Strength Training... Medieval Style

One of my good running friends (Carter) is very active in the SCA - the Society for Creative Anachronism.  I had never heard of it until I started seeing pictures of her on Facebook in medieval garb.  Sometimes she was in dresses, but much of the time she was dressed as a knight for what's known as "heavy combat."

My daughter was always very interested to look at pictures of Carter's latest adventures in the SCA.  She said she would like to learn how to fight, too.  This did not surprise me, as from the time she was a toddler, she'd walk around with a toy lightsaber saying, "Fight me!  Fight me!"  One of her older brother's friends took her up on it.  He was 5 and she was 2.  He stood, facing her, doing his best ninja moves with his lightsaber, waving it this way and that.

My daughter stood, holding hers in front of her with both hands, watching intently.  Then all of a sudden... WHOMP!  She bonked him on the top of the head.  My son's friend jumped in surprise and exclaimed, "She hit me!"  My husband and I just about fell over, laughing.  Well, he *did* say he would fight her.

When she was 7, all her friends were Disney princesses for Halloween.  My daughter was a princess too, although she was Eowyn, Shield-Maiden of Rohan (from The Lord of the Rings.)

So when she said she was interested in the SCA and learning to fight, I told her we'd see about it when she got a little older.  She is now 15, and this past Monday, I took her to her first day of combat practice.  Wow, it's really intense.  She was a little intimidated, especially after watching two of the big guys go at it.  One of them was using a sword (I guess a more accurate description would be a big stick that looked like a sword) and holding a shield that I swear was the size of a UPS truck door.   The other was hitting at him with what looked like a long pole with a hammer on the end.  The trainer said to my daughter, "Trust me, they're really not feeling all that much, with all their armor."  I could tell she wasn't too keen on going back out there for more instruction, so after they finished, I was like, "You know, she is also interested in trying the archery.  Could we try that for a while?"  So we went outdoors to the archery range.

She was a natural.  She hit the target every time.

She told me that she had learned a little bit about archery from reading The Ranger's Apprentice book series, as the mentor explains to his young apprentice what he needs to do to shoot more accurately.

The next day, she told me that her back muscles were a little sore.  I think she only shot 3 rounds (5 arrows each.)  I think it was a 30-pound bow.  I shot it 4 times, and I can tell you my arms were shaking a little bit as I tried to aim.  Apparently I need to aim a little higher, as all my arrows went into the ground in front of the target.  My instructor was very kind though, and praised my consistency.  Ha ha.

I was surprised how much we both enjoyed archery, and the people we met seem really nice and interesting.  We plan to keep going back to the SCA meetings and train up a bit more.  I wonder if as she becomes more comfortable, she might eventually try the fighting.  She told me later that while watching those men fight, she actually felt fear.  She is not normally afraid to try anything.  There was a 19-year-old petite woman suiting up in her armor while we watched, and I wonder if seeing her fight in the future might give her some confidence.

However, if she NEVER gets into heavy fighting, this mother won't be disappointed.  I'm glad that she has found a physical activity she enjoys that will build her upper body strength.  We'll see if she decides to stick with it.  In the meantime, I can't wait to get out the sewing machine again and make us some medieval garb!