Fighting In a Melee

Blackstone Raids

This weekend I had the great pleasure of attending Blackstone Raids in the kingdom of Aethaelmarec. It was my first really big melee as well. I will admit when I first got there I was nervous as all get out but as the day went on I started to understand some things. I will tell about some things I witnessed throughout the day.





 First off the bat were inspections. Those take a very long time with as many fighters as we had that day. I got there around 9 AM and helped unload some stuff then got armored up for inspections. At first my weapon did not pass and the reason was because it has a rubber tip on it and rubber tips are not supposed to be taped. So I had to go pull the tape off of the tip.  Once inspected all I could do was wait. At this point anxiety was starting to get the best of me and I needed to release some of the energy so I went off to do a few pick ups. after which I felt a bit better but still anxious about the melees.

Field Battle

Then came the field battles. It was very very hectic and I am quite glad I was not in the first rank at all during the event. I died pretty quickly in the first 2 because i didn't realize the spears were that long. in the 3rd field battle I was the last man standing and that happened because I had fallen over someone. That person asked if I was ok. I said yes and he said to get back up if i hadn't been hit, which i hadn't. So I slowly got up and as I look around I realize there are enemies all around me so i quietly snek back out and once I am clear i start looking around for friendlies.... Most of which were dead. I found one guy alive and told him to stay with me and we started advancing on the enemy.... 2 of us... quite a few of them. One of the enemies was legged so I go over to him and get ready to fight. at which point he asked "Are you still alive?" I reply "yes" He gets ready to fight and then starts yelling "THESE TWO ARE STILL ALIVE......THESE TWO ARE STILL ALIVE." at which point a bunch of them turn around and come running back. Let me tell you. It is scary as all get out when you are a new fighter and see a bunch of people come charging at you! I see the other person on my team fall so I naturally start running backwards thinking "ShitshitSHIT!" then I fall over someone or something and when I go to get back up I see someone put their weapon in front of me pretty much blocking me from attacking then i see 3 or 4 pole arms or spears pointing at me and someone ask "Do you yield?" at which point i say "I Yield". As I was walking back to the line I heard a few congratulations for being the last man standing and to be honest I feel pretty darn proud too!

Bridge Battle

Next were our Bridge battles. I only stayed for 2 of them before I had to pull out or black out. What I noticed here was it is very....Static.  Shields were at the front for the initial charge but after that it was clear the way so the spears could work. I found it very boring. So I can't really tell much about it. Shields are pretty much there til a spear can come in i think. Also There was a charge from the enemy but almost immediately there was a hold called for an injury on the field. The chargers did make some people mad because it appeared that they weren't stopping and several of our guys had to jump in front of them to get them to stop.  over all it was interesting to watch and a couple things were learned from this. Like to give the spears plenty of room to work.

Gate Battle

Gate Battle

The Gate battles were a little more interesting. There were Resurrections allowed which means when you died you immediately got to go to the res point and be undead. It was hectic as any good melee is and I found myself often standing back and watching the battle and learning. At one point we had to counter charge and I was in the middle of it. I had to call a hold because when we counter charged the person who was bracing me got under my helmet and almost caused it to come off. It seemed like it took forever for everyone to stop so I tucked my head to try to keep my chin stap from sliding back and choking me as well as to keep my helm from coming off. When everyone finally stopped they asked who called hold and I said I did because my helm was coming off. So they cleared a path where I could get out and once out of the way I re tightened my chin strap and got back in the fight and a few minutes later I had to call another hold. This time was because I was towards the front when the enemy charged and I fell backwards into a straw bale with my shield at a weird angle so I could not get it over me, then someone fell on me with another person on top of him. I was able to get my shield out from under me enough to cover my chest but I still called hold and When everyone stopped I heard someone yell "We have an injured fighter over here and felt him tap my shield." While I was waiting for the dead to get off of me I checked myself mentally and made sure I was ok. When everyone cleared out I was asked if  I was ok and I said yes. Because of the way I had landed i could not get up so someone grabbed my weapon and helped me up. Then I was out to kick butt. We finally cleared one of the gates and started to wrap around when we paused and looked at each other like "Is this allowed?" at which point his Majesty came up and said "yes its allowed" and then we charged. I managed to get 2 peoples attention and kill them (at this time it was last man standing)before someone realized we were behind them and turned and came at us. I started blocking a bunch of spear shots when a member of my team came up behind me and said "we are going to charge this spear when I say. Ready?" without even thinking I said "Ready" and when he said charge I threw my shield up against his spear and ran at him. I swear I had a good head shot (this was a tuchuck I charged) and thought he was dead and went to turn to go after someone else when he killed me. As you can imagine I was quite livid and went over to where the dead were. when I got there our baron could tell I was mad and asked what happened and when I told him he said "Hit him harder next time" Finally it was the last battle. We were able to clear one of the gates again and wrapped around them again and again they turned to engage us. we started backing up and I found myself net to his Majesty. I blocked a spear shot and when it hit my shield my shield hit me and threw my had back and he asked if i was ok. I nodded and continued to back up blocking shots. Im not entirely sure what happened but the next time I blocked a shot someone got me with a groin shot and pretty soon the battle was over.

Over all it was an incredibly fun filled day. I learned a lot that I hope to carry into next battle. I also learned people are more susceptible to rhino hide in a melee situation simply because your not sure where the shot came from. That or you just dont care and/or wont take shots from newer people.

I seriously cant wait for my next melee!

Being a New Fighter

Grand Tourney of the Unicorn 2014. I'm in the Helm that says KAT.

Being a new fighter in the SCA can be quite hard. Especially if you don't have anyone to help you along the way. I have been lucky to have several people helping me so far.

I have been fighting rapier since I was 14 or 15. That doesn't mean I got to fight at every event because I could only fight a bronze ring and a couple other people. It was exceptionally hard at that point of time but i always said "wait til I'm 18.... Then I will get them all" I left the SCA for about a year when I turned 17. then when I turned 18 I felt like a pack of wolves was after me. I was AWFUL. typically the one to die the quickest etc etc. But I never gave up. I started asking questions and writing notes and other stuff like that. 2012 was "my year" I traveled to more events and got my authorizations in all advanced rapier forms. I felt on top of the world. But i needed More!

I had always been interested in heavy since i was younger. The clash of metal on metal and seeing 2 big armies collide always seemed fun but something always held me back from that side of the lists. Then my friend mentioned CA and Ballista. I started to get interested but remained unconvinced. Then my sisters started working on armored combat stuff. Sibling rivalry kicked in and I had to get into armor. His majesty Cellach (was known as his highness when I met him) Had a practice at his house and I mentioned I was interested in heavy. A few weeks prior to the practice I had gotten into a horseback riding accident and had a mild concussion but it healed fairly quickly. I arrived at practice and played with some rapier then got into armor. I was in love! I quickly started asking questions on where to get armor and a whole bunch of other things. I started attending more practices in October of 2013 and authorized in heavy fighting in March 2014.

At practice with His Majesty

It has not been easy since my authorization in March, but you can't really expect people to take it easy on you either. I continue to work hard to get better but there will, for a time, be people who are way better then me. I had my first 2 melees these pat 2 weekends and it was fun but frustrating at the same time. I am one of the newer fighters and the more experienced fighters pick up on that fairly quickly. I am usually the first to die in a melee and even in one on ones. Usually if i see the fighter has a white belt (white belts = knights and is the only belt color i know at this point in time) I will ask questions about our passes if there is time.

I have realized that I expect to much of myself. My sisters are better fighters then me and I expect to be just as good as them and most of the other fighters on the field. I'm not sure why I expect such things but I do. I get frustrated easily when I don't land any shots on anyone in either rapier or heavy. In reality I am a newer fighter and I am going to suck at fighting for a while. Since playing heavy I have found I have become a better rapier fighter and I am having a lot more fun on that list. A couple weeks ago I found myself Laughing while fighting some people.... Laughing! I honestly cannot remember the last time I had so much fun on the rapier list!

Everyone always said "if your not having fun, don't get on the list" or " If your not having fun, get off my list" I never really listened and just went out there and tried to win. That was my #1 problem and on occasion remains my problem. I would go out to win and not have fun. My exact thought for a while was "Fun? who has time for fun???? I just have time to win!!!" then the bouts would usually end badly for me.

As a heavy fighter I am running into this same problem. I have been working on armor since January 2014 and I almost have it done 4 months later. I am finding myself Not having fun on occasion because I am in the thought process of "I have to get this shot in I have to" and usually by then a rain of blows come and before i can even swing I am dead. I am also in the process of "I'm a new fighter. Im cannon fodder. Im gonna die" I am trying to come up with ways to stop those thought processes but I am having some difficulties. Heavy is a bit harder because the blows are a lot harder and you typically leave the field with some sort of a mark..... Or at least I do :P . The more I work at it and ask questions though I know I will get better. Its getting over the mental game that will prove to be a challenge.

My first time in heavy armor

The Biggest thing I can suggest as a new fighter (both heavy and rapier) is ask questions and practice often. I have started helping my sister with some rapier techniques and I often find myself answering questions I had when I was new to fencing. I have been asked some questions about heavy and more often then not (because I am so new) I end up going to someone who knows and giving that answer to the person who asked me. I know in a few years I will be ready to answer those questions myself. Until then I plan to learn all I can when I can.

An Introduction

The King and I at my heavy Authorization This past March

This Blog will be about my life in the SCA (Society For Creative Anachronism). I have been in the SCA for many many years and am an authorized fighter fighter in both heavy and rapier fighting.

The SCA is a bunch of people all over the world working together to re create the middle ages which range from 600 to 1600 time period.

We have a lot of people who do Arts and sciences type stuff like making what we wear (called garb), different foods, scrolls and other fun Items. We also have the Rapier and Heavy fighters. In Rapier we fight with dull blades and daggers as well as parry devices. We play in a lot of touraments and melees which are a lot of fun. The armor required for Rapier is neck protection (called a gorget), a fencing mask, gloves and the body must be covered by puncture resistant material. The reason for this is in case a blade breaks we have taken all the precautions not to get hurt.
In Heavy fighting we fight with sticks of Rattan that are 1 1/4" thick.  For this armor we are required to have Neck protection(gorget), helms shall be constructed from steel which has a thickness of no less than .0625 (that is, 1/16) inch (1.6 mm), or of equivalent material,, kidney protection (like a kidney Belt), Groin protection for both male and females (females are not allowed to wear a male cup), Hand and wrist armor, Elbows and knees must be protected.

In both fighting styles there are "illegal" target areas. In heavy Its 2" above and below any joint and the lower legs. In rapier You cannot stab someone in the back. Instead if you want to kill from behind you must lay your blade on their shoulder and say loud enough they can hear " My Lord (or Lady) You are Dead From Behind"

There are many aspects to the SCA that even I have not fully explored. We do have Equestrian events and Hound Coursing. I am hoping to get into some A&S type things here soon.

Miribi and Azriel fighting rapier last October

If you have any questions Dont hesitate to ask.

Also here is a website to look into the SCA More
http://www.midrealm.org/