I’ve been fighting SCA heavy since 1985 or so, and doing stage combat as a participant, teacher and fight director since the early 90s. I’ve messed around a bit with other martial arts but never even faintly seriously.

Absolutely. Demos in particular benefit from the theatricality of stage combat experience. And it's always good to pose impressively ... as long as one is out of range.

Hard to say. What’s not to love? The competition is fun, naturally, and it plays into so many of my youthful and not-so-youthful fantasies. There’s also a problem-solving aspect which appeals to the analytical side of my brain.

Confident and relaxed. Radiating a little arrogance doesn’t hurt, since if your opponent believes they will lose, they are more than half-way there. But don’t get cocky.

The Zone is the magic place where it all comes together. On those days, or more likely, moments that you are in the Zone, shots almost block themselves, openings appear for the asking and foes drop dead at your feet as if by a simple act of will.

You can tell if you were in the Zone because people come up to you afterwards and say things like, "Dude, I was fighting well and I couldn't lay a blade on you." Or sometimes, "Dude, that was awesome! You were in the Zone."

Sure, to be in the Zone really means to have mind and body working in the proper balance. It's ephemeral, of course. Affected by everything from the weather to the last night's dinner to that twinge in your ankle. Proper mindset and focus can get you into good shape. If you've got the right skillset, then the right mindset will make you a competitor on any given day. But, when the stars align, so to speak, you can be untouchable, and that's the Zone. Oh, and it feels effortless.

At least in my world. Other people may have different zones. Without trying to sound arrogant, it may be that what I think of as sort of the baseline good tourney head would qualify as the Zone for some people, and what I think of as the Zone is really restricted to the top few percent. All I know is that, although I'm pretty damn good, I'm not really the best fencer in the East ... but, there are days here and there, when I also know that on that day, I'm in the Zone and I'm the best fencer in the SCA.

That tends to be an epic battle. I suppose there are multiple zonal possibilities, but they would tend to cancel out. Or possibly, whoever's Zone is stronger negates the other.

I’d like to see folks, in general, relax a little more. Remember, it’s about the fun – we’re not getting paid for this, or at least I’m not. Stipends for old fencers is not a bad idea, though.

Oh, and we should lose this obsession with matching forms.

Everything I know now. That is, there isn’t a single factoid or trick that would have changed my life. Instead, the last twenty-odd years have given me an accumulation of skills and a bag of tricks that would have made me really scary when I had a sixteen year old’s reflexes. I was pretty scary as it was, but with the treachery of old age combined with the speed of youth... Pardon me, I think I need a moment.

It’s what I do. That’s really all there is to it.

Lord Charles François, my first teacher, has had the most influence. I got a good grounding in basics – footwork! I’ve been fencing for twenty years and my knees are in fine shape; I credit good footwork.

Ian of Nightsgate, the second White Scarf of the Outlands, among many other achievements. For years we pushed each other, made each other work and kept the pressure on.

Everyone else. I’m a sponge, I’ll steal tricks from anyone I cross blades with. If we’ve fought, you’ve had an effect on me most likely.

Teaching. Marshalling is a necessary evil, but it’s dead boring. I’d rather just watch than marshal. Why? Do people actually like marshalling?

That’s a separate interview. In short, any principal/dependant relationship is a unique relationship between two (or possibly more) people. Generalizations are very difficult to make. I’m not opposed to the idea or concept, but such a relationship ought to have a reason.

I don’t think such a setup should be required for advancement, in the sense of getting the award presumably held by the principal. I don’t even think that should always be the goal of the relationship.

I dislike strongly the idea of recruiting dependants, especially those who are already well along the track ("low-hanging fruit"), since that tends to smack of personal aggrandizement. But then again, see paragraph one; if it works for the people involved, more power to them and who am I to complain? Personally, though, I don’t recruit, and if someone approaches me to become a cadet or protégé, I usually try to talk them out. They need to convince me why it’s a good idea for either of us. The talk usually starts out something like, "I’ll teach you if you want, but you don’t need to be my cadet for that ..."

Yes.

Yes.

Bacon, usually; I got my bacon brittle recipe sorted out. Mmm. Candied pig, what’s not to like?

Ham, of course, because I cure them myself.

Pork’s good, too. We had a discussion about which animal you’d choose, if you could only eat one for the rest of your life. Pig was the usual winner – ‘cause it’s good from "toot to snoot" and so versatile.

Silver Age, classic Barry Allen or the new one, who, I think, used to be Kid Flash?

As long as they are in costume, yes. Even that last one, Wally West, I think.

I dream of the day when we can simplify the rules. Given human nature, I’m not holding my breath.

I have had a long career in the SCA, and done a lot of things. It would hard to pick a single favorite. I’ve had epic battles, been the gunslinger, saved events or feasts at the last moment, made people go "ooh." I’ve had my less shining moments, of course. Those are not my favorites, though.

The role is complicated. In brief, it’s to support the group and the people; help them to thrive and succeed at the local and kingdom levels. Also to put on a good show. We provide a local focus for the ceremony and pageantry that attracts many people to the SCA.

And to crush any opposition under my jack-booted heel. (That’s an Østgarðr joke, of sorts.)

Only inasmuch as I would like to support all the martial arts. I would love for Ostgardtr to have a stronger fencing presence. But also a stronger archery, thrown and heavy presence. (I also think part of the job is to avoid playing favorites, if you can.)

It’s hard. But I can be easily distracted with back-rubs.

I am invincible.

Hmm. Grand Outlandish, lo these many years ago. Tourney. Some guy was just rhino-ing his way through the tournament. It gets to the finals, and it’s me and him, and everyone else is looking to me to save the day. I just love that gunslinger moment. I go out, and I know what I have to do to beat him. So I do it, I take his blade out of the way, set my point on his chest with some nice flex and then just leave it there. Hold the pose and wait. We all see it. He sees it, I see it, everyone can see it.

It turns out, it was actually a marshallate failure. He was not a bad guy, just had a really skewed calibration.

There are many others. Raiding the cannon at Pennsic a few years ago. Just messing around at Glenn Linn with Thomas de Castellan a year or two before that.

Good times, good times.

Nope. My fighting is going to be really limited; not only do I have Viceregal duties, but I’m still coming back from shoulder surgery and shouldn’t push it.

Christopher of Hoghton, what I still pretty much think a Knight should be.
Baron Jehan of Carolingia, someone who plays the game as it should be played.
Harlan Ellison, who makes me want to write even more.

And many more, but those three are fresh in my mind.

There are lots of folks I like fencing. I always have a good time with Don (Dirty) Pierre de Tours.

"If you’re not having fun, you’re doing it wrong."
"Everyone loses, get your basics and don’t give up and sooner or later you’ll lose less."

I'll pick on Alain; he's the newest OGR.

Alain Longship, err, Don Alain Longship should be call-signed as "Don Creamy" for his fine Irish Cream. Or perhaps simply "Whiskey" as in "Irish" in the cream.

"Consider that your prize bout."