[Artemisia] Making Fighting Fun (long ... okay, REALLY long)

[vindulfr at aol.com]

Your Grace,

?We used to describe heavy fighting as "the most fun you could have by putting a lot of extra clothes on, and courting heat exhaustion."? We didn't care about having the 'perfect' set of armor. Anything that would pass inspection and get you on the field right now was good enough, because fighting was FUN! So ... what changed over the years?

First, the SCA got bigger. A lot bigger. It used to be those charming weirdos who hit each other with sticks and their friends and families. It isn't any more. Instead of heavy fighting being the primary focus, people have other reasons for joining. That's not a bad thing. But, we have to accept that in todays Current Middle Ages there are a lot more things going on besides the fighting, and many people just flat aren't interested.

How many of you remember back when one of the usual 'challenges' at a practice or pick-up fights at wars or tourneys was "Wanna play?" And that's what fighting was. It was all about playing, all about having fun. The heavies were obviously having a blast out there, and other people wanted to try it to see what it was like. Heavy fighting was a game, where the important thing was to play and have fun, with actually winning being a secondary goal. Over the years, it's become a sport, with winning as the primary goal, and having fun became secondary. We used to experiment with weird styles and odd weapons just for the heck of it. Now, unless it's the 'Flavor of the Month', people stick to the things that will let them WIN, no matter how boring it is.

Back in An Tir, I watched one day as a young squire was grimly working at the pell with heater and shield. It was obviously a chore, and she wasn't having any fun at all. But, her knight had told her she needed to work on stick and board, and being a good squire, that's what she was doing: working. Then her knight showed up, carrying his brand new greatsword. She admired it, and her knight tossed it to her, and told her to try it out. She took a tentative swing at the pell, stopped, and suddenly her whole body language changed, and the pell literally rocked at her next swing. She started experimenting, trying to see what this monster would do, and with each blow, her eyes sparkled more, and a huge grin spread across her face. Finally, she slowly walked back to her knight to reluctantly return his new toy, to find him with tears in his eyes. 

"My liege? Is something wrong? Have I displeased you?"
"Wrong? For the first time in months, my little Norman is having fun on the field ... she has her fire back, and?she asks if something is wrong? The only thing wrong is it looks like I've lost a greatsword"

He tossed it back to her and said "Take it! You earned it just now. I still expect you to improve your sword and shield work, but for now ... go play.? And, squire? Thank you for the lesson you taught your knight today." She turned to me, and that enormous grin was back.

"Hey Haak! Wanna play?" I grabbed my smaller greataxe, and said "Sure", and under her knight's eyes and coaching, we fought, both grinning like fools, and having a grand time. She lost far more often than she won, but the grin never faded, and when my tired old carcass had sent me to the sidelines, there was a line of folks waiting to fight her. When her lack of experience led to a mildly bruised rib, she carefully laid her new prized possession down, picked up the despised heater and broadsword, and went back out, still grinning, because, darn it, fighting was FUN!

The moral is fairly obvious, but I'll spell it out: Sometimes it's not about whether you win or lose, but how you play the game. If you approach fighting as a task, a way to get a belt, or win Crown, then that's what it will become: a task, drudgery to be endured on the way to your goal. Even in my preferred heavy fighting venue, wars, over the years it seems to have become more about who wins rather than having fun out there.

Want to make fighting seem more fun? Start by having fun out there yourself. Keep your mind on your goal, be it winning a tournament, or earning your spurs, or just beating that one guy that you can never beat, but don't let that goal suck all the fun out of you.

One of my role models when I was "growing up" in the SCA was Wicked Uncle Bill, who is probably the single person I have had the most fun fighting in all these years. He would often proclaim "There is no substitute for victory", and yet, win or lose, he brought an infectious joy to every fight. No matter how serious he was about winning, the sheer delight?at being on the field was always there, and I couldn't help but respond in kind.

As to getting other people to try heavy fighting, make sure there's a good suit of safe, yet not hideously uncomfortable gear available for them to try things out. Strive to make their first experience on the field a positive one. Matching them up against the local champion who's seriously getting ready for Crown, for instance, is probably not going to lead to a positive experience. Sadly, we've all heard stories of the "newbie as a walking pell", and those stories are grounded in the truth. Let Squire Skippy, who may have never won a tournament, but who everybody agrees is a lot of fun on the field, introduce them to the world of SCA heavy combat. There'll be time enough for others later, after the new recruit has decided this is what they want to do.

Yours in service, and as always, your mileage may vary

Baron Haakon Haukarson
JdL, GdS, Hawk's Lure, etc

Grumpy old fighter who may finally have his armor all back together this spring. Be kind. Us old folks can be fragile.




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