Miscellaneous > The Sallyport

Gotta get this off my chest.

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Thorsteinn:
True.

Allan Senefelder:

--- Quote ---Also...I know this is old soup (and I have no animisity in this bit though it may seem so, I just want to point out some things I didn't before) but I must put this out there regarding SCA wrap shots: They have disabled legs through steel. I, myself, have been browned out by them through a 12 ga helm. What we call the Grasscutter Strike is in the manuals and uses wrap body mechanics.

--- End quote ---

I've never had anybody really explain this to my satisfaction and i've done business with everything from WMA to LH to SCA to Rennies. In the larger scheme of things why does anyone care? I thought it was supposed to be about having fun and i've seen folks on all sides of the spectrum get all sorts of worked up over whos legit, what style is the real deal ect, isn't it supposed to about having a good time? The minute you start the " my dojo is better than your dojo " you've stopped having fun and your hobby just became work so at least to my mind, whats the point then, your not having fun? I don't see stamp collectors duking it out verbally with each other over who's mojo is better, I can't recall the last time I saw two groups of bird watches assaulting each other out in the woods over who's doing it better. I've never understood how contentious is a part of fun. If some one wants to get in a circle with thier friends with boards to thier noses and sticks over thier heads, god bless and enjoy, if some one wants to bring a ton of fantasy leather armour and what amounts to a couch cushion with straps on it and call it a shield at the larp event have a blast, if some one wants to slap on elf/Spock ears with their 16th century lady in waiting dress and put sparklies on thier face at the renfaire, have at it.

Ian:
I agree that all groups are entitled to their fun and can pretty much do what they want.  The difference is, people at LARP events with boffer swords or people wearing elf ears and glitter don't try to claim historical accuracy. People get their panties in a bunch over this particular issue mostly because WMA is trying to reproduce as close as possible a historically accurate use of whatever their weapon of choice is.  The SCA heavy list is not intended to be a historically accurate fighting sport, it's intended to be fun, much as you described earlier.  The WMA folks get upset when the SCA crowd tries to take their sport and claim it as historically accurate, much as the LH follks would be upset if the elf ears and glitter crowd tried to point out what they were doing as historically accurate in a living history context.

I'm not picking sides here, I'm just trying to explain why it's a touchy subject for a lot of WMA/HEMA groups. They want their fun to be constrained by a specific ruleset, in this case, historical accuracy.  So if a member of another group, in this case SCA comes along and tries to bring valid techniques that don't apply within their ruleset, they can get upset.

Sir Wolf:
ya as much as anyone wants to put it as far as the sca, living history, fantasy etc, we're all LARPS. i dont care what people say it's true. we all play a game and dress up. whether it's to honor vets, get rid of reality or what have you. just different names and different faces.

Sir Brian:
I wholeheartedly agree with Allan’s and Sir Wolf's perspectives. Whatever gives you the most sense of achievement and happiness than the more power to you!  :)
 
For me, I must confess of a few things. Firstly I am not as dedicated an academic as perhaps I should be for WMA. I like to study the forms and principles and then see how to incorporate them into my developing fighting style. It has been a few decades since I’ve competed on a sport or recreational level and I’ve found in the past fifteen months that the studying of WMA has rekindled that old love of ‘safe’ combat. It lacks the intense and almost euphoric adrenaline rush of genuine life and death struggle (in my case bar fights) but then again I didn’t really enjoy experiencing that when I was half the age I am now so essentially I get to enjoy the thrill of a martial art without the danger of death or dismemberment. For me, I really think being hit with anything less than something that has the potential of breaking bones would take away from that battle sense and would therefore lead me more to discouragement than to development.  :-\

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