This is Samantha Catto-Mott, aka Samantha Swords, Champion of Longsword, Harcourt Park International Jousting Tournament, 2013.
If, like me, you looked at this picture and your heart leaped, hail sister! If you are thinking, "oh, playacting", or just wondering what this is all about, let me recommend the documentary Reclaiming the Blade, which is about retrieving the lost traditions of Western martial arts.
I offer my congratulations to Samantha, and a tip of the hat to fight choreographer Normand Beauregard, whose Swashbucking 101 class was a brightness in the gloomy sky of my time in New York city in the 80s. And a deep, deep reverence to legendary sword master Ralph Faulkner, with whom I had a few lessons in the late 1970s in Hollywood, without quite realizing how very lucky I was to do so. "Ah. Left-handed," he said. "That can be an advantage. Take this sword."
Lady Galahad lives on.... :-)
There is a great tradition of warrior women in England from Boadicea (and probably others earlier but not recorded in history)to Queen Aethelflaed, daughter of King Alfred the Great, who laid the foundations for a united kingdom of England by defeating Viking armies and conquering their lands. Did you know that the Kingdom of Mercia chose her as their Lord and had to invent the word Lady to describe her position?
Then there were various Queens of the middle ages leading up to Queen Elizabeth the first. Funnily enough, as a nation we always seemed to have prospered and had our most creative times when a woman has been on the throne. Ever heard of a little thing called the Victorian Age...?
One of my favourite scenes in the Lord Of The Rings film Return Of The King was where Éowyn is fighting the dark lord and he says "You fool. No man can beat me" and she rips off her helmet and shouts "I am no man!" and promptly stabs him with her sword.
The dark lord's final thought was probably "Oh..... whoops!"
Warmest regards,
Kevin Ainsworth
Posted by: Kevin Ainsworth | August 28, 2013 at 10:52 AM
The symbolism of the sword is still powerful in our collective unconscious. From Game of Thrones to Star Wars, it is the epitome of single combat, the power of the individual to shape events on a level playing field. Interesting that despite its gruesome purposes (the broadsword was primarily a hacking weapon...gulp..), it still somehow seems more noble. Two individuals facing each other, up close and very, very personal. The gun created detachment from the act, distance and imbalance. It feels sneaky and unfair...as demonstrated by Indiana Jones in that most memorable of scenes, even if very entertaining....all those years perfecting the art of the Scimitar......
Poor sod. Just not 'cricket', is it?!
Posted by: Noddi28 | August 28, 2013 at 07:34 PM
I forgot to say that the very first time we see Mrs Peel, in The Avengers TV series, she is holding a sword and her first action is to have a sword fight with Steed in her apartment (with a cup of tea as the reward). He only wins by cunningly wrapping her in her own window curtain as he "never promised to fight fair". It establishes her as a woman of action and his equal.
If I was writing the tagline for that episode it would be "The Town Of No Return - In which Steed gets the point and it's curtains for Mrs Peel"...!
Warmest regards,
Kevin Ainsworth.
Posted by: Kevin Ainsworth | August 29, 2013 at 08:41 AM