First Page Challenge

As part of my page-ship, I am required to fight every titled fighter present at practice five times once a month, and seek feedback on how I can improve my fighting. I learned quite a few things from this first trial:

• I need to start moving more, because I am by no means a giant, and I can't just act as a wall against my opponents.
• I really need to start working angles through footwork and moving, especially against opponents with big shields.
• I need to work on my endurance, so I can stand up to the challenge of going through 25 or more fights at a time without feeling like I might pass out.

Knights, Squires, and Pages

 Here is Phira's knighting ceremony at Chaos Wars XVII, followed by Oroku's squire ceremony, and my page ceremony in the last ten minutes.
Sir Phira

Chaos Wars XVII

I had the privilege to attend my first Chaos Wars in the third week of July. It was a wonderful experience right from the get-go! While I was still checking in at troll, Oroku came up to me and said that Phira's knighting ceremony would be taking place immediately. It was wonderful to share in the community experience as we watched Phira endure her knight's trial. Once the ceremony had concluded, she bestowed squireship upon Oroku, who, in turn, bestowed pageship upon me. It was wonderful to spend the next few days adjusting to my new title, meeting new people, spending time with old friends, protecting Sir Phira from assassins with the Mountain Mercenary Elder Guard, and fighting on an excellent field.

On my final night, Oroku and I had a long conversation about the last year and what the future might hold in store for us. Following in Oroku's footsteps as his Page, I have some rpetty big shoes to fill. I hope that I can live up to his reputation and have a large, positive impact on the community.

I didn't step into my Page shoes right away, and I had a fun discussion with Oroku about how long it would take me to start feeling like a Page. The moment came exactly one week later. The next Wednesday, I was chatting on Facebook with Oroku and the illustrious Echo of Ebonhold. The conversations we had made me truly feel that I have leveled up and finally figured out how to take on the role of Page.

Oroku and Aine Training

Here is a lovely video that Oroku put together of the two of us training.

Summer 2013

A lot of things have happened in the past six months. My liege and I broke away from the Dread Gate Mercenary Alliance and started a new unit called Shadow Clan (originally a sub-unit of the DGMA). It is not an easy task, and it has had many ups and downs already, but I think we both agree it was the right decision.

Training has been going well, and Oroku and I have been working on a wonderful new fighting technique called measure. It consists of three dimensions: distance, time and line. The distance used for measure is half a step from the distance where you can hit your opponent. This is called the edge of measure. From here, you should be able to take half a step in and be in measure (able to hit your opponent. When you step into measure, the concept of time becomes important. As soon as you step into measure, you should be either striking or defending. We use the rule of three, a combination of three striking and defending actions, before you should step back out of measure in order to to stay in control of the fight. The final important concept in measure is line. If you are fighting with a shield, the center of your shield should always be pointed at your opponent's weapon. For best results, your body should also be facing at an angle to the direction their body is facing.

Looking to the future, I will be attending War of Forbidding this weekend, and I hope to have my Mountain Mercenaries belt flag finished before then, and if I can access my weapon-making supplies, I will finish two new sword. Before I attend Chaos Wars in August, budget permitting, I would like to have a portable dance floor, so I can show people how we Irish get our jig on.

On Chivalry

The following are my ongoing thoughts on what chivalry means to me. I will update them as they occur:

• The sooner you act like a knight, the sooner you will be one.
• As a Mistress-at-Arms, I am always pushing myself towards my knightly goals. I am always working on the ideals listed here, and coming up with new ones.
• Strive to push yourself further.
• It is too easy to rest on your laurels after you achieve something, but chivalry requires you to continue to push past that point and grow still further.
•  The path of chivalry is a challenge to grow outside of your comfort zone. 
•  The last two go hand-in-hand, but are not necessarily the same thing. It is possible to push yourself within your comfort zone, but you should also explore the world outside of it, in order to grow.
• A higher class of knight requires a higher class of person in all aspects.
• This comes from pushing yourself to be a better person, a harder worker, a better friend and significant other, and on, and on.
• The teacher provides the tools, the student must provide the desire and will.
• This does not mean that the teacher should not work hard for their students. As I see it, both individuals should be doing an equal amount of work. In this way, the individuals can get as much out of the relationship as they desire.
• The basic shots are not a task, they're a lifestyle.
• Fancy techniques and styles may look cool, and often come in handy, but you simply cannot execute them properly without the basics. It is impossible to grow properly in any activity without a strong base to grow from.