Fantasy Trip Glitches, Contradictions, Ambiguities

[ak_aramis]

Originally Posted by larsdangly

One of the challenges with using SCA heavy weapons fighting as a guide to armed combat is that the scoring system means your armor doesn't 'work' - i.e., a sharp rap that stops on an armored location scores a point, despite the fact that it would not effect you. And blows that would harm an armored opponent without finding a gap in protection - like full-rotation hits with a heavy pole arm, or a grappling throw - are disallowed. This isn't a criticism of the sport; all combat sports have protective rules and/or gear (usually both) that shape how you win and therefore how you approach the activity. But it does mean that SCA heavy weapon fighting is not very much like late medieval armored combat. Nor is it very much like unarmored combat, because of the restrictions in movement. It is like SCA heavy weapons combat. Which is cool, but its own thing.

The calling standard is a blow which would injure through chain. I know that the Oerthan Knights did destructive testing several times on chain on pigs (said pigs previously slaughtered for food that morning, and roast after testing); the calling standard dropped somewhat after those.In both cases, the chain does NOT stop swordblows well at all. It turns them into 1/2" to 1" wide smashes, while the rattan is 1.5" to 2" wide over gambeson alone, and up to 4" wide on chain alone... with similar mass, heft, and biomechanics. At least two of them have since gone on to become King of An Tir...

Likewise, Oerthan fencers put 4oz leather over a fat-backed steak and used it with non-rebated blades to calibrate feel. The force needed is surprisingly low... not even enough to flex the blade of a hanwei live steel blade (and it flexes more than their practical blade).