Combat reenactment
Encyclopedia
Historical reenactment
Historical reenactment is an educational activity in which participants attempt torecreate some aspects of a historical event or period. This may be as narrow as a specific moment from a battle, such as the reenactment of Pickett's Charge at the Great Reunion of 1913, or as broad as an entire...
which aims to depict historical forms of combat
Combat
Combat, or fighting, is a purposeful violent conflict meant to establish dominance over the opposition, or to terminate the opposition forever, or drive the opposition away from a location where it is not wanted or needed....
. This may refer to either single combat
Single combat
Single combat is a fight between two single warriors which takes place in the context of a battle between two armies, with the two often considered the champions of their respective sides...
, melee
Mêlée
Melee , generally refers to disorganized close combat involving a group of fighters. A melee ensues when groups become locked together in combat with no regard to group tactics or fighting as an organized unit; each participant fights as an individual....
s involving small groups, or nearly full-scale battle
Battle
Generally, a battle is a conceptual component in the hierarchy of combat in warfare between two or more armed forces, or combatants. In a battle, each combatant will seek to defeat the others, with defeat determined by the conditions of a military campaign...
s with hundreds of participants.
Depending on the intended effect, performances may have the aim of presenting historical martial arts reconstruction, or just offer entertainment
Sports entertainment
Sports entertainment is a type of spectacle which presents an ostensibly competitive event using a high level of theatrical flourish and extravagant presentation, with the purpose of entertaining an audience...
in a "renaissance fair
Renaissance Fair
A Renaissance fair, Renaissance faire, or Renaissance festival is an outdoor weekend gathering, usually held in the United States, open to the public and typically commercial in nature, which emulates a historic period for the amusement of its guests. Some are permanent theme parks, others are...
" context. The latter case does not qualify as "reenactment" in the strict sense and tends to serve clichés of swashbuckling held by the public (notably due to cinematic fencing) as opposed to dispelling them.
Historical martial arts demonstrations
Alfred Hutton
Alfred Hutton was a Victorian officer of the King's Dragoon Guards, antiquarian and swordsman. He originated the first English revival of historical fencing, together with his colleagues Egerton Castle, Captain Carl Thimm, Colonel Cyril Matthey, Captain Percy Rolt, Captain Ernest George Stenson...
in the 1890s.
The Association for Renaissance Martial Arts
Association for Renaissance Martial Arts
Association for Renaissance Martial Arts is an international educational non-profit organization dedicated to the study and practice of historical European martial arts of the 15th to 17th centuries...
distinguishes the following modes of historical martial arts demonstrations:
- Theatrical Fencing (stage-combat, performance fighting) in the sense of a performance art, not a martial art, although relying on a foundation of martial techniques and principles, serving the end of dramatic entertainment.
- Arranged Performance Fighting, as distinct from both theatrical fencing and historical swordsmanship practiced as a martial art, having the purpose of demonstration and education. Such performances are offered by a number of museums, including the Higgins Armory MuseumHiggins Armory MuseumHiggins Armory Museum, located in Worcester, Massachusetts, housed in a steel Art Deco Building, is one of the few museums in the Western Hemisphere devoted to arms and armour. The museum is a public, non-profit museum specializing in the history of arms and armor...
, Worcester, MA, USA http://www.higginssword.org/ and the Royal ArmouriesRoyal ArmouriesThe Royal Armouries is the United Kingdom's National Museum of Arms and Armour. It is the United Kingdom's oldest museum, and one of the oldest museums in the world. It is also one of the largest collections of arms and armour in the world, comprising the UK's National Collection of Arms and...
, LeedsLeedsLeeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...
, UKhttp://www.royalarmouries.org/. - Mock-Fighting & Martial Sports, including simulated battle presentations and tournament bouts in living historyLiving historyLiving history is an activity that incorporates historical tools, activities and dress into an interactive presentation that seeks to give observers and participants a sense of stepping back in time. Although it does not necessarily seek to reenact a specific event in history, living history is...
or live-action role-playing games with special "combat rules".
Competitions
In the 2000s, several competition events for choreographed historical martial arts demonstrations were originated, combining the judgement of aspects of historical fencing techniques, stage combatStage combat
Stage combat is a specialized technique in theatre designed to create the illusion of physical combat without causing harm to the performers. It is employed in live stage plays as well as operatic and ballet productions. The term is also used informally to describe fight choreography for other...
qualities like acting and entertainment value, as well as historical accuracy of costumes and equipment.
- Furor et Ferrum Pavone CanavesePavone CanavesePavone Canavese is a comune in the Province of Turin in the Italian region Piedmont, located about 45 km northeast of Turin...
, ItalyItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
(since 2004) - Stage Warriors OsterburkenOsterburkenOsterburken is a town in the Neckar-Odenwald district, in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated 28 km southwest of Tauberbischofsheim, 50 km northeast of Heilbronn, 90 km east of Heidelberg, 60 km southwest of Würzburg and 30 km east of Mosbach...
, GermanyGermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
(since 2004) - International German Championship in Stage Fencing BerlinBerlinBerlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
, Germany (since 2006, includes a category "Antiquity to Middle Ages")
Joust
Tent pegging
Tent pegging is a cavalry sport of ancient origin, and is one of only ten equestrian disciplines officially recognised by the International Federation for Equestrian Sports. Used narrowly, the term refers to a specific mounted game with ground targets...
is the only form of jousting officially recognized by the International Federation for Equestrian Sports
International Federation for Equestrian Sports
The Fédération Équestre Internationale or in English, the International Federation for Equestrian Sports, is the international governing body of equestrian sports. It recognizes ten international disciplines...
. Ring jousting became the official state sport of Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
in 1962 and was the first official sport of any American state.
The Italian town of Arezzo
Arezzo
Arezzo is a city and comune in Central Italy, capital of the province of the same name, located in Tuscany. Arezzo is about 80 km southeast of Florence, at an elevation of 296 m above sea level. In 2011 the population was about 100,000....
continues to hold an annual jousting tournament, which dates to the Crusades
Crusades
The Crusades were a series of religious wars, blessed by the Pope and the Catholic Church with the main goal of restoring Christian access to the holy places in and near Jerusalem...
.. Modern theatrical medieval-style jousting competitions are popular at American Renaissance fair
Renaissance Fair
A Renaissance fair, Renaissance faire, or Renaissance festival is an outdoor weekend gathering, usually held in the United States, open to the public and typically commercial in nature, which emulates a historic period for the amusement of its guests. Some are permanent theme parks, others are...
s and similar festivals, and feature riders on horseback attempting various feats of skill with the lance, which may not always have a basis in history.
Battle reenactment
Reenactment of battleBattle
Generally, a battle is a conceptual component in the hierarchy of combat in warfare between two or more armed forces, or combatants. In a battle, each combatant will seek to defeat the others, with defeat determined by the conditions of a military campaign...
s is a major and popular component of historical reenactment
Historical reenactment
Historical reenactment is an educational activity in which participants attempt torecreate some aspects of a historical event or period. This may be as narrow as a specific moment from a battle, such as the reenactment of Pickett's Charge at the Great Reunion of 1913, or as broad as an entire...
.
Due to the number of participants involved, most reenacted battles cannot be choreographed in any detail, and safety guidelines or "combat rules" are imposed on participants instead, prohibiting most realistic actions. Some reenactment battles take the form of a competition, where the two "armies" try to defeat each other within the actions permitted by the combat rules.
Battles in film are not inhibited by such restrictions, due to the possibilities of cutting and closeup. They are fully choreographed, and are not performed in a single go but divided into individual sequences.
Combat as interactive martial art
The Society for Creative AnachronismSociety for Creative Anachronism
The Society for Creative Anachronism is an international living history group with the aim of studying and recreating mainly Medieval European cultures and their histories before the 17th century...
fighting is based on Medieval fighting on foot, in the spirit of tournament fighting with wooden swords. The armor is hand-made and based on historical artifacts. Unlike most reenactment events, the events are not pre-determined, it's a participatory sport: the fighters win or lose a bout, much like Karate
Karate
is a martial art developed in the Ryukyu Islands in what is now Okinawa, Japan. It was developed from indigenous fighting methods called and Chinese kenpō. Karate is a striking art using punching, kicking, knee and elbow strikes, and open-handed techniques such as knife-hands. Grappling, locks,...
or Judo
Judo
is a modern martial art and combat sport created in Japan in 1882 by Jigoro Kano. Its most prominent feature is its competitive element, where the object is to either throw or takedown one's opponent to the ground, immobilize or otherwise subdue one's opponent with a grappling maneuver, or force an...
.
Combat rules
- Codex BelliCodex BelliCodex Belli is the name of a set of rules for medieval combat reenactment first issued in 1999 and then revised by the German umbrella group Kämpferliste in 2002...
- Early Medieval AllianceEarly Medieval AllianceThe Early Medieval Alliance, or EMA, is one of the largest medieval reenactment umbrella groups in the United Kingdom....
http://www.chronique.com/Library/Fighting/EMA_rules.html
Equipment
Since the 1990s, an increasing number of companies offers replicas of historical arms and armour. Blade weapons used for combat reenactment are unsharpened, and specialized sparring weapons (e.g. AlbionAlbion Swords
Albion Swords is a company based in New Glarus, Wisconsin manufacturing European sword replicas. The company was started in Washington D.C. by Howard and Amy Waddell in 1998.-Products:...
's "Maestro Line") also have rounded points. Blunt, flail and staff weapons are more problematic since the replica essentially has the same effectiveness as the "serious" version, unless rattan or latex weapons are employed, which in turn lack the characteristics of the originals and induce handling techniques inconsistent with the weapons they are supposed to represent.