Why Go Medieval? Ten Reasons Why I do Boffer Combat and Medieval Reenactments.

When someone walks out on to the field wielding a foam sword they have their reasons for doing boffer combat. And as the crowds gather around to watch I have heard the full range of comments sent in our direction. I have heard everything from admiration to ridicule. Sometimes people watching even ask if they can borrow a boffer and try it for themselves. When that happens we are always happy to let someone try it out.

Whether you are visiting my blog by accident, you are looking for information about Belegarth or you are one of my regular readers I think that sometimes it is important to reflect on why we do things. That is why I am writing about my top 10 reasons for doing This occurred to me this weekend when I was having a discussion with a women that was watching us practice at the park. She told me that she thought all of this was a little silly.

Reason 10: BECAUSE IT IS SILLY. Is boffer combat silly? Yes it is. Are reenactments silly? Sure they are. That is one reason that I do it. I do it because in a world where everything is about responsibility and where everything has to be so serious that it is like a breath of fresh air to just let myself be silly for a couple of hours.

Reason 9: BECAUSE IT IS EDUCATIONAL:  I have always loved learning. I know I'm a geek, and history has always been one of my favorite subjects. I know, weird right? One thing that life has taught me is that their is no better teacher than experience. It is one thing to read about Medieval history and quite another to try to walk a mile in someone else's medieval shoes. I mean that rhetorically of course. While I would love to hop in a time machine and go back to witness history doing reenactments is as close as I can get. I have experienced aspects of medieval life that you can never communicate through a book or a film. I know what the clothing feels like, the adrenaline rush of being in battle and the satisfaction of crafting my own armor and seeing what it looks like on me for the first time.

Reason 8: BECAUSE IT IS AN INTERESTING EXPERIENCE: This goes right along side of reason 9 because they compliment one another. Experiencing history lends itself to learning about it, and learning about it make the experience interesting.

Reason 7: BECAUSE IT IS AN ADVENTURE: Life needs an adventure every now and then just to spice things up and I try to have as many adventures as possible. What can I say I like things spicy! More than that adventure builds character. It forces us to learn to choose our battles wisely in life. Adventure is about learning one's own weaknesses and strengths. It is about learning from our mistakes and moving on. That is why I say that people don't just want an adventure they NEED them.

Reason 6: BECAUSE IT IS A GREAT WAY TO MAKE FRIENDS: In my day to day life there aren't a lot of people that share my interests. It is a good feeling to be in a community of people who share my interests and enjoy them as much as I do. It is tough always being the outsider. John Donne said, "No man is an island entire of itself." This is a truth of our human condition. We are all a part of the whole. We all have a need to be a part of a family and a community. What is more these things are all the better for our being a part of them and they are made something less when we are not there.

Reason 5: BECAUSE IT IS GREAT EXERCISE: I have tried a lot of exercise programs but this is one of the best. His is a full body workout that will impact your muscles in ways that you have never imagined. This will build you up physically and mentally. I believe that it is at this point that I need to recommend that thou shalt check with thine physician before trying this.

Reason 4: BECAUSE IT IS COMPETITVE: I have played a lot of sports but this is my favorite. Whether your favorite sport is football, basketball, baseball or this these truths remain consistent of competitive sports. Competition motivates people to try harder, to be better, to set goals, and to work towards them. In competition we learn the value of being gracious in victory and defeat. We come to gauge the level of our own abilities and seek ways to improve them.

Reason 3: BECAUSE IT IS HONORABLE: This is a tough concept to write about, but honor is important to us. In Medieval Europe they had a code of chivalry, In feudal Japan they had the Bushido, and even today the modern soldier have a warrior's code of honor.  I'm not sure if honor is a thing that can be taught. Warriors throughout time have always seemed to hold a kind of reverence for it. It has always been a thing difficult to cultivate and easy to lose. Honor is a concept which the world needs to embrace but which few can truly understand. I don't believe that you have to be a warrior to understand honor but for some reason more warriors seem to get it than not. Maybe that is because honor requires sacrifice, and few sacrifice as much as a warrior. I want to take this moment to say to any reading this that are members of the armed forces, "Thank  you for your service, and thank you for being honorable."

Reason 2: BECAUSE IT BUILDS CHARACTER: Belegarth like any sport does not define the people who play it, rather the people who play it define the sport. You are the one's who make Belegarth great. You are the one's who get out there on the field and battle on through sweat, exhaustion, heat, and cold always giving 100%.  This sport like any sport builds a person up mentally as well as physically. It gives me confidence knowing that I can do things that few others can. That is a confidence that travels with me in everything that I do and that is priceless.

Reason 1: BECAUSE IT IS FUN: The other day a man drove by our practice field screaming ridicule at us from his car, and I thought how could any one ridicule something this fun. I have never gone to a practice that I didn't enjoy. And as I look around the field and see all the smiling faces of my fellow combatants I know that they all feel the same. Something tells me that whatever our critics are doing that they are probably not having near as much fun as we are. What is more I have no respect for a coward who hurls insults as he is running away in his car. We all have the courage to stand here on the playing field in front of anyone who cares to look and we aren't going anywhere. So what if play our game with weapons of foam and while wearing medieval costumes. How is it that so different from playing football, basketball or any other sport where they put on funny looking costumes (uniforms), protective gear, and play a game. I don't particularly like watching football, but I don't ridicule people that enjoy it. I wish them well and I hope that they are enjoying their sport as much as we are enjoy ours.


I hope that some of this convinces you to join us.
See you on the field
Thorne the mercenary