Knights of Mayhem

 Hey all;

Out of the Woods again...thought I'd begin with a non-Asatru essay.

As this blog develops, I'll be pulling in stuff from all the other sites where I've been dispersed over the years.

I finally saw the "Knights of Mayhem" program on NatGeo...the main character around who the program revolves, Charlie Andrews, wears a Mjolnir, however I can find nothing to indicate he is Heathen.

I participated in one form of fully armored, full contact, unchoreographed foot combat for over 25 years.  At some events I spent 5 or 6 hours in armor; fully loaded, I weighted about 70# more than being in street clothes.  Some fights (one on one kind) would be over as quickly as a pass in the list on a horse; "One Shots" we called them.  The longest bout I ever had with one opponent went over 20 minutes, with no time outs.

I've participated in battles with 3000 or more fighters on each side.  It is a great adrenaline rush, because as the two "armies" come together it seems every one of the other side is charging straight at you.

It is not a sport for one is does not have a lot of self-confidence, nor for one who is not physically healthy or fit...and it can breed the sort of arrogance you see in these professional jousters.

I was lucky, only one broken bone in all that time, but I lost count of the dislocations, strains, sprains, muscle tears, bruises, the several concussions, heat exhaustion...if I still had good joints, I'd still be fighting (I'll be 55 in March).

Put that on astride a horse, not me; takes bigger brass ones than I have.