For Cruinniú, we will feature a series of short posts from fighters around the Kingdom about what inspired them to fight, or things they’ve learned about armoured combat.
Our first post is from Sir Avery Westfall.
My first SCA gathering was a rapier practice in someone’s garden. An armoured fighter named Uisdeann had been asked to give a class on how to use a baton to parry rapiers with, “Because I guess they think armored fighters know how to use a stick?”
He was amiable, friendly, and gifted with martial arts. When I asked him, “Who would win a duel between a knight with a sword and shield or a samurai with a spear?” he replied, “I don’t know… Let’s find out!”
From that moment on, I was in.
– avery westfall, traveling knight