Posted on 02/22/2012 5:43:31 PM PST by AnTiw1
In ARMA we train and spar with wooden wasters as well as steel blunt swords, with and without armor, but definitely with full intent. We rarely have serious injuries, though some bruises and minor bloodletting are just part of the fun.
A 3-weapon mask is required. Lacrosse gloves, or similar, are optional. That’s pretty much it for equipment. Intensity needs to rise and match the fighter’s training and control, but it can definitely be done at full intent.
Cool! 25 years as a Meridian myself.
I think that's especially interesting. Sure, it may be just my own cultural bias talking, but I think a skilled renaissance swordsman with a longsword would have eaten a samurai's lunch. I do get -so- tired of the tendency, whenever anyone refers to "martial arts", that it is automatically assumed to be arts of the asian variety. Thanks to Hollywood I suppose, the asian arts have taken on an almost mythological sense of superiority. I for one, think not. Medieval and renaissance europe had hundreds of years too, to develop a martial art that was every bit as elegant, spiritual and deadly as their asian counterparts. The longsword, especially... was the product of hundreds of years of refinement. So too was the art of using it.
“You are either using light-weight swords or you are not swinging them with a true swing. Probably both.”
You might want to check out Albion. Nobody else really comes close. Not Del Tin, Windlass, Cas-Hanwei or anybody. And best of all... they’re made in the USA. :-)
They make a nice selection of seriously period-accurate viking swords, along with their other types too. I’ve got the Baron (sharp) and the Liechtenauer (blunt). I also have some Hanwei sharps and blunts, and a couple of Cold Steel sharps. Cold Steel is a little hit and miss on quality. When they’re good they’re really good, but they’ve had some quality issues over the years. They are not particularly historically accurate. Unlike Albion... they go to great lengths to reproduce extremely accurage period pieces, in every way, from design to construction and metallurgy.
Full intent?
no armor?
real steel unsharpened hand and a half?
you are full of it if you expect anyone to believe that.
windlass ulfbehrt, windlass sticklestadt, tinker pierce 9th century aremy top 3
in that order...know what i want
Sword PING!
;0)
You can believe what you wish. I do it, and have done it for several years. There’s nothing like catching and binding a full-intent zornhau with the flat of the strong to get your blood pumping. :-)
Without intent, though, the whole combat turns into stage-acting sort of play. Sure, you can’t go full throttle right away, but sooner or later you have to test yourself against as real an opponent as can be done in a “practice” environment. Real practice is all about control.
I’m not even all that good. I’ve still got lots to learn. I tend to get my butt handed to me when I go up against our more experienced members. Oh well... I can settle on beating up on the newbs. :-)
I would tack on here what might be a timely distiction... that there’s a reason that ARMA hasn’t ever and won’t ever call anybody in the organization a “master” swordsman. Even the most experienced and most accomplished of the leadership. Back in the renaissance and before, there were “masters” of the art. Leichtenauer, George Silver or Fiore dei Liberi for example. But those masters actually used their craft in real life— and they proved their mettle by actually fighting with swords in life-and-death situations.
Today, there’s just no practical chance that anybody will ever have to actually fight to the death with a sword, against a similarly trained and capable opponent. Without that serious real-world proof it is simply presumptuous and arrogant to call oneself a “master” when there won’t be any sort of test of the same order. Training and practice is good, and it’s useful. It does prepare a student for that real-world combat, but without a true final exam there can be no degree. :-)
Not to name-drop, but I actually have met Tinker Pierce on a few occasions. Really nice guy. He used to bring some of his prototypes to our ARMA practices to have us test them and give some feedback. He also joined us a few years ago at our tent at the Armed Forces Day thing at Ft Lewis. As I recall he was working on an interesting blunt longsword that was going to be mass produced by Hanwei. Not bad at all. A little springy but not bad. Not as good as an Albion, but better than most of Hanwei’s prior stuff.
He’s an excellent smith. I keep toying with the idea of asking him to make me a really period-accurate Viking Seax. I’m sure he could do it well. I’ve seen a few of his other ones.
Today, there’s just no practical chance that anybody will ever have to actually fight to the death with a sword, against a similarly trained and capable opponent. Without that serious real-world proof it is simply presumptuous and arrogant to call oneself a “master” when there won’t be any sort of test of the same order. Training and practice is good, and it’s useful. It does prepare a student for that real-world combat, but without a true final exam there can be no degree. :-)”
Right, a good instructor would tell you your trophy is you get to live. No way to claim a master in this. Good sword ping!
The infowarrior *has* 'totally done that' for a number of years, and it *is* a lot of fun...
the infowarrior
The infowarrior *has* 'totally done that' for a number of years, and it *is* a lot of fun...
the infowarrior
The SCA combat sports have a lower injury rate and insurance rate that High School soccer. It is really quite safe. There is training, armor inspections, weapons inspections, safety rules, etc.
Bruises are the number one injury.
Heat exhaustion is a far greater risk than broken bones.
Having actually participated in the SCA s number of years ago, as a combatant, I can assure you that it is safer physically than a number of other sports. You run more risk of injury, serious, or otherwise, playing pickup basketball than SCA combat...
the infowarrior
swords are safer than basketballs, eh?
LOL
A good training regimen can have an average healthy male swinging HARD enough to dent 14 gauge steel in 4 to 6 months
Somebody who has never done it is automatically going to come to that erroneous conclusion, good Milord. A hearty guffaw would have sufficed...
the infowarrior (proud Ansteorran man-at-arms, still, although I neither reside in that kingdom these days, nor actively participate)
Well, with the number of rules that SCA has for their fights... Yah, they’re pretty safe.
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