Hilt and Helm Fencing Club is celebrating its 1 year anniversary by turning its quarterly open house into a for-real-sies HEMA Tournament with a twist: Competitors will be fighting in teams of 2!
We may have started out with pillows, but we've come a long way since those days. Now every weapon in our armory is up for grabs; however, for safety sake both teams must agree to fighting in the same weapon set so no one walks away with busted fingers.

Weapon Sets:
Very Light - Pillows, Foam Weapons
Light - Rapier, Rapier/Dagger, Rapier/Cape, Military Saber, Side Sword
Heavy - Longsword, Sword/Buckler, Katana, Messer

See “Da Rules” section of this page for details on the rules of the tournament.

Spectators can attend for free, competitors must pay a $15 registration fee + $5 if they need to borrow equipment.

Cake and light refreshments will be served.

Fighters will be competing for free Hilt and Helm Swag:

1st Place: Hilt and Helm Hoodies
2nd Place: Hilt and Helm Long Sleeve T-Shirts
3rd Place: Hilt and Helm T-Shirts
4th - 8th Place: Your Choice of the following Hilt and Helm Swag:
Key Chains
Patches
Playing Cards
Stickers

Equipment

This section explains the equipment required for each weapon set. All fighters will be examined prior to start of the pools to ensure they are in compliance. We have spare equipment people may borrow for an additional $5.00.

Very Light Weapons

• Fencing Helmet

• Light Gloves

• Approved “Pillow” composed of a regular sized pillow and body pillow case.

• Padded weapons must pass our inspection to be used in the tournament.

Light Weapons

• Fencing Helmet with back of the head protection

• Gorget

• Padded Fencing Jacket

• Light Fencing Gloves

• Forearm/Elbow Protection

• Groin Protection (we won’t look but for your sake it better be there)

• Knee/Shin Protection

Heavy Weapons

• Fencing Helmet with back of the head protection

• Gorget

• Padded Fencing Jacket

• Heavy Fencing Gloves

• Forearm/Elbow Protection

• Groin Protection (we won’t look but for your sake it better be there)

• Knee/Shin Protection

Teams

Each team will consist of 2 people who will register together with a (preferably goofy) team name. They will be treated as a singular unit for the rest of the tournament. If you don’t have a partner to fight with, we will have a “Singles Meet and Greet” before the tournament gets started where you can quickly try to convince someone to partner with you. If you still can’t find anyone, you won’t be able to compete but we will give you a consolation prize from our collection of swag.

Before the Fighting Starts

Each fight will consist of 2 teams of 2 facing off against each other. All teams will be in one of these statuses throughout the tournament.

• Fighting Now - 4 people are currently in the ring fighting.

• On Deck - 4 people who will be fighting after the teams that are “fighting now” are done. When teams are announced as “On Deck” they should meet with each other and agree on which weapon set they will be fighting, get their gear in order, and prepare to step into the ring as soon as it becomes available. Please do not hold up the tournament by waiting until you hear that you are “fighting now” to start figuring this stuff out. If you take too long (5 minutes), both teams will lose and we will move on to the next group of fighters.

• In the Hole - 4 people who will be fighting after the next 8 people are done. Now is also the time to agree on a weapon set, get your gear in order, and prepare to step in when the time is appropriate.

• Sitting around - Everyone else in the pool. Relax, but don’t get too comfortable. You could be “On Deck” or “In the Hole” at any moment so keep an ear out. If you’re going to step outside or use the rest room, let someone know.

Structure of a Match

• At the start of each match, all fighters must stay behind the white area of the alley until the director calls “Fight!”

• When a judge sees a quality hit land, they will call “Point!”

• When the director sees a quality hit land, they will call “Halt!”

  • Judges will lower their heads.

  • Fighters will stop fighting and return to their sides.

• The director will say “Judges!” and the judges will show their scores.

  • If a judge sees a strike to the arm/leg, they will raise the hand of the team who scored the point to the side.

  • If a judge sees a strike to the head/torso, they will raise the hand of the team who scored the point above their head.

• The director will adjudicate points as they and the judges can agree.

  • If all judges and the director agree, points are allotted as the collective sees it.

  • If the director and at least 1 judge agree, points are allotted as they see it.

  • If neither the director nor any of the judges can agree, the match is reinitiated.

• Head/Torso = 2 Points

• Arms/Legs = 1 Point

• Any fighter who had a point scored against them sits out the rest of the match and the match resumes. If the team has no fighters left who haven’t been hit, the opposing team wins the match. Otherwise the match continues. Will there be instances where there are two fighters versus one? Yes, that is by design. The remaining fighter can either forfeit the match or try their best to win against pretty bad odds.

• Teams will be competing for the best outcomes of 5 matches.

• A match is considered “won” by the team who either

  • has at least one fighter left in the match who has not been hit by a quality in-tempo hit

  • has one fighter left who in a double exchange scored the higher of the two in-tempo hits.

    • If a fighter hits their opponent and their opponent retaliates with an out of tempo hit, the opponent loses and depending on the lateness and/or severity of the out of tempo hit may receive a yellow card for un-sportsman-like conduct

• A match is considered “lost” by a team if

  • both fighters double out at the same time

  • the team has only one fighter left and that fighter either

    • scores the same value point as their opponent in a double exchange

    • scores a lower value point than their opponent in a double exchange

During the Fighting

• Only a “Quality Hit” (defined further in “Da Rules”) will be considered viable means of pausing a match.

• During the match, fighters may not pass the outside of the black line closest to the bench side of the room or past the white areas on either side of the alley.

  • Doing so once will be counted as a ring out and will reset the match.

  • Doing so twice will be counted as a yellow card and a warning.

  • Doing so three times will result in the offending fighter must sit out the rest of the match.

• Excessive use of force or hitting the back of the head will result in a yellow card.

• 2 yellow cards for the same offense will result in a red card which will cause the fighter’s team lose that series of matches.

• 2 red cards for the same offense will cause the offending fighter to be barred from the rest of the tournament.

Quality Hits

A quality hit is performed with the weak of the blade to a valid target by either

• a thrust with sufficient force that it would penetrate an unprotected body part if the blade were sharp

• or a cut that rotates at least 30 degrees with intention to inflict bodily harm

• or a slice that travels at least 1/3rd of the blade’s length

Pommel Strikes are also considered quality hits if and only if they meet the following criteria

• The fighter presents the clear capability to perform a pommel strike by raising their pommel in the air above the opponent’s mask.

• Does not actually make hard contact with the opponent’s mask. If the director feels the strike was done too hard, the point will be thrown out and the offender given a red card for excessive force. Is this subjective? Yes. So err on the side of caution if you don’t want to be yelled at.

• Shouts one of following words to demonstrate their intention:

  • Bonk!

  • Pow!

  • Bam!

  • Boop!

• Other equally humorous words will be considered on a case by case basis.

In-Tempo Hits

Two hits will be considered “In-Tempo” if they were initiated at the same time.

Valid Targets

Very Light Weapons

Any quality hit with a very light weapon to any area besides the back of the head will be considered valid.

Light Weapons

Any quality thrust with any weapon or cut with a military saber to a target above the knee will be considered valid. With a rapier, only cuts to the face will be considered valid. No strikes to the back of the head will be considered valid and any such strikes will result in a yellow card.

Heavy Weapons

Any quality thrust or cut to a target above the knee will be considered valid. Shins will not count as valid targets only because if people target the shin and accidentally hit the ankle, it could result in serious damage. Targeting the knee but accidentally hitting the shin is unfortunate, but at least everyone will walk away unscathed. No strikes to the back of the head will be considered valid and any such strikes will result in a yellow card.

Grappling

Grappling will be allowed; however, both fighters have approximately 5 seconds to resolve the grapple in a quality hit.

Take Downs

Take downs (neither their set up nor their execution) are not permitted. We have hard wood floors and they are not conducive to having people get thrown on them.

Pocket Sand

Expressly forbidden.

Score Weighting

Teams will be evaluated firstly on their number of wins and secondly on “number of points scored” - “number of points scored against”.

If you have any questions or concerns regarding “Da Rules” please feel free to message us at hiltandhelmfencing@gmail.com.