Zornhau Forums

So, yeah. Last weekend, there was this thing called Estonian Medieval Fighting Championship that probably didn't make it to the news over the pond there.



And the event had all these badass dudes in it.



And of course me, attempting to push myself into their ranks.

It didn't go as well as I'd hoped, since... as you can see... I had to face Sauron.



Okay, his fighter name is actually Hartman, and yes, he's even more badass than he looks.

In a word, I had the rotten luck of being paired to fight probably the best armored swordsman in all the Baltics. Remember the word class fighters image from above? Yes, that's him on the left.

As I know his reputation of being a distance fighter and had seen him dealing brutal blows from a great reach, I decide to close in and deny him that advantage.



Of course, he's more agile than me. BAM!



I keep going, reach him. Clinch!



Now, I push him as hard as I can, disengaging myself, bringing the blade around and...



BAM!



I hit him! I hit him! Everyone saw that, right? They sure did!

Still, it was just one point though. And then he continued to hand my ass to me on a silver platter, which he did, I must say, without much effort.

I managed to get a few blows in over the three bouts, but that was pretty much it. He just dominated me.

...

Now, longswords. Probably my weakest discipline overall.





Again, I try to deny him the distance and put my arms on his arms to gain control -- a tip he gave to me just a few weeks back. But... Having spent my time on building armor, rather than training, I fail to capitalize on that success.

He defeated me quite swiftly.

...

Waiting for the buckler round.



Now, bucklers were fun. Way, way faster than the other disciplines.



That distance seems kind of safe, right? I mean, at least I can cover my head real fast if I need to?

Wrong! BAM! Right in the face!



I attempt to counter, he parries the blow with ease. Then counters himself.



BAM!



The yellow flag signals the end of the fight... and also my defeat. Still, it is my favorite image of them all.

Be sure to click on the image to get the full effect.

...

So, in my first round, I was eliminated from the contest. He was the guy that ended up claiming the first prize. And as he had the final duel after not only winning two fights first, but also participating in... nine (yes, NINE!) 5vs5 team matches, I'm saying there was no shame in it.

...



And here's me... beard disheveled from the helm strap, out of breath and covered in sweat... but way richer for the experience and eager for the next time!

...

Image credits: Elmo Riig, except the two tall images by Petro Tsigura.

If you want to see a gallery the whole event, click here.

Sounds like a cool contest. Shame how the lot went but then again fighting against opponent like that is experience in itself and you even got great photos to prove it!

Marras wrote:Shame how the lot went but then again fighting against opponent like that is experience in itself and you even got great photos to prove it!

Indeed!

That said, I was kind of relieved when I found out about it. I mean, lacking sabatons, my main concern was getting hit in the foot by a freak blow in the sword & shield bout. With Hartman being such a professional, I knew it wasn't going to be an issue and the only unarmored part of my body was safe.

Knowing that gave me some weird kind of freedom that I'd never experienced in a match before. I think I was at my most aggressive there and despite the loss, it was a good match for me.

Very interesting review of the contest, and the photos are really cool!

Thanks! I hope to get more tourney images from Poland and Czech Republic this summer! Can't wait for the Battle of the Nations!

Oh, and here's some news footage as well. My fight at 1:05 mark. Nevermind the Estonian commentary.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ln2q4VMFFWY[/youtube]

Buckler bout is to three touches, so, I'm becoming more careful once I realize the full extent of Hartman's superior reach.

Marras wrote:Sounds like a cool contest. Shame how the lot went but then again fighting against opponent like that is experience in itself and you even got great photos to prove it!

No shame in losing to a champion. If anything, it's almost a bonus in disguise. If you lose against a nobody, it's on you. If you lose against a champion, you get praise just for making an admirable showing!

In all seriousness though, very cool all around. That picture of you post-fight may be my favorite. haha. You clearly need to use it on your G+

You know.. The GH team would look fairly intimidating at a public con. All three of us relatively large dudes, all three with fairly righteous beards, you and I have long hair.. Barbarossa has a military cut. You show up in armor, Barbarossa is in full milsurp BDUs, I just look like a grizzled biker with chains, boots, lots of steel and leather. I'm not sure we'd make it through security.

Agamemnon wrote:I'm not sure we'd make it through security.

Sounds like a challenge!

Very cool! I enjoy these reports. Serious jealousy of all you're involved in!

Daeruin wrote:Very cool! I enjoy these reports. Serious jealousy of all you're involved in!

It's not as if you guys don't have anything like that over there. The U.S. branch of HMB totally exists. In fact, most likely I'll be facing an American in my longsword subgroup at the IMCF World Championships in Malbork, Poland a few weeks from now:



While I'm looking forward to it, I'm not sure about my chances though. Longsword seems hugely popular in the U.S. and I have just a couple of weeks to bump it from one of my weakest disciplines to one of my best, so... I'd have much rather have gone to sword & shield, but IMCF accepts only one participant per each weapon category per country and our sword & shield slot got sensibly filled by our national champion.


youtu.be/lLXPtThjQac

Yeah, there is plenty of opportunity for such things here. I'm in a hotbed of HEMA activity here in Utah. There are four HEMA clubs within half an hour of my house. I attended one for about a year, but these days I simply lack the time to devote to any of my old hobbies. I'm looking forward to getting back into things eventually. In the meantime, I live vicariously through people like you.

Daeruin wrote:There are four HEMA clubs within half an hour of my house.

Oh, I wish! We have less than a dozen clubs here, total.

However, now that I think about it, there's easily at least four clubs in our capital, so, it's not too far off. Not that I live anywhere near there. At least in our scale.

Agamemnon wrote: No shame in losing to a champion. If anything, it's almost a bonus in disguise. If you lose against a nobody, it's on you. If you lose against a champion, you get praise just for making an admirable showing!

That's true. It's better to loose to the champion

You know.. The GH team would look fairly intimidating at a public con. All three of us relatively large dudes, all three with fairly righteous beards, you and I have long hair.. Barbarossa has a military cut. You show up in armor, Barbarossa is in full milsurp BDUs, I just look like a grizzled biker with chains, boots, lots of steel and leather. I'm not sure we'd make it through security.

You should come over here to RopeCon (no, it doesn't necessarily involve ropes) and see if you are allowed here

higgins wrote: However, now that I think about it, there's easily at least four clubs in our capital, so, it's not too far off. Not that I live anywhere near there. At least in our scale.

Tallinn is not that far away even from where I live

Marras wrote:Tallinn is not that far away even from where I live

It is entirely possible that you're living closer to it than I am!

About two hours by ferry plus a bit from home to port.

It's official -- you live approximately 2.5x closer to Tallinn than I do.