The differences/similarities between SCA fighting and Rebated steel fighting

OK, here is my write up on the differences/similarities in SCA and Steel fighting, per Folo’s request.

It is by no means a comprehensive write up, just a small primer.


When I first started this new endeavor I was sure that SCA fighting and Steel fighting were exactly the same except for pulling blows and limited target areas.

For about a year I believed so.

It took that amount of time to realize that there were some pretty big differences.

Before I go any further I have to point out there are two types of steel fighting, competitive and show fighting.

Competitive fighting is fun but not why I do rebated steel fighting. It’s a lot like SCA fighting but jerky as hell, often really ugly, and not something you want to do in front of the public if you ask me. Its more like tag with crowbars;)

Show fighting is what intrigues me, it’s done for the crowd and an emphasis on realism and safety are the key factors.

Because of this people believe that all show fighting is scripted which simply just isn’t always the case.

It is true that you can script an entire fight/scene but normally this is either very noticeable and is subject to the old proverb of “No plan of battle survives contact with the enemy” and one (or both) of the combatants often get caught up in the chants of the crowd and just plain forget what it was they set out to do anyway;)

This is why I teach my guys to script only the kill and maybe small parts in between but never an entire fight.

When I say scripted all I mean is we determine who is gonna die and by what means, no more than that, it is up to us, our skills and our level of showmanship to get to that point. Show fights aren’t as fast as a SCA tourney fight so in order to drag them out AND keep the crowd interested we have to be creative.


I love the cheering of the crowd so we concentrate on giving them the best performance we can when we do our show.
Big slashy blows, gut slashing follow thru’s that look and sound real but are safe, screaming charges, witty banter, agonizing death screams, and crowd participation.....that is what the show is all about imo.


Now that I have rambled, the biggest issues SCA fighters have to over come are head shots and egos.

Head shots are the biggey IMO but not the BIGGEST issue.

As I said head shots are big nono’s for us (but other groups use them).

Feints can be thrown at the head but they are almost never meant to hit.
I say almost never because if a head shot is worked out between two individuals BEFORE a public display then it is allowed. Both combatants have to be in agreement on it BEFORE the show starts though. It isn't something you just throw in there;)

This is rare and should only be done by experienced combatants and IMO by folks who have fought with each other A LOT and know each other well.

Accidents do happen though so be careful!

I have thrown one headshot in my 3 years experience.

Luckily I am a skilled enough fighter that I was able to redirect it and it only skipped off the top of a helm with no force transferred to the opponent. That was in KC, the first time I ever picked up a steel sword. Since then I haven’t done it again. That’s not to say that I don’t have to really concentrate on not throwing it, because I do. After about an hour or so of practice, the amount of thought I have to put into it lessens of course.

Others are not so lucky, at the Toronto event a particularly skilled fighter and DAMN fine knight from the Middle showed up and fought with us.

He actually hit two different people in the head. Luckily both were wearing helms and neither was injured. As I said he is a damn fine guy and apologized profusely each time. He actually had two things to fight. He was SCA and he has fought with another European group that uses head shots. So he had to over come not just one hurdle, but two.

What it comes down to is if you hit someone in the head, no matter what the circumstances, it’s still your fault. The common phrase is “your weapon, your fault.” Anytime you throw a blow you HAVE to be sure you can stop/divert it if something odd happens, there is little room for error in what we do.

So making the leap from SCA to steel fighting is not impossible, it can be done, it just may take more work for some than others. Many…………strike that, ALMOST ALL of the current steel fighters I have fought with in the last 3 years are also SCA fighters. And to date no one has been injured, or taken to the hospital, due to an injury from one of these fighters, in fact the only major injury I know if since I started doing this (13 stitches to a forehead) was delivered in a major show rehearsal by an veteran of steel combat (from a non-Vikes group) who had never done SCA fighting.


The second hurdle to overcome when making the jump from SCA to Steel fighting is ego. We all know that some fighters (and this happens in all aspects of life) are totally out there for an ego boost. They fight to fulfill some needed adrenaline rush. I have at times done so and know many others that still do. This is acceptable when your opponents are fully armoured and you are swinging a club but when your opponents are unarmoured and you are basically swinging a real dull sword it is not.

The first rule of steel fighting is:

THERE IS NO ROOM FOR EGO IN STEEL FIGHTING!

An ego can get you hurt or worse it can get someone else hurt.

Steel fighting isn’t about who is the biggest and baddest, it’s about who can do it, be safe, and look damn good while doing so. Hell dying spectacularly or add libbing a death curse can be just as cool as winning a fight. The SCA leaves out these aspects mostly, and as a whole I think that’s a bad thing. We encourage it, as it adds to the show and IMO to the appeal of doing what we do.


If you know one of these guys and they want to try fighting with steel Id suggest taking it real slow with them and making it know from the start that if they are looking for an adrenaline high that this might not be the best thing for them.

Steel fighting is about safety first, fun second and competitiveness last of all, even when you are fighting competitively.

I have fought in the SCA for 11 yrs, been a marshal of the field for 5, been regional marshal for 4, and was from time to time a deputy to the Kingdom Earl Marshal. I have trained my share of SCA fighters and a growing number of steel fighters; as such I feel I can comfortably say the following:

In the SCA you can take someone of the street, put them in minimum required gear, give them a days training and be reasonably sure that they can take the field and not harm themselves or others. This simply isn’t true with steel fighting. It takes much more training and time to get a person up to speed with steel weapons IMO. Granted there are folks that can do it but they are the minority and not the rule.

As I previously stated, a lot of the footwork is the same.

Shot Mechanics are very similar. The only real differences are:

-pulling the shot at the last minute (which works out an entirely different set of muscles than most of us are used to so that’s weird the next day;)
-flatting people for safety purposes (when you are hitting them in the back or kidney areas)

Shield work is the same.

Blocking is a bit different as you want to block most of the upper shots with the sword (either flat of blade on blade), this is another showmanship issue, the crowd loves to hear steel on wood but the really seem to enjoy the ring of steel on steel! (To be honest so do I, its almost sexual in a way;)

Thrusting is way different but it’s hard to explain in words. Instead of thrusting thru someone you want to just touch them and its better to do so from an angle instead of a straight forward thrust. There is no thrusting to the extremities which is different, you can how ever thrust past the leg and tap them (with the flat of the tip) as you draw it back. There are obviously no face thrusts! I have yet to pick up spear. I fight a lot of 6ft spear in the SCA with a great deal of success (its one of my favorite SCA weapons systems) In doing so I primarily target the face and groin. I am weary of making a mistake with this system using Steel so so far I have avoided it in favor of Weapon and Shield and two weapon (axe and sword or axe and saex).

Dane Axe is much different, its greatest strengths are taken away in both systems, but in steel it is one of the weapons that require the most skill and safety because well IT’S A REAL BLUNT AXE, very capable of injuring folks.


Halvgrimr
Robb

written sometime back in 2003