[Ansteorra-rapier] Proposed revision to rapier rules

[Benjamin White]

If a marshal doesn’t know what a foil or epee is or how to inspect
them, then they should not be a marshal. The frequency of use should
not matter, if they are in the rules, a marshal should be able to
properly determine if they are safe or not. Un-warrant that marshal or
train them properly. Problem solved.

The arguments for medical reasons are all straw man arguments, we are
not an inclusive society, we do not need to cater to the lowest
possible (and theoretical) common denominator.

Foils and Epees are bad simulators for the historical direction we all
seem to be heading in, while they are cheaper and more accessible, it
does not mean that they are better. If a fighter in practice would hit
too hard with a rapier type blade, then that problem needs to be
corrected, giving them an epee is just a Band-Aid that does fix the
problem.

IMO, toss out rapiers and foils (at least until we expand into the
late 17th and early 18th centuries and have small sword/court sword
tournaments) they are bad tools for training with the goals and ideals
we currently have in mind for SCA fighting.

As for small groups with more epees than rapiers (like the
shadowlands), we’ll have to refit our loaner gear, it might take some
time and money, but that’s progress for ‘ya. Keeping foils & epees
because we have them is not a valid argument. I have no problems with
training new people with epees, but it makes for a silly and
unnecessary transition to rapier blades, the only reason I do so, it
that it's the gear the shire has invested in, but I've been slowly
putting money aside to build up my own personal armory to train people
with normal blades.

Let’s move towards better training and more historical accuracy in our
gear and techniques. If you are worried about youth fighters, then let
them fight other youth fighters with rapiers. Nobody said that we have
to start them super young (why don’t we have youth heavy fighters
fighting with the big boys, do we not face the same issues on both
fields?).

Once we get rid of the foils and epees, we can work on fixing our
horrid armor standards.

-Connor MacGillivray

p.s. It’s ‘Rapier Fighting' (or Sword Fighting or Fencing) and ‘Heavy
Armored Combat’ not ‘Light Fighting’ and ‘Chivalric Fighting’.