Fighting Mindfully: How did you kill me?

Taking criticism is difficult. Asking for criticism and then taking it is even harder, especially when the critique tears apart something you've been working hard at. But it is necessary for improvement. It is easy to get caught up in the culture of "Well, I put myself out there, which is more than most people can say, so I don't care what people think. I'm awesome because I believe I am." It's fine for some things, especially those you do just...

Read More

Cultural Differences and the BoW

One of the prevailing concepts when adjusting Belegarth's rules is KISS - Keep It Simple, Stupid.  In most cases, that means we have the minimum number of rules required to play safely. The unintended side effect is that we rely heavily on word of mouth and culture to fill in the gaps. Just a few examples: What penalty is there for hitting an illegal target (e.g. the head)? What do you say if someone hits you or your garb, but doesn't damage...

Read More

Just swing already!

Intimidation is a powerful weapon in Belegarth. Some methods used on the field are questionable, like faking an illegal or dangerous shot to force an opponent to flinch, while others are simply a matter of dressing well and knowing what you're doing. For the record, I don't condone fakes of illegal or dangerous strikes; there's too much room for error and too many other options to throw your opponent off his game. As a new fighter,...

Read More

You know you're a Belegrim when...

Any trip to any hardware store is a rainbow of possibilities Are those pool noodles? Prepare for War! Every time you drive past a park, you instantly go through a mental checklist to decide if it would be a good place to fight. Your home is drowning in fabric, leather, or foam, yet you still somehow never have what you need for your next project. Using colors as a verb is normal to you. Example: "And then I greened him right in the chest!" You...

Read More

Know your range: Attacking from standing

Range control is probably the number one thing I see new fighters struggle with. They're so focused on hitting hard and remembering the rules that they don't take time to practice engaging and disengaging their opponents properly. This is something that some very good fighters have extensively written about before, but I'm going to try to keep it simple for the newest fighters.  When you're ready for a more in-depth explanation, you...

Read More

Growth beyond newbie-dom

Stagnation. It’s something we all suffer from in our lives, and Belegarth is no exception. The first few years in Belegarth are spent gathering new experiences, learning rules, playing with weapons, meeting fighters, and going to events. Everything is exciting and fresh. We still have high hopes for our own future in Belegarth: will we be a knight? A realm leader? Make the most amazing garb or kill the most people on the field? Will we invent...

Read More

Holding your first sword

Not my first time with a sword, but pretty darn close. I think most Belegrim remember the first time they held a foam sword. For many of us, it was an experience much like a cat that had climbed to the top of a very big tree: “This seemed like a good idea at the time, but I have no idea what to do now.” What we chose to do next shaped our time in Belegarth. As a non-com who owns her fair share of weapons, I'd thought it might be interesting to...

Read More

How to hit harder

Disclaimer - this post is aimed at new fighters who are struggling to hit with sufficient force. If that is not you, this advice will probably not help you. If a 5'2" girl can hit with sufficient force and control, so can you. That's my mantra when new fighters are struggling to throw good shots, whether it be due to weakness, wildness, or simple lack of confidence. There are some good resources out there in the form of videos that will show you...

Read More

Teamwork: Fighting beyond yourself

Fighters take pride in many things: their speed, their fitness, their weapons, their garb, and their kill count. Anything that measures how well they, individually, stack up against their opponents. However, this means one thing is missing in most battles: pride of team. It is a notion that played out in places like hockey; the belief that the logo on the front (your team) is more important than the name on the back (yourself). Some SCAdians call...

Read More

Belegarth's PR Position: Part Deux

Since my original post about the new PR Position, I've been nominated to fill that role. After publishing this post, I intend to accept that nomination and officially run for the position. In light of that, I thought it would be nice to lay out exactly what I envision for Belegarth in the coming year if I were to be elected. I'm the kind of person who likes deadlines and solid plans, so I expect I'd be setting up public dates to go with most of the projects below as I tackled them. Any of those would be open to adjustment as the community...

Read More

That guy? I hate that guy

Everyone has people they can’t stand on the field. Whether it’s the way they talk, the way they fight, or just the way they take up space, some Belegrim are simply annoying. Fighters have the luxury of beating these people to their heart’s content, rejoicing in every yelp of pain as their opponent screams “Dead dead dead dead!” all within the confines of the rules. I’ve been told it’s one of the reasons many of them enjoy fighting so much; if you’re...

Read More

Line-fighting: Mind the gap

Line-fighting is one of the most basic skills anyone on the field should know, but it's a little more complicated than just "stand in a line". A Belegarth line consists primarily of shieldmen, with polearms and missle weapons doing most of the damage to the opposing team. Since these are longer-range weapons, it is easy to understand how controlling range can be an important part of your line's success. More generally, I'd like to talk about "gap...

Read More

Learning to love the stick jock

There’s a misconception out there that all non-coms are only at events to look at the pretty garb and complain about how boring fighting is while waiting for after-battle festivities. They love elaborate lore, fantastic duds, and intricate armor but hate the boorish, uncultured nature of the stick jock. Fighters who care solely about hitting people are useless, in their minds. Non-coms wish those battle-loving miscreants would just leave, so they could be left alone with a more beautiful Belegarth. I admit, there are threads of truth in there....

Read More

How to pick up a Belegarth girl

Not long ago, I wrote about things you shouldn't say or do to pick up women in Belegarth. Thinking about it a little more, I realized this isn’t really fair of me. Telling you what not to do without providing alternatives is one of my pet peeves about most blog lists. So here are 5 ways to successfully pick up a woman in Belegarth. At least, it worked for my husband. 5) Ignore her when she approaches you. If a woman you like comes up to you, don’t appear too eager. Be polite, but make sure you brush her off to chat with other female Belegrim....

Read More

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...

Read More

Belegarth's new PR position

It looks like Belegarth is about to add a PR position to the BoD, which is a great step forward in my mind. Suddenly, the piles of suggestions on how to make Belegarth a better, more marketable entity will have an ear, and hopefully a pair of hands to complete them. I already have a long list of PR and communication projects written up that I would like to see prioritized, and I’m excited to have a forum to present them. But probably because of that long list, the numerous projects I have completed, and my over-enthusiasm about Belegarth, I was...

Read More