Shinai in Ansteorra

[Michael A. Chance]

Ysoulde asks about feelings on possibly introducing shinai combat as an
activity at Ansteorran events.  Sorry for the late reply, but her's my
two cents worth.

Before adding any new activity to SCA events, we need to examine what
that activity adds to our attempts at re-creating the atmosphere of
Medieval and Renaissance Europe.  Questions that need to be asked
(among others) are:

- Can the activity be positively documented as having occurred in
Europe prior to the 17th century?

- Was the activity a frequently occuring one or are there only a few
rare instances?

- Is it an activity practiced by the nobility (and/or those lower
classes that sought to emulate them, such as the merchant and trades
classes)?

With respect to shinai, I would (in the absence of evidence to the
contrary) say "no" to all of these questions.  Further, I believe that
shinai "tourneys" to be a somewhat recent phenomenon, with a history
of less than 200 years.  If shinai, used as a training method, can
even be documented to the pre-17th century in Japan, were there
contests between warriors using shinai, similar to medieval
tournaments?

As a further note, I have recently heard that there exists a living
history organization that attempts to re-create "classical" Japan,
though I have no more information about it than that.  Depending on
their acceptance of those of European descent, this may be a more
suitable organization for this sort of activity than the SCA.

Mikjal Annarbjorn
-- 
Michael A. Chance          St. Louis, Missouri, USA    "At play in the fields
Work: mc307a at sw1stc.sbc.com                             of St. Vidicon"
Play: mchance at crl.com