Hilt and Helm Fencing Club is celebrating the life and HEMA career of our clubmate: Daniel Evans. A fine fencer and an excellent person he will be sorely missed … when he and his wife move to Minnesota. Don’t worry he’s still alive, but we’re turning our quarterly open house into a for-real-sies HEMA Tournament / Going away party with a twist: Competitors will be fighting in teams of 3!
Pillowfecht 4 will be a Longsword Relay tournament. People will fight in teams of 3 and will choose who will go first, second, and third. Both teams will be fighting to 15 points or 5 minutes and at each 5 point interval the members of the team will swap out.
Weapon Sets: Longsword Only (for simplicity’s sake)
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. Alternatively, instead of paying us competitors may get Dan a going away present AND a hug.
Cake and light refreshments will be served.
Fighters will be competing for Dan’s affection:
1st Place: Dan will miss you the most and you may have a sticker.
2nd Place: Dan will miss you almost as much he misses the 1st place winners. Also you may have a sticker.
3rd Place: Dan may send you a text message at some point but won’t commit to it. Also … you guessed it. You may have a sticker.
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.
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 3 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 team 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 enough people to fill out a team, some of the Hilt and Helm staff will fill in so you can compete.
Before the Fighting Starts
Each fight will consist of 2 teams of 3 facing off against each other. All teams will be in one of these statuses throughout the tournament.
Fighting Now - 6 people are currently in the ring fighting.
On Deck - 6 people who will be fighting after the teams that are “fighting now” are done. 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 - 6 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, one fighter from both teams 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
People will fight in teams of 3 and will choose who will go first, second, and third. Both teams will be fighting to 15 points or 5 minutes and at each 5 point interval the members of the team will swap out.
Which ever team has more points at the end of 5 minutes or reaches a score of 15 wins.
Example
So if Team A consists of Fred, Wilma, and Pebbles, and Team B consists of Barney, Betty, and Bam-Bam,
Fred and Barney will fight first.
If Fred scores 5 or 6 points on Barney, Barney swaps out and Betty goes in his place. Team A is now at 5 points and Team B is at 0.
If Fred Scores 5 or 6 points on Betty, Betty swaps out and Bam-Bam goes in her place. Team A is now at 10 points and Team B is a 0.
If Fred Scores 5 or 6 points on Bam-Bam, Team A wins.
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
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.
If you have any questions or concerns regarding “Da Rules” please feel free to message us at hiltandhelmfencing@gmail.com.