Capitol Clash 2020 Armored Combat Rules and Regulations IMPORTANT: All competitors intending to participate in the Armored Combat event must submit a photo of the armor they intend to wear for pre-approval no later than January 10, 2020. Earlier is better in case the event organizers require that you modify your armor before approval. Also note that initial pre-approval via photo does not guarantee that your armor will pass the required in-person inspection.

SUMMARY OF RULES

The goal of the Armored Combat tournament is to promote the accurate but safe revival of period- correct fencing in armor in a one-on-one duel, referred to in German fighting treatises as harnisfechten.

Format

Matches will be fought to the best of three rounds. If a fighter has more wins by the finish of Round 2, that fighter wins the match. If both fighters have tied by the end of Round 2, Round 3 will commence.

-Each round will be 60 seconds of continuous action with a halt only called for special reasons (see below)

-Round 1 will be fought with spears, Round 2 with longswords and Round 3 will commence with daggers. (Note that fighters are allowed to carry a dagger as a back up weapon in Round 1 and 2, but not in Round 3.) Winning a Round

-A fighter who has more points at the end of the clock will win the round.

-If a fighter is “shown the gate” (passes completely outside a specially marked entrance/exit), the match is stopped, and the opponent automatically wins regardless of the score.

-A fighter may concede a round at any point, giving the opponent the win.

-If the score is tied after the 60 seconds, the fighter with more Advantage Points wins. If the number of Advantage Points is tied, the round will end as a tie. (see below) Scoring

-Thrusts to “Light Armor” (e.g. mail) score one (1) point.

-Thrusts to “Unarmored” areas score three (3) points.

-A percussive cut to “Unarmored” areas score three (3) points.

-A successful take down or throw will award the dominant fighter five (5) points. This will halt the clock, and the referee will have the fighters stand before resuming.

-A Mordschlag to the top half of the helmet scores one (1) point. Boundary -Should a fighter step out of bounds with both feet, a halt will be called and an Advantage Point will be given to the opponent before moving both fighters to the center of the ring to continue. In the event of a tie when the timer runs out, the fighter with the most Advantage Points will win.

-A take down or throw that begins within the boundary and finishes just as the fighter steps out of the boundary will still award the five (5) points to the dominant fighter. An Advantage Point will not be given in this case.

DEFINITIONS OF TARGETS

Heavy Armor

Heavy Armor is any area covered by rigid plate or hardened leather. Striking these areas with any part of the sword does not score anything. (Exception: a Mordschlag to the top half of the helmet scores one (1) point) Light Armor

Thrusting to Light Armor scores one (1) point. Light Armor is an area that is covered by mail and does not have Heavy Armor underneath. The Referee may rule that certain other flexible armor, such as a coat of plates that has notable spacing between the steel plates, may be considered light armor, and this will be made clear to all competitors ahead of time.

Unarmored

Unarmored areas are any area not covered by Heavy or Light Armor. This includes:

-Areas covered by only fabric or unhardened leather.

-Perforated plate used to fill the gaps of the helmet for safety purposes.

-Any area that the event staff has determined ahead of time to be Unarmored for purposes of scoring (this will be made clear to the competitors beforehand). This includes but is not limited to rigid plastic or other modern materials that are used in lieu of historical materials for safety purposes.

TIME LIMIT

The time limit for each round is 60 seconds non-stop (except for special reasons listed below). Unlike unarmored fencing, a thrust to an area covered by mail is unlikely to stop an opponent, and thus a halt will not be called. Further, some of the wrestling techniques seen in the treatises are specifically used after a thrust has already landed. The continuous clock allows for these types of set ups to happen, encouraging combatants to use more accurate techniques within the rules.

When is the clock halted before the 60 seconds are up?

The Referee typically will not halt the action until the 60 seconds are over, but will do so in the following cases: -A fighter is thrown/taken down with dominance. The Referee will halt the round, award the 5 points to the dominant fighter, and have the competitors stand and reset to the middle. The Referee will then call “Fight” to resume the clock.

-Both fighters go to the ground without a clear winner. The Referee will halt the round and have both fighters stand up. The Referee will have them continue the match approximately where they were when the halt was called.

-A fighter steps out of the boundary with both feet. The Referee will halt the round and award an Advantage Point (if applicable, see “OUT OF BOUNDS” below). The competitors will reset to the middle before the Referee resumes the match.

-Shown the Gate. If a fighter goes out of the specially marked gate (see “Shown the Gate” below), the Referee halts the action and awards an instant win of the round to the opponent. The round is over at this point.

-Penalties. The Referee will halt the action to give a fighter a penalty if necessary. If the fighter is not disqualified, the Referee will resume the match from where the fighters were halted.

-Safety concerns: The Referee may call halt for any safety concerns, including but not limited to: Equipment malfunction, a fighter showing signs of injury, a grapple that appears to be too dangerous, etc. If the concern is fixed, the Referee will resume the fighters from where they stopped.

-Referee’s discretion: The Referee can halt a match for any reason if it is deemed necessary.

HOW WILL JUDGES DETERMINE IF A THRUST SCORES OR NOT?

Judges will be watching the bout, giving points based on thrusts that land anywhere that is not considered Heavy Armor. Thrusts must be done with the point of the weapon with pressure. A thrust that glances off of the target will be ignored as incidental contact, as will very light touches with the point.

Judges will verbally call out, “Point!” every time a fighter scores, regardless of the numerical value of the scoring attack.

SCORING MULTIPLE TIMES

Since a halt is not called for most scoring attacks, a fighter may score multiple times in a row. This can be achieved in two ways:

-Multiple attacks: Thrusting to the target area, releasing the weapon, and thrusting again will potentially score for each thrust. The weapon must be withdrawn approximately ten inches in order to score again, simulating the need for pressure to injure an opponent through mail. Multiple rapid-fire attacks that have little pressure will be considered incidental contact and therefore will not score.

-Continuous pressure: A thrust to the target area may continue to score if a fighter maintains pressure on the target. If the opponent does not break free of this thrust, the judges will continue to record the score against that target until the fighter escapes the thrust. This will be signified verbally by the judge who will say, “Point!... Point!... Point!...” until the fighter escapes the thrust. Example: Fighter A thrusts with a spear to the Light Armor of Fighter B (scoring 1 point) and continues using that thrust to push the fighter backwards. Fighter B does not attempt to get free of this pressure, but instead tries to push back against this. The judge begins calling “Point!”, doing so three times before Fighter B finally parries the attack. Fighter A therefore scored 3 points for this. Had the same scenario occurred to an Unarmored target, Fighter A would have scored 9 points (3 x 3).

This form of scoring is to encourage the use of the historical techniques that involve couching the weapon to control the opponent, and likewise encourages an opponent to counter this rather to avoid being scored against rather than ignoring the weapon after it has hit.

NON-THRUSTING STRIKES

-Mordschlag: A strike to the top half of the helmet with the hilt while holding both hands on the blade will score one (1) point. This type of strike will be defined as a Mordschlag (Murder Stroke), despite the various names it is given in the historical treatises. In order for the Mordschlag to score, it must 1) Be held with both hands on the blade (if one hand is on the hilt, it is treated as a non-scoring pommel strike), 2) have at least one hand either on the “half-sword handle” (the narrow portion of the blade for gripping) or anywhere closer on the blade to the guard to prevent a person from generating too much dangerous force in the strike, 3) start it’s arc from at least two feet away from the helmet (and follow up strikes must also allow for the pommel to withdraw at least two feet from the helmet), and 4) the strike must land on the top half of the helmet. A Mordschlag that strikes anywhere besides the top of the helmet is not illegal, but does not score. Note: The Mordschlag, which is normally very dangerous with steel fittings, is only allowed because of the special rubber hilted swords being used. Common sense must still be applied, however, as the hilt can still generate significant force.

-Pommel strikes: Pommel strikes are allowed, although they are non-scoring.

-Use of the cross guard: The cross guard is usable for hooking and grappling. Any strikes with it beyond the Mordschlag are non-scoring.

-Cutting: Percussive strikes with the sword edge are allowed, but will only score to an unarmored limb (e.g. if the opponent does not wear any form of shin protection beyond plastic, this is a legal target for cuts) and are equal to a thrust to the same target (3 points). Cuts are non-scoring to Light Armor or Heavy Armor, although they are not illegal.

WRESTLING RULES

A successful take-down or throw will be awarded five (5) points. The match will be halted and the fighters will return to the center of the ring before continuing.

-A throw is defined as intentionally causing the opponent to fall so that the torso touches the ground while the thrower shows clear dominance (such as holding the point of the weapon directly over the fallen opponent should they try to stand). If a fighter loses balance and barely brushes the ground before immediately springing up, the Referee may choose to allow the match to continue without awarding points. -A take-down is defined as both fighters going to the ground with one in a clearly dominant position. Any action that goes to the ground will only be allowed to continue for beat of time to allow a fighter to attempt to reverse the dominant position, but the Referee will not allow prolonged wrestling once either fighter’s torso touches the floor.

-A fighter who maintains a dominant position on an opponent who has at least five points of contact on the ground (e.g. two feet, two knees and a hand; or two hands, one knee and both feet, etc) for more than a brief moment of time scores a take-down. The Referee will not call halt if the opponent is able to stand immediately after briefly skimming the ground, however, and therefore no points will be scored.

-Fighters may not intentionally strike or forcibly manipulate the joints.

-Fighters may not kick, particularly since some sabatons are pointed enough to cause serious damage if they slip past an armored area.

-Fighters may not draw the arm back to punch, particularly because some gauntlets are pointed enough to cause serious damage if they slip past an armored area. Pressing with the hand in a grapple is allowed, and some gauntlet designs will require the combatant to press with the fist, so this is acceptable. A hard, percussive punch is illegal, as is withdrawing the hand after a press to repeatedly hit with the fist.

OUT OF BOUNDS

Fighters will compete within a marked off ring with one entrance/exit (see “SHOWN THE GATE” below).

If a fighter steps outside the ring with both feet, the Referee will halt the match and an Advantage Point will be awarded to the opponent (see “SOLVING A TIE” below). If both fighters go out of the ring within a beat of time of each other, the match will be halted and no Advantage Point will be given. Both fighters will reset to the center of the ring.

A take down or throw that begins within the boundary and finishes just as the fighter steps out of the boundary will still award the 5 points to the dominant fighter. An Advantage Point will not be given in this case.

“SHOWN THE GATE”

There will be a marked “gate” at the edge of the ring between both starting lines that serves as a special boundary. If a fighter goes out of the gate in the midst of a round, the Referee halts the action and the round is automatically won by the opponent regardless of the score or amount of time left. This is inspired by judicial duels in which an opponent could be driven from the list.

A fighter has been Shown the Gate if:

-Both feet cross the marked boundary

-The torso touches the ground beyond the boundary

-There are two points of contact of the body on the ground beyond the boundary. -Both fighters grapple beyond the boundary, but one is in a clear dominant position (e.g. a fighter does a takedown on the opponent and lands in a dominant position where both combatants are beyond the boundary is still a win for the dominant fighter)

If both fighters go through the boundary within a beat of time of each other, and neither is in a dominant position, the Referee calls halt and resets the fighters in the center of the ring with no award to either fighter. E.g. If Fighter A merely rushes into Fighter B to push him/her out of the gate, but Fighter A continues out with both feet as well without any other form of dominance, neither fighter wins.

SOLVING A TIE

In the event that the fighters have an equal score at the end of a round, the win will go to the person with the most Advantage Points. If this is also equal, the round will be recorded as a tie. By the end of Round 2, if both fighters have an equal number of wins, or if both rounds are tied, the match will proceed to Round 3.

Should Round 3 proceed, a coin will be flipped beforehand and the winner of the coin toss will have the Priority. At the end of Round 3, if the match is tied, the person who has the Priority is declared the winner.

EQUIPMENT REQUIREMENTS

Overview of Equipment -Participants are expected to wear historical European-styled armor contemporary, or close to contemporary, of a person of rank as seen in the time periods of the treatises that detail armored combat techniques. The armor can be styled after historical armor from approximately the late 14th century to early 16th. Despite the wide range of time period allowed, combatants should do their best to keep their own harness cohesive to a single time period and not “mix and match” elements of different eras. Ideally, armor should not have elements that would have existed more than 20 years before or after any other element on a person’s harness. (E.g. a 16th century armet should not be paired with a 14th century coat of plates) Combatants are expected to wear a complete harness suitable for fighting in the lists of judicial combat rather than one specialized for warfare or other forms of combat.

-Safety always trumps authenticity. If a combatant does not have period-styled protection where it is required, modern safety gear must be worn in its place (see Requirements below). Combatants should try to conceal modern elements as much as is reasonably possible (e.g. boots to cover plastic shin guards; modern throat guards hidden under fabric or mail, etc.) These safety elements will be treated as “unarmored” for scoring purposes. Visible authenticity should still be striven for whenever possible.

-Metal components of armor should be made of steel or iron (stainless steel is acceptable). Aluminum, titanium, or any other modern alloy is only allowed in the same way that other modern rigid defenses are: As safety equipment that should be hidden when possible. As with other non-period safety gear, these elements will be treated as “unarmored” for scoring purposes.

-Armor is treated “as worn”. E.g. a person who chooses to wear only mail on the shoulders will be scored on differently than a person who wears steel pauldrons. This means that different armor configurations may have slightly different targets (see below for scoring). All modern protection is treated as “unarmored” for the sake of scoring.

- Combatants are not allowed to wear blatant fantasy armor or armor that is blatantly non-European or non-historical in style. Although this is not a Living History event, and therefore strict historical accuracy is not the intended goal, this is still an event directly rooted in the revival of history, and the armor usage should be treated as such.

-Tournament organizers have the right to fail an armor on the basis of suitability. This not only includes safety issues but also blatant historical inaccuracy issues as well. For example, a historical Japanese suit of armor is not suitable for the goals of this tournament.

GENERAL ARMOR REQUIREMENTS. -A combatant is expected to wear predominately steel plate armor which covers the head, front of the torso, limbs and hands. Optional areas to cover with plate are the back of the torso, the shoulders, the underside of the arms, the back of the legs, the feet and the shins (though the shins need rigid plastic if not covered by plate).

-Hardened leather is an acceptable alternative to plate as long as it is worn in a historical manner (NO FANTASY LEATHER ARMOR!). The overall harness should still be predominantly steel, however, and steel must also cover the elbows, knees and head. (see Other Plate Requirements below) Please note that if the leather shows signs of breakage, the event staff is allowed to reject the use of that armor.

-Armpits and the groin, which are typically not covered by plate, are required to be covered by mail. All other areas that are difficult to cover by plate are not required to use mail, but fighters should strongly consider it whenever possible. Absolutely no bare skin is allowed to be showing.

-Combinations of plate and fabric/leather (such as a Coat of Plates or a splinted vambrace) is equal to plate armor provided there are no obvious gaps. If such defenses show significant gaps between the plates so as to make the armor exceptionally flexible, the Staff may rule that this armor is to be treated as “light armor” (equivalent to mail) for the purposes of scoring. Combatants will be notified ahead of time if this is the case.

-Shins, throat and, for male combatants, the groin, must be covered by rigid protection, even if the combatant must use modern protection such as impact resistant plastic. Combatants should attempt to hide modern protection as best as possible.

-All armor is expected to be in good working condition. Tournament organizers have the right to reject any armor due to damage or anything where there is a safety concern to either the wearer or opponents.

HEAD AND NECK REQUIREMENTS

-Helmets must be of at least 16-gauge thickness or thicker (preferably thicker if mild steel), lined with a suspension liner (period or modern) or else padded with a minimum of 0.5” of closed cell foam or equivalent. This requirement is in addition to an optional arming cap (i.e. the use of an arming cap does not allow someone to use lighter helmet padding). -A helmet must completely enclose the face so that the point of a weapon may not slip inside. Use of an “open faced” helmet is only allowed if the full opening is covered by perforated steel plate (and the perforated plate will be considered “unarmored” for scoring).

-Openings for vision, breathing, or any other gaps in the face of the helmet absolutely may not allow penetration to the wearer from a 0.25 inch x 0.5 inch bar. Any opening larger than this must be covered by perforated plate (and that opening will still be treated as “unarmored” for scoring).

-Other openings of the front, sides or top of the helmet may not allow penetration to the wearer from a 0.5 inch bar. This includes the opening at the base of the helmet. Certain helmets (such as the sallet) may have a larger gap at the base of the rear, and although allowed, fighters must wear mail at the back of the neck.

-A moveable visor must be firmly held in place during a match. This can be via spring pin, latch, buckled strap or tying it into place. If the visor can move enough that an opening appears which allows a 0.25 inch x 0.5 inch bar to enter, the helmet will not be allowed.

-Solid neck protection for the cervical area, clavicles, and larynx must be worn, regardless of its historical suitability for the armor style chosen, and the throat in particular must be covered by rigid protection. A modern throat guard is acceptable, although combatants are encouraged to hide this if possible. Wearing mail alone for the throat is not enough, although a mail standard (pisane) with a hidden trauma plate is acceptable, as is wearing a rigid throat protector hidden by a mail aventail.

GAUNTLETS Hands and wrists must be covered by steel plate gauntlets of at least 18-gauge steel or thicker (preferably thicker if mild steel) so that the back of the hand and fingers are protected. The palm-side of the hand must be completely covered in leather or heavy fabric such as canvas so that no skin is showing.

OTHER PLATE REQUIREMENTS All other plate armor must be at a minimum of 18-gauge steel or thicker, although thicker steel is strongly encouraged for the joints and the torso protection if made of mild steel. Hardened leather of at least 3 mm thickness is allowed in place of steel for the upper and lower cannons of the arms, the cuisses, greaves and breastplate. Note that equally thick but unhardened leather will be treated as “light armor” for scoring, just as mail armor. Steel must be used for elbows, knees, gauntlets and head.

MAIL The use of mail armor is required for the armpits and groin, and highly encouraged to cover other gaps and openings wherever possible. This is not just for the sake of accuracy or simulated protection, but for actual puncture resistance of a broken blade. If the combatant forgoes mail for unarmored areas, heavy material or puncture resistant fabric should be worn (such as a modern fencing under arm protector underneath the shirt).

Mail links should be rivetted, welded, or a combination of rivetted and solid rings made of iron, steel or brass. Absolutely no aluminum or titanium mail. Butted mail is not allowed.

SHOES Combatants are encouraged to wear period shoes. However, if modern shoes are worn, they should be athletic shoes with a light tread (no combat boots or similar, which can cause knee damage during wrestling), and the combatant is encouraged to either use shoes that are a solid dark color to make them less noticeable, or else covered by sabatons of mail or plate.

UNDER CLOTHING Combatants are not required to wear period clothing underneath the armor. Pants, if not period hosen, should either be athletic pants or fencing/HEMA pants, though it is encouraged that combatants not wear pants that blatantly visually stand out as modern from a distance.

WEAPON SPECIFICATIONS Combatants will use weapons provided by the event. Optionally, combatants may carry their own dagger as a back up weapon in Round 1 (Spear) and 2 (Sword). Round 3 may not have a back up dagger since it is the primary weapon of that round, and combatants must use the event-provided dagger for Round 3.

SPEAR: Spears will be the Armored Training Spear by Darkwood Armory. These will be provided by the event.

SWORD: Swords are the specially designed “Mordschlag Swords” by Jesse Belsky Stageswords. These will be provided by the event. These swords use hard rubber fittings to allow safer use of strikes and grappling actions with the hilt.

DAGGER: Daggers for Round 3 will be Purpleheart Armory wooden rondels provided by the event.

Combatants choosing to carry an optional back up dagger for Rounds 1 and 2 are allowed, though the dagger must be removed for Round 3. Back up daggers may have a blade no longer than 16 inches in length. The dagger must be European in design appropriate to the period of acceptable armor (late 14th to early 16th century). The guard of the dagger should be no wider than 3 inches, and no part of the hilt should be excessively pointed or dangerous. There should be no sharp nicks or burrs anywhere on the weapon.

The blade can be steel, aluminum, wood, or an unmodified Cold Steel synthetic dagger. The point must be a minimum of 3/8 inch by 5/8 inch in size.

Steel blades must have a minimum edge width of 1/16 inch. The blade should be designed for armored combat, and therefore should not be overly flexible. We recommend the armored combat rondel dagger made by Darkwood Armory (note that this is not the standard offering that is on their website). If the point of the dagger does not have a welded ball at the point, a rubber or leather stopper is required to cover the point, even for nail head and rolled points. If there is no nail head or rolled point, a metal washer must be inside the stopper to prevent the blade from piercing it. In addition, a rubber or leather stopper MUST BE SECURELY ATTACHED BY EPOXY SO THAT THE BLUNT CANNOT COME OFF WHEN THE DAGGER IS DRAWN. The stopper must completely cover the point of the dagger and at least overlap one inch of the blade beyond the point. If the stopper comes off in the middle of a bout, it will be instantly rejected from further use for the rest of the event. Aluminum blades should have a minimum edge width of 1/4 inch. We recommend daggers made by Jesse Belsky Stagesword that have widened points for armored combat.

Wooden daggers must be made of a hardwood, be constructed of one solid piece, and be no smaller than ¾ inch at any part of the weapon. Wooden daggers are required to have a “ball” carved onto the point. The wood should be sanded so that there are no dangerous gouges or weak points. We highly recommend the standard Purpleheart Armory rondel dagger trainer for this.

The dagger may be worn tucked into a belt or else hanging from a sheath, but should not be in a position in which it may fall out easily. The referee may require that a dagger be removed if it constantly falls out.