Point 1: Cheez Wizz and Such
Cheez Wizz is just about the basis of all evil when it comes to dueling, it's very annoying to face and can even cause one to lose his of her will to fight an opponent. It's the root of at least some evil, and is thus shunned highly be both respected veterans and most newcomers alike. But rules are often meant to be broken, or in this case bent a little. Cheez Wizz is by no means wrong, but ONLY when it is used in moderate amounts or of BOTH the combatants agree to the use of it.
The act of Cheez Wizzing is making it so one character has an unfair advantage over the other, be it by magical means or otherwise. Godlike powers and regeneration all fall under Cheez Wizzing, and therefore shouldn't be used. Healing yourself is allowed, but only in small amounts. Scrapes and gashes are easily healed, as opposed to being run through with a sword. Ask yourself which one would be easier to cure.
As said in the Laws there are two kinds: overpowering and Cheezing. Overpowering is the act of making yourself stronger than another, in whatever way you can think of, while Cheezing is often blatantly doing things which cannot be done by a normal person I.E. jumping off a skyscraper and surviving. UNLESS there is a sufficient description as to how he or she survived the fall. Description is the key to making the impossible possible, and is the way by which the rule of Cheez Wizz is bent.
Some Examples For You to Discern the Difference By Are:
Powers such as regeneration, full healing, magical attacks that destroy the earth, one-hit kills, constant dodging/blocking of attacks, and stating your own attack hits your opponent are considered Cheez Wizz. There are levels at this, such as only nicking your opponent without his or her consent being slight Cheez, constant dodging/never getting hurt being moderate, and one-hit killing and destroying are heavy.
A separate point of interest is that of controlling the other's character. Rule here is that it simply isn't allowed unless the other specifically says so, and even then only in controlled amounts. Killing of another's character is a no-no, much the same as stating he or she attacks like this or that, or feels one way of the other.
Point 2: To Know or Not To Know
Basically, unless the two combatants have met before or are introduced to each other, they know nothing of the others attacks or who he/she is. Like in real life, you don't know who a stranger is either. More importantly, characters can't know what the other is thinking or feeling, and therefor can't know what attack is going to follow. Anticipating is allowed, but once again be moderate and realistic in your actions. There isn't any way possible for one to anticipate a magical attack full enough to block it completely, by means of conjuring up ones own magical barrier of some such thing.
Basic rule here is that characters know what they can see, so you know your opponent is female because you see she is, to name a simple example. Judging the power of one's weapons is possible, but only the wielder knows what his or her weapons can do, and can therefore exercise the right to change what they can, keeping within the set boundaries of the duel. An example of this being that an earth based weapon can create an earthquake, or make a wall of rock rise up out the ground, though once again only the wielder knows how powerful the weapon is. Also, keep things realistic and don't start throwing around earthquakes like they're nothing, since that would be considered overpowering.
Point 3: A Fair Fight
Fair fights usually are so because both sides agree to certain rules, set either before the match or during as characters interact with one another. A good idea is to first check with your opponent as to which kind of fight he or she would like to have. Be it magical, of simply just weapons, one with futuristic technology or merely medieval things.
Fair fights also include both sides abiding the set rules, though bending slightly is allowed, keeping things within realistic boundaries again. Main point of conflict here if often when one side thinks an attack is fair and able, while the other thinks it's Cheez Wizz or impossible. Once in a duel there isn't much you can do about it, therefore setting up good rules to begin with is a must, or if all else fails one could always counter Cheez with Cheez. Still, a good clean fight is even more enjoyable than one riddled with inconsistencies and overpowered moves.
Point 4: The Arts of War
A duel can be fought in many ways, and in many different styles. A few are of course the magical duel, only weapons duel, and the Cheez Wizz duel. Each one has its own pros and cons and therefore you should always think about what kind of fight you want. Going into detail about the different styles.
Magical Duel:
Typically a duel of this kind is justified, though both parties must always keep an eye out for the possibility of their attacks being a little too powerful. Also keep in mind that certain attacks drain a fighter's strength, and are therefore not repeatable more than once or twice. Something such as plane shifting is a tremendous drain on both the caster's body and spirit, and would therefore leave him or her weakened.
Magic is allowed in this fight, though any monkey can make up an energy ball attack and fling it. Describe and innovate your attacks, and don't be afraid to try new things. If your attack is too powerful, you'll be told so by your opponent or by spectators. Once again description is key when using magic, both for the sake of keeping things understandable for your opponent, and because a simple one liner is bound to have less results than a nicely done paragraph of description.
Weapons Only:
In this case the fighters are only allowed the use of their weapons, though limbs are allowed too. So you can throw a punch of a kick into the mix if you want to, but more often than not, this duel consists of cuts, slashes, gashes, slices, thrusts, swings, stabs, and hacks. Not much fun at first sight, though a good handful of duelists prefer this kind of fight to a magical one, because it is a test of pure writing skill that determines the victor of the fight.
Cheez Wizz Fight:
A Cheez Wizz duel is basically one where all types of Cheez are allowed, be it super powers or dismembering of limbs. This kind if fight is highly shunned around these here parts, and therefore isn't much liked either. Still, if you wish to know more about this kind of fight, I suggest you read Weirgraf's Guide to Dueling, in which he goes into this kind if fight a little deeper. It can be found in the bookcase of here:
http://idea.yoll.net/works/rpgs/guides/weirrpg.html.
Juryrigged > Works > RPGs > Guides > Jester's Laws of Dueling