Some of my fictional idols (except Guinevere- she may be real)

I've been researching women warriors lately. I often feel that that's what I am... and what I should be.

Had I been born in another time, I would be a wild woman, a pict, a pagan, a celt- living among the trees. I would live with the land protect my own with a sword and a bow.

I'd be like Guinevere (King Arthur 2004 version), strong and ferocious, wild and graceful.

Or I could be a medieval French noble, bravely working as a spy and standing up to the enemy (and falling in love with a Scottish archeologist from the future).

I'd be Lady Claire (Timeline), courageously defending my home and my people.

In my own time, I could still be a spy, but with more gadgets and kick-ass disguises.

Like Sydney Bristow from Alias (my favorite show), always ready for a fight.

Maybe it's because I've grown up in a martial arts family and been trained to be a fighter, but I feel like a warrior. Like that's what I'm made for. Not modern combat and all that, I'm not made for much of anything that's modern, but fighting to defend my land from the expanding empires. My body and mind is made for that.

Women have greater accuracy and aim (thanks to slow-twitch muscles: slightly slower reaction time, greater accuracy), a higher tolerance for pain, greater stamina (tolerance and stamina=childbirth), a lower center of gravity and higher flexibility (leading to better kicks, which I've noticed at the dojo- women tend to be better kickers, men tend to be better punchers). I'm not saying that women make better warriors than men, just that both have their strong-points.

My favorite historic women warriors are mostly Celtic, Pictish, and Briton. Though the Egyptians, Greeks, Russians, and Ethiopians had some very ferocious women.

For the ancient Celts, women warriors weren't so unheard of as for some other cultures. Cuchulain (a great Irish warrior [male]) was trained by a woman revered for her skills in battle and his own mother was a warrior. I've heard that there were women in the Fianna. There were quite a few Celtic queens who led armies into battle (Mebh, Boudiccia).

Anyway, I guess I'm just trying to say...

I need to find a place that willl teach lessons in swordfighting (probably with short-swords) and archery (non-compound bow!!!). My dad only teaches styles of swordfighting from Asia- which is beautiful and deadly... just not what I want to learn right now.

All of these women are deserving of individual posts in the future. I'll probably do a post on Lady Claire and her beautiful red hair (I wish I had her hair!) and another one on Guinevere and her fun outfits and awesome bow, too.

Yeppers.

Love,

Belle