Combat con matters

Community. If there was one thing I could say that Combat Con, maybe more than others is about its community.
Hema is very much about silos, you are a classical fencer OR an Olympic fencer, a German longsword practitioner or an Italian, (or pan European but lean one way or the other) If, for a moment I could put my finger on what the soul of the event is about it would be about breaking down those silos. Combat Con at its core is about working towards a community that while they so not always play well together, recognize and see each other as the equals we really are.
This weekend is not over, and my official review will not be posted for days, but here is what I know. This weekend our class had 4 people attending, a 5th who was once among our members, and a 6th who is from a sister club of ours. In that number I always felt as though all of them were, "my guys". We shared rooms, meals, and I volunteered a few if them to help with the tournaments.
We has small numbers when compared to other schools but I never felt alone. I was corner coached by my friends from Kron (a different sword group), and on one occasion I stood with them. I made new friends, rekindled old friendships, got some free sparring in with some different people, and from time to time, coached others on ways to improve or do something. But it was not just me.
Leading up to it, I had help from people in the community who only wanted me to succeed. It is not us vs them, it is "let's make this better for everyone, so we all get better. " This weekend I was adopted by other schools, and I adopted others.
But what makes this event unique is the depth of techniques taught. If you want to learn more than just how to do your flavor of technique within the realm of these particular arts it is available. That is unique in a world of silos. The point is this, for this one weekend a year we come together across style and historical period, and offer a taste of each in one place, one community, outside the lines we get so tied in drawing.
This event matters because it helps us diversify. Nowhere else have I seen it all side by side under one literal roof even if we do not put ourselves there. This is an event with heart, and it has been my pleasure to be an attendee the last 2 years.