The ROGUE Gulf Coast Fencing Site
You can follow the rules without following the herd...
My name is John Trojanowski. Welcome to this personal and completely unofficial website for fencing in the Texas Gulf Coast area. All views and opinions, unless otherwise stated, should be considered as my own and in no way reflecting the position of the Gulf Coast Division of the USFA or any other NGB.
The main page is updated (approximately) weekly. This page was last updated on Sunday, 30 March 2008.
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Houston Cup #1 Mixed Epee Final
Above are the two encounters of the Mixed Epee Final of the Houston Cup #1 from September 16, 2007. Robert Reed (left) vs. Davis Jno-Finn (right). Steve Moss is the referee. These clips are courtesy of Mr. Robert Reed.
Farewell to a Fencer
We lost one of our own last week, a fencer and for some of us a friend.
Greg Unruh was born in Midland, Texas. His family later moved to the Panhandle. An honors student, he graduated from Pampa High School in 1996 at the age of 16. He studied international business and German at Texas Tech. By 1999, however, he was here in the Gulf Coast Division. He fenced from then until the end of the 2001-2002 season as a member of the Clear Lake Fencing Club. For the 2002-2003 season he competed as a member of the Bayou City Fencing Academy. The next season he was a member of the Fencing Club at the University of Houston.
He fenced local tournaments as well as regional events like the Poujardieu and Van Buskirk Memorial events. He could be found at most SSCC events (Longhorn, Oz Parsons, Grand Prix) as well as a number of NACs. He competed at the summer nationals in 2000 and 2002. While he tried his hand at all three weapons, most of us will primarily recall him as an epeeiste.
He had his E in epee by 2000.
He got his E02 in foil at the Clear Lake Spring U-Only Tournament in May 2002. By the time of the 2002 Longhorn he carried a C02 in epee. He renewed his C to a C03 at that year's Oz Parsons Memorial.
In 2004 Greg graduated with a bachelor's degree in business management from the University of Houston-Clear Lake.
In February 2006, Greg joined the Army. He began as a fire support specialist. He was assigned to the 2nd Squadron, 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment that September. The next month he was sent to Iraq.He married in December of 2006.
Greg was killed in Iraq on March 19. While on a reconnaissance mission in the area around Mandali, near the border with Iran, he was at the top gun position on a humvee when the vehicle rolled over.
For anyone with something to say or post about Greg, a discussion thread has been set up here.
Greg Unruh
Saracen Heads Competition: Four Winds Faire Joust
The jousting events at the Four Winds Faire are competitive events, not choreographed. In this event, two "Saracen Heads" (cabbages) are placed along the railing. The knights must either knock down (1 point), slice (2 points) or impale (3 points) the heads. This clip comes from the second joust of the opening Saturday, March 1, 2008.
Renaissance Faires
The Four Winds Reniassance Faire continues every weekend through April 20. Held near Whitehouse and Troup, Texas (south of Tyler), it one of the states smaller Renaissance Faires. While a patron is not faced with quite the overwhelming number of vendors as at, say Scarborough Faire or the Texas Reniassance Festival, there is much in the way of entertainment.
In addition to the usual music and comedy fare of such events, The Four Winds Faire is among the growing number of faires in this country featuring competitive jousting. At Four Winds, a rolling poijnts list is maintained and updated for the competitiors day by day (two jousts per day), with final winners at the end of the last joust on the closing day.
The Four Winds can also boast a fine and energetic cast for the various duels that are choreographed for our entertainment. This writer also commeds the faire for keeping alive the tradition of the Human Chess Match, which many of us who regularly attend the Texas Renaissance Festival greatly miss.
Scarborough Renaissance Festival, known to many as Scarborough Faire or "Scarby," will have its opening weekend April 5-6. Based near Waxahatchie, they will run each weekend through the Memorial Day Monday, May 26th. As noted, it is one of Texas' two truly large Renaissance Faires (along with the Texas Renaissance Festival). There is a large variety of entertainment, food and vendors selling quite an array of goods.
The joust, while choreographed entertainment and not a competition, is performed by the knights of Noble Cause Productions. Based out of Oklahoma City, they are lead by Bryan Beard. Bryan worked his way up the ranks, beginning as a squire to knights performing at various faires around the country.
As an aside, one of his mentors was Richard Alvarez of the Houston area. In addition to performing historical combat, Alvarez was a fencing pupil of Claude Caux at the University of Houston and served as a prevot at the old Salle Sebastiani in Houston. (He has also created a splendid documentary of these "knights" called American Jouster.)
It would be tough to endorse either of these faires over the other. So this writer suggests you make time to visit both.
Stage Combat- Rapier & Dagger - 4 Winds Renaissance Faire (near Tyler)
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