I think the SCA has a lot to offer and there's a lot I like about what I see, but there are aspects that I find disappointing that are unlikely to change due to heavily ingrained traditions and structures.
This sums up my experience and thoughts on it very well. My biggest issue is with the heavy combat being the core of everything, the 'authenticity nazis' who will not only flip if you have stainless steel armor, but if you have cotton instead of linen, etc. There are some who enjoy playing but have limited time and/or resources into period materials, but still try to make a reasonable attempt at period appearance. Owning a few harnesses, I don't have the time (or squire) to fend off rust from all of them, so stainless is a blessing.
The other big thing is the actual combat. It's just, bad. I was at a class led by John Clements, and he called it "stick tag", and I couldn't help but laugh and frown at the same time. How often do we see wraps in period combat? It's almost everrry SCA fight. And they all walk around with their sword slung back over there shoulder, parallel to the ground. I did one year of heavy combat, and it just wasn't fun. I had more fun watching people move about in armor than I did the actual combat portion.
I'm glad they're making an effort, but it's something I've heard they are trying to do over the last decade, and it's still more of the same. I couldn't even stand being on a local kingdom SCA mailing list because it turned into a political pissing contest in less than a month of membership.
