Armed Martial Arts

Armed Martial Arts (or simply AMA) is a standardised martial arts discipline from the Nesarian Empire. It is often confused as simply meaning martial arts with a melee weapon, however the actual discipline known as AMA strictly refers to martial arts with swords and spears. AMA is a popular sport across the Empire, and it has a small following within the ex-Imperial states, however its popularity across the globe is rapidly growing as information about it becomes shared on the internet.

The largest and most prestigious AMA competitions are the Imperial Armed Martial Arts League (or simply IAMAL) and the Imperial Games. The 10 most successful fighters from each discipline in the IAMAL go on to compete in the Imperial Games. The Imperial Order of Knights also runs their own competitions which only Knights are eligible to attend, and in these competitions the Knights often wear their personal plate armour rather than the standard protection (which is mainly cloth padding with hard plastic plates).

Martial arts with weapons has developed in the Empire over many thousands of years, and the "standard" style takes inspiration from many different cultures, although particular disciplines of AMA clearly take inspiration from just one or two cultures. As one might be able to discern from the name, the Onshiko discipline comes solely from Onshi, and the Rapier discipline is largely from Onshi as well. The Sabre discipline is largely Estemorian, and both Greatsword and Longsword have their roots firmly in Nesaria.

AMA competitions are run across several different disciplines, which are as follows:

* Arming sword (*Straight one-handed double-edged sword*)
* Longsword (*Straight hand-and-a-half double-edged sword*)
* Greatsword (*Straight two-handed double-edged sword*)
* Sabre (*Curved one-handed sword, can be single or double-edged*)
* Rapier (*Straight, long one-handed double-edged sword that significantly tapers to a point*)
* Onshiko (*Curved two-handed single-edged sword*)
* Spear (*Spears between two and three metres long*)

Every competition usually also has a friendly "free" fight at the end between the victors which counts for no points, where each competitor can use whichever weapon they like. The Longsword discipline usually draws the greatest crowds.

The weapons and the armour are closely regulated by the governing body of the sport, the Armed Martial Arts Association (or AMAA), the former to keep the sport balanced and competitive and the latter to ensure the safety of the competitors. All weapons must be blunt for safety, but being hit still certainly hurts as the weapons are not reduced in weight compared to their battlefield counterparts.

The method of scoring points is the same for all disciplines. To score, a competitor must hit their opponent with a hit considered "reasonable" - in essence, this is a hit that would have put an end to the fight had the weapons been sharp and there was no protection, either by killing or incapacitating the opponent. Superficial strikes are therefore not considered "reasonable" hits and therefore do not score points. Sometimes a hit is not strictly necessary; for example, competitors will often forfeit the point if they are disarmed, because they know they will be hit anyway.

Whether or not a hit is judged "reasonable" is expected to be determined by the competitors themselves in the spirit of honour, however a panel of judges (three in the IAMAL and five in the Imperial Games) is present to deal with disagreements over what constitutes a "reasonable" hit.

If the first competitor to be hit makes a counter-strike that lands, it is an acceptable hit if it is deemed by the judges that the first hit would not have stopped the counter (if there were no protection and the blades were sharp). Only the first counter-hit is counted; any successive hits are ignored. If both competitors make a successful hit in the same round, nobody scores any points for that round. A definite blow to the head will always invalidate counter-hits.

After scoring a point, both competitors return to their positions at the corners of the arena, and attack each other once again. This continues until one competitor wins eight points, which makes them the victor.

Beyond the regulation around equipment and the method of scoring points, there are very few rules in AMA. All parts of the body may be hit and all manners of fighting are allowed, including grappling with the opponent's weapon or body, throwing the weapon, and using punches, kicks and throws. The only thing explicitly prohibited is continuing to strike an opponent whom you have clearly won a point against, or one who is wounded or unconscious, or striking an opponent whose armour has been dislodged or removed in some way. The rules are relatively lax because they are supposed to imitate an actual fight, in which there are no rules.

AMA has been considered for the Olympics numerous times, but always ultimately rejected, likely due to safety considerations. Compared to Olympic fencing, AMA is far more dangerous, and heated AMA competitions usually result in at least heavy bruising and a few twisted ankles if not broken bones, although there have been very few deaths. The relative ambiguity over how points are scored is also probably one of the reasons why it has never been included in the Olympics.