Presentation
Hello, my name is Pierre. I'm attached to l'Ordre de Sinople, a team based in Angers that I founded a few years ago, as well as to Le Comtois, in Franche-Comté. I've been in Buhurt since 2015. I discovered my first competitions that year, notably the Choc de Fer in Murol, Auvergne. It was incredible.
Quickly, that same year, I said to myself, “When can I volunteer?” There was the Vincennes tournament, I was told I was welcome, and that was that. Little by little, in 2016-2017, I became a commentator on a tournament, then a referee. Today, I'm head of the refereeing committee with Salomé and Éléa, and we manage and coordinate all refereeing in France.
Can you explain the role of a referee during a Buhurt tournament?
Generally speaking, referees must apply the tournament rules according to the set of rules chosen, which depends on the federation: either Buhurt International or IMCF. At present, in France, we mainly apply the Buhurt International rules, although this year we're using the HMB rules, as the translation of the Buhurt International rules is not yet complete. This will be for next year (2025).
Then, depending on the referee's position in the tournament's refereeing team - which we call Marshal Squad simply because it slams, that's just it.
First, there are the apprentices, who are there to train and have no impact on decisions. They learn alongside a touch referee, who stands around the combat zone and communicates with the field referees.
The field referees have the right to intervene directly: they can, for example, put a fighter down or stop a fight if necessary. Finally, everyone is accountable to the Knight Marshal, the chief referee. His role is to manage the tournament's referees and apply sanctions. That's how it works.
The whole team works in synergy. Field and touch referees can alternate their roles. Sometimes they're in the combat zone, sometimes they're out. This allows some of them to learn and gain experience, but also to take a breather after a series of big matches. During matches with less stakes - between two beginner teams, for example - the referees can rest a little, while allowing the newcomers to train in a more serene setting.
What are the most crucial aspects to watch out for?
So, it may sound a bit obvious to say, but respecting the rules is essential. Then, everything depends on the position of the referee, whether in or around the combat zone.
For example, the Knight Marshal has to pay attention to everything. You're constantly hyper-vigilant: you have to pay attention to everything that's going on, to the other referees, to the decisions that are made, to every action.
After that, when you're a field referee, you pay attention first to your own physical safety, then to the fighters safety. For example, applying the supremacy rule means: at a ratio of 3 to 1, you stop the fight; at 5 to 1, you stop immediately, as the risk of injury to the fighter becomes too high.
Finally, the referees on the sidelines have to keep an eye on everything that's happening in the combat zone, so that they can intervene and communicate with the referees in the combat zone, to ensure that decisions and actions are quickly taken by the referees in the middle of the fight.
How do you make quick decisions in fight?
It's going to be experience, it's going to be battle analysis. There are all kinds of decisions to be made. For example, where I stand when I'm in the combat zone: if a fighter with an halberd is striking, whether I'm in or out of the combat zone, I have to pay attention to the axis of the blows to avoid taking one or finding myself between two fighters.
You often have to see the action through to the end, because sometimes a fighter, having succeeded in knocking an opponent to the ground, may stumble slightly, press his shield to the ground and get up again. In this case, you have to intervene quickly and observe the whole action, while keeping your eyes everywhere, which is complicated, we're not going to lie. That's why referees have to communicate with each other to know who's looking where in the combat zone. It's also the Knight Marshal's role to coordinate the referees.
After that, we always use the stick. We don't wear armour, even though some fighters have recommended it. A referee who systematically wears armor will put himself in danger in melee combat: he will allow himself to step forward more, pay less attention to his safety, and risk missing an action. With a stick, on the other hand, you can stand back, keep an eye on what's going on around you and act quickly.
What faults do you encounter most frequently, and what penalties do you apply?
The penalties we see most often are blows to the back of the neck and blows to the genitals, which is what happens most frequently. In these cases, the penalty is a yellow card. If the action is repeated, it's a red card. If a forbidden blow is delivered to a fighter and that fighter can no longer continue because of the injury he has sustained, then it's a straight red card.
Then there's another thing we often see: the loss of armor pieces. In such cases, the fighter is put on the ground. If this happens too frequently, a yellow card may be issued. It could be a helmet that comes off too often, or slips, or a glove that falls off regularly, or a fastener that constantly breaks.
In this case, we let it go once, twice at the most. After that, we ask the fighter to correct the problem and we check. If he meets the requirements, he can enter the competition; if not, he doesn't. It's simply for their own safety.
What have been the most difficult moments or the most complicated decisions you've had to make?
So the most difficult moment was at Cassine en Ardenne. Last year was my first tournament as Knight Marshal. I had a general brawl between two of the best teams in France, due to a simple misunderstanding. It was really a silly misunderstanding: one of them thought it was the other who was insulting him, when in fact it was a guy from his own team.
Now all the fighters from both teams enter the combat zone, as do the squires. They start punching each other all over the place. We're standing there with our sticks, saying “Stop, stop, stop”... It was a horror. At the time, I didn't know what to say, because it was the first time something like that had happened in France.
I simply gave both teams a warning. I was lucky enough to have some more experienced referees with me, who helped me out and said, “That may not be enough in this case.” Indeed, I wasn't convinced that a simple warning would be enough for a general brawl.
So I went over to the two captains and gave them a general yellow card. In hindsight, it clearly deserved a red, but hey... It was a first time for both of them. I admit I made a mistake there.
It was complicated, because the fighters are intimidating. With their pieces of armor, you know they can get angry, not necessarily at you, but under the effect of adrenalin, you never know. On the whole, it goes well, but you also have to wait for the right moment to talk to the fighters.
They both listened to me. I admit I played the “I'm not angry, but I'm disappointed” card a little. It was complicated dealing with people I couldn't stop. They eventually calmed down, but it was very stressful and tough at the time.
How do you maintain impartiality and trust between you, the fighters and the teams?
It's a big job, because in the beginning, refereeing was quite complicated. There was no structure, no committee. It was really a power struggle between the few people who took up refereeing - there weren't many at the time - and the fighters.
There was a lot of bad language and so on. Then we had Jean-Michel, a fighter from Bécuts de Gascogne - a team that no longer exists - who founded the refereeing committee with Xavier and Romain. They were the first to structure the refereeing committee.
Jean-Michel had a much more pedagogical approach with the fighters. He'd say: “OK, so now you're pissed off, take 30 seconds. Once you're back down, I'll explain: I made this decision because this, this, this, this.” And right away, it simplified exchanges with the fighters enormously.
It's a job for every tournament, nothing is ever taken for granted. Trust is built with the fighters, and we take the time to listen to them. Some foreign referees say we spend too much time listening to the fighters, but that's the way we do things.
And that's precisely what enables us to make sometimes difficult decisions, which the fighters accept and respect. We thank them for that.
How do you maintain impartiality? Knowing that some referees are attached to certain clubs?
Yes, it's a question that comes up regularly. Yes, a referee belongs to a club, but when he's at a tournament, he's not his club's referee, he's the tournament's referee. As referees, we're the third team in the competition. That's what you have to remember.
If a referee is unsure of himself, this is often the case with young official referees - those who have just completed their apprenticeship and are starting to referee independently. Some prefer to take a back seat when it comes to a match involving their own club, especially if someone close to them (partner, friend) is taking part.
This is not a problem. In such cases, they notify the Knight Marshal and say: “I'd rather pull out now." There's nothing to worry about. But we, on the committee, make sure that every referee knows the difference between his club and the tournament.
What aspects of Buhurt would you like to better explain to the public?
As a commentator, I'd like to learn more about the sport's historical origins and how it has evolved over the centuries. That's what I'd like to find out more about.
Secondly, I'd say the techniques specific to Buhurt. It's complicated, because I'm not a fighter. There are techniques I recognize, but understanding why they use this technique rather than another, this strategy rather than another, is more difficult.
I'd have to talk more with the fighters, just to talk about it better on the mic, to make it all more popular and accessible. Because often, when spectators arrive at a tournament, at first it's a show for them. Then, some of them understand that it's a sport.
Is there a specific event you've refereed that made a particular impact on you?
There are some tournaments I've enjoyed, but I've done a lot of them.
The last Tournoi des Flandres, where I was at the microphone, left its mark on me. Some of the best teams in the world were there. I was crazy at the microphone, so much so that I got a side stitch because we were shouting so much!
But as a referee, one tournament I really enjoyed was the French Buhurt Cup. It's the major event of the year, because all the teams compete against each other, without a league system being applied.
What's the most rewarding part of your role as referee?
So, this is going to be really simple, but there are two things.
- First, there are the fighters who thank us at the end of a tournament.
- And the other aspect is the fighters who make an appeal, or who, knowing they've done something stupid, come to apologize or simply say, "I respect your decision."
Any final words?
Buhurt is a sport. It's not an official sport yet, but we hope it will become one. It's a wonderful sporting event every time. A tournament is like a childhood dream. Buhurt is also an escape. It allows me to take a break from work. I'm happy to have Buhurt to take a breather after my busy week.
I really hope it continues like this, that we'll be able to hold international tournaments again, like last year, and that we'll see so many teams register in less than an hour, to the point where there won't be any more space. We'll even be forced to organize tournaments over two days, there will be so many teams. I hope we'll get back to that, and it's on the right track.