| GLOSSARY - FOR TERMS APPLICABLE TO GENERAL AND NON-CONTACT PARTICIPATION Acknowledgment of Blows: Upon receiving a valid blow to any area of the body that would be judged lethal or totally disabling, the receiving Combatant should acknowledge such by quickly failing to the ground. An immediate verbal response from the Combatant so struck (such as "good) will help to insure that the Combatant is not struck again while on the way down. At the discretion of the Marshals, the fall to the ground may be waived if the ground conditions are deemed to deserve such a precaution. A verbal acknowledgment shall then be considered mandatory. Authorization: Authorization is the written permission, granted by the Society for Creative Anachronism, Inc., through this Kingdom's Authorizing Marshals, to participate in SCA Combat Related Activities. Authorization is a requirement for all participants. Authorization Card: A card issued by the Earl Marshal's Office to signify that the individual identified thereby has satisfactorily undergone an Authorization Procedure appropriate to the area(s) of desired participation as officially marked on the back of the Authorization Card by an Authorizing Marshal. A currently valid Authorization Card allows the individual to be a Participant only in those SCA Combat Related Activities that have been so marked. Authorization Procedure: A procedure which determines that an individual desiring to be a Participant in any SCA combat-related has, at minimum: 1. Signed a Waiver and Informed Consent to Participate form. 2. Read and become familiar with the Rules and Regulations appropriate to the area of desired participation. 3. Been allowed to gain practical experience in the area of desired participation under controlled circumstances. 4. Been observed by a proper Authorizing Marshal while demonstrating acceptable abilities in the area of desired participation. This will ensure that the individual wishing to be a Participant in SCA combat-related activities a. as a combatant, does not constitute an exceptional hazard to themselves or others. b. as a marshal, is capable of properly conducting combatants on the field. c. as a non-contact participant, does not present an exceptional hazard to themselves or others while in the vicinity of ongoing combat. Authorizing Marshal: An official of the SCA Inc. who has the authority to authorize individuals to participate in SCA combat-related activities within the Kingdom of Ansteorra. Combat: Refers to any of the sanctioned SCA combat activities conducted at a Society event. (See SCA Combat-Related Activities) Combatant: An individual Authorized to be a Participant as a fighter in SCA Combat Activities. Corkscrewing: (Not Legal). The circling of a grounded opponent, either in or out of striking range, in order to gain unfair offensive advantage. The following guidelines should be followed when dealing with a grounded opponent. 1. Closing on a grounded Combatant must be done from the direction chosen by the grounded Combatant. Such a Combatant shall orient his defensive front toward his standing opponent. The standing opponent must close based on that orientation. 2. After closing, the standing Combatant must keep at least one foot in front of his grounded opponent. The standing fighter's other foot shall not step past his grounded opponent so far as to cause the standing fighter to straddle the grounded opponent or to cause the foot in front to move beside or behind the grounded opponent. 3. A standing Combatant in the above described position shall be deemed in the legal zone and may attack so long as he or she stays within that zone. 4. Should the standing Combatant decide to break off his attack, he should back out in generally the same direction that they had closed from. 5. Passing attacks are permissible in melee only. Any strike from a passing Combatant in melee must be made while closing from the front and only while in the legal zone as described above. No further strike may be made once the passing Combatant has moved in any way beyond, or out of, the legal zone. Disciplinary Action: Action taken against a Participant for violations of the Rules and Regulations. Duly Warned: Official warnings will be given to a Participant in no uncertain terms. Such a warning must include an explanation of the rule(s) being violated by the Participant. Any Participant may be removed from the Field d the Participant fails to heed the warnings. Such a Participant may also be subject to disciplinary action. Earl Marshal: One of the Crown's Great Officers of State. Also the chief Warranted Marshal in the Kingdom who is responsible for the conduct of all SCA Combat Related Activities within the Kingdom. Equipment: Any and all weapons, armor, shields or other defensive items used by a Combatant during combat. Excessive Force: Significantly more force than would normally be required by a prudent person to acknowledge a blow. It should be noted that, during armored combat, using certain techniques with some weapons can result in the delivery of blows that strike with excessive force. These techniques are illegal and include, but are not limited to: 1. Harpooning: Thrusting with a spear or other thrusting pole weapon while pushing the butt end of the weapon with the palm of the hand or fingers. 2. Running Thrust: Executing a thrust while running at an opponent. 3. Swinging with force in an arc greater than 90 degrees with any two- handed weapon (with unlimited grip area) which exceeds five feet in length. 4. Swinging with force in an arc greater than 180 degrees with any two handed weapon (with limited grip area) which exceeds five feet in length. Field: An area, with or without physical boundaries, designated for the conducting of SCA combat related activities. Kingdom Rapier Marshal: The Warranted Officer of State who is entrusted with monitoring the safety and conduct of all SCA Rapier Combat Related Activities within the Kingdom. The Kingdom Rapier Marshal works apart from, but under the jurisdiction of, the Earl Marshal. List: Any contest designed for the conducting of SCA combat-related activities (i.e. tournaments involving individuals or teams). List Official: The individual given the responsibility for designing and/or organizing the List at a Society event. The List Official should be appointed by either the Marshal-in-Charge, the Autocrat, or the Ranking Nobility. Local Knight Marshal: The chief Warranted Marshal of a local group that is responsible for the conduct of all SCA combat-related activities within that particular group, be it a Barony, Shire, Canton, etc. (The local Knight Marshal is not necessarily a belted fighter.) The responsibility for the conduct of all SCA Rapier combat-related activity within a local Knight Marshal's jurisdiction will be assumed by the Kingdom Rapier Marshal, and then delegated to a Warranted Local Rapier Marshal. Local Rapier Marshal: The Warranted Rapier Marshal of a local group who is responsible for the conduct of all SCA Rapier Combat Related Activities within that particular group. Marshal: An individual who is monitoring the safety and conduct of SCA combat related activities on the field. Individuals doing the marshaling at Society events may or may not be Warranted marshals, but they must, at minimum, have Authorization to participate as a marshal in the appropriate SCA Combat style, and the Marshal-In-Charge must deem them competent. Marshal-in-Charge: The Warranted Marshal who is responsible for monitoring the safety and conduct of SCA combat-related activities at a Society event as well as assuring that all applicable Rules and Regulations of the SCA Inc. and the Kingdom of Ansteorra are being followed by all participants. Marshallate: The body of Warranted Marshals within the Kingdom that is headed by the Earl Marshal. Also referred to as the "Kingdom Marshallate". Marshal of the Society: The chief Warranted Marshal of the Society for Creative Anachronism, Inc. who is responsible for the monitoring of all SCA combat-related activities within the Society. Also referred to as the "Society Marshal". Melee: A combat that involves teams or groups of Combatants rather than individual Combatants. Such scenarios are typically fought with "Melee rules". Melee Rules differ slightly from the rules regarding single combat bouts. The differences have been noted within this Handbook where applicable. No-Firing Zone: The zones or areas that have been designated by the Marshal-In Charge as illegal areas for the firing/throwing of any kind of projectiles. Any target that might otherwise be considered a legal target may not be attacked with any kind of missile fire when the would-be target's positioning would jeopardize the No-Firing Zone. Non-contact Participant/Participation: An individual Authorized to participate in those SCA combat-related activities that do not involve engaging in, or the conducting of, actual Combat. Examples of such activities may include, but are not limited to: Scouting, Field Heralding, Banner Bearing, Water Bearing, etc.. These individuals may actually be on the field and in the vicinity of ongoing Combat. Participant: An individual Authorized to participate in any of the SCA combat-related activities. Prohibited Target: Prohibited targets include the following: 1. Any Non-Contact Participant on the field. 2. Any Marshal on the field. 3. Any other individual, not fully armored, that may be on the field with or without authorization. 4. Any individual, fully armored or not, outside the designated boundaries of the field. 5. Any Combatant on the field prior to the command of "LAY ON" or while a "HOLD" is in effect. At the discretion of the Sovereign, properly marshaled Combatants, off and away from all spectators and the field, that are engaged in warm-up activity or instruction, will not be considered Prohibited Targets within the context of their activities. Real Weapon: Refers to an actual weapon, whether an original or reproduction, that may be fully or semifunctional. SCA Combat-Related Activities: Include combat, marshaling and non-contact participation for both heavy & light weapons. SCA Legal Weapon: Any weapon that has been approved by the Marshallate for use upon the field during SCA Combat Activities. Single Combat: A Combat that involves only two individuals such as a about in a typical List that does not involve teams or groups. The rules regarding single combat differ slightly from those regarding melees. The differences have been noted within this Handbook where applicable. Sovereign: The individual who is current reigning King or Queen that was the actual victor of the Crown List by right of arms. The Sovereign is the final Marshallate authority within the Kingdom. Also called the "Crown". Striking from Behind: (not legal) 1. In single combat, opportunities to strike from behind are rare and are typically covered by the rules regarding Helpless Opponents. Striking an opponent from the rear, while they are attempting to execute an offensive or defensive maneuver that involves the voluntary or intentional turning of his/her back, shall not be considered a violation of this convention. 2. In melee, the likelihood of coming up behind an opponent is great and caution must be used to assure that this convention is not violated. A Combatant must make certain that he/she has gotten their opponent's attention and that the opponent has had an opportunity to recognize a threat before blows are thrown. An opponent who purposefully ignores valid attempts to get their attention and keeps his/her back turned shall be deemed to be in violation of the Rules as stated within the Conventions of Combat. It shall be generally accepted that a Combatant has made valid attempts to get an opponent's attention when the following guidelines are satisfied: a. The approaching Combatant shall attempt to got the opponent to turn and face him/(er by verbally calling a clearly audible warning about the approaching Combatant's presence and threat. b. If the opponent does not respond, the approaching Combatant may lightly tap (not strike) the opponent with a weapon, or lightly press (not shove) the opponent with a shield or buckler in order to give some physical clue that a foe is besieging them at the rear. This tap or press should be accompanied by another verbal warning. c. A second such tap or press along with verbal warning may be given. A Combatant who has not responded to these valid attempts to get their attention shall be considered to be in violation of the Rules as stated above. Such a Combatant still may not be struck though he/she may be subject to disciplinary action by the Marshallate. Should the opponent turn to face the approaching Combatant, blows may only be thrown at such time as the opponent has had an opportunity to recognize a threat. At any point the approaching Combatant may elect not to make any, or any further, attempts to get the opponent to turn, but may instead opt to move around to the front of his/her opponent to initiate the engagement. However, leaping just into view and simultaneously striking the opponent without warning will NOT be allowed. The opponent must be given an opportunity to recognize threat before blows are thrown. An opponent shall be deemed to have been given the opportunity to recognize threat when one of the following guidelines has been satisfied: 1. The approaching Combatant has moved far enough around the opponent that he can see both eyes of the opponent. 2. The opponent has turned far enough around so that both his eyes can be seen by the approaching Combatant. A Combatant will be expected to obey the spirit of these guidelines when dealing with opponents whose head protection does not allow the eyes to actually be seen. Once a prospective opponent's attention has been obtained, it is the responsibility of the acknowledging Combatant to verify that an individual is in fact a Combatant (not perhaps a Marshal or some other unarmored Participant trying to get the Combatant's attention) before responding by throwing a blow. Therefore, simultaneous turning and striking will not be allowed. Waiver and Informed consent to Participate Form: A document executed by an individual desiring to be a Participant in SCA combat-related activities that acknowledges the individuals awareness of the potential hazards of being a Participant and expresses an agreement by the individual to abide by the Rules and Regulations as set forth by the Society for Creative Anachronism, Inc. and it's Officials. A copy of this document will be kept on file with the Earl Marshal's Office. Also called a "Participation Waiver" or just "Waiver". (Always be sure to read and understand any waiver before you sign it.) War: Large scale melees. Wars fought with other Kingdoms may use rules and regulations that are an agreed upon mixture of the rules and regulations of the involved Kingdoms. If such is the case, a Marshallate briefing to explain the rules and regulations will be given to all Participants prior to the start of any Combat Activities. Warranted Marshal: An individual Warranted by the Society for Creative Anachronism, Inc., and/or it's designated officials, who is entrusted with monitoring the safety and conduct of SCA combat-related activities. Warranted Marshals are responsible for enforcement of all applicable Rules and Regulations of the SCA Inc. and the Kingdom of Ansteorra at Society events. Yield/Yielded: To surrender with or without terms. In the case of Combat Archers or siege engine operators, however, to voluntarily yield without having been requested to do so shall be considered to be the same as that Participant having been slain. |