On the weekend, my name temporarily changes in its spelling, pronunciation, and meaning: “Levi Joseph Wonder” goes away for a while, replaced by “Ame Corthos,” the proud son of the late Bram and Elida Corthos.
On Sunday morning, after I rise to a morning sun gleaming through my cramped dorm room’s window, I don my traditional combat garb reminiscent of that worn by the forest warriors of the Eryndor realm. While striding towards the battlefields for combat practice, I wield my hand-and-a-half sword paired with my kite shield, instead of my school-regulation bookbag and MacBook. Finally, when my comrades-in-arms from The Warband, The Legacy of the Life Tree, The Imperial Guard, Senegal’s Finest and the other chapters of Eryndor all gather for combat practice, we engage in intense, frenzied, chaotic fighting.
Yes, this is Dagorhir: a bunch of people running around while dressed up in Lord of the Rings-esque clothing, whaling on each other with foam-padded melee weapons and yelling battle cries at their opponents. Of course, it’s much deeper than that; almost every aspect of Dagorhir is rife with endless possibilities for its wide-variety of eclectic warriors. From in-depth weapon craftsmanship, to specialized combat styles and fighting techniques, to garb and armor customization, and to its role-playing elements, there is indeed something for everyone who is involved with Dagorhir.
The average observer might disagree with such a philosophy involved with the organization, but Dagorhir’s apparent simplicity is surpassed by its sheer capacity for customization and experimentation with all of its different components.
As any member of Dagorhir will attest, combat can be quite brutal at times. In fact, such brutality (non-dangerous, of course!) comes in a number of different ways; considering the number of weapons we utilize in regular combat, there are a multitude of different “tools” with which one can “smite” an enemy in Dagorhir.
Spears, pikes, shortswords, longswords, greatswords, katanas, scimitars, daggers, clubs, maces and even the humble “rocks” laying about the battlefield are all implements of battle used by the warriors of Dagorhir.
Used in conjunction with the weaponry, leather armor, banded mail, battle helms, gauntlets, tower shields, bucklers and sturdy boots serve their protective purposes to Dagorhir’s warriors.
However strict rules mandate that all weaponry and shields to be used in combat be adequately padded with sufficient amounts of protective shock-absorbing foam, and that no metal elements be used in the construction of weapons. Safety is one of the most important criteria to which all must comply. In fact, it is the most important criterion of Dagorhir. Safety, playability and realism are three rules that are imperative to Dagorhir as a whole, with safety ranking first and foremost.
That being said, realism still plays a huge factor; as far as the possibilities for “dying” go, the sky is quite literally the limit. A bludgeoning blow to the chest from the business end of a flail, being “stabbed” in the abdominals with a jab from a two-handed spear, getting clubbed from behind by a” well, a club, and a finishing strike from a close-quarters dagger thrust are only four of the oh-so-many ways to be “smitten” in combat. As I will substantiate, there are so many more ways to “die” that my mind hurts at the thought. Come to think of it, my body hurts as well (Dagorhir combat is not without its injuries”). After the insanity that defined the recent Saturday practice at the University of Toledo, I can proudly say I tumbled down to the ground in a gloriously clumsy fashion approximately 10 or 15 times; I was “killed” many more times than that, even (I’m a novice with Dagorhir).
Although the possibility for injuries beyond shin splints, muscle strains and other athletic injuries is negated by the foam padding on weapons, combat can still be very painful. Hobbling around on one’s knees (after being “wounded”) to get at an enemy is very tiring and taxing, and being knocked over from a well-placed shield kick from an opponent gets to hurting after the fourth or fifth time.
But it’s fun. It’s unbelievably fun.
The adrenaline rush from leading one’s compatriots into battle with a furious shield run accompanied by battle cries and shouts of fury cannot be simulated anywhere else. It’s unique, it’s exhaustive, it’s downright crazy, it’s athletic, it’s safe and it’s fun.
It’s ridiculously fun.
So the next time you see these mighty warriors clashing in full-on melee combat, don’t be so quick to judge. In fact, come and watch us fight, or even try it out for yourselves. It is a sport, after all: a sport with foam swords, medieval clothing and battle cries!
