[Ansteorra] Events in the Last Five years

[Elizabeth Hawkwood]

My sentiments, exactly. Well, said, Kaz.

//Lady Elizabeth Hawkwood



----- Original Message ----
From: Kazimierz Złowieszczy <kazoflr at gmail.com>
To: "Kingdom of Ansteorra - SCA, Inc." <ansteorra at lists.ansteorra.org>
Sent: Monday, January 21, 2008 10:35:55 AM
Subject: Re: [Ansteorra] Events in the Last Five years

I entered into the SCA 4 years ago for the re-creation aspects. I dove head
first into all I could, arts, archery, fighting. Over the few years I have
been involved, I have become more disillusioned. I hear tales of the "Old
Days" of pagentry and Honor. I don't see that any more - much. There are
several examples of fine displays, but they are becoming fewer. I will
elaborate.

When I enter a tourney field, I do my BEST to look and act "in Period." I
have had few lessons in field etiquette but I try anyway. I wear
period-looking gear - full steel gauntlets, no basket hilt on my weapon and
no plastic or logos showing. When I look across the field to my opponent,
more often than not there is an old Gulf Wars sticker on the side of his
helm, along with 6 different colors of duct tape strips. He is wearing Kydex
gauntlets, with no attempt made at covering them. I can see Spaulding and
Nike in several places on his kit. Sometimes he is wearing tennis shoes. His
sword has duct tape fraying off in short strips as if he fights, puts it
away and doesn't touch it until the next fight. His persona, or so he told
me the night before, is 15th century French yet he wears "Ansteorran
minimum" armor. The only steel is EXACTLY what is required by the marshals
and even that is rusted. He looks more like a rollerblader with a tunic than
a 15th century warrior. The Dream dies at "Lay On!" because I am fighting a
sport fighter rather than a Period warrior.

So much for the Pagentry of the Tourney.

As for the fighting, standards are being lowered. Rhinos abound. I have
never and will never call a blow I give to another fighter. However, I have
hit opponents square in the grille so hard that I stop fighting to apologize
for the blow. My opponent, however, tells me the blow was light - TO THE
GRILLE - even though his head snapped back and the crowd winced at the blow.
When I was being taught to fight, I was told that we are assumed to be
wearing open-faced helms and that ANY blow which strikes the grille is good.
I have missed work to care for my back, which was bruised badly from being
pounded repeatedly by unseen opponents. Unseen because they were behind me
and never properly engaged me. I accept that there are poorly trained
fighters in the Realm. However, their numbers are growing. I am not a small
man, however, I often cannot seem to penetrate my opponents armor with clean
shots - no matter how hard I throw a snap shot. I have always heard of
Knights and Dukes being known for this, but now the regular fighters are
emulating them. After all, Knights are who we aspire to be.

I apologize if this offends anyone, but I know that everyone on this list
has heard the comments of Rhinohiding in the galleries. I have seen this in
every type of tourney, from a local event to Crown. If these are the
examples we are given, I will look elsewhere for someone to admire.

As for the pagentry, the "look" of events is usually fine. However, I am
tired of over-hearing the next pavillion over speaking of mundanity. I don't
want to hear how a computer can be fixed or what car someone is going to
buy. I don't want to hear a fighter who has lost his bout cursing profanely
at the way his opponent wronged him. I do enjoy listening to the
ins-and-outs of embroidery or brewing, even though I do not practice these
Arts. I enjoy listening to tales of Bygone Days when the Dream was alive. I
leave the Mundane behind to escape tales of school shootings and
celebrities. I escape to the SCA to live, briefly, in a world of Honor and
Chivalry. A world which Diana, David and Ken envisioned during the first
tourney in 1966.

I hope that we can bring more Anachronisms into this wonderful game and
lessen the Sport aspects. I sincerely want to Dream the Dream I was told
existed.



Jean Paul de Sens wrote:
> > I think I'm going to say what some others are thinking, but might be
> > uncomfortable saying.  I think it's almost a dirty secret for someone to
> not
> > think persona play is wonderful.
> >
> > I don't particularly care for high persona events.  I do not role-play
> well,
> > and it's not something I particularly enjoy doing.  Event's that have
> large
> > amounts of persona play make me feel uncomfortable and weird.  JP is
> really
> > the same person as Carl Chipman, although they dress totally
> different.  The
> > few times I have played D&D or other role-playing games, I am usually
> unable
> > to play someone who's not similar or exactly the same as myself.   When
> > someone forces persona play on me, I am usually extremely
> discomforted.  I
> > usually enjoy *watching* great persona play, and consider some of my
> > favorite people those who do a great job of persona play, but I don't
> care
> > to participate.  For me it's a spectator sport.
> >
> > Now, I try to be as good as a person as I can, but I do that at both
> event
> > and mundane life.  I love seeing good clothing, eating great food,
> > simulating un-armoured and armoured combat to the best of our safety,
> and
> > generally being in the company of people who still think that your word
> > means something, and that honor has a place in the world.  For what I
> love,
> > the role playing just gets in the way, for it obscures the truth of
> people.
> >
> > So the thing you lament going away, I have mixed feelings about.
> >
> > I think that there are others that feel this way, or similarly.
> >
> > JP
> >
>
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>
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