Combat reenactment is a side of historical reenactment which aims to depict events of battle, normally a specific engagement in history, but also unscripted battles where the 'winner' is not predetermined. Reenactors of the American Civil War Historical reenactment is an activity in which participants recreate some aspects of a historical event or period. ...

The term is often used to distinguish combat-related events from living history, which is the other main focus of many reenactment groups. See Historical reenactment for the generic use of the term. ...

Weapons

For detailed descriptions of the weapons used in each period, see Category:Weapons by era

Many modifications are done to create weapons which are safe to use in simulated battle. For example, swords are made from spring steel to deliver less of an impact. Points are blunted (typically 1.5 inch minumum radius , arrows have rubber tips, and weapons which are difficult to use safely (for example, the flail) are rarely used. The Arrows Formula One Team was founded in 1977, by Italian financier Franco Ambrosio (A), Alan Rees (R), Jackie Oliver (O), Dave Wass (W) and Tony Southgate (S) when Rees, Oliver, Wass and Southgate left the Shadow team. ... A flail is also a medieval weapon made of one (or more) spiked metal balls attached to a handle with a hinge or chain. ...

Organisation

See main article, Codex Belli ("the codes of battle") Codex Belli is the name of a set of rules for medieval combat reenactment first issued in 1999 and then revised by the German umbrella group Kämpferliste in 2002. ...

Safety

At the level of individual fights (for meleé weapons), typical safety measures involve pulling blows, aiming only for certain areas of the body, and parrying blows away from those targets.

During preparation for battle, the armour, padding, shields, helmets and gloves used by fighters provides an important aspect of safety for the participants.

Many events use marshalls to identify and remove unsafe fighters from a battle, and even if no marshalls are present, the master at arms of each group should take this job. A Master-at-Arms (MAA) is a rating responsible for discipline aboard a naval ship. ...