THE RULES - A QUICK GUIDE

PARTICIPANTS

Skirmishers – the fencers.

Officials – the Conductor (the referee) and Judges.

CHAIN OF COMMAND

1. The Skirmishers should fence as cleanly as possible, thereby making the job of the officials as easy as possible.
2. The Judges must give quick and clear signals for the Conductor.

3. The Conductor must make quick and decisive judgements.

Each bout is a story, the Conductor is the narrator of that story.

The Conductor directs the play to create the manner of fencing that is desired – light, fast, fluid and playful swordplay is the ultimate goal.

SKIRMISHING

1. The foundation, rules and rituals of Skirmishing have been built and developed with two golden pillars in mind:

i. To reward and encourage martially responsible swordplay.

ii. To create a fast, flowing and exciting spectacle that is both enjoyable to play and entertaining for the spectator.

2. Skirmishing is primarily a simple game of parry-and-riposte, one that places the emphasis on being defensively minded. With a few notable exceptions (see points 7 & 9), a player may not riposte until they have successfully defended (parried or voided) their opponent’s attack.

3. Bouts last a maximum of two minutes and are played and scored in the same format as a tie-break game in tennis: Love – Advantage – Game.

If, after the two minutes are up, no player has scored Game Point, the player who has Advantage is declared the winner. If the scores are level (at Love), the player who scored the first hit (First Blood) is awarded the bout. Should First Blood not have been scored, the player with the least amount of Warnings is awarded the bout. If no or an equal amount of Warnings have been issued, the bout is declared a draw.

4. THE DECK

The Deck is the arena of play.

The Rails are the baselines of The Deck.

MARKING THE DECK

One foot must be kept on The Rail of The Deck at all times.

i. A player loses the bout for grounding a foot (or any other part of their body) behind The Rail.

ii. A player receives a Warning if both feet come off The Rail and onto The Deck.

5. THE SERVE

The players take turns to begin the action with a “serve”.

The serve consists of:

(i) a beat with the sword on the opponent’s blade,

followed by

(ii) a strike delivered above the opponent’s waist.

The serving player chooses whether to engage with their opponent’s blade on the Inside or Outside Line.

A point cannot be scored on the serve. (This is to discourage players from hitting too hard.)

After the serve has been delivered, the whole body becomes a valid target.

The role of server is swapped only after a point has been awarded.

6. SCORING

POINTS are:

i. WON by striking the opponent with a clear and clean cut or thrust delivered with the sword. 

ii. LOST by receiving two Warnings for infringements of the rules.

WARNINGS are issued for:

i. Beginning a serve before the Conductor (the head judge) calls “Play.

ii. Any form of foul serve.

iii. The player who is receiving the serve moving their blade out of the way of the server’s opening beat-attack.

iv. A Skirmisher striking the opponent when they do not have the right of way (the player whose turn it is to deliver a strike is said to have the right of way or priority) with the exception of a successful Stop-Hit (see 9).

v. Executing a feint before delivering a blow (with the exception of a Broken-Time attack – see 7).

vi. Losing balance in such a manner as to be unable to riposte in tempo – a player has a window of approximately 2 – 3 seconds to riposte after having made a successful defence. (See vii.)

vii. Holding up play or the flow of the Skirmish (“Faffing”)

viii. Moving both feet forward onto The Deck and away from The Rail.

ix. A player hitting themselves with their own blade.

x. Striking (or attempting to) strike the opponent with excessive force.

A PLAYER LOSES A POINT FOR:

i. Using their off-hand in a manner that would have caused damage to that hand.

ii. Delivering a stop-hit against a serve. (See 9.)

A PLAYER LOSES A POINT & RECEIVES A WARNING FOR:

i. Being responsible for a double-hit (both players landing a strike simultaneously) – the fault lies with the defending player (i.e. the player who does not have the right of way/priority).

ii. Not defending the opponent’s riposte after having successfully executed a Stop-Cut. (See 9.)

A PLAYER IMMEDIATELY LOSES THE BOUT FOR:

i. Stepping off The Deck – grounding a foot, or any other part of their body, behind and clear of The Rail.

ii. Dropping their sword or being disarmed by the opponent.

A PLAYER IS EXPELLED FROM A MUSTER OR TOURNAMENT FOR:

i. Deliberately trying to cause harm to the opponent.

ii. Disrespecting the opponent or the Officials.

7. BROKEN-TIME

Simple Broken-Time actions (an attack made with a pause or stutter in tempo) are allowed, as long as neither (i) the type of attack nor (ii) the line of attack is changed.

For example:

i. A player cannot turn a thrust into a cut or cut into a thrust. 

ii. A player cannot change the target of attack once the target has been established on the initial action.

8. NO FEINTS
Feints and compound attacks (actions that are not direct attacks to the target) are not allowed (with the exception of broken-time actions – see above – or attacks made with a preparation on the opponent’s blade – a Beat, Pressure, Expulsion or Transportation).

9. STOP-HITS
Stop-Hits (a counter-strike that lands between the time of the opponent’s parry and their riposte) are allowed under certain conditions.

i. Stop-Cuts:

a. Can only be delivered to the opposing player’s  sword arm. (This is to stop the bout descending into   an exercise in sniping.)

Should a Stop-Cut be made to any target other than the opponent’s sword arm, the hit is ignored, a Let is played and a Warning is issued to the offending player.

b. Can be delivered to the opponent’s head should  they (the opponent) attempt a strike below the waist.

ii. Stop-Thrusts:

a. Are allowed as long as they are made with the blades in opposition and/or with the line of attack of the opponent’s riposte clearly closed.

Should the Stop-Thrust be made without opposition and/or without the line of attack of the opponent’s riposte clearly closed, the hit is ignored, a Let is played and a Warning is issued to the offending player. (Again, this is to stop the bout descending into an exercise in sniping.)

b. Can be delivered without blade contact should the opponent attempt a strike below the waist.

The defending player (The Patient) must have made a successful parry before the attacking player (The Agent) can attempt a Stop-Hit.

Any riposte made by The Patient (delivered in tempo) must be successfully defended by The Agent (in this case, the player attempting the Stop-Hit) or they (The Agent) lose a point and receive a Warning.

A Stop-Hit cannot be attempted when receiving a serve.

For a more in-depth look at the rules of Skirmishing see – “Skirmishing – The Rules of the Game.