Future of SCA fighting

[shinyhalo]

I can see a lot of appeal in "Our group is basically reenacting whatever pre-1600 period and place you like, and we've got a couple of different types of combat simulating games. Different levels of force required, different types of weapon simulator. Let's you triangulate on what we think actual period violence might have been like, and watching a lansknecht fight a viking is entertaining."

vs "We play really hard hitting stick tag in bits of picklebarrel, with rules we've kept because they favour people who make the decisions. Then we assign make believe titles based on it. We do fancy dress in the evenings. History? What's that?"

I agree. Fights of one medieval culture vs another is popular enough to get it's own tv show. That would also draw more people.

[Maeryk]

I can see a lot of appeal in "Our group is basically reenacting whatever pre-1600 period and place you like, and we've got a couple of different types of combat simulating games. Different levels of force required, different types of weapon simulator. Let's you triangulate on what we think actual period violence might have been like, and watching a lansknecht fight a viking is entertaining."

vs "We play really hard hitting stick tag in bits of picklebarrel, with rules we've kept because they favour people who make the decisions. Then we assign make believe titles based on it. We do fancy dress in the evenings. History? What's that?"

I agree. Fights of one medieval culture vs another is popular enough to get it's own tv show. That would also draw more people.

The draw of the TV show is that they each theoretically use the weapons and styles of their timeframe.. that's completely contrary to what SCA combat is.. and why it's a weapons STANDARD and combat STANDARD across the board.

[shinyhalo]

Here's how it breaks down: What a Wussy BS argument. I started fighting in Columbia SC, where the average temperature, is 2 degrees HIGHER than Destin FL, and the humidity is about the same. I currently live in Charlotte, NC, where the average temp is only 3-4 degrees lower than Destin with similar amounts of humidity. I am so tired of you Floridians and other whining about the temperature. It's a load of CRAP. Other places are as hot and humid, and we wear armor and clothing and don't bitch.

Here's a shot of me in my lamellar (Again from the Mighty Ursus!):
http://www.bogpages.com/SCA-photographs ... Jn-M-1.jpg

My legs don't look dough boyish, do they?? Also, my arm seems to be moving quite well despite the fact that I am wearing a shirt over hockey arms.

BTW let me tell you and anyone else who uses this "temperature argument" something: stop being a wuss. Man up and wear some armor and clothing. Make it out of the right materials so you don't bake. And then WORK OUT SOME and GET IN SHAPE. Plenty of people from all over the country wear the right stuff in places where it's hot. Wearing pants over armor is not a problem for Florida- plenty of people do it there and don't die, and fight well.

I agree that other places get hot and/or humid. However, I know whole SCA armies bitch about it and it DOES affect how much they play.
Yes, it is possible to limit play time and suffer in european armor, but why? There are armor solutions that are far more comfortable and more likely to appeal to new players. Sheez, I can see why this sport is still a fringe. Check this SCA ad:
"Fuuuuuudge Florida is hot!"
"Hey, let's encase ourselves in scalding metal!"
"Ok, but only if I get to wrap myself in a quilt first!"

Games are supposed to maximize fun and minimize suffering. Otherwise, everyone would be a masochist.
Samurai armor can be made a LOT more temperature friendly than plate+padded gambeson.

I'm ok with my kit's progress. I may have needed help 3 years ago, but I have learned about armor on my own since then. I mentioned that armor making is difficult for me so thanks to all for the ideas, but I've got it. The point I care to make now, is that it seems non-european medieval fighters are punished somehow? I may be wrong, but someone said Nissan was being excluded from something? It doesn't matter to me in terms of my own "advancement", because I am just in this to fight and camp (and maybe once my shit is together brew). BUT, I can see newcomers running away-not walking- just based on the heat-comfort issue. Especially women who tend to be less athletic. I DO NOT want women running away from SCA combat. I may be single again one day. Since samurai armor works TEH BEST in Florida, I would endorse it for other newcomers and I would hate to see the SCA punish those newcomers in any way for trying to sword fight in comfortable armor. Is that too much to ask of the SCA? Again, I may be mistaken, I'm just going by that footnote about Nissan. Can he not enter Crown List or something?

[Ogedei]

I can see a lot of appeal in "Our group is basically reenacting whatever pre-1600 period and place you like, and we've got a couple of different types of combat simulating games. Different levels of force required, different types of weapon simulator. Let's you triangulate on what we think actual period violence might have been like, and watching a lansknecht fight a viking is entertaining."

vs "We play really hard hitting stick tag in bits of picklebarrel, with rules we've kept because they favour people who make the decisions. Then we assign make believe titles based on it. We do fancy dress in the evenings. History? What's that?"

I agree. Fights of one medieval culture vs another is popular enough to get it's own tv show. That would also draw more people.

The draw of the TV show is that they each theoretically use the weapons and styles of their timeframe.. that's completely contrary to what SCA combat is.. and why it's a weapons STANDARD and combat STANDARD across the board.

I'm going to partially disagree with that, and this is strictly from the heavy side. Yes our armor standards are the same, so late period full plate dude gets no advantage over pictish warrior.

On the weapons front within our time period though, can you really say it's standard? Sure it's got a set of rules we need to follow to build them. But there is nothing to stop a landsknecht from fighting with a poleaxe or two hander vs a norse guy with a sword and center grip round shield.

In the end we have a fairly diverse abilitly to build a variety of different weapon classes: maces, swords, axes, two handed swords, axes etc.

Is it a perfect system, no of course not, not saying it is, but it does allow for full force blows all the time and it does allow me to build and fight with a sabrelike instrument, or a longsword like instrument.

[Aaron]

"Fuuuuuudge Florida is hot!"
"Hey, let's encase ourselves in scalding metal!"
"Ok, but only if I get to wrap myself in a quilt first!"

OK, that made me laugh a lot. I'm still laughing. Well played.

Now, I use the mail as a ventillation system, but yeah wrap yourself in a quilt and climb into a solar oven doesn't sound like a great sport if you put it that way.

-Aaron

[Maeryk]

I agree. Fights of one medieval culture vs another is popular enough to get it's own tv show. That would also draw more people.

The draw of the TV show is that they each theoretically use the weapons and styles of their timeframe.. that's completely contrary to what SCA combat is.. and why it's a weapons STANDARD and combat STANDARD across the board.

I'm going to partially disagree with that, and this is strictly from the heavy side. Yes our armor standards are the same, so late period full plate dude gets no advantage over pictish warrior.

On the weapons front within our time period though, can you really say it's standard? Sure it's got a set of rules we need to follow to build them. But there is nothing to stop a landsknecht from fighting with a poleaxe or two hander vs a norse guy with a sword and center grip round shield.

In the end we have a fairly diverse abilitly to build a variety of different weapon classes: maces, swords, axes, two handed swords, axes etc.

Is it a perfect system, no of course not, not saying it is, but it does allow for full force blows all the time and it does allow me to build and fight with a sabrelike instrument, or a longsword like instrument.

Right, but all the weapons are, whether ethnographically correct to portrayal or not, built within a constant.. even though I can show you seven foot greatswords in history, they aren't legal to build (unless they are now, I'm not sure).. or 12 foot pikes.. can't use those, even though they'd be FAR more likely in the hands of a Landsknecht than a shield (ick ptui).. Romans are not limited to 3 foot swords because that's what they fought with, but can happily charge around with a six foot greatsword, etc etc.

[Amanda M]

So make some samurai armor then. Nobody is stopping you. Nobody is saying you have to wear a padded gambeson and plate either. You can wear minimums if you want and run around without a shirt on. There's tons of people doing great non european impressions and I think the majority of the SCA simply does not give two shits about it.

The bottom line is that armored combat in the SCA requires wearing a minimum standard of armor. If you don't want to wear that armor there are limited options for you. But the armor that is required is really basic, and isn't all that much. It allows for widely varying options in quality and presentation because the SCA as a whole does not enforce any kind of appearance standard, or even require that your armor be historically european. The majority of SCA fighters could not be said to be wearing accurate european armor. They are wearing SCA armor that is medieval-ish.

[shinyhalo]

I can see a lot of appeal in "Our group is basically reenacting whatever pre-1600 period and place you like, and we've got a couple of different types of combat simulating games. Different levels of force required, different types of weapon simulator. Let's you triangulate on what we think actual period violence might have been like, and watching a lansknecht fight a viking is entertaining."

vs "We play really hard hitting stick tag in bits of picklebarrel, with rules we've kept because they favour people who make the decisions. Then we assign make believe titles based on it. We do fancy dress in the evenings. History? What's that?"

I agree. Fights of one medieval culture vs another is popular enough to get it's own tv show. That would also draw more people.

The draw of the TV show is that they each theoretically use the weapons and styles of their timeframe.. that's completely contrary to what SCA combat is.. and why it's a weapons STANDARD and combat STANDARD across the board.

A fight between: Samurai vs Knight is very interesting because they are from a timeframe without guns. A timeframe with armor and swords. That should be what the SCA is about. By all means, keep the "pretend armor standard" for simplicity of determining if you got hit.

[Maeryk]

I agree. Fights of one medieval culture vs another is popular enough to get it's own tv show. That would also draw more people.

The draw of the TV show is that they each theoretically use the weapons and styles of their timeframe.. that's completely contrary to what SCA combat is.. and why it's a weapons STANDARD and combat STANDARD across the board.

A fight between: Samurai vs Knight is very interesting because they are from a timeframe without guns. A timeframe with armor and swords. That should be what the SCA is about. By all means, keep the "pretend armor standard" for simplicity of determining if you got hit.

Yeah, but: What made samurai such a devastating warrior is draw cuts.. which we don't even USE. so much for the "interesting".. might as well hand them both splitting axes, for all the "realism" in our combat scene.

[Saritor]

Yeah, but: What made samurai such a devastating warrior is draw cuts.. which we don't even USE. so much for the "interesting".. might as well hand them both splitting axes, for all the "realism" in our combat scene.

Careful with the "draw cut" phrase -- different blades cut different ways, and rattan is by and large a chopping game, not a cutting one.

[Maeryk]

Yeah, but: What made samurai such a devastating warrior is draw cuts.. which we don't even USE. so much for the "interesting".. might as well hand them both splitting axes, for all the "realism" in our combat scene.

Careful with the "draw cut" phrase -- different blades cut different ways, and rattan is by and large a chopping game, not a cutting one.

That's my point. For all intents and purposes, any weapon in our game becomes a mass weapon, and occasionally a point weapon, but one with very modified abilities.

[Sigifrith Hauknefr]

The lamellae bend inward too much under a man's strength. Period. I don't care how awesome someone thinks their lamellar is. Even a half strength thrust with a 2" head spear can crack those ribs through it. I'd use it for screwing around or one vs one vs a 1-H sword, but I wouldn't fight a 2Hander sword with it. Clavicles go bye bye.

I just want to second Alaric "wut??" here. Lamellar is probably the best all-around SCA armor for mobility and protection. Mine is made of those old white mountain 20 (?) gauge stainless steel plates laced with paracord. I wear a tunic and underarmor under it - no gambeson or padding. The worst thing that ever happens is that once is a while a get a shot the catches my nipple right at the edge of the plates and it kinda rubs it. My lamellar doesn't even COVER my clavicles... but I agree if you were fighting a lot of great weapons v. great weapon you probably want some real armor there or at least padding.

In fact - how can what you said be true? Probably 10% (maybe more!) of the fighters in the SCA DON'T WEAR ANYTHING AT ALL for body armor, other than the required "kidney protection" which is usually around their waist/lower spine. Any lamellar - unless you have sharp things pointing inward - is going to be better than that. Do ribs get cracked? Sometimes... but it's hardly commonplace.

[Saritor]

That's my point. For all intents and purposes, any weapon in our game becomes a mass weapon, and occasionally a point weapon, but one with very modified abilities.

I just hate the phrase "draw cut", since it implies a specific motion (in the SCA world) that is more a function of blade design coupled with body mechanics than it is just moving the blade.

[GenericUnique]

Yeah, but: What made samurai such a devastating warrior is draw cuts.. which we don't even USE. so much for the "interesting".. might as well hand them both splitting axes, for all the "realism" in our combat scene.

Careful with the "draw cut" phrase -- different blades cut different ways, and rattan is by and large a chopping game, not a cutting one.

That's my point. For all intents and purposes, any weapon in our game becomes a mass weapon, and occasionally a point weapon, but one with very modified abilities.

Doesn't the SCA assumes a chainmail shirt and padded gambeson beneath it, so a draw cut to most of the body isn't going to do much? Frankly, neither is a chopping blow, but let's not open that can of worms...

[Chris G.]

There were guns during the times of both knights and samurai.

Nissan isn't being punished for wearing japanese armour. He isn't being punished at all. He chooses to play an antagonistic role and operates outside of the crown, usually in opposition to it.

[Maeryk]

That's my point. For all intents and purposes, any weapon in our game becomes a mass weapon, and occasionally a point weapon, but one with very modified abilities.

Doesn't the SCA assumes a chainmail shirt and padded gambeson beneath it, so a draw cut to most of the body isn't going to do much? Frankly, neither is a chopping blow, but let's not open that can of worms...

And a single sword isn't going to defeat 99% of the helmets out there in one shot, either.. that's kinda my point. There's NO realism to our "game", and I'm glad for it. Let Aztec vs Landsknecht exist on "History" or something.. don't market us that way, cause we aren't that way.

I've gone so far as to tell people SCA fighting is more about a costume tournament than anything else.. you can _LOOK_ like whatever you want, but the combat and "armor standard" are all pretty specific to one time and place, regardless of appearance. Then they seem to "get it".

[Amanda M]

The rules being what they are, where everyone has the same legal target areas and whatnot has a lot of advantages. One of them is that new guys in borrowed armor are not going to be penalized by the rules on the basis of what they're wearing. Simpler rules means it's more accessible to new folk.

[Alex Baird]

It all depends on how much dough you have.

Our group is currently being FLOODED by a ton of guys from the foam-fighting groups.

What? did the river wash them up on campus for you?

hey, foam floats...

[Dafydd]

And a single sword isn't going to defeat 99% of the helmets out there in one shot, either.. that's kinda my point. There's NO realism to our "game", and I'm glad for it.

Agreed, with the possible exception of the "glad for it" part (and even then, I think that's a valid POV). SCA Heavy isn't really a simulation of armored combat, at least not all aspects of it. We learn about how to move and throw certain types of blows in armor (those of us that actually wear armor, anyway... ), but we gauge blows as if we were wearing little more than fairly heavy civilian clothing. The "armor standard" harness' effectiveness against single-handed swords is almost certainly hugely underestimated.

I've gone so far as to tell people SCA fighting is more about a costume tournament than anything else.. you can _LOOK_ like whatever you want, but the combat and "armor standard" are all pretty specific to one time and place, regardless of appearance. Then they seem to "get it".

"Costume tournament." Oh, I really like that!

[Ogedei]

The lamellae bend inward too much under a man's strength. Period. I don't care how awesome someone thinks their lamellar is. Even a half strength thrust with a 2" head spear can crack those ribs through it. I'd use it for screwing around or one vs one vs a 1-H sword, but I wouldn't fight a 2Hander sword with it. Clavicles go bye bye.

I just want to second Alaric "wut??" here. Lamellar is probably the best all-around SCA armor for mobility and protection. Mine is made of those old white mountain 20 (?) gauge stainless steel plates laced with paracord. I wear a tunic and underarmor under it - no gambeson or padding. The worst thing that ever happens is that once is a while a get a shot the catches my nipple right at the edge of the plates and it kinda rubs it. My lamellar doesn't even COVER my clavicles... but I agree if you were fighting a lot of great weapons v. great weapon you probably want some real armor there or at least padding.

In fact - how can what you said be true? Probably 10% (maybe more!) of the fighters in the SCA DON'T WEAR ANYTHING AT ALL for body armor, other than the required "kidney protection" which is usually around their waist/lower spine. Any lamellar - unless you have sharp things pointing inward - is going to be better than that. Do ribs get cracked? Sometimes... but it's hardly commonplace.

I get some pretty cool brusises from my lamellar when I take a good body blow. I also wear it with pretty much nothing else (Cotton tunic).

I think we should market the SCA for what it is. It's this great big medievaish party that allows you to recreate as much or as little of a time period as you like.

I joined cause it looked interesting, close enough to medieval that it scratched that nerd gene, but accessible enough to not need specific clothing.

Our fighting. No not medieval, but a heck of a lot of fun.

[St. George]

I agree that other places get hot and/or humid. However, I know whole SCA armies bitch about it and it DOES affect how much they play.

SCA armies bitch pretty much no matter what.

Yes, it is possible to limit play time and suffer in european armor, but why? There are armor solutions that are far more comfortable and more likely to appeal to new players. Sheez, I can see why this sport is still a fringe. Check this SCA ad:
"Fuuuuuudge Florida is hot!"
"Hey, let's encase ourselves in scalding metal!"
"Ok, but only if I get to wrap myself in a quilt first!"

Really? What armor are you wearing? There is plenty of European armor that is comfortable, light, period looking, and protective.

In almost every case, including the armors you describe, I have found them to be as hot or hotter than anything period looking and done correctly. Plastic, in my experience, heats you up more than metal. A nice 14th century rig with all metal parts would be comfortable to wear over linen undergarments- at least as comfortable as plastic samurai would be.

Games are supposed to maximize fun and minimize suffering. Otherwise, everyone would be a masochist.
Samurai armor can be made a LOT more temperature friendly than plate+padded gambeson.

Fun and suffering are not opposites on a scale. Fun and not fun are. Fun and suffering are neither mutually inclusive or mutually exclusive and are completely independent factors. Proper Samurai armor cannot be made more temperature friendly than plate and gambesons can be, because they are made from the same things. Proper samurai is metal over padding, just like plate over gambeson is.

I'm ok with my kit's progress. I may have needed help 3 years ago, but I have learned about armor on my own since then. I mentioned that armor making is difficult for me so thanks to all for the ideas, but I've got it.

I'd love to see a picture of your gear, and see how you have overcome issues of heat, comfortablility, and protection. From the way you describe your approach to SCA fighting and other concepts within the SCA, it sounds as if you may have a novel or good new idea of how to deal with these issues.

The point I care to make now, is that it seems non-european medieval fighters are punished somehow? I may be wrong, but someone said Nissan was being excluded from something? It doesn't matter to me in terms of my own "advancement", because I am just in this to fight and camp (and maybe once my shit is together brew). BUT, I can see newcomers running away-not walking- just based on the heat-comfort issue. Especially women who tend to be less athletic. I DO NOT want women running away from SCA combat. I may be single again one day. Since samurai armor works TEH BEST in Florida, I would endorse it for other newcomers and I would hate to see the SCA punish those newcomers in any way for trying to sword fight in comfortable armor. Is that too much to ask of the SCA? Again, I may be mistaken, I'm just going by that footnote about Nissan. Can he not enter Crown List or something?

If Samurai armor works the best in Florida, how come more of the best guys don't use it?

BTW- Women run away from the SCA cause nerds and dorks dweeb and goob on them the moment they show up.

g-

[Ogedei]

BTW- Women run away from the SCA cause nerds and dorks dweeb and goob on them the moment they show up.

g-

Seriously can we get a like button?

[Maeryk]

BTW- Women run away from the SCA cause nerds and dorks dweeb and goob on them the moment they show up.

g-

Seriously can we get a like button?

Yeah.. how bout it. I've run out of digits with which to count the morbidly obese, hygeine challenged, dentally deficient beardos who seem to be convinced that A) they are God's Gift to Women, and B) Everyone is in a poly relationship, some just don't realize it yet.

Yeulch.

[Peikko]

"Costume tournament." Oh, I really like that!

now, isn't that what they called it originally?

[Aaron]

I don't think the plastic heats up fast as much as it retains the heat. Plastic on the outside and foam on the inside is like wearing a cooler to fight.

Many remember my experiements with the "light suit" and once I wore a karate placard that was foam and plastic. I felt like I was in an oven. That area was just soaked in sweat and the other areas not as much. And while I like sweat, I only lasted three rounds before I had to excuse myself and drink water and find out that I was very dehydrated.

When I moved to cloth and steel, I felt fine. If I could get reasonable cloth-based padding for my head and knees, I'd go for it. Not because someone will rip off my helmet and knees, look inside and derride me on my lack of authenticity, but those areas are where I still have foam and it retains heat.

Retaining heat in winter is great, but we don't fight outdoors so that doesn't help much either.

-Aaron

[jester]

And a single sword isn't going to defeat 99% of the helmets out there in one shot, either.. that's kinda my point. There's NO realism to our "game", and I'm glad for it.

Agreed, with the possible exception of the "glad for it" part (and even then, I think that's a valid POV). SCA Heavy isn't really a simulation of armored combat, at least not all aspects of it. We learn about how to move and throw certain types of blows in armor (those of us that actually wear armor, anyway... ), but we gauge blows as if we were wearing little more than fairly heavy civilian clothing. The "armor standard" harness' effectiveness against single-handed swords is almost certainly hugely underestimated.

SCA armoured combat can be a really good simulation of a deed of arms or tournament. Hell, with the exception of the Midrealm, you can even fight to submission if you want. If you do so, you had better take the same safety precautions they took in period.

Fight to counted blows. Fight until driven from the lists. Fight until making three points of contact with the ground. All possible.

The only thing limiting SCA armored combat is the imaginations of the people running the scenarios.

[Leo Medii]

A fight between: Samurai vs Knight is very interesting because they are from a timeframe without guns. A timeframe with armor and swords. That should be what the SCA is about. By all means, keep the "pretend armor standard" for simplicity of determining if you got hit.

No. The SCA is about two modern people dressed as any number of quasi-historical or GWAR inspired protective gear using rattan sticks to fence. It is not, and can never be "knight vs. samurai" or "celt vs. leigionaire". The rules set of the SCA and the standard damage of rattan weapon constructs makes this impossible. The armor does not function as true life saving protective gear, nor do the constructed weapons function as their historical counterpart did.

And, I don't even want to get started about the cutting properties of swords and the mis-use of them.

And, my guess is the Japanese can wear all that steel when it's 100 degrees with 100% humidity because they don't have a protective insulating layer of blubber to contend with like us foreigners do!

[Diglach Mac Cein]

SCA armies bitch pretty much no matter what.

Well, at least THAT is something we're doing that's historically accurate...



.

[Ogedei]

A fight between: Samurai vs Knight is very interesting because they are from a timeframe without guns. A timeframe with armor and swords. That should be what the SCA is about. By all means, keep the "pretend armor standard" for simplicity of determining if you got hit.

No. The SCA is about two modern people dressed as any number of quasi-historical or GWAR inspired protective gear using rattan sticks to fence. It is not, and can never be "knight vs. samurai" or "celt vs. leigionaire". The rules set of the SCA and the standard damage of rattan weapon constructs makes this impossible. The armor does not function as true life saving protective gear, nor do the constructed weapons function as their historical counterpart did.

And, I don't even want to get started about the cutting properties of swords and the mis-use of them.

And, my guess is the Japanese can wear all that steel when it's 100 degrees with 100% humidity because they don't have a protective insulating layer of blubber to contend with like us foreigners do!

So it'll be as accurate as the TV show then. Gold.

[Leo Medii]

A fight between: Samurai vs Knight is very interesting because they are from a timeframe without guns. A timeframe with armor and swords. That should be what the SCA is about. By all means, keep the "pretend armor standard" for simplicity of determining if you got hit.

No. The SCA is about two modern people dressed as any number of quasi-historical or GWAR inspired protective gear using rattan sticks to fence. It is not, and can never be "knight vs. samurai" or "celt vs. leigionaire". The rules set of the SCA and the standard damage of rattan weapon constructs makes this impossible. The armor does not function as true life saving protective gear, nor do the constructed weapons function as their historical counterpart did.

And, I don't even want to get started about the cutting properties of swords and the mis-use of them.

And, my guess is the Japanese can wear all that steel when it's 100 degrees with 100% humidity because they don't have a protective insulating layer of blubber to contend with like us foreigners do!

So it'll be as accurate as the TV show then. Gold.

I hate that show. I hate more that I've run across not one, not two, but lots of people who use that show as factual information for SCA purposes. It was like the guy in the one weapons and jousting show where they used crash dummies to approximate a joust. Then said they would surely have died omg eleventy onez! Yeah, sure they did, every time they fell off, just like your "expert opinion" from your crash test dummy.

And these people were "experts" who worked at museums! WTF!

[Count Johnathan]

Sounds like you ran into retards Leo.

Unless they were talking about the episode where the pirate took a galloping charge and a full looping swing of a morgenstern to the face before he got up and shot the knight to death. That S#!T WAS REAL MAN!

[Maeryk]

Sounds like you ran into retards Leo.

Unless they were talking about the episode where the pirate took a galloping charge and a full looping swing of a morgenstern to the face before he got up and shot the knight to death. That S#!T WAS REAL MAN!

It's been proven again and again, here, that it's nearly IMPOSSIBLE to kill or stop anyone by wounding their head, dude.

Don't you read?

[Amanda M]

If you don't want women to run away from SCA fighting try not to say bs like women tend to be less atheletic. Look around at any SCA practice or War and you're not likely to see the most svelte specimens of the male population either. Try not to give them crappy inaccurate information about armor and fighting. Treat them like any new person interested in fighting instead of automatically assuming they're going to swoon from the heat.

It's been my experience that if you treat someone with respect they are less likely to run screaming in the opposite direction.

[Duke Areus]

Sounds like you ran into retards Leo.

Unless they were talking about the episode where the pirate took a galloping charge and a full looping swing of a morgenstern to the face before he got up and shot the knight to death. That S#!T WAS REAL MAN!

Or the Ninja who ran up behind the Spartan and screamed HIYA!! before attacking him. Ya know, instead of just doing the Ninja thing and killing him in his sleep. Or the reproduction "bronze muscled breastplate" which was actually 16 gauge brass held together with leather factory copper rivets and buckles.

That show is the SHIZZNIT!!!

[Ogedei]

Guess I need a new entry for my bibliography for A&S championship now. My diorama was so cool too.