The Armour Archive

Ken Mondschein

A problem with your survey. When asked "What Hurts?" for some reason, I could only pick one. I have more than that. --grumpy left knee, probably tendons. I wear braces on both knees while fighting. --grumpy left elbow due to mundane injury. --tendonitis in the my right elbow due to fighti...

Ken Mondschein

Since Kevin's jumping in (and I agree with his idea that we need to look at individuals in the SCA, rather than the SCA as a whole), I might as well, too. I have a fencing student who's an SCA fighter, and in an e-mail to her earlier today vis-a-vis this very topic, I said that, rather than categori...

Ken Mondschein

fit, are demanding a great deal from their bodies and suffer occasional injury. People who are not - and there are many - are asking way too much from their bodies every time they fight, and the results are predictable. Thanks for participating. Undoubtedly, you're right. Also, undoubtedly, there a...

Ken Mondschein

I think that it's going to be very complicated even in each individual case. What I'm trying to do in this less-than-expertly-designed survey is get a general feel for this.

Ken Mondschein

I have noticed that SCA fighting produces long-term neuromuscular effects in participants, as well as that fighters seem to have a higher rate of chronic injury than the general population. Since the plural of "anecdote" is not "data," and since I've been getting interested in at...

Ken Mondschein

+1. I'm very happy with my kit (heavy-duty joustin' style)

Ken Mondschein

The downs are that I think the material it is made with is in general too thin (I'd prefer it to be double-layered), and the bottom tends to wear out (it is sort of a rubberized fabric that cracks and flakes off with time and use). These have to some degree been corrected with more recent models. -...

Ken Mondschein

If you can afford to live in NYC for the summer, I recommend taking Jeffrey Wasson's course at the School of Visual Arts. I did - thrice.

Ken Mondschein

You're in the right place. Toby Capwell, now curator at the Wallace, went to Hampshire. Unfortunately, there are no really good armorers within an easy drive of the Pioneer Valley. You are, however, an hour from the Higgins Armory Museum in Worcester. I would also suggest first educating yourself. I...

Ken Mondschein

Has anyone here used the Cavalier Attitude fencing bags? They look roomy enough, but are they fairly sturdy and worth the price? True, this is biased since Jeff is a friend, but I am on my third (or fourth - I forget). They are really the only bag made with historical fencers in mind. They have als...

Ken Mondschein

Reminder: The bÃ¢ton seminar is this Saturday from 11a-1p, based on traditional martial arts systems from France and Italy. Topics will include manipulating the weapon, footwork, fencing theory as applied to the bÃ¢ton, attack/defense drills, and the advanced artistic acrobatics that make baton such...

Ken Mondschein

Thanks to whoever posted the codes. I wore my new hex-pads (6-pad shirt, elbows, knees, forearms) underneath my (padded) fencing jacket whilst teaching greatstick (French bÃ¢ton) and longsword (Hanwei federschwerts) this evening. This tends to involve me having the crap beaten out of me, and they ma...

Ken Mondschein

The top GB (hmm, did I take that pic'?) is in the Bargello in Florence, Italy. The second is in Munich (didn't take that particular pic', I don't think). James - post a pic of the c. 1430 English armor you were wearing a couple of years ago at Sand's Point, would ya? The helmet is a very mobile gra...

Ken Mondschein

Josh W wrote:Fair enough; I'll content myself with pretending to be Ken Mondschein and Jeffrey Forgeng on the weekends when I grow up.

You can reenact us.

Ken Mondschein

MJBlazek wrote:I got stabbed in the face once when i blocked wrong... does that count?

I wish it were that easy.

Ken Mondschein

MJBlazek wrote:But I already do that.. can I get a honorary Ph.D?

No. Ya gotta bleed for it.

Ken Mondschein

Josh W wrote::shock:
I wanna be Ken Mondschein and Jeffrey Forgeng when I grow up!

Yes, get a Ph.D and then spend your time making no money and running around in armor.

Ken Mondschein

Some more pictures from the Higgins Boskone demonstration. I am in red; Jeffrey Forgeng is in Gothic. http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4051/4360558164_fefb5105f0.jpg http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2783/4360558344_d26e7a469f.jpg http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4005/4360560934_b1884c2cab.jpg http://farm5...

Ken Mondschein

Just a reminder: This Saturday is Agrippa day, with classes and book signings. We will be will be hosting a WMA Judging Workshop on April 24th from 12pm to 4pm. The workshop will cover how to direct, score, and judge a traditional or historical fencing bout. Included will be opportunities to fence, ...

Ken Mondschein

Who is the manufacturer, and what type of canvas?

Ken Mondschein

We will be having Agrippa day at the Higgins on February 20, including drop-in fencing workshops ($10), demonstrations, lectures, and a triple book-signing by Dr. Forgeng, Dr. Short, and Dr. me. Full information will be on the calendar at higgins.org.

Yours,

Ken

Ken Mondschein

We will be having Agrippa day at the Higgins on February 20, including drop-in fencing workshops ($10), demonstrations, lectures, and a triple book-signing by Dr. Forgeng, Dr. Short, and Dr. me. Full information will be on the calendar at higgins.org.

Yours,

Ken

Ken Mondschein

Just a followup: Paul would like RSVPs, so if you're interested in coming, please use the AskFred link or e-mail him at paul.sise -at- pioneerfencing.com.

-Ken

Ken Mondschein

My highly praised and totally-worth-the-money Agrippa translation is now available in a handsome hardcover edition just in time for Valentine's Day, only $40. Still same low $20 price for softcover, but that's like a romantic dinner at Red Lobster. Forget the $10 eBook; that's Long John Silver's. Bu...

Ken Mondschein

My Agrippa translation is now available in a handsome hardcover edition . It makes a perfect Valentine's Day present for those who like naked men, naked swords, naked men with swords, or endless academic prose. Our price: $40 cheap! Still same low $20 price for softcover, but that's like getting her...

Ken Mondschein

Because some historical fencing colleagues have expressed interest, I'm posting this here in case others might want to attend: There will be a pedagogical seminar on Saturday, April 10 and Sunday, April 11. The instructors are John Krauss and Paul Sise, both USFCA prevÃ´ts d'armes. Fees will be $25 ...

Ken Mondschein

Also, both Steven and I will be teaching (albeit separately, with our respective groups) at the Boskone convention in Boston. See m for details. Steve will be doing a group longsword class, and I will be demonstrating with the Higgins and teaching private lessons in rapier, longsword, classical fenc...

Ken Mondschein

I am on the left.

Not shown: Full greaves.

Ken Mondschein

Diglach mac Cein wrote:As long as people accept that what the SCA does as a social structure is an IDEAL - a happy fiction, they people play to varied degrees - then it works.

This isn't about the SCA. I'm not in the SCA. It's about studying medieval history.

Ken Mondschein

Destichado wrote:War distills life into its extremes. What you see is what you look for.

I am going to assume from this statement that you know of what you speak from personal experience, in which case, thank you for your service.

Ken Mondschein

I had a particularly medieval and very unpleasant experience today. I had just caught the horse I part-lease when I noticed one of the horses in the adjacent paddock behaving oddly. He fell down, got up, bled from his nose, fell down, convulsed and died. (Meanwhile, my horse freaked out and tried to...

Ken Mondschein

I will be teaching a four-weekend class on late Italian longsword at the Higgins Armory Museum in Worcester on consecutive Sundays starting January 10. The material is mostly drawn from Alfieri but includes corroborating traditional material from French and Italian bÃ¢ton. We will be studying mechan...

Ken Mondschein

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Ken Mondschein

Would make a nifty casemod for a Macbook.

Ken Mondschein

This is incredibly good work, and you should all read it.

-Ken

Survey: Neuromuscular effects of SCA fighting

Re: review requested - Cavalier attitude bag

BÃ¢ton seminar this Saturday at the Higgins

Happenings @ the Higgins:Agrippa+judging+greatstick seminars

Agrippa day at the Higgins

Agrippa day at the Higgins

Agrippa now available in hardcover

Agrippa now available in hardcover

Fencing pedagogy seminar in MA

Why medieval warfare was in no way romantic

Longsword class at the Higgins