East Coast Champions: A WMA Extravaganza and Brouhaha

[Vladimir]

UPDATE: both ground and mounted steel weapons melee for East Coast Champions 2 - goodbye to rattan and duct tape and ugly basket hilts - just not period enough

(copyright KTP LLC 2008-2009 all rights reserved)

Does that mean that the SCA style grand melee is out?

[Jonny Deuteronomy]

Not necessarily. Not if there is enough hue and cry to leave it in the itinerary. My goal here and forerver more is to make these as interactive and fun for as many people as I can possibly accomodate. I am open minded.

I might let Dagorhir (adult boffers) have a go too then.

Rattan without tape looks more like a wooden club at least. Maybe a mixed bag? How about when your untaped and un-basket-hilted rattan is shredded you bow out or get hammered by the swordsmen?

[Vladimir]

drat, I was hoping to debut my new harness this weekend. Oh well. I'll still be there to watch. Should be a lot of fun.

[Jonny Deuteronomy]

whoa brother! (sound bite of needle screeching across a vinyl record)
i am talking about next year for 'all steel all weeekend'!
the Unmodified SCA-ish-style Melee is on for this Saturday @ 1230hrs!
sorry for any confusion! eleventy-thousand apologies!
please come and debut your spifftastic harness and demonstrate your martial stylisticness!!!
come an' getcher clobbery-freak-on!
aren'tchoo mad that you aren't going to Gulf Wars?
.
.
.
.
Mad enough to just thump someone with a stick? On camera preferably?

i would like to try and marshall it from horseback but we will see what my horse thinks about that.
i wonder if folks would like to see a good rodeo bucking round with a side order of dirtnap. DOH! lol

[Jonny Deuteronomy]

Crew Call is 9am sharp, please.
If you are late you will have to pay to get in.
"Places" means places, people. SO NO BS PLS.
We have a really big shew planned for you folks.
Goodness gracious...I feel a song coming on:

For the benefit of Mr. Kite
There will be a show tonight, on trampoline
The Hendersons will all be there
Late of Pablo-Fanques Fair, what a scene
Over men and horses hoops and garters
Lastly through a hogshead of real fire!
In this way Mr. K. will challenge the world!
The celebrated Mr. K.
Performs his feat on Saturday at Bishopsgate
The Hendersons will dance and sing
As Mr. Kite flies through the ring don't be late
Messrs. K and H. assure the public
Their production will be second to none
And of course Henry The Horse dances the waltz!
The band begins at ten to six
When Mr. K. performs his tricks without a sound
And Mr. H. will demonstrate
Ten somersaults he'll undertake on solid ground
'ving been some days in preparation
A splendid time is guaranteed for all
And tonight Mr. Kite is topping the bill

Now, on with the shew...and may God save and keep you all, as always.

[Sean Powell]

whoa brother! (sound bite of needle screeching across a vinyl record)
i am talking about next year for 'all steel all weeekend'!
the Unmodified SCA-ish-style Melee is on for this Saturday @ 1230hrs!
sorry for any confusion! eleventy-thousand apologies!

That's good to know. I've already budgeted the time to come down and will be wearing my pretty-demo-kit but my kit may not be up to rebated steel standards, I don't have rebated steel experience and most importantly I don't have any rebated steel weapons.

Depending on who I meet there that is performing steel combat I may reconsider for next year but there are a lot of projects to do between now and then.

Sean

[Jonny Deuteronomy]

I am feeling comfortable with letting untaped and unbasketed and otherwise unmodified rattan clubs in the steel melee next year. wrist lanyards allowed. (there are pics of those in King Rene's Book)

Unless something changes, we will also be using these for that, next year:

http://www.kultofathena.com/product~ite ... +Sword.htm

http://kultofathena.com/product~item~PC2106.htm

http://www.kultofathena.com/product~ite ... +Sword.htm

http://www.kultofathena.com/product~ite ... +Sword.htm

and maybe these:
http://www.kultofathena.com/product~ite ... +Sword.htm - (want to test some first - they look flimsy)

and probably SCA-ish pultruded fibreglass "spears" with copper pipe caps. no spear length limits. and 2-ended fibreglass staves too. and small metal heater shields and bucklers.

Unless I get some SERIOUS sponsorship between now and next year, I'm afraid it will be BYOW. I just can't afford to buy 4 or 5 dozen of these.

[Sean Powell]

I am feeling comfortable with letting untaped and unbasketed and otherwise unmodified rattan clubs in the steel melee next year. wrist lanyards allowed. (there are pics of those in King Rene's Book)

OK, this confuses me. As I understood the Rene tourney format, combatants would take a few passes with swords (from horseback) to prove they were manly and assuming neither was defeated would then BOTH switch to kloben. Kloben were never used against swords.

Following that, why mix in rattan clubs? They are just going to get chewed up and throw saw-dust in peoples faces. Without the tape the edstruction of the rattan is merely faster (although it does look more like wood). Why not see if we can get someone to lathe down some ash or hickory kloben and have it be a restricted list of matched weapons?

"And it ought to be as long as the arm with the hand of the man who carries it, and the mace similarly. The mace ought to have a little rondel well riveted in front of the hand to protect it. And you may, if you wish, attach a light chain, braid or cord to your sword or mace around the arm, or to your belt, so that if it escapes your hand you can recover it before it falls to the ground."

Sean (who has a stave of 3" diameter rattan he plans to lathe down to make 3 of these but had intended to tape them in brown duct-tape to keep down the splinters)

Sean

[Jonny Deuteronomy]

Just trying to be inclusive.
That's why I do this in public...so people can help guide me down the 'right' roads. thx!

[Vladimir]

Heh, I'm going to have to pay to get in anyway then.

There is no way, no way, I can get my buddy up in time to make it there by 9 on a Saturday.

Unless the Earth stops spinning on its axis or something.

Don't worry about basket hilts. I don't even own one anymore.

[Aaron]

Hi,

The matched polehammers I've made are matched SCA polehammers.

Sadly I don't have the time to do other things other than SCA heavy fighting (like jousting, WMA, etc...). My kids are growing up and I want to be involved a bit more in their lives. Thursday is Brownies and Tuesday is Boy Scouts, and some weekends will disappear for father-and-son camping, etc..

So I didn't make historical polehammers, but rather SCA polehammers.

Please forgive me.

Oh, and I'm bringing three paying customers as well as my wife (wants to SCA heavy fight) and two kids (who wish they could...but they're too little and cute). What would the total cost be for:

2 SCA heavy fighters
3 kids
1 Teenage herald-type who does bard stuff
1 Non-fighting mommy

We SHOULD be able to garb them all, but we'll see. Quite a bit of our stuff is still in boxes.

-Aaron

[James B.]

Some of the guys from Grey's plan to kit out and head to the event to watch on Saturday.

[Jonny Deuteronomy]

Hi,

The matched polehammers I've made are matched SCA polehammers.

Sadly I don't have the time to do other things other than SCA heavy fighting (like jousting, WMA, etc...). My kids are growing up and I want to be involved a bit more in their lives. Thursday is Brownies and Tuesday is Boy Scouts, and some weekends will disappear for father-and-son camping, etc..

So I didn't make historical polehammers, but rather SCA polehammers.

Please forgive me.

Oh, and I'm bringing three paying customers as well as my wife (wants to SCA heavy fight) and two kids (who wish they could...but they're too little and cute). What would the total cost be for:

2 SCA heavy fighters
3 kids
1 Teenage herald-type who does bard stuff
1 Non-fighting mommy

We SHOULD be able to garb them all, but we'll see. Quite a bit of our stuff is still in boxes.

-Aaron

$20 and go ahead and bring them there polehammers. The ultra-heavy ground fighting is match-by-match, there is no collective 'champion' for that this year, only for the jousting. If you can find someone else who wants to have a go, you can use them.

[Jonny Deuteronomy]

Phone just rang.
I have an experienced King of Arms and Chief Jousting Judge.

[Jonny Deuteronomy]

Some of the guys from Grey's plan to kit out and head to the event to watch on Saturday.

[Duke Icefalcon]

Going to have to pull out this year. Too much going on with Gulf Wars starting the next day. Maybe next year.....

I was looking forward to this, too.....

[Jonny Deuteronomy]

I understand that GW represents a lot of business for your armoury.
I am booking for 2 weeks later next year.
March 21-22, 2009

[Duke Icefalcon]

Perfect!

[Chris - GSMBristol]

I am booking for 2 weeks later next year.
March 21-22, 2009

I'll mark it down on our calendar for next year so we know about it too!

[Jonny Deuteronomy]

I am booking for 2 weeks later next year.
March 21-22, 2009

I'll mark it down on our calendar for next year so we know about it too!

2009 dates are unofficial until i confirm with the venue & the riders - will advise...so please use the pencil not the pen for this until then.

[Jonny Deuteronomy]

Some of the guys from Grey's plan to kit out and head to the event to watch on Saturday.

Would they be interested in standing around the ring like the heavy 'guards' in the picture plates in King Rene's book? That would look wonderful!
OTOH, I can just as easily appreciate sitting down with beer in hand in the big heavy armour kits. Totally up to them. I'll let you all in for free if you will do this...

[Sean Powell]

Itinerary:
1100am - meeting for all the day's combatants (mandatory)
1200pm - Promenade (all combatants and retinue march formally and are acknowledged (soft kit))
1230pm - SCA-style Grand Melee (30 minuted of continuous martial madness and mayhem - all available on-site combatants are invited to play!)

Depending on how long the Promenade lasts it may be difficult to get completly suited up in time for the 12:30 grand melee. Considering that the melee only lasts half an hour, being 10 minutes late misses quite a bit of the fun. Would it be acceptable to process in hard-kit instead?

Sean

[kelly powell]

That freaked me out.....For a second I thought my brother was on this site.....The last time he saw sca stuff he uttered the moronic line.."If somebody hit me like that I'd be taking that helmet off and whoopin his ass".....Normally he is not retarded

[Jonny Deuteronomy]

Itinerary:
1100am - meeting for all the day's combatants (mandatory)
1200pm - Promenade (all combatants and retinue march formally and are acknowledged (soft kit))
1230pm - SCA-style Grand Melee (30 minuted of continuous martial madness and mayhem - all available on-site combatants are invited to play!)

Depending on how long the Promenade lasts it may be difficult to get completly suited up in time for the 12:30 grand melee. Considering that the melee only lasts half an hour, being 10 minutes late misses quite a bit of the fun. Would it be acceptable to process in hard-kit instead?

Sean

I'll wait that 10 minutes rather than rob anyone of their fight time.
Running 10 minutes behind schedule won't ruin the event.
Remember that I too am a heavy fighter, so I share your sensibilities.
Folk can also process in their hard kits if that is easier for them but they risk the social backlash of a fashion faux-pas (fashion sin #11: outdressing the other partygoers).

[Vladimir]

So, what would be the greater sin? progressing in my so, so out of period garb and being late to fight in my nice, out of time period armour. Or just progressing in my nice, out of time period armour?

[Jonny Deuteronomy]

Please progress as you see fit.

[Sean Powell]

I hate to bring this up but has anyone looked at the weather for Saturday? This is an all outdoor event right?

Sean

[Jonny Deuteronomy]

THIS THROWDOWN HAPPENS RAIN OR SHINE.
NO POSTPONEMENTS OR RAIN DATES. EVER. (a KTP policy)

ANY COMBATANT IS FREE TO DECLINE ANY BOUT OR ROUND OF COMBAT DUE TO POOR WEATHER CONDITIONS WITHOUT LOSS OF HONOR OR RENOWNE. (common sense must prevail)

Tomorrow...your fight is in Upper Marlboro, MD....SO GO FIGHT IT!

Horses swim quite well. We can strap snorkels to our helmets if we have to. If they can have 'water' polo, then we can have...

[Aaron]

I'm in stainless, so a bit of rain doesn't bother me. Now lightning on the other hand will make me conceed the bout with all due speed.

[Sean Powell]

I'm all in stainless also so I don't mind fighting in it so much (Lightning not withstanding) and I'm fairly static in footwork so the mud dosn't concern me too much but heavy rain does mean my wife and daughter will stay home. Considering the weather we've had the past too days this is an unfortunate change.

Sean

[Aaron]

I'm setting up a little round pavilion, but it will hold only a very, very few people, sadly. But it should keep people out of the rain.

And discussions in tents in the rain is an AA tradition from Pennsic...

-Aaron

[Vladimir]

I'm not in stainless, if its raining I'll show up as an observer in normal clothes.

[Tascius]

Hate to say this but my video gear is by no means water proof. If it is raining I will not be able to tape as this gear cost me more than any of my cars. I will bring a umbrella and a helper if the rain is mild but real rain would wreck my gear. As for my fighting rig, bring it on, I have wax and oil. If anyone needs it I will bring a can of Butcher's bowling ally wax with me. http://www.kitchenkapers.com/butchers-b ... y-wax.html

This wax is used by many conservationists and is often compaired to Renaissance Micro-crystalline Wax.

More on this wax from a conservationist.

http://palimpsest.stanford.edu/byform/m ... /0731.html

[Vladimir]

Heh, my armour cost more than my truck. Decent armour, cheap truck.

But, since I won't have access to a means of cleaning it until Monday evening I will hold off on it if it is raining.

[Aaron]

I'm praying it's fair weather, and history doesn't repeat itself.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eglinton_T ... nt_of_1839