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I wrote a post in the past addressing sparring etiquette where I didn’t clearly distinguish between rules, etiquette, and best practices. This post is intended to supersede that one and reflects my current views on sparring rules and etiquette.

What do I mean by “sparring”?

With sparring I mean friendly free fencing outside of tournaments.

Competitions will have their own rules regarding victory conditions, hit quality, and safety that of course may be different from what I’ve written here. Nevertheless, I find that my recommendations for free fencing are equally applicable to formal competition.

Rules

Rules are mandatory. Violating them can lead to official sanctions including exclusion from training.

1. Discuss expectations in advance
   • What are the “victory conditions” for a pass?
     • Do you stop after each hit, after x hits, or fence continuously for a fixed amount of time?
     • What counts as a valid hit?
   • Are there any techniques you want to exclude?
     • Are throws allowed? Joint locks? Punches? Kicks?
   • What protective gear are you (not) wearing?
   • Do you have any special circumstances today?
     • Are you recovering from an injury?
     • Do you want to take it easy today?
     • Do you want to go hard in prep for a tournament?
2. Wear appropriate protective gear for the kind of sparring you are doing
   • For steel longsword fencing, I consider this the minimum:
     • Fencing mask with back of head protection
     • Ridged protection for throat and elbows
     • Padded fencing jacket with a puncture resistance rating
     • Heavy sparring gloves from a reputable maker
     • Groin protection appropriate for your anatomy
     • A blunt steel sparring longsword with a rounded tip that clearly flexes at 13kg test weight
3. Do not attack off-target areas
   • No attacks to the back of your opponent’s body
   • No attacks where your opponent lacks sufficient protective gear
   • No attacks where you have agreed not to attack (see rule 1)
4. Do not turn your back to your opponent
   • Your opponent has a responsibility not to attack your back, but you have a responsibility not to put you opponent in a position where they cannot attack you safely
5. Do not use forbidden techniques
   • No strikes with the hilt when both hands are on the blade of the sword (i.e. no “Mordschlag”)
   • No strikes with the cross guard
   • No throws, joint locks, punches, or kicks unless explicitly discussed with your opponent
   • No attacks where you have no control over the power of the strike (thrown weapons, wild one-handed swings)
6. Control the power of your strikes
   • Do not hit excessively hard – especially not to your opponent’s head
   • No attacks where you have no control over the power of the strike (thrown weapons, wild one-handed swings)
   • Blunt force attacks (such as pommel strikes) must be done in a way that you can ensure your opponent’s safety
7. The more control you have over your opponent, the more responsible you are for their safety
   • For example, if your opponent is defenseless because you have a dominant position in a grapple, you should strike lightly or not at all
8. Be aware of your surroundings
   • If you see people in the fighting area without protective equipment, interrupt your sparring until they leave
   • Don’t swing your sword behind you if you don’t know what is behind you
9. Let your training partner know if something is bothering you
   • If a hit was too hard, tell them
   • If your opponent says a hit was too hard, accept that and either reduce your intensity or end the bout if you cannot
10. Never stop defending yourself
    • It is not always okay to keep attacking, but it is always okay to keep defending (even after your opponent successfully hits you)

Etiquette

Etiquette isn’t strictly required, but it is a part of being a decent person. You might not be punished for violating standards of etiquette, but people might not want to fence with you if you do.

1. Salute your opponent at the beginning and end of each bout
   • This is not just a formality, but a way of clearly signaling the beginning and end of the bout
   • If the bout is interrupted for some reason, I like to salute to signal that I’m ready to resume
   • In general, communicating with body language is a great tool while wearing protective gear that might muffle sounds or hide facial expressions
2. A significantly more experienced fencer has more responsibility for the intensity of the bout and should act accordingly
   • This does not mean that the more experienced fencer is obliged to fence slower or worse against an inexperienced opponent, but rather that they are better positioned to anticipate and avoid problems
     • The experienced fencer is more likely to know when a situation is getting out of hand
     • The inexperienced fencer may unintentionally bring about dangerous situations due to their ignorance
3. If you think you might have violated a rule or expectation, tell your opponent and apologize
   • If you don’t say anything, your partner might think you consider your behavior acceptable
4. If your opponent expresses a concern, acknowledge it and adjust your behavior as needed
   • If your opponent says a hit was too hard, accept that and either reduce your intensity or end the bout if you cannot
   • If your opponent asks you if you are okay and you are not okay but do not want to tell them, consider breaking off the sparring to get a clear head before continuing
5. Return to your starting position after each pass
   • Otherwise, your opponent might start an exchange near a wall or obstacle, giving you an unfair advantage because you have more space to work with
6. Ask before giving your training partner advice (unless you are their coach)
   • If the answer is “No, I’m not interested”, accept that
   • It’s also a good idea to point out things your training partner did well instead of focusing on what they did poorly
   • Keep in mind that you can only give advice from your own perspective and your training partner may have obstacles that you cannot see
7. Pay attention to your partner’s body language and act accordingly
   • If they look uncomfortable, ask them if they are okay
8. Don’t respond to escalation with further escalation
   • Instead, talk to your sparring partner – they might not be aware that they were escalating or might consider what they’re doing “normal” (which is why setting expectations – rule 1 – is so important)
9. Don’t hog the fencing area if lots of people are waiting to fence
10. When you’re done fencing, vacate the fencing area promptly so that others can fence
11. Be humble and generous
    • Your niche knowledge of history might be uncommon in wider society, but in the world of historical fencing there are probably a lot of people who already know what you do (or maybe even more..!)
    • On the other hand, don’t assume that your training partners have the same technical background as you; technical jargon should facilitate communication, not show off your own knowledge

Best Practices

Best practices are guidelines for getting the most out of sparring. These are simply recommendations.

1. Treat sparring as just another kind of drill
   • Sparring isn’t a duel or a battlefield encounter, so don’t treat it like one
   • You don’t need to win every exchange (or even a single exchange) for sparring to be fun or productive
   • If your opponent is clearly more skilled, pay attention to what they are doing and how they are winning and it will still be productive
   • If your opponent is clearly less skilled, use your sparring time with them to focus on something simple or something new and it will still be productive
2. If you get hit hard, give yourself a few moments to let the initial shock pass and assess whether it is good for you to continue
   • You shouldn’t ever feel pressured to keep fencing and the pause will underscore your verbal statement (see rule 9)
3. Approach sparring with a goal in mind, even if it’s very vague
   • Some examples might be:
     • I want to parry successfully at least once
     • I want to make a direct attack at least once
     • I want to focus on following up my first action with a second (and third) action
     • I want to focus on not getting hit and maintaining control of the opponent’s weapon
     • I want to avoid wrestling / go for wrestling
     • I’m already good at hand shots, so I’ll focus on using feints to shallow targets to open up strikes to deeper targets instead of just going straight for the hands
     • I want to focus on reading my opponent
     • I want to focus on defending with distance instead of parries
     • I want to try and win by as large a margin as I can
     • I want to focus on athleticism and constantly moving
     • I keep getting hit on the legs; I’m going to focus on protecting my legs with either distance or bladework with every action
     • I want to try focus on a specific action – I’ll focus on setting up the prerequisites for that action and then executing it at the right time
4. Remember that every definition of “winning” is semi-arbitrary
   • The hits in sparring only have the meaning we give to them (incidental injuries notwithstanding)
   • Winning in sparring doesn’t automatically mean you’re a better fencer than the other person (and being the better fencer doesn’t make you the better person)
   • If you’re having fun, learning, and not hurting anyone, that’s worthwhile in itself!
5. Remember that everyone has good days and bad days
   • Forgive yourself for not being 100% on your game all the time
   • It’s okay to back out of sparring if you’re not feeling like it
   • If you’re having an off day, focus on something simple or focus on nothing at all (just try to get into a flow)
   • If you’re having a good day, be proud of what you’ve accomplished and remember your good days on your bad ones!

Finally, I think if we replace the word “man” with “person”, the 17th century fencing master Mattei offers us some great general advice:

“I advise that, having to dispute with a person less practised in and ignorant of fencing, the gentleman must not mock him for it, but respect him as if he were an expert. For, in the end he is a man, and this man is his equal.”

– Francesco Antonio Mattei, 1669 Neapolitan Fencing translation by Jeff Vansteenkiste