New idea:
Sometimes people don't take their hits, so I think a novel solution would be coating every weapon in deadly poison that will absorb into fabric and skin
The wielder of each weapon will carry an antidote (unique to their weapon) that they will apply (using relatively cheap hypodermic needles) when their hit is acknowledged
I think we can all agree that this would make people much more eager to take their hits, and should be relatively harmless provided duel-wielders don't mix up their syringes, or the needles don't get bent by weapon impacts, or we don't run out of antidote, etc.
simple