Ready for action!

[Grawlix]

Hi, I'm Adam but I'll be going by Grawlix on here,

I'm twenty six and from the UK, currently working as a prep chef and after two year unemployed I'm taking advantage of the boost in confidence and energy to get myself into fight shape.  I've already jumped in on the latest challenge, so here's hoping I get a good start!

 

As for what I'm into, I do enjoy gaming, both on PC and of the tabletop variety; I have at least one regular "analogue" gaming group that meets every week but often two (and perhaps a third on the horizon), between work and this my time on PC has been greatly limited but I'm proud to say I'm okay with that - though I do miss the fast paced play.

 

I tend to get my fill of action through my two newest hobbies, Viking re-enactment and Airsoft, to both of which I am a total newb (I'm told I am picking it up fast).  The Reenactment group I am part of is heavily focused on combat and my involvement currently consists on attending their weekly fight night; I come away tired, aching and covered in bruises but its great fun and as you would imagine, swinging a big shield and a sword or axe around for a few hours while others armed like wise try to hit you - Its a bloody good work out. Airsoft similarly has me running around in the woods all day!

 

 I come from a family of walkers, my dad in particular has quite a respectable level of fitness when it comes to hiking having managed 71/100 mile challenge before damaging his ankle when I was younger, recently though he's started walking more seriously again and I hope my work ours permit that I can join him on a few in the future. For me though its only been recently when I have learned to enjoy walking for its own sake and as part of that I took up geocaching early in the year.

 

As I said previously in recent years I have probably spent most time in front of a computer or in my bed, and while for the longest time I was comfortable with being what I considered "average" fitness, I realised I was slowly gaining weight and when I did try to run or do anything active - like play football with my younger step brother I quickly tired. When I was in school I briefly tried joining the cross country team but failed miserably - more recently my doctor has said allergies I have may give me asthma like symptoms at times and taking that into account has been helpful and encouraging.

 

So here I am six months into my new job with my hours finally stabilizing and by body growing accustomed to being on my feet 6-12 hours a day, better yet I have energy to spare and in the past month have taken effort to walk to and from town rather than taking the bus whenever possible (Occasionally I am running late for work but its increasingly rare), its not much I know but compared to what I was doing its been a very encouraging start and saves me over £70 a month! I've even started working a couple of short sprints into my morning commute.

 

And that's where I am now as I sign up for this new adventure.

 

My goals here at NF? After reading a number of articles on the site the NF philosophy feels like something I could really get along with. I am looking initially to build myself up to a healthy level of "practical fitness", as well as using fight night as a work out I'd love to improve to a point where I can compete competitively and that will require me being in much better shape, the same goes for airsoft. Parkour is something that has interested me for years ever since I learned of it but due to my poor level of fitness always remained out of reach; the flips and flashy stunts don't interest me nearly as much as the fluid ease traceurs traverse their surroundings, I want me some of that too! Also as a geek I am a huge fantasy fan, this has lead me to try geocaching and urban exploration so I'm hoping to find some great challenges there to really test me, I'd also love to build up to my own journey inspired by the Hobbit, which was one of the first books I read as a child and to this day I've wanted to go on a great journey through different landscapes like the journeys in The Hobbit and LotRs - to that end I am testing friends to see if anyone would be interested in wild camping out near Snowdon or up in Scotland and I'm looking into learning more outdoorsman skills. Finally me and my girlfriend would love a dog but I'd want to be living a lifestyle that would be healthy for a dog ie. daily walks and plenty of outdoor activities and such. I like to think of it as "earning my Animal Companion"!

 

Wow, I really did ramble on there, for those of you who read it all thank you, heck thank you to anyone who even skimmed it! I don't know what I'm looking for in the way of feedback at the moment, I feel The Rangers might be my calling though without rambling on any more I would like to start meditating and such so maybe I might try the Druids too. I would love to hear from anyone who does competitive Viking re-enactment or perhaps even HMB (Historical Medieval Battles) and see how they view it as a form of fitness and maybe some tips?

[Nightside]

Great introductory post, welcome to NF, glad to see another fantasy fan here, love Jim Butcher and Simon R Green myself.

Good luck

[Robpocalypse]

Welcome Grawlix!

 

viking reenactment sounds like possibly one of the most awesome things I've ever heard of, PLUS it's like built in exercise swinging around giant axes and shields!  Are the outcomes of the battles predetermined like Civil War reenactments in the US, or are they determine on the fly more like LARPing?

[Grawlix]

Thanks guys. In answer to your question Robpocalypse as far as my local group (I believe there is a lot of variation on the specifics from group to group) training is treated like a contact sport an most sessions move towards elemination battles towards the end. Usually small teams fighting against each other. Combat revolves around trying to hit your opponent twice. First time they drop their arms and cannot decend until they count to 10 and second the are eliminated (kill shots are encouraged to be fancy in 1 on 1 as practice for shows). In team games this helps encourage teamwork as the team can push an enemy away from a struck team mate giving them time to re-enter the fray. Eliminated participants then go to a designate waiting area until enough people are there to form a team and respawn.

As for show days where we are demonstrating for the public I'm not actually sure to be honest. I haven't really thought that far as I'm currently enjoying training primarily for the challenge.

[Robpocalypse]

That sounds pretty cool. I'm assuming peoole use foam covered PVC or something? Not real broad swords and battleaxes?

[Grawlix]

Actually they are all real metal- albeit blunt - weapons. Protective gloves are mandatory and a lot of people wear chainmail and strikes are trained to hit safer areas. Control is emphasised and helmets are recommended but fights can be pretty brutal even if you're not putting a lot of power behind your strikes. If you don't come away with a few bumps and scrapes you're not doing it right. Anything more seriously though isn't all that common.