Next two Saturdays (May 10th and 17th) will be preparation days for the Encampment here at the Griswold Friary. There are still a few things to finish with the challenge course. Any locals who can spare some time please come. Times are 9:30am to 5:00pm. Bring work clothes and potluck meals. God Bless.
Great preparation for the Encampment. See if you can keep up with Father Bonaventure
The following video was cut together from footage captured last October for the Fall Encampment. Doug Barry runs his Radix Boot Camp for kids of all ages.
The weekend was challenging, but as you will see everyone had a great time. Don’t be put off by the challenges. Doug is great with kids and had everyone encouraging each other. I didn’t matter how athletic or advanced the kids were in their catechism everyone was treated with respect and support.
This Spring Encampment the Knights of Lepanto will be running the Boot Camp, but we hope to have Doug back for the Fall Encampment.
The Spring Encampment page is up. The even will take place on the weekend of May 23-25. The Advertising Flyer and Registration and Release Forms are available, plus all the details can be found there as well.
Please print out the Advertising Flyer and post it where you can. Let’s get the word out!
The linked thumbnail below will remain in the side bar, so it will always be visible on the site.
Let me explain a little: Certain things are bad so far as they go, such as pain, and no one, not even a lunatic, calls a tooth-ache good in itself; but a knife which cuts clumsily and with difficulty is called a bad knife, which it certainly is not. It is only not so good as other knives to which men have grown accustomed. A knife is never bad except on such rare occasions as that in which it is neatly and scientifically planted in the middle of one’s back. The coarsest and bluntest knife which ever broke a pencil into pieces instead of sharpening it is a good thing in so far as it is a knife. It would have appeared a miracle in the Stone Age. What we call a bad knife is a good knife not good enough for us.
When I read Marc’s description of the Encampment Night Watch, I couldn’t help but think of the encounter of the hobbits and Strider on Weathertop in The Fellowship of the Ring. I am not sure whether there is more a comparison or contrast to be found. You decide.
Having experienced the encampment Night Watch, it is easy to understand how a “watchfire” is a mixed blessing for those who are near it. The light of the fire illuminates a large area around the fire itself, but the brightness of that near light makes it more difficult, not easier, to see into the darker distance. What is more, the watchmen’s long and deep shadows, cast by the fire, create large areas of vulnerability. In fact, Father Ignatius successfully “captured” the Night Watchmen by sneaking up on them right in their own shadows!
The situation seems to be different in The Lord of the Rings. When on Weathertop the danger of the approaching Black Riders was first perceived, Strider had the hobbits surround the fire and face outwards. With the approach of the Nazgûl, not much else was to be done. Fortunately for Strider and the Hobbits, they had two advantages over our Night Watchmen. First, they were able to sense the presence of the Riders by the sheer terror and dread that the nearness of the wraiths caused. Frodo felt a “cold dread [creep] over his heart,” before anyone of them had yet definitely spotted one of the enemy. Secondly, what they were looking for could not be illuminated by the light, but was perceived by its absence of any reflected light. The hobbits “saw” the approaching wraiths as black shapes in the form of men. “So black were they that they seemed like black holes in the deep shade behind them.” Read the rest of this entry »
Well, Marc has complied, so his court marshal has been canceled. I have posted his continuation of The Nightwatch Chronicles as an update. Actually, I have to thank Marc for his excellent post and for putting up with the ribbing. So read and comment there.
Also, I am not sure if the Longsword post was all that boring, or everyone missed it. Men and boys, I would like your opinions and ideas. Comment there please.
Comments to this post have been appropriately turned off.
At the last Knights of Lepanto meeting we discussed the possibility of the men and boys learning some kind of martial art for the sake of cultivating the chivalrous and competitive spirit. We had a thrilling time with the Boot Camp and will continue to develop that side the training in the encampments and throughout the year. The boys have already been exposed to fencing, but I thought something a bit more from the period of Lepanto might be more interesting and fun.
Hence the Longsword. In the following clip, notice how the competitors are not worried about period costume, and how they are protected (face mask, padded clothing, protection for forearms, elbows and shins). If the men and boys want to go period, fine; however, I thought this might be a way to have some fun more cheaply. Oh, and by the way, wooden swords would be just fine. Okay, moms?
Update:
Some of the guys already know about the Higgins Armory Sword Guild in Worcester, Massachusetts. There are other organizations as well, such as Arma, the Association for Renaissance Martial Arts. Someone will have to be serious about the study of the art of longsword, in order to teach it to others. I am not suggesting we get carried away with this and loose our focus, but these organizations provide us with a place to start in our research, so as to come up with something appropriate for us. The Arma uniforms with the period flavor without being too meticulous, I think, are pretty cool.
The following is a riveting account of the escapades of the Fall Encampment night watchmen. I hoped they learned their lesson. Most likely not. We should have lots of fun with them next time.
Actually the boys, Marc included, who conveniently left his name out of the account, did learn something. I think they will be more vigilant next time.
The Night Watch’s purpose in this encampment was to protect the camp from enemy invasions, not just one but several. Mr. Barry would attempt to catch us off our guard and get within “striking range” of us, if he succeeded in this we would be subjected to twenty to thirty minutes of work outs in the morning after a night of partial sleep. We took the challenge (as if we had a choice) with a smile and thought it would be fun.
There were a lot of us probably ten or more, and we got roughly set up and had a rough plan. Ten minutes into the night Father Bonaventure had successfully infiltrated our base, he hid behind Adam (which isn’t hard to do) and we paid no attention to him because he said he would go get some flash lights for us. Father then explained to us that it was only a test but, we failed none the less and this made some kids very jumpy. Read the rest of this entry »
Ahem, ladies, just as I said. The boys had a blast. Doug worked them till they were dead tired. He was firm and encouraging, and they loved it.
You have no idea how inspiring it was to see boys of all ages and abilities with looks of determination, struggling but not giving up. Doug had them doing push ups when they missed a catechism question and they all had smiles on their faces.
I am firmly convinced that this is exactly the right approach for boys. Be prepared for the little men to be fired up for more.
One father made a comment before everyone at the very end, saying that he left the encampment and better man. This was a challenge to the mind, body and spirit. We are forming Catholic warriors. Awsome!
Fra Augustine will have some video up in the next day or so. Stay tuned.
This is a down and dirty job of videography; however, we wanted to get it up quick. This was shot just a couple of hours ago.
Doug has just arrived and walks us through the challenge course, explaining what will happen tomorrow and discussing what he hopes to accomplish with the men and boys.
The video is divided up into five 8 minute segments.
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Our Lady of Victories
"O Lady of Last Assurance
Light in the laurels, sunrise
of the dead,
Wind of the ships and
lightning of Lepanto
In honour of Thee, to whom
all honor is fled."
And peace, Eustace. Do not scold, like a kitchen-girl. No warrior scolds. Courteous words or else hard knocks are his only language (King Tirian, last king of Narnia).
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Chivalry, Doug Barry, Encampment, Fatherhood, Guy things, Heroes, Knights, Knights of Lepanto, Men, Squires | Tagged: challenge course, Work | 
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