View source for On Armored Combat in the SCA: One Fighter's Philosophy

'''On Armored Combat in the SCA: One Fighter's Philosophy''' 

Note: ''This was originally published by the Author in the "Middle Kingdom Knight-Marshal's Handbook" (1985 edition). It is presented here again at the request of some of those who read it and thought it valuable, and also because the author still, and ever more strongly, believes this just as he did 30 years gone.''
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It was previously stated that SCA combat has many aspects. It is practiced as a martial art, a sport, a good time, and even as "occasional exercise." That it holds many things for many people is borne out by the very diversity of the individuals who take up the sword. Men and women of all physical description and demeanor participate as authorized fighters. This one endeavor in the SCA provides an activity for these people to practice together and a common interest for folk who might never otherwise have come to know each other, even within the SCA. It offers, at the least, like the SCA itself, a place for people to meet and an opportunity for folk to come to see a little of each other's true identity. It is single combat that forces individuals, for a short time, to lay aside titles, external influences, and pretense in order that their physical skill and the depth of their conscience may be displayed.
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The intimacy between fighters, the camaraderie and friendships that grow between people who show their mettle as honorable and courteous, as gentle and noble souls, is both satisfying and somewhat mysterious. No other endeavor is at once so exclusively competitive and so inclusively familial as SCA combat. It is the basis for the Feudal framework of the Society, and it is the forum through which many of us open ourselves for judgement. Not judgments of fighting skill, but rather to the judgments of our character made by observers and opponents alike. When we fight we open ourselves to intimate inspection. Opinions of the contents of our hearts are based on our own instinctive reflexes on the field. We can't fake our demeanor if we don't accept the blow we should. It's plain to see, and so fighting in itself becomes a test of an individual in his or her OWN eyes. He or she must be equal to the task of saying, "Here is my physical skill; here is how I use it; here is how I behave; here is who I am."
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Most fighters don't necessarily think of combat in terms of these vague philosophical ideals, and that's really quite all right. However, everyone who fights and who watches fighting should think for a moment how very much an individual tells about himself in the way he or she accepts defeat OR victory. We become comrades in arms, certainly, as MidRealm fighters, but we also become friends and brothers and sisters, for we strive against each other and ourselves for joy and exhilaration; for mutual skill; to share something unique. Perhaps it's not so odd, after all, that a field of mortal combat is a place where deep and lasting friendships can be born. This is the lifeblood of our Society. We should all do our best to insure that the field of combat never, under any circumstances, sees the shedding of any blood, either our own or the Society's. I urge you to carry on with courtesy and honor and have a wonderful time, for the SCA is magic and, above all, fun.

Duke Syr [[Laurelen Darksbane]]<br>
Baron [[Cleftlands]]<br>
[[Earl Marshal]] of the Middle Kingdom