Rapier:Conventions - Acknowledgement of blows

Conventions - Acknowledgement of blows

What is a valid blow?

1. In judging blows, you are presumed to be wearing thin clothing, such as unpadded linen, and your opponent's weapon is extremely sharp on point and edge. Any blow that would have penetrated the skin, in your judgment, is valid. Kingdoms are not allowed to alter this standard.
2. Tournaments that change the effects of a valid blow are allowed, such as:
   1. "Armor as worn" tournaments, in which certain types of armor can be considered to be resistant to specific types of blows for the purposes of scoring.
   2. Tournaments with differing victory conditions (for example, "only head shots count").

Calibration

1. Calibration means "how hard do we hit each other?"
2. You must deliver all blows in rapier combat with control, with the aim of delivering the lightest blow that your opponent judges to have penetrated thin clothing (a "valid blow").
3. While you are encouraged to recreate the technique and style of period fencing, you must not recreate the force required for an actual wounding or killing blow. SCA rapier combat does not aim to recreate the force intended to deliver harm. Such force is beyond that which our protective standards are intended.
4. Blows intended to deliver force more than is necessary for acknowledgement are not allowed. Continued infractions of this rule will lead to disciplinary actions by the marshallate.
   1. Rapier combat is an active sport and the difference between a blow that is hard enough and too hard might be less than an inch between two rapidly moving fighters, and hard hits will occasionally happen through no fault of the combatants.
   2. Fighters and marshals are required to resolve such incidents on a case-by-case basis and recommend corrective actions as necessary. No pre-judgment or rule shall be made which defines who was at fault.

Calling blows

1. Responsibility for acknowledging a blow as "good" is with the person receiving the blow, not the person delivering the blow.
   1. If you believe a blow you have delivered is not valid (e.g. you know you struck your opponent with the flat side of your weapon, or haft of your weapon, or an arrow or bolt striking with anything other than the point), you should tell your opponent that the blow should not be taken.
   2. If you are uncertain, you can ask for information from your opponent or the marshal, but the decision to accept the blow is yours.
   3. Marshals and fighters can offer opinions based on what they witnessed during the bout, but the decision is ultimately up to the combatant who was struck.
2. If you are hit with a valid blow, you must indicate it clearly with words and/or motions. Examples: saying "Good arm!" and putting your arm behind your back to show it is disabled, or saying "Dead!" and falling to the ground or otherwise indicating that you have been defeated.
3. You should not wear accessories that make it difficult to feel a valid blow.
   1. This includes, but is not limited to, loose clothing designed to hang out from your body, such as bulbous sleeves or hoop skirts, or rigid cuffs on gauntlets.
   2. You must take care to acknowledge blows that strike these accessories if a sharp blade would have penetrated those articles and struck the body part underneath.
   3. You must know whether any necessary equipment (such as mask, helm and other safety equipment) renders the acknowledgement of blows in certain areas difficult, and make every effort to account for this deficit.
4. If an effective blow is thrown before or at the same moment as an event that would stop a fight (e.g. a hold being called, the fighter being "killed" themselves, etc.), the blow will count. If the blow is thrown after the hold, killing blow, or other event, it does not count.

What happens when I'm hit?

1. A blow to your body is taken as a kill.
2. A blow to your arm renders your arm (including the hand on that side) incapacitated.
3. A blow to your hand renders your hand unable to hold a weapon or defensive object.
   1. Your hand can be balled into a fist and used to parry with, as a rigid extension of your forearm.
   2. If both hands are incapacitated and you haven't been killed, you must yield in a single combat tournament.
4. A blow to the foot or leg renders your leg as non-weight-bearing.
   1. You must then fight kneeling, sitting, or standing with your feet together.
   2. If your lower leg is struck, you can fight from the ground and are allowed to move about on your knees.
   3. If your upper leg (including buttock) was struck, you can move about but are not allowed to rise up during combat.
5. A strike from a ranged weapon or missile is taken the same as a thrust from a bladed weapon.