Conventions of combat
Conventions of Re-Creationist Combat
Recreationist combat follows a number of conventions which must be adhered to at all times for safety and legal reasons, such as armour and weapons standards. For these reasons, all combatants shall undergo inspection before going onto the field by the marshal, although each individual accepts full responsibility for his/her equipment.
In the SCA fighters must adhere to these rules or face their authorisation card being pulled.
Combatant Conventions in the SCA
For more information on SCA Combat Conventions, refer to page 6 of the Marshal's Handbook
Conventions of combat include behaviour on the field:
- There shall be no striking with excessive force. This is considered to be an unchivalrous act.
- All fighters must obey the marshal's commands, or be removed from the field and subject to disciplinary action.
- Any disagreements with marshals must be resolved as outlined in Procedures for Grievances
- Each fighter must remain in control over his/her temper at all times
- You must not be under the influence of drugs or alcohol while participating in any SCA combat.
- All fighters must immediately stop upon hearing HOLD! and must convey the order by calling out "Hold" themself.
- Any behaviour that takes deliberate advantage of an opponent's chivalry or saftey consciousness, or that takes deliberate unfair advantage of an opponent, is prohibited.
- A fighter may not deliberately strike a helpless opponent.
- A fighter may not gain unfair advantage by repeatedly becoming "helpless" (eg. falling over, dropping weapons) after being duly warned by marshals on the field, be forced to yield at the next occurrance of the behaviour.
- A fighter may not strike a non-combatant (which should be appropriately marked as such)
- A fighter may not strike a light fighter, but must instead get to within 5m of range and (while in control of the situation) exclaim loudly "My Lord/Lady, you are slain" (or similar). (Note that not all Kingdoms use light fighters, and in those kingdoms, the term sometimes is applied to fencers.)
Combat Conventions in Re-Enactment
As re-enactment groups are many and varied as are their rules and focus, combat conventions are almost as varied. When coming to together for events a standard is usually set by the host group. In Australia, the standard is usually set in concordance with the AustralianGuidelines for Interclub Combat.
Behaviour
Individual standards vary a great deal, but some general conventions that are set and almost universally followed include:
- Combatants under the influence of drugs or alcohol may not participate in combat.
- Excessive force is not to be used. This can vary between countries and groups. Anecdotal evidence indicates, that UK re-enactors have lighter standard for blows than Australian ones.
- All fighters must obey the marshal's commands, or be removed from the field.
- Each fighter must remain in control over his/her temper at all times
- All fighters must immediately stop upon hearing HOLD!(or a similar command).
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