Reading through all the recent critical threads on social media about the sportification of HEMA after Swordfish, I think I’ve come up with a simple rule-set and basic requirements designed to get the most vocal critics potentially engaged in a Historical Fencing competition focusing on “The Art ™”.

First of all, in terms of scoring, the fencers would call their own hits, so no need for any judges, which removes all debates on the subject of number or quality of judges. A referee would be involved, not so much to control the fight, but to corroborate the aesthetic or historical value of the action after each valid exchange. Speaking of exchanges, each bout will have a minimum time limit of three minutes, with no maximum time limit (!), and to further ensure that the fight is not too rushed, the maximum number of exchanges per bout is also three, so in theory each exchange should take at the very least sixty seconds, because slower fights clearly indicate greater forethought and supreme analytical capabilities as we all know. Festina Lente and all that sort of thing.

After each exchange eventually ends, both fighters and referee will pause to calmly discuss the merits of the strike, cut (sorry; hew) or thrust, where it landed, did the fencer succeed in avoiding getting hit with an after-blow or not, and what treatises and fencing masters contain direct references to the actions taken, with additional kudos given if the fencer can quote precise sections of text in the original language. Tea, coffee and scones may be served between exchanges within a given bout, if the length of the discussion requires it. Any fast reflex fencing actions hinting at mere cardiovascular capacity, strength or conditioning may be dismissed by the ref and booed by the audience accordingly as “too sporty”.

In addition, the proposed minimum age of the participants should probably be 45 years old (with a recommended minimum body fat of approx. +/- 25% for men, and 35% for women, just to weed out any participants that might place too much emphasis on athleticism). Aside from adding prestige and gravitas to the proceedings, this will also help with the pace requirements as previously specified. If the tournament is a longsword one, steel blunts will be mandatory, as federschwert are too sporty and not appropriate for Fiore/real KDF anyway.

In all likelihood the competition structure should be a round-robin tournament, so every participant gets to fence with everyone else, but there are no eliminations, or points given, or finals, or winners, just a whole lot of camaraderie, technical fencing, polite applause and good cheer, with each individual participant being awarded their own personalised prize on the basis of their best attack, defence or scholarly reference throughout the event. Additional compliments may be extended to key elements such as attire, general form, footwork, creative facial hair or extraneous flourishes.

I’m not sure what to call this format, something like Grand International Traditional Swordsmanship or True Western Art Tournament Symposium maybe. I’m open to all suggestions.

I think this should get all the usual detractors on board, as it should entirely remove all those dreaded sporty and athletic elements from the competition, and hopefully get them more directly involved in tournaments going forward.