Issue date: 3/31/06 Section: News

Media Credit: Ethan Moore To what strange and distant land have their battles traveled?

Mob warfare breaks out every Friday in the Pecan Grove, but no one at Hendrix seems to mind too much. By now, most all students are used to the Sword Club's weekly meetings of strikes and parries. In recent week, however, the student body has begun to take note of their eerie absence.

"I miss them," sophomore Sam Jackson said. "It brightens my day to see them out there."

Participation has been down because of midterms and homework, according to the club's president junior Ian Hill. However, he said, anyone willing to put up a good fight is welcome to come.

"It's one of those 'nerd' clubs, but we're really open to everyone," Hill said.

Adam Crawford, now a student at the University of Central Arkansas, started the Sword Club in 2000 as a much less intense version of live role-playing games like Amt Guard, where the players dress up in characters and can do things like cast spells. Sword Club keeps it simple and just sticks with swordplay without the medieval garb or extraneous spells, according to Hill.

Some of the original members could be fairly intense. Alumni Jessica Fisher '02 remembered her friend's first Sword Club experience.

"He came to dinner looking a little disheveled and obviously in a state of shock," she said. "He cried, 'They mean business, dude! I almost got [messed] up because if someone hits you on the arm you can't use it anymore. They kicked me out because I kept using my arm.'"

For a few games, they add more complex rules for competition. For example, they divide into two teams, the French and English, for the 100 Years War. The combat rules for any mode of play are pretty self-explanatory with a hit to a limb causing the loss of its use, Hill said.

The club also has a few rules about the length of what each type of sword can be, which determines if a secondary weapon is allowed. The weapons are made at occasional Sword Club workshops, and cost only around $5 to make. Swords can be customized to add curves like a traditional katana or different styles of hilts depending on the user, Hill said. In addition, the president keeps several communal swords for anyone to use.

In its first years, the group would play a game very similar to the 'Assassins' game that swept campus earlier this year. Each person was given a mark to kill, except instead of little 'termination' stickers, the assassin had to off their mark with their sword. In this version, the victim did not sit back idly waiting for death, but could go return the fight to their would-be executioner. Hill said that he is considering trying to get a game of Assassins going this year, but still needs to work out some details.

Like most other campus clubs, Sword Club, in its essence, is a way for people to commune.

"I'm interested in fighting and medieval weaponry, but it's mostly just for the fun. I probably wouldn't do it if most of my friends weren't in it," junior Jasmine Mitchell said, a regular participant. "Sword Club is one of those typical Hendrix things. It's weird enough that it counts towards our atmosphere."

Page 1 of 1

Article Tools