The Empire of Medieval Pursuits

Empire of Medieval Pursuits Combat Customs and Traditions
The pursuit of excellence in combat arts was central to virtually every ancient culture as its future often depended on its warriors. Throughout the history of armored combat, non- lethal war games have been considered an essential element of training those warriors. The EMP is no different and endeavors to foster those traditions and skills in the relative safety of a Behordium like tradition.

The EMP provides a loosely structured environment for its adherents to expand their knowledge and skills at “combat”. Hereafter are the current rules and guidelines for armored combat with the Empire of Medieval Pursuits.

Conventions of Combat
In the EMP we acknowledge that each combatant is primarily responsible for his own safety and secondarily in care of all other combatants. Therefore, injuries are never solely the responsibility of the aggressor but always some combination of the injured and injurious parties’ skill and intent. If a combatant is found to be a danger to others through either a lack of skill or malicious intent then the appropriate authority shall sanction him.

1. General Requirements:
a. Each fighter, recognizing and embracing the possibilities of physical injury to him or herself in such combat, shall assume unto himself or herself all risk and liability for harm suffered by means of such combat. Other participants shall likewise recognize the risks involved in their presence on or near the field of combat, and shall assume unto themselves the liabilities thereof.
b. All combatants shall adhere to the appropriate armor and weapons standards of the Empire and shall not engage in combat until they have satisfied themselves, at each and every EMP sponsored event, that their armor and weapons are within those standards and are suitable for battle.
c. No fighter shall engage in combat unless and until he or she has inspected the field of combat and satisfied himself or herself that it is suitable for combat.
d. No one is required to engage in Empire combat should he or she prefer not to do so.
The Sovereign or Their representative may bar any weapon, armor, or individual from the field of combat. Should the Sovereigns’ representative bar any weapon or armor, an appeal may be made to the Sovereign to allow the weapon or armor.
e. Every fighter shall accept full responsibility for the condition of his or her own equipment. Each fighter has the obligation to himself or herself and all opponents, to see that his or her equipment meets all Empire and personal safety requirements.
f. Engaging in any Empire combat activity with the deliberate intent to inflict egregious harm is strictly forbidden.
g. No combatant may bear any weapon onto the field while participating in combat that does not conform to EMP combat standards. (Steel weapons are expressly prohibited)

2. Behavior on the field:
a. Striking an opponent with excessive force is forbidden.
b. All fighters shall heed the commands of the Sovereign’s representative on the field, or risk being subject to disciplinary action.
c. Each fighter shall maintain control over his or her temper at all times.
d. Upon hearing the call of “HOLD” all fighting shall IMMEDIATELY stop.
A combatant may call “HOLD” for any reason (ie: dropped weapon, personal armor failure, perceived danger), but in doing so places himself at the mercy of his opponent. By stopping the combat he is in effect yielding and it is up to the discretion of his opponent to choose whether or not to resume the contest.
e. A fighter shall not enter the lists or participate in any form of EMP combat activity while impaired by alcohol or drugs (including, but not limited to: drugs prescribed by a licensed health care provider, over the counter medications, and illegal controlled substances.)
f. A fighter shall not substantively strike a helpless opponent.

3. Target Areas
a. Torso: All of the body (excluding the head and arms) above the points of the hips including the groin, shoulder blades and the area between the neck and the shoulders will be considered part of the torso.
b. Face: the area between the chin and the middle of the forehead and between the ear openings.
c. Head: The whole head and neck except the face as defined above.
d. Legs: The leg from one inch above ankle to a line even with the bottom of the hip socket.
e. Arms: From the shoulder to one inch above the wrist.
f. Hands: the area from one inch above the wrist to the end of the digits.
In due consideration of the ease of injury to the feet and ankles; they are not normally considered targets in EMP combat. However, if they are being used in an offensive manner (such as delivering a kick) they become legitimate targets.

4. The Use of Weapons:
a. Weapons shall be used in accordance with their design and no part of a weapon not specifically designed for striking an opponent shall be used to do so.
b. Only weapons designed and approved for thrusting may be used for that purpose.
c. A shield may be used to displace, deflect, or immobilize an opponent, so long as such use does not substantially endanger the safety of the combatants.
d. Deliberately striking an opponent’s head, limbs, or body with the edge of a shield is discouraged, unless that shield edge is designed for use as a weapon.

5. Acknowledgement of Blows:
a. Blow Calling and the “Tell” - A combatant honorably yields the fight when he has received a predetermined number of impacts/hits from his combatants. These strikes (or blows) are to be divided into three categories, Substantive (i.e.: debilitating/fight ending), telling (i.e.: wounding/counting), and minor (i.e.: ineffectual/weak)
b. In a standard EMP tournament or skirmish, victory is determined by any of several stated conditions. This is hereafter called the “Tell”. Generally, the Tell consists of either one substantive blow delivered to the head, neck, torso, or groin of an opponent, or a total of three telling blows to any part of the combatant excepting those restricted by the safety regulations. The exceptions to this rule are when combatants agree to vary the standard tell to suit their own training needs or in judicial duels.
c. When judging the effect of blows, all fighters are presumed to be wearing “armor as worn”.
a. Under this standard, a blow to the face of a fighter with an open face bar grill would be tolled as if one level more debilitating than to other portions of the head or body (i.e. a minor blow would be counted as telling, and a telling blow as substantive).
d. Substantive blows are those that a combatant judges would have either stunned, incapacitated, or outright killed them in the course of a battle using actual weapons. Generally, blows that inflict some measure of pain, stop forward motion, cause a loss of breath, or impress the combatant upon whom they are struck are “substantive” blows. If a blow is anywhere close to the threshold of which a combatant desires to receive blows it should be counted as a “substantive” blow.
e. Any blow thrown at an opponent who is unaware of the impending shot should be limited to the force of a telling blow but will always be counted as a substantive blow regardless of actual impact.
f. Any blow thrown at an opponent who is prone or has more than two primary points of contact with the ground should be limited to the force of a telling blow but will always be counted as a substantive blow regardless of actual impact.
g. Any substantive blow to an appendage (arms/legs/hands) may be counted as only telling at the discretion of the combatant receiving the blow.
h. Telling blows are those that the combatant can detect but do not measure up to the standard described as a substantive blow. By definition, these blows do not have to be “substantive” but should not be overly glancing or weak.
i. Any blow directed at a combatant who is not aware of the initiating opponent or prone should be thrown with moderate telling force.
j. Minor/Ineffectual Blows are those that create no reasonable kinetic impact upon those who are struck. (ie: the combatant struck felt no impact whatsoever)
If a blow is judged to be minor/ineffectual it need not be counted toward the “Tell”.
When a blow is judged to be ineffectual it is in effect requesting the opponent to strike harder.
k. Body to Body contact consists of all forms of grappling, sweeps, throws, and strikes designed to unbalance or disorient an opponent or otherwise interfere with his ability to do battle.
Grapples may be initiated and maintained against any weapon or any legal target with the exception of the torsions involving all joints, or the head.
l. Submission locks and holds are prohibited.
m. Strikes with armored extremities may be used to effect the tell, and to unbalance or disorient an opponent but inflexible objects (ie: pommel weights for weapons) may not.
n. Body to body contact is not considered lethal and any strikes made to armored areas need not be counted toward the “tell” at the discretion of the combatant struck. Strikes to the unarmored face of an opponent are exempt from this rule.
o. Combatants may not use a bow, crossbow or any other device for a melee weapon or for defense unless it meets all other requirements of a melee weapon. (ie. A combatant could not swing a bow with the intent to strike another combatant unless it met all other restrictions for a melee weapon)
p. Tells made by missile weapons are made in the same manner as melee weapons and armor as worn applies. (ie: A missile weapon striking the bar grill on an open face helm should count as a killing blow but a strike to the cheek plate or other hard plate should be counted as a tell)

6. Conventions of War
a. Due to the extra hazards afforded by group combat certain modifications to the standard EMP combat conventions shall be observed.
b. Not more than three individuals can be involved in any form of standing grapple or throw.
Strikes to opponents unaware of the attackers presence should be accompanied by a verbal signal, such as “Dead from behind!” aiding in the opponents comprehension of the blows origin.