[Ansteorra-archery] FW: [Ansteorra-Chivalry] Heavy Combat Rules at Gulf Wars

[Ken Theriot]

FYI.

His Majesty is not pleased, and is still working on negotiating, but we are
probably looking at 10' as it stands now.  Be flexible.

Kenneth

-----Original Message-----
From: TRM Gunthar & Elizabeth [mailto:gunthar.elizabeth at gmail.com] 
Sent: Wednesday, March 11, 2009 11:14 AM
To: Order of the Chivalry - Kingdom of Ansteorra - SCA, Inc. (Restricted
List)
Subject: [Ansteorra-Chivalry] Heavy Combat Rules at Gulf Wars

Okay, I thought we had everything figured out for the Rules of Engagement at
Gulf Wars this year. We have been working for months to enforce Society
Standards with a couple of variations. But as of yesterday I found out that
the GW Handbook has been printed with "Armor per kingdom but Rules of
Engagement to Gleann Abhann Standards".
This was a total end around run on what we have been working.

It looks like Combat Archery will now be 10'. This is NOT something I've
Worked for and had considered it to be "Clear the Bow" as we agreed on and
as I've told the CA community. I apologize. I'm still working on things and
letting His Majesty Havordh know I'm NOT happy. I understand when he says he
was confused and thought we were just doing things like we always have but
I have given several examples where I have pushed for the changes.

Here are the rules that he has published:
****************************************************************************
*************
I THINK I have caught everything that is not SCA Heavy standards with
highlighting; someone will hopefully fix all my errors.  To be honest, I
have no idea what is going on with Rapier.


Society minimum heavy combat armor is required for all participants.
 Fighting Conventions
1. Weapons
a. Not Allowed:
Laminated pole arms
Spears more than 9 feet long
Pole Weapons Longer than 7 1/2 Feet long.
Punch daggers, T-grips, shovel handles, offensive shield bosses, kick
knives, etc.
Experimental carbon fiber spears.
Excessively Flexible Weapons
Weapons with cutting and/or smashing surface at both ends

b. Allowed
Butt spikes on pole-arms and two-handed weapons (This was something we
talked about a while ago and it was kind of decided that it wasn't going to
pass, but is in the book this way.)
Madus and other similar double-ended thrusting weapons.
Silo-flex or silo-flex-enhanced weapons.
Most Society legal pole arms (except laminated)
Single-handed mass weapons with “splints” or “clackers” or rattan.
Hand-thrown weapons (axes, javelins) with minimum half-gauntlet hand
protection when throwing the weapon.  Troops using these weapons are full
contact kill.
2. Actions
a. Not Allowed:
Closing one’s eyes or turning one’s head to avoid engagement.
Killing someone on the ground - Fallen opponents must be allowed to regain a
defensive position.
Grappling
Declared Kills from Behind (DFKB).
Death on the Ground
Fallen Opponents must be allowed to regain a defensive position.
Thrusts to the sides, top and back of helm.
“The helm may be presumed by Kingdom convention to include a very light
chain mail drape, permitting vision and resisting cuts by the mere touch of
a bladed weapon.
a. Under this standard, an acceptable cutting blow to the face would be
lighter than to other portions of the head or body. Areas deemed illegal to
strike (the wrists from 1 inch [25.4mm] above the hands, from 1 inch
[25.4mm] above the knees and below) shall be considered safe from all
attack.
b. The minimum effective thrusting blow to the face shall be a directed
touch and the maximum shall be substantially lighter than to other parts of
the body.”
b. Allowed:
Society standard face thrusts
Directed Touch Face Thrust.
“The minimum effective thrusting blow to the face shall be a directed touch
and the maximum shall be substantially lighter than to other parts of the
body.”
Melees
All melees will be fought using Society standards. Melee fighters should be
trained in their home Kingdom before being allowed on the field. This
provides a "generic" base from which to start. Gulf Wars, however, has some
particular rules that need enumerating.  All marshals involved in combat in
which projectiles are used are required to wear goggles or safety glasses.
Melee Engagement  (This is all society standards as far as I know.....)

The person you want to hit must know you are there and they must, through
their actions, convey that knowledge to you before you are allowed to hit
them unless you are part of a line engaged with a line. You must have one or
more of the following to have legal engagement when you approach an opponent
on the melee field.
The first and most obvious is to be in your opponent’s front 180 degrees.
This means that you are in front of their shoulders/hips.
Eye Contact - Just because you do not have eye contact does not mean that
you are not engaged.  Having eye contact is the best form of acknowledgment
but it is not required.
Defensive recognition - If you come up on a fighter’s flank and say to him,
“I am on the other side!” and he adopts a defensive posture towards you, he
has acknowledged that you are there and that you are a threat.

Offensive action - If you come up on a fighter’s flank and say to him, “I am
on the other side!” and he throws up a shot at you without turning to see
you, he has acknowledged that you are there and that you are a threat.

Verbal acknowledgement - If you come up on a fighter’s flank and say to him,
“I am on the other side!” and he replies with, “I can’t see you, we aren’t
engaged!”, well he is wrong. This falls into the realm of avoiding eye
contact to deny engagement, and is a vile, deceitful abuse of a rule put in
place for safety. It is a violation of rule #6 and has no place where men
and women of honor choose to fight.

Line engagement - Part of a wall or organized line of fighters. Any part of
an entire line is engaged with the opposing entire line and they are to know
that they may be struck by anyone in that line. A line is defined as two or
more fighters working in concert AND in close proximity (weapon’s range)
with one another. A line includes not just a single rank but the entire
formation, not just the front line of shields but the glaives and pikes in
the second and third ranks as well.  If two shieldmen choose to shoulder up
and advance into a group of twenty, then they are at risk from any and
everyone who is within weapon’s range.  In order to break an engagement all
you have to do is get out of weapon’s range.  Weapon’s range means the
longest point at which either one of the two of you may be struck. If one
guy has a spear and the other has a dagger, then the maximum reach of the
spear is weapon’s range.  If both had sword and shield, then the maximum
reach of the longer of the two is weapon’s range.  If you decide to break
engagement and turn to run back to you line, he can chase you around the
feast hall, through the parking lot up one hill and back down the other
side, as long as he is still within that weapon’s range.  He can still hit
you in the back if you turned your back to him and are still in weapon’s
range. The second you get outside that range, he MUST reestablish
engagement. This counts in all cases. When charging a shield wall, the
fighters you go past are free to hit you in the back, as long as you are
close enough to hit.  You do not have to have a weapon in a melee in order
to be at risk. Just because you drop you glaive or you get your spear pulled
from you hands, it does not mean that they are not allowed to strike you.
You are still fair game.

Archers - Archers are now and have for some time been full contact.  We
choose to not beat them down and simply give them a light shot out of
courtesy but they are playing the same contact sport as the rest of us.
They ARE NOT called dead at close range. That being said, anyone may choose
to yield and call themselves “dead.” It is not allowed to strike a combatant
who has yielded.

The Fort
Archers and other missile weapons combatants in the towers may only be
attacked with siege engines and missile weapons. Marshals during the fort
battle must wear eye protection, gorgets (not required, but recommended),
and are encouraged to wear groin protection. Some marshals, particularly
outside the gate, will be in full armor. A band of yellow tape around their
helmets will denote these marshals with the word "marshal" written on it.
They are not to be attacked.
(My Note: No mention of "clear the bow" but Havordh states it is 10'.)
Inspections

(My Note: Inspections will be performed by the Principal Kingdoms for
themselves and their Allies.
There will be a central inspection point manned by volunteers from all the
Principal Kingdoms for those that miss
other inspections.)

Havordh Ættarbani
Rex Gleann Abhann
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Gunthar
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