Or,
Pointy End Goes in the Other Guy
Being a Short Introduction to the Noble Arte of the Rapier
As Practiced in the Society for Creative Anachronism
Rapier and Me
I
first became interested in Fencing after taking a trip with Warder
Brighid and Krieger to the Fisher Arms Museum in Louisville, Kentucky.
Before that, I was more interested in Heavy.
But spending an entire day with two people fascinated by the noble art of the rapier kinda got me hooked. I started practicing, and the rest is history.
I authorized on Saturday, the 12th of November, 2005, at Three-for-All in 3D in the Marche of the Unicorn (Miami University of Ohio).
Three weeks later, at Christmas Tournament in the Barony of the Flame (Louisville, KY) I got my rigid parry and dagger authorizations.
I also fought in the tournament there, my first. I went a respectable 5-7, including a win over Warder Brighid, one of my main teachers (the other being Warder Uadahlrich).
Not bad, and I had an absolute blast.
But spending an entire day with two people fascinated by the noble art of the rapier kinda got me hooked. I started practicing, and the rest is history.
I authorized on Saturday, the 12th of November, 2005, at Three-for-All in 3D in the Marche of the Unicorn (Miami University of Ohio).
Three weeks later, at Christmas Tournament in the Barony of the Flame (Louisville, KY) I got my rigid parry and dagger authorizations.
I also fought in the tournament there, my first. I went a respectable 5-7, including a win over Warder Brighid, one of my main teachers (the other being Warder Uadahlrich).
Not bad, and I had an absolute blast.
What is this Rapier thing anyway?
Rapier
fencing, or as it is sometimes called in the society, "Light" or
"Steel" combat, is a western martial art practiced in the Society for
Creative Anachronism.
I usually refer to it as "Rapier" fencing, to separate it from "Traditional" or "Olympic" style fencing. The fundamental principle of the two is the same: you poke the guy with the sword. However, in execution, the two are vastly different. We are not limited to fighting in a straight line, we can use the off-hand to parry or hold things to parry (buckler, cloak, dagger) or attack (dagger, another sword) with, and we do not score 'touches'. Everyone is considered to be wearing standard clothing of the period: tunic and pants. If you take a thrust or cut to the arm, you can't use it again. If the same thing happens to your leg, you lose the use of it and must fight on one leg or from your knees. A good cut or thrust to the body or head is a kill.
In the SCA, there are two kinds of rapier practiced: light and heavy. Light rapier uses traditional foil and epee blades, whereas heavy uses blades that simulate historical blades: blunted/bated rapier blades, 'Schlager' blades.
In the glorious Kingdom of the Middle (where I live), we only fight heavy rapier. You can hold an epee authorization, but epees are only for practice and out-of-kingdom use, and we don't use foils. Eeeew.
I usually refer to it as "Rapier" fencing, to separate it from "Traditional" or "Olympic" style fencing. The fundamental principle of the two is the same: you poke the guy with the sword. However, in execution, the two are vastly different. We are not limited to fighting in a straight line, we can use the off-hand to parry or hold things to parry (buckler, cloak, dagger) or attack (dagger, another sword) with, and we do not score 'touches'. Everyone is considered to be wearing standard clothing of the period: tunic and pants. If you take a thrust or cut to the arm, you can't use it again. If the same thing happens to your leg, you lose the use of it and must fight on one leg or from your knees. A good cut or thrust to the body or head is a kill.
In the SCA, there are two kinds of rapier practiced: light and heavy. Light rapier uses traditional foil and epee blades, whereas heavy uses blades that simulate historical blades: blunted/bated rapier blades, 'Schlager' blades.
In the glorious Kingdom of the Middle (where I live), we only fight heavy rapier. You can hold an epee authorization, but epees are only for practice and out-of-kingdom use, and we don't use foils. Eeeew.
Hold on a second: you've mentioned "Authorizing" twice now. What are you talking about?
Her
Excellency Jemma, Baroness of the Fenix, once referred to an
authorization as "It's like having your driver's license, but with a
sword". It sounds like a silly parallel, but it's very true. It's a
short process in which you demonstrate you are SAFE. You don't have to
be very good to get authorized, you just have to be safe. And, like
your driver's test, you are very nervous and everyone tells you not to
be. The difference is, after you authorize, you allowed to kill people. Not so much in a car.How many different styles/authorizations are there?
There are five:
There is also single dagger and case of daggers (two daggers), but there's no auth for those. They come with your regular rapier auth.. Dagger fights are FUN. Ugly as hell, but very, very fun.
I had to do one as part of my dagger auth. The two marshals called me and the auth partner together and said "Give us your swords". After we did, they said "Kill". *huge smile*
I have seen a tournament in which two squire-brothers (two people that are squired to the same knight) had their tournament bout as a knife fight: dagger in the right hand, left hands tied together. Very entertaining.
| 1. | Single Rapier. Self-explanatory. |
| 2. | Rapier and Dagger. You get a dagger in the off-hand to parry and stab people with. |
| 3. | Rapier and Soft Parry. You get to use a soft item in the off-hand to parry with. Most commonly a cloak, but can also be (for example) a stuffed animal, like Douglas the Dolphin (long story) or Elspeth's Brighid Parry Device and Non-Brighid Parry Device (even longer story). |
| 4. | Rapier and Rigid Parry. Buckler, cane, walking stick, your call. Can't hit the other person with it, though. |
| 5. | Case of Rapiers. Two swords, also called 'Florentine'. |
There is also single dagger and case of daggers (two daggers), but there's no auth for those. They come with your regular rapier auth.. Dagger fights are FUN. Ugly as hell, but very, very fun.
I had to do one as part of my dagger auth. The two marshals called me and the auth partner together and said "Give us your swords". After we did, they said "Kill". *huge smile*
I have seen a tournament in which two squire-brothers (two people that are squired to the same knight) had their tournament bout as a knife fight: dagger in the right hand, left hands tied together. Very entertaining.
Those heavy guys have bows and arrows and trebuchets! Do we get anything cool like that?
We get guns. Yep, guns. No, put down the
Colt .45. They're rubber band guns (RBGs). Sounds wimpy until you see
or are shot by one: we use stretched surgical tubing. Ouch.
The specific text from the most recent edition of the Middle Kingdom Rapier Marshall's Handbook is as follows:
2.2.4 RUBBER BAND GUNS (RBGS)
Only RBGs that are designed to fire surgical/medical rubber tubing loops as shot (ST-Shot) can be used.
The ST-Shot will not contain any metal. RBGs will mimic the appearance of period firearms. RBGs will
have a trigger mechanism to fire. There are no size restrictions on RBGs (e.g. swivel guns and cannons are
acceptable). There is no limit to the number of ST-shot a RBG can fire simultaneously. If the RBG is also
a rigid parry device, it must pass a rigid parry inspection.
Note the fifth and sixth sentences: those are the rules are where we get the siege weapons from. They're up to our imagination, and Warder Kevin O'Shaughnessy has quite a good one. See below under Resources for his piece on the subject.
As in the Heavy lists, you can't use 'em in tournaments. Only melees.
The specific text from the most recent edition of the Middle Kingdom Rapier Marshall's Handbook is as follows:
2.2.4 RUBBER BAND GUNS (RBGS)
Only RBGs that are designed to fire surgical/medical rubber tubing loops as shot (ST-Shot) can be used.
The ST-Shot will not contain any metal. RBGs will mimic the appearance of period firearms. RBGs will
have a trigger mechanism to fire. There are no size restrictions on RBGs (e.g. swivel guns and cannons are
acceptable). There is no limit to the number of ST-shot a RBG can fire simultaneously. If the RBG is also
a rigid parry device, it must pass a rigid parry inspection.
Note the fifth and sixth sentences: those are the rules are where we get the siege weapons from. They're up to our imagination, and Warder Kevin O'Shaughnessy has quite a good one. See below under Resources for his piece on the subject.
As in the Heavy lists, you can't use 'em in tournaments. Only melees.
Sounds fun, I want to hear more!
There are a great many resources out there, all written by better fencers than I.
There are a great many resources out there, all written by better fencers than I.
Resources:
Warder Brighid MacCumhal's Webpage: A great resource for all things SCA (at least, those things that she does). Great stuff on Fencing and the Arts and Sciences (especially the scribal arts, tailoring and sewing, and weaving).
{Brighid's page is currently down due to server problems, she's working on getting it back up. Check back in a couple of days.}
The Company of the Bronze Ring: The Middle Kingdom's highest award for fencing. Check the Library for some great stuff.
Hilights:
How to Put the Pointy End into the Other Guy, by Glutera Gnostyl. Possibly the greatest fencing manual ever written.
My experiences as a Rubber Band Gun Artillerist in SCA Rapier Combat, by Warder Kevin O'Shaughnessy. PDF format, and rather large, so it might take a while to download on slow connections. But WELL worth the wait. A truly inspirational piece of writing.
The Academie d'Espee: The webpage of the Kingdom of Atlantia's highest award for fencing. Or particular note is the Guest Lounge, containing a great deal of entertaining articles concerning the Arte.
Especially notable are:
A Treatise Concerning Leg Wounds, and the Foolishness of the Concept of Continuing Combat after Receipt of the Same Read it. It's exactly what it sounds like. By Don Aubrey de Baudricourt and Lord Joachim van den Has.
Why Fencing Is Better Than Sex
Top 20 Reasons Why... (Fencing is better than Heavy Fighting and why Heavy Fighting is better than Fencing)
Cadet Rules
Sportly Graces, or, The Commandments on the Field
Warder Brighid MacCumhal's Webpage: A great resource for all things SCA (at least, those things that she does). Great stuff on Fencing and the Arts and Sciences (especially the scribal arts, tailoring and sewing, and weaving).
{Brighid's page is currently down due to server problems, she's working on getting it back up. Check back in a couple of days.}
The Company of the Bronze Ring: The Middle Kingdom's highest award for fencing. Check the Library for some great stuff.
Hilights:
How to Put the Pointy End into the Other Guy, by Glutera Gnostyl. Possibly the greatest fencing manual ever written.
My experiences as a Rubber Band Gun Artillerist in SCA Rapier Combat, by Warder Kevin O'Shaughnessy. PDF format, and rather large, so it might take a while to download on slow connections. But WELL worth the wait. A truly inspirational piece of writing.
The Academie d'Espee: The webpage of the Kingdom of Atlantia's highest award for fencing. Or particular note is the Guest Lounge, containing a great deal of entertaining articles concerning the Arte.
Especially notable are:
A Treatise Concerning Leg Wounds, and the Foolishness of the Concept of Continuing Combat after Receipt of the Same Read it. It's exactly what it sounds like. By Don Aubrey de Baudricourt and Lord Joachim van den Has.
Why Fencing Is Better Than Sex
Top 20 Reasons Why... (Fencing is better than Heavy Fighting and why Heavy Fighting is better than Fencing)
Cadet Rules
Sportly Graces, or, The Commandments on the Field
Pictures!
Everyone loves pictures, right? Here are some from various events and fighter practices.
Everyone loves pictures, right? Here are some from various events and fighter practices.
Coronation of Edmund and Kateryn at Red Dragon, 1 October, AS XL
My first event, so none of these pictures are of me.
Christmas Tournament, 3 December, AS XL
My first Tournament!
Coming soon. I need to get them developed and scanned.
My first event, so none of these pictures are of me.
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| Warder Uadahlrich fencing Lady Brangwayn Snowden of the Cleftlands | Another one of Uadahlrich and Snowden | Her Excellency, Countess Noelle (just after her last court as Queen) fences an unknown combatant |
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| Lady Snowden against Warder Marco Borromei. The Marshall is Gertrude Kumpf. | I was trying to get a decent pic of Marco's helm in these shots |
Christmas Tournament, 3 December, AS XL
My first Tournament!
Coming soon. I need to get them developed and scanned.