Some Video of my Knight and I fighting

[Daithi' ua Conri']

This was taken earlier this month at a fighter practice while my Knight was taking stock, we live very far apart. I just thought I would post it up. As an aside I'm actually kind of psyced since this last weekend was the one year aniversery of the demo I fought at so I have now officially been fighting for one year.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-xZ_v80W_84

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s7g9c6cY ... re=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NC8GGTDGhoY&feature=user

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qRH94xgNYHQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0eo8afZyO98

[Daithi' ua Conri']

Bumped as I now have all Five up from that day.

[SirOlafr]

If you are looking for a little input, it looks like the angle you throw your head wraps at is causing them to skip up. You may wish to try to throw them downward, so that if the blade skips it may drive into the shoulder instead.

Take or leave as you wish.

Good luck and have fun.

Olafr

[D.Z.P.]

Not that I should be giving anyone advice but you are leaving your legs wide open as can be seen in all the videos where the first thing that is taken is your legs. Also throw more shots. You can NEVER win ANYTHING if you don't throw a shot.

BUT you are much better than I was at a year. And your armor looks much better than mine still does (but Mad Matt is fixing that for me).

[DietrichUhl]

This was taken earlier this month at a fighter practice while my Knight was taking stock, we live very far apart. I just thought I would post it up. As an aside I'm actually kind of psyced since this last weekend was the one year aniversery of the demo I fought at so I have now officially been fighting for one year.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-xZ_v80W_84

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s7g9c6cY ... re=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NC8GGTDGhoY&feature=user

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qRH94xgNYHQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0eo8afZyO98

I thought only Duke Hauoc fought that shield style.

Interesting.

_D

[Daithi' ua Conri']

Well as for the Duke Hauoc style shiled that is his newest toy and seeing as he is 6'3" tall a skinny and fights very much like Duke Hauoc it was bound to happen.

As for the legs if anyone else is able to cover the entire body of a six foot tall fighter behind a 26" round I would love to know your secret. I don't spend too much time legged except when fighting my Knight. Not that others do not leg me just not very often by comparison. I tnd to chose the option of getting legged and often making the kill on the way down over leaving my upper body and head exsposed and having a static shield on my legs. Thanks for the input though. (Really I mean it, not trying to be a smart alik) As for throwing more shots my Knight has in fact told me to throw less shots as I tend to get jumpy and "Shot happy" when I face higher caliber opponents.

As for the angle of the Wrap you have cought me here. I usually throw on a low diving angle but since Sir Cyrus is talller than I am they tend to reach that way instinctivly. I guess I need more fighters taller than I am to practice on here locally. either that a or a taller pell.

Thanks for the input guys.

[carlyle]

... and while you're at it, tell Cyrus that, for the two-sword combination, he needs to drop that leading left-hand shot lower onto the leg, and hold the following right to the head a little longer until after he has slid/stepped.

If he wants to know what I'm talking about, just send him down here to BART for a little tuition ... AoC

[LordLokeildson]

:: snip::
As for the legs if anyone else is able to cover the entire body of a six foot tall fighter behind a 26" round I would love to know your secret.::snip::

Im not 6 ft (im only 5`8ish) but i do use a oval thats 23"x16". Trick i use on that one is i keep the shield lower and basically use the shield to protect the legs, and my sword to protect the head. Either that or A-frame (which is the style i generally use being a lefty and all).

[Gregoire de Lyon]

You didn't use that hanging guard when you fought at the Talonvale Torchlight Tourney did you?

[Daithi' ua Conri']

Gregoire de Lyon:
No, that I did not. I was not to the point of working more than one gaurd consitantly with any weapon other than greatsword at that point. That and us Northern Oerthans don't do so well at that whole torch light thing, if we can fight outside its light outside you know.(JK) No I have been using a lot of different gaurds as I have been trying different shields. I have really fell in love with the center grip round though.

As for the low shield hold and use the sword I tend to like this with strapped shields that I can most often curl faster than people can throw a shot but have not liked the results trying that agains Cyrus to date with the center round. Really I just need MUCH more work as usual.

Again thanks all for the input.

[Jose Cabrera de Castilla]

I know of two eras that used round shields. Is your fighting style an emulation of viking round shield fighting or late period "buckler" fighting? I'm trying to gather techniques and references for the latter.

[carlyle]

I know of two eras that used round shields. Is your fighting style an emulation of viking round shield fighting or late period "buckler" fighting? I'm trying to gather techniques and references for the latter.

Only "late-period" buckler? To my SCA-addled mind, this implies 16th C. Yet some of the earliest manuals (13th C.) depict (unarmored) sword and buckler. If you haven't already, check out I.33 (there's a breakdown on the HACA site).

Hope this helps... AoC

[DarkApprentice]

Your Knight looks like a punk. It looks like he is using a small shield to try to impress people. Tell him to fight like he means it so people can really evaluate him and you. I can think of 10 fighters in the West who would beat him easily while using such a small unrealistic shield. He isn't Hauoc. I would love to see him fight with a regular shield against a top fighter so I could assess him correctly, because from what I see he would lose more often than not to the upper level of western fighters.

You look like you have some solid foundations, keep on working!

DA


edited for politeness sake

[BdeB]

Your Knight looks like a punk. It looks like he is using a small shield to try to impress people. Tell him to fight like he means it so people can really evaluate him and you. I can think of 10 fighters in the West who wold kick his ass for using such a small unrealistic shield. He isn't Hauoc. I would love to see him fight with a regular shield against a top fighter so I could assess him correctly, because from what I see he would get his ass handed to him by the upper level of western fighters/

You look like you have some solid foundations, keep on working!

DA

Dude, don't be an ass.

[Daithi' ua Conri']

Your Knight looks like a punk. It looks like he is using a small shield to try to impress people. Tell him to fight like he means it so people can really evaluate him and you. I can think of 10 fighters in the West who wold kick his ass for using such a small unrealistic shield. He isn't Hauoc. I would love to see him fight with a regular shield against a top fighter so I could assess him correctly, because from what I see he would get his ass handed to him by the upper level of western fighters/

You look like you have some solid foundations, keep on working!

DA

Listen shit head my number is (907)347-****My name is Zack Sherman if you feel you need to make comments about my knight you best direct them to me or him! You are right that he is not a Grace of the West he is however a Viscount of Oertha of the Kingdom of the West and well respected in the West as well as other relms. I take this as a personal slight and wish to challange you to hold those words to me in person. You are a coward and in need of a lesson in manners. This was to be by PM only but it in fact needs to be brought public as I feel your lack of respect is a slight to my Knight and by this myself and every fighter that he defeted to earn his Viscount, the King who Knighted him (Duke Radnor), and the fighters and Kingdom of the West.

[Daithi' ua Conri']

I know of two eras that used round shields. Is your fighting style an emulation of viking round shield fighting or late period "buckler" fighting? I'm trying to gather techniques and references for the latter.

To stear this back towards an normal topic.

Well I am actually an Irish Auxilary to the Romano-British forces at the Battle of Bardon hill. The early Irish as well as the late Romans all used round and oval shields rather frequently and even mixed in some areas.

[twoswords]

Ok, I read through the comments offered but figured I would chime in.
I believe you posted the videos to get some feedback, so I will try to give some.

First, to have been fighting for only one year I think you look excellent! With that being said I would offer the following advice to try to "correct" a bit.

- Legs. Right now they are quite open since you have your shield high and tight against your body. Perhaps try to extend the shield out and away a little bit from your body, angling it a little to give more coverage and to also be ready to actively block what is thrown at you? Many roundshield fighters I have seen or met tend to capitalize on parrying an opponents attack to move into an attack of their own, thus breaking their opponent rhytm.

- Head. You keep your shield high and tight and also keep your sword in front to cover the head. This means that you will will have a longer swing to reach your target, and some shots (backhand, offside body) will be very hard to attain as it is now. Again I would suggest moving the shield out a bit while you also move the sword back somewhat. This would mean that while you can still cover yourself you have better attack opportunities.

- Parrying. Most of the parries to the head is being done by your sword, thus denying yourself the possibility for a quick riposte attack. I would suggest trying to become more active with the shield itself.

- Stance. You felt very "square" from the videos I looked at. A number of fighters using roundshield usually put the right leg a bit in front to help cover against getting hit on the left leg. This also has the advantage of extended sword range. May that be something worth trying out for you?

And finally to perhaps deflate a situation: Dark Apprentice may very well know your knight extremely well. He usually offers up weird (and fun) advice on Crown Lists etc, but I have never seen him act behave rude like this before which leads me to one of three things:
- Aprils fool joke. (mmm..maybe)
- He knows your knight well and wanted to tease him. (most likely)
- DA is a rude ass. (strikes me as unlikely given his earlier posts)

Either way the post, I agree, was to much and I hope we can see a remedy/deflation of the situation.

Hope any of this helped and good luck to you!

[Fearghus Macildubh]

I'm 6'3" and use a small round, center griped or strapped depending on my mood. With the center grip, try to meet the attack as far from your body as possible, increasing what my teacher called the cone of defense. I'm not a big fan of the hanging guard used all the time, having a crappy rotator cuff, but it is a style that requires natural hand speed to work well. If you don't have it natural, you'l have to find some drills and exercises tht will increase what you do have.
I also you need to use combinations way more than you were in the vids. You've been fightting a year, you aren't going to one shot your knight very often, if at all. You were allowing him to dictate the range and pacing of the bouts. I'm not a counter puncher, so I can't tell if you were sitting back waiting for an opening or just not sure how to enter into range. Cover your entry into range with a shot, force your opponent to react to the shot and not throw one at you as you close.
That being said, I think you look good for a guy fighting for a year or so. Good kit, did I see turnshoes?
Finally, relax, have fun and keep at it.

[Jean Paul de Sens]

I agree with twoswords in all of his observations, but especially the DarkApprentice obs. I bet DA is a friend of your knight

JP

[Agnarr]

Your Knight looks like a punk. It looks like he is using a small shield to try to impress people. Tell him to fight like he means it so people can really evaluate him and you. I can think of 10 fighters in the West who wold kick his ass for using such a small unrealistic shield. He isn't Hauoc. I would love to see him fight with a regular shield against a top fighter so I could assess him correctly, because from what I see he would get his ass handed to him by the upper level of western fighters/

You look like you have some solid foundations, keep on working!

DA

Listen shit head my number is (907)347-8404 My name is Zack Sherman if you feel you need to make comments about my knight you best direct them to me or him! You are right that he is not a Grace of the West he is however a Viscount of Oertha of the Kingdom of the West and well respected in the West as well as other relms. I take this as a personal slight and wish to challange you to hold those words to me in person. You are a coward and in need of a lesson in manners. This was to be by PM only but it in fact needs to be brought public as I feel your lack of respect is a slight to my Knight and by this myself and every fighter that he defeted to earn his Viscount, the King who Knighted him (Duke Radnor), and the fighters and Kingdom of the West.

Even if DA is kidding, you got angry. Don't post your real name and phone #. I might call you to say howdy. and you don't want that.

[Jose Cabrera de Castilla]

Steering clear of the unpleasant aspects of the thread here...

Thanks for the brief history lesson! I probably should have said "My experience in heavy combat has encompassed two forms of round shield fighting." In An Tir, we're a bit lopsided toward dark ages viking and norse personas. In contrast, there is a small but fervent following of 16th century fighting styles including sword and buckler. I fall into the latter group. It's a labor of love, but I'm getting really good at directing my buckler into incoming shots, which has caused some of the veteran fighters to take a step back and scratch their helms. I guess I'm making them appreciate that it's not an invalid style for heavy. Now if only I could actually hit at the same time...

[DarkApprentice]

Your Knight looks like a punk. It looks like he is using a small shield to try to impress people. Tell him to fight like he means it so people can really evaluate him and you. I can think of 10 fighters in the West who wold kick his ass for using such a small unrealistic shield. He isn't Hauoc. I would love to see him fight with a regular shield against a top fighter so I could assess him correctly, because from what I see he would get his ass handed to him by the upper level of western fighters/

You look like you have some solid foundations, keep on working!

DA

Listen shit head my number is (907)347-8404 My name is Zack Sherman if you feel you need to make comments about my knight you best direct them to me or him! You are right that he is not a Grace of the West he is however a Viscount of Oertha of the Kingdom of the West and well respected in the West as well as other relms. I take this as a personal slight and wish to challange you to hold those words to me in person. You are a coward and in need of a lesson in manners. This was to be by PM only but it in fact needs to be brought public as I feel your lack of respect is a slight to my Knight and by this myself and every fighter that he defeted to earn his Viscount, the King who Knighted him (Duke Radnor), and the fighters and Kingdom of the West.

Hi,

You need to settle down a bit. Not to mention that you are seriously jumping to some conclusions. I, however, should not have used the words "kick his ass" or "get his ass handed to him" in an open forum. I apologize for that.

To begin with, "punk" is a word that is used teasingly in the SCA a lot- especially in the West. It also looks ot me like he is punking you, showing off, becuase he is better than you are and using a small shield in a show off fashion, because he can get away with it because you aren't very good yet. He would not be able to get away with this with serious fighters. Yours and others mileage might vary in that area though.

I meant it honestly when I said that I would love to see him fight with a regular sized shield against some of the top end fighters of the West so I could get a feel for how good he really is, as he looks like he could be pretty darned good- without that other context I won't know.

Good day.

DA

[carlyle]

It looks like he is using a small shield to try to impress people.

I gotta disagree here. I'm pretty sure what we're looking at is video of a practice, and the video is incidental to the training. I don't know what was in Cyrus mind at the time, but I've often taken styles I was trying to develop or less comfortable with when I was certain my opponent was of lesser skill. Even when I'm using two-sword, my left hand is fairly effective (I would guess I get most of my kills with it in tournament); so I frequently don't use it right away or only use it to block when I'm up against someone at a practice who hasn't faced me before and is not belted (or has those little notches in his red belt for every knight he's flattened ).

So, while I agree that it looks like Cyrus wasn't really applying himself to the lesson, that's a pretty far cry from saying he was showboating. Ya' know, benefit of the doubt and all that... AoC

[twoswords]

He does seem to use that style of shield though.

Here is the La Prova Dura video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uiLxanGTwNg where he uses it, and I have seen one more video which I cant find where he uses the same size shield as well.

[carlyle]

He does seem to use that style of shield though. Here is the La Prova Dura video...

I'm pretty sure that's Duke Hauoc in the La Prova Dura video, Marcus. Cyrus was knighted in 2006 by Radnor, and the fighter in the LPD vid is belted... AoC

[Dmitriy]

Cyrus was at Prova, as well (not yet a knight, granted).

Second fight in the video, legged, against Hans (don't blink!), and also against Hans, mid-video. He's using a different kind of Hauoc shield.

Daithi -- whoa there, hold yer horses.. granted, that stuff is pretty offensive if you aren't in on the joke and don't have a very good sarcasm detector, but even if DA was serious, you don't want to be the one left holding the asshole ball -- so don't pick it up when someone tosses one to you.

Ok, actual fighting things.. you aren't pressing your knight. Get in a bit closer, and keep up a persistent attack -- right now it looks like you throw a blow and check what happens. Use your shield more offensively -- engage his sword when in close, guard likely zones of attack when moving through ranges. You rely on your sword for head blocks, but you don't adjust the shield position when you throw a blow (thus leaving your head open).

The way tall people keep from getting legged with a small shield isn't by managing to fold themselves behind it -- it's by putting relying on active blocking (as opposed to passive "I am behind a barn door, good luck" blocking).

When he keeps you away with his sword-forward position, throw a right cross at his arm and move in. You probably won't arm him (and if you do, Westie sensibilities aside, he was asking for it), but you'll get out of the position he is putting you in, where you are sitting outside your range, waiting to get sniped with a thrust.

[Agnarr]

Your Knight looks like a punk. It looks like he is using a small shield to try to impress people. Tell him to fight like he means it so people can really evaluate him and you. I can think of 10 fighters in the West who wold kick his ass for using such a small unrealistic shield. He isn't Hauoc. I would love to see him fight with a regular shield against a top fighter so I could assess him correctly, because from what I see he would get his ass handed to him by the upper level of western fighters/

You look like you have some solid foundations, keep on working!

DA

Listen shit head my number is (907)347-8404 My name is Zack Sherman if you feel you need to make comments about my knight you best direct them to me or him! You are right that he is not a Grace of the West he is however a Viscount of Oertha of the Kingdom of the West and well respected in the West as well as other relms. I take this as a personal slight and wish to challange you to hold those words to me in person. You are a coward and in need of a lesson in manners. This was to be by PM only but it in fact needs to be brought public as I feel your lack of respect is a slight to my Knight and by this myself and every fighter that he defeted to earn his Viscount, the King who Knighted him (Duke Radnor), and the fighters and Kingdom of the West.

Hi,

You need to settle down a bit. Not to mention that you are seriously jumping to some conclusions. I, however, should not have used the words "kick his ass" or "get his ass handed to him" in an open forum. I apologize for that.

To begin with, "punk" is a word that is used teasingly in the SCA a lot- especially in the West. It also looks ot me like he is punking you, showing off, becuase he is better than you are and using a small shield in a show off fashion, because he can get away with it because you aren't very good yet. He would not be able to get away with this with serious fighters. Yours and others mileage might vary in that area though.

I meant it honestly when I said that I would love to see him fight with a regular sized shield against some of the top end fighters of the West so I could get a feel for how good he really is, as he looks like he could be pretty darned good- without that other context I won't know.

Good day.

DA

If you can't hide behind skill....Hide behind a sheild.

(needless to say you can guess the size of my shield)

[Daithi' ua Conri']

Thank you all for your comments and input, I really do appreciate it. It's funny but most all of what has been said is all stuff I am working on training in for some reason I just don't seem to be using will in these vids. I am still trying to get what I practice into what I actually do when pressured. As for my reply to DA yes I was angry and spoke quickly, this is not an excuse or reason as I stand by what I said and am ready to accept what comes from it as such, even if that makes me the one holding the assho(e ball. to clarify a bit DA PMd me and we are in s start of a dialouge but since my words seemed a bit confusing I would like to post part of it here for clarification:

"To start thank you for your reply and some extension.

First I will make comment on why my Knight was fighting with the small shield. He traditionally fights with a narrow strapped kite shield, the change was to both try something new and to push his fighting a little farther by making him have to use a MUCH more active shield. As to why he is fighting me the way he is, that is because I was testing my level, not working a training session. I will never know how far I need to reach without knowing where that top 2% is here in Oertha.

-content removed-

As to my challenge, I did not issue you a challenge upon a list field as I will never take the field in anger. My challenge was for you to bring yourself before me, or on the phone to discuss this with some amount of accountability. I would not use our society (SCA) for personal grudges, though at the moment I am quite angry with you for your comments that does not mean that I would ever have any intent to do you physical harm, only to try to straighten this out to some sort of mutual understanding. As for a fight I would love one anytime, free of anger or malice, that you and I might meet on the field."

Again thank you to those of you who have made constructive notes and offered advice. Oh and Fearghus Macildubh you are right that I need to use more combinations. I have been working my targeting and rising and falling shots a lot lately and seem to have let my combinations fall as a result. Thanks.

[carlyle]

Cyrus was at Prova, as well (not yet a knight, granted).

Doh! The only part of the video I picked up (I was scanning quickly) looked a lot like Hauoc (the belt sort of gave it away). I didn't see Cyrus fights; My Bad... AoC

[Cunian]

Why don't all of you who quoted Daiti' edit out his phone #. It's repeated several times. He's editted his own post.

[twoswords]

He does seem to use that style of shield though. Here is the La Prova Dura video...

I'm pretty sure that's Duke Hauoc in the La Prova Dura video, Marcus. Cyrus was knighted in 2006 by Radnor, and the fighter in the LPD vid is belted... AoC

Ah ok. Thanks for clearing that up.

[Arron Kylech]

Maybe he is using a smaller shield with the logic that if he can block good with a tiny shield, he will block much better with a larger one?

Besides, it looks as though they are just sparring and not extremely serious about it. So to judge thier skillset by watching less than 10 minutes of more or less goofing off wouldnt exactly be fair to either fighter now would it?

Just my two cents.

[audax]

I know of two eras that used round shields. Is your fighting style an emulation of viking round shield fighting or late period "buckler" fighting? I'm trying to gather techniques and references for the latter.

Round shields were used throughout the SCA's time period by many cultures.

[marcus the pale]

I know of two eras that used round shields. Is your fighting style an emulation of viking round shield fighting or late period "buckler" fighting? I'm trying to gather techniques and references for the latter.

There's two from the early 14th century. I've seen a few more too