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I would like to sugest this as a simple guidline for larp combat based on ian sturrocks hyborian tales.

Combat Rules

Basic Safety
For basic safety reasons all weapons should be pulled so as to land safely. A pulled blow is one that is safe throughout its entire arc and is capable of striking a person at any point without doing harm or damaging the weapon. Do not try to pull your weapon at the last second as you cannot control your opponents behaviour and should you strike them before you intend to it can unduly hurt.

No thrusting: Larp weapons contain a thin core surrounded in foam. Thrusting with your weapon can cause the core to push through the foam making the weapon unsafe and hurting your opponent. Larp weapons are generally not made to use as a thrusting weapon and so thrusting is prohibited.

Heroic Combat
All Combat should be heroic in appearance and intent.
If you’re wielding a two-handed sword and a ferocious enemy charges at you, consider the following approaches to fighting him:

A)You could tap-tap-tap him on the shoulder as fast as you can, treating the “two-handed sword” like the foam and fibreglass prop it is, aiming to make contact as often as possible in the few seconds it takes him to close the distance with you and get into sword range.
B)Or you could whirl your two-handed sword around your head as though it weighs and handles much like the real thing, give out a wordless roar of defiance and anger, and strike the creature on the shoulder (still safely and lightly, but with a real “telegraphing” of your intent).

So, which do you think looks better? (B) of course. And which will do most damage, and so be most effectively in the game? In this game the answer will be (B) again. Those little taps you did in (A) will be treated as the minor, paper-cut-like flesh wounds they would be if you used a real sword in such a tentative manner. No enemy worth its salt will be stopped by such an attack. With (B), on the other hand, if you do it right, you may well find the creature is stopped dead in its tracks; at the very least, it will likely react and stagger a little, perhaps giving you sufficient time to get in another, more fatal blow.

Combat should observe the following three rules, to better facilitate an heroic style:

1.The One-Second Rule. You are not allowed to carry out several swift attacks, one immediately after the other in heroic play. This is to preserve the play balance of the system. To provide an easy mechanism for every player to understand what is an acceptable speed for repetition of attacks, you may only deliver one successful attack every second .It does not matter how many weapons you are wielding or what they are, you may land only one attack every second. This rule is not intended to be measured with stopwatches. It exists to allow players to legitimately ignore blows that follow each other without drawing breath. It allows players to realisticly count hits and it reduces the cases of machine gunning.

2.The Different Locations Rule. When attacking an opponent, you may not try to hit the same location twice in rapid succession, except the torso. Again it makes it easy to count hits and produces a more dramatic fight. After landing a successful and valid hit you should aim for another location (even if you don't hit) or return to a clear guard position.

3.The two feet Rule. The weapon should be drawn back two feet after each blow before beginning a new attack.

These three rules together ensure that much of the game’s combat will be heroic and theatrical in appearance, rather than a purely competitive attempt to land as many blows as possible.

As with all these rules, the most important factor is role-playing, rather than the letter of the rules. No-one is going to be getting a ruler out to check that you drew your sword back a full two feet. Likewise, if your opponent is cowering behind a door-sized shield and you can only see one part of his or her body, feel free to aim at it repeatedly, rather than worrying too much about the Different Locations rule. Make the combat heroic and dramatic, and no-one will complain if you don’t always stick to the letter of the rules in the heat of battle.

Weapons
All characters can use any weapon (ranged or melee) they are trained in to inflict one point of damage with each strike.

Any weapon over 48” long must be wielded with both hands when making an attack, for the sake of both realism and safety. There are no specific benefits to wielding a weapon two-handed, except that it makes it somewhat easier to deal a convincing crush attack. Weapons shorter than 48” may be wielded with both hands if desired.

All LRP-safe weapons may be used. All players should check their weapons before each adventure, for problems such as: damage to the foam, hardened areas of foam, loose components, and core working its way through foam. If you are unsure as to how to check your own weapons, or if you believe one or more of your weapons may be unsafe, consult a referee. Never use a weapon that you believe to be unsafe, or suspect may have become unsafe. If a weapon becomes damaged during an adventure, let a referee know as soon as possible, so it can be removed from use. In general, “crew” weapons, or other weapons lying around, will have been checked by the referee team before the adventure, but if you wish to use such a weapon you should check it yourself at the earliest opportunity in case it has been damaged during the event.

Armour
All characters can wear Armour they are trained in. Note that the phys rep for this armour must resemble real armour.

Armour will give from one to three armour points to each location covered. This armour is ablative, that is, the armour in any particular location will be reduced as soon as that location is hit. It may be repaired by a character with the appropriate armour skill, taking one minute of concentration per level repaired.

Shields
All characters can use shields. Any shield will last more-or-less indefinitely (certainly the length of any typical adventure) unless it is struck by a character using the Crush skill at which point the shield is broken.

Damage Calls
As a general rule, damage calls should be avoided, or if used at all, minimised. Given that this system is designed for a situation with a maximum of around eight player characters at once, crew will be briefed on significant special powers or damage of each player. To begin with, as a new character, you are welcome to remind them, but do it subtly. Try to work any calls into battle with style. Please don't resort to a never ending mantra of sharp, sharp sharp. In fact basic damage requires no special call at all.

Any damage calls interrupt the game’s suspension of disbelief somewhat, but a subtle “call” does so far less than hordes of people shouting sharp! If you can make it clear what you are doing by role-play gesture and word, rather than by using solely out-of-character damage calls, so much the better. For example, rather than just calling “Crush” as you break a shield, bring your axe down theatrically and dramatically, again meeting the opponent’s eye, making it clear that you are deliberately smashing the shield rather than aiming directly at the opponent. You will hopefully not need to shout crush repeatedly like a broken record and it will look and sound cool to boot.

These rules are based on the combat rules for a pre-existing larp and our not solely of my own making.-Hyborian tales.