I was driving down a country lane today when a giant 4x4 came screaming round a blind corner and almost rammed me off the road. The arrogance people show when they feel safe and secure in their own little personal cocoon never ceases to amaze me.
It got me to thinking about an interesting discussion going on at Swordforum at the moment.
God I feel dirty just saying that.
But its true. Something interesting is happening at Swordforum.
Nope, it doesn't get nicer for saying it twice.
It's enjoyably antagonistic and there are clearly two separate camps. Those who feel tournaments are a good thing, and those who don't.
The main gist of it seems to be that one side feels that fighting in tournaments make you a better fighter, the other side feels that tournament fighting makes you a worse fighter.
Just look at the videos, they show double kills all the time. To quote the ineffable Greg Mele it is simply “replicating bad historical fencing”.
I had to think about this for a while before I realised why it was just as much fresh steaming bullcrap.
The fact that almost no-one can do what the manuals say in a tournament fight does not mean that tournaments are crap, it means we are. Every single one of us, even the best fighter out there, is not a patch on the Masters who created the systems we all study.
The manuals we use as the basis for our systems were written by trained experienced swordsmen, we are neither, and never will be. We can't put ourselves in the same category as people such as Fiore however much me might want to. We can't even put ourselves in the same category as the shittest student ever to study under the least skilled swordmaster. To even consider for a moment that we, in our pathetic renn-faire costumes and badly fitting armour might know more about fighting than these people who lived or died by their level of skill is arrogance of the highest level. Higher even than the orange woman who nearly killed my in her Porsche Cayenne.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not coming down in the camp of the Starship Troopers in their bastardized hockey armour with their oversized toy swords, but I'm gonna keep following the lovely chaps over at Swordforum for the time being and just enjoy the ride. Whether I'll end up in a car crash with an arrogant idiot who can't see beyond the comfort of their own little world remains to be seen.
Showing posts with label Hema. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Hema. Show all posts
Friday, 27 August 2010
Sunday, 22 August 2010
Hi Honey, I'm home.
Hello.
Yes it's Hemaboy again.
I can almost hear the collected sighs of relief.
How did you cope without me?
Heaven only knows, but you don't have to struggle on in the dark without the shining light of my opinion to guide you any more. I'm back.
How long it will last is another question, but I have been biting my lip trying to keep quiet for such a long time that I've pretty much chewed off my entire face. My Doctor tells me it isn't good for me to keep holding it in so I suspect there will be a few posts before I put my feet up for another rest.
The problem is of course that now I have made the decision to start educating the rest of the world with my erudite discourse I am at a loss as to where to start.
There's so much to choose from.
If you know of anything that deserves the Hemaboy treatment why not email me? hemaboy99 AT googlemail DOT com
Also please remember that Hemaboy is pseudonymous for a reason. If you think you know who I am and want to be certain. Email me. I'll let you know if you are right, just please keep it to yourself.
Yes it's Hemaboy again.
I can almost hear the collected sighs of relief.
How did you cope without me?
Heaven only knows, but you don't have to struggle on in the dark without the shining light of my opinion to guide you any more. I'm back.
How long it will last is another question, but I have been biting my lip trying to keep quiet for such a long time that I've pretty much chewed off my entire face. My Doctor tells me it isn't good for me to keep holding it in so I suspect there will be a few posts before I put my feet up for another rest.
The problem is of course that now I have made the decision to start educating the rest of the world with my erudite discourse I am at a loss as to where to start.
There's so much to choose from.
If you know of anything that deserves the Hemaboy treatment why not email me? hemaboy99 AT googlemail DOT com
Also please remember that Hemaboy is pseudonymous for a reason. If you think you know who I am and want to be certain. Email me. I'll let you know if you are right, just please keep it to yourself.
Thursday, 30 April 2009
Short and Sweet
I like girls.
They smell nice, they are pleasant to look at and they are better at HEMA.
Seriously, they really are.
1) They are more precise with their techniques.
2) They don't have the competitive testostorone thing going on that guys have which stops us admitting we are getting it wrong.
3) They tend to rely on accuracy, rather than simply bull their way through with brute strength.
Not only that but they have had to overcome a whole raft of cultural and social stereotypes to get to the level they are at. So even if you know a girl in HEMA and think you are better than her, you are wrong.
In every way that matters she is far and away superior to you.
Girls also tend to be short and sweet.
Just like this post.
They smell nice, they are pleasant to look at and they are better at HEMA.
Seriously, they really are.
1) They are more precise with their techniques.
2) They don't have the competitive testostorone thing going on that guys have which stops us admitting we are getting it wrong.
3) They tend to rely on accuracy, rather than simply bull their way through with brute strength.
Not only that but they have had to overcome a whole raft of cultural and social stereotypes to get to the level they are at. So even if you know a girl in HEMA and think you are better than her, you are wrong.
In every way that matters she is far and away superior to you.
Girls also tend to be short and sweet.
Just like this post.
Wednesday, 3 December 2008
Debt
With some newspapers predicting UK national debt to be as high as £1 Trillion by 2012 I thought it was time to mention some debts I have.
The Association of Renaissance Martial Arts.
For sharing sources when it was of little benefit to themselves. Yes they keep some to themselves, but many years ago when HEMA was new and shiny www.thehaca.com was the place to go to find manuscripts. For this, and for providing one of the first dedicated discussion forums I thank you.
Swordforum.
I know this may come as a surprise but I feel that what community there is in HEMA exists in part because of Swordforum. It took the baton from the ARMA forum and ran with it. It was a place for open, frank, and informative discussion. The fact that it no longer is, does not change the fact that it was once the place to be. For this I thank you.
Steve Hick
For spending years searching out new sources and putting them out there for all to see. I don't think it is an exaggeration to say that this man has had more influence on HEMA as a whole than anyone else. For this I thank you.
This is not an exhaustive list, there are many people I have not mentioned. Matt Galas, Fabrice Cognot, Matt Easton to name but a few. There are also websites aplenty who help others with no obvious benefit to themselves www.sirwilliamhope.org, www.the-exiles.org.uk and www.aemma.org spring instantly to mind but there are numerous others.
These debts may not have a financial value, but they are huge non the less.
The Association of Renaissance Martial Arts.
For sharing sources when it was of little benefit to themselves. Yes they keep some to themselves, but many years ago when HEMA was new and shiny www.thehaca.com was the place to go to find manuscripts. For this, and for providing one of the first dedicated discussion forums I thank you.
Swordforum.
I know this may come as a surprise but I feel that what community there is in HEMA exists in part because of Swordforum. It took the baton from the ARMA forum and ran with it. It was a place for open, frank, and informative discussion. The fact that it no longer is, does not change the fact that it was once the place to be. For this I thank you.
Steve Hick
For spending years searching out new sources and putting them out there for all to see. I don't think it is an exaggeration to say that this man has had more influence on HEMA as a whole than anyone else. For this I thank you.
This is not an exhaustive list, there are many people I have not mentioned. Matt Galas, Fabrice Cognot, Matt Easton to name but a few. There are also websites aplenty who help others with no obvious benefit to themselves www.sirwilliamhope.org, www.the-exiles.org.uk and www.aemma.org spring instantly to mind but there are numerous others.
These debts may not have a financial value, but they are huge non the less.
Tuesday, 25 November 2008
Books and Authors
Stephen King's net worth is reputed to be somewhere in excess of $200 million. Yet whenever the subject of money is mentioned to anyone who has written a book on HEMA they never hesitate to tell you that they didn't do it for the money, in fact it cost them money to write it.
This makes me wonder.
If they are telling the truth and the royalties they get from the worldwide sales of their books really are so poor as to actually cost them money, why then did they bother writing it in the first place?
There must be a reason, it's just that I can't figure it out.
It can't be because they want to share their interpretation with the rest of us. HEMA is pretty unique in that it is, and always has been (at least for the last 15 years), closely linked to the internet. So sharing of information is a doddle. It can be acheived in seconds. One moment you are sat at home looking at a word document, the next you are sharing it with everyone in the world who cares to look.
So it's clearly not about money, and it's certainly not about the dissemination of information.
Surely it can't be something as base as respect? By publishing a book people will respect me? I find it hard to rule this one out even though I think it is very wrong indeed. I respect people who work hard, people who share their work and people who are open to changing their ideas in a truly scientific manner.
I don't have any respect for someone who sets out to stroke their own ego by hiding their interpretation inside a glossy cover and trying to force people to pay them to view it.
Perhaps it is simply the continuance of a longstanding tradition. The sources we study exist because they were written down, and so setting our own work down is simply following in the footsteps of those martial artists who came before us. However this doesn't hold water.
At least not quite.
If you want to set your interpretation down for everyone to see, to gain respect and to enter into the age old tradition that we are striving to be part of then open source is the way to go. It gets you work far more exposure than it would if you put it in a hard cover and set a price on it. You might not make it onto Amazon.com but if your work is any good then you will stimulate interest in yourself as a teacher. That way you really can start to make some money.
Not that many teachers earn as much as Stephen King.
So maybe it is about the money after all...
This makes me wonder.
If they are telling the truth and the royalties they get from the worldwide sales of their books really are so poor as to actually cost them money, why then did they bother writing it in the first place?
There must be a reason, it's just that I can't figure it out.
It can't be because they want to share their interpretation with the rest of us. HEMA is pretty unique in that it is, and always has been (at least for the last 15 years), closely linked to the internet. So sharing of information is a doddle. It can be acheived in seconds. One moment you are sat at home looking at a word document, the next you are sharing it with everyone in the world who cares to look.
So it's clearly not about money, and it's certainly not about the dissemination of information.
Surely it can't be something as base as respect? By publishing a book people will respect me? I find it hard to rule this one out even though I think it is very wrong indeed. I respect people who work hard, people who share their work and people who are open to changing their ideas in a truly scientific manner.
I don't have any respect for someone who sets out to stroke their own ego by hiding their interpretation inside a glossy cover and trying to force people to pay them to view it.
Perhaps it is simply the continuance of a longstanding tradition. The sources we study exist because they were written down, and so setting our own work down is simply following in the footsteps of those martial artists who came before us. However this doesn't hold water.
At least not quite.
If you want to set your interpretation down for everyone to see, to gain respect and to enter into the age old tradition that we are striving to be part of then open source is the way to go. It gets you work far more exposure than it would if you put it in a hard cover and set a price on it. You might not make it onto Amazon.com but if your work is any good then you will stimulate interest in yourself as a teacher. That way you really can start to make some money.
Not that many teachers earn as much as Stephen King.
So maybe it is about the money after all...
Wednesday, 29 October 2008
A thing I like.
It has been mentioned that this blog is all about what I don't like. That's not true, there is a picture of kittens, and what's not to like there?
Though I'd like to make a special mention for these guys.
They seem to have got the balance right between aesthetic and safety when it comes to equipment. They look modern and professional, something most groups struggle with.
They fight as if they mean it without being overly aggresive, I have yet to see a single video (and there are a lot of them out there) where they look sloppy.
Lastly, and most irritatingly,somehow they all seem to be decent people. If you're going to copy any group then you could do a lot worse than the GHFS.
To entertain you here are two of them in the final of the longsword competition at this year's Fightcamp. (A co-incidence? Probably not.)
Though I'd like to make a special mention for these guys.
They seem to have got the balance right between aesthetic and safety when it comes to equipment. They look modern and professional, something most groups struggle with.
They fight as if they mean it without being overly aggresive, I have yet to see a single video (and there are a lot of them out there) where they look sloppy.
Lastly, and most irritatingly,somehow they all seem to be decent people. If you're going to copy any group then you could do a lot worse than the GHFS.
To entertain you here are two of them in the final of the longsword competition at this year's Fightcamp. (A co-incidence? Probably not.)
Monday, 27 October 2008
Under pressure
It seems I may have created a monster
Every day a new HEMA Blog appears, Hemaman, Hemagirl, Hemadog, Hemagoth, and more lately Baskethilt Broadsword Boy and Sword Punk.
I don’t know whether to be flattered or annoyed.
A part of me believes that imitation is indeed the sincerest form of flattery, that somehow my actions have made it acceptable to be honest about your feelings and get them out there for other people to read. That part of me is quite happy indeed with the situation and would dearly love more to start
However there is another part of me that isn’t quite so keen. That part of me understands that there is a finite amount of reading any one person can do and that the larger the pool of writing there is to draw from, the smaller the chance it is me that they are reading. That is the part that enjoyed it immensely when I stood alone and people were discussing my every word.
It isn’t a very big part of me though.
I am too much a capitalist at heart. I honestly believe that competition is a good thing.
The more blogs there are, the more I have to strive to make mine the one that stands out. The more competition there is, the better the overall result will be.
This is also true of original source interpretations.
Every time I talk to someone about what I do I want them to question me. I don’t want them to simply take what I say as the gospel truth (an odd phrase for an atheist I know). I want to be constantly under pressure to show my reasoning. I want my interpretation to be forced to prove itself both against the intricacies of the source manuscript, but also against physical pressure.
Yes it works, but does it work when I am tired, gasping for breath, filled with adrenaline and being watched by everyone else?
Ok so it works, but does it match the manuscript? Is there anything that I do that is contradicted by the text or the pictures?
Does my interpretation make sense when compared to that of other people who have looked at the same source? Can they show me something that better fits the facts?
In summary, am I the best? If not then why not?
Could it be that I spend too much time typing and not enough training?
Is it too much to ask to be the best at both?
Every day a new HEMA Blog appears, Hemaman, Hemagirl, Hemadog, Hemagoth, and more lately Baskethilt Broadsword Boy and Sword Punk.
I don’t know whether to be flattered or annoyed.
A part of me believes that imitation is indeed the sincerest form of flattery, that somehow my actions have made it acceptable to be honest about your feelings and get them out there for other people to read. That part of me is quite happy indeed with the situation and would dearly love more to start
However there is another part of me that isn’t quite so keen. That part of me understands that there is a finite amount of reading any one person can do and that the larger the pool of writing there is to draw from, the smaller the chance it is me that they are reading. That is the part that enjoyed it immensely when I stood alone and people were discussing my every word.
It isn’t a very big part of me though.
I am too much a capitalist at heart. I honestly believe that competition is a good thing.
The more blogs there are, the more I have to strive to make mine the one that stands out. The more competition there is, the better the overall result will be.
This is also true of original source interpretations.
Every time I talk to someone about what I do I want them to question me. I don’t want them to simply take what I say as the gospel truth (an odd phrase for an atheist I know). I want to be constantly under pressure to show my reasoning. I want my interpretation to be forced to prove itself both against the intricacies of the source manuscript, but also against physical pressure.
Yes it works, but does it work when I am tired, gasping for breath, filled with adrenaline and being watched by everyone else?
Ok so it works, but does it match the manuscript? Is there anything that I do that is contradicted by the text or the pictures?
Does my interpretation make sense when compared to that of other people who have looked at the same source? Can they show me something that better fits the facts?
In summary, am I the best? If not then why not?
Could it be that I spend too much time typing and not enough training?
Is it too much to ask to be the best at both?
Monday, 20 October 2008
Competitiveness
I hate Monopoly.
It all stems from my childhood when I used to play against my brother. He was, and still is, the most competitive person I have ever met. We never actually finished a game, it always ended in a fight. He'd cheat as much as he could and do whatever he could to beat me and anyone else that happened to be foolish enough to think it was an enjoyable game.
With a game like Monopoly you can get away with acting like that because the end goal is to win. Not to increase your level of knowledge of Monopoly.
Unfortunately HEMA is full of people like my brother.
People that simply have to win whatever the cost.
You know who I mean, every club has at least one of them. They don't acknowledge their hits when they are sparring, they sabotage drills in order to be the one that wins. They always react just a little bit faster than you, even when you are supposed to working slowly. They always hit you as hard and fast as they can and then moan when you hit them.
In short they are wankers.
They stop their own development and that of anyone unfortunate enough to have to partner them.
Drills are there to help develop technique and understanding, not just to prove to everyone how big a cock you've got.
Sparring is about applying the knowledge gained in drills and exercises in a stressful environment. It is about improving your ability by pushing yourself. It is about learning. It is not simply about being better than everyone else.
If you ever catch yourself not acknowledging a cut, or moaning about being hit, or trying to win when you should be concentrating on just getting it right then stop what you're doing right away. Take deep breath and apologise to your training partner. If you've noticed then you can bet your life they noticed first. Then start again and try and do it properly.
If you want to win then there are plenty of competitions you could enter. There's even a website specifically for them now.
Just don't play Monopoly with my brother, you won't stand a chance.
It all stems from my childhood when I used to play against my brother. He was, and still is, the most competitive person I have ever met. We never actually finished a game, it always ended in a fight. He'd cheat as much as he could and do whatever he could to beat me and anyone else that happened to be foolish enough to think it was an enjoyable game.
With a game like Monopoly you can get away with acting like that because the end goal is to win. Not to increase your level of knowledge of Monopoly.
Unfortunately HEMA is full of people like my brother.
People that simply have to win whatever the cost.
You know who I mean, every club has at least one of them. They don't acknowledge their hits when they are sparring, they sabotage drills in order to be the one that wins. They always react just a little bit faster than you, even when you are supposed to working slowly. They always hit you as hard and fast as they can and then moan when you hit them.
In short they are wankers.
They stop their own development and that of anyone unfortunate enough to have to partner them.
Drills are there to help develop technique and understanding, not just to prove to everyone how big a cock you've got.
Sparring is about applying the knowledge gained in drills and exercises in a stressful environment. It is about improving your ability by pushing yourself. It is about learning. It is not simply about being better than everyone else.
If you ever catch yourself not acknowledging a cut, or moaning about being hit, or trying to win when you should be concentrating on just getting it right then stop what you're doing right away. Take deep breath and apologise to your training partner. If you've noticed then you can bet your life they noticed first. Then start again and try and do it properly.
If you want to win then there are plenty of competitions you could enter. There's even a website specifically for them now.
Just don't play Monopoly with my brother, you won't stand a chance.
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