Restricting weapon choice for newbies

I have often heard the sentiment “You can’t tell new fighters that they must learn to use a sword and shield first. They may not have fun if they can’t choose their weapons for themselves.” It is in reference to a common practice: not allowing newbies to pick up two-handed weapons, polearms, or bows until they’ve proven they are comfortable with the basic rules. The cutoff might be a small test or simply acquiring garb for themselves; some indication that they’ve invested enough time and money into Belegarth to be safe.

I understand what people mean when they say you should not restrict a new fighter's weapon choice. Belegarth is a place of escape for most, so telling someone that they must forgo what is allowed in the rules because they're too new doesn’t sit well. We don’t like being told what to do. It's unpleasant to have someone impose upon us that their judgement is superior to our own. We want our freedom.

The problem is, freedom gives us reign to make poor decisions that hurt ourselves and others, not only out of malice, but also ignorance. The example I will use is a new fighter who chooses to only fight florentine with red weapons. Allowing this decision to be made does a disservice to themselves and everyone around them.

I admit, I have heard a newbie argue with other veterans about fighting florentine using reds.  They insisted only that specific gear made them feel like a badass, and they simply didn’t want to fight if they couldn’t use it. But that feeling of being badass quickly faded when they started losing even more than the other new fighters, never taking time to learn the basics of combat on top of the heap of weapon-specific rules. They used weapons that were too heavy, too unwieldy, and too dangerous while trying, and often failing, to figure out proper hit calibration. That meant headshots, sloughed shots, poor positioning, and dangerous strikes, all of which lost them many battles.

Beyond their own poor fighting experience, fighters like this can be a danger to others. Veterans and heralds will no doubt recognize it, eventually finding ways to force them off the field anyway. The new fighter may find themselves on the wrong end of an enraged veteran’s rant after one too many headshots, making them afraid to step foot back out there. In rare cases, a vet may even completely lose their temper - after a slew of shots being sloughed and barely avoiding this person’s uncontrolled strikes, they’ll start hitting twice as hard as necessary to drive their point home. This mess ends in angry vets, frustrated heralds, and a new person who will leave out of pain, fear, or frustration.

But the worst side effect, in my opinion, is where their choice affects more than themselves and the veterans. It can hurt their fellow newbies who we are trying to welcome into the sport, unbalancing lines, causing them pain through dangerous swings, and making it difficult to practice proper teamwork. If a new fighter is trying to learn about basic line fighting but their teammate will only fight poorly with florentine reds, the first fighter going to become frustrated when their line continues to get rolled even by other newbies. It has nothing to do with their own skill, and it’s hard to sufficiently explain to someone new that weapon matchups are a huge part of a line’s success, so they shouldn't take it personally. Just like the fighter who chose their weapon poorly, too much losing like this can lead to frustration and eventually the loss of the other new fighter.

So please, enforce some extra safety on the field by keeping it simple for new fighters. Take the time to explain why you won't allow them to pick up any weapon on their first day, and you'll find most are understanding. Don’t be afraid to lose the few newbies that don’t want to start with the “easy stuff”. Like any other sport, skills require time and dedication to build; the fighters worth keeping won’t mind a few weeks of the basics before they graduate to bigger and better things.