Matt,
thanks for your comments. Yeah, we had fun, we are doing this every Sunday now and it has been a blast, although I'm generally sore for two days, more from muscle strain than impact. Not to mention, the only exercise I usually get which is really nice and making me feel a lot better.
Yes one of those weapons was quite 'whippy', the very long sword depicted in the clip 'clay-spear' or something like that. That particualr weapon was improperly made with the wrong material, I'm going to "decommision" it before this weekend.
It's funny you mentioned this though, I have been talking to my sparring partner Jeff Brite and some other friends about making swords the proper weight. Everybody is interested in this idea, and I've personally been trying to get a correct weight and length for a long time. We also used to use counterweigths (usually railroad spikes in the handles) as well to provide more realistic balance.
Jeff and I have decided as an experiment to make some weapons according to the ARMA guidleines on this web site, so I will reserve judgement on them until we have a chance to try some out. Overall though, I'm not sure if some of the steps y'all take are necessary. I know my own video clip undermines my argument here, but it has been my experience that if you adjust the width of the pvc for length, you don't get floppy weapons. I.e. short weapons under 28" or so can be made with 1/2 inch sch 40 pvc and won't bend noticably under normal use. Similarly, 28" - 44" weapons can be made with 3/4 inch, 44"-60" weapons with 1 inch, 60-72" weapons with incg and a quarter, etc. Also the lighter sch 20 pvc bends less and doesn't usually break when used in smaller weapons. You can also make decent emphasized edges by wrapping with light (black) foam insulation and then complimenting edges with strips of the heavier (brown) foam.
I really like that good closed cell foam which ARMA uses though, (though its expensive!) and we are going to try to get some as soon as we can. It seems like it gives you a lot of creative possibilities especially for shaping blades and weapon tips. My group around here lacks financial resources though so if I'm going to draw people in initially, I want to use the simplest and cheapest possible materials while trying to strike a good balance with authenticity.
I wonder, what do y'all use to weigh your weapons by the way? Something like a hardware store scale? I'm not even certain what my current weapons wiegh exactly though I know the lengths are accurate.
As for armor, again I respectfully disagree. I did this kind of sparring for more than ten years, we went back and forth on the issue of armor. The SCA in those days had a kind of similar policy: boffers no armor or wasters (rataan sticks) full armor.
Eventually through trial and error we found that some light armor (like sports equipment, sometimes reinforced various ways) was good for two main reasons. Number one, it boosted confidence of the newer, smaller, weaker, and / or less experienced guys. This can be really important when some new people are coming into a group where there are already a couple of guys with years of expereince.
Somebody coming into a pretty free style sparring group tends to get hit a LOT more, either by people who are more experienced and trying to teach them, or by other novices who haven't properly learned how to control their strikes and may hit too hard. This can be very discouraging, getting hit over and over, it's pavolovian, it's negative reinforcement and some guys (or gals) just can't rise above it. A little armor can make all the difference.
The second reason is it cuts down on injuries. I know for example, if guys want to come up to us from off the street and try some sparring, I feel a lot better with some light armor on when I know there can be a mistake and can be fairly certain no matter what they say they wont be pulling any punches. This is how I developed the confidence to fight grown men when I was a skinny (believe it or notz) weak 16 year old kid.
People can say this is a bad policy but in this city, in the neighborhoods we have to be in, the only viable policy is to be inclusive and up front about what we are doing, in the long run we are respected and nobody bothers us. Also, I think any martial art should REGULARLY expose itself to 'average joes' who come in off the street untrained, but perhaps making up in aggression or energy what they might lack in experience. This is a superb reality check, which you need if you want to have a real martial art and not just a dance club practicing katas like some EMA groups can become.
It's also good in larger battles involving more than two people. Sometimes we have melees with everybody involved, usually in teams. This is a big draw, it gets people to come to our events, brings spectators in, makes the whole thing more fun and more apealing.
When I'm sparring with my friend Jeff who is an expert and can pull punches, I almost dont even need a helmet. If I'm teaching some novice one on one and can watch him, similarly, I certainly dont need armor. But in a melee with four or fie people on each side, where you can get blindsided (intentionally or otherwise), it helps to have a little armor.
I know what ARMAs policy on this is, and I respect it, but for me, I think a third category, of light sports padding which isn't counted as armor in the fight (i.e. doesn't grant you an extra hit before you "die") is more helpful than harmful.
I could be just justifying this because i can't afford real armor though <img src="/forum/images/icons/wink.gif" alt="" />
I think seriously that the light sports armor probably the equivalent of wearing a Gambeson or Arming Jack when sparring with wasters or blunted weapons, which I bet they did whether there are pictures of it or not. A few soccer pads and an snugly strapped on umpires vest aren't going to make somebody feel insanely invincible, and if properly fitted, they aren't going to slow anyone down. They do in fact help with a few factors.
To be honest, I wouldn't be very surprised if ARMA's policy eventualy evolved somewhat on this issue, if you can forgive the suggestion. But perhaps I am the one who will evolve. I cant wait to make some ARMA style weapons, that is for sure....
JR
