Armored Combat:Marshaling on the field - Marshaling single combat

Marshaling single combat

General

1. There should be at least one marshal for single combat. Two or three will be able to see more of the fight. Four or more will get in each other's way and block the view from the sidelines without providing noticeably better marshaling.
2. There are three near-equal priorities in marshaling; safety, fair witness, and showmanship. Overemphasizing any one of these at the expense of the others will tend to make the fighting less enjoyable for everyone (although, if you must go overboard on one, pick safety). While these concerns apply to all marshaling, they are most detailed and balanced in single combat.

Safety

1. The field itself can cause safety problems. Before you begin, look over the area where the fighting will take place. Look particularly for large holes, soft spots, and rocks as fighters will generally accept small holes, rocks, etc. as part of the terrain. Once the fight starts, try to keep it away from these areas. If the hazards are serious, move the fight.
2. As the fighters come onto the field, take a quick look to see if they have their full armor, especially elbow, neck, and hand armor. These are the likeliest to be removed and then forgotten. This should not take any time at all; it isn't a full inspection or an attempt to catch someone trying to play silly games with the rules - just a quick double-check to help someone who could have been distracted by the excitement of the day.
3. Once the fight has started, watch for broken armor, lost tempers, injuries, and intrusions into the field. Outsiders, especially small children and pets, do not always realize that they are supposed to stay off of the field during combat.
4. If there is a problem, shout "Hold!", several times if necessary. Most fighters will hear and respond to a cry of "Hold!" even when they won't notice their own names being called.
   1. If the first cry of "Hold!" does not cause the fighters to stop, get in between the fighters, or between the fighters and whoever or whatever has wandered onto the field, and block the weapons with your staff until the fighting stops. Keep yelling "Hold!" while you do so that eventually they will notice. That is one reason why marshals routinely carry staffs on the field.
5. Kingdoms have different traditions as to how much marshals should intrude into a fight.
   1. Some kingdoms expect marshals to keep their opinions to themselves, except in the case of clear and immediate safety hazards, and some kingdoms expect marshals to volunteer advice any time they think the fighters might possibly have a question about a blow.
   2. If you are new to marshaling, or new to the kingdom you are in, try to find out where in this spectrum your kingdom lies. It will make a difference in how you act and, perhaps more importantly, it will make a major difference in what the fighters expect of you.
   3. Blatant violations of the rules and safety concerns should always be brought up either immediately if necessary for safety issues, or as there is a "Hold" called for rules discussions that can wait until then.

Witness

1. You are expected to be an impartial witness to exactly what happens during a fight. Ideally, you should be able to describe the last 3-4 blows on your side of the fight: where they started, their angle of approach, how they were blocked or where they landed. Do not be afraid to say, "I don't know" if you were looking at one part of the fight when something (allegedly) happened in another part.
2. Do not try to impose your view unless you see what appears to be major and repeated problems. Leave the blow counting to the participants unless you see clear reason to intervene, as they usually have a much clearer perspective than the marshals do.
3. If the fighters do ask you what happened (or you feel compelled to volunteer), try to do so tactfully. Prefacing your statements with "It looked to me like...", "It appeared...", or "to the crowd it looked like..." is preferable to a dogmatic assertion of what happened. Similarly, it is preferable to ask "Was that dent in your helm before?" rather than saying, "That blow put a 6-inch dent in the side of your helm." The latter might be 100% accurate, but it is unnecessarily antagonistic to someone who could honestly have thought the blow too light.

How to observe combat

1. In order to be able to answer as accurately as possible, you need as clear a view as possible.
2. You need to strike a balance between getting closer to see better and staying back out of range of the blows.
   1. Just what the appropriate distance is for you will depend on your level of experience with fighting (e.g., how well you can judge what the range of the weapons is and whether you are in or near it).
   2. In general, for single combat, 20 yards is too far and 2 yards is too close. In the absence of a better idea, consider 5 yards for weapons less than 3 feet in length and 8 yards if either combatant has a longer weapon.
3. Try to keep moving so that the combatants are roughly centered between you and the other marshals for the fight.

Showmanship

1. Keep an eye on the audience. SCA combat is a spectator sport, just as medieval tournaments were. Your part of the show is to keep things moving and avoid blocking the view from the sidelines except where unavoidable.
2. This means fast pre-fight checks and announcements, a minimum of holds and discussions during the fight, and a strenuous effort to stay out of the way and keep moving.
3. If it's cold, wear several layers of clothing and move even more, as one person in a cloak can interfere with the view of many.