Written by Anders Linnard:
This is written in an effort to prepare participants and judges for the tournaments at Swordfish. We have a couple of aspects, which we believe involve a somewhat new approach to competitions. We also realize that these novelties may cause concern for some, while others will think they are steps in the right direction. In any case we want to explain why we have chosen this path."
This is written in an effort to prepare participants and judges for the tournaments at Swordfish. We have a couple of aspects, which we believe involve a somewhat new approach to competitions. We also realize that these novelties may cause concern for some, while others will think they are steps in the right direction. In any case we want to explain why we have chosen this path.
These are the competitions at Swordfish:
- Steel longsword (open for men & women)
- Nylon longsword and Sword & buckler (open for men & women)
- Women?s nylon longsword (women only, obviously)
- Dussack (open for men & women)
- Rapier & dagger (open for men & women)
This text is mainly about the steel and nylon competitions. Dussack, at least, will be more entry level friendly (although not a strict beginner?s tournament). The women?s only and rapier competitions have not yet been decided upon, so please disregard those when it comes to this post.
I will at this point not go into detail regarding the rules, since they are still pending approval by the Swedish government. I will however tell you about some of the aspects of the competitions.
We are all concerned about safety. It is of course important that no one is permanently injured during competitions. However, these are competitions between uncooperative individuals. They are to some degree simulating a sword fight, with all the stress that comes with it. It is therefore not your opponent?s responsibility that you stay safe. It is yours. Your opponent?s job is to win. Of course, all fighters must abide by the rules, but there will for example be no rules that limit how hard you are allowed to strike, so protect yourself.
We want you to respect the simulator. We want you to be nervous and afraid when stepping into the ring. This is not something to take lightly. It is a competition after all, not freeplay. If you are not up for it, then maybe it isn?t for you. There is no shame in that and there will be a lighter dussack competition available. We do not claim that competitions is the end-all-be-all of HEMA, there are many ways to enjoy these arts, and if you don't feel you have trained enough to enter a competition this year, there will be several classes and sparring opportunities during Swordfish.
These competitions are mainly aimed at experienced fighters. They are to some degree meant to be exclusive. We are not expecting beginners to enter, and we strongly advice against it. However, there is currently no system of determining who is suitably prepared, so we leave that up to you. Remember, no one who has trained boxing half heartedly for a few months expects to be able or allowed to step into a boxing ring to fight an experienced boxer.
Let me also point out that we are not doing this to be macho. We are doing this to show that it can be done and to change the dynamics of competitions. One aspect which we want to look closely at is that of double hits, which has been discussed vigorously online. No one likes double hits and we believe that the best way to reduce them is to make them painful, triggering the same reasons for not getting hit as in a real fight. At least this is a theory we are willing to put to the test. And we hope you are to.
Since we break if someone is hit with the sword, we believe it to be unlikely that much grappling and punching will occur. Such techniques will not give you points, unless you make the other person tap out or if you completely dominate him/her.
However, almost all hand, foot, knee, elbow techniques are allowed and you may use them with full force (you are not allowed to strike, kick against the natural bending of the joint, or to throw against the joint?s direction unless you are also tripping or doing a similar action which relieves the joint of pressure. We will explain this fully when the rules are approved).
These techniques are also allowed on the ground. The judge will interfere should there be serious risk of injury. You will in such a case be rewarded with a point if you are the dominant party. You can also tap out, giving the opponent one point.
The steel longsword competition will use Hanwei feders. The amount of protective gear will be with a minimum of fencing gambeson/coaching jacket, fore arm guards, throat protection, mask, gloves, cup for men and chest protection for women. More protective gear will also be allowed.
For the nylon tournament however, we are instead restricting the amount of protective gear to fencing mask, throat protection, gloves, cup (for men) and soft knee pads. These are the only items that are allowed. You are
Note: There will be a doctor and nurses available throughout all of these competitions
Recent debates on tournaments on various fora have made it clear that there is no consensus on tournaments. We are well aware of these discussions and we would like to clarify that we believe that the community is still in its infancy and that we are still learning. So the new Swordfish rule sets and equipment levels are not set in stone. We will most likely see a development of competitions in the coming years. But we hope that this will bring some new ideas to the table, and that we will learn something from it, as a community, but maybe even more as individual martial artists.
In fact, that has been our guiding principle in putting these rules together; to create competitions that are demanding and that you cannot take lightly. Competitions that you prepare yourself for and which hopefully even transform you as a fighter.
There is value in tournaments. We agree that martial challenges are good as well, but they mainly seem to be between people who are friends and under much more controlled circumstances. We want to explore another route and add it to the mix. One where we accept that these martial arts where used for very violent situations.
We hope that you are as excited about these tournaments as we are and that you are willing to explore the future of HEMA with us. Join us for some very exciting fights, where we hope to see the best display of arms yet. Welcome!"
