The Winter Warrior Challenge has officially begun! Although, if you want to wait until Monday to start no one will blame you.

As we explained in the last Winter Warrior post, each month will focus on a different theme. These themes add variety and allow us to cover a wider set of skills or activities over the course of the Winter. November’s theme is Mentality!

I really like that we’re starting out with Mentality because things are still fresh on my mind. I haven’t forgotten everything in a turkey-induced haze or begun my annual hibernation. With the season over, the sooner I can ponder and reflect on this past year, the better. Even when I’m letting my body rest from all the hard work of a fencing season.

So with that said, let’s get to the Weekly Challenges!

Each month is broken down into Weekly Challenges. Every Monday, a new challenge will be posted on the Blog and Home Page. If you opted-in on the texting group (contact Kane for details), you’ll begin receiving Weekly Challenge updates starting Monday, November 5th.

The goal of each of these Weekly Challenges is to accomplish at least 6 of the week’s listed activities by the end of the week. This means you can do all 6 in one day or just do one a day. It’s up to you!

Week 1: Reflect on the Season in Your Journal

November 5 – 11

• Meditate: Take 10 minutes to meditate about this season and record your thoughts in your journal.
• What did you learn?: Record all the things you learned this year in your journal.
• What was your best fight? Why?: Describe your best or most memorable fight in your journal. Why does that stand out?
• What skill did you improve? How?: Think about what skill improved the most this year and how it happened. Record your findings in your journal.
• What will you practice next year?: Record ideas in your journal about what you’d like to practice next season.
• Who can you learn from?: Think about all the fencers in the group and list who you could learn from and why in your journal.
• Mindmap what you do well: Create a mind map of all the things you do well in your journal.
• Mindmap things that affect your confidence: Create a mind map of all the things that affect your confidence.

Week 2: Record Personal Lore in Your Journal

November 12 – 18

• Who are you?: Describe who your persona is as a person.
• Where are you from?: Decide on where your persona comes from.
• When were you born/how old are you?: Write down when your persona was born and/or how old they are now.
• Do you have a family? Who are they?: Detail your family situation and who they are.
• What is your backstory?: Write down how you would introduce your persona to another person. 
• What are your special skills? Weapons?: Detail any special skills your persona has or weapons they utilize.
• What are your talents, hobbies, and/or interests?: Describe if your persona has any additional extracurricular interests outside of Fencing.
• How did you connect with Terrasylvae?: Write down how your persona encountered and came to join Terrasylvae?

Week 3: Acts of Gratitude

November 19 – 25

• Complete a random act of kindness: Do something kind for someone else today.
• Compliment a fellow fencer: Say something nice to a fellow fencer.
• Give a specific “thank you” to someone in the group: Thank someone in the group for something specific you appreciate.
• Thank an Officer: Thank an Officer from the season for something. Officers were Kane, Ul’vade, Shay, Veron, Don, Draco, Evanlyn, Ladrona, Ja’ika, Miren, & Tsyng.
• Read Shay’s Attitude article on the website: After reading Shay’s Attitude article, record your thoughts.
• Tell someone why you love fencing: Share your love of fencing with someone. Bonus points if you don’t know them.
• Share a helpful TED talk on the Garrison: Post a link to a TED talk you have found helpful to the Garrison.
• Invite someone to train with you: Coordinate a time to train with another fencer.

Week 4: Publish Your Writing on the Website

November 26 – December 2

• Read 2 or 3 examples of writing others have posted: Go to the Blog and read a few stories others have written.
• Decide if you are writing a journal entry or Terrasylvan Lore: A journal entry is a non-story article. A lore entry is a story about your persona. Click links for examples.
• Brainstorm your story: Write down as many ideas as you can of what you want to write about.
• Develop a rough draft: Create a rough draft of your piece. Don’t worry about getting it perfect.
• Share it with a friend for edits: Ask a friend to edit you piece and give constructive feedback/edits.
• Contact Kane for a personal journal page (if needed): Ask Kane to design a personalized journal page just for you, if needed.
• Type/Submit your story on the website for edits: Follow these directions to submit your story on the website.
• Share your published work on the Facebook Group: Post a link to the Facebook group and show off your finished piece.