The Armored Rose

[Mooshakes]

I was wondering if anyone else has heard of this book and what they thought of it. I think it's one of the best books I have ever read and has helped me with a lot more than just fighting (which I kinda need to still get around to...).


(I'm sorry if there have already been topics about this or if it was something no one talked about, I couldn't find any threads in the guild about it)  

[Your Night Surgeon]

Personally, the Book of the Five Rings and the Art of War are still what I hold high. Not many things compare to those manuals.  

[LittleGreenGirl]

I've heard a lot of good things about it. I heard that it's the best book out there for female fighters, because it customizes fighting moves for the differences in how females move. (wrist movement, arm swing, stance, etc.) But then, I don't know personally, I don't fight.  

[Not-So-Sweet Transvestite]

The Armored Rose is a very valid resource for the female fighter. There are lots of physical references which can save her countless tears, injuries, and inconveniances along the road. However, the psychological references are outdated and generally don't apply to today's figher.

Read it.

However, don't take it as gospel. I know a fighter or two who wipes the floor with the author on any given day.  

[Not-So-Sweet Transvestite]

littlegreengirl

I've heard a lot of good things about it. I heard that it's the best book out there for female fighters, because it customizes fighting moves for the differences in how females move. (wrist movement, arm swing, stance, etc.) But then, I don't know personally, I don't fight.

Rarity and quality shouldn't be confused. There aren't many chick-fighting references out there.  

[Mooshakes]

squire to fools

The Armored Rose is a very valid resource for the female fighter. There are lots of physical references which can save her countless tears, injuries, and inconveniances along the road. However, the psychological references are outdated and generally don't apply to today's figher.

Read it.

However, don't take it as gospel. I know a fighter or two who wipes the floor with the author on any given day.

Um, the psychological references are outdated??? Definately not. I have everyone of the hurdles in the book. I am afraid to hit other people, I am ashamed of being hit, I feel like it is a boy's game, I avoid large fights with people I don't know, and I feel like fighting is something I just can't do.

As much as the hurdles are influenced by culture those parts of culture that have taught me to be like this haven't gone away. I haven't gone to a practice in months but I still re-read the book because of it's psychological references and the solutions to them.  

[Courtesan Brigitte]

Mooshakes

squire to fools

The Armored Rose is a very valid resource for the female fighter. There are lots of physical references which can save her countless tears, injuries, and inconveniances along the road. However, the psychological references are outdated and generally don't apply to today's figher.

Read it.

However, don't take it as gospel. I know a fighter or two who wipes the floor with the author on any given day.

Um, the psychological references are outdated??? Definately not. I have everyone of the hurdles in the book. I am afraid to hit other people, I am ashamed of being hit, I feel like it is a boy's game, I avoid large fights with people I don't know, and I feel like fighting is something I just can't do.

As much as the hurdles are influenced by culture those parts of culture that have taught me to be like this haven't gone away. I haven't gone to a practice in months but I still re-read the book because of it's psychological references and the solutions to them.

Do we know what "generally" means?

When I started fighting I was excited as hell to compete with the boys (and still am). When I got hit, I felt a bit foolish, because I wasn't blocking, but it's a lesson. Don't let him/her hit you there again. I have no problem hitting other people, so long as they're in armor. I've never been in an unarmored or anger-inspired fight in my life. I'm a very peacable and laid-back person. But when I'm in armor I do all in my power to kill my opponant before he or she kills me.

I experienced the shame hurdle once, though. Two weeks ago I had a really bad practice. I was trying really hard, but I just couldn't fight for s**t that day. It happens, and an experienced fighter knows to shrug it off. But I'd had a really good practice the week before, and with the lack of sleep (probably the cause for the bad practice) it was getting to me. When I was fighting my trainer (pelican and chivalry) I was judging myself so harshly that I was afraid he'd stop working with me, and I started crying. He dropped his guard and asked me what the problem was. Having trained a number of women, he knew tears could mean anything. Knowing my fears were unfounded, I spoke them so he'd know where my head was. He gave me a reassuring talk and then asked if I was ready to go on. I was, but I still felt shitty. Later I took the first stick-to-skin shot at full speed, and my eyes welled up. The guy who hit me told me I was done, and to go armor down.

This was the only time I felt shame. I have a huge strong-enough complex, and being told by a man that I was finished felt like I wasn't strong enough to play with the boys, and that they knew it.

Once I'd calmed down this feeling went away, and the following practice was another good one, in which I killed a goodly number of people and didn't let them kill me quite so much.

My primary trainer's lady, also a chick-fighter, is a friend of the author of The Armored Rose (whose name now escapes me). She said that when she was growing up, girls did not compete against boys. Beating a boy at something was bad. Boys were taught that there is no higher shame than losing to a girl, so a girl winning at anything was hurtful to everyone involved. However, girls in my generation were not taught these things. We were allowed to play with boys on a more even keel. Boys still teased each other for losing to a girl, but any girl in earshot set them streight.

Beyond actual upbringing, the life of the female fighter twenty years ago was significantly different from her life today. Then men could and did refuse to fight women. Today there are a few, but it's not considered a good thing to do. There a female fighter was an outcast. Today, she might not be accepted or honored as highly (but then again she might), but she has the company of other women. Last week my group's fighter practice feilded almost all women. My mom and I were the first ones on the field and the last ones off.

If those hurdles are still problems for you, work through them as you must. But don't assume that all women have them. Most female fighters under thirty didn't have an issue when they started.  

[Courtesan Brigitte]

Sirenstoy

Personally, the Book of the Five Rings and the Art of War are still what I hold high. Not many things compare to those manuals.

Those are good, but they're male-oriented. The Armored Rose is geared toward women, because most women trained by men are trained like men--which is harmful, painful, or just pointless. Our muscles and bones are oriented differently, and what's good for the goose is not at all good for the gander.  

[Mooshakes]

wow that was mean sad

A few things, you're out there with your mom and it sounds like overall you have a supportive group of male and female fighters around you. You are very fortunate not just in fighting but in life.

The whole "girl's have tea parties boys play sports" has been pounding into me my whole life along with a lot of other girls and it's still happening. Female fighters are more respected now than they were, but I've never seen a group where the female fighters outnumber the males. It's still harder in general for us to get into this sport than men.  

[Your Night Surgeon]

Mooshakes

I've never seen a group where the female fighters outnumber the males. It's still harder in general for us to get into this sport than men.

That's because most women are too intelligent to get hit with sticks for recreation. Sorry, but that's what it comes down to: Letting yourself get hit with a stick. Anyways, alot of male fighters see it as a method of... proving themselves in a masculine fashion. I dunno, it's like most sports, it's a way to measure oneself against another, I suppose.  

[Mage Coleman]

I so wish to read the Armored Rose! But I searched it on amazon and people were selling it for 100 dollars! Can anyone tell me why?  

[Sunegami]

Mage Coleman

I searched [for The Armored Rose] on Amazon and people were selling it for 100 dollars! Can anyone tell me why?

Though I've not read it myself, I would assume this is because it's so highly lauded.

My curiosity has now been piqued. . .  

[Not-So-Sweet Transvestite]

Mage Coleman

I so wish to read the Armored Rose! But I searched it on amazon and people were selling it for 100 dollars! Can anyone tell me why?

There aren't very many copies. Low supply+high demand=high price.  

[Mooshakes]

I think it's not being printed anymore (not sure, very phone tag like rumor that i hope is not true). I had to get it from my boyfriend who got it from a friend of his who bought it at Pennsic.  

[Not-So-Sweet Transvestite]

Go to the Armored Rose website. Toby's really friendly, and if you email her she can probably hook you up with a copy or at least point you in the right direction. If not, suggest to her a second printing. The more she hears it, the more likely it is.