Game of Thrones begins....

[Brazen]

Game Of Thrones themed wedding. No-one wanted to stay fr the reception...
http://www.thepoke.co.uk/2014/07/01/game-of-thrones-fan-wedding-of-the-year/

[Eddie Teach]

So their oldest kid is 15 and they finally got married. 

[Brazen]

So their oldest kid is 15 and they finally got married. 

Your point is? Several of my friends had their kids as bridesmaids/pages at their weddings.

[Josquius]

So their oldest kid is 15 and they finally got married. 

That's what you're finding weird here? That seems pretty normal to me.

The less of these kinds of silly weddings the better. I'm still hoping for a quiet and unnoticed registry office affair.

[Viking]

So their oldest kid is 15 and they finally got married. 

when I read that first it was

"So, their oldest kid is 15 and she finally got married."

It's not very AGOT when the kids are "a man grown/a woman flowered" finally and only then getting married. One wonders what the bastard name in the east midlands is. Hood, Forest, Lime?

[Eddie Teach]

Your point is?

There's hope for Grey Fox yet. 

[Grey Fox]

[Siege]

So their oldest kid is 15 and they finally got married. 

Your point is? Several of my friends had their kids as bridesmaids/pages at their weddings.

Doesn't this means they are bastards?

[grumbler]

So their oldest kid is 15 and they finally got married. 

Your point is? Several of my friends had their kids as bridesmaids/pages at their weddings.

Doesn't this means they are bastards?

A lot of jurisdictions don't have the concept of bastardy at all.

[The Larch]

Apparently Spain (and more precisely Seville) has been confirmed as one of the shooting locations for next season, serving as backdrop for Dorne.

[Brazen]

Apparently Spain (and more precisely Seville) has been confirmed as one of the shooting locations for next season, serving as backdrop for Dorne.

The TV interpretation of Dorne is based on Spain? Never!

[The Larch]

Apparently Spain (and more precisely Seville) has been confirmed as one of the shooting locations for next season, serving as backdrop for Dorne.

The TV interpretation of Dorne is based on Spain? Never!

Would you rather have it shot in some studio in Northern Ireland? 

[Phillip V]

Game Of Thrones themed wedding. No-one wanted to stay fr the reception...
http://www.thepoke.co.uk/2014/07/01/game-of-thrones-fan-wedding-of-the-year/

Need more wenches.

[jimmy olsen]

Speaking of swords

http://www.combatant-magazine.com/flag/profile-samantha-swords/

Profile: Samantha Swords
Posted on August 26, 2013 by Jane Hermiston    | 5 Replies




The first of our fighter profiles on the blog features Samantha Swords.  A modern-day renaissance woman, Samantha is a film props/armour creator, actor, stunt fighter, environmentalist, artist, fighter and is passionate about feminism and equality. And amongst all that she somehow found time to chat to Combatant and answer a few questions about herself!

Name:  Samantha Swords (née Catto-Mott)

Where and what do you train?:  I have been learning WMA with the Order of the Boar at the Upper Hutt Martial Arts Academy in Wellington, New Zealand. My main instructor Colin McKinstry is well versed in many western martial arts from Italian rapier to bare-knuckle boxing, but I have mainly focussed on learning 15th Century German and Italian combat systems.

Please tell us more about your life outside WMA?: I'm an artist, actor and special-effects technician from the Blue Mountains, New South Wales. I moved to New Zealand at 18 and have been in the entertainment industry since 2008, mainly working with Weta Workshop on film productions such as Narnia, District 9, Superman: Man of Steel, the Hobbit trilogy, and most recently helping to build the HULC suit for Elysium.

I've been a part of creating props, weapons, costumes, armour, creatures and all manner of gore for over 20 films, which includes independent productions like Devil's Rock. I also have acted and stunt-fought onscreen and in many live performances in New Zealand and Australia. I'm an outdoor girl, excited about adventure and travelling. I care most about environmental conservation and inspiring people to pursue their passions.

Why did you start WMA?:  I've been incurably in love with sword fighting since about the time I could walk. My wonderful Mum made me my first wooden sword at age four, and (when I had grown larger) encouraged me into fencing, but I was never satisfied- I was fixated on the medieval blade.

When I was 19 I first stumbled upon a website that used the miraculous term, 'Western Martial Arts', and after a long and winding road of strange advice and even stranger teaching, I'd put together a patchwork of information that helped me recognise the best places to study. Once I had found good masters I felt that my journey as a fighter really started. Now I'm finding that the more I learn, the more I understand how little I know.

What advice would you give to women interested in WMA?:  Firstly: don't let anything hold you back. If you have passion, anything is possible- although you might need to adjust your expectations. Dedicate yourself to self-awareness, honesty and unrelenting excellence, and you will be grēat.

We ladies have a unique advantage over our sword brothers. As well as having a lower centre of gravity, we're predisposed to be physically inferior, which means that we have to work harder, be accurate and quite cunning to maintain the edge against most of our competition.

It may sound like an illogical advantage, but developing these attributes should happen anyway as a fighter; it's just necessary for women to get a headstart because we have less to offer in the brawn department. Due to WMA being in the infancy of its revival and having no solid divisions of weight or gender, we're allowed to be outmatched in competitions. This is good, it teaches humility for learning proper defence. We need to apply tireless dedication to getting things right, because the result is much more obvious when we don't.

I've found that for a weaker fighter to be successful in a scrap, we need to take advantage of the other's strength. Don't fall into the trap of muscling up and "being strong"- the more athletic/larger fighter will win every time. We need to have confidence in our natural attributes of smaller size and groundedness, and not try to fight like someone with much more physical bulk than we possess.

I'd advise any female fighters to look at aikido, kumi uchi, goju ryu, and all the fighting guides you can find that use biomechanics to take a pressure or force, and redirect it to compromise your opponent. This will enrich your understanding of historical European combat, because they all point to the same concept: that effective martial arts don't rely on speed, strength or agility, but an artful understanding of physics and how to apply it to the human body.  If your technique doesn't work because "you're not fast or strong enough", you're doing it wrong!

This advice goes for fighters of all genders, but I've found that we ladies have to learn the lesson faster, even though we're really 8 foot tall Amazons on the inside!

What are you most proud of in your time practicing WMA?:  I entered into a two day tournament after not having trained for a very long time, due to illness and a strong need to sit quietly in a mountain cabin for six months. When I emerged from my alpine convalescence I was unfit, out of practice and had absolutely no expectations of myself to perform well. It was probably foolish for me to compete in that state, but I did it because I wanted to see how much of my training I would actually remember, especially after so long a break. I knew that being under pressure with relatively-little preparation would show me where I really stood as a fighter.

When I entered the competition, I found that my grounding and patience were like nothing I'd experienced before. I relaxed through all my fights, remembered what I was supposed to do, and outmatched my opponents by allowing them to make the mistakes first... well, most of the time. I then went on to win the tournament, to my complete shock.   I see now that I'd spent my six months of downtime learning to fight the battle of will. I had developed my patience and persistence, applied them to get well, rebuild my life, and then do what I did in the ring.

It was a good lesson about attitude. By letting go of my desire to win and being at peace with probable failure, I was far more successful than my opponents. I had done it only for myself, and the accolades were very nice – but secondary.


James Gilberd Photography, 2013


How has practicing WMA helped/hindered other parts of your life?:  I see that all the different spheres that make up a person interweave and affect each other, so everything I learn about how to fight well I apply to the rest of my life.

For me, ancient martial arts teach much more than dealing with or avoiding conflict. My journey with WMA has helped me identify wonderful insights into the nature of energy, intention and a great many other things. I look for the patterns everywhere now, and am delighted by how they inform so much of the world. I feel a great strength from my own self-awareness, and a certain fearlessness towards pushing boundaries or engaging in conflict- not because I enjoy it, but because I'm good at it and generally only fight for the things I care about.

I recommend martial arts to everyone who wants to grow as a human being, regardless of what culture or style of conflict appeals to them. But for me, the sword is my first love.  So Western Martial Arts is where I'll be.

Here's an interview with her

[jimmy olsen]

Game of Thrones, illustrated as traditional Japanese art.

http://imgur.com/a/wuLsm