[Ansteorra] History

[Miles Grey]

willowdewisp at juno.com wrote:

>The fighting was more real because the fighters thought it as studying an Marshal Art not a Sport. 
>The fighters fought to show their skill to also to entertain the populace.
>Because the fighting was interesting people watched. 
>  
>

I'm sorry, Your Grace, but I must disagree.  The fighting in the SCA is 
and always has been a sport, just as most of our martial arts are 
today.  You see, we have rules to prevent injury, and the moment you 
have such rules you have a sport.  Medieval fighting was about trying to 
kill your opponent.  You bashed him with your shield; you kicked him; 
you tripped him; if he was a bit off-balance, you charged and slammed 
into him to knock him down.  Even during tournaments, people were 
seriously injured and killed on a regular basis.  That just will not do 
today, nor would it have been accepted 20 or even 40 years ago.  Which 
means that the fighting then was just as much a sport as is the fighting 
today.

As time and experience have taught the fighters better tactics and 
techniques, the fighting in the SCA has evolved.  It is different, but 
it is neither better nor worse.  Over the last 4 years, I don't think 
I've seen the closed shield and hanging guard that was the norm back in 
the East 25 years ago.  Why?  Because a quarter-century is a *long* time 
to work out better ways to employ the weapons and equipment in manners 
best suited to your abilities.  We have knights who teach their squires 
the methods that best suit the *squire's* abilities in order to maximize 
his chance of winning.  Our knights have fought each other time and 
again, and they will pass along what they have learned about each 
opponent to their squires to allow them to adapt style and technique to 
the opponent at hand.

Today's fighting doesn't look the same as it did when I played for a 
short while 25 years ago.  But as one who watched it then and who 
watches it now with a 20 year hiatus in between, I can assure you that 
it is as "real" and entertaining today as it was back then.  It *is* 
different - the skill level and knowledge of our best fighters eclipses 
those of their predecessors because they have learned from and built 
upon those who came before.  Thus, the newcomer faces a steeper learning 
curve than was the case in the old days, when this whole thing was new 
to everyone.

Today as yesterday, the point of fighting isn't to show off you skill.  
It is to do your best to win the match while behaving in an upright and 
chivalrous fashion.  This is true even of the newbie who knows that the 
knight he's just been paired with is going to ring his bell in about 127 
milliseconds.

I'm sure you meant well, Your Grace, but if you re-read your message, 
I'm sure you will realize that you have inadvertently insulted the many 
men and women who work so diligently at practices, at personal 
conditioning, and out on those sweltering list fields.   I know that I 
simply cannot relate your words to the skill and chivalry I witnessed at 
the most recent Crown Tournament.  Those who took the field put forth 
the best they could on that day.  They fought earnestly and with skill.  
Perhaps you prefer the *style* of fighting that dominated when it was 
all new to you.  But you must realize that those styles simply are not 
competitive on today's list fields.  After all, if those old styles 
could compete, you can bet our knights would be using them and teaching 
them.

It's certain Your Grace did not intend to insult the chivalry, their 
squires, and the many other aspiring fighters who devote so much time 
and effort to their craft.  However, the quotation above can only be 
translated to imply that you believe today's fighting isn't "real," that 
the fighters have no interest in showing their skill or entertaining the 
spectators, and that the fighting just isn't interesting enough to get 
people to watch.  I do not believe you would have wished to convey that 
message to our community of chivalric fighters, Your Grace.  They are at 
least as devoted, talented, and chivalrous as any I watched take to the 
list field 25 years ago.

  Kindest regards,
    Miles Grey