SCA armoured combat

[2][3] While SCA heavy combat is relatively new compared to other more established martial activities, with the first tournaments held in 1966, it has now evolved into a large worldwide combat form with thousands of active participants in Poland, Canada, the United States,[4] Germany, Austria, Finland, Netherlands, Ireland, United Kingdom, Iceland, Japan[3] Spain, Belgium, Thailand, Sweden, South Africa, Australia[5] and New Zealand with new groups in Russia, Italy and China.

Rattan is used for most striking weapons, staffs, poles, and handles because when damaged it forms flexible fibers rather than dangerous sharp splinters.

[7] Non-striking surfaces (such as quillons and basket hilts) may be made of rigid materials like metal, rubber, or plastic.

[3] Armour is generally encouraged to look like its historical counterpart,[4] though differences are often necessary to comply with safety requirements, and sometimes modern sport armour may be used[8] One of the most common examples is the face of a helmet: While many types of historical helm had no face protection, safety rules require full coverage of the head.

As a result, there are many variations of helm used in the SCA that are otherwise historically accurate but have a steel grill added to cover the face.

Blows with sufficient force are judged by combatants to have been deflected, defeated, or penetrated this style of armour, or if struck on an "unprotected" area of the body.

The struck combatant either verbally acknowledges the validity of a blow or acts it out, depending on the type of bout.

[9] SCA tournaments are held regularly in which two combatants fight each other,[10] using a number of advancement systems so that a single winning fighter is decided.

A special case of this is the regular Crown Tournament in each SCA kingdom held to choose the king and queen who will "rule".

[3] Typically several years of direct experience in heavy combat are needed to excel in tournaments.