!
Thursday, November 8, 2007
Skalla's SCA Resume
On several SCA websites I had seen SCA resumes and thought it would be neat to make one for myself. I think this is pretty acurate until the last couple years. I was able to go through our local newsletters and reconstruct most of this history. However in the last few years we have went to an e-mail type newsletter and my information is more sketchy for that time period.
SCA General
-------------
First SCA meeting Dec. 1981 Shire of Westvale (group attempting to form at University of Michigan-Flint)
First Event: Crown Tourney Spring 1982
Authorized as Fighter June 1983
Attended First Pennsic 1984
National member 1983 have remained current to the present
Authorized as Fencer June 2001
Offices Held
------------
Pursuivant Westvale 1982
All offices following are for Stormvale except as noted
Exchequer 1983-1986
Castellan/Chatelaine 1983-1986 (Prior to it being a Kingdom recognized job)
Pursuivant 1984-1985
Seneschal 1985, 1987-1988
Pursuivant 1989-1991
Group Knight Marshal 1993-1994
Chirurgeon 1993-1994
Opinicus Pursuivant 1994-1996 (MK College of Heralds)
Pursuivant 1999-2000
Group Knight Marshal 2001-2004
Web Minister 2001-2003
Other Responsibilities
----------------------
Co-Founder Shire of Stormvale Oct. 1982 (Genesee County Michigan)
Co-Founded Stormvale Militia 1984
Event Staff St. John the Baptist 3,4,5 1988, 1989, 1990
Co-Founded Stormvale Armorer’s Guild 1988 (In existence on and off as needed to present day)
Shire Steering/Goals Committee 1988-1989
Autocrat St. John the Baptist 6 1991
Event Staff Feast of Samhain 1991
Event Staff Vikings go Home 1,4 1992, 1997
Event Staff Fall Crown Tourney 1992
Shire Steering/Goals Committee 2 1993
Shire Goals and Direction Committee 1996
Event Staff Harvest of Souls 2, 4,5, 6 1999, 2004, 2005, 2006
Event Staff Toys for Tots 1999
Baronial Exploratory Committee 2004-2005
Co-Founder Stormvale Artisans Guild 2007
Youth Marshal in Training 2007-Current
Awards Recieved
------------------
Award of Arms 16 Aug. 1987 (for local activity)
Award of the Purple Fret 17 Oct. 1992 (for local activity, specifically offices)
Order of the Dragon’s Heart 06 Dec. 1997 (for Opinicus Pursuivant)
Award of the Purple Fret 08 Oct. 2005 (for local activity hosting revels/guild/meetings)
SCA General
-------------
First SCA meeting Dec. 1981 Shire of Westvale (group attempting to form at University of Michigan-Flint)
First Event: Crown Tourney Spring 1982
Authorized as Fighter June 1983
Attended First Pennsic 1984
National member 1983 have remained current to the present
Authorized as Fencer June 2001
Offices Held
------------
Pursuivant Westvale 1982
All offices following are for Stormvale except as noted
Exchequer 1983-1986
Castellan/Chatelaine 1983-1986 (Prior to it being a Kingdom recognized job)
Pursuivant 1984-1985
Seneschal 1985, 1987-1988
Pursuivant 1989-1991
Group Knight Marshal 1993-1994
Chirurgeon 1993-1994
Opinicus Pursuivant 1994-1996 (MK College of Heralds)
Pursuivant 1999-2000
Group Knight Marshal 2001-2004
Web Minister 2001-2003
Other Responsibilities
----------------------
Co-Founder Shire of Stormvale Oct. 1982 (Genesee County Michigan)
Co-Founded Stormvale Militia 1984
Event Staff St. John the Baptist 3,4,5 1988, 1989, 1990
Co-Founded Stormvale Armorer’s Guild 1988 (In existence on and off as needed to present day)
Shire Steering/Goals Committee 1988-1989
Autocrat St. John the Baptist 6 1991
Event Staff Feast of Samhain 1991
Event Staff Vikings go Home 1,4 1992, 1997
Event Staff Fall Crown Tourney 1992
Shire Steering/Goals Committee 2 1993
Shire Goals and Direction Committee 1996
Event Staff Harvest of Souls 2, 4,5, 6 1999, 2004, 2005, 2006
Event Staff Toys for Tots 1999
Baronial Exploratory Committee 2004-2005
Co-Founder Stormvale Artisans Guild 2007
Youth Marshal in Training 2007-Current
Awards Recieved
------------------
Award of Arms 16 Aug. 1987 (for local activity)
Award of the Purple Fret 17 Oct. 1992 (for local activity, specifically offices)
Order of the Dragon’s Heart 06 Dec. 1997 (for Opinicus Pursuivant)
Award of the Purple Fret 08 Oct. 2005 (for local activity hosting revels/guild/meetings)
Monday, November 5, 2007
Fighting Goals update
Progress on Fighting Goals by Monday morning 11-5-2007
5. Make a Great Sword
COMPLETED Sunday morning. The sword is slightly heavy but very well balanced and I look forward to trying it out on the list field.
6. Create exercise plan & Schedule of Pell work
(IN PROGRESS I have started with 30 minutes of general exercise every morning. This includes Push Ups, Sit Ups, Squats, Crunches & Leg Lifts. When I am in better shape (several weeks?) I will move on to Cardio. I have started walking 30 minutes after lunch and will work up to running as I feel better. I have started 30 minutes of slow work on the Pell every night. I have not decided where to go with that yet.
7. Replace Knee/Elbow Pads & Cup
COMPLETED Saturday afternoon with a quick trip to a local retailer.
5. Make a Great Sword
COMPLETED Sunday morning. The sword is slightly heavy but very well balanced and I look forward to trying it out on the list field.
6. Create exercise plan & Schedule of Pell work
(IN PROGRESS I have started with 30 minutes of general exercise every morning. This includes Push Ups, Sit Ups, Squats, Crunches & Leg Lifts. When I am in better shape (several weeks?) I will move on to Cardio. I have started walking 30 minutes after lunch and will work up to running as I feel better. I have started 30 minutes of slow work on the Pell every night. I have not decided where to go with that yet.
7. Replace Knee/Elbow Pads & Cup
COMPLETED Saturday afternoon with a quick trip to a local retailer.
Skalla's Fighting Goals
Since it will be a couple weeks before I can fight again, while my helmet being repaired, I thought this was a good time to go over the rest of my equipment and make a to do list. So Friday night I took stock and created a “Fighting” goals & projects list. I had more ideas than just fighting and I think I will create similar lists for A&S and other activities. I will review it every couple weeks to check my progress and add new items.
So as presently conceived the list looks like this for fighting and is not prioritized yet:
Skalla’s Fighting Goals and Projects 11-2-2007
1. Fix hinge on Helmet (IN PROGRESS approx. 2-3 weeks to complete)
2. Become Heavy Marshal
3. Become Youth Marshal (IN PROGRESS started at War need 2 more signatures and take the test)
4. Youth Equipment for Alex (my 13 year old son) (IN PROGRESS, have most equipment, need to make tabard to hide modern equipment and get him authorized)
5. Make Great Sword
6. Create exercise plan & Schedule of Pell work
7. Replace Knee/Elbow Pads & Cup
8. Help my Household members Daryl and Robert to construct armor and authorize (this may end up being its own list)
9. Create schedule of fighting practices to attend like Roaring Waste, Cynnabar etc.
10. Polish leg armor
11. Clean up loaner armor
12. Make loaner arm armor
13. Make loaner swords/shields
14. Attach gloves to new Gauntlets, Clean up and use old for loaner
15. Shorten my Brigantine armor by approx. 6 inches
16. Tabard or Surcoat with Coat of Arms and Mantle for Basinet
17. Put together Marshalling kit, Helm, Staff, Tabard etc.
18. Get Combat Archery bow and authorize
19. Look into Siege Engine what it would take to build and authorize
So as presently conceived the list looks like this for fighting and is not prioritized yet:
Skalla’s Fighting Goals and Projects 11-2-2007
1. Fix hinge on Helmet (IN PROGRESS approx. 2-3 weeks to complete)
2. Become Heavy Marshal
3. Become Youth Marshal (IN PROGRESS started at War need 2 more signatures and take the test)
4. Youth Equipment for Alex (my 13 year old son) (IN PROGRESS, have most equipment, need to make tabard to hide modern equipment and get him authorized)
5. Make Great Sword
6. Create exercise plan & Schedule of Pell work
7. Replace Knee/Elbow Pads & Cup
8. Help my Household members Daryl and Robert to construct armor and authorize (this may end up being its own list)
9. Create schedule of fighting practices to attend like Roaring Waste, Cynnabar etc.
10. Polish leg armor
11. Clean up loaner armor
12. Make loaner arm armor
13. Make loaner swords/shields
14. Attach gloves to new Gauntlets, Clean up and use old for loaner
15. Shorten my Brigantine armor by approx. 6 inches
16. Tabard or Surcoat with Coat of Arms and Mantle for Basinet
17. Put together Marshalling kit, Helm, Staff, Tabard etc.
18. Get Combat Archery bow and authorize
19. Look into Siege Engine what it would take to build and authorize
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