The future for our foam fighters

Over the last year, American Boffer has had the pleasure of bringing foam fighting sports to a wonderful handful of families in the Treasure Valley. As we grow, we hope to continue showing the joy that can be found, the values developed, and the community that can come together around a new sport. While American Boffer’s nonprofit mission is to bring Boffer sports into the mainstream, we assure you - the fun does not stop at age 15.

American Boffer consists of members of the adult league of foam fighters that have experienced the games of Belegarth Medieval Combat Society and Amtgard. While the rule sets of each game are slightly different, most of the physical play combat is similar.

We are aiming to bring larger scale events, games, and classes for our young fighters and their families. We hope to have your support to help us achieve our mission, whether it is through future fundraising efforts, class registrations, or physical participation.

BMCS book of war: https://www.belegarth.com/rules

Practices can be found here: https://www.belegarth.com/realm-locator

Amtgard rules of play: https://www.amtgard.com/_files/ugd/a03769_74b7e38d8d6e4ab8a9b47b2f88937c36.pdf

Practices can be found here: https://www.amtgard.com/join

Stay bold,

American Boffer

The Oath of Fairplay

I pledge to honor the rules and play fairly.

I pledge to respect and treat others kindly, on and off the field.

I pledge to play with courage and face challenges bravely.

I pledge to practice discipline, stay focused, and give my best effort.

I pledge to show fortitude and remain strong through difficulties.

I commit to reflect on my behavior, grow, and uphold these virtues
for myself and the community.

The Oath of Fairplay is American Boffer’s standard of behavior. We aim to encourage participants’ growth in these virtues to create the best play environment possible. We believe that virtues can be taught through the arena of play, and that strong communities can grow from such lessons. Our hope is that as our young athletes grow in the sport they can carry the lessons of The Oath of Fairplay into their future behavior as adults.

If there is ever conflict between athletes, we will point to the Oath of Fairplay, for conflict resolution. By keeping our athletes, as well as ourselves, accountable to these principles - we can create a strong community to influence healthy behavior both on and off the field.

Let’s keep kids playing, learning, and growing!

Stay bold,
American Boffer

Boffer Sports: Belt Flags

Belt Flags are a piece of garb, or accessory, worn by those involved in the boffer sports community. In some ways, they can represent skill level or achievement in tournament settings, similar to the colored belts used in eastern martial arts. However, Belt Flags are not organized to denote such ranks - rather they can indicate placement in the results of a tournament typically be rewarded to the winners. Additionally, Belt Flags can also be representative of teams, realms, or even units that such individuals belong to. While Belt Flags are not a required piece of a uniform, many competitors enjoy flaunting their martial prowess and representing the groups they associate with. Belt Flags are typically worn on a belt around the waist of a competitor and are typically a source of pride and identification. 

American Boffer wishes to continue the boffer sports tradition of sporting such belt flags. In honor of that, we will be creating a series of free belt flags for any of our athlete’s first time appearances that will serve two primary purposes. The first purpose is to identify your child as a participant in the sport. With this in mind, we wish that parents provide their child with their own belt - which can be made of any fabric or material. The second purpose is to allow for the attachment of small buttons that we will be providing, to indicate each child’s appearance at any of our individual demonstrations. When you sign our waiver, your child will receive their own belt flag to be worn at future demonstrations and events.

In November, American Boffer will be partnering with the Meridian Library Foundation (1326 W Cherry Ln, Meridian, ID) to host a series of free monthly demonstrations so you and your child can experience the joy of boffer play. At each of these monthly demonstrations, we will be providing a unique button to place on your child’s belt flag - indicating their participation and creating a “collectible” experience. However, these buttons provide more than just a “collector’s” activity, they will act as a quest that comes with its own reward. When your child collects four unique buttons on their belt flag, they will earn a 10% discount on our birthday party service. Our birthday party service also comes with its own unique premier Belt Flag for the birthday boy or girl and an additional unique button for all participating attendees. As we promote boffer sports throughout the Treasure Valley, we hope to give your kids a fun experience collecting buttons as they grow in the world of boffer sports!

Every second Saturday from 2:30pm to 4:30pm at Meridian Library Foundation (1326 W Cherry Ln, Meridian, ID).

Our first series of demonstrations will take place

November 11th

December 9th

January 13th

February 10th

Etiquette, Safety and Respect

Like all forms of martial arts, there are observable behaviors of etiquette that indicate the various stages of Boffer matches. In Karate, opponents often bow towards one another as a sign of respect, indicating the start of a match or the end of a match. In Boffer sports, competitors often tap their opponent’s Boffer sword to indicate readiness for a match. When a Boffer match is finished, it is common to see opponents give each other a hug, a fist bump, or a high five. We find that these practices help to keep competitors in a healthy mind state before, during, and after a match.

In the middle of a match, sometimes a Boffer sword or shield is accidentally dropped. While there are no strict rules of etiquette that enforces an opponent from taking advantage of the moment, we strive to maintain the culture of play. Oftentimes, this shows up as an opponent taking a few steps back and dropping from their battle stance. Again, this isn’t a required action but it expresses the depth of character that a player possesses. Most importantly, showing that the players remember that this is a game. At the end of a match, players will acknowledge each other to show that any frustrations of the game are left behind on the field. 

Players, if seeing another player may have been hurt will loudly call “Hold”. “Hold” is a carefully guarded term in the community, and used in the case of an emergency. This “Hold” may be called at any point and is echoed by all other players when they hear it. Calling “Hold” and dropping to a knee until every player has done the same. This allows for coaches and referees to enter the field and assess if emergency care is required. Players will respectfully stay in position and minimize chatter, until coaches and referees call “Lay On” for the match to resume.

In the middle of a field game, when a player is considered “out of play” the common etiquette is to sit or lay down with a hand on top of the head. This indicates to other players that they are “out of play”. Often, referees will call for those who are “out of play” to exit the field, this allows for a safer play environment until the match is over.

While there are many small intricacies of behavior in this sport, our intention is to teach them so every player will be safe and employ respectful behavior. When the community, as a whole, adheres to these behaviors of etiquette - we create an environment of safety and respect for that safety.

Boffer Sports: A Training Field for Negotiation Skills

Schools are educational institutions that have become overly focused on academics while leaving out other aspects of development. Across the country, I am hearing more and more stories of kids losing recess time, getting reduced lunch times with no free play afterward, and decreasing investments in physical education.

I think we often mistake physical play as being designed for kids to “get active”, “mentally unload”, and “have social time”. While I believe that these above points are correct, I think we often underestimate the power of physical negotiation. Physical negotiation is not bullying, physical negotiation is the learned behaviors of compromise that enable a community to cooperate. According to a study from the University of Gothenburg, Sweden; young children’s negotiations during play vary, depending on whether the negotiations originate in agreement or disagreement. The environment of play enables the development of negotiation and cooperation amongst young cohorts. So much of young people’s playtime has turned towards video games; and while it is entertaining, it is often missing the elements of environmental flexibility that requires negotiation skills. 

American Boffer wants to bring a sport to the new generation to enable greater degrees of negotiation development that will provide the foundation of cooperation when they enter adulthood. From our experiences of providing this activity to children, we find that the 3 minute field games allow for strategic development, adaptability and negotiation. These result in high volumes of trial and error to develop these skills that become absolutely essential in independent adulthood.

We aren’t just looking to provide a sport for kids to be entertained, but we want to create an environment that helps develop growing youths to become functional members of society, to learn how to work in teams, and to enable leadership to blossom. If you’re interested in introducing your child to this sport, subscribe on our website to receive updates on our free demonstrations and equipment provided play time here in the treasure valley.

How Boffer Sports Teach Honesty

Do your kids know what honesty means? Do your kids practice it?

I’m sure that most parents have taught their kids the meaning of the word honesty. Maybe they have an expectation that their kids are honest with them most of the time, usually when stakes are pretty low. However, without the repetition of practicing honesty - it is usually more a concept than it is an embedded characteristic. Boffer sports are unique in that it is an almost entirely honor based sport. When contact is made from an opponent, it is up to the individual player to “make the call” on whether or not that contact was made.

This can certainly cause problems where dishonesty would allow for players to stay on the field, but as this kind of behavior becomes associated with the player, fewer people will want to continue playing with them. In this sense, only honest players continue to have people playing with them - while “cheaters” typically become shunned. This environmental accountability creates an environment where honesty is constantly tested, practiced and evaluated by members of the community.

Boffer sports provide more than just physical activity, but an environment which allows one to develop virtues. Honesty, as important as it is, is only one of many virtues. Our Oath of Fairplay is created with the intention of teaching many more of these virtues. We aren’t just looking to create foam warriors, but principled individuals that will succeed both on and off the field.

Health is our guide

Health is important. Health has been my  guiding light throughout my career and life. However, I’ve noticed that the big question that goes unanswered is: What does it mean to be healthy?

We can measure heart rate, blood pressure, emotional state, etc - but these are all just measures. What does it look like when all the known and unknown measurables are optimized in a person or community? It looks like wellness.

Wellness is described as having 8 dimensions

• Emotional - Coping effectively with life and creating satisfying relationships

• Physical - Recognizing the need for physical activity, health foods, and sleep

• Occupational - Personal satisfaction and enrichment from one’s work and hobbies

• Social - Developing a sense of connection, belonging, and a well-developed support system

• Spiritual - Expanding a sense of purpose and meaning in life

• Intellectual - Recognizing creative abilities and finding ways to expand knowledge and skills

• Environmental - Good health by occupying pleasant, stimulating environments

• Financial - Satisfaction with current and future financial situations

Aiming for health is difficult without the right goals, over time - we hope to show you how American Boffer is aiming to change the landscape of health so more people can get to their goals.

Letter to the Parents of the Treasure Valley

My name is Stephen Chan, President of the American Boffer Association, and I’m so excited to share Boffer sports with the youth of the Treasure Valley. As a lifelong athlete, I’ve been working in the health and wellness field as a personal fitness trainer since 2012 and have had the pleasure of helping individuals improve their physical fitness and overall health. One of the experiences that I will always remember was working with children in a family chiropractic office. I was told these children all had non-congenital scoliosis, and I watched as the physical activity strengthened these kids and improved their posture, energy and attitudes. When I understood the effect of a sedentary lifestyle on these kids, I knew this was a problem that needed to be tackled.

My goal with the American Boffer Association is to bring a new physical activity that allows for safe contact without compromising the fun. I grew up playing countless hours of videogames, and getting into Boffer sports helped to pull me away from all the screen time. I hope that I can do the same for kids and reduce the amount of screen time in exchange for some great physical exercise and social development.

As a personal trainer, I’ve had the fortune to run a few kids camps which were centered around Boffer sports and the most common question I was asked was “When is the next class?”.

Well, Parents of the Treasure Valley, March 2nd, 2023.