Art of War Classes
| Instructor | Class/es |
|---|---|
| Sir Godric ap Rhyshas been fighting in SCA wars for over 20 years, attending 14 An Tir West Wars, 8 Pennsic wars, 5 Estrella Wars and has lead small units in SCA battle for the last 7 years. Godric formed and leads the Company of Saint Ulrich which has fielded over 20 fighters. He has also led his Barional war unit during his term as Baron of Glymm Mere which fielded up to a dozen fighters. Godric has lead the An Tirian "Army" at Pennsic several times, fielding up to 20 fighters and represented An Tir on the East Kingdom Pennsic war council. Godric is firm believer of the SCA "team" experience and is a big supporter of small units and encourages war fighters to either join a unit or start a new one |
Sir Godric will be speaking about "team building" at this year's Art of War and will be focusing on the following Small Unit concepts:
1. Form naturally- Don't force anything. Friendships are the basic building blocks of a good unit. If someone doesn't "fit" in your unit then don't force it just to have a bigger unit. There is nothing wrong with someone not joining your group, some groups aren't for everybody. 2. Choose an identity- Each group should have an Identity, something that unites the members. This could be as simple as a group name and some heraldry or as complex as similar personas and matching armor. You and your friends like to fight alongside each other, but what identifies you as a "unit"? 3. Find a role- Each member should have a natural role in that group, help them find it. Don't ever force someone to fight in a style that they don't want to. Never force a spearman to be in the shield wall or an archer to charge a castle door. This is supposed to be fun, your fighters will have fun, win or lose, if they are fulfilling their chosen role. Members can also find a role in the group besides fighting. Who is your armorer, web-master, campmaster, bard or goon? Be sure to also recognize contributions, consider having a group award or two. 4. Camaraderie- Do things together as a group. Have a war practice, build armor, camp as a group, have a feast, go to the movies. Sometimes the best part of an event is the road trip with the guys. It doesn't matter what you do, just do it as a group, be unified. 5. Pick a leader- Each group needs a leader, someone to inspire and organize them. It is very important to empower a person to represent you and to know what the "plan" is. Your leader may change over time or you may incorporate sub leaders, but you need one person at the top and in charge. Where does the buck stop? The importance of a team or war band is not just coming together and kicking ass on the war field, it's to create a shared experience that will enrich your SCA hobby. It's about speaking the praises of your comrades around the campfire after a hard day of fighting and the joy of hearing your name mentioned in return. But be sure to practice, because kicking ass is fun too. If you don't belong to unit, we would like to see you join one for the weekend or form a temporary unit with other "singles" at the event. If your unit is attending, please consider hosting a single fighter as an "exchange student" for the weekend to show them a good team experience. Ideal team size for this event is 5-10 fighters. If your group is larger than 10 consider splitting your group into two units. There will be a series of optional group activities and competitions at this year’s Art of War to highlight the importance of the above principles and to work on your team building. For groups that compete in these activities there will be prizes for the top three teams. These competitions shouldn't interfere with the fighting during the day and will hopefully enhance your teamwork. Points will be awarded to the winners of the following group The winning team gets first choice of the three prizes: |
| Earl Edward Ean Anderson Has been in the SCA for 30 Year and fighting the entire time. He was knighted in An Tir 1984 and become king of CAID in 1986. He has been 1st a trooper in the An Tir army under the leadership of Sir Garon and fought in many wars before moving to Caid. In Caid he worked and built a brigade of 150 fighters and lead them into battleat many Estrila wars and many of the kingdom wars for 5 years. After returning to An Tir he has lead the unit Havoc and was the commander the Rivers Brigade. He has attended all the Arts Of war and has been a instructor at the last 2. He has studied historical battles, and in his mundane life was a United States Marine Sergeant serving two tours in Vietnam. |
He will be teaching the introduction to Art of War. This will cover what to expect and how to get the most out of all you are being shown and taught at this event. Earl Edward will also be the field instructor for most of the field scenarios.He believes that each scenario should have a short debrief, and that everyone should get a chance to lead. Additionally, Earl Edward will be teaching "The Shape of Battles and the Geometry of War". |
| Viscount Ambrose, KSCA Arrived in An tir in the summer of AS XVI, a penniless refugee from the wars in Byzantium and the Balkans. With no other honorable course available to him, he took up the profession of arms, and has since had some small success as a social climber. |
"Strength and Flexibilty for the Long-Term Fighter": Exercises and stretching routines that will extend your fighting career. Students should wear loose clothing and be able to remove their shoes. "The Art of Evasion: deep flanking attacks in history and their relevance to SCA combat." A presentation on the campaigns of Epaminondas, Sherman and Patton followed by group discussion of the lessons that we can learn from them. Sharpen your wits, folks: I expect to learn as much or more from this class as you do from me. |
| Arion the Wanderer Arion almost went to Pennsic in AS 14, but that’s story for another time. He actually started playing in AS 30, lurking in the dark, hanging with the bards. Foolishly being awake during the day at one event several years later, he discovered the archery range. It was downhill from there. His vow to “not get involved in the politics” slowly gave way becoming Dragons Laire’s Thrown Weapons Champion, stepping up as their Thrown Weapons Officer, and then Kingdom Thrown Weapons Officer. He is currently the Keeper of the Thrown Weapons Interkingdom Competition, Secretary of the Order of the Gray Goose Shaft, Minister of the Moneyers Guild of An Tir, and An Tir’s Royal Archer. Arion will be elevated into the Order of the Laurel at June Faire this year. |
Archery and Thrown Weapons Activities In combat, Arion fights with throwing maces or the bow, depending on the scenario. Over the years, he has noticed that combat archers are a solitary lot, tending to be mostly annoying, rather than having a real effect on the outcome of a scenario. In the classroom, Arion will give an introduction to missile combat and discuss strategies for how archers and thrown weapons combatants can work as a unit to poke large holes in shield walls for our bonny, brave warriors to punch through to wreck havoc amongst the foe men. We will put this into practice in the war field exercises. Throwing mace construction class: (1) 12”+ x 1 ¼” piece of rattan (minimum size) |
| Sir Duncan MacKinnon has been fighting in wars for 11 years with Clan Carn. He is the commander of Clan Carn's fast lance and has done so for 5 years. He has been on 7 teams that have won 5-man tournaments. He has taught classes with Clan Carn at previous Art of Wars. He was knighted at July Coronation last year. | He will be teaching classes on flanking and commanding a flank. Topics will include fighting together as a unit, completing objectives, defeating cowboys, controlling space, and strategies for effectively using range. The classes will also including drills to practice these concepts and a unit competition |
| Sir Caieth of Umber first took the field of War at Estrella IV as a wide eyed newbie. A year later he returned with 14 fighters under his command in a newly formed unit, Corvus, which would take its place in the annals of elite units of the Army of Caid. He has recently formed and commanded the Tribe Arktos Lochoi of the Spartan Mora. A disciple of Count Balin of Tor, Caieth has been involved in the formation and command of warbands, brigades and army level command for over 25 years. He has instructed at the Caid Army War College and all three previous Art of War events in An Tir." |
The Nine Principles of War and More: A discussion and breakdown of what makes good commanders good based on proven principles from the US Army War College. A practicum and audience participation will follow.
The Calm Before the Storm: Prepping your fighters for the battlefield. It isn’t just stretching, it’s science! All the planning and training in the world does you no good if your soldiers drop out on you. We will take a look at how to get the most out of your fighters right before the lay on to the final hold is called. Intelligence Gathering from A to Z: The history of Intelligence, followed by its many layers and applications in SCA warfare. Certain to generate a lively discussion on the role of deception in War and whether “tactics are chivalrous”. You may also learn a dirty trick or two, if only to know when they are being used against you and guard against them. Welcome to the Wilderness of Mirrors. Command Staff and Their Functions: A practicum on unit command structure, ranging from a two man fire team to Army level command. The pros and cons of different command structures will be discussed from the standpoint of efficiency, recruiting and unit longevity. There will also be a review of the Army Charter as it stands today. |
| MORE CLASSES WILL POST SHORTLY! This is the information we have for you so far these are just some of the classes instructors have committed to. Watch the site for updates as we get closer to the event. Unit evacuations and tactical introductions Basic Pike Work Advance Pike and Unit Breaking Fighting Against and With the Pike Anti-cowboy Drills for Small and Large Units Building a Throwing Mace Army Staff and Their Function The Soul of Battle Principles of War There will be plenty of scenarios with archery included. next scenario. Other classes will be added as the instructors have them ready |