[Ansteorra] Conversation starter...

[Chris Zakes]

At 04:28 PM 5/14/2012, you wrote:

>   How did you get involved in the SCA?


I first met the SCA over the point of a sword. Literally.

This was in March of 1975; my residential college at Rice University 
in Houston was having its annual Shakespeare Fair, and one of the 
College officers had a sister who was in the SCA, so they were 
invited out to add some color. At that time I was in the Rice Fencing Club,
and the rather battered rattan-and-duct tape swords the SCA guys was 
using looked awfully big and clunky to me, so I didn't go over and 
check them out.

I *had* planned a choreographed duel with a friend from the fencing 
club, so I was wearing a sort of a costume and carrying a sword. 
After the duel, I was wandering around the fair when I ran across 
another guy from the fencing club. He challenged me, and I managed to 
beat him. I had just stepped back and half-jokingly said "Next?" when 
this short, red-haired fellow, wearing what looked like a rusty pine 
cone suit said "I'll fight you, what are your weapons?" I was 
carrying a fencing saber and had a costume dagger on my belt, so, 
straight out of "Hamlet", I said "rapier and dagger." I took my 
blades, he took a long duct-taped club and a short duct-taped club 
and we started fighting.

We fought for a minute or two, and I quickly realized that while my 
saber was quite a bit faster than his weapon, the blade was so 
flexible that he couldn't feel my thrusts through his scale armor. I 
went ahead and let him hit me and ended up on my back in a mud puddle.

*That* was my introduction to the SCA.

About seven months later I actually went to a tournament, and was 
hooked. I can recall just sitting at home and grinning for several 
hours afterwards. I've been playing ever since.

(Oh, yes, the fellow with whom I had the choreographed duel also 
joined the SCA, a year or two after I did. He is now known as Robin of
Gilwell. My opponent in the scale armor was Lloyd von Eaker, second 
king of Ansteorra and one of its first dukes. I am somewhat better 
with rapier and dagger these days.)

         -Tivar Moondragon