Pre-battle/post-battle

[Kiddo Seanchain]

So for those of you who are fighters, what are you pre-battle rituals? Or post-battle fighter brain reaction? Or do you know of some good ones?

Mine are... intersting. Being a woman my adrenaline takes longer to kick in than guys and so I'm about trembling with fear before the first melee starts. So I keep repeating to myself, "Give me courage, make me strong" over and over until we charge. I usually die right off the bat but that gets adrenaline going and I'm no longer about to collapse.

The post-battle fighter brain is the best though. About twenty minutes after the adrenaline starts to wear off... I sit down... and cry uncontrollably. I mean, can't speak, can barely breath heaving sobs. Sometimes it happens when I fight - it's just a wierd adrenaline reaction - and it scares the crap out of my opponents. I usually try to warn them beforehand, or at least have someone who is used to it nearby to explain that no, I'm not hurt, I'm just having a crying fit and it'll pass.

It's great if it happens mid-melee. (those twenty minute breaks are killer cause they give me just enough time to wind down and trigger the fit) Everyone is pounding their swords on their shields and screaming DRACO INVICTUS at the top of their lungs. What am I doing? *SNRRRRRK SOB* I always have to tell everyone after the melee if I cried so we can laugh about it. Some of our members find it fascinating.

So what are yours?  

[Sunegami]

OMG, one of our female fencers (her name is Fredeburg-- spelling is approximate sweatdrop whee ) does the exact same thing! It happened during War Practice, actually.

We were practicing melee, and (we think) she got hit too hard; she pulled off her helmet and sank, sobbing, to the ground, while the marshals (and all of us on the sidelines who could see her) screamed "HOLD!!" several times.

She was led over to a seat and took about a 20/30 minute breather, during which she explained that she was okay, she didn't get hit that hard, it just caught her by surprise and that, coupled with all the chaos of the melee, was a bit too much for her.

She then got right back out there and eventually won the mini 1-on-1 tournament. . . thingy (whatever they called it sweatdrop ) they held next.

Anywho. . . yea, I don't really fight yet, so I've got nothin'. whee  

[Hyratel Dragon]

Yeah, I'm stuck in the middle of melee practices, 'cos my sheild is too short, too narrow for tourney. I am tall, skinny, and that sheild opens my butt to this brutal far-side leg-wrap one of the local fighters has.

I had one of those crying fits, and it turns out I was actually injured: my leg armor had pressed into my leg, and a minor leg-wrap had folded my skin over the edge, giving this rather odd rash. (sorry, no photos were made!! :XP: )  

[BladeDeSoul]

Hmmmmm....
I remember my first year I was scarred/nervous like all the time. Even at practice with the same dozen people I fight every week. But then I took a year off and did nothing but solo katas and pell work. Came back and now I'm not affraid, on top of it I score a lot more kills too, just keep surprising myself.

Anyways, I find that after I arm up I leave my helmet off and kinda sit there on my knees, focusing on my breathing and slowly putting myself into the mindset that I have to fight. I just say over and over again. "Alright, this is what you're trained for....'' I just feel so mellow, sometimes I get little butterflies, but it usually works out in the end, I know all too well the whole rush/fear then sick to your stomach feeling.

William The Bloody.  

[Not-So-Sweet Transvestite]

My Pre-Battle Ritual:

-alarm goes off.
-I b***h and moan about getting up this early.
-I more or less wander out of my tent (and sometime shower to get awake)
-people shove food at me, knowing I won't remember to make time to eat by myself
-armor up
-b***h about whatever's wrong with my armor this week
-b***h about how far away it is to the field
-get to the field
-grin like a kid at jul until a lay-on is called
I ******** love this game.


My Post-Battle Ritual:
-shower
-sex
-food

[the above can be put into any order]  

[Not-So-Sweet Transvestite]

BladeDeSoul

Hmmmmm....
I remember my first year I was scarred/nervous like all the time. Even at practice with the same dozen people I fight every week. But then I took a year off and did nothing but solo katas and pell work. Came back and now I'm not affraid, on top of it I score a lot more kills too, just keep surprising myself.

Anyways, I find that after I arm up I leave my helmet off and kinda sit there on my knees, focusing on my breathing and slowly putting myself into the mindset that I have to fight. I just say over and over again. "Alright, this is what you're trained for....'' I just feel so mellow, sometimes I get little butterflies, but it usually works out in the end, I know all too well the whole rush/fear then sick to your stomach feeling.

William The Bloody.

I used to get really nervous before the start of each battle, but then at Estrella my helmet came off and I had the realization that I was literally in mortal peril. Since then I've been a lot calmer, because I know that if all my gear stays put I'll be fine.  

[BladeDeSoul]

squire to fools

BladeDeSoul

Hmmmmm....
I remember my first year I was scarred/nervous like all the time. Even at practice with the same dozen people I fight every week. But then I took a year off and did nothing but solo katas and pell work. Came back and now I'm not affraid, on top of it I score a lot more kills too, just keep surprising myself.

Anyways, I find that after I arm up I leave my helmet off and kinda sit there on my knees, focusing on my breathing and slowly putting myself into the mindset that I have to fight. I just say over and over again. "Alright, this is what you're trained for....'' I just feel so mellow, sometimes I get little butterflies, but it usually works out in the end, I know all too well the whole rush/fear then sick to your stomach feeling.

William The Bloody.

I used to get really nervous before the start of each battle, but then at Estrella my helmet came off and I had the realization that I was literally in mortal peril. Since then I've been a lot calmer, because I know that if all my gear stays put I'll be fine.

Ohhhhhhhh man that reminds of me a while back. I was fighting at March Hare here in Caid and I fought a pick up with Duke Dirk. He was very very gentle with me but still managed to screw my helmet up. Got me right across the grill when I got legged. Anyways....Came off the feild and noticed everything was kinda 'off', the leather strap broke and my nasal was like 4 inches out of place to the left. Ahhhh. the newbie days.  

[Kiddo Seanchain]

squire to fools

My Pre-Battle Ritual:

-alarm goes off.
-I b***h and moan about getting up this early.
-I more or less wander out of my tent (and sometime shower to get awake)
-people shove food at me, knowing I won't remember to make time to eat by myself
-armor up
-b***h about whatever's wrong with my armor this week
-b***h about how far away it is to the field
-get to the field
-grin like a kid at jul until a lay-on is called
I ******** love this game.


My Post-Battle Ritual:
-shower
-sex
-food

[the above can be put into any order]

For the girl's sake I would hope that shower would come before sex. Fighter-smell is icky!  

[north_of_nita]

Kiddo the fox-phoenix

squire to fools

My Pre-Battle Ritual:

-alarm goes off.
-I b***h and moan about getting up this early.
-I more or less wander out of my tent (and sometime shower to get awake)
-people shove food at me, knowing I won't remember to make time to eat by myself
-armor up
-b***h about whatever's wrong with my armor this week
-b***h about how far away it is to the field
-get to the field
-grin like a kid at jul until a lay-on is called
I ******** love this game.


My Post-Battle Ritual:
-shower
-sex
-food

[the above can be put into any order]

For the girl's sake I would hope that shower would come before sex. Fighter-smell is icky!

I dont know I kinda like the smell. Granted I guess Im just odd that way... xd  

[Sunegami]

north_of_nita

Kiddo the fox-phoenix

squire to fools

My Post-Battle Ritual:
-shower
-sex
-food

[the above can be put into any order]

For the girl's sake I would hope that shower would come before sex. Fighter-smell is icky!

I dont know I kinda like the smell. Granted I guess I'm just odd that way... xd

Same here! heart whee  

[Dragostae]

While I've not been in a battle...yet (having rheumatoid arthritis kind of cramps that style...but mark my words, Calontir, I will be on the fields of battle), I suspect that my highly competitive self'll love it.

I played football (read: soccer) for a few years, and having performance experience (read: years of band competitions), I'm sure I can write down my past rituals and that they'd be the same.

Pre-battle/game/what have you rituals

-Wake up
-Get caffeinated
-Stretch
-Meditate/clear mind/focus
-Abbrieviated practice

By that time, the adrenaline's pumpin' like crazy. Can't think straight, etc. It's these times that make me swear that I have a boy's brain.

-FIGHT!

Post-battle/game/what have you rituals

-Meditate/clear mind/focus
-Destress
-Go party
-Sleep

Yeah.

I'm pathetic, I know.

I'm working on bulking up, actually, which is taking less time than anticipated. I'm certainly not used to wearing armour (seriously, those games of football, American football, and ultimate Frisbee WITHOUT padding spoiled the crap out of me, I'm tellin' you), so it'll be a completely different experience when I've got fifty pounds of armour on. I'm one of those weird girls that don't cry unless I've got a broken bone or something...and since I've never had one, you figure it out.  

[Felix OFlyn]

Befor I useualy just try to focus as i have add and have a hard time focusing, this problum is generaly cured with the words "lay on"

After the battle (I always do pick up fights and any other random thing to get all my energy out) I strip off my armor and sit in a cair... and don't move for at least an hour.

In the day or too affter the battle when I am still sore I make sure to swing my stick around a few times a day to keep from getting stiff.  

[[Atropa Belladonna]]

squire to fools

My Pre-Battle Ritual:

-alarm goes off.
-I b***h and moan about getting up this early.
-I more or less wander out of my tent (and sometime shower to get awake)
-people shove food at me, knowing I won't remember to make time to eat by myself
-armor up
-b***h about whatever's wrong with my armor this week
-b***h about how far away it is to the field
-get to the field
-grin like a kid at jul until a lay-on is called
I ******** love this game.


My Post-Battle Ritual:
-shower
-sex
-food

[the above can be put into any order]

Ditto, but with the addition of an adrenaline spike in weird places of late. I spent 20 minutes with sympathetic water-bearers at Darkwell this year because I couldn't stop shaking and I didn't want to bother the chiurgeons since I knew what was going on and it wouldn't hurt me.

Well, that and the "sex" doesn't happen so much now that my war lover isn't so much mine these days, and my primary's a noncom light fighter... food group.  

[WarriorNorseWolf]

Ok you want a wierd pre battle thing. I close my eyes and sit there till they call for the oath, get up and hurry to the field yeh, yeh, neh, bow to crown, bow to baron/baroness, kneel at my ladys feet then the fun starts... As I stand on the list field in a shield wall I look for polearms, now i am not tlaking just one or two I am talking the groups as large as I can find on the opposing side. I stare at them and wait for the lay on and usually my barony knows to give me room to charge forward fast and close up behind me because as soon as we reach distance I am off like a bat out of hell after any polearms in sight and I usually take a fair amount more of them than the reverse (thus the nickname I was given at three saints and a goat of the anti-polearm handgrenade.) I find the look on the face of some unfortunate polearmer who is getting chased around the field by an insane shieldman kinda gets me in the fighting spirit.


anyway... for a afterbattle ritual it is usually me collapsing on the sidelines either after the last of the pickups or on occasion earlier due to injury my fiancee has to use the magic words to get any fighter out of armor... canopener... then shower, etc. till bardic fire where i go get drunk and though I believe I sound like two cats getting busy on a fence somebody usually recruits me to sing...  

[[Shall.We.Blaspheme]]

Typical rituals for typical atlantian thugs.


Find armor
Fix undoubtedly broken armor
Shove into car



Usually if im in full armor (a rarity, considering I break something new every week) I'll just stand out on the field and hit myself in the chest with my sword. I've been told thats usually done to the -shield- but my shield is far, far too pretty.

Post battle rituals.. I guzzle water, hyperventilate, and nod at all the people saying words at me.