This portion should extend up toA Guide to Obtaining Armor For Youth Combat
By Uilleam MacUilleam
First things first, before you begin to build or buy armor please read the youth combat rules and regulations for your kingdom. This guide is based on the youth combat rules for the Kingdom of Meridies, and is designed for the resulting armor to meet that standard. This article only covers Wolf through Ram divisions (Ages 7 – 15). The Dragon division (Ages 16 and 17) use adult armor as a minimum standard, and parents should consult the rules for adult fighting for those standards.
WARNING:
This article is constantly evolving due to the different things we learn as the
youth combat program evolves. So, you may want to check back occasionally to see
what we have learned.
The
Most Important Piece of Armor:
The
absolute first piece of armor you should obtain is a hard athletic cup for males
and pubic arch protection for females.
A
word on armor in general:
I
like the idea of the kids looking just as good as the adults and on occasion
better than some of the adults. The requirements for armor in the rules are the
“minimum” standard for armor. It is perfectly acceptable for the kids to
wear armor that is a smaller version of adult armor in all of its forms. The
major consideration if you decide to go this route is to take into consideration
the size and physical capabilities of the child the armor is for.
The
idea of SCA combat is to recreate medieval-style combat in as period a manner,
in style and look, as is reasonably possible. The operative phrase here is
“reasonably possible.” We realize that what one person can afford to do
another may not be able to. The result is a tolerance for modern items being
used for armor. This is a good thing. However, it is requested and on official
occasions (events) it is required that 21st century looking items be
disguised to look more period or covered completely by clothing.
There
are many sources available for information on how to buy or build period armor
for youth combat. I will include patterns and plans below, where I can, for the
simplest types of armor, and links at the end of the article for either vendors
of armor, or places where you can find patterns, plans, or instructions for
building armor.
Elbows,
Knees and Helmets:
The easiest armor to get is the armor for the extremities, the helmet, elbows, and knees.
Elbows and Knees: Ages seven through twelve can have just foam pads (like basketball pads). At age thirteen they must have leather or plastic covered pads.
Helmets: Several different types of helmets can be used in youth combat, but must meet the following criteria: Marshallate-approved helm with face protection. Helmets with wire facemasks from sports such as hockey and lacrosse are acceptable provided that some attempt has been made to give them the appearance of period headgear. A covering of light leather or cloth attached to the helmet is suggested. A chinstrap is required. Spacing on helm bars should be adequate to prevent boffer from hitting face (1 inch is suggested). If making or buying a helm for a youth combat fighter, be aware that the young body is still developing and cannot be expected to support a 12-pound helm. 18 gauge mild steel or stainless steel is adequate protection and should be light enough for the youth to support.
The cup, elbows, and knees can be found at the typical stores. Sports stores, and stores like Wal-mart and Target. The helmets are best found at stores like Sports Authority.
Disguising a Helm: Hockey, and Lacrosse helmets don’t exactly look medieval, and some have some very bright and modern decal decoration. There are a couple of ways they can be disguised to look a bit more period. If the helmet has decals on it, you want cover the brand name, or just want to change the color of the helmet, I recommend using a spray paint that has just recently come on the market. The paint is made by “Krylon” and is called “Fusion.” This paint is designed to molecularly bond to plastic. If you follow the directions it works very well, and is very durable under combat conditions. In addition some like to disguise the modern design of helmets by using a cloth or light leather drape over the top of the helmet and down the sides and back.
My
personal preferences for armor for the extremities.
Elbows
and Knees:
While skating, hockey, and lacrosse pads are legal, I prefer bicycle pads. Some
skating, hockey, and lacrosse pads cover a smaller area and usually cost more.
Bicycle pads have a tendency to cover a larger area and usually cost less.
Helmets:
I prefer a particular type of helmet. The “Franklin Extreme Pro Youth Street
Hockey Goalie Mask.” This helmet expands in the back via elastic straps and will fit all
kids from seven to fifteen year olds. It covers the entire head and just above
the middle of the neck. It also has a pseudo-medieval look to it.
Body Armor
The
very basic body armor used by many fighters is called a kidney belt. In youth
combat the kidney belt requirements change from age group to age group.
Wolf Division (ages 7-9):
The torso must be covered by shirt, tunic, bodice, etc.
A minimum of medium leather kidney protection is required.
Ram Division (ages 10-12): The torso must be covered by
shirt, tunic, bodice, etc. Minimum
of medium leather is required to protect the kidneys and short ribs.
For females: As a girl matures she must also have adequate breast
protection. A quilted material
tunic is acceptable as a minimum.
Bear Division (ages 13-15): The torso must be covered by
shirt, tunic, bodice, etc. Kidney
protection is required. Minimum of
medium leather backed with ½ inch closed cell foam that sufficiently covers the
kidney area and ‘floating’ ribs. Females
must have adequate breast protection. A quilted gambeson is acceptable as a minimum.
The sternum must be covered by a minimum of medium leather backed by ½
inch of closed cell foam.
Medium
leather is defined as 7-9 oz. or approximately 1/8” thick vegetable tanned
leather. This does not mean that the armor must be made of leather. The rules
are just defining the minimum protective standard that must be used. Any
material, like plastic, light metal, or combinations can be used.
Below is a diagram of a typical kidney belt design with sizing comments.
This portion should extend up to
at least the middle of the back
Figure1: Kidney Belt -The sides of the belt should
reach from the waist at least halfway to the armpit.
Female upper body protection: Females from the age of 10 are required to have some sort of chest protection. The rules are as follows:
Ram Division (ages 10-12): As a girl matures she must also have adequate breast protection. A quilted material tunic is acceptable as a minimum.
Bear Division (ages 13-15): Females must have adequate breast protection. A quilted gambeson is acceptable as a minimum.
One of the popular methods of providing the above protection is to use a street or ice hockey shoulder pad harness. The entire harness is well padded and extends down to mid chest level. Another method would be to put a section of padding on the inside of a tunic. The links below can also provide you with some ideas that can be adapted to youth combat.
Gorget
(Neck armor)
Like the kidney belt, the requirements for gorgets in youth combat change from age group to age group.
Wolf and Ram Divisions (Ages 7 – 12): A lightweight
gorget is required. A minimum of light leather backed with ½ inch of closed
cell foam.
Bear Division (Ages 13 – 15): The gorget has to cover the larynx and cervical vertebrae with a minimum of medium leather backed with ½ inch closed cell foam padding.
A gorget can be simple. A strip of lightweight leather with some padding on the inside with a small buckle and a strap (usually refer to as a “dog collar” type of gorget) will do for ages 7 – 12. Ages 13- 15 can use the same basic style, however, the weight of the leather has to be increased to a medium weight and large flap needs to be added to the front and the back to protect the larynx and cervical vertebrae. There are several other types of gorgets, Examples can be found in the links below. Other materials can also be used besides leather. If metal is used, use lighter gages of steel (18 or 20ga) or aluminum should be used. Plastic can be used, but needs to be constructed in the same manner as metal. Special attention needs to be paid to the edges on both metal and plastic. Be sure to file the edges until they are blunt and smooth.
Links
Below are some links, which I hope will help with design and material ideas. Remember all of these sites are primarily for adult armor, but can be adapted for use in youth combat.
An Introduction to Basic Armoring: An article in PDF format. It can take a while to download (116 pages), but well worth it.
http://www.brighthelm.org/armour/Basic-Armouring.pdf
Armor Links:
http://moas.atlantia.sca.org/topics/armo.htm
A
Guide to Making Bartholomew's SCA Armor
http://www.cs.usu.edu/~watson/bartholomew/barmor.htm
Do
it Yourself Armor Patterns:
http://www.cs.usu.edu/~watson/bartholomew/barmor.htm
ON THE CONSTRUCTION AND USE OF LAMELLAR ARMOUR IN
THE CURRENT MIDDLE AGES:
A how-to article on making lamellar armor.
http://members.tripod.com/~DeTyre/Articles/lamellar1.html
Noble Plastics: Manufactures plastic lamellar plates for armor kits.
http://www.plasticlamellar.com/
The Armour Archive: Articles and patterns for armor.
http://www.armourarchive.org/links/howtolinks.shtml
http://www.armourarchive.org/patterns/