Consider

Just got back from Mexico - nice to have a vacation.

I stole this from a FaceBook posting....... Interesting read.  I liked the part where the coach lists that Coachable People are "humble....respectfull...They don't know it all".  There are some parallels to Chivalric behaviour here, I am sure.

http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fbreakingmuscle.com%2Ftraining%2Fhow-be-coachable-advice-expert-coaches&h=gAQGSnuq5AQF8oX6mHsrfNc2tLM1VgHxTmuDeWxaW8dy6Vg

Much is made of a coach’s ability to lead a team and individual athletes to their optimum performance, whether in a high school context or as part of a professional sports team - or anywhere in between. Coaches are frequently retained or released on the basis of this performance, and in high-powered professional situations, the implications are financial as well as results- and bragging rights-oriented.

But the coach-athlete relationship is a two-way street. In other words, athletes are also a key ingredient in making the relationship work; they have some responsibility for realizing what it takes to be coachable and being willing to behave accordingly.

In trying to understand this phenomenon of how to be coachable, I contacted some people who have coached me in the past, and whose lessons continue to influence me today. These people have helped me become more coachable. At least, I hope I have become more coachable as a result of their leadership, and if I haven’t, that’s on me.

Here are some thoughts about what some of my coaches look for in their athletes. I’m grateful to them for their insights and for helping me become a better athlete and a better person.

Andy Petranek, owner/founder of CrossFit Los Angeles, says coachable athletes have the following qualities:

They're humble. They're okay slowing down for the sake of learning form. They are usually master technicians. They think long-term. They measure progress in months and years versus day by day. They're competitive with themselves as much or more than with others. They have a good sense of humor and don't take things too seriously. They practice things on their own. They're willing to try new things. They aren't hung up on doing things the way they always have. They look toward change. They're willing to take risks. They're respectful. They know they don't know it all.

Barbara Skiba, retired field hockey coach, Hopewell Valley Central High School, Hopewell Township, NJ, looks for athletes who:

• Are committed to the sport and team
• Love the game/activity
• Respect coaches, teammates, and opponents
• Accept responsibility for outcome of contest; don't make excuses for losses
• Work hard at practice as well as games
• Exercise self control on and off the field of play
• Possess confidence but not arrogance
• Possess inner strength; able to control emotional responses and concentrate on what has to be done in pressure situations
• Are competitive, but have fun and enjoy the game

Barb also comments:

I was fortunate to meet Pat Summitt (head coach of the University of Tennessee women’s basketball team) in June at Val Ackerman's (first president of the Women’s National Basketball Association) induction into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame. I always admired her as a coach and now I admire her as she fights early onset dementia - what a brave woman to admit it to the world and keep on coaching. Here is a favorite quote from her: "How can you improve if you are never wrong? If you don't admit a mistake and take responsibility for it, you're bound to make the same one again."

Roland Worthington, former assistant high school football and head track coach, as well as the author’s father and unofficial personal life coach:

The player who wants to succeed has to learn that the coach’s goal is to create success for the team as well as for individual athletes - these go hand-in-hand. Players have to understand how the coach’s behavior helps them function and improve, even if it’s different from what they might prefer. Indeed, sometimes athletes will be asked to do things differently from what they’re used to. And they have to be able to set their egos aside and adapt.

Kellie Cowles, coach at Team CrossFit Academy in Monrovia, CA, notes:

In my experience, my most coachable clients have all shared at least these characteristics… humility (because they know there is always more to learn), high self-esteem (because they don’t take constructive criticism as a personal attack), courage (because they willingly attempt even the most challenging or intimidating tasks), ambition (because they have a vision they want to achieve).

Reasons

Recently I got the chance to ask a really good fighter about why he won Crown.  His answer was that he wanted to make his lady a Duchess.

This I can understand.

But at the same time I have to call bullshit - he wins them because they are there.  If he could he would win 20 more.

He wins them because he can.

Squires

In the SCA squires are sworn to the Crown through their Knight.

A Knight/Squire relationship also in my mind subjects the Knight to teach and the Squire to learn – eventually leading to the betterment of both.  In my mind the Squire should want to become, and actively be engaged in trying to become, a Knight of the society.

Notice I said relationship because that is what it is.  And as in all relationships you need to evaluate and choose wisely.  Because it is very likely that once you are squired you will be painted with the same colour brush as your Knight. 

You need to figure out what you want to work on and see if there is a Knight who can help.  Need to fight better?  Get a Knight who is skilled at arms and is a good teacher.  Need to work on your courtly ways?  Look for a Knight who possesses those skills.  Or get someone who you feel is skilled in all areas and will help you all the time.

A simple rule I adopted was to look for a Knight who never did anything on the Eric that made me wince; or want to crawl away under a rock - sometimes harder to find than you would think.

I got lucky and squired to a Knight who to this day is my best friend.  We still use each other to analyze and correct our fighting technique.  We still help each other to get better. And not just on the tourney field but in all aspects of the SCA.

If you have to choose – take the time to make sure it is what you want.

10,000 hours

So you are a beginner and trying to master fighting with armour on.  You love SCA combat but in the back of your head wonder how long it will take to get better.  Heck the guys who seem to destroy your defense with ease have had the same thing done to them in tournaments they go to….so where does that leave you?

An idea developed by psychologist Anders Ericsson According suggests it takes 10,000 hours of practice to become an expert.

So fighting practice is 3 hours long but you spend one hour of that chatting with friends and slowly putting your armour on. Then there is some standing around time… we’ll give you 1.5 hours of practice a week. And then an event every weekend where you fight for 2.5 hours total (only to drive home bruised). So you are looking at 4hours/week – needing 2500 weeks to make up 10,000 hours – or roughly 48 years….

Holy Crap!  I don’t have that long.  And I started at age 30 (or 20, or 40, it doesn’t matter).  What do I do?

The short answer is fight more. Every week, every day, every hour – it doesn’t matter. If you want to get better then find a way to fight more.  Put a pel in the yard and hit it until it breaks. Hit an old tree. Practice throwing shots and shield work every night.

Or you could be like the other people in the SCA and walk around talking about it instead of doing it.

Choice is yours. 

The be all and end all of SCA combat....

This comes from an incident at a recent tournament........

The number one rule of SCA combat, whether you are brand new or a seasoned veteran, is that it is up to the slain person to declare that they are dead.  Or in other words - it is up to the person being struck to acknowledge any blow as good.

This rule is not in SCA Corpora - in AnTir it falls under Section III - Conventions of Combat, rule V - Judging blows

You need to implant it in your head as an SCA fighter that sometimes blows you land that may feel good to you are not good to your opponent.  You need to realize that you have to fight for yourself and at the fights end be content that you did everything you could to win and that is good enough. 

Because there will come a time when you are sure that you won but you didn't.

And when that time comes - you keep your mouth shut.  You put a smile on your face and you walk away and you leave it on the field where it remains dead just like you were 10 seconds ago.

You can only control your actions and not those of your opponent. 

Their Chivalry is on them and your Chivalry is on you.  So take care of yourself.  Die when struck.  And never ever openly question your opponents Chivalry (especially on the field).  Never tell someone a blow you landed was good.  Never tell someone they are dead unless they ask.

If that seems hard realize that if your "special shot that you worked so hard to land" already worked once so just do it again.

Be the best opponent you can be.  Be the kind of person people want to fight.  Be gracious and keep learning and apply yourself and one day the end result will be the one you want.  That is all in your control.

Intro

My name is Vik Vikingsson.  I started in the SCA in 1987 at 17 years of age - solely with the express interest of fighting in armour.  At that time in the SCA people who had no other interest in anything medieval and who only wanted to fight were labeled "Stick Jocks".  Hence the title of the blog.

Since that time we've come a long way baby.  I was Squired in 1993, Knighted in 1996, made a Laurel in 2003, and a Pelican in 2008.  I have been Prince of Avacal 5 times and was the first person in the Principality to win AnTir's Crown tourney - King of AnTir in 2009.

My goal is to jot down some of my thoughts/ideas about SCA combat.  It may take on a stream of consciousness like look as I try to write it down.  But hopefully there will be some nuggets of truth to what gets put in this blog.

 If you participate in the SCA then we have at least one thing in common.  Hopefully you will find more as you read. In the end I hope it is fun. If it isn't fun it isn't worth doing.

I am the only Vik I have ever met in the SCA – so if you are at an event and you hear someone talking to a Canadian and calling him Vik then it’s good odds it’s me.  Come over and say “hi”.