LIGHT WEAPONS RULES
                          KINGDOM OF ATENVELDT

Compiled by Ioseph of Locksley, OL &c, with the help of Francis Strider 
Shieldbane of Ravencrest, of the Barony of Atenveldt, and Patrick Shannon of
Newhall, of the Barony of Sundragon, with verbal input from many and divers
others.

These Rules are the result of a synthesis of the Rules of the Barony of 
Sundragon, the Barony of Atenveldt, and the Kingdoms of Caid and the West. 
They incorporate verbal suggestions from several individuals, also. They are 
rules intended for one-on-one (single) combat or small melees. War rules, and 
war armour regulations, may or may not be similar. These Rules have been made 
as simple as possible, and any questions should first be researched within the 
Rules and Conventions of Heavy Weapons combat. If the question is answered in 
the Heavy Weapons Rules, then THAT ENDS THE MATTER.

The Aim of the SCA is the re-creation and research of Western European culture 
before ca. 1601 ( or 1650......) and thus, these Rules are written with 
Western European. Tourney-style combat in mind. This does NOT outlaw the other 
cultures and fighting styles sometimes represented in the SCA, such as Mongol, 
Japanese, Islamic or even AmerIndian. It is pointed out that these styles have 
long been represented and accepted in Heavy Weapons, and thus may also appear 
in Light Weapons with equal ease.
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PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT:

1) The head shall be covered by a three-weapons fencing mask, or its 
acceptable equivalent. This mask shall be secured to the head in such a manner 
as to prevent its' becoming dislodged in combat. Nothing shall be used in mask 
construction that will significantly damage an oppponent's weapon.

2) The back of the head must be covered with the minimum of heavy cloth, such 
as denim over quilting, leather, mail, Kydex &c.

3) The throat and neck must be covered with a minimum of a 2" wide strip of 
leather, with inside padding, or a padded cervical collar, rigid gorget, or 
other such protective equivalent. Any inside padding will be a minimum of 1 
1/2" closed cell foam.

4) The torso must be covered by heavy cloth or the equivalent, with sleeves to 
the wrist strongly reccomended. Female fighters should wear some form of 
breast protection.

5) Groin protection must be worn by all fighters:

             MALE: a rigid cup or the equivalent;
             FEMALE: heavy leather backed by 1 1/2" of closed cell
                     foam or the equivalent.

6) Hands and wrists must be covered by the minimum of a lightly padded glove.
Ankles and feet must be covered by heavy cloth or the equivalent. Ankle high 
boots are strongly reccomended. Elbow and knee protection in the form of 
basketball elbow/knee pads are STRONGLY reccomended.

        NOTE: Nothing in these Rules forbids the use of metal armour, BUT: the 
              metal parts shall have no exposed edges that will damage a   
              shinai, nor any protruding parts that might do the same. The 
              wearer of such armour should be made aware that he or she might 
              not be able to feel blows, and thus should "calibrate."       

7) Kidney protection will be worn.
______________________________________________________________________________
   
WEAPONS

1) The basic (standard) weapon used shall be the SHINAI as used in Kendo.
All shinai shall be in good condition, with no splintering or breaks. They 
shall be considered single-edged unless a double edge is marked with tape or 
other acceptable marking device. All cutting edges shall be marked with red 
tape, on the bamboo and under the string. 
NO readjustments shall be made in the string or leather loops in order to make
the blade stiff. Quillions shall project a minimum of 1 1/4 " from the blade,
and shall have no points or other projections that might injure the fighter
or his/her opponent.

OTHER WEAPONS

1) Greatswords: shall be considered as any two handed sword measuring from the 
ground to the eye level of the user, and shall be made in similar fashion to a 
standard shinai, with quillions no more than 10" span.

2) Bastard/hand and a half swords: shall be any sword measuring from the 
ground to the armpit of the user, and shall be made in similar fashion to a 
standard shinai, with quillions no more than an 8" span.

3) Short swords, daggers and other such weapons shall be made from a suitable 
material, as a standard shinai in the case of shortswords, and from flexible 
rubber, foam &c in the case of daggers. Any bladed weapon under 18" in total 
length shall be considered a dagger.

4) Polearms: [non-thrusting] shall be no more than 8 1/2 feet in length, and 
blades shall be constructed in similar fashion to a standard shinai. At this 
time, thrusting pole weapons are not allowed.  
Axes, mauls &c (mass weapons) shall be padded and made of as soft a foam as
possible.All polearms, axes and other such weapons shall be hafted with bamboo,
or a similar, flexible/light material, and shall have a mimimum of 2'of the
haft below the striking surface padded, and the haft shall be taped.

5) Experimental weapons shall be passed by the marshall of the users Barony, 
and shall NOT be used in official SCA events until authorized for such use by 
the responsible Marshall(s).
 
NOTE: Fighters are cautioned to make ANY and ALL weapons other than shinais
in such a fashion that there is as little "mass" as possible. This is LIGHT
Weapons Combat, and therefore, things like greatswords, mauls, &c should be 
made with GREAT care so they do NOT have such mass as to increase their 
striking power much beyond that of a standard shinai. 

SHIELDS

Shields may be made of wood, metal, fiberglass, wicker or any other rigid 
material. They may not have any sharp corners, or anything that would damage 
an opponent's blade. OFFENSIVE USE OF THE SHIELD, SHIELD HOOKS, OR ANY USEAGE 
THAT MIGHT BRING THE SHIELD IN CONTACT WITH THE BODY OF THE OPPONENT IS 
FORBIDDEN, AND IS GROUNDS FOR IMMEDIATE EXPULSION FROM THE FIELD. Shields may 
be of any weight, but shall otherwise conform to Heavy Weapons Standards.
_______________________________________________________________________________

CONVENTIONS OF COMBAT: LIGHT WEAPONS

1) Due to the nature of unarmoured combat, blows shall be light touches or 
slaps. Blows delivered in an unrealistic manner will not be counted.

        NOTE: the practice of gaining extra reach by grasping the shinai at 
              the end of the grip is to be discouraged, as it sacrifices power 
              ( or, in our case here the POTENTIAL for power) for an enhanced 
              reach and is thus unrealistic to an extreme. We are, after all,
              attempting to teach the use of real weapons.......
            
2) Thrusting shall be allowed ONLY with approved weapons and the consent of 
the opponent(s), and the Marshall..

3) Light Weapons fighters are considered to be wearing NO ARMOUR, unless the 
convention of "armour as worn" is agreed upon by the fighters before combat, 
and is announced by the Heralds. The "armour as worn" convention WILL NOT BE 
USED in competitive Lists, unless agreed by the King, Prince or Baron and/or 
by the Marshall-in-Charge, and announced by the Heralds.

EXPLANATION: The Light Weapons fighter, in a Western European context, is 
considered similar to a Yeoman/peasant or as early infantry. Any armour he 
had would be battlefield pick-ups at best, and thus the Light Weapons Armour 
Convention. A Muslim would wear chainmail, and samurai in warfare would wear 
armour that can be covered as armour-as-worn, but day to day (street combat) 
would wear no armour. This "yeoman/peasant" term refers ONLY to the armour 
conventions applied, and is not intended as perjorative or denigrating to the 
Light Weapons Fighter.

4) Other conventions of combat shall be similar to Rattan (Heavy Weapons)
combat, except where otherwise in these Rules.

TARGET AREAS

1) All parts of the body unless otherwise specified below.

2) Non-target areas: The hands, from three fingers above the wrist joint to the 
ends of the fingers.
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UNCHIVALROUS CONDUCT

1) The Marshall of the field will have the power, subject to the discretion of 
the Ruling Noble, to remove any combatant who, in his/her judgement, 
deliberately engages in the following:

        a) Shield hooks, or any use of the shield that might bring it into 
           contact with the opponent's body.
           NOTE: This does not forbid "punch-blocks" to the opponent's weapon.
        b) Striking from behind, as defined in Heavy Wepons Rules.
        c) Entering combat with the express purpose of causing injury.
        d) Deliberate striking at the hands.
        e) Deliberate thrusts of any kind made for the purpose of 
           intimidation, and done with a non-thrusting weapon..
        f) Any contact with the opponent's body other than with the weapon. 
           i.e. grappling, wrestling, tripping &c.
        g) Thrusting with a non-thrusting weapon.
        h) Two handed blows delivered from more than a 90 degree arc, except 
           in the case of single-hand weapons or bastard swords.

2) Engaging in the above practices MAY cause the fighter to lose his or her 
qualification for light-weapons combat, either temporarily or permanently. We 
are here to re-create the Age of Chivalry. Let us not forget that Dream. Let 
us also remember that he who wins the combat is not necessarily the Victor in 
the Dream that we pursue.....
               
               "It matters not if ye Win or Lose,
                but how ye played The Game...."

A SHORT NOTE ON MARSHALLS: Light Weapons Marshalls (Shinai) should be persons 
experienced in SCA combat, especially in the use of Light Weapons. Experience 
in SCA Heavy Weapons combat, Kendo, Iaido, and other Martial Arts forms would 
be a plus.
Marshalling Light Weapons should be done closely, and carefully. The basic 
idea of this form is to give us a European Fighting Art that may be practiced 
with as little chance for injury as possible, and that can be done with as 
little outlay for equipment as possible. 
This is a very new form for the SCA, and thus, all fighters are reminded that
they are setting precedents, and making a reputation, for Light Weapons Combat 
in this Kingdom.

QUALIFYING: Should be done similarly to Rapier Combat. Input from the various 
local Light Weapons Marshalls is requested on this matter.

                        * end of official rules *


           LIGHT WEAPONS (SHINAI) IN THE KINGDOM OF ATENVELDT
           -Ioseph of Locksley, Kingdom Light Weapons Marshall

        The following is a edited version of a letter I recently sent to a 
Light Weapons fighter in our Kingdom. Some of the points discussed might serve 
the rest of the SCA in understanding the Light Weapons concept a bit better,
so here it is:

        First of all, I must put out some basic Philosophy, and talk about 
Attitudes......*sigh*.....and perhaps you will understand our reasoning a bit 
better:
        1) The By-Laws of the Society for Creative Anachronism Inc. 
specifically state that we are engaged in a re-creation of Western European
feudalisim.
        2) The Steward of the SCA ( the "President" of the mundane 
corporation) recently opined that, while we are engaged in Western European 
cultural studies, nothing prevented visitors from other cultures, so long as 
those visitors realized that they are expected to abide by the standards of 
the overall group....if the situation were to be reversed, as happened in 
real-life, the European would be expected to behave according to the standards 
of Japan/China/the Yassa of the Mongols/the Law of the Qu'ran/etc. The SCA is, 
after all, Western European....!
        3) NOTHING HAS EVER KEPT A JAPANESE PERSONA FROM FIGHTING AS SUCH, 
EVEN IN CROWN LISTS (rattan combat.)
        4) A "Shinai" in Kendo represents a Katana. We do not fight Kendo.
Kendo, despite it's name, is a formal, stylized and unrealistic form, just as 
modern fencing is. We do not "fence," we fight "rapier." We are NOT Japanese
in our major thrust, but WESTERN EUROPEAN. A "Shinai" represents a one or two
edged sword, used one or two handed. This can be a sabre, cutlass, broadsword,
"Rasuli", hanger, scimitar, or whatever suits you, INCLUDING a Katana. Much of 
the time, in the SCA, people get caught up in the Japanese origins of the 
shinai, and forget that a Sword is a Sword is a Sword.
        The question of "light touches/slaps" not being deliverable with 
modified shinai, pole-arms, daggers, or anything other than a standard Kendo
shinai is absurd. The reason that these weapons hit harder in Heavy Weapons
combat is simply because they carry more mass than a rattan single hand sword.
The pole arms I have seen being used in Light Weapons currently are carefully 
made to NOT have much more mass than a regulation shinai, and seem to handle 
and strike with no more force than a "light touch/slap."  To say that the
Bastard Sword/Hand and a half is not suitable is absurd on the face of it, for
what IS a Katana but, in fact, a small bastard (def: one or two handed) sword? 
The definitions of sword sizes in the Rules are simply things arrived at by the
Kingdom Marshalate over a period of years as good, GENERAL statements to help
people get it clear in their minds. Sword sizes tend to be relative to the 
body size of the user; I, at over 6 feet in height, would tend to use a longer 
sword than, say Vis. Sir Eldred, who stands, maybe, 4 feet 11 inches.....
        As for the possible problems with the use of shields....well, we shall 
have to wait and see. By the way, the samurai DID use bucklers, and pavase-type
shields! When the Marshalate incorporates Combat Archery into Light Weapons
War Combat you will find the pavase VERY useful.
        (As an aside....when these Combat Archery (and slings, and javelins, 
and shuriken, &c) Rules come into effect, the Light Weapons Fighters (Shinai 
AND Combat Archers) could be incorporated into mixed combat with Heavy 
Weapons! We have Rules for this from An Tir/Caid/West that seem to work, and,
at that point, the Light Weapons fighter will become a VERY valuble person 
indeed!)
        I did NOT say that thrusting with the shinai was legal. I simply said 
it can be done with weapons that are so authorized and tested. I have never 
liked thrusting weapons, other than rapier. The rattan people do NOT like to 
see me, or the current Principality Marshall (Count Sir Denis of the Titans) on 
a weapons inspection because they know damn well that we will try our BEST to 
disallow every thrusting weapon that we see....if it is UNSAFE. Neither did I 
make thrusting with polearms legal...yet. I left it open for experimentation 
and development. If we CAN make such things reasonably safe, well and good. If 
not, then that's how it is; we at least tried.
        Striking with one hand held at the extreme end of the sword is 
unrealistic. You cannot kill with any degree of certainty that way....at 
least, not with a real sword. The blow, as you describe it, starts with BOTH 
hands, with BOTH hands developing the initial power. I HAVE NO OBJECTION TO 
THIS, and if the blow ends with a draw-cut, then there is no argument.
 What I object to is the blow that starts with one hand held at the 
extreme end of the grip, and that is delivered with a simple flip of the 
wrist. THAT blow is unrealistic. It has no power, and has no potential for 
power. All it does is LOOK neat. The blow that is delivered in a REALISTIC 
manner can be counted. One that is NOT, need not be counted. This definition 
MUST be made where the decision belongs: on the Field.
        I STRONGLY advise reading the Rattan conventions of combat, and 
the rattan rules. You will find that your objections to the use of shields, or 
pole-arms Etc, is solved in those rules by the simple fact that any fighter 
can refuse combat against any weapon, for any reason. Period. If you don't 
want to fight against a shield, you don't have to. If I am using my 19" targe, 
and you don't want to fight it, SAY SO, and I will GLADLY leave it behind. I 
do ask that you try it first, rather than allowing prejudice to rule your 
thinking.

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Comments and critiques should be adressed, in writing, to:

Ioseph of Locksley
OL OP &c  Light Weapons Marshall/Atenveldt
c/o W J Bethancourt III
PO Box 35190
Phoenix AZ 85069

Comments on these Rules are actively solicited!

NOTE: any situation or rule not covered in these Rules shall be considered to 
apply the same as in Rattan (Heavy Weapons) combat. In other words, the Rules 
of the Lists, the Rattan Conventions of Combat, the Marshallate Guidelines, 
and other such rules, regulations, directives, Governing and Policy Decisions 
of the Board of Directors of the SCA Inc. &c WILL APPLY!

                                 *end*