(In which Wistric opens up a whole bag of philosophy, opinion, and tradition, tapping into primal desires to “not be skewered like a pig”, begging for vehement discussion. Will you enable? Remember: “Probably grossly erroneous” is part of our editorial policy) As an RMiC I like to keep to a schedule as much as possible […]
Archive for the ‘Musings’ Category
Thoughts on running authorizations 16 comments
HMA: Strength Training and Rapier 16 comments
It’s been observed before that rapier combat in the SCA, featuring minimal armor and positive-pressure calibration, may appear to be less physically demanding than “heavy” combat, and may suggest to the uninformed that less physical training is necessary for success. Popular culture may have ensconced similar memes in the public at large, vis-a-vis strip fencers […]
Associations in the SCA 4 comments
I’ve always found the teacher-student relationship(s) to be one of the more singular things about the SCA. Like any “official” relationship, it should probably be given time to develop organically, with a lot of thought and consideration, before any real commitment is made. While I am by no means an expert on the matter – […]
Guest Post: How to Train – Sir Christian 3 comments
[Our guest contributor this week is Sir Christian von Nuremberg, Knight and Provost of Atlantia] This is an individual sport – YOU are the one who has to learn how to fence – nobody can learn it for you. I fight the way I do in order to maximize my advantages and minimize my weaknesses. […]
Miscellaneous Lessons 3 comments
It’s been a while since I last posted here. Among my distractions has been the spearheading of a local, non-SCA Italian Rapier HEMA program. Leading this effort has been enormously gratifying and enlightening, and will doubtless feature in much of my future content. In the spirit of warming up to regular posting, here are a […]
Dante wrote a book! 3 comments
Dante, frequent contributor and goad to this blog, has been busy the past six months putting together a book. On Historical Fencing with the Rapier and Dagger by Darren Di Battista et al. When old HMA practitioners gather around the campfire, they talk about the good old days when all there was was Di Grassi, […]
Editorial: On OoDs and ODs 1 comment
My friend and teacher Iskender once described my sense of humor as “like a shotgun.” I try to hit everything. To use a different analogy, if it comes across the plate, I swing at it. Understand this is the person who is now saying: Stop using “OoD”. To bring everybody up to speed: With the creation […]
From the Editor: Comments on the Announcement Regarding Creation of the MoD Leave a comment
WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!! We understand the trepidation of some regarding this. However, we also feel that a) The Royals will determine who will be in this order and after 50 years no set of Royals have been able to make any decision that has destroyed the SCA, so they probably won’t start now, and b) […]
Cherish your old sites, but not too much 3 comments
(Because fighting can’t happen without a place to do it) The SCA is running into an increasingly more common situation. The basics of it are that our expectations for event site costs have not kept up with the reality of event site costs, which has kept event cost inflation artificially low, and we’re approaching a […]
The Art of Ringcraft 4 comments
Ringcraft is a term that originated in the boxing world to describe, amongst other things, the use of positioning within the ring to create advantageous situations. Camillo Agrippa makes mention of this indirectly when he describes techniques for fighting when pressed up against the edge of a list fence, where contact with said fence was […]