TES (Technique Evaluation of Swordsmanship) is a structured historical martial arts competition format focused on evaluating combat technique, mental resilience, and strategic adaptability.
- Historical Learning: Reconstruct and apply traditional swordsmanship from historical sources.
- Physical Development: Enhance agility, strength, and fighting capability through rigorous matches.
- Mental Focus: Cultivate strategic thinking and discipline under time-constrained pressure.
- Preliminary Game – Round-robin system
- Final Game – Bracket-based elimination
- Hierarchy:
Tournament > Game > Match > Round
- Format: First to 5 rounds (Best of 9)
- Each round lasts 60 seconds
- Win a round to gain 1 point
- First to 5 points wins the match
- Draw if no hit within time (
T) - Examples:
5-4,5-3,...,5-0.
- Format: Best of 3 Matches
- Each Match consists of 3 Rounds
- Each Round is played for 1 decisive point
- The player who wins 2 Matches, or leads 1–0 with 2 draws, is declared the Final Winner
- If both players win 1 Match and the third is a draw, a Fortress Battle will be used to determine the winner
- Duration: 3 minutes continuous
- Rounds restart immediately
- Fighter with most round wins in time limit is the winner
To reflect the diversity of historical combat and challenge participants' adaptability, TES allows multiple weapons to be used strategically within a match.
- Players must submit a pre-determined sequence of weapons before the match begins.
- Each weapon must be used an equal number of times across the match.
- During the first 1/2 or 1/3 of the game, players must follow their submitted sequence.
- For the remaining rounds, players may choose freely, but must follow a predetermined priority or rotation rule to avoid repetition or abuse. (This portion remains hidden from the opponent and is intended to test adaptability and enhance the entertainment value of the match. )
- No out-of-bounds penalty
- TBD
TES adopts a Priority system to resolve simultaneous exchanges and add strategic depth to the single-hit Round format.
- In the event of a double hit (
X), only the fighter with Priority will be awarded the round. - A fighter without Priority must land a clean hit without receiving one in return to win the round.
- Priority is assigned by a coin toss at the start of the match.
- Priority alternates each round, ensuring fairness.
- Optional: Priority may alternate every two rounds, but must not exceed imbalance (e.g., not 3 rounds in a row with the same priority).
- This system ensures that in a race-to-5 match, both players get equitable opportunities to hold Priority.
- Because Final Games consist of multiple Matches, Priority is assigned per Match (not Round).
- The fighter with Priority in a Match will win the round in case of a double hit.
- Priority alternates between Matches:
- Game 1: Assigned by coin toss (e.g., Red gets priority)
- Game 2: Priority switches to the other fighter
- Game 3: Assigned by coin toss or agreed method
- Optionally, organizers may adopt Round-by-Round Priority change for added variety, provided both players alternate evenly.
Priority encourages cleaner initiative and precise timing, preventing excessive simultaneous hits and rewarding tactical superiority.
| Symbol | Meaning |
|---|---|
10 |
Red ● scores a clean hit |
01 |
White ◆ scores a clean hit |
X |
Double hit (both hit simultaneously) |
T |
Time-up with no hit |
P.A |
Intentional after-blow; offender receives –1 Point and –1 Clean Hit |
- Point: All strikes (including double hits)
- Clean Hit: Awarded only on
10or01 - Penalty: Affects Point and Clean Hit count, but not match result
| Award | Description |
|---|---|
| Match Award | Most matches won (Prelims + Elims) |
| Technical Award | Most Clean Hits (Prelims) |
| Bravery Award | Most Points Scored (Prelims) |
Tie-breaker rounds do not count toward Technical or Bravery Awards.
Granted to any competitor who earns all 3 awards
Participants earning 2 out of 3 are also honored as distinguished fighters.
📄 Rulebook:
📄 Score Sheets:
📊 Results:
This project is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0).
You are free to share and adapt with credit attribution required.
See LICENSE for details.
We welcome community support and suggestions!
See CONTRIBUTING.md to learn how to get involved.