Tired Baron is Tired

This weekend saw fit to give me plenty of opportunities to fight a wide range of fighters.  We had 18 in armor on the field, so the MOL’s saw fit to break us into two pools of 9 for our first round robin.  I was in a pool with Sirs Mark and Daemon.  Eight fights later, both Knights and I had fought to a 3 way tie for first place, each of us going 7 and 1.  Moving into the finals, they allowed the top three of each pool to advance, placing me in a pool of 6 including Count Jason, Lord Jonathan Blackbow, and Sir Daemon’s new squire whose name escapes me at the moment.  Unfortunately, while a few of the fights I had in the finals were hard fought, they were eventually counted in the loss column, sending me 0 for 5 in the finals.  On top of that baker’s dozen fights in the tournament, I went two passes with Lord Galen, my new Armored Champion, and two passes each with two newer fighters during a sparsely attended pickups period.

I won’t go into all 19 fights, but I do want to break down my fights with the Chivalry as to add to my file cabinet on them.  It seemed like there was a definite break between those who made the finals and those who did not.  There were a lot of newer fighters on the field yesterday, and not a lot in the mid-range (where I consider myself to be).  Against these new opponents, I think I did a good job of bringing my preferred game to the field.  I tried to remain highly mobile while maintaining good footwork.  I threw way more shots than I needed to, so I’ll need to work on more concise targeting.

Vs. Sir Mark – Sir Mark and I fought twice, each time he was fighting with an upside down katana in his off hand.  The first fight I won, the second he won.  In the first fight, I lined up as if to go for a standard sword side pass, only as I moved towards his “shield side”, I threw a leg wrap out around his upside down sword.  I was trying to keep from getting hit by it, but it turns out it worked, and I took his leg.  After that, I had to keep on him and keep throwing until I was able to take a step to my shield side and drop a wrap into his belly.  In the second fight, I tried the same thing again, but he saw it coming.  He tabled my shield out a bit and got my leg, forcing me to my knees.  After closing on me, he was very effective in getting myself all tied up with my own sword and shield, and it was a simple matter of wrapping the back of my head.

Vs. Sir Daemon – Sir Daemon and I also fought twice.  However, he won both of them, in the exact same manner (that says I didn’t learn the first time).  I would close and attempt to bring the same fight I brought to everyone else, and he would block all that.  Then, when the time was right, he’d throw this killer leg wrap – it’s so tight and fast.  It hit high on my hip, and gets behind the shield.  Once on my knees, I was able to be reasonably defensive, though I get the impression that Sir Daemon is a very patient fighter.  I was almost able to take his arm, but I didn’t quite have enough power on the offside shot there – something to work on.  Eventually he would throw a combo that hit my arm, then my head, fast enough that I say “good arm, head.”

Vs. Count Jason – To be honest, I did not give this Knight the best fight ever.  By the time we met, I was hot and more than a little tired.  I remembered the idea of trying to open him up as I changed ranges.  The trouble was, I did it poorly, and he was able to step a bit off to my shield side.  A quick flat snap later, and I was done.  I thought I had it blocked, but it was coming for the back of my helm rather than the front side of it.  Oh well, more to watch for next time.