Duelling scars

It’s not quite a year since I picked up a rapier for the first time, and I’ve been training since last October with monthly workshops and weekly classes and occasional fun days to play around in a less formal setting. We’ve covered a lot of ground in that time, and I feel a lot fitter than I did twelve months ago. The first hurdle in the training programme is the Scholar’s assessment to test our knowledge of the basics and see if we are safe and competent to engage in free play.

It was a little nerve wracking to start with and I dropped some points on basic stuff and muffed the random attack sequence identification but I recovered on the cuts and the moulinet sequence. The eight position parry sequence and free play sections with the prof were interesting to say the least – he pushed us in different ways to see how we’d cope under pressure and I’ve got an interesting collection of bruises now with the best being a cut across the midriff that will teach me not to get backed into corners. After a break for a much needed drink whilst the prof added up the scores we got called aside to hear our results ….

The upshot is that I’m now officially a Scholar in the Art of Fence, along with Charles and Loops who took the test at the same time as me, and I can’t see why the rest of the crew due to take it in a few weeks time won’t pass as well.