Chris Evans continues to be a better Captain America than we ever could’ve hoped he’d be
Chris Evans in 2015: Sorry guys, I’m not actually Captain America.
Chris Evans in 2017: NEVER MIND GIMME THE FUCKIN SHIELD.

oozey mess
YOU ARE THE REASON
RMH
Interview Vampire Daily
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PR's Tumblrdome
Sade Olutola
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Product Placement
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roma★

❣ Chile in a Photography ❣
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shark vs the universe

izzy's playlists!
The Stonewall Inn
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hello vonnie
cherry valley forever
NASA
seen from China
seen from United States
seen from Colombia
seen from Bolivia
seen from Yemen
seen from Vietnam
seen from United States

seen from Germany

seen from Vietnam
seen from Brazil
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seen from Thailand

seen from Türkiye
seen from Colombia

seen from United States

seen from United States

seen from United States

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seen from Canada
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@razzl3thedazzl3
Chris Evans continues to be a better Captain America than we ever could’ve hoped he’d be
Chris Evans in 2015: Sorry guys, I’m not actually Captain America.
Chris Evans in 2017: NEVER MIND GIMME THE FUCKIN SHIELD.
Those were the stories that stayed with you, that meant something, even if you were too small to understand why.
Michelle Obama shows off her fencing skills
FLOTUS also played some hoops to celebrate the countdown to the Rio Olympics.
Watch more before the #RoadToRio here: http://on.msnbc.com/1TeXIp3
People think fencing makes me into like this cool suave epic sword fighter but no. Me fencing is more like:
• ow ow my hair is caught in my mask help • I smell like rust. Or blood. • I don’t think I can smell sweat anymore • no I didn’t take a shower I fenced • dead knees • more dead knees • black toenails • my nose itches but I can’t take off my mask • is my butt really that unattractive or is it just the knickers • that person smells nice. Why do they smell nice. We don’t smell nice. They’re weird. • my majestic weapon isn’t even sharp • my majestic weapon is bent at a 90 degree angle • my majestic weapon is broken • I am the human baked potato • I only have one pocket why isn’t the other cheek special • hair stays in place because of sweat • bruises everywhere • this lame didnt used to be green • *crushing on squad mate* some real lannister shit going on here • why does their butt get to look good • I didn’t think that would be a stupid move but eff me I was wrong • chin acne from masks • my glove is wet ew • oh someone’s bleeding again • ooooo nerd drama time • one thigh is bigger than the other wut • I did not think counting was so difficult buddy • no money • oMg fOoD • *takes mask off too fast* can someone see where my glasses flew off to this time • please be the red light • fuck no I meant green • fuck it’s red • yells that make cavemen uncomfortable • sweat everywhere • these are the most expensive shoes I own and they are also the smelliest • obnoxious socks • does this lame make me look fat • beginner’s luck or experienced fencer’s stupidity • death grip handshakes • dead fish handshakes • awkward leftie handshake • that wasn’t even a handshake • feeling like the Pillsbury dough boy right now • “engarde.” I have suddenly forgotten everything about fencing. • is that even legal • there goes my shoe • don’t look at the box don’t look at the box • shit I looked • Thor is jealous of my thunder thighs • this jacket is warm and comforting but also wet and disgusting • I hate fencing • I love fencing • it’s okay
Please, feel free to add to this list of fencing awkwardness
*off target light* ok time to replace all my equipment piece by piece until I realise I didn’t clip my lame in
‘oh no I stabbed them in the crotch I’m so sorry omg are you ok’ *whispers * do I still get that point
‘Who’s point is that?’ ‘idk man I don’t get foil priority’
‘can you ref?’ 'sure’ *immediately forgets every single thing about fencing ever and just mumbles something in French*
raNDOM BRUISES EVERYWHERE ('no its not a hickey I just got hit with an epeé’)
'has anyone seen my sword’
*puts on jacket and lame* 'do you have a body wire?’ 'ffff’
Trying to clip into the spool and the body wire wON’T CONNECT AND MY OPPONENT IS WAITING ON PISTE AND IT WONT CLIP IN OH NO OH NO *drops spool, watches it retract at the speed of light and Walk Of Shames to the box*
The walk of shame. How did I forget the walk of shame.
I’m fine with people who don’t want to compete as long they fight somehow, or if you’re injured; all that is fair. I don’t give a damn about how you perform at a tournament, but I have much more respect for the new guy or girl who steps up and gets beat horribly, or the person that still gets beat horribly for years but still steps up, than the person who sits on the sideline and says, “That’s not the true art,” because those people have never put themselves out there to test themselves. Be it competition, prize fighting, hard sparring, they’ve never tested themselves.
Axel Petterson on the HEMA competitive scene. Full interview here.
Yes, I’ll end up quoting all this interview bit by bit.
Meanwhile, Axel’s second UK seminar, organised by Ben Grief and PflugFighters in Suffolk in February 2017, just sold out today in 1h.
And of course, I’ll be there.
(via ordinaryvisionary)
Some words of wisdom. Hope I get to cross blades with Axel in my Lifetime.
“I earn $15 an hour” sounds much better than “I traded an hour of my life for $15”
This is mesmerizing to watch.
actually physically painful to watch because you know months were spent masking all those frames for each of the kajillions of transitions in this
I got to be a Master at one of Academie Duello's Knight Camps. Basically summer camps for kids where we teach them the art and values of being a knight, Super Fun, and I got to design my own heraldry! It's on a shield so I can use it with single sword. It follows a lot of the rules of heraldry, but a few things might be off. It's my first time after all! In chief is a double arch of gules, representing the top of a heart and everything below is encompassed inside it to show my passion for these things. In Sinister, Sable Field with argent Rapier, Longsword and Kettlebell. In Dexter, Sable field with a horse erased, argent. In Base, Sable Field with Tragedy and Comedy argent. The border is in Or, to show the quality and value I give to each of my passions. So yeah! Really cool!
Ella Hattan, better known by her nom-de-guerre “Jaguarina,” was Colonel Thomas Monstery’s most accomplished student. Born in 1859 in Ohio, she would go on to become widely regarded as one of the greatest swordswomen of the nineteenth century, and perhaps of all time. Hattan would defeat more than sixty men in high-profile combats on both horseback and on foot; according to one major newspaper, more than half of these men were fencing masters. For more details of Hattan’s extraordinary career, her training, and her lengthy master-student relationship with Monstery, see the following article: http://martialartsnewyork.org/2015/03/31/colonel-thomas-monstery-and-the-training-of-jaguarina-americas-champion-swordswoman/
“As soon as she comprehended what his words meant, bang, biff! she landed right and left, and he fell to the ground. ‘Get up, you coward,’ she commanded, and he, overcome by the ringing tones, very foolishly crawled to his knees. Biff! Bang! Right and left landed again, and down he went, and this time he refused to get up and sprawled on the ground, calling for help. It was several days before he was presentable, while Jaguarina laughingly showed her friends in this city the next day that she knocked the fellow down twice without even taking the skin from her rosy little knuckles.” (Los Angeles Herald)
“In the twelfth attack Jaguarina dashed to Wiedemann’s corner, there was a crash of arms, a prolonged ring of steel, a blade was seen to flash through the air, and Jaguarina threw the fragments of a broken sword from her to the ground. In an instant another sword was put into her hand, and again she dashed towards her opponent and slashed right and left, and a moment later the referee announced a point for Jaguarina…the score this time stood five to five. Jaguarina’s friends urged her to be cautious, but she, heeding nothing, rushed at her opponent and cut right and left, Weidemann parrying with all his might and skill. Recovering himself from the first shock, he aimed a cut at Jaguarina in high carte which was met by a strong parry which threw his sword arm out of line, and before he could return his weapon to protect himself, the sound of Jaguarina’s blade was heard on his cuirasse from a vigorous and unmistakable cut in carte, ending the contest with a score of six to five in favor of Jaguarina. The victor at once doffed her helmet and cuirasse and received round after round of applause from those present, many of her more enthusiastic friends throwing their caps high in the air…” (San Diego Union)
“I’m a firm believer in the philosophy that women were meant to be just as robust and hardy as men—and they can be without losing any of their womanliness. In fact, physical culture gives grace, beauty, self-reliance—while taking nothing but aches and dyspepsia.” Ella Hattan
“Despite such accounts, more than one reporter who met her, expecting to meet a “fierce faced Amazon,” was shocked to find that Hattan exuded grace, refinement, and, as one put it, “perfect self-control and sweetness.” “
“After training for three years under Monstery, Hattan left to travel the world, andbecame a sensation with the foil, saber, broadsword, singlestick, rapier, dagger, bayonet, lance, Spanish knife, and Bowie knife, defeating fencing heavyweights such as Sergeant Owen Davis of the U.S. Cavalry, the famed knife duelist Charles Engelbrecht of the Danish Royal Guard, and the fencing master E. N. Jennings of the Royal Irish Hussars.”
“Under Monstery’s tutelage, Hattan would go on to become recognized as one of the greatest swordswomen of the nineteenth century, and perhaps of all time.”
SHE IS MY HERO
My source
This is amazing. Truly an incredible person! I wish I had heard about her before now!
Have someone in your corner
If you plan on competing in the future you need to get a buddy in your corner.
If you have a friend whose pools are at different times to yours and can corner for you, do it, it’s also a great opportunity to make a friend at the event and ask them. Return the favour. There are lots of knowledgable HEMA peeps at events, and they are all keen to help people out.
What do you need a corner person for?
Your attention narrows right down to a sword point in a tournament bout, you can only speak in monosyllables. Someone to handle the distractions and keep you focused is a huge boost
Practical stuff: Handing you snacks, water, holding your sword and mask so you can don your kit more easily. Have them bring all your kit plus spares, tips etc in case you need them.
Information: they can tell you how many points ahead you are, or what you need to score to get a lead. This is more important than the score, and frames the information into an understandable and manageable size.
Coaching: some corner people are actual coaches, they will call out advice to their fighter as the need arises. Some fencers can’t stand this so tell your corner person what your preference is. If your buddy isn’t that familiar with what you require, think about what your weaknesses are, and what you need to remedy them. Single word instructions are best. So things like “foot” if your front foot always turns away from the opponent, or “hilt” if your guard starts to drop. Etc
Just being there: knowing there is someone just concerned with your efforts is deeply reassuring. There may be no screaming crowds chanting your name with every cut and thrust you land, but a friend looking out for you and just being a pair of eyes is the next best thing. You can dissect the bouts together afterwards, and then you can do the same for them.
Very good advice.
I'm hoping to bump up my training to a competitive level in a few months.
So this is a fairly exciting thing that happened. Steel Mastery (where my gambeson is from) featured me on their Instagram and Facebook page. #internettakeover
LADY KNIGHTS!
@sercauthrienismywife
Schiavona Sword
Dated: circa 1700
Culture: Italian
Provenance: Venice
Measurements: 105cm
The sword has a straight, single (and false) edged blade, marked “GIESU MARIA / PENSA EPFA”, and provided with a double line at the back. The iron hilt is completed with a basket-form entirely decorated with silver tarsia geometrical motifs, a thumb ring, curved rear quillon, brass pommel and ultimately a wooden grip with fish-skin covering.
Source: Copyright © 2016 Czerny’s International Auction House S.R.L.
today i found out that my favorite vine has an extended version and i couldnt be happier
(source)
Welcome to Fecht Club
On Women in HEMA
So… here’s a thing that some of you might not know about nor even care about. And honestly, I haven’t been on here so long, why should you listen to me? BUT, as a woman, this stupidity is starting to affect my HEMA and I don’t appreciate it. Here are my thoughts on the matter. Whether you choose to listen or not is up to you. Context: I AM a woman who does HEMA. More importantly, I am a fighter who happens to have boobs. I have been fighting for 5 years and have been to many tournaments, fighting in both the opens and the women’s tournaments. Like many women in HEMA, I too started with a male instructor who is many times my height (like a solid foot). Oddly enough for our group, because the two students were female (me and his then partner who trained sporadically), our little group ended up having mostly female students - friends of mine. When we had male students, they were treated no differently than I was and vice versa. We were fighters learning the art of Master Meyer. That’s it, full stop.
Yes, I am shorter than the vast majority of men. Yes, I am probably a little weaker in the arms than many men. That being said, I am heavier than many athletic women (partially from an unfortunate summer in high school where I scarfed down waaaay too much food and never dropped the weight and weightlifting). So I have the advantage of being as heavy as many men which means I am hard to push around. I know this is NOT the case for many women doing HEMA.
However, and there’s always a however, this problem does not just extend to women. I always see online many many things (from men and women) that women are smaller and weaker than men, that the weight difference is irresponsible of fighters and tournament organizers, that being smaller makes you less of a capable fighter. While this may be true for some women, it is also true for some MEN. Some of these small guys are also *phenomenal* fighters - several slender men who win cutting tournaments and longsword competitions come to mind. So why don’t we talk about them? Why is it so damned important to create this division between men and women fighters? Many of the issues facing women in HEMA also extend to a portion of men, but the conversation is *so* driven from either side, that these smaller men never get a say. And, this may or may not shock you, but these divisions seem to be driven by women. When Esfinges was founded, I remember thinking that it was a mistake. I understood why they were doing it (and I can’t blame them), but I thought it was a mistake. Their goal is to bring more women into HEMA, a goal I admire. But the creation of the women’s-only forum struck me as wrong. Since then, I have been invited to 4 other female-only groups by dint of having tits and estrogen. These forums create atmospheres of Us vs. Them. A lot of the posts in the Esfinges forums start with “Well, the men in my group did this…” or “My femininity impacts my HEMA by…” In HEMA, I don’t see myself as a female fighter. I see myself as a fighter who happens to be smaller and occasionally who’s chest protrusions get in the way. And that was the beauty of HEMA some years back. I was one of 4 women on the East Coast (of the US) that fought in tournaments about 5 years ago. No one made a big deal out of it. The others were impressed that I was standing at Longpoint 2012 after not having slept the night before, but otherwise not concerned that I was female. (As an aside, I actually ended up in a group of men talking about their cups and where was a good place to get them. Hard cups versus soft cups, etc. God, I never knew there was so much variation…) Speaking of tournaments, there is so much I could say, but I am aware this is getting rambly. In short, I will support women’s tournaments if it helps women get into fighting. I will not support them if they are a place for women who can fight say that they are too scared to fight in the open. Then, honey, you shouldn’t be in a tournament.
This is a martial art. You are learning to pit your skills against the skills of everyone else. That is the point. If you are too scared to fence in an open, go back to your club and work on your sparring. Not just with the person you’re comfortable with, but everyone. When you can face them all comfortably, then you are ready for the tournament scene.
I think it’s fairer for all involved, men and women, beginners and advanced fighters to have skill based tournaments. That way everyone of roughly equal skill can fight each other and we can ignore biological sex. Maybe, just maybe, HEMA could go back to the blissful days of not really giving a fuck what genitalia lay under your knickers.
I really enjoyed this read. I agree, although some would say they would rather have just one group one gender. I believe that HEMA, and all martial arts as a matter of fact, should be open and for everyone who wants to learn.
We are all fighters.
Anyway, great post!