| SUMMER KNIGHTS NEWSLETTER MAY / JUNE
2002 Unto the populace of Summer Knights patrons doth King Magnus, Queen Branwyn and the Master Knights send greetings! Once again we send forth this missive informing the populace of deeds both great and small and Knightly-News concerning the Summer Knights program. As usual, we extend an invitation to all who are interested in our program to send us their email address and, for those of you who already receive the newsletter, forward it to others; let others know about Summer Knights! As always, feel free to check out the Summer Knights website at: www.summerknights.com AND THE WINNER IS.. Huzzah to Patrick Sailsbury the winner of the Summer Knights 2002 Shield giveaway! Patrick is now the proud new owner of a hand-made battle shield crafted by none other than our own Heraldry Mistress, Queen Branwyn. Summer Knights received over 1000 raffle entries for the shield and were proud to have such a work of art command such attention. Once again, congratulations to Patrick for winning a beautiful new Knight's shield. SUMMER KNIGHTS IS COMING ON FAST! ARE YOU READY? We have dozens of knights registered and waiting eagerly for Summer Knights to begin. Are you amongst the happy few? Are you among the band of brothers that truly exemplify Knighthood? If not, you'd better hurry, Summer Knights is filling up fast and once it's full, it's too late. Print up a registration from the Summer Knights Website (Look under Registration and use the PDF Format, it's really easy) and mail it in; we are waiting for you! Do you have what it takes to be a Knight? (See http://www.summerknights.com/registration_information_links.htm for details and http://www.summerknights.com/Forms%20and%20Registration/registra.htm for registration) SUMMER KNIGHTS HAS A SMASHING SUCCESS AT THE 2002 ITALIAN RENAISSANCE FESTIVAL AT VIZCAYA All the preparations and hard work paid off as the Royal Household of Summer Knights took to the battlefield and impressed the many thousands of patrons of the Italian Renaissance Festival at Vizcaya. We had the most glorious time over the course of the four days of the festival and met many, many people that found our noble program to be among the most unique and thrilling concepts they had ever heard. During the last day of the Renaissance Festival, King Magnus and Queen Branwyn took the opportunity to grant some new titles and welcome some new additions to the Royal Household! In a ceremony during the very last swordsmanship demonstration, King Magnus conferred the title of "Lord" upon one of the most deserving of his Knights, Sir Daniel (now Lord Daniel). Let it be known that, upon his conferment, Lord Daniel proceeded to engage in single combat some of the greatest fighters in the Household (Including Lord Calum, Lord Ulfkell and King Magnus) and fought like a man possessed! His fierce fighting and his many, many skills as a Knight make him one of the greatest Knights in the Household of the King and Queen. Huzzah to Lord Daniel! In addition to Lord Daniel, the Royal Household proudly added three new members to the Master Knights. In a ceremony after the very last swordsmanship demonstration, King Magnus added a new Squire and two new Pages to the Household. Congratulations to our new Squire Thorgar. Thorgar has been attending Summer Knights for the last couple of years and has gained extensive experience as an archer, a swordsman, a heraldic artist and armourer. Thorgar helped us at the Italian Renaissance Festival this year and proved a valuable asset to the event. Most importantly he has shown that he knows how to behave as a Chivalrous soul! We also congratulate our two new Pages Emilio and Anakhet! Both Emilio and Anakhet came to us last year and dedicated their services to success of Summer Knights at the Italian Renaissance Festival 2001. Each spent the summer working hard and learning great skills and, a year later, both came to us and volunteered to help at the Renaissance Festival 2002! Their hard work and self-less dedications was a true boon and a great part of Summer Knights success. We were very proud of our accomplishments, but let it be known, we could not have done it alone! We would like to thank the following people without who's help, none of the Summer Knights achievements of the Renaissance Festival would have been possible. A Special Thanks to the individuals and Clans (families) that helped make it all happen: Rafael Ross Sr. and the entire Ross Clan, The Cutliff Clan, The Bond Clan, The Fresco Clan, The Bravo Clan, The Cifuentes Clan, The Schlussler Clan, The Mur Clan, The Quimby Clan, The Gomez Clan, The Nielsen Clan, The Signore Clan and all the Clans of Knights past, present and future that came out to offer support and see some outstanding examples of Heraldry, Armour and Swordsmanship! THE SUMMER KNIGHTS ROUND TABLE We would like to honour a returning sponsor of Summer Knights and a friend in technology: ROBERT MENDES and E-BASICS.NET! Of course, for each company there is always one person behind the commitment to Summer Knights. Robert Mendes is Director of Technology at E-basics.net and has been a proud sponsor of Summer Knights for the past few years. His company has given us great service over the years and, as the host of our domain, has asked for very little in return. We want to take this opportunity to thank Robert and E-Basics.net for their continued support of Summer Knights. In addition, we would like to congratulate them on their soon-to-be addition to the family (Robert's beautiful wife Michelle is expecting another child) and wish them the best in the years to come. From a technological perspective, if you or someone you know is interested in having a great server for their website (truly e-basics offers a personal touch that is so lacking in the rest of the industry) or just a great technological consultant, Robert is the man to call! Thanks again for your continued support of Summer Knights and the idea of Chivalry! To contact Mr. Mendes at E-Basics.net, you can call him at 305-608-6481 or email him at Robert.mendes@e-basics.net To have our sponsors return is a great incentive to us, and a gauge by which we can judge their satisfaction and our success at achieving the goals of Chivalry. However, Summer Knights is still in need of sponsors for the 2002 year. Our Summer Knights Round Table offers Sponsorship packages, starting at only $499, that allow businesses and individuals to sponsor a single knight and become a part of something meaningful in the life of today's children and the future of society, a Chivalrous society for tomorrow! With your sponsorship, you receive special recognition in our newsletters, space on our website to define Chivalry and logo space on our brochures at large community service events and even the Italian Renaissance Faire; last year we reached over 5000 people at the faire alone! These events, newsletters and web presence allow our sponsors to connect with the most chivalrous group on earth, the Masters of Knightly virtue, the Summer Knights! We want the world to know about the very special businesses that sponsor Summer Knights; truly, sponsors of Chivalry itself! For information please contact us at: 305-609-6048 or email us at: admin@summerknights.com WHAT ART THOU READING? The Secret History of the Sword by Christopher Amberger Although King Magnus has read hundreds of works on the nature of swordsmanship, not all are created equal. Some books are more didactic in that their purpose is to teach the actual physical skills of swordsmanship. Others books intent on delivering a historical/archeological background of the sword. And yet others differ from the previous categories, as is the case with The Secret History of the Sword, and are just plain fun! Christopher Amberger is a writer that has great experience with the sword (particularly in the German Mensur) and has literally received his scars from years of often-lethal sword duels. He recounts not only personal experiences in his entertaining "Interludes" between each chapter but also recounts and retells the experience of duels in both antiquity and the modern age. His approach is scholarly in research and very entertaining if not downright funny. In short, as both a series of trivial history and a treasure trove of great stories pertaining to the duel, Mr. Amberger's Secret History of the Sword is a fine addition to the swordsman's library. MAGNUSIZE YOUR SWORDSMANSHIP: TRAINING PART 3 Being that the last installment of Magnusize your Swordsmanship was VERY long, I think this time we should keep it short and simple. Our goal is to get in fighting shape for Summer Knights! Have you got some spare time in your day? Driving home from school a long and tedious affair? You may not be able to whip out your practice sword and start wailing on things in the car, but that does not mean you can't practice. At this stage in the game you should be training on your pell regularly. However, you should also be THINKING about your attacks and defenses whenever and wherever you get the chance. Visualization has long been a part of serious Olympic athletic training, why shouldn't it be part of yours? It's time to start thinking about your swordfighting. Imagine your stance for a moment. Does it have holes in it? Does it offer a series of holes or invitations open to attack? Where is your sword in each move? Where is your shield? Are you ready to attack and/or defend? Asking yourself really hard questions about your own abilities and inabilities can really help you grow. Each time you think about the things that led to your success or failure in a swordfight, and analyze them so as to repeat the positive and keep the negative out of your fighting, you grow! Thus, just imagining the swordfight from start to finish can help make you a stronger, more competent fighter. Some swordsmen I know wield a pen to think about angles of attack while they are sitting at their desk. In any case, it's about thinking about your swordfighting well before you get to the battlefield. By the way, whatever you do, try NOT to imagine yourself as the conquering hero whom every knight cowers at the mere sight of you; that will most likely lead to your defeat, although you may look really cool and confident just before you lose! Preparing yourself physically for swordfighting doesn't hurt either! Building up for swordfighting does not have to involve a Herculean task. Sometimes it simply takes increasing your current exercise load and adding both aerobic and anaerobic activity. If you are fairly sedate and don't get much exercise, start off slow. Try walking a mile or two several times a week, it can make a considerable difference in your endurance. If you don't like walking, try sports you like to do. Duke Ulfkell plays an average of two-hours of basketball a day and then heads straight to the gym for weight training. His workout regimen has made him stronger and faster has given him more endurance, and best of all it works well for him! I, King Magnus like to swing a sword. Thus, I have found a way to combine my sword work with gardening (which I normally hate). Although I do not suggest you try this at home, I trim all the tress at Castle Andrias with a fine, sharp two-handed sword! Thus, I combine my love of swordfighting with gardening and have a nice garden and a GREAT sword workout all at the same time. I know it sounds weird, but it's merely an example of finding a way to fit in sword work in your daily life. Whatever you do, find a way to get some exercise before the summer. It will help your strength, speed, agility and endurance and quite possible give you the edge over your opponent. However, whatever you do, don't procrastinate, do it now! Summer Knights is almost here! Until next time M'Lords and M'Ladies. Yours in Chivalry, King Magnus and Queen Branwyn Sovereign of the Master Knights admin@summerknights.com 303-609-6048 |