[Ansteorra-rapier] Proposed revision to rapier rules

[Chris Zakes]

At 10:21 AM 10/14/2012, you wrote:

(putting things in context)

Pug wrote:
>Personally, I think the Rapier community has a higher standard, at least
>since I've paid attention, to not only dress better, but to look more
>historically accurate than the Armored community. While we have our bad
>apples, they have their good apples as well. Let's not use the argument that
>because an inferior example exists as a justification that we should lower
>our standards as well.

I responded:
>How are we lowering our standards? Foils and epees are legal in 
>Ansteorra right now. If someone was proposing adding fiberglass 
>rapiers to the mix, or bringing back rattan daggers, or requiring 
>that everybody fight at least one bout with foil or epee in every 
>rapier tournament, *that* could be construed as lowering our 
>standards, but not this.
>
>         -Tivar Moondragon


>Tivar asks -
>
>How are we lowering our standards?
>
>
>To which I respond -
>
>By keeping epee and foil on the books. I say that without any 
>negative connotation outside of the readily apparent fact that our 
>current rapier simulators, the ones that basically everyone 
>everywhere in the SCA uses regularly with some few exceptions, are 
>so clearly superior to epee and foil that those latter blades look 
>quite out of place on our field.
>
>Epee and foil are fossils of our past. I see no good reason to 
>continue to provide a rules infrastructure, marshal training, and 
>authorization bureaucracy in place to support them.
>
>- Mateo


Speaking as a fossil myself, I say you're mistaken. If we were a 
heavy blade only kingdom and suddenly decided to add foils and epees 
to the existing ruleset, or--as I said earlier--if someone was 
proposing adding fiberglass rapiers to the mix, or bringing back 
rattan daggers, or requiring that everybody fight at least one bout 
with foil or epee in every rapier tournament, *that* could be 
considering a lowering of our standards. But continuing to keep the 
current blades mix? Don't be silly.

Who is being harmed by leaving them in the rulebook? (Robin asked 
this, Aethelyan asked this and I've asked this, and so far nobody has 
had an answer.) Nobody is being forced to fight with foils or epees; 
at most tournaments, nobody even *sees* a foil or epee. Why is it 
necessary to exclude the folks who still want (or need) to play with 
the lighter blades out of some sense of "ethnic purity" for blades?

         -Tivar Moondragon