Primera mujer en ganar un torneo swordfish contra hombres
Publicado: 09 Nov 2011 12:09
Pues parece que tenemos primera mujer en ganar un torneo de esgrima antigua peleando contra hombres 
Comentario de uno de los jueces :
Just back from Swordfish 2011, where I had the honor of being one of the judges in the sword & buckler tournament. This was an international open tournament, fought with blunt steel swords made by Peter Regenyei of Hungary. There were around 20 fighters taking part, coming from about 10 different countries.
What made this tournament especially significant was the fact that it was won by a new fencer, Kristine Konsmo, fighting in her first HEMA tournament. Despite this being her debut as a tournament fencer, Kristine made a huge impression, easily defeating a series of male opponents. Kristine fenced in a clean, crisp I.33 style, typically moving into range carefully in a tight Halbschilt (Half-Shield) position, occasionally shifting into Prima Custodia and Secunda Custodia (First and Second Ward). Once in range, she kept her opponents under relentless pressure with a series of threatening Langort (Longpoint) thrusts at the face. This gained their respect, and forced them to move off-line to try to get around her point. Then Kristine picked them off with a series of well-placed cuts and thrusts. In one case, she demolished an extremely active Polish fencer, despite the fact that he was left-handed. Unable to get past her point, he kept moving to his left to try to get around her buckler. Unfortunately for him, she quickly saw through his game, and repeatedly took the wrist of his buckler arm with a series of clean, convincing cuts. (This pattern happened three times throughout the fight.)
What makes this significant is that Kristine Konsmo is the first woman to win an international open steel tournament, rising above a field of largely male competitors of greater size and experience. She also showed that she is tough as nails, shaking off two very hard hits (hand, side) in the final bout before polishing off her opponent. What's more, Kristine has only two years of HEMA training under her belt. Aside from that, she has no prior martial arts or sport fencing experience, although she does have 12 years of experience in ballet.
Kristine is American, but lives in Norway. She trains with the Free Duellists, a HEMA club in Oslo that specializes in I.33 sword & buckler. Her instructor, Thomas Nylokken of Bergen, Norway, is also to be commended. Not only has he trained his young protege well, but he actively coached her through her fights, giving her just the right mix of technical and tactical advice. (Thomas himself placed third in the sword & buckler competition, although his performance was marred by a series of double hits.)
The appearance of young, athletic, highly-skilled fencers like Kristine fills me with great confidence and high hopes for the future of HEMA. It's particularly exciting to see the rise of a series of tough female tournament fighters who are able to go toe-to-toe with their larger male counterparts and come out on top as the result of good, historical technique, tactical shrewdness, and physical courage.
Congratulations, Kristine! We hope to see much more of you in the years to come!
La susodicha
Peleando en la final
Y comentario mío
La chica es buena buena, no pierde la guardia aunque intenten arrollarle a lo berserk, tiene muy buen instinto para cazar huecos y consigue que el otro se ponga nervioso y cometa fallos
Comentario de uno de los jueces :
Just back from Swordfish 2011, where I had the honor of being one of the judges in the sword & buckler tournament. This was an international open tournament, fought with blunt steel swords made by Peter Regenyei of Hungary. There were around 20 fighters taking part, coming from about 10 different countries.
What made this tournament especially significant was the fact that it was won by a new fencer, Kristine Konsmo, fighting in her first HEMA tournament. Despite this being her debut as a tournament fencer, Kristine made a huge impression, easily defeating a series of male opponents. Kristine fenced in a clean, crisp I.33 style, typically moving into range carefully in a tight Halbschilt (Half-Shield) position, occasionally shifting into Prima Custodia and Secunda Custodia (First and Second Ward). Once in range, she kept her opponents under relentless pressure with a series of threatening Langort (Longpoint) thrusts at the face. This gained their respect, and forced them to move off-line to try to get around her point. Then Kristine picked them off with a series of well-placed cuts and thrusts. In one case, she demolished an extremely active Polish fencer, despite the fact that he was left-handed. Unable to get past her point, he kept moving to his left to try to get around her buckler. Unfortunately for him, she quickly saw through his game, and repeatedly took the wrist of his buckler arm with a series of clean, convincing cuts. (This pattern happened three times throughout the fight.)
What makes this significant is that Kristine Konsmo is the first woman to win an international open steel tournament, rising above a field of largely male competitors of greater size and experience. She also showed that she is tough as nails, shaking off two very hard hits (hand, side) in the final bout before polishing off her opponent. What's more, Kristine has only two years of HEMA training under her belt. Aside from that, she has no prior martial arts or sport fencing experience, although she does have 12 years of experience in ballet.
Kristine is American, but lives in Norway. She trains with the Free Duellists, a HEMA club in Oslo that specializes in I.33 sword & buckler. Her instructor, Thomas Nylokken of Bergen, Norway, is also to be commended. Not only has he trained his young protege well, but he actively coached her through her fights, giving her just the right mix of technical and tactical advice. (Thomas himself placed third in the sword & buckler competition, although his performance was marred by a series of double hits.)
The appearance of young, athletic, highly-skilled fencers like Kristine fills me with great confidence and high hopes for the future of HEMA. It's particularly exciting to see the rise of a series of tough female tournament fighters who are able to go toe-to-toe with their larger male counterparts and come out on top as the result of good, historical technique, tactical shrewdness, and physical courage.
Congratulations, Kristine! We hope to see much more of you in the years to come!
La susodicha
Peleando en la final
Y comentario mío
La chica es buena buena, no pierde la guardia aunque intenten arrollarle a lo berserk, tiene muy buen instinto para cazar huecos y consigue que el otro se ponga nervioso y cometa fallos