HASTILUDIA

Oregon State Martial Gathering

Classroom sparring with steel sabres

WHAT IS HASTILUDIA?
Hastiludia [hastəlüdēə] in medieval Latin or Hastilude: a generic term for martial contest or war games. Ours is an annual cross-discipline sparring event (FMA, Gung-Fu, HEMA, Kobudo, etc.) open to all local weapon-based martial arts practitioners and enthusiasts. Our goal is to use the martial skills we have been training in our respective combat systems and apply them in real-time sparring of various intensities. To test ourselves among friends in a welcoming environment. This is about clean techniques, not brute strength. Fight to the best of your abilities. Be friends in the end.

FORMAT: Standard 2 minute continuous bouts. Generally, these will be a stand up fights with weapons but throws and takedowns may be allowed in accordance to our Rule Of Thirds. Choose your weapon(s) and opponent. Agree on the type of fight you’ll do, the level of intensity, etc. Communicate this in the presence of the referee for transparency. The wearing of protective gear is NOT an excuse to go berserk on your sparring partner or charge in recklessly. Brute force is the strategy of the unskilled. You must fight with good martial quality and technical skill. Respect everyone and protect yourselves at all times. Please take the time to read and understand our Rules Of Engagement.

GEAR: We encourage sparring with minimal protective gear; fencing masks/helmets and lacrosse/hockey or HEMA-type gloves only. Groin cups recommended if you care about your bits & pieces. HEMA gear also allowed if you're from that martial discipline but again, we encourage less protective covering to really test your skills.

Level 1 Protection (eyes and gloves)

Level 2 Protection (fencing mask and gloves)

Level 3 Protection (fencing mask, gloves and fencing jacket)

IMPORTANT: We want to promote the warrior ethos and build a community of like-minded individuals with a particular interest in weapons fighting. To foster camaraderie and friendship by engaging in this challenging martial exercise. We build and strengthen each other so we can protect those who cannot protect themselves. Unnecessary roughness and bullying WILL NOT be tolerated and you will be ejected and banned from future gatherings.

"In the perfect fight two never strike or thrust together, because they never suffer place nor time to perform it. Two unskillful men many times by chance strike or thrust together, chance unto them, because they know not what they do, or how it comes to pass." - George Silver 1599, Paradoxes Of Defence.

RULES OF ENGAGEMENT

We want to keep things simple and kinetic, but in order to ensure all participants have an enjoyable and educational experience all fighters must abide by these rules;

Fight With Martial Quality: Although Hastartes Tactical and my own edged weapons training advocate this very same philosophy, this actual phrase was coined by Lee Smith from Blood & Iron Martial Arts during the Short Blades Symposium of 2017; in blade-fighting, all attacks ought to be delivered with tactical intent and clean technique, just as one has (presumably) trained in their respective edged weapons systems. This includes strategic footwork and maneuvering, cuts with follow through and deliberate thrusts to vital targets, clear distance management, etc.
Sparring Is As Much Intellectual As It Is Physical: Brute force is the strategy of the unskilled. Control your weapons and yourselves at all times. Utilize the skills you've learned in your chosen combat system to the best of your abilities. Blade-fighting is a higher art; swinging like a cave man and charging in recklessly while absorbing hits do very little to validate your training and your system.
No Mutual Destructions: All fighters must acknowledge every strike is LETHAL. However, "dying" men flail and fighters must understand to get out of range and prevent receiving after blows. If mutual destructions, doubles, etc. persists then the fight will be discontinued. It doesn't matter whether you're fighting as Mr. Tough Guy in a t-shirt or wearing your cute protective fencing jacket - you get hit, you're dead. Period.
Acknowledge And Respect All Hits: Pretty self-explanatory; if you get hit first, have enough sense to recognize it and back away instead of delivering an after blow. You're not impressing anyone by engaging in mutual destruction. Reset from a safe range and resume the fight until the end of the round.
Playing "Tag": Due to lack of experience or ability, some fighters just don't have any martial skills behind their attacks and resort to what I refer to as playing "tag." In the event that either fighter is observed to be engaging in a game of "tag," the bout will be ended immediately. If the same fighter(s) continue to engage in "tagging" in their next bout(s), resulting in the same premature end of the bout and the offending fighter(s) may not be allowed to fight again that day.

Rule Of Thirds: These are somewhat inspired by the Pekiti-Tirsia Kali strategy of thirds and one that I’ve used in past gatherings for experienced fighters;

3-Hit Rule: The first fighter who lands 3 consecutive and unanswered strikes wins the bout and the fight is over, regardless how much time remains on the clock. ALL strikes must have martial quality. If the fighter attempting to score three consecutive and unanswered hits gets hit in the process, NONE of his strikes will count.
3-Count Rule: In the event of a bind, clinch, or stand up grappling, you have up to 3 counts to execute a disarm, takedown and/or throw or to break free of such attempts by your opponent. Referee will step in and separate the fighters if none of these actions are performed successfully after the 3 counts have elapsed. The defender may employ any means necessary to prevent being disarmed or taken down, which includes punching and kicking, or attempt his own takedown/throw.
3-Second Non-Engagement Rule: Fights must be continuous. Strategizing is fine but the arena is not a place for contemplation. Fighters will be given a warning if the fight stalls or there are no engagements after 3 seconds. If non-engagement persists, the fight will be discontinued since clearly neither fighter wants to engage.

TYPES OF ENGAGEMENTS/STYLES OF PLAY

There are three types of engagements. Notify the referee about certain conditions that you and your opponent agreed upon before your bout begins;

Distance Fighting: The lowest intensity of fight. Non-contact, no protective gear though eyes and groin protection is (strongly) suggested. Strikes stop short of actually hitting your opponent, though weapon to weapon contact is allowed. Important: Fighters must still engage "combatively," meaning all attacks must be believable and maneuvers are strategic. We'd love to see "combative flow," but if it devolves into two guys just "dancing" with weapons, the bout will be stopped.

Long Range Or Largo Fighting: Long to medium range. Minimal protective gear, mainly hand/arm targets only.

Contact Fighting: The type of fight most participants will be engaging in. Contact in varying degrees of intensity (light to full-contact). Minimal to full range of protective gear allowed depending on the type of weapons (polymer, steel, etc.) and intensity of the fight. If either or both combatants employ unnecessary roughness or devolve into a brawl, the bout will be stopped immediately. Brute strength is the strategy of the unskilled. There's zero tolerance for bullying of any kind.

WEAPONS

All weapons must be approved by the Organizer. Fighters can fight with either metal (steel, aluminum) or synthetic training weapons. All weapons must be of "sparring grade" and have dull edges and rounded tips. Nothing sharp. No "boffers" of foam padded weapons allowed.

Synthetic short sabres

Steel longswords

Steel sabres

Sticks And Other Impact Weapons: The only impact weapons allowed must be wielded with two hands such as short cane, jo, 5ft staff, spear (with or without rubber spear head), war clubs (wood or synthetic) and flail type weapons such as nunchaku, 3-section staff (sanjie gun) and 2-section staff (changxiao bang in gung-fu or peasant flail in HEMA).

Staff and spear

Double nunchaku vs 3-section staff

Fictional Weapons: Fighters, who want to go the extra nerdy mile may fight with well-known fictional weapons such as the Klingon bat'leth, Uruk-Hai scimitar, Vulcan lirpa, Fremen crys knife, etc. Based on availability. If you want to bring your own fictional weapon to fight with, it must meet the same safety requirements as mentioned above for realistic Earth sparring weapons (metal or synthetic) and cannot be made of foam.