These are the basic items of equipment required to take part in any of the steel longsword tournaments of the Irish Historical Fencing League. These requirements also form the baseline for many other tournaments on the island.
Protective Gear:
- Fencing Mask: must be in good condition with no tears, large dents or any other signs of overuse that would make it unsuitable for competition.
- Mask overlay: SPES/Red Dragon or similar overlay for the fencing mask,
- Back of the Head Protection: rigid protector covering back of the head with no significant gaps,
- Throat Protection: rigid throat guard (gorget) or a layered throat protection preventing the blade to go under the bib (3 layers minimum),
- Fencing Jacket: well padded HEMA jacket offering good protection against strikes with a tag showing at least 350N rating (under plastrons/rigid chest protectors are highly recommended),
- Fencing Pants/Skirts: well padded HEMA pants or skirts with a tag showing at least 350N rating
- Elbow Protector: hard shell protection of the elbow joints,
- Knee Protector: hard shell protection of the knee joints,
- Shin Protection: hard shell protection of the shin is required,
- Forearms Protection: additional forearm protection is recommended,
- Gloves: sparring gloves with full level of protection applicable to chosen weapon, eg. Sparring Gloves, SPES heavy gloves etc., (Note: Red Dragon gloves are only acceptable for single handed swords with SPES fingertip protectors highly recommended)
- Groin Guard: Obligatory for men,
- Rigid Chest Protector: Obligatory for women.
Weapons:
Most tournaments will be conducted on a BYOW (Bring Your Own Weapon) basis. Organizers will have some spare weapons supplied by themselves and event sponsors, but it is recommended to bring your own.
For Longsword:
- Steel HEMA sparring longsword or federschwert with safe flex, blunt edges and safe point
- Weight range: 1350-1650 grams
- Max blade length: 102 cm
- Flex: 15-20 kg
Each weapon will be checked for signs of damage. Flex is tested by pulling down the crossguard towards the scale until it flexes 5-7 cm. There is a required minimum of 12 mm sq surface area for tips (too small tips may be rejected or required a thermoplastic to be applied over)