Youth Armoured Combat Draft:Rules of the Lists and Conventions of Combat

{{DISPLAYTITLE:Rules of Combat} }

General

1. The game rules can be changed for a tournament, as long as the marshal explains the changes to everyone in the tournament before it starts. Safety rules can't be changed. Which of these are game rules?
2. As a minimum, you need to wear the armour required for your division. You can wear more armour if you want to. Your weapons need to follow the rules for your division too.
3. A marshal must check your weapons and armour to make sure that they follow the rules, and tell you that you can use them before you can start fighting at every SCA youth armoured combat event or fighting practice that you want to take part in.
4. The marshal can stop you from using a weapon or piece of armour if they think it isn't safe.
5. You must be courteous and chivalrous whenever you are taking part in combat.
6. No one can make you take part in combat, if you don't want to.
7. You aren't allowed to throw weapons at your opponent in a tournament, but you might be allowed to use throwing weapons in war games that allow them.
8. You must follow the instructions of the marshals on the field.
9. If there is something happening that is not safe, or is against the rules, the marshal will say "HOLD!" and you must stop everything until the marshal says that it is safe to continue.
10. You must not lose your temper. You can feel grumpy, but you must not be mean or rude to people because you are grumpy. If you are having trouble with your feelings, tell an adult.
11. Don't take take unfair advantage of your opponent, especially if they are doing something to be chivalrous or extra safe. If you are not sure what would be an unfair advantage, ask an adult. This would usually be something that if it happened to you, you'd say "That's not fair, I was being nice!"
12. Do not hit anyone who is helpless. A helpless person is someone who has fallen down or dropped their weapon, or can't defend themselves for any reason.
13. If you become helpless on purpose to keep people from hitting you, the marshal can say that if you do it again, you lose. And then, if you do again when you have been told not to, you lose.
14. Don't hit anyone too hard. The rules say how hard you are allowed to hit your opponent.
15. You aren't allowed to grapple, trip, throw, punch, kick, or wrestle with your opponent.
16. You aren't allowed to hit your opponent with your shield on purpose or make them hit themselves with their own shield.
17. You aren't allowed to grab your opponent or their shield or their weapon.

Target areas

1. You are allowed to hit people in the following areas:
   1. Face: The front part of your head between your ears, and between your chin and the top of your forehead. You aren't allowed to thrust at the face in Division 1.
   2. Head: The rest of your head and neck that isn't your face.
   3. Arms: From the shoulder to 25mm (1 inch) above your wrist. You aren't allowed to hit your opponent's hands on purpose.
   4. Legs: From the bony bits of your pelvis (where you'd put your hands if someone told you to put your hand on your hips), down to 25mm (1 inch) above the top of your knee cap. You aren't allowed to hit people in the knees, lower legs or feet.
   5. Body: The rest of you that isn't your head, arms or legs, or hands or feet.
2. Try not to hit people in the groin or the throat, but if you get hit there, it counts.

Taking hits

Figure 6.1: Kill and Wound Zones

Kill: Wound: Illegal Target:

Table 5 Calibration

Division	Calibration	Description
Division 1	Intentional touch	A deliberate touch (not accidental) that is easily 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	A blow that is easily 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. Thrusts to the face only need to touch the grill of the helmet to count.
Division 3	Light force	A blow that is easily 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. Thrusts to the face only need to touch the grill of the helmet to count.

1. The different divisions have different calibration (how hard you need to hit someone for the blow to count), which is shown in Table 5. Marshals should use material of the appropriate thickness to help fighters learn the levels of calibration.
2. You need to hit your opponent hard enough for them to say it was good enough. Your opponent also needs to hit you hard enough for you to call it good. If you don't think it was hard enough, call "Light!" - but this means that you want them to hit you harder.
3. You are not allowed to hit anyone too hard. Hitting someone the way you would in Division 3 is too hard in Division 1 or 2.
4. If you keep hitting too hard and you are warned about it by the marshals in the tournament or practice, if you do it again, the marshals can say you are not allowed to fight anymore at the event. If you keep hitting people too hard when you fight, the marshals may say that you are no longer authorised and need to retrain, or stop taking part in youth armoured combat at all.
5. You are the one who says a blow that hits you is good enough. Your opponent isn't allowed to say they got you, unless you aren't sure and ask them, and they think their blow was good enough. They might tell you not to take a blow because they knew they didn't hit you with the right part of the weapon. You can also ask the marshal if you aren't sure.
6. Some tournaments or competitions can have rules that say if you get hit on a particular part of your body it won't count and you can keep fighting if you get hit there. The marshals need to make sure everyone knows that there are special rules for that tournament before you start fighting.
7. If you're using a weapon that has an edge, like a sword or an axe, you need to hit your opponent with the edge and not the flat side of your weapon. If you hit them with the flat part and they say good, tell them that it was flat and doesn't count.
8. If you get hit with the edge of the weapon, and it was hard enough, it's a good blow, even if you managed to block some of it with your weapon or shield.
9. If your opponent drops their weapon as it hits you, that doesn't count.

Effects of blows

1. Any thrust that touches the grill of your helmet at all is a good blow.
2. If you get hit in the hand, which includes 25mm (1 inch) above the bend of your wrist, it doesn't count
3. If you get hit on the feet or lower legs or knees, all the way up to 25mm (1 inch) above your knee cap, it doesn't count.
4. If you get a good hit on the head, neck, or torso (the part of your body that's not your arms, legs, head or neck) your opponent has won.
5. If you get a good hit on the arm above the wrist, you aren't allowed to use that arm to attack or defend for the rest of the fight. If you get hit in the same arm again, it's the same as if you were hit in the torso, and your opponent has won.
6. If you get a good hit on the leg above your knee, you aren't allowed to use that leg to stand on for the rest of the fight. You can continue fighting on your knees, sitting, or standing on the leg that wasn't hit.
7. If you get touched by a thrown weapon, that counts, even if it didn't hit you as hard as it would have needed to if your opponent was holding it.
8. If your opponent is using a javelin as a one-handed thrusting weapon, they need to hit you with the same force as if it was any other thrusting weapon.
9. RemoveWhen 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. These rules don't differentiate between weapon type and targe like the adult rules do...