Full-contact Combat Sports - Page 2

Agemegos · 03-15-2010, 07:24 PM

Suppose that with 'ultra'-level bio-tech it becomes quick, easy, and reliable to mend a person who has been pretty badly messed up with punches and kicks, or even with a knife or sword. A fighter might be disabled and down on Friday night, but back at work at 10 AM Monday. Unless you shoot someone through the armoured skull with a powerful firearm, it might be, no injury might leave permanent disability or disfigurement. Also, pain and time lost to recovery and rehabilitation might be limited.

Under these circumstances I would expect that practitioners of combat sports might be significantly more willing to fight full-contact bouts, with less protective gear and fewer safety rules, and with decision by surrender, collapse, or incapacity. And insurers and the Nanny might be more inclined to let them.

In GURPS terms, at what point are the enthusiasts of such sports practitioners of Combat Skill rather than Combat Sport?

For example, consider sabre fencing. Supposing that it were fought with live blades, in dolmans, breeches, and jackboots, and that it was fought until one fighter went down. That would be Combat Skill. Fought with whippy bits of wire, with right-of-way rules, hits below the hips not counting, best of seven points etc. it is clearly Combat Sport. Suppose that it were fought with sharp blades, to first blood (or best of seven bleeding wounds), without right-of-way or target area rules. Then it would be intermediate: not quite a Combat Skill (because there would be no premium on deep and well-placed wounds, and because the weapons would be optimised for producing quick superficial scratches rather than disabling wounds), but definitely more like Combat Skill than the current Sabre Sport.

03-15-2010, 07:24 PM	#1
Agemegos Join Date: May 2005 Location: Oz	Full-contact Combat Sports Suppose that with 'ultra'-level bio-tech it becomes quick, easy, and reliable to mend a person who has been pretty badly messed up with punches and kicks, or even with a knife or sword. A fighter might be disabled and down on Friday night, but back at work at 10 AM Monday. Unless you shoot someone through the armoured skull with a powerful firearm, it might be, no injury might leave permanent disability or disfigurement. Also, pain and time lost to recovery and rehabilitation might be limited. Under these circumstances I would expect that practitioners of combat sports might be significantly more willing to fight full-contact bouts, with less protective gear and fewer safety rules, and with decision by surrender, collapse, or incapacity. And insurers and the Nanny might be more inclined to let them. In GURPS terms, at what point are the enthusiasts of such sports practitioners of Combat Skill rather than Combat Sport? For example, consider sabre fencing. Supposing that it were fought with live blades, in dolmans, breeches, and jackboots, and that it was fought until one fighter went down. That would be Combat Skill. Fought with whippy bits of wire, with right-of-way rules, hits below the hips not counting, best of seven points etc. it is clearly Combat Sport. Suppose that it were fought with sharp blades, to first blood (or best of seven bleeding wounds), without right-of-way or target area rules. Then it would be intermediate: not quite a Combat Skill (because there would be no premium on deep and well-placed wounds, and because the weapons would be optimised for producing quick superficial scratches rather than disabling wounds), but definitely more like Combat Skill than the current Sabre Sport.