My hubby, Kazimir, has been a White Scarf for a long, long time. (I put in a hyper-link rather than explain that whole award thing.) When he was celebrating the 20th anniversary of receiving this particular accolade I promised him that I’d get my rapier kit together and get my aged butt on the field.
It took ages for me to do it, but I finally got my kit together and jumped back into rapier combat with both feet. But before I recount my tale of glory on the field of honor, let’s take a look at my super keen garments.
The doublet pattern is my own work. There are a couple of things that need tweaking but, overall, I’m pleased with it. The breeches are from Janet Arnold’s ‘Patterns of Fashion’, pg. 75. The pattern was drawn up by a friend who graciously allowed me to copy it.
The breeches are HUGE but they were very, very comfortable. Both pieces are made of linen, and the doublet has an extra layer of cotton duck as the inter-lining. I have some thoughts on making the breeches a bit smaller for my frame but not too much. There are actually advantages to having a bit of junk in the trunk! 😉
In terms of the actually combat; it was primarily melees. There were two tournaments but one was a Novice and the other was by invitation only. I’m rusty, but not a novice and had no invitation to the other tournament. So melees it was!
I got a little more confident with each round and, by the final round, I think I was one of the last members of my team still on the field! Not bad for an old broad. 🙂
Winning was not what I was interested in, though. It was the challenge. Could I still sort of hold my own? I’m rusty, sure, but it’s nothing that a little practice and more fights with a broad range of opponents won’t fix.
The most important thing was that I honored my daughter with clean bouts and a great time on the field. I look forward to many more such days with friends both new and old.
