The Broadsword League is a venue for historical fencing competition with the broadsword, backsword, heavy sabre and singlestick. Our goal is to give historical fencers the opportunity to test their skills against each other and earn a competitive ranking based on the results. It is hoped that this sort of friendly competition will spur the fencers of the Broadsword League to develop their own abilities to the highest level.

Competition in the Broadsword League is based on individual challenge matches rather than tournaments, evoking the spirit of the stage gladiators and wandering swordsmen of the 18th century. Swordsmen register as competitors with the Broadsword League and announce their willingness to receive challenges. Your performance in challenge matches will affect your ranking, as you strive to earn the title of “Broadsword Champion.” Good luck!

To join the Broadsword League, just sign up for this forum or send us an e-mail at gilbride100@hotmail.com with the following information:

Name:

Style of Fencing:

School or Club (if applicable):

Contact Info (e-mail/phone):

Location:

In the body of the email, please include the following statement:

I wish to participate in fencing competition under the rules of the Broadsword League, and to accept challenges from other members of the League. I understand that this activity involves inherent dangers, and I participate entirely at my own risk.

Signing up for this forum constitutes signing up for the Broadsword League!

Once your membership has been approved, you may challenge any member of the Broadsword League to a bout, and you may also receive challenges. The challenger has the obligation of traveling to meet the challenged once the bout has been arranged.

Once the details have been arranged, the challenger should send an e-mail to the Broadsword League with the date, time and place of the match, as well as the names and current rankings of the two principals, and the names of their seconds.

Our goal is to use a rule system that is as simple and flexible as possible, to avoid bureaucracy and gamesmanship and maintain a martial spirit in our competitions.

1- All bouts are to be conducted in the spirit of an encounter with sharps, and the rules are not to be construed in such a way as to permit techniques that would not be possible in a fight with sharps. Manipulating the rules is specifically forbidden, and grounds for the match to be voided and a complaint to be filed with the League.
2- When a challenge has been given and accepted, the Broadsword League is to be informed of the date, time and place of the match, as well as the names and current rankings of the two principals, and the names of their seconds. No two members of the League may fight more than one official bout with each other per calendar week.
3- Each fencer is to bring one second to the match. The job of the seconds is to witness the match and verify the score. This requirement may be waived by mutual agreement if there are no seconds available, but only if the fencers agree to accept full responsibility for both the safety of the match and the results. This is called an "honor system" bout. In the event of any disagreement or dispute in an honor system bout, the match is to be considered void.
4- Fencers are to wear a minimum of a three-weapon mask, glove and jacket as protection during the bout. They may fence with any blunt broadsword or backsword, wooden, aluminum or otherwise appropriate waster, modified shinai or singlestick, but their weapons must be of the same type. Whatever type of weapon is used, the fencers must wear sufficient safety gear to avoid injury. The seconds must prevent the match if, in their judgment, the safety gear is insufficient.
5- Either second may stop the match at any time, either before or during the bout. If a second feels that the fencers are not fencing safely for any reason, it is his responsibility to call "halt." Once the safety issue has been addressed, the bout may resume. If a throw or fall occurs for any reason, or if a mask is knocked off, the bout is halted and the fencers are to return to the starting point, salute, and resume the bout. This rule applies no matter which type of bout is being fought. Seconds may also call a halt to inquire if their own or the opposing fencer was touched, however the judgement of the fencer in question is to be accepted except in egregious cases. If either second feels that the opposing fencer did not call touches accurately or otherwise observe the rules, the match is voided.
6- The fencers, through their seconds, must determine the type of bout to be fought. The following points must be determined: 1)- Will thrusts be allowed, or only cuts? 2)- Will the action of the bout stop on a touch? If the fencers agree to stop on a touch, the fencers are to re-center and resume the bout after the halt. 3)- Will grips be allowed? If grips are allowed, the fencers may grip each other in order to get a touch or a disarm, and may grip the opposing blade if they can do so in such a way that it would not cut them if the blades were sharp. If grips are allowed, the seconds are to call a halt and re-center the fencers if they get caught up in an extended clinch. In this type of bout, a disarm or a throw is to be counted as a touch. If grips are allowed, the action must stop on a touch. 4)- The fencers must determine whether the match shall be fought in an open area, on a fencing strip, or in a circle of any convenient size. If the bout is fought in a circle, stepping outside the circle with either foot is counted as a touch against.
7- The bout will begin after both fencers have saluted. A valid touch, anywhere on the body, must be acknowledged by the fencer who has been touched, and noted by his second. Each second has the responsibility of recording the touches against his own principal.
8- A valid touch is defined as a touch that, in the judgement of the affected fencer, would have drawn blood on him if the weapons had been sharp. Flat or grazing touches that would not have drawn blood are not counted, but should be acknowledged with the words "flat" or "light."
9- Bouts will continue for five minutes. At the end of the bout, the Broadsword League is to be informed of the results, along with the contact information for both principals and both seconds so the results may be confirmed. The ratings of the two fencers will be adjusted by the League according to the following method: The seconds record and report the number of touches against each fencer. Each fencer receives 25 points for participating in the bout, minus one point for every touch scored against him, plus ½ point for every touch scored against his opponent. ½ points are rounded down from the final score, and negative final scores are adjusted to zero points. Example: Fencer X and Fencer Y have a broadsword bout. Fencer X is touched 10 times and Fencer Y is touched 13 times. Fencer X receives 25 points for fencing, minus 10 points for the ten touches against him, plus 6 points for the touches he scored against Fencer Y. He receives a total of 21 points, to be added to his official ratings. Fencer Y receives 25 points for fencing, minus 13 points for the thirteen touches against him, plus 5 points for the touches he scored against Fencer X. He receives a total of 17 points, to be added to his official ratings.
10- The following types of special bout may be fought by agreement. Both types of special bout may also be combined into one. 1)- Off-Hand: Each fencer may choose a second weapon to use in his off-hand, such as a target, buckler, dagger or second sword. The off-hand weapons used by the fencers need not be identical. The seconds are not to allow the use of any unhistorical off-hand weapon. 2)- Five-Touch: This bout is scored differently than a standard Broadsword League bout, and is intended to allow for classical heavy saber matches within the Broadsword League framework. In this type of bout, the default rule is that double touches are to be disregarded. However, the fencers may voluntarily agree to fence the bout according to any mutually acceptable set of classical saber conventions. The fencer who first receives five touches has lost the bout. In a five-touch bout, Broadsword League points are earned according to a special scale. If the score is 5-0, the winner earns 26 points and the loser 16. If the score is 5-1, the winner earns 25 points and the loser 17. If the score is 5-2, the winner earns 24 points and the loser 18. If the score is 5-3, the winner earns 23 points and the loser 19. If the score is 5-4, the winner earns 22 points and the loser 20.

International, National and Regional Championships

Note: In the first year of the League's existence, the international championships were awarded on a different basis than what is described below. The Gormon was awarded to whoever earned the most points for the year, and the McBane to the holder of the best overall average. The rules described below went into effect on January 1, 2008.

To claim any Regional Championship title, you must have fought at least five bouts in that region, and you must have the highest average of points earned per bout of any fencer in that region for the previous year. The region in question can be a city, state, province or any other division of territory.
For instance, if you are a Broadsword League member in New York City, and you have fought at least five bouts in the city since you joined the League, and your average for 2007 was the highest of any League member in New York, then you can describe yourself as the Broadsword League Champion of New York City for 2007.
The same principle applies to National Championships, except that you must have fought at least ten bouts in a particular nation in order to claim to be its champion.
Regional and National Championships are not actually awarded by the League- they are simply claimed, under the conditions described above, by whichever swordsman can earn the title.
The Broadsword League awards three International trophies, along with the title of "Broadsword Champion." These trophies are the Gormon, the McBane and the Figg. These three championships are named after great Stage Gladiators of the 18th century.
The Gormon is awarded at the end of each year to the fencer with the best year-to-date average who has fought at least 20 Broadsword League bouts for the year. The McBane is awarded at the end of each year to the fencer with the best year-to-date average who has fought at least 5 but less than 20 Broadsword League bouts for the year.
If the winner of the Gormon and the winner of the McBane agree to meet for a challenge match, the fencer who earns the most points in that match will be awarded the Figg, as well as the title of "Broadsword League Grand Champion."

In memory of the great fencing guilds of Renaissance Europe, the Broadsword League has instituted the Brotherhood of St. Michael, an honors guild for Broadsword League fencers. Earning membership in the guild will not be easy, but those who succeed will be recognized for their proven skill as broadsword fencers, and will have the opportunity to earn the same ranks as the Renaissance guild fencers such as the Marxbruders, Federfechters, and Masters of Defence.

In medieval and Renaissance Europe, trade guild members earned a series of ranks, beginning as an apprentice and then progressing up to journeyman and finally master of that particular trade or craft. Fencing guilds had a similar system, using the ranks of scholar and free scholar (both of which are equivalent to an apprentice), provost (which is equivalent to a journeyman) and ultimately master of arms or "maestro," signifying a fully licensed professional fencing teacher. The title of "broadsword master" or "backsword master" could also be granted, indicating that one was licensed to teach that particular weapon but not necessarily others. This custom actually survived into the beginning of the 19th century, as Highland Societies offered the titles of scholar and master to Highland broadsword fencers as late as 1805. No "master" or "maestro" title is currently awarded by the League, but the other titles can be earned from the Brotherhood of St. Michael by winning "Honors" in League competition.

Honors may be earned by achieving any of the following:

- Earning 1000 points in League competition with an average of 20 or better: 1 Honor.
- Beating the current Gormon or McBane champion: 1 Honor.
- Beating a member of the Brotherhood of St. Michael when you are not a member: 1 Honor.
- Beating a member of the Brotherhood of St. Michael of a higher rank than you when you are a member: 1 Honor.
- Earning 1000 points in League competition with an average of 23 or better: 2 Honors.
- Winning the Gormon: 2 Honors.
- Winning the McBane: 2 Honors.
- Winning the Figg: 3 Honors.
- Taking 3rd Place in a Brotherhood of St. Michael "Prize Playing" Tournament: 1 Honor.
- Taking 2nd Place in a Brotherhood of St. Michael "Prize Playing" Tournament: 2 Honors.
- Taking 1st Place in a Brotherhood of St. Michael "Prize Playing" Tournament: 3 Honors.

You must specifically inform the League of any Honors you believe you may have earned- we cannot keep track on our own! Honors may also be granted under other circumstances at the discretion of the League.

Brotherhood of St. Michael Ranking Structure:

1 Honor- candidate for membership.
2 Honors- scholar first rank.
4 Honors- scholar second rank.
6 Honors- scholar third rank.
8 Honors- free scholar first rank.
10 Honors- free scholar second rank.
12 Honors- free scholar third rank.
14 Honors- provost first rank.
16 Honors- provost second rank.
18 Honors- provost third rank.

Prize Playing Tournaments:

A "Prize Playing" is a public tournament of challenge matches for Broadsword League fencers, the goal of which is to earn Honors and rank in the Brotherhood of St. Michael by fighting and defeating all challengers. The rules for holding a Prize Playing are as follows:

1- A Prize Playing may be organized by any officer of the Broadsword League. Officers hosting a Prize Playing are strongly advised to carry insurance that will cover the event.
2- The entire event must be videotaped and the video must be sent to the League.
3- A Prize Playing must have a minimum of 6 competitors, of whom at least two must have fought 10 League bouts or more.
4- The public must be informed of the event and invited to attend.
5- All bouts must be fought according to the 5-touch rules, as this is more interesting for the spectators.
6- Every competitor must challenge every other competitor present.
7- If a competitor is forced to withdraw or leave early, all of his bouts for the day must be voided so that each fencer at the end of the day will have had the same number of fights against the same opponents.
8- If the withdrawal of one competitor brings the total number of competitors down to five, the event may continue as long as no other fencers withdraw.
9- The fencer with the highest average at the end of the day will receive 3 Honors in the Brotherhood of St. Michael. The fencer with the second highest average will receive 2 Honors. The fencer with the third highest average will receive 1 Honor.
10- At the close of the event, the top three competitors will receive their induction into the Brotherhood of St. Michael if they are not already members, along with their new Honors and ranks.

Remember, challenging and defeating any of these guild members can earn you Honors and membership.

Name: Dirk Wolfram Neumann
Guild Rank: Scholar, First Rank
Honors: 2
School: Glamorgan School of Arms
Style: Backsword
Contact: DNeuman@carmarthenshire.gov.uk
Background: Dirk Wolfram Neumann's 2 Honors were earned by winning the McBane championship for 2008. He is an inhabitant of Swansea in Wales, and a Regional Officer of the Broadsword League.

Name: Jeremy Oneail
Guild Rank: Scholar, First Rank
Honors: 2
School: Academy of Knightly Arts
Style: Fiore dei Liberi
Contact: oneail@hotmail.com
Background: Jeremy Oneail's 2 Honors were earned by winning the McBane championship for 2007. He is the founder of the Academy of Knightly Arts in Haverhill, MA.

Name: Mathew Park
Guild Rank: Scholar, Second Rank
Honors: 5
School: The Cateran Society Broadsword Academy
Style: Highland Broadsword
Contact: gilbride100@hotmail.com
Background: Matt Park's 5 Honors were earned by passing 1,000 points with an average of 20 or above in 2008 (for 1 Honor) by beating the current Gormon champion in a League match in 2009 (1 Honor for beating the champion, plus 1 Honor for beating a Guild member when Matt was not a member), and by once again beating the current Gormon champion in a League match in 2009 (1 Honor for beating the champion, plus 1 Honor for beating a Guild member of higher rank). He has been a member of the Cateran Society Broadsword Academy and a student of Christopher Scott Thompson since December of 2006, and holds the rank of 4th Degree Mentor in the Cateran Society Broadsword Academy, meaning that he is authorized to teach the Regimental Highland Broadsword, Old-Style Highland Broadsword, Sword and Targe, and Quick Draw.

Name: Christopher Scott Thompson
Guild Rank: Scholar, Second Rank
Honors: 4
School: The Cateran Society Broadsword Academy
Style: Highland Broadsword
Contact: gilbride100@hotmail.com
Background: Christopher Scott Thompson's 4 Honors were earned by reaching 1,000 points in League competition with an average of 23 or above in 2008 (for 2 Honors) and winning the Gormon championship in 2008 (for 2 Honors). "I have decided to institute this new ranking structure through the Broadsword League so that all interested broadsword fencers will be able to participate in a shared and structured ranking system. As the founder of both the League and the Brotherhood of St. Michael, I would like to emphasize that the art is serious, but competition and rankings are just for fun. Be proud of the Honors you earn, but don't take them too seriously." -CST

The Brotherhood of St. Michael Candidate List:

Thompson, Christopher Scott President gilbride100@hotmail.com

Badillo, Tom Vice President (CA, USA) Thomas.Badillo@gmail.com

Mitchell,Kit Regional Officer (Swansea, UK) kit@hypostasis.com

Neumann,Dirk Wolfram Regional Officer (Swansea, UK) DNeuman@carmarthenshire.gov.uk

Goodwin,Anna"Jack" Regional Officer (Swansea, UK) jabbathejack@hotmail.com/ 01570 421103

Kuchavik, Adam Regional Officer (Southeastern USA)

Cartwright, Joshua Regional Officer (CO)

Broadswords and Buffaloes
A short essay regarding levels of intensity in League bouts
-Christopher Scott Thompson

Elsewhere I have written about the value of fencing with a high degree of intensity, even beyond that with which one feels completely comfortable. In terms of your ability to master the stress of a violent encounter, intense training is essential. Now I'm going to take a different point of view, and discuss the problems with trying to fence that way in a competitive venue such as the Broadsword League.

It is possible to be a formidable competitor without being a particularly good swordsman. This seems counterintuitive, but it is true. Let's say the highest level of intensity that can be fenced with complete safety for both parties is rated as 6 out of 10. 10 would be the level where you are actually trying to do real harm to your opponent, in other words a real fight and not a bout. Most bouts are fought somewhere between 4 and 5, with 6 being the level at which the action starts to get sharp and even a little bit scary but is still controlled.

With a lot of protective gear or with inherently harmless weapons such as toy foam swords, you could safely go as high as 8 or 9, but that would be unrealistic due to the illusion of safety. In other words, both fencers would be far more aggressive than they would ever dare to be in a real fight, because they know they can't be hurt. With the typical gear used in competitive broadsword fencing, however, 6 is about as high as you should go with anyone with the possible exception of a rare and deliberate training experience with a trusted partner.

Broadsword fencing in the era of sharp weapons was exactly the same. You can easily kill a man with a single blow of the broadsword, and battlefield descriptions of the aftermath of a Highland broadsword charge describe severed limbs and broken weapons on all sides. This sort of combat is not what competitive broadsword fencing represents, because it cannot possibly be. Nothing is like the battlefield except the battlefield.

Stage gladiators and other broadsword duelists rarely killed each other. Most single combats with the broadsword were resolved by a bleeding cut to the arm, leg or sometimes the head, with fatalities resulting only unintentionally or when one fencer was unreasonably stubborn or bloodthirsty. They were fencing each other with sharp weapons but with such self-control that they inflicted only the minimum level of injury needed to demonstrate superior skill. My guess is that the typical duel or prizefight with sharp broadswords, just like the typical Broadsword League bout, was fought at about level 4 or 5, or else people would have been killed on a regular basis by the sharp weapons they were using. This is the type of combat represented by the Broadsword League.

Nobody fights in the League at level 9 or 10, because that is the mentality of the battlefield and serious injuries would be the inevitable result. The worst injury we've seen so far is a broken finger, and that was the result of a fencer going to level 7 or 8. He injured his opponent- and lost the bout anyway.

This brings me to my point. I can fight at any level I need to, all the way up to 10, and so can many other serious broadsword fencers. Some broadsword fencers are not yet at the stage in their training where they are capable of that; 5 or 6 is the highest level they can handle while 7 or 8 would totally overwhelm them. However, 6 is the highest that I or just about anyone else can fence at with relative safety for both fencers, so anything beyond 6 is starting to leave the realm of a fencing bout and enter the realm of an actual fight.

What this means is that if I face an opponent who goes to level 7 or 8, I am forced into the position of being responsible for both of us, since he is not really being responsible for either of us. This puts me at an inherent disadvantage throughout the fight, because he can concentrate primarily on winning while I am forced to concentrate on making sure no one gets hurt, and then trying to win with that additional handicap. Obviously he could go to the same level in a real fight and I would lose if I couldn't handle it, but in a real fight I wouldn't have to be responsible for his safety at the same time. You can't replicate the mentality of a life or death fight in a competitive arena, because "I want to win" is a totally different mindset from "I want to stay alive" or "I want to kill this man."

For this reason, fencing at level 7 or 8 is not really realistic even if it seems like it ought to be more realistic. If both fencers go all out, one or both will be badly hurt. If not, then one of them is making sure it doesn't happen, at the expense of his own ability to fight and win. The "buffalo" (as rough fencers are called) might think he is showing appropriate control because he isn't fencing at level 9 or 10, but he is simply wrong. What he is actually doing is counting on his opponent's sense of responsibility to give him an unfair advantage.

Excessive intensity allows the buffalo to paper over his own lack of skill at the art itself. All he needs is fast reactions, a watchful eye, and the willingness to hit very hard. If his opponent does not or cannot take the fight to the same level of intensity, he will often win, even if his fencing ability as such is sub-par.

I have known competitors who did nothing except stand on guard and hit as hard and as fast as possible the moment the opponent came within distance. I have known a competitor whose only tactic was to charge forward with the exact same barrage of strikes every time he fought, without the slightest concern for his own defense. Cutting 1,2,3,4 and 7 as hard and as fast as he could get away with was the one solution to every tactical question in this fencer's mind.

Against an opponent who cannot handle the intensity, these approaches will work, even though they are not examples of skillful swordsmanship. They work for psychological reasons that exist only in the context of the bout and not in real combat, because the opponent has no reason to want to get injured over a friendly fencing match and will therefore respond differently than he otherwise would. He would quite possibly be overwhelmed in the exact same way in a real duel, but the result might be different than the buffalo had anticipated. In one famous real-life incident, the charging buffalo opened his mouth in a terrifying scream as he attacked- only to swallow a few feet of his opponent's blade as the man simply extended his arm in a blind panic, killing the bully on the spot.

Against an opponent who can handle the intensity, the buffalo will usually lose, although he will lose by a much narrower margin than he really ought to because his opponent will be actively protecting him from the consequences of his own recklessness whether he realizes it or not.

If you would lose at level 4 or 5, you have no business winning simply because you decide to fight at level 7 or 8. Skillful swordsmanship works under all conditions; it does not depend on intimidation or on the opponent's sense of responsibility.

All broadsword fencers should spend substantial training time working at level 2 or 3- what we describe in my school as "slow play." Slow play cannot be won by speed or athleticism, because none is used; it can only be won by intelligent use of real fencing technique. All broadsword fencers should also spend a lot of time fencing at level 4 or 5, and a certain amount of time at level 6. Level 7 should be used only by advanced fencers as an occasional training experiment with a trusted partner. The purpose of this is to build the fencer's ability to handle psychochemical stress reactions that occur in actual combat. These reactions can sometimes occur spontaneously even in a friendly bout, as in one case where I experienced tunnel vision and loss of fine motor control in an ordinary bout against a new opponent. For this reason, even if you don't believe in "training for the duel," it's still a useful skill to be able to fence effectively under those conditions.

Anything above level 7 is a real fight and not training, and should therefore never be done in training because it can't be. (The Dog Brothers is one group that actually trains a few times a year at what I would call level 8 or 9. This works only as stickfighting and not as swordsmanship, because the Dog Brothers are willing to absorb stick strikes that would be either lethal or crippling with a sharp sword.)

Anything above level 6 ("sharp and even a little bit scary but still controlled") has no place in League competition, and even level 6 should be entered into only if both fencers are up to it. It should not be imposed by one fencer on another fencer in order to overwhelm him.

The seconds should always stop the bout if these conditions are not met or understood by both fencers. If you're fencing without seconds, it's up to you to do the same. If your opponent is trying to win through raw violence alone, you should simply refuse to continue the fight. Report the incident to the League, and the fight will be voided.

Broadsword League bouts represent a controlled and intelligent test of fencing skill between two respectful opponents. They cannot and do not represent a free-for-all, "kill or be killed" battlefield situation. The type of broadsword fencing we want to represent is that which would work consistently under all conditions, and not only against opponents we can personally intimidate.