MK Marshal's Handbook - Conventions of Combat

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See Marshal's handbook

Conventions of Combat

A. General Information

1. All traditional SCA armored combat at SCA tourneys, wars, and other events shall be conducted in accordance with the Rules of the Lists of the SCA, Inc., these Conventions of Combat, and such weapon and equipment standards and event rules as are established by the marshallate of the SCA, Inc., and the Middle Kingdom Earl Marshal.

2. The Middle Kingdom has established minimum armor and weapons standards more strict than those established by the Society minimum armor and weapons standards.

3. All fighters, prior to combat at each and every SCA-sponsored event or fighting practice, shall ensure that their armor and weapons are inspected by a warranted member of the Middle Kingdom marshallate.

4. Even though a warranted member of the Middle Kingdom marshallate has inspected the armor and weapons used by a fighter, each fighter shall accept full responsibility for the condition of his or her own equipment. Each fighter has the obligation to his- or herself, the marshals, and all opponents, to see that his or her equipment meets all Society and Kingdom requirements.

5. Combat archery ammunition each must be inspected individually before every use.

a. Siloflex-equivalent ammunition may be inspected by the archer and used again immediately, if allowed by the scenario.

b. Fiberglass-shafted ammunition must be taken off the field and reinspected under the supervision of a combat archery marshal before being used again.

6. When not otherwise directed by the sovereign, the sovereign's representative upon the field and in all matters dealing with Society combat is the Earl Marshal, and, by delegation, warranted members of the kingdom marshallate.

B. Behavior on the Field

1. Striking an opponent with excessive force is forbidden.

2. All fighters shall obey the commands of the marshals on the field or shall be removed from the field and subject to disciplinary action. Disagreements with the marshals on the field shall be resolved through the established mechanisms outlined in the Procedures for Grievances and Sanctions of the Marshallate Procedures of the SCA, Inc.

3. Each fighter shall maintain control over his or her temper at all times.

4. Upon hearing the call of HOLD all fighting shall IMMEDIATELY stop.

5. A fighter shall not enter the lists or participate in any form of SCA combat activity while impaired by alcohol or drugs (including, but not limited to: drugs prescribed by a licensed health care provider, over- the-counter medications, and illegal controlled substances.)

6. 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.

7. A fighter shall not deliberately strike a helpless opponent.

a. A fighter lying on the ground may not strike an opponent nor may she be struck.

b. An opponent who is empty-handed but still bearing a shield is not considered helpless.

c. A combatant in the act of acknowledging the effects of an earlier blow is not considered helpless.

8. 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. The onus of this is on the marshals, not on the opponent. However, the opponent may ask the marshals to let the fight continue.

9. A combatant who makes himself "helpless" by repeatedly overrunning the borders of the list, falling over or repeatedly dropping their weapon may, at the discretion of the marshals and the opponent, be deemed to have been defeated. This shall not apply to combatants who were in physical contact with their opponents at the time they overran the Lists or fell.

10. Grappling, tripping, throwing, punching, kicking, and wrestling are prohibited. Contact between combatants' bodies, shields, and weapons is expected in corps-a-corps or melee situations, as such controlled contact is allowed during these engagements.

a. Grappling is difficult to define in our martial art. If you find that, rather than fighting against someone, you are struggling against them with body-to-body, weapon/shieldto-body contact occurring, or if you are both trying to fight for control over one weapon (such as a polearm), that's grappling.

b. Using a shield to restrict movement is a grey area, and can easily be construed as grappling. The definition relies on how you got to that point - whether it is intentional shield-on-body contact, or a result of the natural movements of the fight.

Simply put, you cannot strike with a shield to restrict movement. Moving your shield into position so that it is touching your opponent is ok - until it gets to the point that the "pinned" opponent is struggling against the shield.

c. Aggressively moving your shield against a body part to move the body part out of the way is also grappling and is illegal. Similarly, using a polearm to “check” a person is illegal if the haft is striking a body part.

11. Deliberately striking an opponent's head, limbs, or body with a shield, weapon haft, or any part of the body is forbidden.

12. Grasping an opponent’s person, shield, weapon's striking surface, or bow/crossbow is prohibited.

13. Intentionally striking an opponent outside the legal target areas is forbidden.

a. No combatant may deliberately cause an opponent to strike an illegal target area. Any combatant who does so (for example, lifting a leg) will be required to accept the blow as good.

b. Turning the head or deliberately putting the top of the head forward to avoid a face thrust or missile contact – otherwise known as “target substitution” by Middle Kingdom standards - is not considered the same as ducking or dodging a blow. This technique is prohibited.

C. Target Areas

1. Torso: All of the body above the points of the hips, excluding the head and arms and including the groin, shoulder blades, and the area between the neck and shoulders. :2. Face: the area between the chin and the middle of the forehead and between the ear openings.

3. Head: The whole head and neck except the face as defined above.

4. Thighs: The leg from one inch [25.4mm} above the top of the knee to a line even with the bottom of the hip socket.

5. Hips: Area between the bottom of the hip socket to the point of the hip (iliac crest).

6. Shoulder: From the point of the shoulder down to a line even with the top of the underarm.

7. Arms: From the shoulder to one inch [25.4mm} above the wrist.

8. Blows that land outside the legal target areas shall not be counted, unless an illegal target area has been intentionally placed in the path of an impending blow.

D. Combat Archery Conventions

1. Upon a hold being called, all archers must unload their weapons (crossbows may remain cocked).

2. Archers may have a backup weapon on them, but may not draw it until their bow has been safely disposed of (taken off the field, discarded in a low traffic area, handed to another combatant, etc). Upon drawing a backup weapon to enter combat, hands must be appropriately armored.

3. Archers may carry and use thrown weapons without need to discard their bow or change hand armor.

4. Archers need to be aware of what is beyond their target area to ensure that errant shots do not endanger anyone.

5. An archer's minimum range is dictated by ensuring that the ammunition completely clears the bow before contacting the opponent.

6. Ammunition dropped onto the ground is considered dead as if it had been fired, and needs re-inspection.

7. Live combatants may pick ammunition off the field for re-inspection (as long as reinspection is allowed during the scenario) and reuse it during the same battle. Dead combatants may clear ammunition from the field for use in future battles if scenario rules allow.

8. Within scenario limits, ammunition may be taken from caches stored on or off the field and from other combatants (dead or alive) with permission of the owner.