The Warrior's Song

I have always been told how interesting and different I am, but this time it’s because I am a female warrior, foam fighter, and martial artist. I enjoy stepping on the battlefield and putting up a valiant fight; sometimes on the field, I am literally among several other guys, including ogres, and no other women. I may lack in physical size, but my speed, heart, and endurance make up for it. When you look into my eyes and see raging fire, and see my smile, the unicorns and rainbows, and giggles melt away, it’s time to say goodbye; anyone who crosses my path is toast. It’s game on!

It is now time for battle. My uniform is ready to go. My power levels soar through the roof and my agility will help me maneuver like a gracefully-ice skating ninja. Yes, they are well over 9000. I have my battle cry ready, my mental images of me defeating my opponent intact, and all of my built up stamina behind me; my energies and spirits are higher than a level 100 Pokémon who never gives up.

In karate, you hear the referee say “hajime!”, which is Japanese for “begin”.

In foam fighting, you hear the referee say “weapons up… lay on!”

Once I hear that, I take a deep breath and it’s off to fighting land, as I carry myself with my heart, pride, skill, stamina, and resilience. I obviously don’t win every battle I have, but in the end, it’s about giving it your all, having fun and bettering yourself with each fight. Especially with my medieval foam sword fighting, the object of the game is to have fun. As the Horde monster characters say, “if we have fun, Horde win!”

My battle cries and karate kiei's come from within my heart. I've been doing Shotkan karate for about 8 years and currently wear a belt 1 shade away from black; I am one test away from achieving the ultimate goal, and will hopefully get there around X-Mas time. Fortunately, this bowl of cool sauce translates into foam fighting and back very well!

Being a warrior doesn’t just mean being good at fighting. The foam fighting craziness is more than just whacking each other with foam swords. It’s about finding yourself, finding your style, and finding your family. Being the only girl (or pretty close) doesn’t matter because everyone treats you as a person. It’s like saying a man and a woman are people in the same way red and blue are colors. No one will go easy on you, but out of respect for women being physically smaller than men, they won’t totally wail on you. I am a warrior not just to stand up for myself or claim how strong I am, but I am a womanly warrior to represent other females afraid to enter male-dominated activities and battles.

In the midst of battle, I will sing my warrior’s song; after battle, I will sing kumbaya next to a campfire with my friends and family and enjoy the loveliness . Who cares if being a warrior isn’t exactly the highest activity on the social scale. In battle and nerd-dom, we come from all walks of life, such as computer programmer, teacher, lawyer, businessperson, office worker, and much more. We are all people looking to unite in commonality and camaraderie. If you are interested in seeing more of this foam fighting coolness I speak of, our next meeting is at 3pm until sundown on Foster Avenue Beach on Sunday. Search for “Belegarth Medieval Combat Society” and “Morva” on Facebook. I can’t wait to see your lovely faces get down to fight and have some fun! Cheers to fighting, fun, and being a female warrior!