Vikings

More and more I find that it is very easy to assume we would be competent with something like a sword if we picked it up and tried to use it. More and more I find that such an assumption is wishful thinking. There is only so much training you can help yourself with, and watching Kingdom of Heaven doesn't count.

On Sunday, Nick and I met the Caent (Kent) branch of The Vikings; either the biggest or one of the biggest (I forget) re-enactment groups in England.

It's a long ride away, some forty-eight miles or thereabouts. But that day was certainly worth it.

After meeting everyone and getting a load of free food, I was asked to pick a helmet, sword, some gloves, and shield from the training stock they had brought. We then worked through basic attack and defence with swords and the shield. Re-enactment members have to pass combat tests and trials to make sure they are competent with their weapons and safe to field; this was the first step of that training.

Being instructed and watched is different from just being free to do whatever you want with a weapon; that much I already knew. But you don't notice all of the mistakes you make when you're just sparring with someone else. Footwork, wrist movement, elbow extension, shield placement; little things like that, things you really do not notice on your own.

I won't go on and on about what it was like; suffice to say that I enjoyed myself a great deal and can't wait to do it again.

One thing I learned more than anything else is the weight of a shield. It's big, bulky, and made of solid wood. It's damned heavy. It's two days later and my left arm is still stiff. Swinging the swords about wasn't too bad, although you certainly start to feel fatigued when throwing it around for five or six minutes at a time.

But yeah, shields. Although I understood it from a text-book level, I now understand on a personal level how tiring it would have been to be on the receiving end of archer volleys. You might not get hit by an arrow, but holding your shield up for any extended length of time will really wear you down.