COMBAT
THE KING OF SWORDS SINGLE COMBAT TOURNAMENTS
The Taupo Single Combat Tournaments are test of skill and endurance. This is prize fighting, medieval style. Fighters from all over New Zealand, not to mention international competitors; are given the opportunity to prove their prowess before all.
There will be four single combat events held at the Tournament. Each one highlights one aspect or weapon in the art of single combat. The divisions will be Side Sword, Longsword, Dark Ages and Armoured. Our Sponsor, King of Swords, New Zealand's largest importer and distributor of quality reproduction equipment has put up some magnificent trophies for this competition.
These are the most popular historical combat events in the country, and are fought in two divisions - heavy and light. One of each division will be fought on each day of the tournament.
In the light division, fighters take the ring in light armour and fencing masks. These are sword combats of skill and dexterity, focussing on either Longswords or Sideswords.
In the heavy division, fighters compete in full battle gear. This tests their skill and endurance to the limit. Heavy tournaments are also restricted to a limited choice of weapons - sword and shield for the Dark Ages Tournament, or pole weapons for the Medieval Armoured Tournament.
Tournaments are fought at first in a round-robin, to determine placings for the semifinal and final fights. Round Robin fights are contested to three hits, while the final fights are decided by the first to score five "hits" on their opponent. All combats will be resolved on the day.
For a full listing of the rules and requirements for all tournament events, please follow the following links.
DARK AGE TOURNAMENT -The Dark Ages were a time in European history from which little or no information survives.
This tournament celebrates the warriors of the Vikings, the Normans, the Saxon and the Dane. Warriors about whom we know little concerning their styles of combat or martial endeavour beyond the legends and sagas that have come down to us through history.
more . . .LONGSWORD TOURNAMENT -
The Longsword is a single or double-handed sword of over three feet in length and was the weapon of the knight and man-at-arms throughout the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries.
more . . .ARMOURED TOURNAMENT -
The armoured tournament showcases combat by fighters in the heavy armour of the fourteenth to sixteenth centuries. The weapons are restricted to pole weapons only, and fighters will be expected to compete without shields, using their armour as protection from blows.
more . . .SIDESWORD TOURNAMENT -
Ideally suited for personal defence or warfare, the Sidesword is a single handed sword of just under three feet in length, and is traditionally used with either a small buckler, dagger or cloak in the left hand. Our tournament allows for all these variations.
more . . .