[MR] Anti-Bounceback

[Jonathan Blackbow]

Having been in the SCA since 1987 (no big deal, I know), I've been to several wars and archery events.

I'm authorized as an archer, and I'm authorized as a heavy fighter.  I live in the kingdom of Atlantia.

Am I concerned about being hit in the face with the tail end of an arrow?  

Less so than I am concerned about getting stabbed in the face with a branch in any woods battle.  

Is such an injury likely to hurt?  Yes.

Is such an injury LIKELY to cause permanent damage?  No more so than any other combat related injury.  

If you read your medical information, you'll discover that the eye itself is actually basically as tough as any other body part. It's the area AROUND the eye that is more sensitive to pain.

I note that the SCA itself doesn't seem to concern itself with the potential for non-permanent injury in any other area that I'm aware of; helms in Atlantia that would fail in Meridies pass all the time, because Meridies doesn't want the underside area of the chin to be able to be touched, and Atlantia doesn't mind it because Atlantia uses SCA minimum standards.

In my opinion, if the SCA chooses to legislate the chance of being shot with an arrow, they should also require the marshalls at every woods battle to walk around in the woods and cut off any branch that has a chance of sticking a heavy fighter in the eye.  

Hopefully that will put this in perspective.

My opinion:  let those that want to protect their eyes, protect their eyes.  But trying to legislate this is just like trying to bet on the odds of being attacked by a shark at the beach, which are lower than the chances of dying in a car accident on the WAY to the beach.  

You can bet on it.  But odds are, nothing will happen.  And not getting in the water (protecting eyes with extra equipment) doesn't mean there was a shark out there (an arrow would have hit anybody anyway).

Regards,

Jonathan Blackbow
SCA #90487
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