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Rapier combat in the SCA is an attempt to re-create c.1600-1700 Renaissance swordplay. In period, much was
made of this particular type of swordplay due to the popularity of the duel in and amongst the landed nobility. Schools of
fence were built on different founding principles, and nobles paid vast amounts of money for personalized tutelage at these
schools. Handbooks and treatises were also put out by these schools for the sake of those who could not attend in person.
It is through those manuals that the re-creation of Renaissance swordplay lives on today. We, in the SCA, through the study,
interpretation, and practice of these manuals, re-create the swordplay of the era without the messy compliations of dueling
codes.
We use dulled steel simulators that fall under the general designation of 'rapier'. Legal hits are
both thrusts and cuts, and combatants are armoured in heavy gambezons which provide ample prtection should the unlikely occur
and one of the simulators break. Modern fencing masks and punture-proof back of the head protection, as well as the rest of
the body covered by some light fabric or glove, fill out the attire.
Rapier combat is fun, easy on the bruises,
easy to learn, and has been an important element of re-creation in the SCA for the past 25-30 years. Come try it out today!
Thanks to Guillemin for the write-up.
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