10-08-2013, 01:36 AM
Quote:petermac post=337385 Wrote:Cheers
Peter MacKinnon
New guy here (/waves). I have only two things to add to this thread:
1) A Storm Of Spears is one h*ll of engrossing read, and I recommend it without reservation. Mr. Matthew doesn't try and shove his pet theory at the reader. He simply builds it up and presents it to you in exhaustive detail, and along the way dismantles everybody else's, and does it all in such a patient, lucid, non-confrontational, and thoughtful fashion. He's also very good at weaving information into the narrative so the reader can soak it up painlessly, rather than bombarding one with a giant boring infodump. As both a senior-level technical writer and a lifelong history nerd, I appreciate the achievement. Please pass on my best wishes and admiration to him.
2) I fight in the SCA from time to time. It's one thing to debate things like shield weights and weapon holds and stances on the Internet, or even dressed in repro armor in the city park. It's another to have some big fat guy with a scutum hit you at a dead run while yelling FREEEDOMM!!!11!!1!!! This I know: The heavier the shield (to a point), the better. The stronger your shoulders and knees to alternately park that sucker on (though I use a shoulder strap rather than a bowl-shape), the better. And holding a one-handed pokey thing in an overhand stance when Sir Beergut impacts you at 15 mph is a one-way trip to the clinic with a sprained or broken wrist. I'm sold on the underhand hold... and hope, if it proves possible, to build a fiberglass-shafted dory of correct weight, length, and point of balance to try out next year. Artemis willing, I'll report my results here.
