A time to every purpose.

"To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven."

This morning I awoke earlier than normal. For years waking up early on New Years Eve was something I did as we held an annual World Healing Meditation at my church. It is not something that they do anymore, and since my absence from church it is hardly something I can suggest as a tradition to bring back so this morning I did at home.

There is a lot to be said about tradition. Many times we do them, simply because that is how they are done. One such example is new years resolutions. I wrote on mine some last week, but this morning something else happened from within me. I realized that to take steps forward in my life it was important that I turn within evaluate what is working and what is not, and then create a mantra or mission statement or something as a focus for the new year.

Do not get me wrong, 2014 was spectacular. I learned things I never knew, met lots of new people had some great experiences. I think that is the crux though. We look at a new year and seem to have to think badly about the one that just past, as if somehow talking it down makes the next one that much better; it doesn't.

In November at the Moab Celtic Festival when doing heavy athletics I broke a caber. To me it was upsetting. I was told later that it happened, but to me it was not something to be proud of, I was embarrassed and felt terrible about it. Upon looking back at it more closely, I have realized something. That broken caber, was and still is a lesson. 

Why had it broken? Was there some sort of internal flaw like a knot that meant it was going to break? No. This was a solid piece that had broken because my form and technique was not good, because I had the misconception that by strength alone I could turn this Caber, even if my technique was not right. In that I was wrong.

To me, that meant a bigger lesson. Often times in my life I have gotten through by sheer force of will. As if pushing harder was the way through everything. I am a reasonably strong guy (Less so than most anyone I to Scottish games with, but that is another post entirely) and often times I know I can use my size, or in some cases my wits to get through problems without doing what is called for to do it right and well. That did not work that day. I could not push through it and come out the winner through sheer force of will.

So what is the goal for 2015? Knowing what is right and when and taking the right steps to do what is needed. It means less filling time with things like browsing Facebook when I am waiting for an elevator. It means spending more time devoted to doing things that bring me joy, and less time filling time up with something, anything that may fill the time so I am not alone with my thoughts and ideas.

This year is about finding the right times for every purpose in my life, and having the wisdom to do what is needed at that time to make it work out the best it can be. To be clear, and honest about what is going on, and to take the right steps to be where I need to be. This year is about trusting that if I follow the things that bring me joy, life will just be better. Knowing what tools I have in my toolbox and using them right, so that at the end of the day I can rest in knowing that I did what I needed to and did it well. 

2014 was great, and I look forward to 2015, may it bring us all the things we are seeking.

Resolute

I hate the idea of new years resolutions. It always seems to hit me that people set themselves up for failure with them and then when they fall off the horse, that is it. In an article published in Forbes magazine 2 years ago it appears that only 8% of people accomplish what they resolve to do.

All that being said, here I am, at the beginning of another year telling myself that there are some things I want to get done this year. Things like eating healthier, getting more consistent exercise, and sticking to my training so I can accomplish my bigger life and sword goals. But if the odds are against me, why do it?

2014 was a year a lot changed for me. I attended my first larger HEMA community event. I started Olympic Fencing, I realized that I can accomplish a lot if I move from the reasons I can't and begin working my to a place where I am looking for the ways to get where I want to be.  I cannot say for certain how many times I started diet and exercise only to fall off and begin again weeks or months later, but i know it happened a lot.

So what is different this time? Why will this be the year it changes? I cannot say that it will be for certain but if I stick with it, the reason it will is the way in which I am setting goals. What does 2015 mean to me? What am I working to accomplish? Why is it more likely it will stick this time?

I have heard a lot of people set things up to fail. "I want to loose 50 pounds this year" or something like that. I am not happy with my weight. For those who have not met me I am in the words of my boss "A big dude". It always have been, but I also know from my past that it is not all fat that makes me that way so there is that. So where do I go? This year is all about performance. If I dropped 100 pounds (around my goal) but was not stronger or faster, if I could not perform better than I can in the sword practices I do, would it be worth it? On the other hand, if I trained hard and could build things up to the point that I only dropped 25 or 40 pounds but could run longer, or lift more weight, or could move faster in the ring or on the line would that be worth it? To me if that is not the goal I am not sure what is.

I also want to get in better shape for my family. I would like to one day have children I could at least in part keep up with. I do not want to be the dad whose kids run off and he can't remotely keep up. I know it is a long shot to say beat a child at a foot race or have the energy and vitality of a young kid, but my goal is to be further when that is a real possibility than not. Why? Because to me it matters. Being there long term is important and the best way to do that is to work to be healthier now. I want to be able to pick up a sword and teach at 90 years old, and still be able to beat my students. Not just watch from the sidelines as they get walloped by other people.

Maybe resolutions is not the right word for where I want to be in 2015, maybe goals is. At the end of the day it does not matter if I am 320 pounds or 220 pounds if I can keep up and do better in the next year than I am doing now. At the end of the day, if I can run 5 miles or do 100 push ups without problems does it matter what my pant size is? If I can pick up a sword and keep up or beat my instructor stride for stride, does it matter how much weight I have lost? To me the answer is no. Of course I have to keep my blood sugar in check, of course I want my cholesterol in a healthy range and a million other things that come with being a "Big dude" but at the end of the day I am doing all of it and have not lost all the weight, does it matter? No, and that to me is the place to start.

Happy New Year from Jordan the Swordsman.

Everyone has a place.

Running is not swimming. 

Swimming is not Cycling.

Cycling is not running. 

All three use the legs and body in similar motions to move from one place to another. They all require the body to be in good shape to do exceptionally well at them but a runners body is not a swimmers or a cyclists body. All None of the 3 are sword in any stretch of the imagination, though they use some of the similar muscle groups and exercises but they are not the same. 

I have been practicing the Historical European Martial Arts for a while now. When I first started it was nothing like what it is for me now. In the not too distant past I had some major problems with anything that I did not believe was true to the art I practice. A technique with a foam sword is not always universal to a steel or synthetic sword. To me, if the technique is different, the weapons were unrealistic,its not something I love. For years this included armored combat, this included any type of role playing, this included SCA, and it also included Olympic fencing. To me anything that was not what I do was a game, gave my art a bad name and not something I wanted any part of.

In the past few years that has changed.
Call me wrong, call me indecisive, but at the end of the day what you love is great, for you and I am doing all I can to not be "that guy".

I used to be one of those guys who laughed at Olympic fencing because it was a game, a sport that only partial resembled the sword arts I loved.  I used to laugh at people flailing foam weapons at the park because I knew that a steel weapon did not act the way that these do, but to me things have changed.

What changed is my realization of just how wrong about it I was. I love what I do. I love the community, the things I have learned, the purpose it gives me in many different aspects of my life. But what also came up is that I have met some great people who do something else, that love the things they do even if it is different than what I love.

The point is, that there is nothing wrong with any of it as long as you are clear about it, you know what it is, and it is what you love to do. Just because someone else does it different does not make him wrong and you right. It just means that you are not playing the same game..

Lets call spades spades.
If you love using boffer weapons, wearing costumes, and acting as a character then call it that. It really is ok.
Years ago I remember talking to people who were defensive about calling what they did role play. As if it took something away from what they did made it somehow less. The point as I see it is be honest about what you do. If you play a character, or a role, you are role playing. That is not limited to being in a game sometimes you play a roll in life, Maybe your idea of a father, or employee or something else. In some circles it is called what hat you are wearing. Where I am bothered is when people push back and say that they are not doing it. It also means this: if you practice with foam, or wood and feel that it acts just like steel so there is no need to risk being hurt with steel you are mistaken. The 2 things are not the same. AND THAT IS OK. The real key here is being honest about what you are doing and not calling Running, Swimming.

I have trained with wood, duct tape covered wood, several kinds of synthetic, and some steel when I have a good chance to. None of them act the same way. Just as an Olympic Saber though it can leave marks coming in would not do the same as a heavier weapon. There is the problem I have. The different things are not the same, but the second you believe that they act 100% the same you are lying to yourself.

Do some people do what they do better than others?
Of course, but let them prove it in how they practice their art. Think they are doing something wrong? Lend a hand, we can all use a hand up sometime. If they don't agree with it, let them be judged by the results they get, it not on you.

Are some techniques the same between different sword hobbies?
In a way yes. Body mechanics do not change. Swinging a sword from the right shoulder to your left side with a crossed step forward will have more power than  the same motion without putting your body behind it. There are some things that no matter the weapon, do not change. What matter is that we are calling our tools just that. Just as long as we are clear that it is in the context of that game.

Ultimately what matters to me is this: people join the thing they do for a number of reasons and many of those are personal. In the last year I have taken up Olympic fencing, it is not he same as my HEMA Training but I know that. I also do not call it the same thing because there is nothing wrong with doing technique that could help me get in better shape just as there is nothing wrong with taking up swimming and running at the same time. There is a problem when I call them the same thing. There is an issue when you show up as a runner to the local swim meet and expect everything to be exactly the same and expecting to walk away with first place.

There is room in the world for all of it. Maybe what you do is not my game, but it does not make things any less valid. Do what you love, let the haters hate, what matters is that you have found something you love. I enjoy Olympic fencing, it is a great work out and translates a little to some of the sword work I do. It is different, but I enjoy it, just like you may love to swim, bike and run but not all of them are the same thing.

Not everyone sees it, but to me, there is a place for everyone at the table. It is time we began to treat each other with the same respect.

Competition, California, and being a part of something bigger.

It has been a CRAZY few months! As such I have missed a lot of the posting I really should have. So here is what is "Relatively" new in this Swordsmans life, it has been so packed the last little bit I will limit to mostly sword related stuff here, there is much more to say but this is the sword related stuff.

I have been very much hit and miss on going to classes for the last few months but that does not mean there has been no sword, in fact even missing classes there has been a lot that was awesome going on.

September saw my first Renaissance fair playing the part of Henry VIII with the House of Tudor guild. This was a great event, and though it rained for the 2 days of the event, I met many great people and feel like it really helped me expand my focus a bit from just sword, to things like this which I feel fall under the same umbrella.

Not only was this a fun event, but as it happened a couple of weeks before our competition it was a big step forward for me personally.
I always get psyched up, (Sometimes too much) when a competition is coming up. I fall into a trap of building so much into my performance that if I make a misstep or do not do as well as I feel like I should, I quickly slip into self criticism and doubting my own skills. I am not the best out there, I know I have room to get better, but I feel like I am not as bad as I could be. This time was different. For me it was OK for me to take the week off and play a part, and know that one week of practice was not going to make or break my skill. If I won, I won, if I lost though not 100% OK with it, it was better than it has been for awhile.

This event was a bit different, instead of the matches going to a certain number scored for one person it was based on cumulative score so once the points were scored, no matter who did it, the match was over. We got this idea from a friend of ours who came to study abroad from Germany last year. There were ups and downs about all of it but ultimately the great part was when the match ended, unless you counted points you did not know who won since the last point scored could bring it to 5 to 3 in your favor but that could have been scored by you, or your opponent so just because they hit you last did not mean it was the winning blow. It also meant that when each round was over (we had a lot more of them), all you could do was go into the next one and do your best to defend yourself and do well, wins did not matter as much as simply doing your best. I was a huge fan of that idea.

After the competition was over we went to California to visit Disneyland, take a vacation, and for me at least get a little sparring in with my friends at Kron. I say just after but this is literally how it happened. We got home, I showered and changed clothes while my wife emptied and repacked the car and by the time I was dressed we left. It could not have been more than 30 minutes between pulling up and leaving again. We drove through the night, spent some time at the beach a few days at the park then on Wednesday night I had an opportunity to visit my friends at Kron in Fullerton.

That is the thing I am learning about this community, no matter where you go, there are new friends to meet and seriously some of the best people I know. This visit was no different. I went to their class was treated graciously as a guest and of course got in some sparring. I used to think that I rested on knowing who my opponents were too much, Knowing their tricks, what they did not do well instead of reading them in that moment better. If nothing else I have found out this year it has been that some things are universal, but that skill, the ability to read your opponent, to get in their head and see what is coming or what you need to do to counter is so important. I cannot say I know how my free sparing with these awesome people went, I do not know who scored more points, who won, or who lost. but I felt like I was able to keep up, and hopefully taught them a bit of the bit I know about this art I love so much.

Since last I wrote about things I have had 3 classes with the study group I am teaching. I am finding it a long journey when I go up there, It is 160 miles round trip, but it is sometimes meditative to get in a car and just drive. I have seen some beautiful things along the road, and watched summer turn to fall, and then winter along the road to Logan. I can say with all honesty that I feel like I have a great group of students who are excited to learn so much so that it has not become unusual for me to stray from my plan when they brought up something really good and I felt it needed to be covered.

I have not taught a lot, here or there in the class I attend, Once in Puerto Rico to a great bunch of guys there while I was on vacation, but to me teaching helps me see the world a bit bigger. I find that I learn things or think differently about some things by observing others and to see them get better, is a moment I can only call being proud of the hard work they are doing to learn and get better with it.

Many other things have happened in the last 3 months. I attended the first Highland games to happen in Moab Utah, I broke a caber, was voted by my peers the Athlete of the day, and have had some great adventures while I have been on and off with sword, sometimes teaching, sometimes doing something else, but it is always with me and always a driving force for me. I reactivated the membership I had at the Recreation center and have been exercising more often, have been fencing on and off while helping some younger guys learn how to use a sabre, but all the time it has been in my heart.

One of the last things sword related that I did for myself came in the form of a lifetime membership to the HEMA Alliance. I have been a member for a number of years now, in part initially to help my class become a part of it, but in recent years it has been my way of saying I love this martial art, and it is important to me that I support the things I love. So after years of debating it, I finally decided it was time. It was time to sign my name and say that I believe in this community, this crazy sword family I have adopted, and that to me at least it matters. There may come a day when I may not love it as much, when it is OK to go months without sword, but you cannot take that love away from me. I am a member because to me it matters.

We put our money and intention into the things that matter to us, for some it is volunteering somewhere, for some, it is putting their passion into their work, for some it is doing nothing at all. To me, it is about this martial art I love to practice. I may not love all of it, I could do without some of the drama, some days I could do without some of the practice that I do not like, but at the end of the day, this matters to me. It is something bigger than just the practice though. We are a community, with all the ups and downs that entails, but when it comes down to it, when I go on vacation I love to meet people who share this passion, and it feels like family, and to me, that dynamic is every bit worth standing up and saying that I wish to be a part of that for life.