#tournaments
But newbies need that graph paper stage to learn spacing! ;o;
Maybe that type of leg up could help wider game audiences into the fighting game niche? Maybe not waste time showing the training stage in the trailers though.
Also, who the heck is choosing the training stage for a tournament? If you’re fighting in a tournament, then it’s time to take the training wheels off, I’m sorry. Also, if a tournament is getting broadcast/livestreamed, then isn’t there someone in charge of making sure it looks entertaining? They should get to eliminate the training stage.
So… here’s a thing that some of you might not know about nor even care about. And honestly, I haven’t been on here so long, why should you listen to me? BUT, as a woman, this stupidity is starting to affect my HEMA and I don’t appreciate it. Here are my thoughts on the matter. Whether you choose to listen or not is up to you.
Context: I AM a woman who does HEMA. More importantly, I am a fighter who happens to have boobs. I have been fighting for 5 years and have been to many tournaments, fighting in both the opens and the women’s tournaments.
Like many women in HEMA, I too started with a male instructor who is many times my height (like a solid foot). Oddly enough for our group, because the two students were female (me and his then partner who trained sporadically), our little group ended up having mostly female students - friends of mine. When we had male students, they were treated no differently than I was and vice versa.
We were fighters learning the art of Master Meyer. That’s it, full stop.
Yes, I am shorter than the vast majority of men. Yes, I am probably a little weaker in the arms than many men. That being said, I am heavier than many athletic women (partially from an unfortunate summer in high school where I scarfed down waaaay too much food and never dropped the weight and weightlifting). So I have the advantage of being as heavy as many men which means I am hard to push around. I know this is NOTthe case for many women doing HEMA.
However, and there’s always a however, this problem does not just extend to women. I always see online many many things (from men and women) that women are smaller and weaker than men, that the weight difference is irresponsible of fighters and tournament organizers, that being smaller makes you less of a capable fighter. While this may be true for some women, it is also true for some MEN. Some of these small guys are also *phenomenal* fighters - several slender men who win cutting tournaments and longsword competitions come to mind.
So why don’t we talk about them? Why is it so damned important to create this division between men and women fighters? Many of the issues facing women in HEMA also extend to a portion of men, but the conversation is *so* driven from either side, that these smaller men never get a say. And, this may or may not shock you, but these divisions seem to be driven by women.
When Esfinges was founded, I remember thinking that it was a mistake. I understood whythey were doing it (and I can’t blame them), but I thought it was a mistake. Their goal is to bring more women into HEMA, a goal I admire. But the creation of the women’s-only forum struck me as wrong. Since then, I have been invited to 4 other female-only groups by dint of having tits and estrogen. These forums create atmospheres of Us vs. Them. A lot of the posts in the Esfinges forums start with “Well, the men in my group did this…” or “My femininity impacts my HEMA by…”
In HEMA, I don’t see myself as a female fighter. I see myself as a fighter who happens to be smaller and occasionally who’s chest protrusions get in the way. And that was the beauty of HEMA some years back. I was one of 4 women on the East Coast (of the US) that fought in tournaments about 5 years ago. No one made a big deal out of it. The others were impressed that I was standing at Longpoint 2012 after not having slept the night before, but otherwise not concerned that I was female.
(As an aside, I actually ended up in a group of men talking about their cups and where was a good place to get them. Hard cups versus soft cups, etc. God, I never knew there was so much variation…)
Speaking of tournaments, there is so much I could say, but I am aware this is getting rambly. In short, I will support women’s tournaments if it helps women get into fighting. I will not support them if they are a place for women who can fight say that they are too scared to fight in the open. Then, honey, you shouldn’t be in a tournament.
This is a martial art. You are learning to pit your skills against the skills of everyone else. That is the point. If you are too scared to fence in an open, go back to your club and work on your sparring. Not just with the person you’re comfortable with, but everyone. When you can face them all comfortably, then you are ready for the tournament scene.
I think it’s fairer for all involved, men and women, beginners and advanced fighters to have skill based tournaments. That way everyone of roughly equal skill can fight each other and we can ignore biological sex. Maybe, just maybe, HEMA could go back to the blissful days of not really giving a fuck what genitalia lay under your knickers.
