Frequently Asked Questions
Fighting Topics
Quick Answer: Heavy weapons.
There are three main "arena" of SCA participation: the Fighting
arts, the Arts and Sciences, and the Service arts. In the Fighting,
or Martial, arts there are two forms:
Heavy Weapons and Rapier
fencing, and several forms of archery
and equestrian activities.
Heavy weapons is a full-contact, non-choreographed, martial art
that uses solid rattan weapons (swords), shields, assorted other
weapons, and heavy armor. Rattan is a type of bamboo, and rattan
weapons are usually 2"-thick 'sticks' of rattan, usually wrapped
in strapping tape and duct tape.
Among other things, we do:
Archery, Armoring, Astronomy, Basketry, Beadwork, Belly dancing,
Brewing, Calligraphy, Camping, Chain mail, Chess, Cooking, Costuming,
Dancing, Dollmaking, Drumming, Dyeing, Embroidery, Equestrian Arts,
Feasting, Felting, Fencing, Glassblowing,
Hawking, Heraldry, Herbalism, Illumination, Knife making, Knitting,
Lace making, Leatherworking, Linguistics, Merchanting, Newsletters,
Painting, Research, Serving, Sewing, Shopping, Singing, Soap making,
Spinning, Tent making, Theatre, Volunteering, Weaving, Woodworking.
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Quick Answer: Yes.
In the above description of heavy weapons, I mentioned it is a
"full-contact" art. They really are hitting each other, and with
considerable force. There is a standard for "calibrating" blows
so they are forceful enough to have caused damage with an edged
sword against chain mail, and so that they are not so forceful as
to cause actual injury.
It is also a "non-choreographed" art. The fighters have not planned
out in advance who will hit when and where, unlike stage or movie
combat. Fighters do practice typical strikes and blocks, learning
the building blocks for fighting with swords (and shields). However
each fight is new and pits skill and stamina and wit against one
another.
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Quick Answer: Sometimes.
Heavy armor is designed to pad the fighter against most blows.
However, there is force being used, and bruises are not uncommon.
Usually if fighters are being bruised regularly, they may need to
increase their armor in that area, repair any damage to their armor,
or learn some new defense to protect them from being hit there anymore.
It is rare that anyone is hurt beyond bumps and bruises. Serious
injuries are most commonly caused by armor failures. However there
have been the occasional sprains, muscle pulls, hurt fingers, etc.
The common rule of thumb is that SCA heavy weapons is safer than
football. But the fitness level of the fighter has something to
do with their injury rate: If you are just an occasional fighter,
without an ongoing fitness program, you are more likely to get hurt.
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Quick Answer: As much or as little as you'd like to spend.
Most new heavy weapons fighters start off spending as little as
$100-$150, maybe $200-$500, or the extreme can range from $700 to
more than $1000.
How to Spend Nothing: To start off, most local groups have
some loaner armor available. Old armor, armor that no longer fits
someone, armor from someone that no longer fights—there are
many ways to find armor to give fighting a try without spending
a cent.
After You've Tried it Out a Little Bit: When you're ready
to start investing time, energy, training, and money into fighting,
there are some "starter kits" sold by armorers that will give you
your basics. Rigid elbows, rigid knees, a basket hilt for your sword,
and one for your shield—this might cost you $100-200 at once.
Your helmet could be $100-300, new. Or you might buy and/or barter
with local fighters to acquire used, but still usable, armor pieces,
even helms. You might want to build your own armor—learn to
knit chain mail, dish out some elbow cops and knee cops, boil leather
in wax to make rigid leather pieces, sew a padded gambeson, strap
and rivet pieces together. The best advice is to find fighters to
let you try different types of armor before you invest money in
armor that disappoints you later.
Anyone Can Participate: Please remember this is a hobby,
and that starving college students can play alongside the highest
paid computer consultant. You can do this on a budget, or you can
save and spend lots of money on armor made special and new, just
for you. It's your personal choice.
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Quick Answer: Yes.
The key, again, is find your local group of fighters. Attend some
fighter practices, watch a few tournaments, go to a war and watch
the unit fighting. Look for different styles of armor, weapons,
and fighting techniques. Talk to everyone, listen to everything.
Then get in and try a little. Find folks willing and able to arm
you up. Take a few hits against a pell (a practice pole or form
against which you can hit a sword and learn different types of blows).
With time, patience, and determination, anyone can learn whether
heavy weapons is the type of sport they want to participate in.
It's not for everyone, but everyone is welcome to give it a try.
NOTE: There are age requirements! You must be 18 or
older to participate in SCA Heavy Weapons. You must be 14 or older
to participate in SCA Rapier Fencing.
Altavia hosts weekly Heavy Weapons and
Rapier fighter practices. See our
Meetings page for more information.
Altavia also has Youth Combat practices,
that provide an age approprate combat game activity for our younger members.
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Quick Answer: YES! ABSOLUTELY!
You may hear some SCA members say "This is the Middle Ages as it
should have been." Or "we recreate the middle ages without the plague,
burnings, or discrimination." These are helpful clichés for
getting a beginning feel for the SCA, but they are not the whole
picture.
You may have heard someone suggest that "women didn't fight in
period." It turns out that is not always true, and there are dozens
of examples of women fighting throughout history—and not just
by cutting their hair and pretending to be boys. In SCA Heavy weapons
(and all other forms of SCA fighting, for that matter), women are
encouraged to take up the sword just as any of the men. You are
not required to "pretend to be a boy," although there are occasionally
some female fighters who do adopt a "male persona" in armor. Most
do not. There are women knights in the SCA, women commanders, women
squires, women who have won Crown or Coronet tournaments and become
Queen or Princess by their own right of arms.
If you are interested in more information about women fighters
in the SCA, there are two excellent websites to check out.
First, two of our local women fighters, Lady Eichling and Sir Kolfinna,
have a wonderful site at http://www.swordmaiden.com -- including a discussion forum at http://forum.swordmaiden.com.
There's also a "Known Worlde" resource, called the
Iron Rose. They have both a mailing list and a website at http://www.houseironrose.org.
Then again, you may just want to arm up and give it a try like anyone
else.
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FAQs © 2006 Shire of Darach, Cat Ellen (THL Eilidh Swann), and others as stated in the FAQs
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Last Updated on July 13, 2006.
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