Fighting the fight in front of you

About a week ago I had an amazing time at the British Federation of Historical Swordplay event SWASH. This event is a weekend long mixture of classes, lectures and tournaments all in the area of Historical European Martial Arts. The classes where inspiring and eye opening insights into various forms of fighting and applications of weapons in ways I have not considered and the social aspect was great too.

On the second day I entered the Longsword Tournament. This is the first time I have ever entered an international Tournament in HEMA. I got to the second round where I was knocked out. Despite this I was very happy with my performance. My opponent was very strong and landed a winning blow the moment I broke my concentration. I learned quite a lot in those 30 seconds!!!!

But before the competition started several people I was talking to were making comments on how they’d be happy if they got to a certain round, or really hoped they didn’t get drawn against certain fighters early on. As I was mentally preparing myself for the tournament I communed with my Power Animals, in particular one that is very strong, aggressive and defiant in demeanor. Through this connection I realised that it didn’t matter what order I drew opponents or how far I got. All that mattered was facing the fighter in front of me.

I think this is an integral part of the Warrior’s Way. To stay strong in Heart and Soul your focus should be on the fight in front of you and not be worrying about what will come next. While I did not do as well as I would have liked that is because I dropped my focus, but by working through my Power Animals I saw what I needed to do right next time.

The trick is trying to apply this to situations where I don’t have a sword in my hand too!!!

 

Historical European Martial Arts

So my other big interest is Historical European Martial Arts or HEMA. This is a fairly new/old martial art which looks at the
fighting systems of medieval Europe and later in an attempt to better understand how they worked. Most of the groups
which study HEMA learn the use of European swords but other weapons such as Quaterstaffs, Spears and Daggers are
studied and unarmed fighting such as wrestling and pugilism is also examined.

One of the things I love most about HEMA is that it is directly relevant to my own European Culture. The other thing I love about it is that when most people think of Martial Arts they think of Bruce Lee and ancient codified fighting styles from Asia. What people don’t realise is that Europeans had their own highly structured systems of fighting and their own Masters that young men would study with. 

It really brings home my own history in a much better way. But also I feel it has helped me working with my masculine energy and helped my confidence which has in turn helped me develop my connection with Male Deity