I was unfortunate to be wearing armor that hadn't been made for me. The torso protection was a coat of articulating plates, as opposed to your typical breast plate. It didn't fit me quite right, so when the man who was teaching me hit me with 'medium force' (his words) in my left side my ribs absorb...

Well, I'm not even an official member of the SCA yet, but I have been hit hard by the weapons they use.

Take a 5 pound rattan club and hit one of your friends full force in the rib cage, and then ask him how it feels. Chances are he'll be too busy gasping for breath between curses to answer you.

Ha! Obviously I have a lot to learn. Perhaps the fighters I was watching were simply begining with the polearm. Hopefully at the upcoming fighters practice I can get some one to smack me around with one to show me how it's done.

Thanks for clearing that bit up, but is it fair for the results of one-on-one combat between polearms (pole arms? pole-arms? er..) and sword and shield to be so cut and dry? I probably shouldn't take this any further before my first offical fighter practice, but I am curious. It seems as though rang...

Fair enough, Apollonia, but can you be absolutely sure they were excluding you because of your gender? Again, men face similar problems when it comes to gaining acceptance. To be frank, my first couple of experiences with Scadians were terrible. They either ignored me or talked down to me as I attem...

I've watched drills and pickup fights by SCA fighters before, and one thing that has always puzzled me is the value of the polearm, or rather the lack of any value what so ever. I best make it clear beforehand that I have no first-hand experience with SCA combat, so I beg forgiveness in advance for ...

In response to the original topic, I have noticed only the opposite of what the thread starter is describing. I have associated with SCA members and attended SCA events as a guest for the past 8 years, but only recently began to take an active role. Perhaps this has blinded me to the more subtle pol...