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Now it was time to take it seriously, for sure. After the most basic of training in the use of a mediaeval sword and a lot of big talk about previous contact fighting experience I’d managed to talk my way into a full contact swordfight in front of an audience.

Alan swordfighting with Wolf

It was the first midsummer festival of enchantment and i think some of that enchanted fairy dust must have rubbed off on me because i didn’t do badly at all. Well i didn’t get killed anyway. The audience was supposed to have been more important to us than the fight itself but we figured that the best way to entertain was just to go at it hammer and tongs with no choreography involved at all. There were 5 fighters so we rotated in an attempt to keep everybody fresh.

Intense sword battle

The fight format didn’t allow for breaks or stoppages because we wanted to create as much realism a possible and not have a marshall constantly stepping in and stopping the action. Also in a full contact scenario there’s a lot of strength involved and being used so we knew the fights were going to be short affairs, and they were, but we each had a chance to have a breather then get back into the ring. 25 minutes after we’d started, as the music ended we were all shattered but still upright and, surprisingly, still fighting.

Well it was bound to happen. With all the interest in things mediaeval and the festivals going on and meeting new people i’ve decided to apply my previous martial arts knowledge to a study of mediaeval European swordsmanship.

Learning the basics of swordsmanship

There is so much to learn, and the best way to learn it seems to be through applied practice and sparring. Movements and blocks can of course be practiced and, to a degree perfected while training alone but by far the best way to correct any mistakes creeping in to one’s technique is to have a reliable sparring partner who is prepared to literally beat those mistakes out of you.  A good smack on the head is far faster than repeatedly being told you’re making a mistake.

After one sparring session the week before the midsummer festival of enchantment, and a short session on the Saturday morning, it was straight into my first full contact swordfight. Of course we were using blunt swords, but even though i wasn’t going to get my head chopped off it still hurts when you get hit. The boys who’d invited me to come and play weren’t small either.