ARN - Tournament Styles

[Theron Bretz]

>It sounds as if there's a possibility that whatever replaces it, could have
both
>rapier and Chivalric elements (note uncertainty and conditional
statements).


Interesting.

>Last Fall, Lionardo sponsored that challenge tourney at Bjornsborg, that
has the
>potential to continue.  For those who weren't there, we had small impressas
>(sp...little shield things with our devices on them), that we used to
challenge
>another fighter.  We got to choose to fight in a variety of
fashions...barrier,
>in a circle, on the pass, open field with Italian fencing rules.  It could
grow
>into comething more, I suppose....


I felt that the Lionardo's tournament had some excellent aspects (the use of
different rules, the challenge aspects), but it was also seriously flawed in
some respects (disclaimer - I was one of the judges at this tournament.  I
had a wonderful time, but I still saw some things that needed work).

The first (and least controllable) problem was the number of participants.
There were so many participants in the list, it was impossible to tell what
was going on.

The second problem was the heraldic impresas.  Frankly, heraldic display has
never been a big part of the rapier community and, as a result, I felt this
particular aspect of the tournament failed to come off as people improvised
their arms on whatever was at hand.  The list tree with cardboard shields on
it looked a bit tawdry.

The third was the combined nature of the tournament.  This was a laudable
goal, but I find that combining the more visually dynamic armoured combat
with period fencing always casts fencing in a poor light.  Putting both on
the field at the same time just compounds the problem.

The fourth was the layout of the field.  While it is laudable to expose as
much of the gallery as possible to both forms of combat, the fact is that
each style has its own constituency.  When I found myself looking through a
very interesting greatsword combat to try and watch a subtle rapier combat
on the pass, I found my eyes returning to the closer (and more visually
impressive) target.

The fifth was the presentation of the rules.  Having had my share of
explaining a new way of fighting on the fly, I know how easy things sound
when your explaining them at a fighter practice or in someone's living room.
Getting the concepts of a combat on the pass through to a group of people
who have already armoured up and warmed up is a good deal more difficult.
The confusion seen throughout the day reflects this.

Finally, I feel that each form should have had specific types of combat
tailored to it.  A barrier battle with single sword is an intense moment of
pure adrenaline.  A barrier battle with rapiers is an exercise in sniping
and defensive wariness.

Hmmm, it sounds like I didn't enjoy it at all, doesn't it?  That's not the
case at all.  If Bjornsborg ran such a tournament again, I'd drop the
judging responsibility in a heartbeat to participate.

Etienne

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