fencing or Light Sabres?

[Shadow Wolf]

I highly doubt that a latex foam sword can in any way compare to the vids. Zero.

I didn't say they did. My own words were "nothing like the videos." But nevertheless you can still really hurt people with them even when you're not trying to. And, yes, I've seen it happen. It's not like we're swinging pool noodles at each other.

 

[Shadow Wolf]

Yeah, the SCA rattan jocks take themselves very seriously, too.

One of my LARP friends used to do SCA. Listening to him I realized they don't do combat right either, and they run on the idea that you take a hit that would "cut through armor."

 

[Shadow Wolf]

They're not just foam though. It's foam wrapped around a hard center. Smack someone hard enough, and the foam ain't gonna matter.

Yup. A large ax across the face doesn't feel good. Pissing blood is no joke. With my own sword I could probably break ribs, cause some serious damage to a few internal organs, and I don't doubt I could crush a trachea with it.

 

[Kangaroo Feathers]

One of my LARP friends used to do SCA. Listening to him I realized they don't do combat right either, and they run on the idea that you take a hit that would "cut through armor."

Conversely, I was once medic at a big gathering, there was a guy who got hit three times, and each time the guy said "my armour would have stopped that!" Now, in metal weapons, we pull our blows, you're not meant to hit full fkrce. Anyway, the fourth time the guy was hit, as he lay crumpled on the ground in a ball of pain and broken ribs, they guy who hit him, full force this time, casually asked "would your armour have stopped that?"

 

[Shadow Wolf]

Conversely, I was once medic at a big gathering, there was a guy who got hit three times, and each time the guy said "my armour would have stopped that!" Now, in metal weapons, we pull our blows, you're not meant to hit full fkrce. Anyway, the fourth time the guy was hit, as he lay crumpled on the ground in a ball of pain and broken ribs, they guy who hit him, full force this time, casually asked "would your armour have stopped that?"

That sounds more or less about the same as what my LARP friend described SCA. It sounds like a lot of fun, but from what he said there are too many people out to hurt others. Even LARPing we're supposed to draw our hits, because you can really hurt someone even with a fiberglass-core foam latex weapon, especially when it's cold out and the foam gets stiffed. And it's no wonder. I took a big *** ogre axe to the side of the head once (unintentional), and the guy didn't swing fast or hard but it was big enough that I definitely felt it and saw a star or two. And even regular LARP swords, they aren't wooden training swords, but they aren't plastic lightsabers either.

 

[Cacotopia]

Larp fights might be serious within the game, but I doubt a large percentage of them even know melee combat tactics.

 

[Jumi]

What I look for in my martial arts is giving a bit of flair and élan to what otherwise might descend into a lower class brawl.

It does sound like fun.