qualified

We had our AGM and qualifiers this last weekend. I approached it with some trepidation, since I had only been given two weeks' notice that there was another girl in armour who wanted to fight. I've had some setbacks with my training recently because of injury to my coccyx, and more recently, a silly, nasty cold that took it out of me.

I had also felt thoroughly demotivated to train, to fight, to armour, or even to think about sword. Towards the end of the year, it seemed that the harder I tried to improve access to the sport and offer a positive input, the harder I was kicked in the teeth. Eventually, it really began to feel like a bad day at the office was better than a good day of sword.

After day one - group photo of BHSA

It wasn't so much the fighting that caused the nerves. Rather, it was the fact that I knew I was about to face the Judgement of the Members. As with everything in South Africa, we fighters are a highly political group, and having been one of the founding members of Battle Heritage South Africa, I have been well schooled in the nastiness of the business, over the last two years.

Having invested so much of myself in the creation and growth of the organisation, I guess it was a bitter pill to swallow, when I was voted off as women's captain. I suppose that the moral of the story is that if you don't get along with the majority, then at some point, it will be time to go. What bit me was that, given the choice between someone with no actual combat experience and two weeks into wearing armour, and me, the majority of members chose the noob. Ouch!

 Don't get me wrong: I've always gotten along with the new captain and I have the highest respect for her husband, who is our best longsword fighter. It still sucked a bit. And so I spent the day commiserating with Steph that she couldn't compete, talking armour and fighting styles and just chilling, watching the guys.

chilling at the lists with Steph and Josh

So the next day, we had our two fights.

Here is the longsword bout. (Thanks goes to Eurika Dippenaar and her family for the video and photos.) That was first, and we all know that the first fight is usually a fuckup. It actually went to three rounds. In my defence, though, I have been training almost entirely in polearm, when I have been training.

winning longsword

The sword and shield was a wee bit better, and I had warmed up nicely, so the breathing and moving came easier. That only took two rounds.



We left shortly after they started the polearm bouts, but not before I got to see one of my polearm fighters (not really mine because he belongs to my old club) give a really good account of himself in the lists, and validate my efforts just a little bit. Two of my other buddies who have been training with us also did well. It made me happy and proud.

I think that what I took away from the weekend was this: you can't have everything your own way all the time, and there is always a price for speaking your mind. You just have to be able to pay it when it comes due.

Also, I guess I need to realise that for me, it was already a given. If I had to choose between winning the popularity contest and winning the fights, I'd choose the fights every single time.
Always have, always will.

So now I'm free to do things my own way, to train and to fight, and somehow, to make my way back to the fun of it all again.

I started fighting because it was in my dreams and daydreams and wishes from when I was a small child. It was fun when I started, in a much simpler time, five years ago. I want that again, and I think that it's what I will be aiming for now, when I train, when I fight, and when I train my buhurt team. We'll make it good again, and that will make us great.

I'll see you at the Red Lion Challenge in Luxembourg, and perhaps we can dance a bit in the lists, you and I.  

zen and the art of armour maintenance

I know, I know, I totally bastardised that title. It just jumped onto my head and wouldn't let go. Thank you, Robert M. Pirsig.

When I was given my first pair of legs, they were mild steel hand-me-downs that belonged to the club. They had been made by Josh and Brian, and worn by Josh and Alan before me. They were covered in some kind of funny brown, sticky stuff that took me ages to get off. Then I had to cover them in leather for a Dark Ages tournament. Then I had to remove the leather for a Medieval tournament. In the interim, they had also developed a bit of rust, which I painstakingly removed with sandpaper. Alan had used a grinder to remove rust when they were his, and the cuisses were really short, so by the time I passed those legs on to Jimmy-Steve, I had a couple of permanent bruise-scars (from the steel being worn so thin and not covering enough of my leg) and some valuable lessons on armour maintenance.

Over the last couple of years, we have graduated to stainless from mild steel, and are experimenting with spring steel, but there are still, I feel, some bits of information, some tricks and tips that I can pass on to those of you who are new to the sport. I'll offer these under some headings for the sake of logic and order, both of which I am currently craving.

Leather

If you have leather in your armour, which most of you will have, then there are a couple of ways to make it last a bit longer and get it to co-operate. Firstly, (and this goes for armour of all construction) try to stash your armour in a spot that is dry, or at least not damp. Damp breeds mould spores, and mould LOVES leather.
If you have unearthed a particularly useful or sentimental piece of leather-based armour, and it has developed a fluffy green overcoat, then wash it in anti-fungal shampoo. In South Africa, we have something for animals called F10, which works well. I'm sure that anything for mange in horses will do nicely.
Once the leather is dry (sun-dry is best), then coat that leather in layers of oil (again, cheap saddle oil is perfect) until you get bored or run out of time. Thick leather will take a lot more oil than you might guess. It also makes pale, veg-tanned leather take a beautiful mahogany colour.
Remember to oil your leather (and your fighting poles) often and well, especially straps, which can get dry and brittle. You don't want them snapping during a tournament.

Mild steel

I love mild steel because you can work it cold, and it moves like play dough. My helm is made from 2.6mm mild steel, and it's like wearing a really heavy pillow: it just absorbs all the hits and I don't feel anything.
The problem with mild steel, aside from it being very heavy for tournament fighting, is that it rusts. Even if you look at it the wrong way, it will start to rust.
You can paint it with ColdGalv (or some other form of galvanising paint) to preserve the steel, if you can get away with it at tournaments, but the authentic way to preserve steel from rust is to blacken it.You can do this two ways.
Way #1: you need a blowtorch or similar flame-emanating tool and any kind of oil (used engine oil is great - yay, recycling!). The best is to let the steel develop a good, even coating of rust. Remove any leather or fabric or other material that might be incinerated (lining and straps come to mind). Don't remove the rust. Coat the rusted steel with oil and then heat it with the torch until it goes black. The result will look like black spray paint, but it will be much, much harder and longer-lasting. The oil and rust, heated together, makes an awesome coating that stops further rust and looks badass.
Way #2: you need linseed oil and an oven. Remove anything that will get burned off, as above. Remove any rust and then coat the steel in linseed oil. Put the steel in the oven for a couple of hours at 200 degrees Celsius. This produces a lovely golden coating that will darken with time to bronze. It lasts a few years, and then you will have to redo it, but it stops rust, and if you don't want black armour, then it's a viable, authentic alternative.

Stainless

Stainless is my new friend. I'm not as comfortable with it as I am with my old friend, mild steel, but like any new friend, it is fresh and interesting for me. It doesn't behave the same way that mild steel does. Of course it won't because it has a completely different chemical composition and crystal structure. The thing about stainless is that you can work it cold, as well, and it doesn't rust.
Well, that's not entirely true. Almost all steel CAN rust. Take care not to allow extended periods of contact between untreated mild steel and stainless steel in your armour bag or wherever you stash your gear. Even if it's stainless, the constant pressure of a rusty piece of steel on a a rust-free piece of stainless will introduce rust into the material and that will be sad.

What I suggest to every noob is this: keep a good and plentiful supply of leather oil, a decent rust inhibitor like Tool-in-a-Can, big and small cable ties, and duct tape; put it in with your gear and take it everywhere, and use it often. At least, the oil and spray. Don't use the cable ties and duct tape unless you have to. If you take care of your armour nicely, it won't be your fault when you need those last two.

If you end up fighting in the rain, make it a priority to get your gear dry and clean.

When I was at IMCF in 2015, and we camped with the Australian team, I learned a lot from watching them, seeing how they treated their gear and each other, and worked together as a team. They have this stuff that Josh and I have termed Australian Magic Wax, which I think is beeswax and avocado oil or something like that. It was truly wondrous stuff.
They also have a saying which sums it up pretty accurately and leaves no more to be said on the subject: GEAR BEFORE BEER.

Thanks guys!