[Youth-combat] RE: [Elfsea] RE: [Steppes] Fwd: [Ansteorra]YouthfulCombatants

Tue Jan 11 22:47:53 PST 2005

My son Derrick will be on the field at Gulf, and at Estrella, he turned 17 
this monday past.

He has spent his entire life in the SCA, in fact was concieived my first 
reign long ago, and has never ever ceased asking me when he can fight.

He came from a Kingdom originally with a fully functional youth combat 
system and had armor when he was 8.  These past 7 years he has languished 
bored to tears on the side of the field.

Football, dance, martial arts, and many other things active people do share 
risks of injury.  If we wish to keep our kids in the SCA and see a next 
generation, we need to involve them.

My son will be on that field with his father Earl Sir Duncan, and would that 
I was strong enough this year to fight and share those glory moments with 
him.

If boils down to this.  If your child isnt the type that can deal with the 
physical contact of chivalric combat, then that is a decision for each 
parent to make.  And I am damned proud that we are allowing each parent and 
child to make that decision together.

Larissa

>From: "Michael of Langley" <michaeloflangley at hotmail.com>
>Reply-To: "Barony of Steppes - SCA, Inc." <steppes at ansteorra.org>
>To: youth-combat at ansteorra.org, elfsea at ansteorra.org, steppes at ansteorra.org
>CC: dukepmg at aol.com
>Subject: RE: [Youth-combat] RE: [Elfsea] RE: [Steppes] Fwd: 
>[Ansteorra]YouthfulCombatants
>Date: Tue, 11 Jan 2005 21:48:02 -0600
>
>To all concerned,
>
>My concern is that during a melee, such as Gulf Wars, the younger fighters 
>will be indistinguishable from older more seasoned fighters.  At Gulf Wars 
>last year, during the spear tournament, an Ansteorran combatant had his 
>chinstrap broken and the helmet hit him in his face when he took a heavy 
>spear thrust.  This was not in a grand melee, but a two against two spear 
>tournament.  Our KING took the blow well...
>
>Now, lets think about a 16 year old, who is still growing, taking a face 
>shot from a fiberglass spear.  Unfortunately, our Earl Marshall will not be 
>there to make sure that the fighters are going to take it easy on them and 
>not bruise them too much.  The younger fighters, still maturing, will be at 
>the mercy of the opposing force - I stress the "still maturing" part.
>
>We wear pads now and have parents attend the tournaments for a two fold 
>reason, to avoid unnecessary injuries and law suits and to get the parents 
>more involved with their youth combatants.  A lawsuit can be placed against 
>anyone for any reason - waiver or not (and while it may not stand up in 
>court, it must still be defended against).  Is it worth it? I can hear it 
>now when the first serious injury occurs - "You said he was ready and that 
>big guy just hit him way to hard!!! Who is going to pay all these doctor 
>bills! Why didn't someone stop him! I would have stopped him if I was here 
>watching (but because I was on merchants row because I'm not REQUIRED to be 
>here - I was off shopping for my wife/husband)."
>
>Whether we want to acknowledge it or not, we have fighters with prejudices 
>- "I'm gonna smack every (girl/Saracen/crusader/guy/archer/whatever) as 
>hard as I can when I see them, because they shouldn't be on the field".  
>After the blow is thrown, "Oh, I'm so sorry - I didn't mean to hit you that 
>hard!" rarely makes up for it.  Yes, we are always chivalrous and say "Its 
>ok - no problem - groan...” but inside, we're secretly hoping they get 
>creamed on the field and we get to see it (be honest).
>
>What will we say when a 16 year old is carried off with broken ribs, or a 
>ruptured spleen from too hard of a thrust? "Oh, sorry kid, that's life - 
>can we get a 'Lay on' here?"
>
>My SINCERE hope is that one of our youth fighters NEVER has anything like 
>this happen to them.  This may ruffle a few feathers, but the youth 
>fighters are worth it.  They will be 18 soon enough, after all, its only 
>730 days...
>
>
>"...Faith is daring the soul to believe what the eyes cannot see..."
>
>Lord Michael of Langley
>Squire to Sir Corwin von Xanten and Sir Anton Qwith
>Southern Regional Youth Marshal
>
>
>
>
>>From: "Vicki Marsh" <xaraxene at comcast.net>
>>Reply-To: Youth Combat in Ansteorra <youth-combat at ansteorra.org>
>>To: "Barony of Elfsea" <elfsea at ansteorra.org>, <steppes at ansteorra.org>,    
>>     <youth-combat at ansteorra.org>
>>CC: dukepmg at aol.com
>>Subject: [Youth-combat] RE: [Elfsea] RE: [Steppes] Fwd: [Ansteorra] 
>>YouthfulCombatants
>>Date: Fri, 31 Dec 2004 18:00:55 -0600
>>
>>Xene here:
>>
>>I was also in martial arts at the age of 16. Of course, this was a long 
>>time
>>ago, in the 1970's, but we fought without pads.  My parents didn't have to
>>stay around to watch, even at the tournaments.  In practice, I sparred
>>adults, but only the ones that the instructor knew had the ability to spar
>>with me without hurting me badly. I would get bruises, but nothing major.
>>The only injury I got was at a tournament from another student that was in
>>my division. I got smacked in the nose pretty good and it taught me to 
>>keep
>>my guard up. Did my father sue anyone?  No. It was my fault for dropping 
>>my
>>guard:)
>>As I improved in fighting, the intensity and speed was kicked up a notch,
>>because the instructor knew I could handle it.
>>
>>16 and 17 year olds vary in size and maturity. Some of them are adult 
>>sized,
>>some are not. Some have good judgement and some don't.  They can legally
>>drive on the streets, once they get get their training and license, but 
>>they
>>don't get to jump in all at once. It requires in-classroom training,
>>behind-the-wheel training, 6 months with an instructional permit (and
>>driving with someone 21 yrs or older in the car).  They then have another 
>>6
>>months with a provisional license. See
>>www.txdps.state.tx.us/administration/driver_licensing_control/graduateddrive
>>r.htm
>>Oklahoma also has the GDL (graduated Driver's license) See:
>>http://www.dps.state.ok.us/dls/gdl.htm
>>
>>
>>I figure if the procedure of increasing responsibility and risk is good
>>enough for the States of Texas and Oklahoma, it's good enough for 
>>Ansteorra.
>>
>>Under the new proposed rules, as I understand it, *I* can decide whether 
>>or
>>not my son is ready or not. Then, the Kingdom Earl Marshal will provide an
>>impartial decision as to whether or not my son is fit and mature enough to
>>fight with adults.
>>That is reasonable.
>>
>>My only concern is that if we have a EM who doesn't travel enough, or
>>parents who aren't able to travel to the EM, they won't be able to have 
>>the
>>requisite approval. Unfortunately, we have had kingdom officers who
>>virtually fell off the face of the earth during their tenure. If the power
>>of final approval only rests in one person's hands, it can become a
>>bottleneck, or a political issue.
>>
>>Baroness Xene Theriane, OL, OP
>>
>>
>>-
>>
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>
>
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