Youth Armoured Combat Draft:Rules of All Combat

Rules of the Lists and Conventions of Combat

         Rules of the List and Conventions of Combat as listed in the “SCA Marshal’s Handbook,” apply to Youth Combat unless superseded by a rule in this document.

Conventions may be modified for a specific tournament with the full explanation of the changes given to all of the combatants.

         All combatants shall adhere to the minimum armor and weapons standards for their division
         All youth combatants shall ensure their armor and weapons are inspected by a Youth Combat Marshal prior to combat at each and every SCA – sponsored event or fighting practice.
         A marshal may disallow use of any weapon, or armor, deemed to be unsafe from use upon the field of combat.
         All combatants shall act in a courteous and chivalrous manner at all times.
         No one may be required to participate in combat related Activities.
         No weapons shall be thrown within the Lists of a tournament. The use of approved thrown weapons for melee shall conform to the appropriate Kingdom Conventions of Combat.
     Behavior on the Field
         Striking an opponent with excessive force is forbidden.
         The instructions of the marshals on the field shall be followed at all times.
         Should a safety issue arise the marshal will call “HOLD” and all combat activity in the list will stop until the marshal indicates that it is safe to resume.
         Each fighter shall maintain control over his or her temper at all times.
         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.
         A fighter shall not deliberately strike a helpless opponent.
         Any fighter who obtains an unfair advantage by repeatedly becoming “helpless” (for example, by falling down or losing their weapon) may, after being duly warned by the marshals on the field, be forced to yield the fight at the next occurrence of such behavior.
         Grappling, tripping, throwing, punching, kicking, and wrestling are prohibited.
         Deliberately striking an opponent with a shield (shield bashing) is forbidden.
         Grasping an opponent’s person, shield, or weapon is prohibited.
         Target Areas
             Legal target areas are the same as those in adult rattan combat, except face thrusts are not allowed in Division 1. 
             Shots to the groin and throat are legal, but discouraged.
         Acknowledgement of Blows

Calibration

 Division 1 : Intentional Touch. This is a clean, unimpeded blow that is

readily felt through a single layer of medium weight cloth, but is not hard enough to leave a bruise on bare skin. Face thrusts are not allowed.

Division 2: Positive Contact. This is a clean, unimpeded blow that is

readily felt through 6 mm of open cell padding, but is not hard enough to leave a bruise in an area covered by medium weight cloth. Face thrusts have touch calibration.

Division 3: Light Force. This is a clean, unimpeded blow that may be

readily felt through 12 mm of open cell padding, but is not hard enough to leave a bruise through 6 mm of open cell foam padding. Face thrusts have touch calibration.

It is recommended that marshals use open cell foam of the appropriate

thickness to demonstrate levels of calibration.

Excessively hard blows are not permitted in any division. Any combatant

who persists in hitting too hard after appropriate warning shall be removed from the field and may be subject to additional sanctions such as having their authorization suspended.

Youth combatants are encouraged to honorably judge the effectiveness of blows

they receive. The opposing combatant may not judge the effectiveness of his or her own blow. Information unavailable to the combatant being struck may be supplied by the opposing combatant or the marshal, including blade orientation upon impact, apparent force transmitted, or apparent location and angle of the blow’s impact based upon the observer’s angle of observation. When necessary, the marshal on the field shall intervene and call blows.

Special tournaments or combat rules may redefine what areas of the body

are armored, and to what extent, so long as all the participants are made aware of the special conditions prior to the start of combat.

An effective blow will be defined as one that was properly oriented, and struck

with sufficient force.

The minimum effective thrusting blow to the face shall be a touch. A

correctly calibrated face thrust touches the face grill of the helm but does not move the head.

Areas deemed illegal to strike: the hands from 1.0 inch (25.4 mm) above

the wrist and below, the legs from 1.0 inch (25.4 mm) above the knees and below; shall be considered safe from all attack.

An effective blow to the head, neck, or torso shall be judged fatal or

completely disabling, rendering the fighter incapable of further combat.

An effective blow to the arm above the wrist will disable the arm. The arm

shall then be considered useless to the fighter and may not be used for either offense or defense. A second blow to a disabled arm is considered to have struck the torso.

An effective blow to the leg above the knee will disable the leg. The

fighter must then fight kneeling, sitting, or standing on the foot of the uninjured leg.

The minimum effective blow from any THROWN weapon is touch.

Javelins, used as one-handed thrusting weapons, require the same force as any other thrusting weapon appropriate for that division.

When judging the outcome of a delivered blow, all fighters are expected to take

into account the nature of the weapon being used by their opponent and the location of the point of impact of that weapon. A blow that strikes with sufficient force and proper orientation shall be considered effective, regardless of what it hits prior to striking the combatant.

A blow that includes the dropping of the striking weapon, at the moment of

impact, shall not be counted.