Okay. First things first.
I was drilled into the ground.
Literally.Second things second.
Lorenzo is full of himself--in a charming way--but he has good reason, and I still respect and admire him. (Why is he full of himself? Well, he is general in battle of two--count 'em, TWO--states, one of the most highly decorated fencers, and also a marshal for tournaments (a marshal is like a referee but it's not, because he doesn't keep points or anything, it's up to the fighter's what hit and what didn't, and keep people safe).
Third things third.
I was
literally drilled into the ground!
Okay, footwork is not so hard. You take a certain stance and keep that stance through your movements. Because I'm a right-handed fighter (who knows, I might turn lefty after a while, like Lorenzo's woman (I can't remember her name, only met her twice now) did. She started right but because she's left-handed, she switched to lefty) my right foot leads my left, unless I have to go backward. Point your leading foot out, facing the opponent, keep your free hand up for grabs and parries, and keep your following foot at an angle--keep your balance, as there should be equal weight on each leg, not leaning on one or the other. That was fine. I'll get the movement quickly now that I know it. I have a deserted road and wide stretch of yard to practice, along with a rapier, the one my brother has had for some time now.
What my problem was, was the arm strength. Oh, and sitting on the wall, but we'll come to that.
For those of you who don't know, but I think most of you do know, is that I have no arm strength. Absolutely none. My wrists won't allow it--any kind of pressure, like lifting a box filled to the top with standard paper, no problem for others, but if I hefted something like that, I feel the strain in the veins and the bones and muscles complaining. I can't have pressure because of the carpal tunnel, or at least what I believe is carpal tunnel but my mother has it, and we have the same problems about it, it's been concluded. No more doubt! Anyway, wrists can't stand to have any strain.
Holding a rapier doesn't sound very hard. It's like a saber, albeit a little longer (depending), a little fancier, with some weight in the handle. It's a lightweight, flexible sword that a ten-year-old should be able to hold! I lost stance (leading arm--elbow out, tip pointed at opponent's head, wrist down; free hand either free and held at eye-level (but not in the way of the face) or sternum level, holding a shield, another sword, or cloth) within ten minutes! Granted, they bogged me down with a free rapier that was quite heavy. I didn't catch its weight, I was too busy being in love, but that's kind of pathetic, don't you think? So now I'll use my brother's even heavier rapier to build up strength in both arms and practice--and hold--my stance even as I move.
Now, sitting on the wall--what's it about, you ask? I will tell you. It's a way to build up the muscles in your legs. Lorenzo had a stopwatch set on a minute, and he was going to do it too, but please remember this man has been doing rapier--raping?--since it was brought into this branch, which was a long time ago. They showed me how it went.
You press your back to the wall, slide until it looks like you're sitting on a chair, with your legs straight, both feet on the ground. Doesn't sound difficult? Try it. Hold it for a minute. Your thighs and calves burning? I thought so. He said as we--more like, I, since I was basically the only newbie--progressed he would add time to it. So I now have a workout regime. Practice my footwork, since I can jump back and forth, and do "cockroach stomping," and look like an idiot while doing it, as he pointed out, but it was fun to watch, and sit on the wall. I want to make it more than a minute. After that? I'll set different times depending how quickly and how well I can hold a minute.
By the way, if you're wondering, I dropped about fifteen seconds before his phone beeped (the stopwatch). And even then I cheated by slowly getting closer and closer to the floor until my heels came up and I was basically sitting on the haunches. He called me out afterwards, of course.
"Look at you! Your stance is going to hell!" Yeah, he called me on that too. But my arm was shaking and I rested it against my side to hide it a little--that's not the stance. Elbow is supposed to be out. No arm strength.
But you know, it was fun. My brother and his friend, dear Nicobra that I have a feeling I'll get to know better over the next few Thursday's as more than just a jerk, he doesn't seem so bad, talked with their instructors. My brother is getting into heavy weapons so he can use all that heavy armor and swords, and Nicobra is getting into siege weapons. That's right. He gets to build his own ballista (he already has the plans) and fire a bunch of bolts onto the battle field--if he does melees, which is a huge battlefield of 10,000, or more, warriors. Yes, they have counted. And it's not real ammo that he'll use. We got to see what the crossbowmen and all kinds of siege weapons use, and it was predictable. There's strong pipe, not PVC, for the shaft and some kind of rubber or tennis ball-like tip, with the tip attached by cord then tape wrapped in the according color. Like, yellow is siege ammo, red is crossbow. Just so they can tell the difference. When you run out of ammo you're going to sweep the field to find some, and you don't want the wrong kind. Make sense? Okay.
Anyway, I can't wait until I can legally fight. Like all things I can't do anything--ANYTHING, not even get a job!--until I'm 18. So I have a year of drilling and training ahead of me, which I don't mind. I want to take the long road so I'll actually be good at it. A year of attending every other Thursday (my ride works alternate Thursday's so we can attend every other week), and I could go to dance practice the last Friday of every month, but my ride also works then and what fun is dancing, especially medieval dancing, without a partner? Not that I want my brother to be my partner. I was just asking.
So yeah. Oh! The time! Good Lord, man, the time!
We left the house a little after 4:30, picked up Nicobra about 5:00. We get the church, yes they meet at a church that ironically enough has a sign on the first floor saying "VIOLENCE FREE ZONE!", a little after 5:30. Things start rolling at 7:30. It starts at 6 something, so they were teaching me footwork then and explaining everything so I wasn't completely lost in drills. My brother and Nicobra talked with their instructors most of the night, doing nothing basically, but I was in drills from 8 to sometime after 9. Stand around and talk to Lorenzo for a bit, and no, I managed not to sigh when I spoke, after seeing his amazing footwork up close, and then Nicobra has to get his siege stuff from his instructor Alexander. That man has us laughing in the cold by his truck until 11! From 9 to 11! We spoke! In the cold! In a terrible part of town!
Two cops actually stopped at a house a little down the way during the talk. Don't know what they were doing but either no one was home or they just had some questions because they went back to their cars after a little bit. Didn't get home until midnight, since we had to drop Nicobra off, and it's a thirty minute drive back home from his place.
So. Yeah. I don't have to worry about armor immediately since I can't spar anyone. I can run drills but I can't fight anyone because I'm, legally, a "minor." Seriously, do I look like a minor? I should have lied. By the way, I'm the only "youth" there. Under 18 is youth--oh wait, Nicobra is, surprisingly, 17 as well, but only for a month still. I thought he was 18 by now, really.
However, I would like to get a period outfit. I already know what I want--underbust corset, here I come!--but it costs
a lot of money. You know that. It's like . . . cosplay. Shell out the big bucks or make it yourself. Since I obviously don't know how, I have to get money. Somehow. Not for a while, at least. When I can start fighting then I'll have to get the modern fencing mask, the gorget, some kind of loose shirt, and pants. I would also like a doublet, or vest, because it's necessary as that is your only armor in fencing--besides the gorget and mask. You have to be able to move. That's what it's all about--movement.
Man I really want an underbust now. I mean, I've wanted one for a while, but I like seeing it with the
shirt I have in mind. Everything has to be period, so I have to decide what era I want. 1400, 1500, 1600, 1700, 1800, 1900? I'm thinking between 1600 and late 1800. Edwardian times to late Victorian, while also meeting the Renaissance in between. So yeah. I have my outfit pictured, but not entirely picked out. I know I'm wearing pants, though. Ain't no way I'm wearing a skirt and getting tangled. Tight pants. Not too tight, I don't have the thighs for it, but tight enough like . . . um . . . how jeans fit, but a flexible material. Not spandex, of course not. But you know what I'm talking about. Something that is forgiving but looks good and lets me move at the same time.
I really hope rapier sticks. It'll be good. Build up my attention span while also helping my strength. I'll be disappointed if I drop it like I dropped soccer. Dropped that thing like a prom night baby.