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→Scoring a Hit
A ‘Hit’ is defined as:
A clear strike of measured weight, delivered to any legal target area. The weight of the hit should be heavy enough to be felt, taking into account the recipient’s clothing and any armour, though it should never be so hard as to cause a person of reasonable firmness undue pain or injury.
So far as is reasonably possible, a strike must be delivered in such a way as
to suggest that, if delivered in reality, an injury or wound would have resulted.
Warning – this does not mean that a hit must ever be ‘hard’.
Once a combatant has taken all of their hits – they are ‘dead’ – this means
that they can take no further part in the competitive combat, although different
ranks may react to losing all of their hits in a variety of ways (see the Ranking
System).
No document can seek to explain the above fully, that is the task of the training
officers. If you are unsure about any aspect of the above – consult the MTO,
or one of his deputies, who will be happy to explain and demonstrate.
===Sportsmanship===
We are aware that a system such as the above is difficult to police. This system
expects that combatants behave as mature individuals, and give one another
the benefit of the doubt. However, if you genuinely feel that a combatant is
consistently abusing the system, then you, or your group leader, should inform
a training officer as soon as possible. That combatant’s behaviour can then be
observed and scrutinised.Having stated the above, If combatants are insistent
about counting and enquiring after every hit, then it is likely that they will find the
new format somewhat frustrating. The new format will require some changes
to fighting styles and tactics, and most importantly – attitudes. Such a change
will require time and some patience on the part of all combatants, but the end
result will be very worthwhile.
Fight with honour and sportsmanship.
Where there is any doubt, be generous.
===When do I take a hit?===
''(Examples of good, and bad strikes)''<br>
The above implies that if a hit is dubious or invalid the recipient may simply
ignore it, without explanation, and continue fighting. This is entirely true. When
you score a strike, you should not pause and wait for the hit to take effect -
rather you should continue to fight, even if this means that your enemy receives
more hits than they can actual ‘take’. This is a far more authentic attitude to
combat.<br>
Here are some examples to help.<br>
'''A Bad Hit'''<br>
A spearman hits you a couple of times in the knee (an illegal and unsafe shot)
and then proceeds to slide the weapon upwards until he eventually finds your
upper leg. Do not take this hit.
'''A Good Hit'''<br>
A strike lands on your upper arm. It is well within the target area. You feel it - it
even stings for a second but is unlikely to result in a bruise. Your response to
it is natural and immediate, of course you are going to take it.
'''A Marginal Hit (1)'''<br>
A spear grazes past you, possibly the blade came into contact with you—or
was it the shaft? You are wearing mail and you barely notice it. If you hadn’t
seen it, you would not have been aware of it at all. In reality, it would not have
caused an injury - it would have been a miss. You should not take this shot—
more importantly, your attacker should not expect you to.
'''A Marginal Hit (2)'''<br>
A sword strikes you on the arm. It is very near the elbow. Difficult to tell in the
heat of battle whether it was upper arm or not, you’re having to think a bit too
hard about it.<br>
This last one is tricky isn’t it? It’s your call. If you have more than one hit, then
maybe the sporting thing to do would be to take it. If you are a Levy with only
one hit, do yourself a favour and ignore it—he can probably do better.
It should be obvious from the above that what we are requiring is a greater
level of sportsmanship and some give and take. This should increase as the
combatant moves through the ranking system. The combatant with three hits
can afford to behave with more largesse and honour than the new combatant
with only one hit.
