Heavy combat is a combat discipline developed by the Society for Creative Anachronism

Society for Creative Anachronism

The Society for Creative Anachronism is an international living history group with the aim of studying and recreating mainly Medieval European cultures and their histories before the 17th century...

 (SCA) in which participants in body armour act out a form of historical combat practiced in medieval Europe without the intention to kill or maim. It is variously considered a combat sport

Combat sport

A Combat sport, also known as a Fighting sport, is a competitive contact sport where two combatants fight against each other using certain rules of engagement , typically with the aim of simulating parts of real hand to hand combat...

, contact sport

Contact sport

Many sports involve a degree of player-to-player or player-to-object contact. The term "contact sport" is used in both team sports and combat sports, medical terminology and television game shows, such as the Gladiators and Wipeout, to certain degrees...

, or a form of martial art.

The term heavy is used in the SCA to distinguish this form of combat from other combat disciplines such as: Rapier fencing

SCA fencing

SCA fencing is the style of fencing practiced by the Society for Creative Anachronism-Overview:In 1979 the Society for Creative Anachronism introduced rapier rules, allowing fencing within the organization. Since that time, fencing has gained a significant following in the SCA, and having over...

, Archery (combat and target), Thrown Weapons, and Equestrian.

Participants use armour and weapon

Weapon

A weapon, arm, or armament is a tool or instrument used with the aim of causing damage or harm to living beings or artificial structures or systems...

s specified by SCA standards and rules. Weapons are made from rattan

Rattan

Rattan is the name for the roughly 600 species of palms in the tribe Calameae, native to tropical regions of Africa, Asia and Australasia.- Structure :...

 rather than steel for added safety. All major vital points of the body must be covered by armor. The fighting is a full-speed, near full-force, full-contact competition between two or more combatant

Combatant

A combatant is someone who takes a direct part in the hostilities of an armed conflict. If a combatant follows the law of war, then they are considered a privileged combatant, and upon capture they qualify as a prisoner of war under the Third Geneva Convention...

s, and it is designed to resemble medieval combat dueling or melee.

While SCA heavy combat is relatively new compared to other more established martial activities, with the first tournament

Tournament

A tournament is a competition involving a relatively large number of competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses:...

s held just over 40 years ago in the mid 1960s, it has now evolved into a large worldwide combat form with thousands of active participants in Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

, The United States, Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

, Austria

Austria

Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...

, Finland

Finland

Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...

, Netherlands

Netherlands

The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...

, France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

, Ireland

Ireland

Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

, Spain

Spain

Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

, Sweden

Sweden

Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....

, South Africa

South Africa

The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...

, Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

 and New Zealand

New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

.

Weaponry

Participants may choose a wide range of weapons, the striking surfaces of which are made of rattan

Rattan

Rattan is the name for the roughly 600 species of palms in the tribe Calameae, native to tropical regions of Africa, Asia and Australasia.- Structure :...

, and may use leather

Leather

Leather is a durable and flexible material created via the tanning of putrescible animal rawhide and skin, primarily cattlehide. It can be produced through different manufacturing processes, ranging from cottage industry to heavy industry.-Forms:...

, foam, and duct tape

Duct tape

Duct tape, or duck tape, is cloth- or scrim-backed pressure sensitive tape often sealed with polyethylene. It is very similar to gaffer tape but differs in that gaffer tape was designed to be cleanly removed, while duct tape was not. It has a standard width of and is generally silver or black...

 in their construction. Non-striking surfaces (such as quillon

Quillón

Quillón is a Chilean city and commune and Ñuble Province, Biobío Region.-Demographics:According to the 2002 census of the National Statistics Institute, Quillón spans an area of and has 15,146 inhabitants . Of these, 7,536 lived in urban areas and 7,610 in rural areas...

s and basket hilts) may be made of other material. Some commonly used weapons are sword

Sword

A sword is a bladed weapon used primarily for cutting or thrusting. The precise definition of the term varies with the historical epoch or the geographical region under consideration...

s, maces, spear

Spear

A spear is a pole weapon consisting of a shaft, usually of wood, with a pointed head.The head may be simply the sharpened end of the shaft itself, as is the case with bamboo spears, or it may be made of a more durable material fastened to the shaft, such as flint, obsidian, iron, steel or...

s, greatswords, glaive

Glaive

A glaive is a European polearm weapon, consisting of a single-edged blade on the end of a pole. It is similar to the Japanese naginata and the Chinese Guan Dao....

s, poleaxes, maul

Maul

A splitting maul also known as a block buster, or block splitter is a heavy, long-handled hammer used for splitting a piece of wood along its grain. One side of its head is like a sledgehammer, and the other side is like an axe.- Wedged mauls :...

s and axe

Axe

The axe, or ax, is an implement that has been used for millennia to shape, split and cut wood; to harvest timber; as a weapon; and as a ceremonial or heraldic symbol...

s.

Different weapon choices require different skills and strategies. Most SCA fighters use a one-handed weapon in combination with a shield

Shield

A shield is a type of personal armor, meant to intercept attacks, either by stopping projectiles such as arrows or redirecting a hit from a sword, mace or battle axe to the side of the shield-bearer....

 of some kind. With centuries of historical examples to draw upon, shields may range from large rectangular Roman-style scuta

Scuta

"Scuta" is the plural of the Latin word "scutum" and means "shield". It is used for the following:* Scutum , the Roman shield* Scute, a zootomical termSee also* Scudo , various currencies...

 to small buckler

Buckler

A buckler is a small shield, 15 to 45 cm in diameter, gripped in the fist; it was generally used as a companion weapon in hand-to-hand combat during the Medieval and Renaissance, as its size made it poor protection against missile weapons but useful in deflecting the blow of...

s, with common styles including the kite

Kite shield

A kite shield was a distinct type of shield from the 10th–12th centuries. It was either a reverse teardrop shape or later on, flat-topped. The tapering point extended down to either a distinct or rounded point...

, center-grip (round or oval), and heater

Heater shield

The heater shield or heater-shaped shield is a form of European medieval shield, developing from the early medieval kite shield in ca. the mid 13th century....

. A minority of fighters fight "florentine" (a pair of swords) or with a two handed weapon.

Armour

All armour standards are codified, with slight variations between the different regional groups within the SCA. All vital points are covered by some hard rigid protection. Helmet

Helmet

A helmet is a form of protective gear worn on the head to protect it from injuries.Ceremonial or symbolic helmets without protective function are sometimes used. The oldest known use of helmets was by Assyrian soldiers in 900BC, who wore thick leather or bronze helmets to protect the head from...

s must be made of steel. Safety

Safety

Safety is the state of being "safe" , the condition of being protected against physical, social, spiritual, financial, political, emotional, occupational, psychological, educational or other types or consequences of failure, damage, error, accidents, harm or any other event which could be...

 standards are high and generally well enforced, with few serious injuries in comparison to other sports. There have been no deaths in SCA armoured combat. Steel is generally used for armour (though plastic, leather and even carpet may be used). There are a number of armorer

Armorer

An armourer or armorer is a member of a military or police force who maintains and repairs small arms and weapons systems, with some duties resembling those of a civilian gunsmith....

s that supply the SCA and other living history groups, but many make their own armour. Armour is generally encouraged to look like its historical counterpart.

Rules

Heavy combat within the SCA uses a body part target location system. If a limb is hit with what the recipient determines to be a blow with significant force, it cannot be used thereafter. If the torso or head are hit with significant force, the combatant is deemed dead. If a leg is hit with significant force to disable it, the combatant must fight on his or her knee thereafter. Different weapons can have different effects, simulating the effect of the period weapon

Weapon

A weapon, arm, or armament is a tool or instrument used with the aim of causing damage or harm to living beings or artificial structures or systems...

 (e.g. a mace hit upon the shoulder has a more severe effect than a sword

Sword

A sword is a bladed weapon used primarily for cutting or thrusting. The precise definition of the term varies with the historical epoch or the geographical region under consideration...

, to simulate the effect of the mace as a mass weapon).

Several of the rules make it clearly abstracted from real historical combat. For instance, one must not strike an opponent from behind, tripping

Tripping

Tripping may refer to a psychedelic experience.Tripping may also refer to:*Tripping , a penalty infraction*Tripping , the act of running or pulling drill pipe into or out of a wellbore on a drilling rig...

 and wrestling

Wrestling

Wrestling is a form of grappling type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. A wrestling bout is a physical competition, between two competitors or sparring partners, who attempt to gain and maintain a superior position...

 are not allowed, and one must not strike from one inch before the wrist to the end of the hand nor from one inch above the knee to the end of the leg. The winning shot of the bout is acknowledged by the defeated participant, who will generally call the shot good (or die a dramatic death for good showmanship

Showmanship (performing)

Showmanship, concerning artistic performing such as in Theatre, is the skill of performing in such a manner that will appeal to an audience or aid in conveying the performance's essential theme or message....

).

For the purposes of calling blows, all combatants are considered to be armoured in a mail

Mail

Mail, or post, is a system for transporting letters and other tangible objects: written documents, typically enclosed in envelopes, and also small packages are delivered to destinations around the world. Anything sent through the postal system is called mail or post.In principle, a postal service...

 hauberk

Hauberk

A hauberk is a shirt of chainmail. The term is usually used to describe a shirt reaching at least to mid-thigh and including sleeves. Haubergeon generally refers to a shorter variant with partial sleeves, but the terms are often used interchangeably.- History :The word hauberk is derived from the...

, wearing an open-faced helmet with a nasal (nose protection) even if they are, in reality, wearing more or less armour than that listed. For that reason, a draw cut or glancing blow would have no effect, while a solid blow is considered to have defeated or penetrated the armour. Good strikes to the torso and head are treated as a 'killing blow'.

There are slight variations between regional SCA branches (known as Kingdoms) concerning combat rules.

Competitions

SCA tournaments are held regularly in which two combatants fight, using a number of advancement systems so that a single winning fighter is decided. A special case of this is the regular Crown Tournament

Tournament (medieval)

A tournament, or tourney is the name popularly given to chivalrous competitions or mock fights of the Middle Ages and Renaissance . It is one of various types of hastiludes....

 in each SCA kingdom held to choose the king and queen who will "rule".

Melee

Mêlée

Melee , generally refers to disorganized close combat involving a group of fighters. A melee ensues when groups become locked together in combat with no regard to group tactics or fighting as an organized unit; each participant fights as an individual....

 tournaments can include a number of combatants taking to the field. Especially at large events such as Pennsic War

Pennsic War

The Pennsic War is an annual American medieval camping event held by the Society for Creative Anachronism—a "war" between two large regional SCA groups: the and the...

, combats may include war

War

War is a state of organized, armed, and often prolonged conflict carried on between states, nations, or other parties typified by extreme aggression, social disruption, and usually high mortality. War should be understood as an actual, intentional and widespread armed conflict between political...

s, where large number of participants can take the field at once, and these may include archer

Archery

Archery is the art, practice, or skill of propelling arrows with the use of a bow, from Latin arcus. Archery has historically been used for hunting and combat; in modern times, however, its main use is that of a recreational activity...

s, artillery

Artillery

Originally applied to any group of infantry primarily armed with projectile weapons, artillery has over time become limited in meaning to refer only to those engines of war that operate by projection of munitions far beyond the range of effect of personal weapons...

 and fortification

Fortification

Fortifications are military constructions and buildings designed for defence in warfare and military bases. Humans have constructed defensive works for many thousands of years, in a variety of increasingly complex designs...

s.

Training

Most local SCA groups hold "fighter practises" where individual

Individual

An individual is a person or any specific object or thing in a collection. Individuality is the state or quality of being an individual; a person separate from other persons and possessing his or her own needs, goals, and desires. Being self expressive...

 and group combat

Combat

Combat, or fighting, is a purposeful violent conflict meant to establish dominance over the opposition, or to terminate the opposition forever, or drive the opposition away from a location where it is not wanted or needed....

 is practiced and informal instruction occurs, but in some regions there may be more formalized and structured training in a local style. Typically several years of direct experience in heavy combat are needed to excel in tournaments. Experienced fighters often train less-experienced fighters in a Knight

Knight

A knight was a member of a class of lower nobility in the High Middle Ages.By the Late Middle Ages, the rank had become associated with the ideals of chivalry, a code of conduct for the perfect courtly Christian warrior....

 / squire

Squire

The English word squire is a shortened version of the word Esquire, from the Old French , itself derived from the Late Latin , in medieval or Old English a scutifer. The Classical Latin equivalent was , "arms bearer"...

relationship.

Fighting styles

There is no general formal style within heavy combat, and individuals may fight whatever style and type of weapon that are permissible within the rules. Styles and strategies are often passed on within local groups based on either the individual style of a local trainer, who is normally an experienced fighter known as a "Knight" or a "Peer", the style of the local group as a whole, or the style of a particular household. Some fighting groups produce written manuals that codify styles and training techniques, while others rely on direct interpersonal transfer of knowledge. Some SCA Heavy combatants publish their training manuals on the internet, while others publish and sell theirs.