This ruleset is only guaranteed to apply for CombatCon 2020. This does not reflect rulesets across HEMA events at large and is vastly different from prior rulesets at this event and possibly future events. If you are interested in HEMA, please check out the club finder on hemaalliance.com to find a club near you to learn more.

Hi William! All actions performed as part of a grapple are only 1 point, regardless of target. Due to the nature of using two handed weapons, wielding them with one handed leads to a lot of messy contact, so only clean actions will obtain a point. These are not the "control points" of past CombatCon tournaments. Clean technique will earn full points for the target area. Afterblows will be -2. This ruleset is meant to be difficult in earning points, and it is the experiment we are running this year. As for the point on the pommel, you are correct this is unclear, and the team will clarify this in the written ruleset.

We have clarified the ruleset to state that pommel strikes inside or outside of a grapple will be worth two points. The leverage of the sword is less of a factor when striking with the pommel one-handed, and there are good examples of historical technique that reinforce the validity of a one-handed pommel strike.

@@kirstenmeredith675 Thank you for the quick clarification and confirmation. Im glad to hear pommel strikes have in my opinion a reasonable and consistent value. most tourneys they seem to stay at 1 point. I do understand you guys are experimenting with rule sets. But I would just like to once again say that control in the grapple should be rewarded in some way due to its difficulty in accomplishing. As you say a lot of fencers fail and it does indeed turn into a messy exchange. But in terms of rewarding a display of skill a fencer who gains control in the grapple should be rewarded due to its high risk/reward nature. This rule change will discourage close plays due to it no longer being "economical" going to the grapple. Though I can definitely see a counter argument that in previous combat con tourneys their was a huge advantage if one could gain control. 5 point gain was very steep for controlled attacks like thrusts and grapples. But I feel bringing it down to one may be too steep depending on how much the point pool to victory is. Unless of course the whole reason of this rule change is to discourage the fencers from going to the grapple. Then it completely makes sense why a rule change this steep was implemented. Once again thank you for the clarification. I just wanted to state my opinion :).

Penalty cards can vary between HEMA events. Some rulesets have a card system and some do not. We currently have a penalty system you can look at once we post this year's ruleset.

Hi! Check out the Hema Alliance at hemaalliance.com and use the club finder to find a HEMA club near you! But remember, CombatCon is in Las Vegas, Nevada!

Hi! Any action completed during the grapple is 1 point. No points are awarded for just grappling an opponent. Please check out combatcon.com for the complete write-up of the ruleset.

@@kirstenmeredith675 thank you for the verification. Good luck for the tournament

Good question lmao

While a few things have changed, none of the things you listed have every been allowed. The rulesets you loved are pretty much the same :)

@@TheCombatCon I believe, i didnt see things listed above in fights I loved :) at the same time I love when these things are permitted. Arent You the one who permits buckler hitting in sword&buckler competition? In Poland we had kicking and punching allowed, but no buckler hitting were permitted.

@@Druid_Ignacy Yes indeed. I believe the buckler to the mask is still allowed in the S & B tournament so you should still get to see that :)

Due to the nature of the longsword being a two-handed weapon, one-handed strikes such as a thrust like you would see in Olympic fencing are generally under-controlled and usually with poor technique. As such, our focus is to award good historical technique, and we therefore decided not to award points for this unless the grappler has control of their opponent with the other hand and is in close enough range that the leverage of the weapon is not in question.

Some Guy Agreed 100%

@@kirstenmeredith675 I think some fiore fans won't agree that one handed cuts and thrusts are undercontrolled (especially since a lot of feders fall in the category well managable with one hand). I mean, fiore has a whole chapter sword in one hand. Nevertheless, I see why that rule is in place, safety first I guess and with a 1.7kg feder such a thrust is indeed uncontrolled. But what I don't understand is why pommel strikes are allowed while punches aren't. I consider pommel strikes far more dangerous. But you'll have your reasons for that I guess.