May 29 2007
Melee Time
“They’re down there with swords and shields having battles! It’s great!” said Z, between labored breaths. He had run much of the way home.
“Are they still doing it right now?” I asked.
“Yeah!” Z said.
“Well, let’s go,” I said.
I grabbed my keys and my two camera bags and headed out to the car. Z, his brother, and two of their cousins bounded down the front porch stairs behind me and squished across the soggy lawn. Packed like sardines into the in-laws’ Hyundai Elantra, we made our way the few blocks to the park.
I had never seen anything like it.
(click to enlarge)
The pirate on the right, reportedly an extra in Pirates of the Caribbean 2: Dead Man’s Chest, certainly tended to survive longer than other participants.
There were 30 or 40 people on the battlefield at any given time. Unlike in the movies, often a pair of opponents circled a few times, sizing each other up and thinking of the best angle of attack. Much of that could have to do with the rule stating no blows to the face, head, or groin. Unlike a real battle, when anyone is hit in one of those areas, he or she yells, “Hold!” for a period of recuperation. Similar to a yellow flag on a race track, this call signals for all participants to pause the competition.
Some wore blue jeans and a t-shirt with chain mail draped over it, while others lumbered around in fully body armor. Leather abounded.
The group meets in that Tulsa park every Saturday, rain or shine or snow, to practice its skills in various martial arts. Several competitions are held each year to see who’s best at fighting with a weapon in one hand, in each hand, and without a weapon at all.
At least three times members approached us inviting us to take part. “First time’s free, and then it’s only $10 a year,” they repeated.
We all declined, but Z is interested and may join them this weekend.
Called Melee, it was founded in 1982 by a group of Tulsa teenagers into role playing games, and maintains a web presence (click Melee Capital once there to avoid the many broken links on the main page). Therein lies the explanation for why their costumes are from a wide range of eras, among other facts.
In a pavilion adjacent to Melee’s battlefield, Broken Arrow’s class of 1987 reunion brought folks together for ostensibly a different reason. Nobody carried any weapons, but there undoubtedly was a fair amount of sizing up the opposition and capitalizing on weaknesses. None of them came out to take up weapons, but their children enjoyed a few of the battle’s engagements.
During a lull in the battle I threatened to yell, “But they cannot take our freedom!” in my best impression of Mel Gibson doing his best impression of William Wallace.
When I’m ready to do more than make idle threats, I might just take up a padded sword and kick some serious Melee ass. Because, in Wallace’s own words (or a screenwriter’s approximation thereof), “Every man dies. Not every man truly lives.”
*LOL* I can just picture you yelling that!!!
Sounds like a great time…. glad you had fun.
I was rooting for the red-headed lefty with the big toboggan for a shield as soon as I saw the first picture.
I would soooo love to give that a try. I’d be all like, “Hey guys! Can I come play with my lightsabre?”
Dave - It was fun to watch. The teens with me would never have let me live down yelling out the Braveheart line.
Simon - The shield she used was from the team called the Spartans (she had it upside-down; it’s not supposed to make a “V”). There is much I didn’t divulge here, as I figured anybody who really wanted to geek out on it could click the link.
However, I did slight my account when I left out the loud thwack and thump emitted each time a weapon hit a shield. They were hitting hard. Padded weapons or not, I could tell it stung a little.
While I don’t have the costuming that makes these shots so cool…I’m proud to say that i have a hidden stash of padded swords of various lengths in my basement. Now, you can get very clever on making your weapons look cool. But all it really takes is some PVC conduit, some foam plumbing insulation and duck tape. Cheap fun! And a good workout, too.
If ever we find ourselves in the same city…we’ll have to make a point to whomp on each other with padded sowrds for a while.
MG - I haven’t whomped on anybody with anything in quite a while. I guess since the days of pillow fights which, and you can ask my brother about this, almost always ended in tragedy for me.
But, I’m game.
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Thanks and peace!
Mimi
It was quite entertaining to watch, but I don’t think I’d join in anytime. I would, however, love to go back and watch. I think it’s wonderful people get together every Saturday and do this. It’s good for the soul (just kidding.. kind of). I hope Z does end up joining. I’d go and cheer him on. Yeah! That’s what I can be: their cheerleader. I know you can picture me doing that… yeah, right.
Steph - are you gonna get one of those cute little pleated cheerleader skirts??? Ha! No, I can’t quite picture that!
Mimi - We’ll see what I decide after I’ve looked it over. Thanks for the heads-up.
Steph and Shan - You gals are going to have to stop. I’m in stitches over here!
Every Saturday? Really? I can picture that now. “Honey, I can’t make it to our son’s soccer/baseball game, because it conflicts with my Pirate practice.”
“You don’t worry honey, because you never know when we’re going to need to fall back on that, hit the high seas, and plunder for a living.”
Charles - That’s a good one, Chuck.
But, the folks who talked to us said that there are enough members that not everybody shows up every time.
I should hope not, ‘cuz, um, get a life?
Y’know.. I do enjoy my plaid. Shannon, I think it’s time to go shopping. Where do you buy cheerleading outfits?
Wow, Mark. I’d say that had to have been unbelievably cool.
The rush you would get from actual participation, I would put under the heading “truly living.”
(Notice how I got that comma inside the quotation marks, Mark.)