This document provides the rules common to all tournaments. This is meant to serve as a minimum standard. Each tournament will have additional rules covering quality standards, scoring actions, and illegal actions.

• Event Goals
• Forbidden Actions
• Match Conduct
• Scoring Actions
• Equipment

Event Goals

At a high level, the goal of SoCal Swordfight tournaments is to showcase fencing which:

• Displays good sportsmanship by everyone involved. If everyone isn’t having fun, then the event isn’t worth running.
• Has a high level of competitive drive and promotes skill development and recognition.
• Showcases historical techniques applied in a modern context.
• Demonstrates a knowledge and familiarity with the use of sharp swords and high-quality striking mechanics.

Every year (we) the organizers hear “this is amazing, you have a huge event and yet everyone feels chill as if it is a much smaller community” and we want to keep it this way. We can all fight hard, strive for victory, and still come out better friends than when we started.

Top of Page

Forbidden Actions

Any strike thrown with unrestrained force on the part of the attacker. Competitive martial arts fighting involves throwing forceful strikes with full intent to make contact, however each competitor is expected to maintain a respect for their opponent’s safety at all times. Should a safety issue arise, a fighter must do everything in their power to arrest their strike in progress.

High amplitude throws and leg locks/wraps are prohibited in all tournaments. (Please refer to individual tournament rules to see if throws are permitted in any particular tournament.) A high amplitude throw is defined as any takedown action which either:

• Raises the opponent’s hips above the level of their head in the execution.
• Accelerates their opponent towards the ground, either through force and/or by lifting before releasing.

Directors WILL take into account the size difference between competitors when determining if sufficient control was demonstrated in a throw. If you are much larger than your opponent you are expected to be able to lower them down gently.

The ankle/foot is off target in all tournaments.

Exposing the spine or back of the head to the opponent. Note that if your opponent does expose such targets it is still your responsibility to do what you can to arrest the power of your strike.

Kicks are not permitted. (Raising your leg between you and your opponent to keep or expand separation is not a kick, so long as you don’t have a strong impact or deliver a violent shove.)

Repetitive punching is not permitted. However, mask punches or pushes to control the opponent’s head prior to a valid scoring action are allowed. (Any action with excessive force is a penalty.)

‘Mordschlag’ style attacks (hits with the hilt) not permitted.

Throwing the sword or any other object.

Individual weapon tournaments may have additional rules in place. Be sure to read the rules for any tournaments you are entered in.

A dog may not participate in sword fighting matches.

Ring Outs

Should both of a fighter's feet leave the ring, a hold will be called and they will receive a non-safety penalty for a ring out (-1 pt). Should a fighter ring out with such speed that they leave the immediate ring area, they will receive a safety penalty.

Top of Page

Match Conduct

• All fighters will be expected to fight with both skill and control.
• Fighters are expected to act professionally, and respectful to the officiating staff.
• Fighters are expected to follow the commands of the tournament staff at all times.

This is a martial arts tournament and all fighters are expected to conduct themselves with respect for the weapon, their opponent, and the tournament staff. Any fighter that is deemed to pose a danger to themselves or others will be addressed at the discretion of the tournament director.

The tournament director will serve as the ultimate authority within the ring. The disciplinary procedure will generally constitute first a yellow card (warning), then a red card (penalty), then an expulsion from the match or tournament; however, it shall remain at the discretion of the director. Fighters who have been banned from attendance of previous SoCal Swordfight tournaments, or from other major HEMA tournaments, must contact staff before attempting to register for any tournaments.

Self-Calls

Fighters are able, and encouraged, to self-call attacks received; however, this is not required. A fighter who self-calls is only able to provide information to the match director, who may choose to use or discard the information as appropriate (eg, if the attack was flat). A fighter may only self-call in a manner which rewards their opponent. Valid self-calls are:

• Indicating they were struck if judges missed the call.
• Indicating they were struck in a higher value target than the judges are indicating.
• Indicating that they did not strike the opponent.
• Indicating that they struck the opponent in a lower value target than indicated.
• If a fighter being awarded a clean hit self-calls a Double Hit the exchange will be recorded as a No Exchange.
• If a fighter in a Double Hit calls their strike back it is up to the director if they will accept the self call or not, depending on their certainty of the original ruling.

Penalties

Penalties will be assessed as Safety or non-Safety. Safety penalties are escalating in nature, and follow the following escalation:

1. Yellow Card - Warning
2. Red Card - Point(s) deduction
3. Black Card - Match forfeit
4. Expulsion from the tournament

Based on the severity of the infraction a director may choose to skip steps of escalation. Safety penalties are tracked across all tournaments and the director will base the escalation of the first offense based on the fighter’s prior safety record.

Non-Safety penalties are point deductions, and do not result in any escalation or disciplinary action.

Any fight who is awarded a penalty will have any scoring actions they performed be invalidated (aka they never happened).

Promptness

All fighters are expected to be ready to fight as soon as their match is called. This includes:

• Being queued up behind their corner.
• Having all their gear on.

Not being ready when your match is called will result in a penalty. It may only be a few seconds to you, but it adds up over hundreds of matches! Be courteous to everyone's time and be ready to start with no delays.

Match Length

Point Cap

All matches will be conducted until a point cap of 7 points is reached.

Time Limit

Matches will run using a stopped clock. At no point will a hold be called based on the clock expiring, and all time-outs will be based on the current time after the director has called for an exchange to end.

If no fighter reaches the point cap before 90 seconds the match will enter overtime. If a fencer in the lead is awarded a point after overtime begins they will win the match. However if they are unable to gain a point then the match will continue. (Aka if you are behind after 90 seconds you still have the potential for a comeback over multiple exchanges. If you are winning after 90 seconds you need to only score a single point to seal the deal.)

Should the clock exceed 150 seconds (2.5 min) at the conclusion of an exchange the match will hit the hard-cap and the fighter with the higher score will be declared the winner.

Examples ↓

Bracket Advancement

After the conclusion of the pools the fighters will be ranked by indicator score. The top 50% will be advanced into a single elimination bracket.
(You can click on "How are the standings calculated?" at the bottom of the Pool Standings to see the ranking algorithm for any tournament.)

Top of Page

Scoring Actions

Quality Standards

Points will be awarded for cuts/thrusts/slices/etc. in accordance with the rules of the individual tournaments. Scoring actions must display:

1. Deliberate intent and targeting on the part of the attacker.
2. Sufficient depth. Cuts with the tip of the sword or shallow thrusts are not scoring actions.
   Example ↓
   Undeniably out of measure. While this is certainly hitting, we want purchase on the target.
   
   Example ↓
   This is the 'ideal' amount of contact the judges are looking for, but as we know there is some wiggle room in practice.
   

Cuts

Cuts must be delivered with sufficient cutting plane, body structure, and blade arc.

• Cutting plane is defined as the blade moving in line with a deliberate plane (edge alignment) and the sword moving along such a plane for the position of its movement immediately before striking the target. Special attention will be paid to horizontal strikes, as these typically display poor cutting plane and edge alignment.
  Example ↓
  Cross is clearly at 90 degrees to the plane of sword travel.
  
  Example ↓
  You laugh at this example, but look at some slow-motion footage of your horizontal cuts. :p
  
• Sufficient body structure, which is not indicated by how hard the cut hits, but in demonstrating connection between the body and sword at the time of impact.
  Example ↓
  Textbook good cut. Arms are extended, the blade/crossguard are in line with the plane of motion on impact.
  
• A sword must display rotation before contact with the target, typically in excess of 60 degrees. Arc should not be considered the only determinant of quality, as some strikes may be acceptable given a very good cutting plane and body structure with shorter arc, and cuts with no structure/cutting plane will not be valid no matter how large the arc.

Thrusts

Thrusts must demonstrate the ability to penetrate into the target beyond a superficial depth. This is at a bare minimum of at least 3” into the target and can be demonstrated by a bend of the blade or visible force reaction at the point of contact. Should a fighter deliberately shorten the extension of their arm to lower the force of a thrust it will also be considered as a quality attack.

• Example ↓
  A blade flex is not explicitly necessary, but easily communicates that the thrust had the required depth.
  
• Example ↓
  You may also choose to shorten your step to soften the blow. This is still a valid scoring action, even though there is no flex.
  
• Example ↓
  If you are stepping in deeply with your thrusts, it is expected that you relax your arms on impact.
  
• Example ↓
  If you make light contact and are at full extension it is not a valid thrust.
  
• Example ↓
  Chasing the opponent with the point touching is also not a valid thrust unless there is some pressure against the target.
  
• Example ↓
  When in measure a thrust does not need to exert a lot of pressure, as the ability to achieve sufficient depth is clear.
  

It is understood that due to the design of HEMA masks a thrust to the mesh will have a high instance of being deflected on contact. It is further understood that the movement of a fighter may allow them to ‘roll out’ of contact from a thrust. A thrust that ‘glances off’ is a product of our protective gear, real sword points stick! (Though a thrust that misses and is pushed against the target with the flat is of course not valid, no matter how much the blade bends.)

Slices

Slices will only be considered as valid when performed against the upper opening and the arm (slices to the off-arm in 1h weapons do not count). The slice must show purposeful placement of the edge with sufficient force to display a clear reaction from the target. This may be demonstrated by pushing the target back at the point of contact, or simply preventing the target from being able to move freely. Drawing motion is not required, however note that this push requires a high degree of commitment, and is not simply sawing a blade back and forth on the body.

• Example ↓
  Textbook slice driving up the blade. However, this is NOT the only way to have a slice qualify.
  
• Example ↓
  So long as the blade is clearly inhibiting/interfering with the action of the arms it is a valid slice, even if there is no blade travel.
  
• Example ↓
  Missing a thrust and then sawing is not a valid scoring action. Slices must show some force transfer between the sword and target. Either de-stabilizing your opponent, or interfering with their movement in some way. (Doesn't have to stop them in their tracks, but we should be able to see a reaction in their body.)
  
• Example ↓
  Slices to the body are not valid scoring actions, no matter how much you sell it.
  

Pommel Strikes

Pommel strikes may be indicated to the mask, but making contact with any surface other than the front of the mask is illegal. Pommels must demonstrate deliberate and unimpeded action, as well as (if contacting the mesh) control of force.

• Pommel strikes do not need to make contact to be considered valid, provided there is an unambiguous path from the termination of the strike and the target. Example ↓
  Both 1h and 2h are acceptable.
  
  Example ↓
  Pommel strikes to the top or side of the mask are not scoring actions, and will incur a penalty if delivered deliberately and/or with force.
  
• Pommel strikes which do make an impact must demonstrate control of force and respect for your opponent’s safety. Example ↓
  Please don't do this
  
• The motion of the sword must be in line with the pommel. Wildly pushing your sword hilt back and forth in a high bind does not constitute a pommel strike. Example ↓
  While it wouldn't be pleasant to be on the receiving end, we want fighters to display a controlled and deliberate action. These are not valid scoring actions. (Doing the same thing, but harder, is also not appreciated.)
  

Targets

Target Area Definitions

“Upper opening”, for the purpose of these rules, includes both the head and cuts landing on the top of the torso, in an area from shoulder seam to shoulder seam. This is to both reduce judging error for head strikes, and reward fencing based on intention (fencing for high targets) rather than luck (they moved their head out of the way). Should there be any lack of clarity if a blow struck the “upper opening” or arm target area a default of arm shall be taken - because you already missed the head by a wide margin.

Arm strikes will also include hand strikes. A strike to the handle of the sword will be considered as a strike to the hands. Note that full quality requirements are also in place for strikes to the hands.

Torso is the remaining area above the waist, Leg is below the waist. (Typically indicated by the bottom of the jacket.)

The foot/ankle is an illegal target in all tournaments

In the event of disagreement from the judges on the target area struck the point value will be decided at the discretion of the director. Typically, this will take the form of an average point value.

Blade Grabs & Disarms

Disarms are (intentional or accidental) not scoring actions. A fighter must follow up a disarm with a valid scoring action. Should a fighter lose their weapon they may also concede a maximum point strike instead of attempting to enter distance for a grapple. (Running away is considered conceding.)

A blade may only be grabbed if it is not in motion, otherwise it will be counted as a scoring action to the hand. If the sword was in the process of attacking a high point value target, Target Substitution rules will apply.

Target Substitution

If an arm is struck and

1. It is not currently holding the sword,
2. The strike was likely to be a high value strike had it not hit the arm (cut/thrust head, thrust torso),

the attack will instead be registered against the higher value target. This is a point substitution, and not a warning/cardable offense.

Timing Of Actions

Double Hits

A double hit is defined as any time both fighters land valid scoring actions that were “in-flight” at the same time. It is possible for the hits to not be simultaneous, so long as the later hit was already moving forward when the first hit landed.

• Example: [A] is circling their sword around to chamber when the strike from [B] lands, after which [B] swings the sword forward and strikes [A]. The attack from [B] was not started before they were struck, and it is not a double hit. (See the section on afterblows.)
• Example: [A] see’s [B] circle their sword back to chamber, and launches an attack into the opening. By the time [A]’s strike lands the attack from [B] has already begun moving forward, and the attack from [B] lands shortly after. This is a double hit because both attacks were in flight at the same time.

• Example ↓
  They both hit each other at the same time. Double.
  
• Example ↓
  Even though the attacks do not hit at the same time, they are in motion at the same time.
  
• Example ↓
  This is stretching the definition of a double hit to the limit. There was no defensive reaction by the slower fighter, and both attacks were in flight at the same time.
  

Double Hits are recorded as no match score for each fighter, and are factored into the overall indicator score. There is an increasing deduction for each double hit, cumulative over the entire pool. (-1/-2/-3/ etc).

If 3 double hits are recorded in a match:

• Pool matches: recorded as a loss for both fighters.
• Elimination match: the match winner will start with a penalty of -1 in their next match, and an additional -1 for every subsequent double.

If a double hit is very obviously the result of one party ignoring the threat of the opponent’s weapon an additional penalty will be assessed to this fighter.

• Example: Attacks to the lower torso or legs when the opponent is chambered to cut to the upper opening.

Afterblow Definition

The afterblow is a valid scoring hit landing as the next action after a clean (aka non-double) hit. Any attack, step, or feint consumes the chance for an afterblow. An afterblow will deduct -1 from the point value of the initial attack’s score.

• Example ↓
  This is and afterblow because the strike to the head follows the failed parry (hand hit)
  
• Example ↓
  This is and afterblow because the strike to the hands is the next action instigated after being hit in the head.
  
• Example ↓
  This is and afterblow because the initial clearing defensive action failed, and the cut to the head was a follow up.
  
• Example ↓
  This is not a valid afterblow because it is two actions after the initial hit. (A feint and then a cut that lands.)
  
• Example ↓
  This is not a valid afterblow. The first afterblow was blocked by the crossguard and the strike to the flank was the second attempt.
  

Pulling of Attacks

In just about all cases an attack that is “pulled” before it makes impact is not a valid scoring action. To be awarded points you must strike your opponent! (Though it is certainly considered good sportsmanship to strike as softly as possible when presented with an opening your opponent has no hope of defending.)

The exception to this rule is if their opponent has created an unsafe situation through their own actions (eg: expose back of the head, fall down). Should there be any risk to safety, for any reason, a fighter is expected to make every effort to pull back a strike in progress and/or not launch a strike to begin with. However, if a fighter can demonstrate they retained the wherewithal and capacity to launch an attack they will receive the maximum allowed point value for the exchange.

Note: Pommels strikes are an exception to this rule, and may be presented IF it is unambiguous that there is no obstacle to the target. (ie no hand in the way).

• Example: A fighter turns the back of the head during an exchange and their opponent stops their blow in mid-flight. The fighter who was able to arrest their attack will be awarded points, and the fighter who exposed the target will be penalized.

Should a dangerous situation arise due to an action outside of the fighter's control (eg: gear failure) both fighters should immediately stop fighting and any actions delivered during or after the safety hold will not be valid scoring actions.

• Example: A fighter’s elbow pad falls off and they hit their opponent in the next action. It will be assumed that their opponent was attempting to withdraw at the sight of the equipment failure, and therefore they were not fully committed to the fencing actions occurring.

Top of Page

Equipment

In the interest of promoting a professional HEMA image we do not allow heavy armor (breast plates, ect) or fantasy styled armors. In addition no protruding/dangling objects may be added on to tournament protective equipment or masks, except for those which are intended as safety modifications (i.e. addition of additional protective plates). Any equipment which serves as a distraction to judges or participants (bells, inappropriate mask paint, etc) is not permitted. Disqualification of equipment rests at the discretion of the tournament manager, the event is under no obligation to allow you to use your custom or non-standard equipment.

All protective equipment and weapons must be inspected prior to competition. A fighter must show up to gear check wearing their equipment.

The following equipment is required for all sparring tournaments:

• Masks with back of the head protection are required. (Back of head protectors which are are capable of sliding down are not acceptable. Example ↓)
  This protector exposed the back of the head by not being affixed to the top of the mask.
• Trachea protection that protects the throat from a direct thrust is required.
• Testicle protection is required, groin protection is recommended for all participants.
• Rigid chest protection is recommended but not required.
• Hard elbow protection, that covers the 3 points of the elbow.
• Hard knee protection that covers the knee.
• No exposed skin will be permitted.

The equipment standards for the following are dictated by the weapon tournament:

• Gloves
• Jacket
• Shin/Forearm

Top of Page