The Armour Archive

St. George

Samurai? Seriously... don't compare apples and oranges. Samurai are accepted by, but NOT the SCA warrior culture. Vlasta- I had a very similar situation happen to me once at a Fool's War. I was the last person left on my side, and after having been offered single combat by the opposing warriors, and...

St. George

Here are a couple of serious problems with the SCA: Armor as worn doesn't matter. We fight under a rule set, so we really are a sport. CA, when added into the mix, significantly alters the sport. This video, I think, adequately gets across how CA fundamentally changes what is otherwise a good and ba...

St. George

Travel smart! Find people you have something to learn from and make your traveling to see them specifically. Pretty much any Knight would spend time with you at a practice if YOU DROVE TO COME SPECIFICALLY SEE THEM! Find people who you can/want to learn from and politely ask if you can come visit th...

St. George

Combat archery "sucks" because like firearms, makes all men equal (and women too ) And in large numbers, deadly, so the few cease to have monopoly of the killing power on the battlefield. The only thing I'd add is that CA archers need to not be jerks about targeting someone all the time, ...

St. George

I don't support CA in its current form, and don't care ever to. At this point I no longer care about being inclusive, or worrying about a minority group's fun. I do know, however, that I don't like being pushed around by a small group who feels entitled to be a part of something that they, IMO, make...

St. George

Right Donal, people looking up are generally intimidated. By sitting down lower, you take this away, and why I think he meant to say that you should sit down and let others look down upon you to be less intimidating, rather than "people looking up at you is rarely intimidating..." That is ...

St. George

Some quick practical actor's tips on not being scary: - take off your helm a lot (might be tricky with your nice rig), especially between bouts for "feedback time". When you take it off, give them a big grin and say thanks for the bout. - sit down a lot, or squat. Someone looking up at yo...

St. George

I don't shout while fighting in the SCA. In the Kingdoms I have lived in, it is generally frowned upon in the singles combat culture in the SCA- to the point that I know it held some gentles back from receiving the accolade for some time.

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St. George

The nicest guy can often fight like the biggest thug... Just look at Nissan Wulfgar, there are many things that you might be doing that give people this perception of you such as your armor, the way you stand, your communication during the fight and many other things. Whatever you have done in the p...

St. George

Shield baskets throw off the balance of the shield. I find that having my hand right up against the shield is a HUGE plus for keeping it in the right position that Uric mentioned. Also, if the basket is too big, it won't let you put your head RIGHT up against the shield for certain blocks. Just some...

St. George

I think they work great, but after 12 straight years and some success with one I am moving on.

Give it a try though, they are certainly a good option.

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St. George

There are 'gifted' fighters out there that can, or did, compete at any level. My knight was drafted by the Cardinals to pitch before he tore his knee up sliding in a AAA game. He also played fullback at Ohio State behind Icky Woods back in the day. I also know of a pro lineman (sorry don't remember...

St. George

My wife auth'd in fencing and it was a pathetic experience.... She went through her auth bout. She wasn't skilled as the many years of experience she faced, but isnt that to be expected? They asked her a bunch of rules questions that she answered. They told her she was incorrect. My wife disagreed,...

St. George

I was actually convinced that we cannot make fencers and archers laurels. Because the Laurels don't want to. Same reason the Knights don't really want them either. It's _their_ peerage. So we are left with either "screw you hippie" or 4th peerage. The Royal "We" can make Fencers...

St. George

Our convention was that we were only wearing a shirt. But yeah, I like to know that you really meant to hit me where your shot landed and that it wasn't just a fluky thing. I'll take it cause, you know, it is a touch, but still. But I'll way off something sloppy I throw cause at this point I should...

St. George

I've been fencing around 17 years... My biggest gripe about the SCA fencing community is the paranoia of pain. When I get hit by a rapier, I want to feel it. I want a tiny dime sized bruise to take home with me... And I like to respond in kind. You simply cannot fight like that, as it is severly fr...

St. George

Fencing has played a significant role in the change of the changing of the SCA. Along the way, there were a lot of problems with the two groups as they have tried to get along. These issues go on for many reasons. In the 20 years that I have been in the SCA it has seriously changed. We didn't have j...

St. George

The issues are beyond the sports. The issues are rooted in how Fencing is fundamentally altering the SCA game. Fencing is not the only things changing the SCA, but it is the most obvious. The SCA game has also significantly shifted away from teh small umbrella of "we all like vaguely medieval t...

St. George

Sorry, my earlier posting got mangled- Regarding the gamboissed cuisses- to me basically no sca armor and a rattan weapon doesn't always feel all that hard. I am not sure you would enjoy fighting in my locale (Atlantia) in gamboissed cuisses- hell when GOOD shots come in I don't like it either. My p...

St. George

David- Consider that when I fight in the SCA, I often wear gamboissed cuisses (thick pants). What you might consider substantial force I might think of as very light. In cross cultural situations gaining a true understanding of I see another related problem in fencing as well as foam fighting, and e...

St. George

Vitus- I would tend to agree with you on this. It certainly appears that there is a fear involved in foam fighting that has to do with (and this is a generality) touch shots being "good." As a result there is now allowance for armor doing its job, nor for using power bleeding techniques th...

St. George

D. I would assume that by duel, SirMendor meant something more like a Deed of Arms. In that case, it would not be unseemly of you in any way to accept a proper challenge from someone who is not as experienced as you, just modify the challenge to make it appropriate and hopefully enjoyable to all. g-

St. George

Yeah the SCA has cost me, but what did I get for that price? I got to be Knighted. I learned that I can succeed at something when I focus and excel at the top levels. I learned that sometimes that excellence takes pain of all sorts that has to be overcome- the pain of loss, the pain of injury, the p...

St. George

Want to try something interesting? Make some duct tape rope (sticky side out), and wrap your handle in it. Put on a glove, carefully position your hand and grip your sword and let the tape do some of your gripping work (by some I mean as much as all) You will hit with a lot more authority, even with...

St. George

More good women than I can count, I mean I am single and will be 38 in a few weeks. The SCA and fighting have certainly played a role in that. A left shoulder that is in pain as often as not- not terrible pain, just a constant nagging. A right thumb that keeps getting strained making more fighting h...

St. George

I don't know how good I would be at this. The problem I see is that they weapons don't really appear to be effective. Over and over they seem to do little to control of stop the individuals they are used against. I think that is why so many people commented that they didn't understand why people eve...

St. George

A good practice. Just because I have essentially retired from doesn't mean that I am only training fighters at practices. I don't enjoy the tournament anymore. I would prefer to fight people 10 or 12 times than 1 time in a tournament, especially if we get 6 fights over a 3 or 4 hour period. I would ...

St. George

I get injured more from "dying" than from fighting itself, and so avoid it whenever possible.

In singles I salute, and in melee, I get the heck out of the way as quickly as possible while trying to avoid "getting in the way."

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St. George

do the helm in mild and then get it plated. or do it in a silicon bronze- there are a few that are very strong.

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St. George

At the same time you have to consider the nature of the metal- i.e. where it came from... various alloys from various parts of the world have differing degrees of other elements in them. According to my understanding, steels from Innsbruck have a significantly different composition than others, esse...

St. George

HI- Right near Bloomington you have a bunch of resources. I would talk to Cameron about getting some time with Steve and Toby who are arts experts. If I were still there I would help you out myself, but alas, I am in warmer climates now. In general though, leather will take paint pretty well and it ...

St. George

Consider that you can alter the height of a bar stock (or other) shield basket to bring your hand next to the back of the shield by just rebending the legs of the basket and putting new holes in it. A separate problem that arises when using a basket is that the basket itself prevents you from holdin...

St. George

This makes no sense. How is High School varisty wrestling, football or any other sport allowed where 18 and 19 years olds routinely play against and hit minors?

Or is there a double standard and a waiver for these actions?

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St. George

I have a set of gamboissed cuisses too. Stopped using them at certain practices when I moved back to Atlantia last year, and went back to real ones...

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St. George

Don't forget about shield pushes and "denies" as well. I find that pushing shield edges rather than yanking them, and placing my shield somewhere that denies my opponent's shield from moving into that spot often works better than a "shield hook."

YMMMV

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What I got...