ANST - re: ANST- Ladies Chest Protection
cward at awd.com
cward at awd.com
Tue Oct 28 18:52:31 PST 1997
This discussion comes back up every so often. I have been dealing with the
topic since I started fighting around 1979 or 1980. Personally, I hate any
type of chest armor. It's hot and uncomfortable and restricts movement way
too much. But I wear it none the less.
Back in 1979 or 1980, when I started fighting the first time, I consulted
with my mother, who is a physician (OB/GYN), and she in turn consulted with
a colleague of hers who specializes in diseases of the breast. Both
agreed fully that while getting hit in the tits with heavy rattan might
hurt, and could certainly cause bruising, there was no medical reason that
it was a bad thing: they agreed it could not cause cancer, deformity, or
other breast disease. At that particular time, the marshallate was
claiming that they wanted women to wear breast armor because they were
afraid being whacked in the breast might cause cancer!
I've gotten hit in the breast a time or three -- the worst being a time
when I caught a great sword going full speed and stopped it with my breast.
The breast looked like the world's largest concord grape for weeks, but
since the sword tip had missed my chest wall, I actually was able to
continue the fight and fought on later that afternoon. The blows I've
received there caused no scarring, no deformation, and no problems. The
worst injury I ever received to the breast while fighting was from an
underwire bra, which is why ladies should not wear underwires on the list
field -- I ended up with six stitches from that one!
I will mention that I am wearing a breastplate hidden under my gambeson.
It's not to protect my tits. It's to protect my sternum. The breastbone,
in men and women alike, most certainly *can* be damaged badly. Worse, if
you're hit just right (like, say, with one of those !@#$%$#@! pultruded
fiberglass spears) the impact can snap the sternum loose from the ribs,
allowing the ribs and sternum to do unlovely things in turn to your heart
and lungs.
Another serious risk is the little tab attached to the bottom of the
sternum. That tab angles inwards anyway, and a good hard blow can break it
off, or drive it back into lungs or apparently even into the liver (though
this is more of a motor vehicle accident problem).
Basically, wearing only a gambeson to protect the chest is stupid. It does
nothing to protect against anything and only adds heat and restricts
movement. Wearing rigid or semi-rigid armor to protect the chest does make
more sense, as it will tend to spread the force of the blow, keeping shots
from concentrating on the breastbone or on a rib and possibly causing
serious injury.
Thing is, I don't think that just women should be required to wear this
type of armor -- the tits don't need protecting, the sternum does -- and
thus men and women alike should protect it if *any* of us have to.
I rather look upon armor as a chance to weed the gene pool -- it's like the
motorcycle helmet controversy. If someone is retarded enough to want to
fight with no helmet, for the good of the human species we should let them.
And likewise body armor should be a matter of choice as far as I'm
concerned: plate armor for the chest, some hot padding in a gambeson, or
nothing -- I really wish they'd leave it up to the wearer.
That's my opinion. I'd be glad to come up with the medical information
about trauma injuries and breast risk factors related to same if the
marshallate would find it helpful in making a useful decision.
::GUNNORA::
Gunnora Hallakarva,
Writing from work
(This account goes away Nov 10, 1997 -- write to me at gunnora at bga.com)
-------------
Original Text
From: "Vanora Villon" <vanora at hotmail.com>, on 10/28/97 7:21 PM:
Greetings from Lady Vanora!
I'd like to do a "poll", here. Humor me, please:
There are some discussions going on concerning ladies' chest
protection. Ansteorra has a rule stating that women have to wear 6-8oz.
leather over the breasts and sternum... while Coorporate says a gambison
over the same area is sufficient. Quite a few of us ladies would like to
have Ansteorra's rule dropped to the Coorporate rule. We can prove that
there's no danger of cancer from being hit, that there's no long-term
harm, and that the only difference between a man and a woman getting hit
in the breasts arrises ONLY if she is lactating.
So, what do you think... drop the rule OR mandate chest protection for
all men in Ansteorra?
You can respond to me personally at <vanora at hotmail.com> or back over
the mailing list. Just be aware that opinions expressed WILL go to our
earl marshal and WILL be put into kingdom files where it WILL be read.
In Service to the Sable Star and to the Dream,
~Lady Vanora Villon de Paris~
esquire to Viscount Galen of Bristol,
Teutonic Order of the Dragon- Atlantia,
Barony of Elfsea/ Ansteorra
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