helmet

[Sir Wulf]

Here is a picture of my former harness. The only pieces I have left are the greaves, maille, gauntlets and helm. I fought in that rig for three years. It was a good rig but I was never happy with the visibility of the helm (a bellows face sallet with secondary visor). I am leaning towards a barbute helm. Does anyone have any practical experience with full-tilt foot combat with this style helm?

[Sir Wulf]

Sorry, forgot to post the pic!? Here 'tis.

[Sir Edward]

I haven't done any serious combat in my sallet yet. What little we did, I did with the visor up. The visibility is atrocious with it down. I can see better with my great helm, and that's not saying much.

The bellows faceplate looks like the visibility is better than just a bevor, though.

[Sir Wulf]

It's actually not that great. With the main visor down I have about an inch wide slot, with the second, or jousting visor down it's like a quarter inch. I tried fighting with the jousting visor all the back but any blow on the comb slides back into the visor. Next thing you know your looking through the breathing holes. My sword-brothers learned not to get to close when that happens. It's really irritating.

[Thorsteinn]

A lot of times with those the fit of the helm is what matters  more than anything for how good the visibility is. IE I fight in one of Windrose's MTO Normans and until I got the chinstrap right and the padding correct I could see out for beans.

So maybe it's the fit that is hurting you. I have fought plenty of guys in well fitted close helms that could see fine and more than one in an open faced helm that didn't and thus couldn't see so well.

-Ivan

[Sir Wulf]

I don't know how many padding configurations I tried. The problem was the jousting visor being all the way back and catching blades. Since I started leaving the second visor positioned over my forehead that problem has gone away.  Now if the blow skates off the front of the helm it closes the visor all the way. Unless you joust I wouldn't ever get a helm with the second visor. This is one reason I'm asking about the barbute.

[Sir Wolf]

nice looking stuff. any other pictures of your armour or soft kit?

[Sir Wulf]

This is from the last tournament I fought in with the Ordo Har Megiddo. It's the only pic I have of my gambeson


This is my current "soft kit" The boots are by RenBoots, the blue tunic I had sewed many years ago when I played the larp amtgard, 3" 2-buckle leather belt, sporran, dirk, Malatesta sword (named Faylinn), museum replicas monks hood, and believe it or not Starter brand underarmor bottoms for my "hosen".


I am working on getting a pic of me wearing the windlass gothic cuirass that I wore in the last tourney.

[Sir Wolf]

awesome.

what faires do you fight at?

[Sir Wulf]

No faires. I used to fight with a group called the Ordo Har Megiddo in Anniston Alabama. But upon relocating to Anniston because of a job I discovered some horrible things about my friend. But before that I fought with him and his group twice a year for three years. And I do mean fight. They used very lightly padded wasters and went at it full tilt. I saw concussions, 2 severely fractured hands, a broken collar bone and almost got my knee blown out.
After the revelations about the Ordo Har Megiddo several of us broke away. We still practice every Sunday and we're looking for local groups that can help us continue are WMA education. I've expressed my unhappiness with the padded wasters and am in the process of getting wooden wasters for our practice.   

[Sir Edward]

What sorts of problems were you having with the group? Were they doing unethical things? Or was it just a safety issue? There really is no need to injure each other like that. We rarely have any significant injuries in our group, since we all make an effort to have sufficient control and safety to avoid it.

[Sir Wulf]

Safety isn't really much of an issue. Those injuries occur mostly with our hard-ass'. Our rule is "I'll hit you as hard as you hit me". We know who each other are, against the rest of the fighters we use less intensity. It's not like we're trying to cause damage to each other but wma is a full contact combat form.
The issues were mainly with "Sir Chistov Von Belitz" of the Ordo Har Megiddo were ethical. His real name is Christopher Belitz (pornounced blitz). I knew this guy off and on for almost 15 years and thought I knew the guy. It turns out he had been stealing from the fighters, lying about his credentials and has a severe pot and alcohol problem. On top of all this he turns out to be a nazi.
So I called a meeting of the fighters of OHM and laid everything out for them. I had already talked to most of them individually and made common knowledge all the facts. Most of the fighters decided to leave his group, not liking nazi's any more than a do. Most of these guys are severely lacking in training due to Chris' lies about HIS training.
That's pretty much the basics of the situation I found myself in last year.

[Sir Edward]

Youch. Yeah, it only takes one bad apple to ruin it for everyone else. It's always a shame though when it results in the dissolution of a group. But some things can't be left unanswered.