Halloween Thoughts

Okay, I know it's not the "Holiday Season" yet, but it is Halloween or Samhain or All Saint's Day Eve or any number of other holidays that are celebrated by people far and wide. I actually really like these holidays. The thinning of the walls between worlds and what not is a concept that has fascinated me for as long as I can remember. I have a problem though. It seems I'm just not that creative. Every year I hear one or two stories about people who really go all out. They have some idea that they just "Have to do!" as a costume in order to celebrate. They usually have a clear creative idea, and some way to make it real. I wish I had that creativity and drive.

Given my hobby, there's always the cop out of wearing medieval garb or armour. After all, I think the image of a 6'2" gentleman wearing full plate and carrying a big honking sword might get some peoples' attention. However, I really do consider that a cop out. I do that 30 to 40 weekends a year. Doing it for Halloween just seems to diminish the holiday and on the flip side it diminishes what I do for the rest of the year by making it simply "a costume".

The only two ideas I have ever had are a gargoyle from the cartoon (I always wanted to be Goliath. Build some kinda really cool wing set and somehow build lifts for my feet to make me even taller) or alternately a fully armoured Cyclone Motorcycle Soldier in mechanized mode from the third generation Robotech Cartoon series (if you know what I'm talking about, then you are truly a geek and I salute you). I've never had the nerve to attempt either of them, but I think they would both be really cool (even if I was the only one who knew what I was going for).

In a way, I feel sorry for my daughter. My wife and I have always been very practical about holidays. We've never really dressed up or gone all out for any holiday. We particularly don't tend to do much for Halloween. As I stated earlier, the idea of the holiday is really interesting to me, but with my lack of creativity and with my hatred of the over-commercialization of all holidays, I worry that somehow my daughter will miss out on some of the more "fun" aspects of this and all the holidays (although my wife did buy my daughter a giraffe costume this year, and it should be really cute).

Personally, I'll be in class for this year's festivities so there aren't any conflicted feelings about the holiday this year. I'll spend it how I see fit. Later in the evening I'll probably turn off the TV, turn off the computers, turn down the lights and just listen to the world around me. I'll try to center my mind, relax my soul and try to remember the spirits of those who have passed before me. Will I be able to talk with the dead? I'm guessing probably not. However, if I take the time to remember them and remember my times with them, maybe the holiday won't be so bad afterall...

I wish I could tell you...

...I did well at Crown. I wish I could tell you that I'm the new Crown Prince and that I was able to crown my Lady the new Princess. That would be a great feeling. However, I can't. The list was deep. There were 16 fighters and over half of them were Knights. In keeping with my tradition, the person who defeated me in the first round went all the way to the finals so I can't feel too bad about that loss. In the case of both of my bouts, I made the fighters work for their first win against me (it was best two out of three each round). That first fight seemed to scare them, and then they killed me quickly in our second bouts.

I have a ton of excuses. I've had a horrible case of tennis elbow in my sword arm since an event in early September. I've had a cold for about a week now. The school work schedule and work schedule really don't allow me to practice. Yeah, I've got a million of them (and some are even valid). The problem is, for the past two years, it's always come down to the same problem. I just can't seem to generate enough power on my off side shots. I had no less than 5 Knights talk to me yesterday and tell me that my targeting, shot selection and even my movement against my opponents were all flawless, BUT I'm swinging too much with my arm and not putting enough of my body behind the shots. I really appreciate the advice from the Knights. I appreciate that they all took the time to stop in their days and talk to me. It means they think I can get better. I really wish I thought I could. It's rough when you hear it that many times from that many different people.

I went to a local fight practice today (with a couple of close friends and one of the Knights). I felt like crap. The guys were literally taking me apart. The one guy has been fighting for just over a year. At the end of practice, I told him how much I thought he had improved. I told him that he was definitely no longer an easy fight for me, I had to work in every fight. I also told him that I envied him for where he was in his fighting. When you are that new, you are learning new things all the time. You are constantly improving, and you are noticing real gains at every fight practice. I miss that feeling. I miss learning that one new thing that makes your head explode because you never noticed it before. And I am sick and tired of hearing that I'm doing everything right BUT....

Don't get me wrong gang. I still love to fight when it's going right. I had some of the best fighting times of my life in the past year. I just want to improve a little more (okay, a lot more). and the more you learn, the more it takes to improve. The gains go from these huge leaps and bounds, to these tiny little increments. Somehow, I just have to learn how to generate that off side power.

After all, someday I really want to place a Crown on my Lady's head. With everything she has put up with over the years, I think she's earned it.