Strength doesn't seem to be used in places where it should..

[jhudsui]

Shouldn't high Strength characters be able to bear the weight, and therefore suffer less penalties, from wearing heavy armor?

Also, shouldn't Strength affect the results of Beat and Bind manuvers?

[Salamander]

Shouldn't high Strength characters be able to bear the weight, and therefore suffer less penalties, from wearing heavy armor?

I can understand where you are coming from, but armour was not really that much of a burden. This is so due to the fact that while the armour was heavy and different types had different pros and cons.

Harness (plate) was known for its rigid strength and incredible ability to take and absorb punishment. It was perhaps the most resistant of all the armours to have been made in that culture. While the harness was heavy, often as much as 55-60lbs (25-27kg) it supported most, if not all of its own weight. These suits were highly mobile and men have been known to kick-stand back up in them. I have heard that a group in England made a replica of Henry VIII's full harness and had a fellow do cartwheels in it! Now having said that, strength had no bearing on any of this. It was the fact that the harness was well made. In the case of any CP penalties that a suit of harness recieves, this is not due to the raw weight as much as the way the joints interact and just getting the mass of the armour up the speed. Also coming into play is the fact that the armour would by its very nature restrict your vision (I am including the great helm in these equations)  and those gauntlets weren't known for thier grippiness. To circument the issue of CP penalties, much as they would make a suit of armour more, err, "capable", in the old days, they would make them to fit the owner exactly as well as use several little effective, but expensive, tricks to improve one's mobility in the suit.

http://www.livesteelarmor.com/index.html

Maille (chain mail) was the good ole standby of the professional soldier and successful mercenary of the day. Maille was not so able to support itself under its own weight, just due to the architecture of the design. But it was much more mobile... in fact it was almost like a second skin in how flexible it could be! Now depending upon what you were wearing, whether it was a byrnie (maille vest), hauberk (maille coat) etc. the weight would be from 20-30lbs (9-14kg) for the byrnie, 35-45lbs (16-21kg) for the hauberk up to 60lbs (27kg) for a full suit including leggings and great helm. Now, why is it the full suit of maille weighs as much as the Harness, but has not the penalties? Its flexibility!

Also, shouldn't Strength affect the results of Beat and Bind manuvers?

Strength actually has less to do with the use of weapons than skill, speed, accurracy and sometimes, endurance. I am currently a student of the longsword here in Calgary, my wife studies with me as well. When we do our training, we have found that she (much less strong than I) can beat a sword just as well as I. This comes from explosive speed and accurracy combined with skill. Also, sometimes you don't want his sword and your sword terribly misaligned... sometimes you want his sword just a little out of the way...

[Morfedel]

Man, you are making me jealous! I want to learn the long sword too! :(

Heh

[Jake Norwood]

Where do you live? I might know some guys in your area.

Jake

[Salamander]

Man, you are making me jealous! I want to learn the long sword too! :(

Heh

Yeah, talk to Jake. You can also look into several groups who study the western martial arts.

ARMA: This is the one Jake belongs to, as well as Ashren and a few others as well... I am currently in the process of getting good enough to join.

http://www.thearma.org

There is the Academy of European Medievel Martial Arts

http://www.aemma.org

The Exiles are based in London, England.

http://www.the-exiles.org

Historical European Martial Arts

http://www.hema.freehomepage.com

Schola Gladitora, also in London.

http://mysite.freeserve.com/scholagladiatoria

Sword Academy, the school I attend. If you live in Calgary, come check us out!

http://www.swordacademy.com

Academy of European Swordsmanship

http://www.the-aes.org

To name but a few.

[Morfedel]

Yeah, I live in the middle of nowhere.

In this case, its Amarillo, Texas. :)

[Salamander]

Yeah, I live in the middle of nowhere.

In this case, its Amarillo, Texas. :)

The World HQ of ARMA is in DFW. John Clements lives there, if I am not mistaken...

There is a good chance that there may be a few other enthusiasts there to learn with. The trick is finding them!

[Jake Norwood]

Houston, actually, though both austin and DFW have large groups.

Jake

[Salamander]

Houston, actually, though both austin and DFW have large groups.

Jake

I stand corrected...

[Morfedel]

Hm; Can someone give me contact info to the houston branch then? :)

And, before I contact them, I assume that this isn't SCA, but actual real weapons training?

[Salamander]

Hm; Can someone give me contact info to the houston branch then? :)

And, before I contact them, I assume that this isn't SCA, but actual real weapons training?

ARMA is an organization which seriously looks into how the fighting was done in the "good" old days. They don't sugar coat it and they tend to train to fight in earnest. They study how to kill with these weapons. While it is serious, it is their thing.

In the SCA the objective is to portray the Middle Ages as the participants feel it should have been and to beat upon each other and have fun, which is their thing.

[Poenz]

Salamander,

As long as this thread is going this way:  who do you know in Austin?  I don't see any mention of an Austin group on the HACA/ARMA site, but if there's one here, I'd be interested in getting their info.  Or for that matter, the info of any group doing HES/WMA.

~PO

[Salamander]

Salamander,

As long as this thread is going this way:  who do you know in Austin?  I don't see any mention of an Austin group on the HACA/ARMA site, but if there's one here, I'd be interested in getting their info.  Or for that matter, the info of any group doing HES/WMA.

~PO

Okay, I know nobody in Austin, but Jake may know a guy or two... ;)

If Jake can't steer you the right way, perhaps contact ARMA DFW or even ARMA Main and see if they can plug you in.

Also, check out the links I provided above as they may be able to help as well.

ARMA: This is the one Jake belongs to, as well as Ashren and a few others as well... I am currently in the process of getting good enough to join.

http://www.thearma.org

There is the Academy of European Medievel Martial Arts

http://www.aemma.org

The Exiles are based in London, England.

http://www.the-exiles.org

Historical European Martial Arts

http://www.hema.freehomepage.com

Schola Gladitora, also in London.

http://mysite.freeserve.com/scholagladiatoria

Sword Academy, the school I attend. If you live in Calgary, come check us out!

http://www.swordacademy.com

Academy of European Swordsmanship

http://www.the-aes.org

[Jake Norwood]

For info on Houston classes email armadirector@aol.com or webmaster@thearma.org. For austin... Wait a minute, what city is Texas A&M in?

Jake

[Poenz]

Great guns, man!  You could be shot--then hung--for thinking A&M is here in Austin.  You're thinking of Bryan, or College Station.  Aggieland.  The thought of an Aggie with a sword is enough to chill the blood even in this gawdawful heat.

How do any of 'em live through practice?  

If that's the only alternative, maybe I'll make the drive to Houston or Dallas--or even Provo-- instead.

~PO