RulesOfTheLists

RULES OF THE LISTS
AND
CONVENTIONS OF COMBAT

RULES OF THE LISTS

1. Each fighter, recognizing the possibilities of physical injury to themselves in SCA combat, will assume unto themselves all risk and liability for harm suffered by means of such combat. Other participants will likewise recognize the risks involved in their presence on or near the field of combat, and will assume unto themselves the liabilities thereof.

2. No person will participate in Combat-Related Activities (including armored combat, period fencing, combat archery, marshaling, scouting, and banner bearing in combat) unless and until he or she has been properly authorized under SCA and kingdom procedures, and has signed the appropriate waiver. In a witness whereof, the participant will have, and be prepared to present, a valid Authorization Card to the Sovereign or his/her representative.

3. All combatants must be presented to, and be acceptable to, the Sovereign or his/her representative.

4. All combatants will adhere to the appropriate Armor and Weapons Standards of the SCA, and to any additional standards of the Kingdom in which the event takes place. The Sovereign may waive the additional Kingdom standards.

5. The Sovereign or the Marshallate may bar any weapon or armor from use upon the field of combat. If a warranted marshal should bar any weapon or armor, an appeal may be made to the Sovereign, or the Kingdom Earl Marshal, to allow the weapon or armor.

6. Combatants will behave in a knightly and chivalrous manner at all times.

7. No one will be required to participate. Any combatant may, without dishonor or penalty, reject any challenge without specifying a reason. A fight in a tournament list is not to be considered a challenge, and therefore may not be declined or rejected without forfeiting the bout.

8. Fighting with real weapons, whether fast or slow, is strictly forbidden at any Society event. This rule does not consider approved weaponry (which meets the Society standards for traditional Society combat and/or Society period rapier combat) when used in the context of mutual sport, to be real weaponry.

9. No projectile weapon will be allowed and no weapons will be thrown within the Lists of a tournament. The use of approved projectile weapons (see section 6) for melees or wars will conform to the appropriate Society and Kingdom Conventions of Combat

CONVENTIONS OF COMBAT

The following will apply to all SCA Combat Activities

INTRODUCTION

No one under the age of eighteen years will be allowed to be a participant in any SCA Combat Related Activity . All SCA Combat Activity will be conducted in accordance with the RULES OF THE LISTS of the SCA and these CONVENTIONS OF COMBAT, using the EQUIPMENT STANDARDS established by the Marshallate of the SCA with Society approved additions and modifications by each Kingdom.. Any additions or modifications upon the SCA CONVENTIONS OF COMBAT or EQUIPMENT STANDARDS are designed to strengthen those CONVENTIONS and STANDARDS and will in no way diminish or weaken such SCA CONVENTIONS and STANDARDS.

PART I - GENERAL INFORMATION

A. In all matters dealing with Combat, the Crown's representative is the Earl Marshal and, by delegation, members of the Kingdom Marshallate.

1. There will be at least two marshals upon the Field to conduct the Combat during any List.

2. One Marshal upon the Field will be designated as the Controlling Marshal. All other Marshals will be Assisting Marshals.

3. Additional Assisting Marshals will be appointed as necessary.

B. Armor and Weapons Inspection:

1. All Combatants, prior to Combat at each and every Society event, will insure that their equipment is inspected by an Authorized member of the Marshallate.

2. Even though an Authorized Marshal has inspected the equipment used by a Combatant, each Combatant will accept full responsibility for the condition of his or her own equipment, and has the obligation to themselves, and all other participants to see that their equipment meets all SCA and Kingdom requirements.

C. No real weapon will be allowed upon the Field at any time during Combat. This includes metal or nonmetal edged weapons or firearms.

D. At no time shall Armored Combat and Rapier Combat be conducted on the same field at the same time.

PART II - BEHAVIOR ON THE FIELD

A. All combatants will obey all applicable Rules and Regulations as well as the commands of the Marshal(s) on the Field, or will be removed from the Field. If removed from the field, said combatant may be subject to further disciplinary action.

1. There will be NO disagreements with a Marshal on the Field of Combat.

B. No Combat will commence upon the Field until the Controlling Marshal is satisfied that Combat may safely begin and has received a verbal confirmation from the involved Combatants and Marshal(s) to signify that they are also ready for Combat to begin. At the command of the Controlling Marshal, Combat may commence. The command of "LAY ON" is typically used, but other commands may be used as long as they involve no uncertain terms or utterances.

C. Upon heating the command of "HOLD", all Combat will immediately cease.

1. No other terms or commands will be substituted for the HOLD command.

2. Any Participant involved in the Combat Activity may call HOLD for just cause.

3. Any Participant involved in the Combat Activity who has called a HOLD will be required to explain his/her reason for doing so upon request of the Marshal(s).

4. Any Participant involved in the Combat Activity who repeatedly calls HOLD, without just cause, may be removed from the Field and/or subject to further disciplinary action.

FOR MELEE'S AND WARS

1. Should a HOLD be called during a melee or war, all Combatants should kneel in their current positions and not move unless instructed to do so by a Marshal.

2. A non-aggressive posture should be assumed with all weapons, by all combatants, during a HOLD.

3. Once a HOLD has been called, there will be NO discussion of strategy among fighters.

4. When Combat is to be resumed after a HOLD, all fighters will be instructed to "Rise in place" and a command of "Lay-On" will resume Combat.

D. Each Combatant shall maintain control over his/her temper at all times!

E. Purposefully striking any prohibited target (I.E. hands, knees, lower legs) is strictly forbidden. Any Combatant intentionally or repeatedly striking prohibited targets may be removed from the field and/or subject to further disciplinary actions.

F. Any behavior that takes deliberate advantage of an opponent's chivalry or safety-consciousness, or that takes deliberate unfair advantage of an opponent, is prohibited.

1. Such infractions may include, but are not limited to. the following:

a. Corkscrewing a grounded opponent

b. Striking from behind

c. Striking a "helpless" opponent

d. Intentionally becoming "helpless" by repeatedly dropping weapons, falling down, purposefully ignoring valid attempts to gain a combatants attention, etc.

e. Grappling with, or kicking, an opponent's equipment or person

f. Intentionally moving an illegal target into the path of a blow.

g. Striking with excessive force

h. Expecting to be struck with what would be considered excessive force before acknowledging a blow.

i. Using any weapon, or other piece of equipment, in a manner that is inconsistent with its design or in an otherwise prohibited manner.

2. The responsibility for warning an offending Combatant falls upon the Marshal(s) and not upon the offending Combatant's opponent. However, a Combatant may request that the Marshals warn his/her opponent about such infractions.

3. An offending Combatant may, after having been duly warned about such infractions, be removed from the Field by the Marshal(s) upon the next occurrence and may be subject to further disciplinary action. The offending Combatant's opponent may request that the Combat be allowed to continue but the decision to continue or not belongs to the Marshallate.

G. Any combatant who cannot maintain control over his/her temper or physical actions on the field may, after review by the Kingdom Earl Marshal's office, be placed on probation or suspension as follows:

1. First offense: six months' probation

2. Second offense: 12 months' probation

3. Third offense: One year suspension of authorization

4. Fourth offense: Punishment to be determined by a Court of Chivalry

A Combatant who is on probation may not compete in any Kingdom Level fighting event during that probation (i.e. Kingdom Warlord, Crown Tournament, Queen's Champion or any other special events designated by the Crown.)

FOR ARMORED COMBAT
(heavy weapons)

I. THE USE OF WEAPONS AND SHIELDS

A. Standard Weapons and Shields:

1. All weapons and shields will be used in accordance with their design (i.e. spears may only be used for thrusting, swords may be used only for striking unless equipped with an approved thrusting tip, etc.). A Combatant may use such a weapon to defend and block blows.

2. Only weapons approved for thrusting may be used for that purpose. Feinting as if to thrust with a weapon not approved for that purpose is NOT permitted. Before any Single Combat bout where a thrusting weapon is to be used, the opponent and Field Marshals will be informed that such a weapon is on the Field and the thrusting tip will be shown to the opponent upon request.

3. Shield hooks built on "thrust only" spears will not be used against an opponent's person. They may be used only for the hooking of shields or to immobilize/parry other weapons.

4. The striking surface of a weapon may not be grasped at any time nor may it be trapped in contact with the Combatant's body as means of preventing the opponent's use of the weapon or to impede a blow. Inadvertently bringing the hands in contact with the striking surface of a weapon will not be considered a violation of this convention.

5. Blows repeatedly blocked by a weapon in contact with a Combatant's helm, body or shield at the moment of impact may, at the Sovereign's discretion, be considered to have been broken. This may force a Combatant to yield the bout, unless a secondary weapon is carried or the opponent chooses to allow the Combatant to re-arm with another weapon. If the weapon being struck is a secondary weapon, passively attached to the Combatant, that weapon will be considered to have been broken at the first occurrence and will be removed from the field.

6. A shield or buckler may be used to displace, deflect or immobilize an opponent's shield, buckler, or weapon, so long as such use does not endanger the safety of the Combatants. Deliberately striking an opponent with a shield or buckler is forbidden, unless that shield or buckler is designed to be used as a weapon. A shield or buckler designed to be used as a weapon will be considered a non-standard weapon, and will be subject to special approval requirements.

B. Non-Standard Weapons:

1. All non-standard weapons must be approved by the Sovereign and/or the Earl Marshal.

2. Before any Single Combat bout where a non-standard weapon is to be used, the opponent and Marshals will be informed that such a weapon is on the Field and the weapon will be shown to the opponent and explained upon request.

3. Any opponent may refuse to face any non-standard weapon and may request that the Combatant re-arm with an acceptable weapon. (Note that a Combatant may not refuse to face any standard weapon that has been approved.) If at all possible, weapons should be discussed and agreed upon by the Combatants prior to taking the Field for Combat.

4. Single Combat bouts where the opponent and Marshals were not informed about the presence of such a nonstandard weapon may be re-fought if the opponent was directly defeated by the non-standard weapon and chooses to protest.

5. Under no circumstances may a non-standard weapon be approved for use in large melees or war situations. This is due to the fact that approval from all possible opponents of the weapon cannot property be obtained.

II. ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF BLOWS
("Blow Calling")

A. In judging the effect of blows, all Combatants are presumed to be Fully Armored (see definition). Special Tournaments or Combats may be held which may re-define what areas of the body are considered to be armored, and to what extent, so long as all the Participants are made aware of the special conditions prior to the start of the Combat.

B. A blow, delivered to a legal target with effective technique for the particular type of weapon used, that strikes property oriented (with the assumed lethal area of the weapon) and with sufficient force to negate the presumed protection, will be considered a valid blow. Such a valid blow will be acknowledged by the Combatant so struck.

1. A valid blow to the head, neck or torso will be judged to have been fatal or totally disabling, thus rendering the Combatant incapable of further Combat.

2. A valid blow from an axe, mace, pole-arm, great sword, or other such mass weapon, which lands on the hip above the hip socket, or strikes the shoulder inside of the shoulder socket, will be judged to have been fatal or totally disabling. Mass weapons do not glance or skip.

3. A valid blow to the arm, one inch or more above the wrist, will be judged to have incapacitated that arm. The wounded arm will then be considered useless to the Combatant, and may not be used for either offense or defense.

4. A valid blow to the leg, two inches or more above the kneecap, will be judged to have incapacitated that leg. Such a wounded Combatant will then fight from their knees and be considered grounded.

5. A blow struck directly, using moderate force, to the face or visor area will be considered a valid blow. A moderate blow is to be considered a blow struck with sufficient force as to move the head.

C. All Combatants are expected to take into account the nature of the weapons being used by their opponent(s) and the location of the point of impact of those weapons when judging the validity of any blows delivered. Combatants are also expected to take into account the timing of the blow and the collision of the weapon with any object other than the Combatant's presumed protection.

1. The fact that a blow struck a shield or another weapon before striking the Combatant may be a reason why the blow was not valid. However, a blow which strikes a legal target with sufficient force and proper weapon orientation will be considered valid regardless of what it hit prior to striking the Combatant.

2. Sometimes a valid blow which would normally be acknowledged occurs at almost the same moment as an event which would have caused the Combat to be stopped (i.e. a HOLD). If the blow was begun prior to the occurrence of the event which would have caused the Combat to be halted, it will be deemed a valid blow and therefore acknowledged. If the blow was begun after the occurrence of the event, it will be deemed an illegal strike and therefore need not be acknowledged.

3. A blow that includes the dropping of the weapon before or at the same instant as, the impact need not be acknowledged. However, dropping of the weapon after the impact has been delivered will not be cause to ignore the blow.

FOR RAPIER COMBAT

I. THE USE OF WEAPONS, BUCKLERS AND CLOAKS.

Use all weapons, (buckler, cloaks, daggers, rapiers, etc.) In the manner in which they were designed to be used as tempered by these rules and safety requirements.

A. Rapiers and daggers:

1. When used offensively, the rapier may be used for thrusting and cutting. The dagger may be used for thrusting, but may only be used for draw cuts if both combatants agree to them prior to the bout.

2. When used defensively, both can be used to defend or block blows ("parry") as long as such a parry does not involve the delivery of an Illegal Strike by the weapon upon the opponent.

3. Rapiers and daggers must never be used to whip, slap or chop at an opponent. Specifically, draw cuts delivered with a rapier must be placed against the opponent. Slapping an opponent in order to bring the blade into contact with the opponent can result in a verbal warning from the field marshal.

4. They must never be grasped, grabbed, or enveloped (cloaks, obviously, are intended to do just this and in their case, envelopment of the blade is allowed.) in such a way that prevents an opponents use of the weapon or impedes a blow. Nor should the rapier be trapped against the Combatant's (hereafter also referred to as the fighter) body in an attempt to immobilize it or otherwise prevent it from being used.

5. They must never be used to attack your opponent with any part except the blade itself (i.e. "bell punches" are not legal).

6. It is important to remember that we strive to recreate an ancient form of combat rather than create a modified form of the sport of fencing. Thus we must remember the characteristics of the weapons being used are not the same as those that they simulate. Where possible, assess results in the light of what a real weapon would do instead of the way that the blunt, flexible foil or epee blade reacted. Real blades do not skip when they make contact.

B. Cloaks and bucklers.

1. Cloaks and bucklers may be used to displace or deflect an opponent's weapon, so long as the action does not endanger the safety of the combatants.

2. Bucklers are NOT to be used to strike an opponent in any manner.

3. Whipping an opponent with the cloak or throwing the cloak onto the opponents head is also forbidden. (Fine point: Throwing the cloak at the opponents head is legal, landing it there is not.)

II. ACKNOWLEDGMENT OR "CALLING" OF BLOWS:

A. The entire body is a valid target for the purpose of blow calling. (However, restrictions described in the Glossary under Helpless Opponent, Illegal Strike, Illegal Target and Striking from Behind must be applied). All combatants are presumed to be wearing only a shirt, shoes, and hose or a skirt during combat. No combatant is considered endowed with any more armor protection than that which these garments would render. Neither armor worn during the bout nor any other item worn by the combatant negates a valid blow. (Combatants may be asked to remove any items such as belt pouches, etc. if such items impair the combatant's ability to properly judge the validity of blows).

B. A blow, delivered to a legal target by means of a valid thrust or draw cut, using proper technique for the particular weapon used, is considered a valid blow by the combatant so struck and must be acknowledged.

1. A valid blow delivered by a thrust to the head, neck, or torso is considered fatal or totally disabling. The combatant so struck is incapable of further combat and the fight terminates at that point. Any thrusts or draw cuts in motion at the time of the delivery of the fight terminating blow will count if they strike. Those initiated afterwards will not count as valid blows.

2. A valid blow delivered by a draw cut to any part of the neck, brachial artery (the inside of the arm between the armpit and elbow), femoral artery (the inside of the leg between the groin and knee), or abdomen (between the ribs and hips), is considered fatal or totally disabling, thus rendering the combatant incapable of further combat.

3. A valid blow delivered by thrust or draw cut to an arm, leg, hand, foot, finger or toe, other than a blow that would be considered fatal or totally disabling as described above, is considered to have totally incapacitated that extremity.

a. A combatant receiving such a valid blow to the leg or foot will be considered grounded. By definition a grounded opponent cannot move from the spot in which he selects to place himself before continuing combat (i.e. no lateral movement upon the ground that results in movement away from the initial position is allowed). A grounded fighter must decide if he will fight from a sitting or kneeling position. Once that decision has been made, the fighter can no longer move his body below the waist.

b. A combatant receiving such a valid blow to the arm loses all use of that arm and it's hand.

c. A combatant receiving such a valid blow only to the hand loses use of the hand but can still use the arm for parrying.

C. Combatants are also expected to take into account the timing of all valid blows. Blows initiated after the delivery of a fight terminating wound onto the attacker or after a hold is called are not valid. A blow that includes the dropping of the attacking weapon before, or at the same instant as, the impact (i.e., the weapon was thrown) need not be acknowledged. However, dropping of the weapon after the impact has been delivered will not be cause to ignore the blow if such would have otherwise been considered a valid blow.