Question for any of the SPCA-ers out there

[Acolyte]

I just found out that there's an SPCA swordfighting group in Windsor, which is something I've always wanted to get into. I'm going out to check them out Friday night, and I've been told that they do Renaissance fencing and heavy swordfighting. Anyways, I've got a few questions about it.

1) What exactly is 'heavy swordfighting'? I assume it's the sort with the longswords and the mail/plate armour and such, but correct me if I'm wrong.
2) If I like it and decide to get more into it, what sort of gear would I need, and how much would said gear cost?
3) Is there anything that, as a noob to swordfighting, I should know? I've done some martial arts (Kenpo, a bit of Akido), but the only other sports I participate in are skiing and paintball.

And I'll probably have other questions as these are answered.

[RecoveringKinkoid]

Do you mean SCA fighting? I'm an SCA Renaissance fencer. If you are talking SCA, I can hook you up pretty well with a ton of useful resources.

If we are talking about the same thing,"heavy" fighting is hard armor (hard leather, plastic, chainmail, and / or real metal plate) and various medieval weapons interpreted in rattan (a solid bamboo that absorbs shock very well). Your weapons would basically be made of wood, but used as though they were edged. It is the more expensive of the SCA weapons forms as there is more and heavier gear involved.

"Light" fighting, aka fencing, is a bit cheaper. You wear fabric armor, fencing masks, and protective gloves made of canvas or leather. Your weapons will be standard epee or schlager blades. There is a lot of similarities between this weapons form and olympic style fencing, but there are a lot of differences, too.

[Acolyte]

Sorry, yeah, SCA. And, yeah, bring on the info.

The fact that the heavy fighters use wooden weapons is more comforting to me. I know that there's probably an excellent safety record, but the idea of swinging steel around was mildly disconcerting without training.

[Andara Bledin]

It's actually amazing how little training it takes to get a group of people competent for live steel fighting.

I used to belong to a faire guild that did live steel as part of our routines, although it wasn't our primary focus. We'd go to battle pageants and outline basic ideas for how the fight would go, and then the rest of it would all be completely ad-libbed.

Our worst injury actually came at the hands of an SCAer who managed to send one of our crew to the hospital with a split scalp and a pretty nasty concussion.

^-.-^

[RecoveringKinkoid]

General SCA website. Good starting point:
http://www.sca.org/

Here is the Kingdom you will be playing in:
http://www.midrealm.org/index.php

Here is a link for Zen Warrior Armory, where a lot of folks, particularly fencers get their gear. Good, reliable vendor who is himself an SCA fencer. While the site is predominantly light gear, there is a section for heavy fighters. Just go to the “SCA Rattan Weapons and Armor” section. You can get a feel for what gear you will need and how much things cost new. Keep in mind that this is not the only place to get gear. You can probably get a lot of stuff used, particularly the heavy gear. People are always trading and selling helms and other pieces. There is also a section with the rapier rules of each kingdom laid out for you (yours is Middle Kingdom). I don’t fight heavy, so I don’t know where your rules for that might be. Ask the guys at your local practice, they will know better than I will. Anyway, here is Walter’s site:
http://www.zenwarriorarmory.com/

There’s some good stuff for you on Tribe.net, too, but right now, the site appears to be having problems. I’ll hook you up with that later.

As for potential for injury, well, of course you have a bunch of people whacking on each other there is going to be a few usual bumps and bruises. But for as rough as it looks, you’d be amazed at how few real injuries happen. I’ve seen three guys seriously injured in 25 years in the game: One guy was the victim of someone blatantly disregarding rules and ended up with a mild concussion. One guy took a freaky bad shot and ended up with a broken arm. The last one didn’t listen to what his body was trying to tell him and went down from heat exhaustion. Fencing injuries are probably even less…aside from the occasional pulled muscle or bruise, the only person I know about who ended up in x-ray was me. I failed to keep up my armor properly and ended up with a separated rib. Entirely my fault.

To put in into perspective for you, I’ve seen more injuries in a single day of football than I have in over two and a half decades of being in the SCA watching SCA fighting.

You have to “authorize” before you can fight. This means you have to pass a test that shows you know the rules and that you are safe on the field. You will have to learn how to keep yourself safe, and also how not to hurt other people. There are marshalls watching the fighting, and they act as refs to keep up the level of safety to the fighters and the onlookers.

[Andara Bledin]

*nods*

Any good reenactment style fighting group of any type will have all the rules in place to make it surprisingly safe.

With our guy that got whacked on the head, it might have been ok if the jerk hadn't decided to rush him from behind. I think the rest of his crew was about ready to string him up for being so dangerous on the field.

^-.-^

[morgana]

*nods*
With our guy that got whacked on the head, it might have been ok if the jerk hadn't decided to rush him from behind. I think the rest of his crew was about ready to string him up for being so dangerous on the field.

^-.-^

Yeah, that's a good way to buy yourself a marshal's court and get banned from fighting for six months or so.

[RecoveringKinkoid]

And that's how the guy in my story got injured, too. Well-known hot-head with an axe to grind with another fighter. Guy shouldn't have even been on the field. Failed to engage the other fighter in a melee, and coldcocked him from behind. Very much against the rules. There were all kinds of repercussions for that guy.

[Acolyte]

*Nods* So, the safety bit is about the same as it is for paintball-wear the gear, follow the rules, don't be a dick and you'll be fine. I like that.

I (sadly) had to miss it this week, but I'll definitely be going next week. I'm really liking the sounds of this.

[RecoveringKinkoid]

That's exactly right. You'll do fine. Let me know how your practice goes when you go. :)

[Acolyte]

Alright, I just got back, and had a blast. I didn't have a cup, and they didn't have one to lend me, so I couldn't actually fight, but they went over all the rules and the events and such with me, and were very forgiving about my noobishness and silly questions.:p
Plus, they let me swing their swords around for an hour while one of the guys was showing me stances and moves and the like (Spent about half an hour cross-stepping, lunging and stabbing a wall).

All-in-all, it was muchly fun. Friday's when they meet for their fencing, but they also do heavy fighting and have a general meeting on Sunday too, which I may very well check out.

[RecoveringKinkoid]

That's awesome, I'm glad you had a good time. Pick up a cup and next time you'll be able to dive in and do some fighting. :) I agree that you should check out the fencers and the general meeting, too. Give you a chance to see some other facets of the SCA and also meet different people than just those that fight heavy.

[RecoveringKinkoid]

Lively SCA board comprised mostly of Pennsic War afficianatos, but also of general SCA interest:
http://pnet-refugees.tribe.net/

General SCA board:
http://sca.tribe.net/

Armor and Garb:
http://armorandgarb.tribe.net/

SCA music
http://tribes.tribe.net/sca-celtic

I find the Tribe.net boards to be the most personable and easy to join and use. You can probably find other boards there of more specific interest to you, just do a search.