Combat reenactment is a side of

historical reenactment Historical reenactment (or re-enactment) is an educational entertainment, educational or entertainment activity in which mainly amateur hobbyists and history enthusiasts dress in historic uniforms or costumes and follow a plan to recreate aspect ...

which aims to depict historical forms of

combat Combat (French for ''fight'') is a purposeful violent conflict meant to physically harm or kill the opposition. Combat may be armed (using weapons) or unarmed ( not using weapons). Combat is sometimes resorted to as a method of self-defense, o ...

. This may refer to either

single combat Single combat is a duel between two single warriors which takes place in the context of a battle between two armies. Instances of single combat are known from Classical Antiquity and the Middle Ages. The champions were often combatants who repre ...

melee A melee ( or , French: mêlée ) or pell-mell is disorganized hand-to-hand combat in battles fought at abnormally close range with little central control once it starts. In military aviation, a melee has been defined as " air battle in which ...

s involving small groups, or nearly full-scale

battle A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

s with hundreds of participants. Depending on the intended effect, performances may have the aim of presenting

historical martial arts reconstruction Historical European martial arts (HEMA) are martial arts of European origin, particularly using arts formerly practised, but having since died out or evolved into very different forms. While there is limited surviving documentation of the marti ...

, or just offer

entertainment Entertainment is a form of activity that holds the attention and interest of an audience or gives pleasure and delight. It can be an idea or a task, but is more likely to be one of the activities or events that have developed over thousan ...

, and different groups have different standards of authenticity.

Historical martial arts demonstrations

Demonstration of historical fencing begins with

Alfred Hutton Alfred Hutton FSA (10 March 1839 – 18 December 1910) was a Victorian officer of the King's Dragoon Guards, writer, antiquarian, and swordsman. He originated the first English revival of historical fencing, together with his colleagues Egerto ...

in the 1890s. The

Association for Renaissance Martial Arts Association for Renaissance Martial Arts (ARMA) is a US-based 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, fight craft or fight choreography is a specialised 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 balle ...

(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 Historical European martial arts (HEMA) are martial arts of European origin, particularly using arts formerly practised, but having since died out or evolved into very different forms. While there is limited surviving documentation of the martia ...

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 Museum The Higgins Armory Museum is the name of a collection in the Worcester Art Museum. It was formerly a separate museum located in the nearby Higgins Armory Building in Worcester, Massachusetts, dedicated to the display of arms and armor. It was "th ...

, Worcester, MA, US

and the

Royal Armouries The Royal Armouries is the United Kingdom's national collection of arms and armour. Originally an important part of England's military organization, it became the United Kingdom's oldest museum, originally housed in the Tower of London from t ...

Leeds Leeds () is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the thi ...

,

*Mock-Fighting & Martial Sports, including simulated battle presentations and tournament bouts in

living history Living 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 ree ...

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 Historical European martial arts (HEMA) are martial arts of European origin, particularly using arts formerly practised, but having since died out or evolved into very different forms. While there is limited surviving documentation of the martia ...

techniques,

stage combat Stage combat, fight craft or fight choreography is a specialised 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 p ...

qualities like acting and entertainment value, as well as historical accuracy of costumes and equipment.
Furor et Ferrum

Pavone Canavese Pavone Canavese is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Turin in the Italian region Piedmont, located about 45 km northeast of Turin. Pavone Canavese borders the following municipalities: Ivrea, Banchette Banchette is a ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

(since 2004)
Stage Warriors

Osterburken Osterburken () 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 Würz ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...

(since 2004)
International German Championship in Stage Fencing

Berlin Berlin is Capital of Germany, the capital and largest city of Germany, both by area and List of cities in Germany by population, by population. Its more than 3.85 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European U ...

, Germany (since 2006, includes a category "Antiquity to Middle Ages")

Joust

Today,

tent pegging Tent pegging (sometimes spelled tent-pegging or tentpegging) is a cavalry sport of ancient origin, and is one of only ten equestrian disciplines officially recognised by the International Equestrian Federation. Used narrowly, the term refers t ...

is the only form of jousting officially recognized by the

International Federation for Equestrian Sports The International Federation for Equestrian Sports (, FEI) is the international governing body of equestrian sports. The FEI headquarters are in Lausanne, Switzerland. An FEI code of conduct protects the welfare of the horses from physical a ...

. Ring jousting became the official state sport of

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; ...

in 1962 and was the first official sport of any American state. The Italian town of

Arezzo Arezzo ( , , ) , also ; ett, 𐌀𐌓𐌉𐌕𐌉𐌌, Aritim. is a city and ''comune'' in Italy and the capital of the Province of Arezzo, province of the same name located in Tuscany. Arezzo is about southeast of Florence at an elevation o ...

continues to hold an annual jousting tournament, which dates to the

Crusades The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and sometimes directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The best known of these Crusades are those to the Holy Land in the period between 1095 and 1291 that were ...

.. Modern theatrical medieval-style jousting competitions are popular at American

Renaissance fair A Renaissance fair, Renaissance faire or Renaissance festival is an outdoor gathering open to the public and typically commercial in nature, which purportedly recreates a historical setting for the amusement of its guests. Some are permanent the ...

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."Society Equestrian Marshal"
retrieved 2007

Battle reenactment

Reenactment of

s is a major and popular component of

. 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 Cinematic fight choreography or staged fights in cinema include performances of archery, classical fencing, historical fencing, martial arts, close combat, and duels in general, as well as choreography of full-scale battles with hundreds of c ...

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 Anachronism The Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA) is an international living history group with the aim of studying and recreating mainly Medieval European cultures and their histories before the 17th century. A quip often used within the SCA describes ...

fighting is based on

Medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

fighting on foot, in the spirit of tournament fighting with wooden swords. The armor is handmade 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 (; ; Okinawan pronunciation: ) is a martial art developed in the Ryukyu Kingdom. It developed from the indigenous Ryukyuan martial arts (called , "hand"; ''tii'' in Okinawan) under the influence of Chinese martial arts, particularly Fuj ...

Judo is an unarmed modern Japanese martial art, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyclopedia Nipponica, "Judo") ...

Combat rules

* Codex Belli *

Early Medieval Alliance Early may refer to: History * The beginning or oldest part of a defined historical period, as opposed to middle or late periods, e.g.: ** Early Christianity ** Early modern Europe Places in the United States * Early, Iowa * Early, Texas * Early ...

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