Greetings and a happy 2016 to all!
When you think of women being brave or strong or aggressive, you almost always associate it with things like protecting their children from harm or enduring some kind of fabulous torture like childbirth (this falls into the "women's issues" box in the common brain, not to be applied to actual, real life). Some less enlightened souls may associate those words with being lesbian (this falls under the "well obviously" stereotyping box in the common brain, and doesn't apply to "real" women). Am I right?
But I think we know that sexual orientation doesn't really come into it when a woman is fighting, either in real life or in the lists.
The lioness is the aggressor when it comes to protecting the cubs and finding food. Several lionesses will work together, co-operating to bring down a much larger animal. It is a romanticised notion, but still true. But this can only be applied to wildlife because people no longer consider themselves part of the animal kingdom. Is it so for you?
It seems, though, that many women don't believe they are capable of such qualities.
For the first post of the new year, I thought I'd look at recruiting and training women to fight.
There are a number of girls in armour all over the world who have contributed to how I have changed my views on women fighters and their needs. You can find most of them here. I would like to acknowledge their views and opinions that they have shared on our group discussions. I am grateful, sisters, that you have improved my world view.
I have managed to recruit some wonderful characters for the sport. Along the way, I've picked up a vital difference in how women prefer to train. Now, before we go further, there is the usual disclaimer: when speaking about a general group of people, it is necessary to generalise. I, myself, am one of the exceptions to the generalisations, and that is why it has taken me so long to figure out why women fighters can be different in their training requirements.
You see, women don't seem to need to posture and prove themselves in the same way that men do. I'm going out on a limb here and guessing that it has something to do with our socio-cultural conditioning (boys can't cry but girls can). This seems to be the root of the difference in needs in terms of training. If you give a guy a sword and he has never fought, he'll go all out to show his buddies that he is The Man and he can do it better than his opponent, even if he doesn't really understand what "it" is.
A woman tends to take a more intellectual approach. She usually says, "Show me what to do so that I don't make an idiot of myself when I try." She is not afraid of showing weakness, but more afraid of being seen as dim-witted; a slow learner.
Yours truly is actually well-versed in making an idiot of herself when attempting new things, so I just dove in, like any guy would do, balls to the wall. I have met some women who take that tack, but not very many.
So while a woman is more open to learning initially, she tends to overthink it. Once she gets going, though, a female fighter can be tenacious and vicious with a weapon.
Some of you might say, "Ah, yes, but what about those who quit once they have been injured for the first time, or worn armour for the first time? Surely it's the same for both men and women?" And I say that to some degree it is, simply because men and women can both be "faint-hearted" when it comes to the crunch.
We're really talking here about those fighters who have it in them from the beginning. Not everyone does. That is also the trick with recruiting anyone. LARPers and other types of gamers love the idea of swordplay, but when they realise that it actually requires a bit of physical fitness and some effort, they fall away. Jocks and other types of mainstreamers who love the idea think that it's like 300, and become disillusioned when we don't fight like they do in the movies. And, of course, you get the ones that get hurt and just never come back.
It's certainly not for everyone. But I don't believe that medieval combat is any less for women than it is for men. In my previous posts, I have mentioned the presence throughout history of female warriors, fighting alongside men in battles, or leading armies comprised of men, and in some cases only women.The proof is there for anyone who can read.
To me, it has become clear that the approach to training up a fighter is really what determines whether a female fighter sticks with it or drops out. With my new recruits, I have taken a more gradual approach, which would have easily frustrated their male counterparts.
We started with talking about the expectations of getting injured. Talking! But it prepares women, and they can deal with it if the pain is expected and isn't sprung on them by surprise. I suppose that's how women are wired (childbirth and losing one's virginity are examples of what a woman can take on, without fear, if she knows what to expect).
We have also spoken about trusting our armour. Women who have had a finger pinched or an elbow banged in unarmoured combat may expect it to be the same when armoured. So we put a cuirass on and hit it with a sword. First with eyes closed, for the (lack of) feeling, and then with eyes open, to see how fast and hard the swing really was.
Mentally preparing women for combat is a bigger part of it than we may believe. Guys may just jump in there because they are expected to be brave and strong, but a woman is under no such obligation. She will take a look at people getting hit with a sword, hear the awful clang of steel on armour and go, "Uh, no. Why would I want to do that again?" If she realises that there is genuine protection with armour, intellectually, she is more likely to want to fight.
Of course, once you've got her in armour, she needs a bit of a shove to switch on that bit of aggression that women are usually encouraged to sublimate. In most cultures, women are traditionally taught to be kind and sweet and subservient and polite. It's difficult to get over that kind of conditioning. A good hard rap on the helmet will go a long way to flipping that switch and allowing her natural competitive nature to take a more aggressive form. Then stand back and watch her smite!
It's rewarding to be a part of that process.
Here is our Battle Heritage South Africa promo video.
In this video, there is a good clip of our other armoured team member, Steph, fighting Denise at IMCF 2015. I can't take credit for her training, but in this clip, she's just giving it her all. She has the zebra-striped shield, which now belongs to Satine, the Danish fighter.
I still don't have a clue how to identify potential recruits because we have girls in armour from every kind of background in our community. Some are academics, some are housewives, students, salespeople, and a few even have inspirational stories about how they turned their lives around, from the least likely girls in armour to champions. Amy Graham is one example of an amazing success story. But don't make the mistake of thinking that she is a great fighter because she turned her life around. She turned her life around because she is a great fighter. See how it works?
When I first started this sport, I sniggered at women who tried it on because I didn't believe that they were cut out for it ("they" referring to women in general). However I have decided that was a very limited and inaccurate theory, born of ignorance and just a smidgen of misogyny.
In my estimation, every woman has the potential to be a fighter. It's the training that determines whether she is successful at it or not.
So to all of the girls in armour (and those who are still getting their kit together), I wish you all good fighting for this coming year. Don't be afraid of saying, "This doesn't work for me. I want to try another way." Let your intuition guide you in finding the right way to unleash that lioness. Most importantly, help each other. A lioness rarely hunts alone.
We'll see each other on the battlefield.
This first post of the year is dedicated to my teammate, Steph Roets, who is unable to train due to illness. I feel your pain. Get well soon, chick!
When you think of women being brave or strong or aggressive, you almost always associate it with things like protecting their children from harm or enduring some kind of fabulous torture like childbirth (this falls into the "women's issues" box in the common brain, not to be applied to actual, real life). Some less enlightened souls may associate those words with being lesbian (this falls under the "well obviously" stereotyping box in the common brain, and doesn't apply to "real" women). Am I right?
But I think we know that sexual orientation doesn't really come into it when a woman is fighting, either in real life or in the lists.
The lioness is the aggressor when it comes to protecting the cubs and finding food. Several lionesses will work together, co-operating to bring down a much larger animal. It is a romanticised notion, but still true. But this can only be applied to wildlife because people no longer consider themselves part of the animal kingdom. Is it so for you?
It seems, though, that many women don't believe they are capable of such qualities.
For the first post of the new year, I thought I'd look at recruiting and training women to fight.
There are a number of girls in armour all over the world who have contributed to how I have changed my views on women fighters and their needs. You can find most of them here. I would like to acknowledge their views and opinions that they have shared on our group discussions. I am grateful, sisters, that you have improved my world view.
I have managed to recruit some wonderful characters for the sport. Along the way, I've picked up a vital difference in how women prefer to train. Now, before we go further, there is the usual disclaimer: when speaking about a general group of people, it is necessary to generalise. I, myself, am one of the exceptions to the generalisations, and that is why it has taken me so long to figure out why women fighters can be different in their training requirements.
You see, women don't seem to need to posture and prove themselves in the same way that men do. I'm going out on a limb here and guessing that it has something to do with our socio-cultural conditioning (boys can't cry but girls can). This seems to be the root of the difference in needs in terms of training. If you give a guy a sword and he has never fought, he'll go all out to show his buddies that he is The Man and he can do it better than his opponent, even if he doesn't really understand what "it" is.
A woman tends to take a more intellectual approach. She usually says, "Show me what to do so that I don't make an idiot of myself when I try." She is not afraid of showing weakness, but more afraid of being seen as dim-witted; a slow learner.
Yours truly is actually well-versed in making an idiot of herself when attempting new things, so I just dove in, like any guy would do, balls to the wall. I have met some women who take that tack, but not very many.
So while a woman is more open to learning initially, she tends to overthink it. Once she gets going, though, a female fighter can be tenacious and vicious with a weapon.
Some of you might say, "Ah, yes, but what about those who quit once they have been injured for the first time, or worn armour for the first time? Surely it's the same for both men and women?" And I say that to some degree it is, simply because men and women can both be "faint-hearted" when it comes to the crunch.
We're really talking here about those fighters who have it in them from the beginning. Not everyone does. That is also the trick with recruiting anyone. LARPers and other types of gamers love the idea of swordplay, but when they realise that it actually requires a bit of physical fitness and some effort, they fall away. Jocks and other types of mainstreamers who love the idea think that it's like 300, and become disillusioned when we don't fight like they do in the movies. And, of course, you get the ones that get hurt and just never come back.
It's certainly not for everyone. But I don't believe that medieval combat is any less for women than it is for men. In my previous posts, I have mentioned the presence throughout history of female warriors, fighting alongside men in battles, or leading armies comprised of men, and in some cases only women.The proof is there for anyone who can read.
To me, it has become clear that the approach to training up a fighter is really what determines whether a female fighter sticks with it or drops out. With my new recruits, I have taken a more gradual approach, which would have easily frustrated their male counterparts.
We started with talking about the expectations of getting injured. Talking! But it prepares women, and they can deal with it if the pain is expected and isn't sprung on them by surprise. I suppose that's how women are wired (childbirth and losing one's virginity are examples of what a woman can take on, without fear, if she knows what to expect).
We have also spoken about trusting our armour. Women who have had a finger pinched or an elbow banged in unarmoured combat may expect it to be the same when armoured. So we put a cuirass on and hit it with a sword. First with eyes closed, for the (lack of) feeling, and then with eyes open, to see how fast and hard the swing really was.
Mentally preparing women for combat is a bigger part of it than we may believe. Guys may just jump in there because they are expected to be brave and strong, but a woman is under no such obligation. She will take a look at people getting hit with a sword, hear the awful clang of steel on armour and go, "Uh, no. Why would I want to do that again?" If she realises that there is genuine protection with armour, intellectually, she is more likely to want to fight.
Of course, once you've got her in armour, she needs a bit of a shove to switch on that bit of aggression that women are usually encouraged to sublimate. In most cultures, women are traditionally taught to be kind and sweet and subservient and polite. It's difficult to get over that kind of conditioning. A good hard rap on the helmet will go a long way to flipping that switch and allowing her natural competitive nature to take a more aggressive form. Then stand back and watch her smite!
It's rewarding to be a part of that process.
Here is our Battle Heritage South Africa promo video.
In this video, there is a good clip of our other armoured team member, Steph, fighting Denise at IMCF 2015. I can't take credit for her training, but in this clip, she's just giving it her all. She has the zebra-striped shield, which now belongs to Satine, the Danish fighter.
I still don't have a clue how to identify potential recruits because we have girls in armour from every kind of background in our community. Some are academics, some are housewives, students, salespeople, and a few even have inspirational stories about how they turned their lives around, from the least likely girls in armour to champions. Amy Graham is one example of an amazing success story. But don't make the mistake of thinking that she is a great fighter because she turned her life around. She turned her life around because she is a great fighter. See how it works?
When I first started this sport, I sniggered at women who tried it on because I didn't believe that they were cut out for it ("they" referring to women in general). However I have decided that was a very limited and inaccurate theory, born of ignorance and just a smidgen of misogyny.
In my estimation, every woman has the potential to be a fighter. It's the training that determines whether she is successful at it or not.
So to all of the girls in armour (and those who are still getting their kit together), I wish you all good fighting for this coming year. Don't be afraid of saying, "This doesn't work for me. I want to try another way." Let your intuition guide you in finding the right way to unleash that lioness. Most importantly, help each other. A lioness rarely hunts alone.
We'll see each other on the battlefield.
This first post of the year is dedicated to my teammate, Steph Roets, who is unable to train due to illness. I feel your pain. Get well soon, chick!
First, thank you so much for the compliment of being included in your blog! I have to admit, at times, even now, its hard to be the Lioness. I have competed in 3 World Championships so far and every year it gets harder and harder, as one of the oldest females competing. But, I do agree with you that every female can be a fighter, IF that desire is within them. I had fought rattan swords (SCA) for a few years prior to starting with steel weapons. That 'moment' when I realized I HAD to do this did not happen with rattan, I fought in the SCA more for the comradery (with male fighters no less) than anything else. Yet the INSTANT I saw the USA Knights fighting in Poland for the first time, and heard the clang of steel on steel, something awoke in me that could not be stopped. I wanted to fight more than anything else in my life at the time and I did what I had to do to make it happen. THAT feeling, that draw of an ancient sport, that clamor or weapons and armor, the blood lust you feel when you hear it, whether you are on that battlefield or not....THAT is what drives me. And for the women I have introduced to the sport so far, they felt it as well.
ReplyDeleteIt's an intriguing phenomenon that I experience when I go fight in public for demos and exhibitions, some of the meekest, tiniest little girls come ALIVE when I put my mace in their hands and let them hit me, as hard as they can in an armored spot. That spark, that light in their eyes...THAT is what speaks to me most. Interestingly enough, many parents are taken by complete surprise when it happens. You always have the proud Dads who tell their little boys to go ahead and hit me harder, but when their little girls come up to me and want to hold my sword, or put on my gauntlets...and instantly crave what it feels like to strike, those are Valkyries in the making!
I honestly think anyone can be trained to fight. But having the desire, the craving, the NEED to do this...that is where the true warriors are born. Nurture everyone you can, male or female, and we all come out winners. Just realize we all have to find our way to that need...and sometimes it does take awhile to figure out. Especially for women. I am thankful so many have found it, otherwise we would have no one to compete with =)