Heroic Dreams - All Things Medieval

We live in a pretty crazy world! <-- I guess that is an understatement!

What I an exactly referring to is how everything is set up to make it real easy for us. Everything aims at doing more for us so we have to do less. Just about everything in the world is available to us at the click of a mouse, or the pull up at a drive thru. And this brings me to the topic of the martial arts. 

Please excuse the pun but Martial Arts are the perfect way to combat the sedentary lifestyle that is imposed upon us.

Many of the martial arts were born in times that required them for survival, and this is no longer applicable to us today. It is very unlikely the town you live in will be over run by barbaric hordes forcing you to take the sword down from over the fireplace and defend yourself and your family.

So why should you learn how to sword fight, or fence, or karate kick?

Well, aside from the romance, mystique, intrigue, and tradition of many of the  martial arts there is a component that is very important yet very seldom talked about: The exercise of it.

Let me explain why martial arts is one of the best things you can do for yourself in comparison to other forms of exercise. There are three basic levels of exercise:

 First level: Go to the gym? Run, Jog? Treadmill? Calisthenics? These are all great. You will get healthier, look better, feel better and improve overall!

Second level: Learn a sport? You get all the above benefits and you add in the facts of having fun, and improving eye to hand coordination, spatial abilities, reflexes, and more. More benefit!

Third level: Martial Arts? You get all the benefits listed above and you add in the third level of philosophy and tradition. All martial arts are woven with the thoughts of generations of practicioners.  You benefit even further!

Now you are probably a fan of medieval things predominantly because of the romantic aspects of it. Who doesn't want to be the hero that rescues the princess and slays the dragon! (After all the name of this blog is "Heroic Dreams")

But, you really should consider the fact that the world we live in is quite different than that one. There are still dragons, but they are different; Now they whisper in our ears to sit down, relax, watch a little TV, surf the internet, drive to the store rather than walk. And a million other things that will quickly put a few extra pounds on you.

So, how can you combat this whispering of dragons?

Even though the dragons have changed the techniques to fight them are still the same. Pick up a sword and swing it around. Find an instructor and learn a martial art. Get a staff or a stick, or a tonfa, sword, wooden sword, bo, nunchaku, shield, mace, or any other number of things and learn how to use it! Take it down off the wall and swing it!

If nothing else, it is a wonderful form of exercise that you will benefit greatly from.

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I have been into the art of building small catapults for a while now and I have built several different ones. I have even built a few trebuchets. Anyway, on of the best things about a project like this is that once you are done building it you are not done with it. You can play with it and use it. It’s an interactive project that people really enjoy. I have one particular catapult project called “The Table Top Troll” which is extremely popular. I get a lot of visitors to the project and I get a lot of email from people thanking me for it. It’s a totally free project that takes you through all the steps of making a nice little rubber band powered catapult.

To do the project I had to build two of them. The first one was a prototype where I figured out all the details then I built a second one so I could take pictures of the parts and every step of the way. You just need a few basic hand tools and a little wood to make this catapult and it’s a blast.

If you want to do this project then check out my make a catapult projects here:

Make a catapult

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If you want a kit with everything included so you can easily make your own catapult check this out at Amazon.com Easy wooden Catapult Kit

Popularity: 86% [?]

As a fan of all things medieval I have always been interested in the art of blacksmithing. You probably have given it some thought too. I haven’t done any blacksmithing yet but I plan to.

Anyway, I have a friend who did take a class on blacksmithing and we talked extensively about what he learned. He has loaned me an object he made and he told me some interesting things about the process.

I have written a full explanation of what he learned and have taken lots of pictures of the fire poker he made. (Thats the picture shown here in this post).

If you want to learn what he learned about shaping metal, the anvil, the temperature and more check out my webpage here: Blacksmithing

If you are really interested in the subject of Medieval Blacksmithing and Swordmaking I have put together, In association with Amazon.com The Blacksmith’s Bookstore

Popularity: 26% [?]