Interview with Female Fighter Jeanie Davan

Back in August, I came across a fighter known as Samantha Swords. She competes in tournaments as a swordfighter and jouster and last February she won the longsword competition at the Harcourt Park World Invitational Jousting Tournament. Best in the world. Wow. Her story opened the door to that world for me, and I reached out through Twitter to seek other female fighters for interviews. Jeanie replied, and she is awesome. End of.

She is a member of the Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA) and participates in armored combat. She is a squire to the knight in her local area but plays in an entire kingdom across Wisconsin, Minnesota, and the Dakotas. She started training to fight in October 2011 and became authorized in March 2012. She fights twice a week locally (wow) and at least once a month at events. That takes dedication.

As far as weaponry, she prefers the Florentine style - fighting with two sticks at once. The swords are made of rattan to minimize injury. I'm guessing they still hurt though. Jeanie also fights with sword and shield.

She decided to try fighting because she loved history and wanted to take fortune into her own hands. Once she pushed herself into the physical fights, she was overwhelmed by how fun and challenging it was. The mixture of history and hobby was irresistable. "It is a ton of fun as well as a mental exercise in learning how to win those fights."

Over the years, she's had to learn how to hit and hit hard. She often fights against men and had to get out of the habit of apologizing when she landed a solid strike. It's just instinct. Even though she did feel a little like outsider in the beginning because it's a bit of a boy's club, she says it does fade over time.

I've definitely gained a new appreciation for the hard work and dedication involved and have tons of admiration for Jeanie and any other women who participate in medieval style battle.