IMCF Rules of the Melee 2025 Part 3 (unnofficial)

My latest video of the melee rules of the International Medieval Combat Federation (IMCF)

Captain Z goes to NYCC, Day 1 haul!

Here is my second video about the 2025 New York Comic Con, in which I show and illustrate certain items I picked up that day, which are relevant to my Captain Marvel Culture project.

Captain Marvel Culture 

Thoguhts for our National Holiday Today (Super Bowl)

Taking just a few moments here to share a little of the joy and meaning of our National Holiday today:

This remarkably erudite, fast-talking, fast-paced review of how the collapse of everybody else led to the Patriots and Rams meeting in the Super Bowl again truly encapsulates the hyperbolic, overblown nature of the sport, its outsized impact on our culture, economy, and daily life (please note the serial comma and use it), its potential for distraction from Real Issues, and ultimate irrelevance to anything important, except as a distraction from the boring mundanities of economic imbalance, ecological disaster, and social injustice.

Yes, I said social injustice. Hate me.

Except for one thing: This game, and this sport, can be used as an inspiration. When watching it today, think to yourself: If these guys are willing to work so hard and risk so much for something whose recorded, objective outcome is so meaningless, how hard con you work to achieve something that is truly important and meaningful to you?

I am going to try something...

I have a few projects that have been waiting for me to do those last steps needed to call them complete:

Return to Pennsic
American Knights 2015
American Knights 2018
Captain Marvel Culture

The trouble is that when I try to find the time to do them, I wind up checking email, visiting Facebook, monitoring my YouTube video stats, editing some other little video, or doing some other thing that will bring momentary, instant satisfaction, but is of dubious value towards those three projects.

Oh yeah, and there is always "someone wrong on the Internet" (I now hate Quora).

So here is my plan:

I have two short videos in the que for me to finish and post to YouTube. I have two blog posts about the upcoming "Captain Marvel" and "SHAZAM!" movies that need to be finished and posted. I have some upcoming events that I need to promote.

I will get this done in the coming week or stop working on them.

I will stop posting and commenting and "liking" on Facebook.

I will stop counter-trolling the HEMA snobs on IMCF and Battle of the Nations videos on YouTube.

I will stop correcting everybody who gets something wrong about one or more Captain Marvels on...just about everything.

I will continue posting promos of upcoming events, and sending birthday greetings every morning, but that's it.

Everything else I do on the computer will be in the service of completing or getting to an as-yet unrealized level of completion of the three projects listed above.

I may even cancel a scheduled or potential engagement to get something done.

So bear with me, friends and fans. This is going to be big.

Captain Z

Final report from Battle of the Nations

Polish TV and a local documentary crew interviewed me. I tried to give them the best answers I could regarding why I am doing this, what I thought about the fights, how I would compare SCA combat with this full-contact fighting, if my BJJ experience helped me at all, etc.

Here's the TV show that interviewed me. The segment on the Battle of the Nations starts at 5:10...

Interestingly, it seemed that every interviewer asked why Americans would do this when the United States has no medieval heritage. The stock answer for this is that the majority of Americans come from Europe, and thus do have a medieval heritage. I would also add that Asian-, African-, and even Native American-descended Americans also have some sort of chivalric warrior heritage. There is a sort of universality to the concept of the "warrior elite," just as there is a universally to the hero myth. Medieval entertainments have been very popular in America for decades, as has physically challenging contact sports and martial arts. The Battle of the Nations is a challenging combination of these things, and Americans don't like to back down from a challenge!

My lady joined me in Warsaw the day before the competition began. She helped the team greatly with water bearing and fighter support and helped me by holding the camera to shoot video. She had been unsure about coming to this event. She had wanted to go to Italy, and there was thought that we might do both. But the seriousness of the Battle of the Nations preparations started to make it look like that plan would be unlikely. However, she was won over by the passion and the adventure of this endeavor, and by the end was extremely happy she came.

The team was likewise glad to have her. Her help enabled the fighters to concentrate on their fighting without having to worry about hydration, nutrition, and other aspects of staying alive at an event like this.

Many people on the team told me that I had done very well over the course of the week. In fact, several times I was told that I was awesome, a superhero, and had a pair of brass ones the size of (fill in the blank). That made me feel really good about myself, that this trip, and all the effort was worth it. Here were these guys, most of whom were bigger or stronger or more skilled or tougher or had more badass cred than I, and they were accepting me as one of their own, simply because I was doing what I wanted to do. I wanted to fight. I wanted to fight and not give up. I wanted to have a good time fighting. I wanted to have a good time fighting in front of a lot of people and cameras, and I wanted to have as much fun as possible during this trip, to make people laugh, to entertain them. I wanted to make history. And I wanted to be accepted. I have two words for the result: Mission accomplished.

This was the first time that Americans had competed in an international medieval armored combat competition of this scale. We came as a team and every man fought to their utmost. We all sweated and bled out there, and we came together as a team of Americans. I have never been prouder to be part of something. This is something no one can take way from us.

Unique Way to Sponsor my Grappling Movie

Hey folks, I got an idea that I hope will make sponsoring this movie fun and exciting!

As you should know by now, "Redemption" is being screened at the NY State Grappling Championships this Saturday, July 17th in Fishkill, NY. Well, I've been inspired by walk-a-thons to set up a plan that will encourage me to fight harder than ever before!

All you have to do is decide on an amount of money you would like to pledge for every point I score in the tournament. Then, when the event is over, I will post the video of the matches, and you can see all the points I score. Then you can go to Indiegogo.com and donate your pledge. You will notice that each pledge there comes with a collection of "perks" commensurate with your level of contribution.

Now I have a 2-32-2 record in competition and I don't think I have scored even as many as a dozen points in my entire career, but I have been working out, training, and improving, as you can see by this video...



...so you are taking a gamble by pledging here. Can you handle it?

The minimum pledge is 25 cents a point. And just to put as little more competition in, the person who pledges the most will receive a copy of the preview DVD screener, a copy of the finished movie, and a copy of the all-original soundtrack CD once it is all done!

Here's the way scoring will work at the tournament, according to the rules posted at the Acom Sports website:

Scoring Points: To gain points for any move or position, the competitor (aggressor) must show clear control for a 3 second
count by the referee – this is the key in point scoring for ACOM-SPORTS – TOTAL CONTROL FOR 3 COUNT TO EARN POINTS

1. Takedown or Throw: Land on Top in Guard or Half Guard= 2 points Land on Top in Side Mount or Full Mount= 3 Points
Note: Points will be awarded separately for Full Mount after an additional 3 count of control.

2. Sweep with Legs (from Half Guard or Full Guard) or Arm Drag from Open Guard to Turtle: 2 points (must hold for 3 count to
be awarded). NOTE: Inversions (Power Rolls from Side, Full or North/South are NOT considered Sweeps & will not awarded any
points or advantages

3. Passing the Guard (open or closed) - 3 points (must hold for 3 count to be awarded points) – MUST CLEAR ARMS & LEGS

4. Mounted position (both knees on the ground): 4 points (must hold for 3 count to be awarded)

5. Back Mount with Leg Hooks (or Knees on the Ground with Opponent Flat on his Stomach): 4 points (must hold for 3 count to
be awarded)

In addition, for the purpose of this pledge drive, if I win by points, that's worth 5 points plus points scored in the match.
Should I get so lucky as to win by submission, that will count as 10 points, plus points scored in the match.

Thanks in advance, those of you who will be contributing. I look forward to doing my best and living up to the confidence you have put in me!

Captain Zorikh GETS HURT!

Here's the video that explains that injury...

RIP Frank McCourt

Just read the NY Times article. He was right, you do look back on things as funny, and absurd. I have to, anyway. He brought that to his classroom, and that, to me, proves his value as a teacher-man.

I am sure there are enough people out there who will write eulogies and tributes about his warmth and humor, his resourcefulness and inspiration, his rags-to-riches story and how beloved he was as a teacher and writer. I am just proud that I was able to share one high school semester of my life with him.

He exposed me to Thomas Wolfe's "You Can't Go Home Again," the ultimate exploration of autobiography, and the potential use4s of one's own life as writing material. His class was the definition of "write what you know." For that I will forever be grateful.

Captain Zorikh's New Haircut!

Well, my hair was not as long as it is in this video, but I feel that I might as well share it with you, ans I have just gotten my summer haircut.

Captain Zorikh on NY Rocks TV!

Here it is folks, the lates appearance of Yours truly on Phil Fiumano's NY Rocks TV show! Skip ahead to 50:20 to get to my segment, although starting at 24:52 you can see my stuff on Phil's table.

Redemption of Captain Zorikh Production Blog!

I have started a new blog, strictly for chronicling the progress of my "Redemption of Captain Zorikh" video project. You can follow it at http://czredemption.blogspot.com/

Captain Zorikh on City of Fame

It works best if you pause the video until it fully loads, the play it.

Go to http://cityoffame.newyork.com/watch/20d2abefe558796b9958/Cowboy-Zurich to comment on and rate this video.