Item Number 8: Sword, Rapier

Time in possession: In the neighborhood of 3 years

Description: A steel practice rapier, for use in stage combat and (I assume) fencing. Wooden grip with leather inserts (added later to tighten the grip). Currently in need of a little time with some WD40.

Cost: Something to the tune of 200$, although the exact number is lost to me. Ordered online from an armory in Alberta.

Story: Before I begin, do you know how hard it is to take a decent picture of a sword? They're so freaking long. Anyway....

In my theatre program at the University of Winnipeg, there is plenty of room for extra courses outside of the typical acting classes. Personally, I managed to fit in some play writing, a couple of musical theatre workshops, a makeup course and, my favorite, several stage combat classes. Our prof is named Rick Skene, and he's one of the top fight choreographers and stunt people in Canada, and on top of all that a really fun guy, so I threw myself into each class with reckless abandon.

After completing the unarmed stage combat class, I was delighted to find out that a sword fighting class would be offered the next year. We had done a little bit of weapon fighting in the unarmed class, but the sword fighting class promised to add new dimensions to our fight making skills, not only as we'd be learning new weapon skills (Rapier, Rapier and Dagger, Quarterstaff) but also because the class would be twice as long. Whoo!

I enjoyed the class so much that I decided that it would be worth getting a sword of my own. A few inquiries with Rick and my class mate Jacquie and I found a site based out of Alberta that was just getting into the sword making business and was cutting a deal for it's second run of swords. I was in, and greatly enjoyed having my own sword, especially since it meant that I would not have to risk getting stuck with one of the older, much heavier and clumsier swords that Rick had for the class.

Sadly, it hasn't seen too much use over the past little while. Besides being used in a Fringe play over the summer it has remained in my room, ready to be put to use should I be attacked by zombies. And then it would old be used until I could get my much-more-reliable-for-hitting-zombies-in-the-head boken. While there have been talks as well for organizing a fight club, for stage fighting of the armed or unarmed variety, nothing has come of that either. We're lame.