Two of the items offered today illustrate personal perceptions of HEMA/WMA studies and their practitioners. Though they are but the opinions of but two people, they do demonstrate the need for salles and related-events to have their act together, their facts straight and word-bites prepared well before the press arrive at the door.
“Come on ya pansy.” *
MORNING BULLETIN (Rockhampton, Australia) 02 March 13 Man of steel looking for sparring partners (Sharyn Oneill)
Part of pushing your HEMA skills ahead is being able to find an opponent with whom to drill and spar – and when you’re in a large country with major urban centres spread far apart, that can be a problem (though, the Russians seemed to have solved it in good fashion – have groups everywhere!)
Stephen Conner is attempting to make the Australian Team for next years’ Battle of the Nations – and would really appreciate the opportunity to have at you with sword, pole arm or in an armoured wrestling match.
“You get to wear shiny stuff!”
Come over here and say that!
НОВЫЙ РЕГИОН – ЯМАЛ – ЮГРА (Moscow?, Russia) 20 February 13 В Ханты-Мансийск съедутся реконструкторы на турнир по историческому фехтованию
Six historical-fencing groups gathered in Khanty-Mansiysk for their annual competition – the rules for which are briefly described … just in case any Australians want to go there to find opponents.
We were … what’s the word? … ‘gobsmacked’ to read that the reporter believes that ‘historical fencing’ is not popular in Western Europe because it is considered ‘too brutal’!
Scions of Scáthach
THE LIST (Edinburgh, UK) 25 February 13 Misadventures in Wonderland: Just what exactly is historical fencing? (Alice White)
This was a kind of hum-drum bit about one journalists experience attending a day of class with the Stork's Beak School of Historical Swordmanship. And for Our part … the item is more about the author than the school.
However, she did drop one intriguing point, that ‘The society of historical fencing is 3000-strong and predominantly female, which was certainly a surprise to me’.
And to Us as well!
We’d be interested in finding out just how these 3,000 were counted … is it within the UK only, Western Europe, etc?
Quote of the Week: “Watching all the lycra-clad bunnies on their way home from the Uni gym, I felt an overwhelming sense of superiority - they’d just been on a treadmill, whereas I might end up accidently chopping a stranger’s arm off.”