The Armour Archive

cfournier

The players in the C2E2 video are from the Chicago Swordplay Guild (CSG). A few of the people who helped make Cut-and-Thrust a reality in the SCA are former members of that group, and several of our local SCA C&T fighters still train with CSG members regularly. It turns out, our rules are pretty com...

cfournier

Definitely connect up with Clewin, Uly! He's a very good fencer, and a solid scholar of historical fencing. I'll also second Ken's advice: find resources both within and outside of the SCA. Get some people together, and hire Tom Leoni or Steve Reich or Ken Mondschein to come up and spend a weekend t...

cfournier

I have had two different Atlantians, during pick-up fights at Pennsic, tell me explicitly that they would not accept my face thrusts at the calibration I was throwing them: in both cases, we had paused between bouts, and the Atlantians in question said, in response to my question about the face thru...

cfournier

Interpreting this stuff seems pretty straight-forward, to me: "Directed touch" is as opposed to "incidental touch"-- the amount of force doesn't matter, but you shouldn't take an accidental touch to the face as good. From a health-and-safety point of view, I think that a major concern with face thru...

cfournier

Here's my take on armored combat: I have yet to see any evidence that anyone teaching or learning fighting in period ever suggested that it was a good idea to hit a plate-armored opponent with a sword, on their armor. I currently believe that it's that simple: plate armor stops swords. As Logos said...

cfournier

Oh, and Ken-- As it was my fellow Leftennant of the Company of Saint Jude who inspired you to host this Deed, I will make every effort to develop an appropriate harness for it by next year. I'm much more of a Fechtschuler, myself, (16th century German), so I tend to fight in padded clothes with blun...

cfournier

I was just going to say, Giovanni's definitely the guy to talk to about Trimaris cut-and-thrust. I'd wager that he knows who everyone else doing cut-and-thrust is, too...

cfournier

Looks and sounds a fair bit like my Dusack, which I've been using for about 3 years now: 34" total weapon length, with a weighted pommel, a slightly curved blade, and shaved (sides for a distal taper, and leading edge, to enhance the curve-- this was originally about 2.75" diameter rattan,...

cfournier

Forgive the dumb question. I understand that pickup fights will count as rapier combat at Pennsic and therefore require authorization. That makes sense, as pickups are full speed and require full rapier armor and marshal inspection. However, do classes, slow work, training, and drills also require ...

cfournier

I gotta get out your way sometime. Hey, Luca-- you going to be at Simple Day? I'll bring some German Rappier for you (when I'm not practicing for Unbelts...) Just to add my voice, yes, historical combat works very, very well. Some years ago, up-and-coming Midrealm fencers often got the false impres...

cfournier

Dr. Moonshine, I believe that will do *quite* nicely. Thank you.

cfournier

Great news, Ken! For this, maybe I'll put my breastplate back together...

cfournier

Audax, I agree- some times I *do* get hit in the hands. If it hurts, I often call a hold, and check to make sure (a) my hand is okay (b) my gauntlet was fitting correctly and hasn't fallen apart. If it *really* hurts, I'll take it as a wound to the arm, in part because by my own goals, I've failed t...

cfournier

Actually, I use an unpadded pole, specifically because that IS a period weapon, for the period (16th century German) and style (civilian unarmed sport combat) that I'm interested in.

http://tinyurl.com/3ebbne2

cfournier

I'm in. Also, I'm amused to note that AA won't let me post, in two separate threads, "so soon after your last post."

cfournier

So, Alaric, when I saw your first post about a Master of Arms for rapier, I thought, "There's absolutely no way that I can imagine any of the really exceptional fencers I know, almost all of whom are authorized in rattan, taking that deal." For my own part, it'd be largely because it would...

cfournier

Regardless of the "level" of an order, if they hold themselves to high standards and admittance to the order is limited to only the best it will gain the respect and status that a peerage has. This is pretty much the argument I made, about a decade ago, when the Crown asked the Midrealm O...

cfournier

Corby, I don't dispute the wisdom of your advice. Personally, I've never had a basket hilt (doesn't fit with what I'm pursuing as a sport-fighter). Happily, I have trainers (including but not exclusively my knight) who support me, at least in part by teaching me never to block with my hands!

cfournier

I've never owned demi-gauntlets, in 8 years of rattan. Sir/Master Talbot taught me a couple of years ago about padding my gauntlets with felted wool-- since then, I'm quite comfortable in my $120 P.O.S. Chinese gauntlets!

cfournier

You just need to ask yourself why would someone be allowed to participate in one thing and not another at Pennsic without a prior auth? In the recent past (as recently as two years ago), this differentiation was *explicit* for Pennsic rapier (I know, because I drafted the original verbage that got ...

cfournier

C&T falls under Rapier and must be authorized prior to war. I'm not sure how this confused you. I hope I could be forgiven for any confusion-- your statement above would be a change from recent policy. I'm not sure exactly what the Pennsic rules have said about it in the past two years, but pri...

cfournier

Lots of good comments, to which I'll add this: It's certainly true that there's no single blanket that covers HEMA (usually called WMA, though I definitely take Ken's point to heart), and it's equally true that some groups have no hint of rank or title, and others do-- typically, earning such a rank...

cfournier

Lots of good comments, to which I'll add this: It's certainly true that there's no single blanket that covers HEMA (usually called WMA, though I definitely take Ken's point to heart), and it's equally true that some groups have no hint of rank or title, and others do-- typically, earning such a rank...

cfournier

Anyway, Ken, as others have noted, it should be no problem, accommodating your desire for a cordial and honorable deed while you're at Pennsic. In past years, it has often been the rule for steel-bladed combat that authorizations could occur at Pennsic, but that newly-authorized persons were unable ...

cfournier

What documented testing and where can I read it? Thank you. Are there any that distinguish on the basis of blow mechanics: thrust vs. cut vs. slice? I'm here to help... As for differences in types of wounds, I'm not immediately familiar with any (though it's hardly my field, nor even one I really f...

cfournier

Jester:I've often cut off tips of heavy rapiers and C&T blades using a high-speed rotary metal-cutting blade (Dremel, or it's equivalent). In cutting down steel blades for practical use, the things you want to be aware of are maintaining the existing temper, and not losing too much of the blade ...

cfournier

A couple of quick comments, as I'm finally caught up on this thread. To answer George's questions about "what injury means"... I wrote the first set of C&T rules for the Midrealm, and took care of the paperwork during the experimental phase. One of the things I was worried about was ex...

cfournier

Any fighter on the field might miss a shot. Me or Duke Stephen, or anyone from our group might have on that day, but SOMEONE should have said something right there so we could correct it on the field and move forward with good attitudes rather than someone walking off and continuing with their feel...

cfournier

What documented testing and where can I read it? The classic watershed study is B. Knight, The dynamics of stab wounds, Forensic Sci. 6 (1975) 249–255. but more recent updates include P.T. O’Callaghan et al. / Forensic Science International 104 (1999) 173–178 which puts the range of force to penetr...

cfournier

I authed multiple styles as well, authing everything by Epee and C and T in one go. That first auth however took approximately 45 minutes. Just a standard basic safety auth. 45 minutes. ... Yikes-- I'm really sorry to hear that. If you happen to remember that rapier marshal's name, shoot me a pm or...

cfournier

When I tried fighting in my turn shoes my lack of traction indoors was getting me killed. I was slipping around way too much. The converse perform much like turnshoes in that they're light and tight fitting, but they also give me the traction in need fighting indoors. Yeah, I've been happily wearin...

cfournier

I'd love to see a third tier of weapons and auths in the SCA. ... 3-tier 'expert' : grappling, half-swording (incl. grabbing opponents blade), maybe the experimental flails, the HE poleaxe, historic styles w/ rebated steel ... stuff that needs serious study. It would need a more stringent set of ru...

cfournier

At an intuitive, gut level, I'd swear that swords are straight, solid pieces of metal, that don't bend that much. But then, on the same level, I'd swear that baseballs are hard, round, and incapable of changing their shape much... and yet, there's that classic high-speed photo, of the baseball wrapp...

cfournier

from what I can tell from m rapier blades made by the scots company Armourclass are legal - perfect for myself as they're the supplier I like to get my blades from for reenactment use... but that list is for rapier only. I interpret a bit of what's being discussed here also cover non-rapier combat ...

cfournier

Johno, I did a very small bit of USFA fencing, before I started fencing a lot in the SCA (about 12 years ago, now). Ten years ago, I began a path down Italian renaissance and medieval martial arts, some of which was self-taught, a lot of which was taught by Duke Conn, by the Chicago Swordplay Guild ...

Re: Are there any buckler fighting guides about for SCA heav

Re: Rapier manuals/books

Re: Midrealm Thrust

Re: Midrealm Thrust

Re: Full contact sparring with synthetic wasters

Re: Planning: Armored cut 'n' thrust deed at Pennsic 2012

Re: Planning: Armored cut 'n' thrust deed at Pennsic 2012

Re: Falchion SCA swordplay- an emerging style.

Re: "Cut and thrust" in armor at Pennsic?

Re: Can one fence SCA rapier in a historical style?

Re: "Cut and thrust" in armor at Pennsic?

Re: "Cut and thrust" in armor at Pennsic?

Re: Using Full Guantlets with sword & shield

Re: SCA Polearms halberds and vogues

Re: Baronial Border War roll call

Re: White Scarves and the East..Is this true?

Re: White Scarves and the East..Is this true?

Re: Using Full Guantlets with sword & shield

Re: Using Full Guantlets with sword & shield

Re: "Cut and thrust" in armor at Pennsic?

Re: "Cut and thrust" in armor at Pennsic?

Re: The CUlture of WMA

Re: The CUlture of WMA

Re: "Cut and thrust" in armor at Pennsic?

Re: Future of SCA fighting

Re: The future of C&T

Re: Future of SCA fighting

Re: Future of SCA fighting

Re: Future of SCA fighting

Re: Future of SCA fighting