Medieval Knight Training
Today was the start of my armed screen combat training. I was so excited that I arrived at the training centre so early that even the breakfast café wasn’t open! Luckily, I had a spacious Citroen C1 in which I could nap…
Physically, I wasn’t feeling too bad. The previous day had been tough, but it was a type of training I was used to. As soon as we picked up the swords, however, everything started to change.
Two Handed Swords
“You can stand like this all day” Head Instructor Andreas assured us, as he adopted the knightly double-handed sword stance (think Jaime Lannister from Game of Thrones).
That concerned me: I’d only just taken up the stance and my arm was starting to ache! Perhaps after 25 years of epic stunts, Andreas’ body has hardened to a point where wielding a sword for weeks on end simply isn’t challenging any more.
A few hours later, however, and I could see what he meant. I was tired and dripping with sweat, but now I was used to holding my sword I could continue to wield it more or less correctly for as long as necessary. (I should point out that in this photo I am in the process of moving fowards and chopping James’ head off. Or trying to – it’s about a foot higher than my own…)
In the mean time, we had learned six basic strikes, six basic defences and s series of routines. Like yesterday, we had recorded our routines and watched them back – the single most useful way to discover what we were doing well and badly.
As predicted my wrists were causing me some issues. Years of damage and tightening forearm muscles means I really struggle to flex or rotate them with any degree of coordination. This normally becomes apparent when I do handstands and planches, but it turns out swordplay is just as tricky.
Luckily, my DDP Yoga has been helping to loosen them recently and, as time went by, I could feel them relaxing into the grip of the sword. I shall persevere.
Sword and Shields
In the afternoon we scooped our swords back up, but this time we strapped shields to our left arms. Then it was back to drilling: a new six attacks and defences using both the sword and shield.
Now came the real work. Even without full armour on, wielding a short and shield for any length of time is tough work. The body part that suffered the most, however, was my ears from the constant clashing of metal! Even so, of all the things I have ever done, a fluid routine with a sword and shield is certainly amongst the most enjoyable.
Once again, the instructors were of huge help. Maintaining the correct distance was the main issue this time.
By the end of the day, my legs were throbbing, my ears were ringing, the skin was wearing off the side of my finger and the chafing from the leather strap on my left forearm was starting to burn…and I was having the absolute best time.
I have noticed, however, that boxing boots are a really bad choice for this type of exercise. The lack of arch support and cushioning makes spinning and stamping forwards and backwards all day long a case-study into discomfort.
Even so, the Warrior Masterclass remains one of the coolest things ever!