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Acta Periodica Duellatorum, Conference Proceedings
127

There is no right-of-way rule – double hits are penalised or fully weighted;

Scoring is weighted by target (head, torso, extremities), type of hit (strike,
thrust, cut) and/or technique (level of control); and

Disarms,
grasping
the
opponent’s
blade,
pommel
strikes,
half-swording,
grappling and other close-quarter contact are accepted as tactically correct and
not penalised – some rule sets stop the bout when the transition to close-
quarter combat is indicated, some only stop after the first throw, still others
allow punches and kicks as non-scoring set-ups to soften up the opponent for
a grapple or strike with the sword.
Refereeing is complex; high-level tournaments require four linespeople, a referee in the
ring managing the bout, a time-keeper and an umpire at the desk recording all the
events and point awards.
A typical tournament bout is limited by time, by points, or both: a bout might last e.g.
three minutes or end when one fighter reaches a certain number of points, or a bout
ends at the earlier of the time limit, the maximum point level or a point advantage on
the opponent.
There is no canonical competition rule set – different tournament organisers seek to
promote desirable outcomes through adaptations in the rules. It needs to also be borne
in mind that longsword is just one of the many historical weapons treated in the
Fechtbücher, and not all of them are amenable to a (safe) competition.
IV.2.
Historical Rule Sets
IV.2.1.
Franco-Belgian
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The Franco-Belgian rule set applies to a king-of-the-hill type of tournament: One of the
fighters starts as “king”, and the “king” is challenged by the other participants one by
one. If the challenger lands a clean hit on the “king”, they take the “king’s” place.
The challenger’s hit has to be clean – if the “king” lands a double hit or an after-blow,
the challenger loses the bout and the “king” remains. Each of the challengers has three
“lives”, and when all “lives” are used up, the remaining “king” wins the tournament.
As a further element of friction, the hit must be landed with the flat and the target area
is progressively reduced. Initially, the target area consists of head, torso above the belt,
and arms above the elbows. The blades are rubbed with chalk or magnesium, in order
to leave a mark on the struck opponent. When a hit is landed, the target area going
forward on both challenger and “king” is limited to the area above the level of the hit.
Obviously, very quickly, the target area will be limited to the crown of the head.
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This rule set was developed by Matt Galas as a common denominator between the various rule
sets of individual guilds in Northern France (Paris, Lille) and Belgium (Ghent, Bruges, Brussels,
Antwerp) from at least the 1540s until the late 1700s.