What does Creative Anachronism mean?
Anachronism refers to something or someone that is not in their correct historical or chronological time, especially a thing belonging to an earlier time. It’s a whimsical word, but it describes what we do rather neatly.
Is this HEMA (Historical European Martial Arts) or LARP (Live Action Roleplay)?
The SCA shares some similar interests to HEMA and LARP but is unrelated. We are sort of between HEMA and LARP… our fights are full contact, unlike LARP, more like sport than roleplay. However we are more roleplay-eqsue than HEMA, and we focus on more than just fighting.
Is this just European?
Nope! The only restriction is that the clothing be pre-1600. Popular non-European cultures to focus on in Australia are medieval China, Japan, Mongolia, the Ottoman Empire… probably the majority do focus on Europe, so many of our classes are more European-focused, but we would love to support you in whatever you’d like to look into.
Do I need to bring any materials?
For fighting, no. We have some loaner gear that you’ll be able to borrow. It is a bit shabby and held together with duct tape, but it works. Once you get good you’ll probably make/buy some of your own and look way more aesthetic.
For Arts and Sciences you don’t normally need to bring materials, but some classes are a BYO project so if you do bring some materials we can help you make something. Additionally sometimes we may request you bring back worksheets that were given out previously, or bring stationary such as coloured pencils etc. If you don’t have these we always have some to share.
How many pouches is too many pouches on one belt?
Contrary to all accounts of logic, there is no upper limit to the number of pouches that you are permitted to have on one belt. ‘Intellectual’ types might claim that once you have run out of space on the belt, you have reached the upper limit. Clearly they have forgotten that you may string pouches onto other pouches. Weak.
Related to this question is the one of how many drinking horns can you have on one belt? The answer is twelve. Four in the front, four in the back, and two each side.