*as agreed by the meeting of combatants at the Sixth Australasian Mediaeval Conference at Cataract, NSW 1991, with amendments from Glenfield, NSW 1993, Brisbane, Queensland 1995, Geelong, Victoria 1997, Bacchus Marsh, Victoria 1999, Macksville, NSW 2001 and Porepunkah, Victoria 2003 for use at the biennial conference and other interclub events at the discretion of the host body. They evolved from the discussions started at the Macquarie Conference in 1983.
These rules have been superseded by the rules at http://www.oocities.org/legviiii/combat.htm.
Other versions of the rules are in the order of last use:
An alternate set of rules is used by the New Varangian Guard Incorporated at their events. The NVG combat rules can be found on http://www.nvg.org.au/.
An alternate set of rules is used by The Queensland Living History Federation Incorporated at their events. The QLHF combat rules are at http://www.oocities.org/Athens/Sparta/7135/guide.html.
The NAAMA Rules are used in New Zealand. The NAAMA combat rules are at http://www.medieval.co.nz/Naama/combatru.htm.
Schedule 1 - List of Restricting Acts by State
Addendum A - Guidelines for Projectile Weapons - NSW Rules
Addendum B - Guidelines for Projectile Weapons - Victorian Rules
a) Combat will be organised either by the combat sub-committee of the Conference Association or as displays by individual clubs. The former is referred to as "organised combat" and the latter as "display combat" for the purposes of these rules. "Non-organised combat" (impromptu combat organised by individuals or clubs) may also occur and is bound by the same rules as organised combat unless otherwise agreed by the marshals.
b) These Guidelines shall be applicable to all organised and non-organised combat and all combatant displays, and shall be construed subject to the Constitution and By-Laws.
c) In any place where these rules are found to be either insufficient or indistinct, common sense should prevail.
a) Organised combat shall be divided into two types: those with head blows and those without. An announcement will be made regarding the type of combat by the marshals, immediately prior to each combat.
b) Organised combat will occur only in defined areas. Each of these areas will be defined as a "field of combat".
c) A marshal's meeting shall be held with club training personnel prior to combat to clarify any rules in question. The marshal representing each group will then be responsible for answering the questions put forward by the group.
d) A marshal's area will be set aside so that non-organised combat can be reported to and cleared by the marshals. Non-organised combat will occur only with the approval of the marshals.
a) Only those safe in a weapon may employ that particular weapon in combat.
b) Weapons will be inspected by the marshals from the respective clubs before combat; all sharp edges, hooks, spikes and rust must be removed.
c) No sharp or pointed weapons are permitted on the field of combat.
d) No weapon of any type, such as maces and flails, banned under state legislation shown in Schedule 1, may be used in any capacity in any combat under the auspices of the Association unless a valid permit has been obtained and presented to the marshals for inspection.
e) No combatant will be admitted to the field of combat under the influence of alcohol and/or any other perception changing and/or performance enhancing drug or medication. Further, no alcohol or aforementioned drugs shall be taken prior to or during combat.
f) All combatants should have current tetanus and hepatitis immunity.
g) Any bleeding combatant must leave the field of combat immediately and not return until the wound is covered and the bleeding stopped.
h) No person may join a combat once that combat has commenced.
i) No person is required to give a reason for refusing to fight any other person.
j) At any point during combat, a combatant, marshal or any other participant may call:
"HOLD".
All combat will cease immediately and the combatants shall await instructions from the marshal.
a) Marshals will be nominated by each individual club from their most experienced members, and will be easily identified by a distinctive tabard and armbands. Their power will be:
b) There will be a minimum of four marshals for each organised combat.
c) All combatants will follow the instructions of any marshal. The marshals shall have complete control of all organised combats.
d) Each marshal shall carry a whistle. All combat will cease immediately the whistle is blown and the combatants shall await further instructions from the marshal.
e) All disputes in combat will be resolved by the marshal. Discussion on any decision will be left until after the combat.
f) Marshals are non-combatants and will not be touched or struck with any weapon.
a) Minimum protection of a helmet, gauntlets and period clothing or padding, equal to at least one layer of good wool plus a linen shirt must be worn during organised combat. Protection is left to the participants in display combat.
All combatants will be required to have all target areas covered by the above minimum protection. This excludes the lower leg as it is not a target area but does include the forearm and head. Shoes are also required.
b) There will be two categories of protection for non-display
combat:
Non-Armoured - Regarded as wearing no armour.
This category includes combatants wearing gambesons and similar padded armour. A non-armoured combatant shall accept all blows regardless of their potential force.
Armoured - Regarded as wearing mail.
This category includes combatants wearing mail, scale or lamellar. An armoured combatant may only accept blows to the body that have substantial potential force (ie. that are delivered with long sweeping strokes). An armoured combatant need not accept glancing, slicing or flicking blows.
For all other periods of combat, armour will be assumed to protect the wearer from harm exactly as it would in the period in which it was worn.
c) Protection for the chest and mouth is recommended for all warriors. Groin protection such as a cricket box for all combatants and rigid breast protection for female combatants is mandatory.
a) No blows are to be aimed at or below the knees, at the groin, head, spine, joints or hands, except where qualified below. No weapon may be used in a thrusting manner to the shaded areas on Figure 1.
b) All blows connecting with opponent must be fully under control and slowed in such a way that upon striking your opponent you will not injure them. Grappling is permitted only if blows are fully controlled.
c) A blow delivered to the crown of the head shall be deemed the only legal head blow. No stab or thrust may be delivered to this area. Spears and other stabbing weapons may not be used in this manner.
d) Any combatant that receives a "killing" blow shall immediately fall to the ground and shall not participate in further fighting for the duration of that combat. No "dead" or "dying" combatant may be struck with any weapon.
e) Any legitimate blow to a limb shall be deemed as incapacity or loss of the limb, depending on the type of weapon and type of blow. Combatants may continue to fight, but should avoid using the part that has been struck.
f) Loss of helmet due to poor design, breakage or deliberate removal counts as immediate "death".
Figure 1
Click on graphic for a larger view.
a) The maximum length for a spear used in combat will be 2.7 metres.
b) All weapons with metal edges shall meet the following requirements:
| When in: | Governing Act |
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New South Wales
The Weapons Prohibition act is reviewed every 5 years. This review happened and report to parliament in late November 2004. It appears to have stalled at this point, but keep watching for sudden action as part of a Law'n'Order auction as part of the 2007 state election campaign. |
Weapons Prohibition Act 1998 No 127 (NSW)
Wepons Prohibition Regulation (NSW) 1999 Maces and flails are prohibited weapons under this act. NSW Firearms registry deals with all weapon licensing matters: http://www.police.nsw.gov.au/firearms |
| In New South Wales, care should also be taken to comply with: |
Summary Offences Act 1988 No (NSW) Section 11B
A person shall not, without reasonable excuse (proof of which lies on the person), have in his or her custody an offensive implement in a public place or a school. Section 11C(iii) provides a reasonable excuse is participation in a lawful entertainment, recreation or sport. Section 11E(I) provides anyone using or carrying a visible knife "in a manner that would be likely to cause a person of reasonable firmness present at the scene to fear for his or her personal safety is guilty of an offence" and further states "(ii) No person of reasonable firmness need actually be, or be likely to be, present at the scene." Section 3 of the act defines a knife as " (a) a knife blade, or (b) a razor blade, or (c) any other blade" but provides exemptions under section 14 of the regulation for "(b) any blades, other than knife blades or blades forming part of any of the following: (i) machetes, (ii) cleavers, (iii) swords." |
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Victoria
Thanks to Andrew Straffon (NVG Inc.) for his analysis of the Victorian legislation. |
Control of Weapons Act 1990 No 24 (Vic)
Control of Weapons Regulation 2000 (Vic) Victoria now has the three-tier system of Dangerous Articles, Controlled Weapons and Prohibited Weapons. A Dangerous Article is basically anything used with the intent to cause someone harm. The act provides that a Controlled Weapon (which is a "Spear-gun", "Baton" or "Cudgel", "Bayonet", an "Imitation firearm" or a "Cattle prod") may be possessed by a person with "lawful excuse" and the act includes "participation in any lawful sport, recreation or entertainment" as a lawful excuse. Flails, morning stars, swords, falx (sycle-weapons), clubs, crossbows, daggers, weighted or studded gloves, spiked or flanged maces and many other weapons are all Prohibited Weapons under the Act. It is illegal to posses or carry any such items unless you have either an "Approval" (sometimes called a Prohibited Weapons Permit) granted by the Chief Commissioner of Police, or you are included as an "exempt class of person" in an exemption granted by the Governor in Council by an Order published in the Government Gazette. Several such exemptions has been granted, including one to "re-enactors" (defined as members of groups specifically listed in the exemption) and can be found in Victorian Government Gazette G25 17 June 2004. Note that the exemption for re-enactors allows the members of the listed groups to possess only swords (not other Prohibited Weapons) and has strict requirements for the storage, use and transport of those swords. |
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Queensland
Rumour had it that a new regulation to make swords prohibited weapons was in preparation in Queensland would come in to affect on 1 July 2004, but no details are yet available. |
Weapons Act 1990 (Qld)
Weapons Regulation (Qld) 1996 Weapons Categories Regulation (Qld) 1997 It should be noted that maces are category "R" weapons and Flails are restricted weapons in Queensland under the Weapons Categories Regulation 1997. Queensland Weapon Licensing Department: http://www.police.qld.gov.au/pr/program/wlb/index.shtml |
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Western Australia
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Weapons Act 1999 (WA)
Weapons Regulation (WA) Similar restrictions to the other states, there are two classes of weapons: prohibited and controlled. Schedule 2 of the regulation states the controlled weapons include: Bow (including arrows); crossbow; dagger; bayonet; halberd; spear; any studded weapon or glove; sword; weighted chain weapons, such as a flail. Section 6(3) provides an out for weapon smiths/manufacturers... "A person does not, by doing or attempting to do something referred to in subsection (1), commit an offence against that subsection if it is for the purpose of fulfilling a contract for the provision of a prohibited weapon to a person who may lawfully possess it.". Section 7(3) of the act states that a lawful excuse "to carry or possess a controlled weapon does not include the excuse that the weapon is carried or possessed for defence.". Some further exceptions are listed in section 10, notably a subsection providing blanket exceptions for... "something done by the person in the performance of the person's functions as -- (a) the Western Australian Museum constituted under the Museums Act 1969, a Trustee, member of staff or employee of the Museum or a person engaged to provide a service to the Museum whether for remuneration or not; or (b) a person establishing or maintaining a museum recognized under Part IV of the Museums Act 1969 or a person employed in or engaged to provide a service to such a museum whether for remuneration or not." Section 8 covers other articles used or possessed as weapons – all offences under this section are to do with intent to injure or to cause to cause any person to fear that someone will be injured or disabled. |
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South Australia
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Rather than the usual two-tier regulation system, SA uses a three-tier system.
There are three classifications of weapons: Offensive Weapons, Dangerous Articles
and Prohibited Weapons.
Summary Offences Act 1953 (SA) The relevant sections are 5, 15 and 85. Summary Offences (Dangerous Articles And Prohibited Weapons) Regulations 2000 (SA) Section 15 of the act provides a list of weapons and lawful excuses, such as religous reasons for owning a dagger. Exemptions are provided under section 15 (2a)... "(d) a person who has possession of, or uses, a prohibited weapon for the purpose or in the course of providing a lawful form of entertainment of other persons that reasonably requires the possession or use of the prohibited weapon; (e) a person who has possession of, or uses, a prohibited weapon for the purpose or in the course of participating in a lawful and recognised form of recreation or sport that reasonably requires the possession or use of the prohibited weapon; Under the act, Section 15(3) '"offensive weapon" includes a rifle, gun, pistol, sword, knife, club, bludgeon, truncheon or other offensive or lethal weapon or instrument but does not include a prohibited weapon;' and refers to the regulation for prohibited weapons. The regulation contains a list of dangerous articles and prohibited weapons which includes: Dangerous Articles: Bayonet; Prohibited Weapon: Dagger; Morning Star; throwing knife; Another thing to be aware of is that Manufacturers have to register with the Commissioner of Police (Schedule 3, section 14). |
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Tasmania
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Police Offences Act 1935 (Tas)
Div II Sec 15C deals with possession of a dangerous article and Sec 15D covers use, carriage and possession of a crossbow. Div I also provides in section 4. "(1) A person must not, in a public place, be drunk... when in possession of any dangerous weapon." |
| Northern Territory |
Weapons Control Act 2001 (NT)
Weapons Control Regulation (NT) Keeps the same distinction between Controlled and Prohibited weapons as most other states, but penalties vary according to time of day. Night time is defined as between 9pm and 6am. In the act, section 4(b) states that participation in a lawful sport, lawful recreation, lawful entertainment or lawful activity; and 4(c) the legitimate collection, legitimate display or legitimate exhibition of weapons, are reasonible excuses to own and use controlled weapons. Controlled weapons include daggers; bayonets; swords (a thrusting, striking or cutting weapon with a long blade having one or 2 cutting edges and a hilt) and; flails Prohibited weapons include one-handed crossbows; throwing knives; throwing axes and; maces. |
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Australian Capital Territory
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Prohibited Weapons Act 1996 No 75 (ACT)
Prohibited Weapons Regulation (ACT) Maces and flails are prohibited weapons under the PWA, while the Regulation provides exemptions for performers in a production being staged by a theatrical, dramatic or historical society, or is a member of the society staging a production in which a restricted weapon or a dangerous weapon is used; and has the weapon in his or her possession for the purposes of the production. |
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Prepared by Wayne Robinson,
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