1. There are two divisions in CTF.
   1. Synthetic weapons may only fight against synthetics
   1. Blunted steel weapons may only fight against other blunted steel weapons.
   1. Otherwise, the following rules remain the same.
2. Cut and Thrust is divided into two categories.
   1. Flexible Cut and Thrust refers to lighter weapons such as Rapier, Small Sword, Saber, Lanza et.al.
   1. Rigid Cut and Thrust refers to Arming Sword, Longsword, et.al.
3. Duelist Decorum: A higher standard of decorum between duelists is expected from all participants.
   1. Cordial behavior shall be maintained at all times. Displays of temper are highly frowned upon.
   1. Maintain control of your weapon attacks at all times to not injure their opponent with wild or overly hard thrusts and cuts. Your opponent should be able to feel a good thrust or cut, but they should not be hard enough to injure your opponent.
   1. All fighting shall IMMEDIATELY stop on the call of a HOLD.
      1. A combatant may call “HOLD” for any reason (i.e.: personal armor failure, perceived danger), but in doing so places himself at the mercy of his opponent.
      1. By stopping the combat, he is in effect yielding and it is up to the discretion of his opponent to choose whether or not to resume the contest.

Attacks, Thrusts, Strikes, and Blows

1. Thrusts may be executed with or without a lunge and may be done with or without a step. The recipient must call any thrust that they feel and is within measure.
2. Cuts shall be delivered with enough force to be felt, but not enough to injure. The recipient must call any cut that they feel.
   1. True cuts that are percussive strikes may be delivered with the front or back edge of the blade but shall be done with control.
   1. Cuts may come from above, below or from either side. Full force hacks are a forbidden form of attack.
   1. Tip cuts are an acknowledged attack, especially to the head.
   1. Draw cuts are also an allowed form of attack if they use at least one third of the length of the blade.

Telling Blows

1. The acknowledgement of blows shall be based upon the honor system. If you have been properly struck with a thrust or a cut you are honor bound to make it known. It is up to the individuals fighting to correctly judge and acknowledge all blows given and received unless otherwise agreed upon.
2. All blows are to be acknowledged as if one is completely unarmored and wearing period clothes.
   1. Armor does not count as armor worn unless agreed upon by tournament rules or individual agreement
   1. A standard contest shall be to 3 telling blows or substantial.

Substantial Blows

1. Substantial blows in cut and thrust are determined by the location of the strike. A substantial blow would be a life ending thrust to the face, throat, heart, lung, armpit, etc.
2. However, unlike other forms of marshal combat, substantial blows in cut and thrust are not delivered with any more force of fervor than a telling blow.
3. A fighter shall not strike a helpless opponent beyond a touch.

Parries

1. Parries may occur from a combatant’s weapon, parrying device (bucklers, cloak, daggers etc.), or the offhand.

Disarming

1. Disarms are allowed and do not stop the action of a fight.
2. If an opponent drops their sword or has it taken from them, you may continue to attack them.

Cut & Thrust Combat (based on Hema rules)

1. Scoring
   1. For Broadsword, all targets are considered substantial blows.
   1. For Longsword, Rapier, and Smallsword, targets are divided between substantial blows and telling blows.
2. Substantial blow targets include:
   1. Head & neck
   1. Shoulders & upper arms
   1. Chest
3. Telling blow targets include:
   1. Hands & lower arms
   1. Hips
   1. Legs & feet
4. If a fencer disarms their opponent without being struck and while still retaining a sword, they receive 4 points, regardless of whether or not they have stricken their opponent in the process.
5. Forbidden Techniques:
   1. Blade grabs are permitted in the longsword tournament, but are forbidden in the rapier, broadsword, and smallsword tournaments.  A blade grab in rapier, broadsword, or smallsword will be treated as a strike to the grabbing fencer’s hand with no opportunity for an afterblow.  Any movement that traps the opponent’s blade between two parts of the same hand will be considered a blade grab.
   1. Intentional strikes to the spine are always forbidden.
   1. Takedowns of any kind are forbidden.
   1. It should not need to be said, but the following actions are also always forbidden:
      1. Throwing objects of any kind
      1. Striking with any weapon other than an approved sword
      1. “Mordschlag”-style strikes
      1. Strikes with the cross
      1. Any other action which is obviously unreasonably unsafe in a tournament setting.
      1. Dangerous defensive behavior (such as intentionally blocking a cut with the hand) may be penalized by the judges and treated as a strike to a high priority location if the judges believe it may have been done to reduce the opponent’s ability to strike a scoring blow.
6. Ring Outs:
   1. If one fighter steps entirely out-of-bounds with both feet, their opponent will be awarded a single point.  No points will be awarded if they have been physically forced out of the ring!  If any other scoring action occurs before the ring out, the ring out shall be ignored.

Valid Strikes

	Longsword	Rapier	Broadsword	Smallsword
Cuts	Cuts must land with proper edge alignment and demonstrate at least a 45° arc of travel to be considered valid.  Incidental contact does not count.	Cuts must land with proper edge alignment and demonstrate at least a 90° arc of travel to be considered valid for rapier. Incidental contact does count.  Additionally, cuts to the torso (under the opponent’s arms) will be ignored.	Cuts must land with proper edge alignment and demonstrate at least a 45° arc of travel to be considered valid.  Incidental contact does not count.	n/a
Slice	For a slice to be counted, it must a) involve a draw or push in a single direction with at least 10” of total blade-on-target contact with proper edge alignment, and b) not be performed against or over the opponent’s weapon.  Incidental contact does not count.  Additionally, slices against the torso (under the opponent’s arms) will be ignored.	For a slice to be counted, it must a) involve a draw or push in a single direction with at least 10” of total blade-on-target contact with proper edge alignment, b) not be performed against or over the opponent’s weapon, and c) be performed against the neck or head. Incidental contact does not count.	For a slice to be counted, it must a) involve a draw or push in a single direction with at least 10” of total blade-on-target contact with proper edge alignment, b) not be performed against or over the opponent’s weapon, and c) be performed against the neck, head, or wrist. Incidental contact does not count.	n/a
Thrust	Any touch with the point that obviously makes contact while the point is moving forward towards the target will be considered a valid thrust.	Any touch with the point that obviously makes contact while the point is moving forward towards the target will be considered a valid thrust.  Thrusts to the sword hand are not a scoring action for rapier.	Any touch with the point that obviously makes contact while the point is moving forward towards the target will be considered a valid thrust.	Any touch with the point that obviously makes contact while the point is moving forward towards the target will be considered a valid thrust.
Pommel Strike	Must be to the front (mesh) or top of the mask only.  Pommel strikes anywhere else may be penalized.  Pommel strikes should always be thrown with a minimal amount of force for safety.	Pommel strikes are not a scoring action for rapier.	Pommel strikes are not a scoring action for broadsword.	Pommel strikes are not a scoring action for smallsword.