The Armour Archive

carlyle

Stop and take a breath, Animal. Impressing Prince Darius isn't an insult, nor is it looking down on you. It's a compliment. I think he was talking about Alaric. I still don't see what he's on about, though. If Animal doesn't have a problem with the logical arguments, then what posts actually consti...

carlyle

...palm down, sword hip forward (the "theoretical" off-side with a false edge... Did you type this correctly, Alfred ? I'm trying to comprehend how it would be possible to achieve a strike that was both palm down and false edge on the offside. Every way I look at it, if I'm going offside,...

carlyle

Some will say that there are only 4 shots but its really just 3 blows... A forehand, a backhand, and a thrust... Anything else is just how you get from point A to point B. To think that there is a diffrence just overly complicates things. This is basically what I have broken down fighting to as wel...

carlyle

Windrose has Egg gauntlets on his site. Hope this helps... AoC

carlyle

OK, I admit that I always have to go and look this up everytime I want to discuss it, but the classical Nine Worthies of Christian Medieval philosophy are: Pagan: Hector, Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar Biblical: Joshua, David, Judas Maccabeus Christian: King Arthur, Charlemagne, Godfrey of Bouil...

carlyle

Just another "me, too" on the nice work, V!

Have you considered water hardening? If you ever get there, I'd be very interested in a set.

With admiration... AoC

carlyle

Assuming the elbow is locked at extension at the moment of impact. If the elbow is kept slightly bent then it acts as a shock absorber and all is well. Again, assuming I am interpreting what you have typed correctly. I think we're on the same page, but this is only one of the stress points. Another...

carlyle

I have to ask the obvious question -- why is recognizing women specifically more important than encouraging men to the same standard? The time may have come for an Order or household for both genders founded on the precepts you suggest. I'm not convinced that there are enough of both to segregate, a...

carlyle

O.K. ....So could we say the wrap is really just a turned over fore hand? With respect to Gavin's cautionary post, it's evident to me we are talking about the same thing now, so I would say yes. Now, one reason that Gavin's point is critical is because the difference in time-of-impact between a wra...

carlyle

Phelan, In your list, you describe four wraps, and then four "offside" complements: head wrap vs. offside head wrap back wrap vs. offside back wrap butt wrap vs. offside butt wrap leg wrap vs. offside leg wrap Are the offside versions just deeper wraps intended to strike the far side of th...

carlyle

The reason the wrap is a back hand is because the power generation of a wrap is developed from a rapid change in direction and momentum along the axis of the direction in which it was thrown. In essence,turning a fore hand inside out, bringing the arm (wrist and fore arm) into the position of of a ...

carlyle

I myself am more interested in the question of how do you make the task of taking your whiz easier in full harness? Especially you cap-a-pie folks. It has never been a problem for me. I guess I must be sweating out at least as much as I consume, because I've never felt any "pressure" whil...

carlyle

Gavin uses a program very similar to the one I adopted years ago. I make sure that I drink moderately before and during any fighting. I try not to drink a lot at any one time, but I might take several drinks during a break between bouts at a practice -- just to make sure my mouth is wet, but not so ...

carlyle

Geez, Dan, Vail makes you look 8' tall! Didn't your momma teach you to pick on kids your own size

??

carlyle

If some fighter sez to the woodworker, "Your white socks aren't period; they look bad on the list field," and then goes to sit down in his folding director's chair, isn't the woodworker going to validly think that he's full of crap? Only if the folding chair does not meet the baseline (wh...

carlyle

I don't mind something that isn't perfectly period, so long as it doesn't look like spanked azz. Thanks!! Was that a compliment? "Hey, you'r kit's OK; at least it doesn't look like spanked azz." Seems kinda backhanded; almost more like fightin' words to me !! Just being a d!ck through sel...

carlyle

Your right about not being able to prove it as a historical technique, but as I said before I don't think that is possible for most any of the weapons techniques we use. I was thinking more of the available weapon systems than any particular technique, i.e., sword and shield, two-handed axe, etc. W...

carlyle

I do defend punching with your hand behind the head of a two headed axe, but I think it should be limited to face strikes. Is this new, or have I just missed it from your earlier posts? At any rate, if this is really your position, then I apologize and withdraw any past criticism. I still don't thi...

carlyle

What if you were into the SCA period for the woodworking â€¦ but also fought SCA lists just for fun? In that case, your footwear might be of negligible concern to youâ€¦ Youâ€™re creating a straw man, Alex. This primary issue is not of excellence, but of adherence to the minimum standard to â€œmake...

carlyle

LordLokeildson wrote:Im a madu fighter, and i enjoy fighting with them.

While what I am about to say will likely be taken as criticism; please know that I mean it only constructively. Also, my response to His Highness was phrased strongly to lend substance to an unnamed â€œthemâ€

carlyle

You say Potatoe I say Potato. I was wrong, how about saying "reenactment", is that better. Reenactment carries a significantly different connotation than recreation, at least in circles that care to differentiate. Reenactors are attempting to depict specific events and people from history...

carlyle

I am not a member of a historical recreation group. If I wanted to be, I would be. It is, and you are: "The ... SCA ... is ... dedicated to researching and re-creating the arts, skills, and traditions of pre-17th-century Europe." I won't fight in anything but steel toe boots. I don't feel...

carlyle

Check your PM, Finn... AoC

carlyle

Thanks for the reference, Johan. Like the excerpt from the Crusades, however, it doesn't really place the "plata", stating only that it is a part of the harness. Is there something about the language that would lead us to conclude it was worn under the mail? I don't see that from your tran...

carlyle

Leo Medii wrote:This thread makes me all warm inside.

No, Kieran, that's just poor bladder control that comes with advanced age... AoC

PS: Did you get my last PM?

carlyle

translation of Kings Mirror (13th C. Norway): m Relevant section: Over this he must have strong breastplate made of good iron covering the body from the nipples to the trousers belt; outside this, a well-made hauberk... Thanks for the quote, Your Incipience ... I'm actually familiar with the King's...

carlyle

For late 13th century I agree. But his helms are either 12th century or mid 13th- the Maciejowski bible would put the great helm at around 1250. ... and his body armour isn't really a coat of plates, is it? You're right, of course. I put the particular helm at late 13th / early 14th -- sort of pre-...

carlyle

Would your hard body armour fit under the maile? If you're shooting for a 12th/early 13th century look it might be more consistent. He doesn't need to hide the body armor. Coats of plates over mail is contemporary for a 13th C. impression ("sleeping knight" et al). Worn with the full pot,...

carlyle

Blackoak wrote:Here is me in February at a viking themed event... Me & greenshield at fighter's collegium.

You guys are my heroes.

carlyle

Thorvaldr Skegglauss wrote:Any hints on how to focus next Saturday with all that is going on?

Breathe.

carlyle

Wait a minute here... I've always heard that European swords mostly didn't have sharp edges. That would make a typical sword more of a bludgeoning tool, albeit on a very thin surface. Yes or no? NOT true. The fact is, you might see anything from not-so-sharp, to very sharp indeed. Some swords survi...

carlyle

Apparently, there is some limited evidence to support Alex's claim of thrusting being used during the High Middle Ages, against people in maille. Not much (like on the level of justifying Norse two-weapon fighting), but there is some. Good stuff all, Oswyn, thanks for posting. I especially liked th...

carlyle

Which is why one should never make such sweeping claims unless they have overwhelming evidennce. Alex, you are the only one making sweeping, unsubstantiated claims. Oswyn simply attempted to link the evident migration away from thrusting in the Roman era to predominantly edge work in the High Middl...

carlyle

But let's be honest - ANYONE using a resource from the Middle Ages that is strictly literary, or from a sculpture/painting, cannot be 100% certain that there isn't some artistic freedoms involved. That's why I personally want to create an impression that is provenenced in several sources of more th...

carlyle

What about the account of Murrough MacBrian using a sword in each hand at Clontarf? That's one. Unfortunately, heroic accounts, usually written several years/decades/centuries after the actual event are about all there is. I think I can count all the ones I know of on one hand -- and half of those ...

Re: Vambraces

Re: What are basic blows at your practice?

Re: Next week is CROWN!!!