For outlying areas, this may be one of the few places where people who want to learn to be a fighter can start. I know that was the case in the past. How cool for them to have an entire day and get most of the way to the training they need to getting their fighting authorizations!
For those of us who are currently central, we have so many skilled knights we run into them in the supermarkets and around town when not doing SCA activities. For outlying areas, they have to make arrangements for a knight to travel all the way to where they are to visit them and get some training.
I think not having fighting classes at Collegium is unfair to that portion of the population!
It also provides an opportunity for the shy or those who haven't yet figured out where and how to train to meet fighters and gain that knowledge.
The one, little Collegium I ran had about 50% of the attendance there to learn fighting. They all seemed really enthusiastic and pleased with what they had learned. I remember that that was team taught by several Knights, and run/organized by John T. (Of course, that was forever ago, and the people and culture in the SCA have changed. However, I don't think they have changed that much.)
Still, one of the most common things I hear about Collegium and A&S is, "What is that? I've never heard of it. What does it mean, or what do you do at an event like that?"
(I'll stop commenting now, as otherwise I won't be able to stop!)
Re: Fighter Centric
For those of us who are currently central, we have so many skilled knights we run into them in the supermarkets and around town when not doing SCA activities. For outlying areas, they have to make arrangements for a knight to travel all the way to where they are to visit them and get some training.
I think not having fighting classes at Collegium is unfair to that portion of the population!
It also provides an opportunity for the shy or those who haven't yet figured out where and how to train to meet fighters and gain that knowledge.
The one, little Collegium I ran had about 50% of the attendance there to learn fighting. They all seemed really enthusiastic and pleased with what they had learned. I remember that that was team taught by several Knights, and run/organized by John T. (Of course, that was forever ago, and the people and culture in the SCA have changed. However, I don't think they have changed that much.)
Still, one of the most common things I hear about Collegium and A&S is, "What is that? I've never heard of it. What does it mean, or what do you do at an event like that?"
(I'll stop commenting now, as otherwise I won't be able to stop!)