Medieval Combat

There's a few things I thought it might be good to discuss here (and at the club in case, as is the case in most internet-based conversations, the majority of people involved aren't usually on-line), which are all interrelated and, therefore, under one topic thread.

I want to start with a safety concern, which will effect PSU fighting rules if we respond: the "knee down" leg injury. I've always disliked it, since I was a little boy, and have since become aware that most groups use it only because that's "how it's done." It's a dangerous practice that even the group creating the rule (SCA) treats as optional (though everyone acts otherwise).

In an environment where bowling over someone on their knees is the easiest way to deal with them, chances for serious long-term debilitating injury is not just a threat, but a likelihood. Any visit to the forum of any group (and I've visited them all) regularly using this method is filled with accounts of fighters being out of the game either temporarily or permanently because they had to get knee-surgery for their 21st birthday.

The fix is simple: make the "knee-down" system optional to those who prefer its use because it's the norm for whatever system in which they fight and reintroduce the rule we started using last year that doesn't use "good" legs in order to keep things fair. Via observation, not many at PSU are using "good" vs. "bad" legs anyway.

A problem we had last time was trying to reduce mobility by making people fake a limp or move at a "normal" walking pace, which seemed to be more of a speedy power walk. We could either do away with mobility altogether in a team-work oriented way (you can be hauled or helped to a new static location by a teammate, but cannot move around on your own, except to post/turn to face threats), or let people move using a step-together walk that is physically impossible to increase beyond a painfully slow pace.

Since I'm not a fan of any one group's fighting system, messing around with house rules isn't an issue for me. I'm only interested in a safe(er) full-contact fighting experience that is streamlined and universal as possible.

Which brings me to the idea of simplification. There are systems for padded weapon/boffer fighting in use by groups as far-ranged in purpose from hard-core full contact Western Martial Arts groups to the most LARPy LARPs.

The more rule-laden combat systems seem to require some kind of referee to work properly, because conversations about the different ways hairs can be split over the rules break out in mid-battle too easily. We've all had this happen in a fight and it's guaranteed to result in, at the very least, a battle losing much of its momentum. The simpler systems are the martial-based systems in which pommel-strikes, kicking and punching are expected, and so there's no real need to govern much (and also happens to be a level of contact no one at PSU is comfortable with).

Here's the stuff that is consistent across the board:

Weapon construction
Sufficient force (I'm ignoring tap-fighting groups)
Grappling Considerations

Paring down the PSU house rules is a good idea, because we don't need lengthy descriptions of scenarios in which something does or doesn't count as a hit to bog down the fight, weapon construction is the same nearly everywhere (they have to be padded enough to not seriously injure during regular use, must have a striking edge if it's supposed to resemble a sword, etc.) and grappling can be kept as a tactical possibility while remaining reduced to keep all the people who've never been in a real fight or studied any martial art from killing each other while trying to execute some maneuver they saw on a movie.

Another reason to pare it down is to create a kind of universality that invites people from different background interests to come in and keep the fight lively. Affiliating the club with any one group has the effect of alienating it from others, which doesn't fit the University's purpose, makes it hard to pick a fight with Reed, and denies the club the potential experience of having battles that incorporate wide styles and backgrounds. I want to foster an environment in which everyone interested in swordplay at any level (from martial artist to long-time bofferist) can feel like they're getting something out of the experience.

What I'm interested in doing is making sure there's lots of potential for variety, faster fighting with fewer interruptions (and no need to have a permanent referee), and a welcoming environment in which diversity is a tangible possibility well after everyone involved in the club now has long graduated and gone their merry way (knees intact).

Let's get a discussion going framed with Safety, Simplicity and Universality in mind and operating under the idea that we can create something that can have a potentially wider participating base.

Creating a more universal blend of sword fighting always sounds really good, but its tough to do, which is why there are so many different sports. Obviously, Belegarth and Dagorhir are very similar, but most of the other national organizations are very different. Amtgard uses golf clubs with fun noodles on them, which they swing blindingly fast and can hardly feel. It is the essence of tap-fighting. I can't see us going very far in that direction. SCA is more realistic, incorporating heavier weapons and head shots, which I do not think too many people in the club right now are too excited about.

The one possibility I can see is having separate sections of practice, one for BMCS style fighting, one for tap fighting, one for head shots, etc. Unfortunately, this splits up the already not too huge roster we have. I don't see an easy way to do this to much of an extent, but it would be cool if someone could think of a way to.

I agree with the knee rule. I hate it but its a part of the limb system. Ive always left it up to the enemy whether or not they want to knee or just strt again. I dont really mind the standing in place instead of taking a knee, and the head shot thing i really dont care about so much cause I do this to become better at martial arts. So getting hit in the head with something thats padded isnt to big to me. That doesnt mean i try to hit people in the head, I just dont mind it when they do it. I dont see us going towards amp guard either. The SCA is a great place to recruit people though.

I've developed something that is super simple and broken into two sections. One section is for the kind of fighting we do every week (unarmored melee with no missiles), the other addresses special circumstances involving the stuff that's missing from the first section.

I'm running it by Hans this week and will bring copies for everyone if he thinks I've covered the bases.

Here's the big changes that we'll likely experiment with over the next term:

"Knee down" as a personal choice vs. standing. We will address mobility with this to see how things work. There will be no "good" or "bad" leg.

Head shots between combatants wearing head/neck protection. No helmet=no head shots given or received.

Clamping down on honor system. Nobody can call shots beside the person hit. Penalty is the same as delivering illegal head shot ("dead" for duration of fight).

That's what I've got off the top of my head, and now I'm out of time.