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R attan combat is not just about having fun, running around dressed up as knights or medieval soldiers and trying to hit each other with various swords, axes, spears, and poleweapons. Okay so mostly it is, but the essential essence of what we do should always be chivalric combat and our behaviour in combat should always reflect this romantic ideal. Andre de Montsegur once passed on these words of wisdom to me "The SCA is not about reality but a 60's recreation of a victorian perception of an Authurian fantasy."
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<>R attan combat is not just about having fun, running around dressed up as knights or medieval soldiers and trying to hit each other with various swords, axes, spears, and poleweapons. Okay so mostly it is, but the essential essence of what we do should always be chivalric combat and our behaviour in combat should always reflect this romantic ideal. Andre de Montsegur once passed on these words of wisdom to me "The SCA is not about reality but a 60's recreation of a victorian perception of an Authurian fantasy."
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Personally I still can't find anything wrong with that. If however you reject this as just a fantasy and want to do a recreation of historical combat bear in mind the image of reality is a wonderful thing to copy or recreate, but if you discard the key element of idealism that permeates Victorian, Authurian and period literature then you will lose any semblance of balance between competitiveness and for want of a better term sporting behaviour.
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<>Why winning sucks, I will take the time to say this here because too often a fighter will be feted and gain acclaim because they win fights, but winning in Society combat should never be considered as anything other than the temporary good fortune it is. It is far more important to have the respect and trust of the other fighters and also the general populace.
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<>Anyway for now enough of the reasons why you should be a perfect and genteel 'knight' if you are going to participate in rattan combat here a few more tangible pointers.
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T he Shire of Dragons Bay holds regular fighting sessions, at which informal training occurs please see the calendar for details or check out the resource page for other sessions that are nearby. This makes the first step pretty simple get to a training session, watch what we do, ask questions and if it appeals to you talk to the people there about what you need to do next.
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Each
individual is responsible for their own fitness etc, but please be
aware that however well distributed over your body you are likely
to be carrying an additional 20 to 25 kilos of equipment when fighting
and given the padded garments and armour you will get hot.
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Personally I still can't find anything wrong with that. If however you reject this as just a fantasy and want to do a recreation of historical combat bear in mind the image of reality is a wonderful thing to copy or recreate, but if you discard the key element of idealism that permeates Victorian, Authurian and period literature then you will lose any semblance of balance between competitiveness and for want of a better term sporting behaviour.
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<>Why winning sucks, I will take the time to say this here because too often a fighter will be feted and gain acclaim because they win fights, but winning in Society combat should never be considered as anything other than the temporary good fortune it is. It is far more important to have the respect and trust of the other fighters and also the general populace.
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<>Anyway for now enough of the reasons why you should be a perfect and genteel 'knight' if you are going to participate in rattan combat here a few more tangible pointers.
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There is
the matter of completing the prerequisites and paperwork required by our Laws and insurance requirements before you can join
in, don't worry if it all seems a bit
complicated the Marshals
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and senior fighters will
be happy to help you
out in this area. Also
if you are currently under 18 years of age, Lochac Kingdom Law
dictates that you must have written permission
from a parent or guardian to
participate.
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Contact the Shire
Knight Marshal prior to attending for important information
about the above info 
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T he Shire of Dragons Bay holds regular fighting sessions, at which informal training occurs please see the calendar for details or check out the resource page for other sessions that are nearby. This makes the first step pretty simple get to a training session, watch what we do, ask questions and if it appeals to you talk to the people there about what you need to do next.
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If you want
to
get a head start there are a few things you can sort out prior to
turning up.
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A)
Make sure you have groin
protection, leather boots, loose fitting pants, a loose fitting
shirt, a stout leather belt, and if you already have some knee and
elbow pads
bring them too.
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B) Contact the Shire Knight Marshal to confirm current times and dates
and
get yourself down to our training session, one of your priorities as
a newcomer is to watch and ask questions.
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C) If you can try
and get hold of some rattan and plywood
to make
yourself a training sword & shield, for more
info on these go
here.
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D) Find someone who will
either sew for you or better yet teach you how
to sew & look at getting a gambeson made, for more information on
this go here.
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E) Start saving money.
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It would be remiss of me if I
didn't mention that you should
be prepared. Fighters tend to be an entusiastic lot and circumstances
permitting they are very likely to try and put you in armour 'to
have a go' at the first opportunity that presents. Declining is
perfectly okay if you are not ready to do this.
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Y ou
may choose to take this combat thing relatively seriously, and go to
great lengths to research
totally authentic armour,
alternatively
you
may decide to get into some passable armour as quickly as possible so
that you can join in the aformentioned running around and hitting
people in short order..... and of course you may find yourself
somewhere in the middle. All of these are just fine,
because this is a hobby not an exam or a job, so the whole point
is to have fun,
and set your own goals.
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As far as appearances go
if it looks medieval at 10' (3m) it is
fine, and here it may be appropriate to mention that one of the
greatest strengths of the SCA lies in its ability as a community to
accept anybody who makes a reasonable effort to fit into the ambience
we try to create at events.
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Your choice of kit can
be based on practically anything pre 1600 and known to Europe. If you
are not sure where to start something along the
lines of the Western European armours circa 1300 - 1400 are relatively
easy to pattern
or purchase
and can get you
into
combat relatively quickly. This type of armour is relatively simple to reproduce in a basic workshop with minimal tools, you might even decide to purchase the
more complex pieces such as
knees, elbows or
helmets and finish them up as complete armours yourself. It all depends
on what you can afford the most of, time or money.
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Making armour is fun, no
particular
skills are require to get started, just
some enthusiasm and the ability to listen. Figure out what sort of look
you want, get some pictures of the way you want it to
look and get yourself along to the local armouring meeting or workshop.
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Remember if you are
going to fight in your armour check what you want
against the SCA rules and your Kingdoms requirements before committing
your resources. Which neatly brings us back to one of your priority as
a new member,
ask questions.
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Dragons
Bay Resource Page here Information on the Shire War Unit
here
Kingdom Marshals Page here. If
you want to find out more
about Knighthood & Chivalry go here