Coming out to your first practice...

So you are almost ready to come out to a practice...

What to bring?

Clothing which covers the arms and legs is required for fighting. If you are male, we require you to be wearing a sports-cup before being allowed to fight.

With this exception - We'll provide protective clothing and weapons (which need to be blunt and flexible).

If you are a minor (aged 14-18), you'll also need to bring a parent/legal-guardian to look at what we do and sign consent forms.

What to expect?

Regular practices take place on the second floor of the Jack Purcell Community Centre just along Elgin street.

People start filtering in between 7:50 and 8:20. Music from the Ottawa International Folk Dance will be coming down the hallway.

Our group has a mixture of ages, experience levels and genders. We'll start chatting with you - After a minute or two, someone will give you an introductory lesson on how to handle a sword. Other people in the room will also start swordfighting, which is always fun to watch.

On your first or second time out, you'll get to try fighting someone else. We'll start off at a slower speed and avoid exploiting any obvious weaknesses - playing to your strengths and helping you develop. As time goes on, you'll learn more until you're given more and more advanced techniques to fight.

Before you know it, you'll be teaching others... it usually happens without noticing.

What is the typical pace of development?

You won't have to wait long. You'll be able to try fighting after the first or second time out. After this point, what happens is largely up to you - depending on how interested you are.

For me, I gradually learned the basic skills of defending myself. Then I went to a small individual exam which showed I could fight safely enough to fight in tournaments (if I wanted to). Since I could already fight at local practices, this was largely ceremonial. This happened over about eight months.

After this, I began studying more advanced styles: Sword and shield, sword and dagger, sword and cloak. Around four months later, I qualified to fight safely in these styles.

After this, I began learning intermediate skills - how to gradually manipulate a skilled opponent until they allow themselves to become vulnerable to attack. I bought elbow protection, and began to study cutting techniques.

After that, there are further options: You can become a Marshal and help supervise the group (allowing you to run your own sessions). You can join the Academy of Defence and write a series of exams showing both theoretical and practical understanding of swordfighting. You can begin translating historical texts. Really, you can do all sorts of stuff.

This publication is not a corporate publication of the SCA Inc., nor does it delineate SCA policies. This document is intended for informational purposes only, and was created by its author without authorisation with the intent of promoting and sharing an interest.