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Message: <blockquote data-quote="jesseghfan" data-source="post: 3797713" data-attributes="member: 19504">Well, I've futzed about a little with these things in SCA.  They have some problems for SCA combat:1. The string/ cord/ chain thingie wraps around wrists, tangles things up, etc.  Realistic? Sure.  But in the SCA system, where there is a premium on competition and throwing full force blows, yet allowing massive combats, such tangling could well lead to (it is feared) wrist injuries, people yanked off their feet, weapons flying through the air as they are ripped from grasps, etc.  Heck, get that cord somehow stuck in a helmet grill/protrusion (like a Norman style brass nasal) and a good yank is a bit scary to think about.  Sad, but the same thing applies to hooking points on polearms and axes- and is why the SCA don't duplicate those as well sword and board;2. There is a worry about control- harder to pull a blow after a hold (stop command) is given, hard to make sure one doesn't hit forbidden targets (knee and below, fingers- the stuff it is hard to protect adequately); and3. The string/ chain thingie makes the velocity of the flail's head variable, innately.  You have to make the head hard enough to really give a good knock on an unobstructed shot.  But, when a rope with a weight on the end is struck midrope- as happens all the time with a shield edge- the weight's speed accelerates.  (I'm not a physics major, so I dunno if this is true, but to my naked eye and shield arm behind the shield, it seems true).  I get the idea of this accelration better when playing with my dog's leash while he is running about.  Usually, I can gently swing it about my body in safety, but once in a while the leash catches wrong, and I get a painful whack from the now speedy clip on the end.  I know, a weird habit, but I get bored out there, and he is off the leash every day.  Perhaps you've seen lifeguards do the same thing with whistles on a string around their hands.  Back to the SCA- this variance makes creating a flail that is always safe yet always lands an adequately hard blow rather tough.I suppose some skeptics would point out that the randomness a flail would create conceivably could make the best fighters, who are SCA decisionmakers, more vulnerable on the battle field to the less skilled.  I, however, prefer to believe that _some_ of those same best fighters are strong propoents of authenticity, "death from behind," etc.But, see <a href="http://marshal.ansteorra.org/armored/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=56&Itemid=26" target="_blank">http://marshal.ansteorra.org/armored/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=56&Itemid=26</a> for an experimental take in a different part of the Known World.  More power to them- I hope it works and spreads, as the SCA should ever aspire to greater realisim.  There was a time (long ago) when no one thought Crown Tourney could be won in plate armor, as it would simply slow down the fighter too much, until it was done.</blockquote>

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