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Birthday Gift
Sir Ulrich:
Yeah, I am starting to second guess the great helm type of helm. I mean it wouldnt be like my topfhelm which only has a face shield and I can hear just fine in it, it would actually RING if I got hit in it and my hearing would be muffled. I only ever worn one great helm before and that was Joe Metz's Bolzano helm which wasnt that heavy actually. Maybe I should just put a new liner in my current topfhelm and use that? Not sure how to make a liner though and I dont have access to a liner nor can I sew so I guess I have to get it made and buy it then glue it into the helm which only has a bit of foam covered in fabric as a liner. Still the one great helm is really tempting and I would like to get one before they increase the price yet again >_>.
I actually think hiking and exercising in armor would build my stamina much better than just exercising alone. Also would get me used to the feel of it all as well. Starting to think thats the best way to do it, I do wear my maille once a week to get used to how it feels, once I finish tailoring it I will probably be able to wear it with even more comfort. Still people WILL question me if I walk around town in armor and hike in it... I was able to fight just plain fine with my kettle helm on which weighs 7.5 pounds, I can easily move in armor as long as it's secure, but if it's oversized and moves around when I try to move with it (IE ill fitting loaner gear). I will basically be overencumbered and unable to even move around properly. Hence why I use wiffle ball bats to duel with my friend, it does give some basics on how to hit your opponent but it doesnt have the same weight as a real sword so I am missing out a bit.
Lord Dane:
--- Quote from: Sir Ulrich on 2013-02-19, 08:15:14 ---Yeah, I am starting to second guess the great helm type of helm. I mean it wouldnt be like my topfhelm which only has a face shield and I can hear just fine in it, it would actually RING if I got hit in it and my hearing would be muffled. I only ever worn one great helm before and that was Joe Metz's Bolzano helm which wasnt that heavy actually. Maybe I should just put a new liner in my current topfhelm and use that? Not sure how to make a liner though and I dont have access to a liner nor can I sew so I guess I have to get it made and buy it then glue it into the helm which only has a bit of foam covered in fabric as a liner. Still the one great helm is really tempting and I would like to get one before they increase the price yet again >_>.
I actually think hiking and exercising in armor would build my stamina much better than just exercising alone. Also would get me used to the feel of it all as well. Starting to think thats the best way to do it, I do wear my maille once a week to get used to how it feels, once I finish tailoring it I will probably be able to wear it with even more comfort. Still people WILL question me if I walk around town in armor and hike in it... I was able to fight just plain fine with my kettle helm on which weighs 7.5 pounds, I can easily move in armor as long as it's secure, but if it's oversized and moves around when I try to move with it (IE ill fitting loaner gear). I will basically be overencumbered and unable to even move around properly. Hence why I use wiffle ball bats to duel with my friend, it does give some basics on how to hit your opponent but it doesnt have the same weight as a real sword so I am missing out a bit.
--- End quote ---
Wear the armor ONLY where you are NOT going to be gaining attention when working out. Privately where noone will bother you. Wiffle bats are not really weighted for 'taking-hits' training & too aero-dynamic (i.e. wimpy). Weapons training should be as close as possible to what you will be actually using. Use a poly-carbon, or bamboo style wooden practice weapon for better weight & actual feel of the motion of steel when doing drills. Bo-staffs work great for all intended purposes. Practice with blunted steel only after you get comfortable with motions and weight.
If you really want to use a Great Helm, they do offer great protection. Head & Hands are first targets for any sword fight so protect them best. Get your foam protection at any Martial Arts supplier online. It's not time-period, but in reality, fighting is about protecting yourself & improvising on the spot doesn't always offer best option when you have choices. Besides, noone will be looking under the helm.
Thorsteinn:
Have you checked out Clang Armoury? I've bought a few items from him and liked them all. He sell's some good historic and A-historic, but cheaper & SCA legal, helms. His historic Pembridge & Klappavisor helms are pure sex.
I'm wondering, how much full speed & full contact work have you done? Does the local SCA group have any loaner gear for you to borrow at practice?
(BTW for price comparisons to Clangs stuff look at Anshelm Armoury, Aesir Metalworks, or Windrose. While not an entry level price range it's all good work. My helm from Windrose, all told, was $820 inc the cost of the aventail, but my first helm ever was $100.)
Ian:
Disclaimer, like Bernarr stated in his post, the sensitive need not listen:
Sir Ulrich, as Bernarr has alluded to, hiking isn't going to cut it if you're serious about building fighting stamina. Real fighting can be sustained all-out physical exertion, which will completely exhaust you in less than a minute if you're not in good condition. Running isn't even really enough. You really need to get serious about physical training if you want to be in good 'fighting shape.' All the programs he mentioned are very good. I've done both P90X and Insanity myself. Insanity will definitely get you in the proper physical condition if you stick with it and complete the entire thing and give it every ounce of will power you've got. If you don't, you can expect minimal results.
You have to bear in mind that the men who did this for real, i.e. real knights and men-at-arms, did this literally for life and death. You had to have every edge up on your opponent if you wanted to live. Fighting without a harness on is exhausting, these men did it with an extra 50-80lbs of steel on, limited visibility, and poor ventilation.
You don't need to do a specific exercise program, like P90X or Insanity etc, but they will help you because they're so structured. The other good part about them is you can start at your current fitness level. What you really need to do is a combination of intense resistance training in the form of weight lifting, and intense cardio, generally in the form of high-intensity interval training to really build stamina. If you jump in and try to go all out at the beginning, you will injure yourself or not make any progress and get discouraged and stop. And look, no offense, but any weight lifting you did in the past, all those strength gains you may have made, despite what you weigh now, it's all GONE. It doesn't stay with you if you're body doesn't need it anymore, it's just how our body's work. As soon as you stop lifting, all that extra muscle mass that your body doesn't need anymore slowly catabolizes and fuels your body and the weight you have now, whether it's visible or not, is not muscle mass, it's fat.
Fitness is really a lifestyle, it's not something you do casually. If you're interested in really learning to be in good shape, I will help you get started. Fitness is an important part of my life, and I take it very seriously.
EDIT: Look at the Battle of the Nations Polish training video Thorsteinn posted in the other thread and observe the athletes during their warm-up at the beginning. You can see just by looking at their physical condition that these guys take their physical training seriously, not a fat, or weak out of shape person in the group.
Sir Edward:
As an aside, speaking to the historical context of that GDFB helm: Flat-topped great helms are common from around the 1270's into the first few decades of the 1300's. Soon after, they gradually start having rounded tops, which by the mid 14th are almost all rounded and designed to fit over smaller bascinets, and are also gradually becoming less common in general.
My understanding is that the lack of a cross ocular, and instead having the eye slots lipped outward like that was something that evolved around 1300 or so, as a cheaper AND safer design. The outward protrusion from the eye slots keeps sword-tips from sliding into the slots.
So I'd say circa 1300-1310 is a good estimate, though you can fudge that a decade or two in either direction.
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