Viking Combat?

That's phenominal, mate...

karma for you.

If you have done SCA combat then you should know that we are all considered to be wearing a mail hauberk and an open face headcap, regardless of what we are actually wearing. Hits to the top of the helmet don't count. Head-shots have to be on the face-grill or below the Earline. People can wear plate if they like, but they have to take hits as if they are wearing mail. That way we are all on the same level.

The style of fighting will be primarily dictated by the armor and weapons used. Viking did not wear plate. The mail or leather armor they wore was not sword-proof. It may have offered some resistance, but they had to block any incoming blows with their shield or weapon to be on the safe side. It is on that basis that I say that SCA fighting would resemble viking fighting.

As far as too static? That is a personal choice. I have fought people that I have to chase all over the place. Some people prefer to conserve energy. Others like to dart in and out of range. Some people like to keep their weapons in motion to maintain momentum. Different sections of the country tend to favor different styles. Northeast is know for using large shields. WestCoast uses small shields and bucklers. Midwest does a lot of two-weapon forms. If you have only trained at a small local practice you will only see one style of fighting. If you go to large regional events like Pennsic, Gulf Wars, Estrella... you will see a wide variety of styles including Asian and African.

Longaxe, I took a look at the Vid you posted. The formation of the too sides seems accurate. Not much different then formations I have seen some households use in the SCA at Wars. On an individual basis, it seems non-competitive. I see people throwing their blades right in the middle of other peoples shields. I could not see everybody, but one person that clearly stood out was a big guy at the end. He appeared to be trying to slice into peoples mail at one point. I saw his arm flailing out very wide during a few cuts he attempted. That is inefficient and an invitation to get it hacked. I also saw a lot of people squareing off and exposing their swordside. This is very basic stuff. But the thing that is obvious is that you can see the blade move through the air. If you look at any SCA vid, you will not be able to see the blade move despite the fact that it is thicker then a steel blade because it is moving at about 200 mph through the air. Just look at the vids the guys cutting the water bottles and compare that to the speed of the strikes these guys are making. A sword is not a lightsaber. If it is to do any damage it must strike with great speed. To generate that speed, you have to use proper body mechanics and that is lacking. Learning it takes years of training and I still consider myself a beginner.

I can tell that this demo is not intended to demonstrate individual fighting tactics but rather group tactics. It is not my intention to insult you, so please take no offense. This is a good demo of group fighting tactics, but not of individual tactics.

Understood completely Bloodwraith, regarding safety issues. I only made the points I made because Longaxe seemed to imply that the demo he presented was an accurate representation of Viking combat... and there is no such thing. There is a give and take between safety and realism.

I do Livesteel outside the SCA. I am also a member of the MSR. I posted a vid a few weeks ago called MSR LiveSteel. The rules are similar to what you said in that all strikes must be wound-up and telegraphed. We do horizotal and vertical strikes, No diagonal. No pumps, NO fakes and NO low-rising shots. For the most part we are aiming at the other persons weapon or shield. This really looks cool to people watching. The blades move slower so people can see them, just like in the movies. However it is non-competitive. You can not use these skills in combat but you get to swing a real steel sword.

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Just to correct a few things you said about the SCA weapons. The weapons we use are rattan-wood. Which is similar to bamboo but solid. With the basket hilts my 37" weights 2lbs 15oz. That is balanced exactly like my Windless Classic Medieval. My 31" weighs 2 lbs 15oz and is balanced exactly like my Hanwai Practical Knightly. The wood is thinker to make up for the shorter length. My axe has a solid rubber head. 9" length by 8" depth. 1" thick. I have a 22" handle on it and also use it with a basket hilt. It weights 3 lbs 10 oz and hits like a ton of bricks. The basket hilt makes it a bit heavier then a real axe would be but I am comfortable with it. The short handle allows me to control it, roll it and change direction. The additional weight is offset by the fact that I don't need to wear a gauntlet.

People are able to manipulate the size, weight and balance of their weapons through a variety of means. I use steel basket hilts but some people use plastic or aluminum to make them lighter. Others screw washers to the base to act as pommols. Others put more tape near the tips to make them more blade heavy.

I think you may be confusing SCA with LARP. They use padded PVC. In the SCA we hit so hard that we get bruises through our armor. That kind of force can only be generated with good body mechanics and proper edge allignment.

I've heard that song a thousand times, but never caught the words. WOW! How cool is that?!

Thanks for posting this! ;D

Wow, slow old people. This music was from YOUR time period! Sad that we young people know it better....

It's not "old" music. It was music placed into a socially incorrect time period. God originally planned 60's and 70's music to be introduced all at once on september 22nd, 2007, but he was afraid of how many exploding frontal lobes it would induce in the population. So he and I argued back in forth and he made the rather presumptuous suggestion that it would be better if placed here. Him being god and all, I couldn't really argue. But I still think he made a grave mistake showing this music to those who can't appreciate it like you all's.

Zing!

Really?

Well I hope you know that they've been copied because they're so great and not because they themselves are bad...

Anyways I find their music staggeringly original to the point of it almost being absurd. Listen to "Since I've Been Loving You" or "Babe, I'm Gonna Leave You." Some of their best.


edit: Ahh what do you know! You like Dropkick murphys! *makes retching sound.* Anywho, they just had a huge concert down hear in north cuba....