Tournament Rules - Meyer Frei Fechter Guild

2012 Joachim Meyer Open HEMA Fencing Tournament
Tournament Rules
The event will feature competitions involving three different weapons: the
longsword, dusack and arming or backsword. The same rules will apply to each
different competition, except where noted.
All players are presumed to have read and understood these rules.
Registration for any event constitutes an acknowledgement that the player has
understood the rules and agrees to abide by them.
The intent of these rules is not to reproduce a fechtschule competition.
Rather, it is to emphasize and encourage the use of historically accurate combative
techniques within a safe environment. The rules are experimental, and players are
asked to be patient with them, and try their best to work within the confines of the
rule set outlined below.
Conduct of the competitions
Each competition will consist of four pools in which preliminary bouts will
take place and a final round, in which the overall winner will be determined
Each pool will be fought as a modified king-of-the-hill competition. At the
conclusion of each pool, there will be a winner of that pool. Each pool winner
proceeds to the final.
Before each pool, the players will draw lots ranging from 1 and up. The
player drawing the number 1 is the initial king. The individual with number 2 is
the initial challenger with the remaining players lining up in numerical order.
Each player will have 2 lives in each pool. When a player has lost his
last “life,” he is eliminated from further competition in that pool. Being eliminated
from any one pool does not prohibit a player from competing in the next pool, as
pool eliminations will be held one after the other. That is, when the first pool
concludes, the subsequent pool will be organized and fought.
Players will shake hands before each bout.
Players will announce their names to the tournament secretary so that they
can be identified and the loss of “lives,” can be accurately recorded.
There is no time limit to any bout.
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Each bout will be decided by the first “clean blow.” The player receiving the
clean blow has lost a “life.” If the player has a remaining life, he can return to the
end of the line, and is able to continue competing until he has no lives.
The winner of the encounter remains as king and fights until he loses a life.
If he has a life remaining, he goes to the end of the line and may continue
competing as a challenger.
The winner of a pool is determined by the individual having the greatest
number of victories when all lives have been lost.
The final consists of competition between the pool winners. The initial
player pairs are chosen by lot. The bouts will be conducted like the pool bouts
except that each player has one life and it is lost upon a clean blow.
The winners of the first finals matches will then bout according to the same
rules. The winner of that match is the tournament victor.
If a player wins more than one pool elimination, he gains an extra life for
every additional pool he wins. So, if a player wins two pools, he has two lives in
the final.
Clean blow
A “clean blow” is defined as a blow landing with the edge of the weapon
and, in the opinion of the judges, having sufficient force to have killed or critically
wounded the recipient. In longsword and dusack, a clean blow must be delivered
in a manner involving the action of the shoulder. Sniping blows delivered by the
action of the wrist or the elbow alone will not be counted. A clean blow in the
arming/broad sword, can be delivered by the action of the wrist. However, the
blow must be delivered with a moulinet. Merely tapping is not a clean blow. Slices
do not count as clean blows.
Doubles
Thrusts count as clean blows. Thrusts should not be directed at the neck.
A double is when the two players simultaneously receive a clean blow. Both
players lose a life.
After blow
The after blow is when one player lands a clean blow land and then receives
a clean blow in return during a tempo. A tempo is a span of time of less than a
second, or about the time it takes a player to make a passing step. This time is
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inherently subjective and subject to determination by the judges.
If a player receives an after blow, he loses a life. However, since the player
delivering an after blow also received a clean blow, he also loses a life.
No after blow will be counted if the initial clean blow lands on the neck or
the head.
Grappling
Limited grappling is permitted at the election of both participants to a bout.
That is, both participants must agree. It is the chief judge’s responsibility to
determine at the start of any bout whether the players will allow grappling.
If players come to gripes, they have about 3-4 seconds to initiate a throw,
takedown or lock. If neither player initiates an approved technique within that
time, the chief judge will separate the players and restart the bout. If the players
come to grips where grappling is not permitted, the chief judge will stop the bout
and restart the players.
The following throws are not allowed: flying mare or ippon seoinage; hip
tosses or hip throws; haraigoshi; uchimata, or any throw in which the throwee’s
feet leave the floor and his descent to the floor begins at a point higher than his
opponent’s waist. No throw where there is a danger of landing on the head is
permitted.
The thrower must maintain control of the throwee so as to ensure as safe a
landing as possible. That is, the thrower’s hands must remain gripping the throwee
until the conclusion of the throw. The throw must end with the thrower in a
dominant position from which he could deploy a dagger if he had one.
A limited array of elbow locks are permitted. Permissible locks are
illustrated here:
(or similar)
Locks must be applied in a manner calculated to secure a submission rather
than to damage the joint. The receiver of an armlock is cautioned to submit if the
opponent obtains the lock to avoid the possibility of injury that can result from the
struggle to escape the lock. If it appears that one player has obtained a lock but the
second player continues to struggle, the chief judge will stop the bout and award
the victory to the player obtaining the lock.
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Blade grabbing
Grabbing the opponent’s blade is permitted. The blade must not be in
cutting motion. Thrusts in motion may be grabbed.
Judging
There will be one chief judge and at least one assistant judge and ideally two
assistant judges.
The players understand that judging is an inherently subjective endeavor and
that mistakes will be made. However, the determination of the judges on all
matters is final and not subject to dispute by the players. By registering to
compete, the player agrees to abide by all decisions of the judges without
complaint.
Equipment
Before each competition, each player will submit to an equipment check to
determine that his safety equipment is sufficient to provide reasonable protection
from injury.
At a minimum, each player is expected to have:
● A fencing mask or similar headgear capable of withstanding forceful blows
and thrusts.
● Neck protection.
● Elbow and knee protection.
● Chest protection.
● Gloves similar to lacrosse gloves at least. Clam shelf gauntlets are allowed,
but if worn, grappling is not allowed.
Each player is responsible for providing his own safety equipment.
Professionalism
The highest professionalism and sportsmanship is expected of all players.
Players are encouraged to call clean blows against themselves if they are not seen
by the judges. The point of this competition is not to produce victors, but to
provide an environment in which players can improve their individual skills and
advance the development of HEMA.
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If in the opinion of the judges any player does not act in accordance with the
expectations of professionalism and sportsmanship, the player can be deprived of a
life or eliminated from competition, depending on the severity of the infraction.
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