Armor for Women
Introduction
I am Lady Yang SuGyong (or Stick Chick)- Squire to Syr Cedric of Thanet in the East Kingdom. As one of a growing number of serious female heavy weapons fighters in the SCA, I am often asked to demonstrate that women can and do fight in armor with the "big boys". Many times, a result of our exposure to the public is the discussion (and sometimes outright argument) of the difference of men fighting and women fighting. There are differences aplenty , but when it comes right down to it, if a woman was attacking you, would you try to tell her that she can't for whatever reason?
But before anyone can get out onto the battlefield, they need to pass inspection of the marshals. This means comfortable, protective, and light armor. For those who have never been in armor, the Society-wide regulations which have additional but varying pieces of armor depending on your kingdom, so please check.
Now when you look at this and visualize what is (more of what ISN'T) covered, you may wince to yourself (particularly if, like me, you come from a hard hitting shire). But these are only the required pieces of armor. Mostly, I'll only be covering the more difficult pieces to be found for women, namely the breastplate and the groin protection.
HAVE FUN! Don't be afraid to experiment with different armor types or different ideas. A great place to look is at the Swordmaiden page for Women Fighters. Feel free to write to me with any questions or concerns (or complaints!) This page is far from perfect, but I am hoping that it will be a good start to any fighters out there!
News and Updates
I've retired in 2007. I'm open to answering questions, but I'm not in armor anymore. I've fought and grown in the SCA for more than half my life, and my body's given out on me. I'm leaving the pages up as a free site on geocities rather than my paid site with no advertising or download limits. Bless you all.
The website that I made my hipbelt/c-belt from, http://polkawitch.com/main/little/Hipbelt.doc is down. So I replaced it with a working site from Swordmaiden for one that is similar. (http://swordmaiden.com/wp-content/uploads/cbelt.pdf) 12/29/2007
Added some more pictures, updated some small things. 11/29/2007
Ever wonder what an authorization fight is like? Well, I've decided to take some of the mystery out of it. Here it is.
Demer's Leather has decided to stop carrying the 10+ ounce leather. They've pointed me to another place, Thoroughbred Leather in Louisville Kentucky.
I get the occasional email from someone looking for armor that is for looks, not for heavy list. That's fine, so I've added this link to a guy in Pennsylvania that specializes in amazing Movie Armor. So for those of you checking out this site for Boris Vallejo-esque fantasy armor try Brute Force Leather.
I've amended a bit of the pattern directions. It seems that I assumed- and you know what that does- that people would know where the breastplate should end at the bottom. Unfortunately, though that sounds as though it would be easy, men and womens' bodies differ greatly in this respect.
Mens' waists are lower than womens' (see above armor requirement picture), and so their breastplates extend lower. A woman's breastplate should end at her bellybutton. If not, it will lead to an inability to bend properly or to extend their arms across their bodies properly.
I have been trying to make this website more easily navigable. When I first made it, one page was plenty to fit everything on it, but as I found more and better information and news and funnies, it has simply become too large and ungainly for one page. So, I have split it up in hopes that it will be more helpful to those who access it.
Breastplates and Body Armor
Pelvic Protection
Other Armor Pieces
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Email: lyanna96@yahoo.com