09-06-2012, 08:29 AM
Many of us who use needledfelt swords/spears for mock combat call it just that. It allows for a reasonable blow to be sent to the arm or other body part of a clerk or auto mechanic while delivering no harm to the individual who has to return to work the next day or two. Some don't want to do it, and that's ok, even if that is planned to be part of an event. Needledfelt "weapons" look a good deal more like the real thing than "boffer" swords, but cost significantly less than the better looking foam replicas, plus they are pretty well indestructible.
We all realize that it's not the same as genuine combat, and accept the obviously poor compromise in favor of not having to bleed. Shield bashing shield to shield is probably not what was generally done, though you can be sure that in the press of a real battle, that may have happened from time to time. It's pretty likely that the edges of shields were used as a secondary weapon, and would have been pretty effective if it were possible to land a blow to the chin, neck, face or other body part. In our system of mock combat, however, both are forbidden. Many of us have had our shield smacked into our own faces, and fully understand that wood is harder than noses.
It's hard to come up with a respectable name for what we do. Reenactment is incomplete, since mostly we're not "reenacting" a specific historical event. Living History is a different sort of activity, in which a person adopts a first-person character, and portrays what that person might have likely done in history. Because of some "reenactment groups'" bad behavior in some areas, many of us are hesitant to use that label. There's not an agreed upon term, really. I say I'm in a First Century History Group, and most people get the idea.
We all realize that it's not the same as genuine combat, and accept the obviously poor compromise in favor of not having to bleed. Shield bashing shield to shield is probably not what was generally done, though you can be sure that in the press of a real battle, that may have happened from time to time. It's pretty likely that the edges of shields were used as a secondary weapon, and would have been pretty effective if it were possible to land a blow to the chin, neck, face or other body part. In our system of mock combat, however, both are forbidden. Many of us have had our shield smacked into our own faces, and fully understand that wood is harder than noses.
It's hard to come up with a respectable name for what we do. Reenactment is incomplete, since mostly we're not "reenacting" a specific historical event. Living History is a different sort of activity, in which a person adopts a first-person character, and portrays what that person might have likely done in history. Because of some "reenactment groups'" bad behavior in some areas, many of us are hesitant to use that label. There's not an agreed upon term, really. I say I'm in a First Century History Group, and most people get the idea.
M. Demetrius Abicio
(David Wills)
Saepe veritas est dura.
(David Wills)
Saepe veritas est dura.
