Is it considered a "* move" or against the "Spirit of the rules" to use a spear stabbing tip to strike at someones hands/shield/weapon? We had a discussion about it at practice and some felt that it was a uncalled for while others saw it as perfectly fine (As the tip is heavily padded)

Edit: I understand stabbing tips are only good when used to stab. I am meaning more so as a tactic

You can bat weapons and pull shields, whatever. Nothing against it in the rules. If you hit me in the hands with a spear head intentionally, you are an *.

I considering fakes to the head/face to be * moves, everything else is fair game IMO

Is that general consensus? I think someone's An * if they intentionally shield edge another in the face but apparently not every one agrees

There's a difference between smacking something that someone is holding and jamming them in the head, which is an illegal target area.

I would agree that intentionally striking hands is a * move because it can cause injury and we're here to have fun.

Faking to the head is a valid tactic IMO, but you really have to be careful to not get close or actually hit the head. I use it in conjunction with a stutter step or a stomp and an arm pump to get the opponent to flinch, usually opening up a sword arm or a hip. My sword never comes within a foot of the person's face though. If you strike a head unintentionally, I believe you should call yourself dead. If you're hitting it regularly then you need to stop.

And * OP: hitting weapons and shields w/ a pole arm is absolutely legal and a much-used tactic. Two man spear teams, or spear and s&B will often strike a shield on one side/corner to open a shot for their partner on the other. In fact, many a great spearman will tell you that unless you're dripping sweat you're not utilizing your spear correctly by bombarding the enemy with hits to their shield/legs to create an opening or force them to change position.

Xavier, I agree that shield edging someone in the face should be illegal, and it is a * move; very dangerous with heavy shields especially. The head isn't legal for anything other than a projectile. The only case I would allow head contact with a shield is with frontal planar contact, incidentally, when the intent is to hit someone's torso with the majority of the mass and move them.

Disagree on faking head shots being a valid tactic. you're faking an illegal shot that can hurt people so of course they're going to flinch. Also what if you slip up and actually nail them in the head? You can't say it was an accident because you were aiming for their head.

But yeah shield edging should be illegal

Intentional shield edging I think is what you mean. And I can't really see any instances of it being abused. A shield has more mass, but less velocity than a sword. They also tend to be less prone to failure.