Winning
Some guys refuse to fight me with my buckler. Well, they refuse to fight their normal style, they feel like they gotta pick up a buckler too, or go single-sword. "It doesn't look very fair," someone said to me last night at practice.
Is it fair he's got 9 more inches of reach than me? Is it fair one of us has more experience fighting than the other? What's fair?
It's true that with our combat rules, which have 'indestructible' shields, a larger shield is a distinct advantage. Shields in general have only gotten bigger in the our area of the SCA, to the point where most people are fighting their regular tournament bouts with shields of war, or as I call 'em "Damn near a barn door."
Said Crispin, "Yeah, buckler is fun, but it's not very conducive to winning." I pointed to his tear-drop shield, and he shrugged, admitting that he'd chosen persona-appropriate looks over best defense, too.
Then it occurred to me. These guys - the young guys wearing mostly plastic armor and carrying enormous aluminum shields, whose entire fighting kit probably weighs as much as my left gauntlet - they're dressing that way because they want to win ALL THE TIME.
Uh, Marie? How was that an epiphany for you? It's a game. People want to win.
It's not that I don't want to win, but I care more about becoming a better fighter than winning an unimportant practice bout. Relying on a big damn war-board wouldn't make me a better fighter, but it would allow me (to a point) to have a better win-ratio against guys who are actually better than me. See, I really don't want that. I want to be stronger, faster, and more skilled. Not have more wins right now.
When I carry a big shield I feel slow, clumsy, and tentative, and a little bit ashamed of myself. I'd feel the same if I wore plastic armor. And plastic armor is just better, from a sports perspective. My brother-in-law asked me "So what's the disadvantage? Does the plastic not absorb the shots as well?" Alas, no. It's just better and lighter. If they'd had plastic, and they fought with blunt wood like we do, the medieval knight would have been all over it, I'm sure.
But it feels cheap. It feels like cheating. It makes me embarrassed. So all the dudes telling me I should lighten up my kit and be more like them - I can't. It's not who I am. I wear real plate armor, heavy-ass high-maintenance and all, not because I don't know better or can't get better - it's because my heart needs it. It's this or nothing.
And do you know what? EVERY SINGLE BLOCK I make with my teeny buckler makes me feel BAD ASS. God I love that "Bong!" when I punch a block. So don't deny me my buckler, friends, it's what I want. Winning ain't worth as much to me as that.
And when I do win, it feels that much sweeter.
Is it fair he's got 9 more inches of reach than me? Is it fair one of us has more experience fighting than the other? What's fair?
It's true that with our combat rules, which have 'indestructible' shields, a larger shield is a distinct advantage. Shields in general have only gotten bigger in the our area of the SCA, to the point where most people are fighting their regular tournament bouts with shields of war, or as I call 'em "Damn near a barn door."
Said Crispin, "Yeah, buckler is fun, but it's not very conducive to winning." I pointed to his tear-drop shield, and he shrugged, admitting that he'd chosen persona-appropriate looks over best defense, too.
Then it occurred to me. These guys - the young guys wearing mostly plastic armor and carrying enormous aluminum shields, whose entire fighting kit probably weighs as much as my left gauntlet - they're dressing that way because they want to win ALL THE TIME.
Uh, Marie? How was that an epiphany for you? It's a game. People want to win.
It's not that I don't want to win, but I care more about becoming a better fighter than winning an unimportant practice bout. Relying on a big damn war-board wouldn't make me a better fighter, but it would allow me (to a point) to have a better win-ratio against guys who are actually better than me. See, I really don't want that. I want to be stronger, faster, and more skilled. Not have more wins right now.
When I carry a big shield I feel slow, clumsy, and tentative, and a little bit ashamed of myself. I'd feel the same if I wore plastic armor. And plastic armor is just better, from a sports perspective. My brother-in-law asked me "So what's the disadvantage? Does the plastic not absorb the shots as well?" Alas, no. It's just better and lighter. If they'd had plastic, and they fought with blunt wood like we do, the medieval knight would have been all over it, I'm sure.
But it feels cheap. It feels like cheating. It makes me embarrassed. So all the dudes telling me I should lighten up my kit and be more like them - I can't. It's not who I am. I wear real plate armor, heavy-ass high-maintenance and all, not because I don't know better or can't get better - it's because my heart needs it. It's this or nothing.
And do you know what? EVERY SINGLE BLOCK I make with my teeny buckler makes me feel BAD ASS. God I love that "Bong!" when I punch a block. So don't deny me my buckler, friends, it's what I want. Winning ain't worth as much to me as that.
And when I do win, it feels that much sweeter.