FAQs
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Explore our frequently asked questions to navigate your Blayde experience, from tournaments to community.
Quick Questions
What is Blayde?
Blayde is a global tournament platform for HEMA longsword
fighters, where HEMAists can engage in one-on-one duels to rise in the ranks, and to show their skills to viewers.
Who is Blayde for?
Blayde is built for anyone passionate about Historical European Martial Arts who wants to compete, track their progress, connect with a global community, and push their limits in competitive swordfighting
As a fighter, what is my exposure?
Fighters can create their own profile, featuring some minimal
information and a chosen alias. The profile is your showcase, and has the option to show a lot more: a brief motion clip, relevant fight experience, a fighter’s club(s), favourite weapons, achievements and the like.
When does the competition start?
The current planning is to start with the first competition in the fall of 2025.
What are the Blayde rules?
Blayde rules are as follows (preliminary and subject to change)
- One round, 3 minute fight
- Only hits with the sharp count
- Back, neck and groin area are off limits
- 3 points for a hit or thrust on head or neck
- 3 points for a thrust on the torse
- 1 point for a hit on torso, or any other body part
- 3 points awarded to the opponent of a fighter who caused a ring out (for example by stepping out of the ring unforced, or by pushing someone out)
- Immediate win for the fighter who achieves dominance over the other fighter
- Immediate win for the fighter who disarms the other fighter
How is a duel governed?
When a Blayde fight is arranged as a duel with two fighters, each fighter brings a second. The seconds count the points, and break a fight when there is dominance or a disarm (which means an immediate win), or in case of a ring-out, or safety issues (e.g. gear malfunction, too high intensity). The seconds must agree on the winner.
Quick Questions
Is Blayde safe?
The HEMA community has developed a system in which swordfights can be arranged safely. For the Blayde final tournament, there will be referees overseeing the fights, as is customary in other HEMA events. When a Blayde fight is arranged as a duel with two fighters, each fighter brings a second. The two (or more) seconds collectively have the final word in deciding when to break a fight on safety. In addition, fighters rate each other on sportsmanship and intensity, which ratings will be visible to other fighters. These ratings may be a factor in deciding whether or not to fight a particular fighter. No fighter is ever obliged to fight, and a fighter can cancel a fight at any moment; the platform provides a tournament structure, but only for fighters who want to fight, and who accept the risk inherent to any martial art.
I have been asked to second a fight. What should I do?
There are two roles: safety, and determination of who wins. Effectively, you are a referee, but without breaking the fight after each hit.
In Blayde continuous fighting, the points are scored by technically correct hits: 3 for deep targets, 1 for shallow targets. It has proven practical that each second has two hand counters. For each hit, you just click the appropriate number of points. At the end of the fight, you can immediately see the amount of points you gave each fighter, without having to worry of what happened when exactly. You will see that in most cases, the seconds agree on who is the winner, even if the exact number of points does not match.
A fighter can also win by dominance, or by disarming the opponent. As a second, it is your role to break a fight when wrestling goes nowhere, or when you consider on fighter attained dominance over the other, or disarmed the other. You also break a fight in case of safety concerns, such as a gear malfunction or too intense fighting. The first second to call a break, breaks the fight.
How do we avoid partiality?
We cannot completely. We can however count on the high ethics of HEMA fighters, who will generally act as seconds in a Blayde fight. Many of us have reffed and judged in matches, and those who do that generally also ref and judge close friends, impartially. Blayde counts on this spirit to shape the competition in the early stages. We do foresee professional referees in time, with the growth of the Blayde competition.
How do I create an account on Blayde?
You can create an account by visiting the website (when live) and following the registration process, allowing you to quickly get started on your competitive journey.
How does the competition work?
Fighters can register and challenge an opponent. If the opponent agrees, fighters arrange for a date and time, each bringing a second for scoring and safety. Fighters will ensure their fight is recorded, and upload the streams (generally four streams). Blayde will then ensure the results are entered into the ranking, the fight is edited, and published to viewers.
Is there a cost to Blayde?
Fighters can subscribe to the platform for free, and see any of their own edited fights for free. Visitors can visit the site for free, see summaries of the fights and follow any news and ranking changes, but must pay a minor amount to see fully edited fights.
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MORE QUESTIONS?
Whether you have inquiries about tournaments, need support with your account, or want to provide feedback, we’re here to help. Reach out to the Blayde team and let us assist you in navigating your swordfighting journey.
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