The Armour Archive

I've discovered I tend to have the opposite problem that many seem to have on AA, my calibration is too light.

I'm 6'5" and around 275 lbs, and of a good frame. I use a very light sword, plastic hilt (blah blah, balk if you must) and as such have found that for some reason my calibration is extremely low, both in what I throw and what I would call a good hit.

I fought my Baron in my authorization fight and found that I tapped him several times so lightly he wasn't even aware of it.

So the question for me is, how should I work on upping my calibration? I'm planning to put a pell into the yard today or tomorrow, having gotten my hands on a post-hole digger, but is there anything else which might help me?

-- Mikhail

Strike through your target. If your blow is going to hit one side of his helmet, throw so that you think you'll actually impact the other side.

Are you throwing your blows from a fully-cocked position, or with your sword held out in front of you? Until you get a fair amount of practice at this, most people can't throw a good blow unless (drastically oversimplifying, here...) you start with your hilt back by your ear.

Experiment with different sword weights and sizes, but don't use a heavier sword as a replacement for good technique.

My two cents worth: give your sword to your opponent.

Every strike you make should deliver the momentum of the sword to the opponent, not glancing across them or pulled back as soon as it connects. Your opponent is wearing armour, he or she can take the hit. Strike as if your blade will pass clear through them and leave it to their armour/body to stop the blow.

If this is not enough then you might consider powering your attacks into or through your opponent, but I suspect it will be enough to simply give them the momentum of your sword.

As for what you call, you need to become more familiar with your armour and learn to distinguish between the sound and feeling of mere contact and the sound and feeling of a solid blow. During practice it is good to ask "How did that feel to you?" fairly often until you are sure that what you are calling meets local standards. There is much honor to be gained in holding a position on the light end of the blow-calling spectrum, but you do no one any favors by calling every tap or glancing blow...often the sound will be deceiving so it is the feeling and the motion of your helm/armour that you must learn to judge.

I hope this was helpfull...good luck!

Thank you both, the input is quite welcome. As is further input if any find such.

Mikhail

How long have you been fighting? Experience makes quite a difference in how consistent your technique is. Do a websearch for 'bowling ball calibration' and use that as a guide.

mikhail,

while watching a blow one can not have a clue as to how hard it hits. watching a fighter, however, sometimes can show some problems with them or their equipment. do you have any video of you fighting? if so, if you send me a copy i would be happy to take a look.

regards
logan

Mikhil, I have the same problem. (Although my sword is a barely-shaved club of rattan with a thick steel hilt, I still hit light)

I believe it was someone on here who suggested I try striking aluminum cans with my sword, to get used to the sensation of striking through an object.

I lined up coke cans on my workbench and went to smush 'em... and discovered rather dramatically that I was pulling back my blows just before impact!

Sometimes your body (or is it your subconsious?) works against you.

Hope this helps!
Lyonnete

Mikhail,

Go to the SouthDowns (Atlanta) fighter Practice, Find Sir Morgan(LRofE here on the AA), Sir Rodger, Sir Gunther, Sir Maximillian, Sir Artos (KEM), Baron Borgar (your Baron), Lord Aidan(GKM), or someone else you respect, and tell them what the issue your having is. Then ask them to work with you. They are all wonderful people, and I'm sure they will be happy to help.

Not only will you find that help easier (since it will be in person, and that is almost always easier to understand than text) but that help will be a local help, it will give you resources to turn to that are handy, and well experienced (not to mention all of those folks are bang-up guys and you may make some new friends). Most importantly all of these people can help you get to the point where your throwing and receiving calabration is correct for your kingdom. They can also teach you how to dial it up when necessary, without blowing out your shoulder.

Regards,
Ulrich

Alcyoneus wrote:How long have you been fighting? Experience makes quite a difference in how consistent your technique is. Do a websearch for 'bowling ball calibration' and use that as a guide.

I've been fighting for a little over a year now, with several months off during the time. Being in college I ended up taking summers off and letting my fighting fall off during the months out of school.

dukelogan wrote:while watching a blow one can not have a clue as to how hard it hits. watching a fighter, however, sometimes can show some problems with them or their equipment. do you have any video of you fighting? if so, if you send me a copy i would be happy to take a look.

I don't have any videos though I am going to see about borrowing a camera and video taping myself some so I can see my own stance and form.

lyonnete wrote:Sometimes your body (or is it your subconsious?) works against you.

Indeed, I think part of it is my pulling my blows back before I land.

Ulrich wrote:Go to the SouthDowns (Atlanta) fighter Practice, Find Sir Morgan(LRofE here on the AA), Sir Rodger, Sir Gunther, Sir Maximillian, Sir Artos (KEM), Baron Borgar (your Baron), Lord Aidan(GKM)

A very good list and indeed I fight most of them each week. It was actually Sir Gunther who initially brought it to my attention, but I am going to make it a focus of my practices until I can bring the calibration up.



Thank you all again for the input,
Mikhail

Mikhail,

I think your problem is that you are a big guy and probably have been told most of your life to be careful or you might hurt someone. You, most likely, have been pulling your blows because of this. Now you are in a sport that you are supposed to hit with force and your instincts have yet to adjust. Keep fighting and practicing, eventually your mind will allow your body to do what you want. You have to retrain your mind to allow you to use force in this new way.

Eric Bjornsson

Don't go from 10mph to 100mph instantly. You may be pulling your blows, or you may not be committing fully to them, to reduce the chance of getting hit in return.

I find it helpful, and in its way contributes to good sword control, to move my entire body forward slightly just before impact in a subtle glide. Good body mechanics will allow you to effectively hit as hard or soft as you like, and will keep you from blowing out your joints.

Or, maybe it's your state of mind. Musashi sez:

"To cut and to slash are two different things. Cutting, whatever form of cutting it is, is decisive, with a resolute spirit. Slashing is nothing more than touching the enemy. Even if you slash strongly, and even if the enemy dies instantly, it is slashing. When you cut, your spirit is resolved."

The best answer is the one given to you by Ulrich, specifically: Go to one or all of the people on his list and

tell them what the issue your having is. Then ask them to work with you.

Emphasis mine, because it's the real answer to your problem. The best answer can be provided by those who can actually see you swing and can diagnose/correct the issue you're having hands-on.


Frederich

or... just get a conan sized club to practice with and aim for the opposite side of your pell from which you will hit. do this for about 8 hours a day and two weeks straight. when you get to the next FP, you will find many people screaming "EXCESSIVE!!!" at that point it will be easier to lighten the blow than increasing it in your current situation.

yeah, late night and beer... who knew?

Angus Bjornssen wrote:or... just get a conan sized club to practice with and aim for the opposite side of your pell from which you will hit. do this for about 8 hours a day and two weeks straight. when you get to the next FP, you will find many people screaming "EXCESSIVE!!!" at that point it will be easier to lighten the blow than increasing it in your current situation.

yeah, late night and beer... who knew?

Bad Angus! No cookie!

Three words to remember( PROPER BODY DYNAMICS) as a big guy myself I had the bad habit of relying on my arm to provide all the energy for a shot. My arm got tired quick and I lost the speed and force needed to give it umpf.As soon as I learned to throw from my feet as it were I found I had over come those difficulties. It may be that you aren't putting enough body into your shots.It would be hard for us to tell without seeing you fight ,butif you stand in front of a mirror and go through the motions of throwing a shot ,look at what you are doing with your body, if you are not moving your hips it is a good indication you need to work on body dynamics. Duke Sir Paul of Bellatrix has a pretty good handbook on sca armoured combat its worth a look.I have seen it on the web somewhere as a free download, but I can't remember where i saw it.

It is available at www.bellatrix.org

-D

"I use a very light sword, plastic hilt (blah blah, balk if you must) and as such have found that for some reason my calibration is extremely low, both in what I throw and what I would call a good hit. "

Sounds like you answered your own question. A real sword weighs about a lb per foot of length.

Other than that what Ulric Said. I wish i had guys like that to fight at practice!

Murdock: A real sword weighs about a lb per foot of length.

Not to quibble, but this claim was addressed nearly 20 years ago by Cariadoc of the Bow in response to a particular CAIDan convention:

http://www.pbm.com/~lindahl/cariadoc/sh ... ights.html

With respect... AoC

carlyle, i didn't read the thread you linked to but would the description of a medieval combat long sword weighing about 3/4 to 1 lb. per foot be appropriate? at that rating a 4' total length sword would weigh in at between 3 and 4 lbs. or would it be a bit more accurate to say 1/2 to 3/4 lb. per foot? then the same sword would weigh in at about 2 to 3 lbs. mind you, i would consider this sort of approximation exactly that: an approximate weight which is dependent on style of sword. from what i have read, most standard swords (not zweihanders, claymores, rapiers, sideswords; just standard type long swords) apparently weighed in at between 2.5 and 3.5 lbs. so either of these approximations might give at least a quick reference for those who have no real swords to examine or "play" with, IF they are correct.

"Examining table 1, we find that a majority of the swords are too light to be legal in Caid; the average weight per foot is .89 pounds, also too light to be legal. If we add in a half pound gauntlet (many medieval gauntlets would have been lighter; remember that our fighting rules are based on medieval combat prior to the adoption of plate) we bring the average up to 1.05 lb/foot; even with this addition a third of the swords in the table fail to meet the requirement. The requirement corresponds more nearly to the average weight of period swords than to its minimum, hence it cannot be justified on grounds of authenticity."

"Quote:
Murdock: A real sword weighs about a lb per foot of length.


Not to quibble, but this claim was addressed nearly 20 years ago by Cariadoc of the Bow in response to a particular CAIDan convention:

http://www.pbm.com/~lindahl/cariadoc/sh ... ights.html

With respect... AoC"




"About a lb" i supposed doesn't fall within .89 and 1.05 lbs? As always it depends on era length and blade width but to argue over a tenth of a pound one way or another. I think that more than qualifies as "about".

Murdock,

The 1.05 upper bound was a calculation offered to include an estimated weight of a gauntlet and is not salient to either of our points.

The average weight of the selection in the chart is .89lbs/ft, and at three standard deviations (discounting the upper and lower three samples ranked by weight due to the "step" in the graph at each point), it is .9lbs/ft. Yes, I am suggesting that this is signficant, and that a more accurate statement would be that a sword might weigh, on average, "around" 14 ounces per foot.

Most significant of all, however, is that the spread is linear, or "flat", indicating that their is no distribution to the grouping around any particular weight. For recreative purposes, and depending on the era portrayed, a fighter would then be just as valid in using a .75lb/ft weapon as a 1.06lb/ft (the upper and lower bound of 3x standard deviations).

The point to posting the chart was not only to discourage the idea of "average" weight (since, as illustrated above, the linearity of the distribution reduces such a concept to mathematical trivia), but to reinforce the idea that weapon weight is far less a factor in blow effect than technique. Even if an "average" sword weighs .9lbs/ft, the maximum deviation between the lightest and the heaviest is around 3 ounces. Since F=MA, and as acceleration is a geometric progression, improving technique will increase the power at impact far more than weighting up the weapon an ounce-and-a-half ever can.

If, however, you are convinced that your technique is sufficient but your opponents are still calling your blows light, I would look first to the condition of the rattan and second to the balance of the blade before being concerned about whether you need to be swinging a "meatier" stick.

With regards,

Alfred of Carlyle

Ulrich wrote:Go to the SouthDowns (Atlanta) fighter Practice, Find Sir Morgan(LRofE here on the AA), Sir Rodger, Sir Gunther, Sir Maximillian, Sir Artos (KEM), Baron Borgar (your Baron), Lord Aidan(GKM), or someone else you respect, and tell them what the issue your having is.

No wonder you are having problems hitting hard. Look at the Nancy boys that you are having to fight! (No offense to anyone named Nancy)

See you at Panhandle!

Odo

Edited to add: I really do think the world of those guys. I can't help myself sometimes.

Odo wrote:

Ulrich wrote:Go to the SouthDowns (Atlanta) fighter Practice, Find Sir Morgan(LRofE here on the AA), Sir Rodger, Sir Gunther, Sir Maximillian, Sir Artos (KEM), Baron Borgar (your Baron), Lord Aidan(GKM), or someone else you respect, and tell them what the issue your having is.

No wonder you are having problems hitting hard. Look at the Nancy boys that you are having to fight! (No offense to anyone named Nancy)

See you at Panhandle!

Odo

Edited to add: I really do think the world of those guys. I can't help myself sometimes.

Your Grace! I look forward to meeting you at Panhandle! Us Nancy boys are looking forward to the conversation. (not being one of the Nancy boys you were speaking of in particular, but I just had to pick up the shovel and dig alittle myself! )

I haven't seen it suggested here, but maybe you should try using a hanging pell (if you have something to suspend it from)? I know that folks who do a lot of static pell work will tend to unconciously pull their shots, because hitting a pell that's planted into the ground tends to be very jarring. Repeated jarring causes you to want to pull back at the moment of impact to avoid it. Using a hanging pell should help to alleviate that.