[SCA-AE] Petition to rescend the new elbow cop regulation.

[Rob Baldassano]

Stirring the pot....
   
  Having come to this fine Sylvan kingdom from elsewhere, I would like to express my opinion here. 
   
  We have a number of people in our local group who follow the "don't need it, I ain't wearing it philosophy... 
  I have seen a couple of our local fighter hurt, pretyt badly, because they felt that they were fine with the shield being the only protection between their elbow and their opponent's weapon. 
   
  Unfortunately I injured one of my friends because of their practice of not wearing an elbow. 
   
  I can't begin to describe the agony that I put myself through over hurting a friend on the field, over something that I as a marshal could have prevented by asking them to don their "rigid shield arm elbow protection".
   
  Forget the macho BS about "I've never had an injury there", or "we've never done it this way."
  It's GOOD, SOUND advice to protect yourself from harm. 
  Why wait til it is you that has been hurt because you were at "minimum armor standards"? 
  Avoid said rush. 
  People don't think twice about buckling up in a car. Why? It's the law, you have to. 
  People don't think twice about wearing shoes and shirt to get into restaraunt. Why? it's their regulations. 
   
  So why is it that those who play sports think that they are above the rules? 
  The local little league team had to begin 'pre game inspections' to ensure that each of the boys was wearing their cup. For Goodness sake, these are KIDS, and they are being told by their parents "cups are for woosies, you can run faster if you don't have it it." or "Nah, we can't afford that, just tell them you have it". 
   
  It's been years, but I once was at an event when one of the semi-finalists wasn't wearing proper protection, though they told the marshals they were. When they were shipped to the hospital for injuries sustained, it was a very upsetting tournament for everyone. Why? because the gentle who entered the list without proper gear on mislead his opponents into thinking that he was playing by the rules, and in the end the opponent who hit him and hurt him, withdrew from the tournament.  He wa the favorite of the day, and yet he decided that hurting a friend was not worth winning the tourney. 
   
  All anecdotes aside, it's just bad form to not wear what we have been asked to wear for MINIMAL armor. That's why they call it minimal, you can't fight with less. 
   
  For all of you who fight in minimums, and feel comfortable with it, GREAT. Enjoy the day, enjoy the fighting and feel good about what you are doing. 
   
  For those who wish to not wear what the rules stipulate as minimums, think about what your best friend will say when YOU are carted off to the hospital, because she/he injured you based on your decision that day. Is the extra 1 pound of steel going to hurt the game that much? Is it worth missing out on the rest of the event? or even worse, is it worth giving up fighting for because you broke your elbow, etc. over not wearing proper protection? 
   
  It's your choice a members of the Kingdom to petition for what ever rules you would like, but consider the legal, and physical ramifications of that decision before signing anything. 
   
  --Eirik 
  (who wears both elbows, and vanbraces to boot, because of injuries sustained... and who wears a helmet on his motorcycle because he loves his family and wants them to have him around a VERY LONG TIME)

Vels inn Viggladi <velsthe1 at hotmail.com> wrote:
  
>Think about this one people, This would encourage the practice of not
>being properly armed and armored when you enter the list. What happens if
>you lose your primary hand? Do you make your adversary wait for you to
>properly armor that elbow or do you make it obligatory for him to allow to
>use your primary hand by placing your shield behind your back. (dag 
>gummit,
>I worked hard for that advantage.) Think this through.
>
>Vladimir (two swords) Mechnik


As I have seen it, when the primary hand is lost, the wounded may either 
request of his competition that he may place the shield arm to his back, or 
may concede the bout.

But, that's a regional culture element that springs up from the use of an 
elbow protected from the shield.

In reality, this petition to rescind is more about maintaining individual 
kingdom flavor and identity rather than having hegemony emplaced from above.

As far as safety goes- anecdotally I can say that I have seen fewer elbow 
injuries on those who only have a shield to protect their elbow. But, this 
is only at a 1-0 difference. Experiences of others may vary.



Vels

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- 
---------------------------- 
Eirik Goransson / Rob Baldassano
Member, Barony of Endless Hills; 
House Odlahorde; 
Viking & All around Good Egg ; 
VROC #5029 (Tigger)
come visit http://www.dracowolf.com 
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