I’m sorry I took so long to get this video posted. I promised all sorts of people, and of course, nothing about me is timely. You’d never know that I really, really try. But as the Wards always say, We have all day to be late.

That said, this is the video of a closing at the Dollinger Farm event earlier this reenacting season. A “closing” is where soldiers fight close up, usually in hand-to-hand combat. Closings must be practiced ahead of time and approved by the safety officer.

Here’s the thing: we need more of these! I realize they’re work. I get it. I had to let my husband go off and sword fight for quite a while right around lunch time when I could have used his help. It’s a sacrifice in terms of adding more to do during the day, but listen to the audience’s reaction! They loved it!

And sure, there is an added element of danger here. But that’s my husband getting all chopped up. I’m cool with it. He’s having the time of his life! And I completely trust the guy hacking at him with a sword, as well as the safety officer who approved all of this. These guys aren’t stupid. They’re going to play it realistically safe. As reenactors, I think we really need to trust ourselves and encourage this sort of thing more and more. I guarantee that the kids watching will remember this battle, especially the one who says at the end of the video, “I can’t feel my face without a head!”

My husband was a bit more involved in this battle than usual. Gotta say, I was very proud of him. 🙂