Asian martial arts = overrated european martial arts = underrated african martial arts = ALSO UNDERRATED

@DaMonStith

8 жыл бұрын

+Fernando Ramos Not to take away anything from the arts of Asia but you are right, non-Asian fighting arts are vastly overrated. Hopefully with more practitioners sharing their arts this paradigm can shift. Thank you for stopping by!

@Crusader-Ramos45

8 жыл бұрын

+Da'Mon Stith I said Asian martial arts are overrated.

@Macropus9

8 жыл бұрын

+Fernando Ramos Yes, and he agreed, you should re-read his message. :)

@DaMonStith

8 жыл бұрын

Overrated is a strong word. I believe his sentiment is that non Asian martial arts are underrated and they are just valid and functional as Asian arts.

@DaMonStith

8 жыл бұрын

Macropus9 I actually made a mistake. It took rereading my post but i said african and european arts are overrated. What i meant to say they were underrated.

For not practicing longswords, you got the basics down really well. Stick fighting translates well and you even seemed to figure out the optimal defensive position (Ox with point forward) and the beginnings of a failing cut.

like your friend said, its more of a style difference. In HEMA, we tend to keep a strong and grounded stance and use the crossguard to defend and trap. What im seeing with African style stick fighting is a LOT more dodging and moving around, rather than looking to trap and bind. If thats wrong, forgive me. Im rather ignorant in African martial arts. But thats just what i see.

I am a Hema studentx and I would love to be able to approach to something Like Hama or even Indian Martial Arts. Very interesting. Thanls

Really like your style sir! im a hema guy but i love your channel very interesting i really like what your doing for african martial arts thats very insightfull and plus your attitude is superb 😊

I like his honesty and willing to create or build a style instead of trying to lie about some made up idea.

Good job! It looks exactly like italian longsword. The motions and form were much more clean than most HEMA practitioners.

Amazing!! I can see many coincidental similarities with Chinese 长剑(longsword) and dao, sometimes I wonder if there are a set of optimal ways to use a sharp stick that all our cultures gravitated towards. Thank you sir!

The role of the longsword could be fulfilled by a sturdy short spear with a long blade. We experimented with a combat style that uses a shield and on occasion switches to two handed use of weapons. So the niche for two handed blades might already have been filled.

Keep going respect gratitude👍🏿👍🏿

Going elephant hunting with only a sword. That is pretty badass.

I know African swordfighting has very limited armour, but could you guys do a more full contact sparring? While wearing protective gear of course. Maybe it would be easier to see the strengths and weaknesses of the fighting style.

@DaMonStith

8 жыл бұрын

+Irtaza Azam Thank you for the comment and the suggestion. We have a few sparring videos on our page plus there are a few on youtube from a HEMA meet up and 2014 Purpleheart Messer Tournament. This video is more a chat about whether there were two handed longswords used in Africa and to test out the plastic longsword I am making. In the future we will post more sparring sessions. Thank you for stopping by.

@billbad3577

8 жыл бұрын

FYI many societies in Africa did use armor. some were quilted others were chain mail. like many other nations you can only get what you can afford. those who couldn't afford armor developed ways to avoid blows and other evasion tactic. bobbing and weaving flipping to avoid arrows ect.

@jacksonneptune4083

7 жыл бұрын

Medieval Sudan is the name given to the series of medieval societies and kingdoms stretching throughout the Sahel and southern Sahara region. It stretched from the Atlantic seaboard and the Red Sea coast. They had a well established military culture which involved the use armour and cavalry up to the 19th century and early 20th century. Precolonial European travellers did a good job of recording these armour.

Hello I have been watching and rewatching your videos over these past few months and i have to say that as someone who trains in martial arts i love that seemingly very effective styles from cultures whose styles have been not shown in a full light or ignored completely are being taught informattively and entertainingly. These videos make me have to add some of the styles to the ones i want to learn. However at the moment im more into hand-to-hand and one other blade style plus i live in California so i cant just come over. I was wondering though if you have any training vids to sell and if so how much. Also i figure this is easier for the HEMA and Kendo/Kenjustu clubs due to how many practitioners there are but how and where do you get the treatises for the techniques on these styles because i think their hard to come by. Not questioning your validity just like i said i cant practice with so if ever i actually train in this i wanna make sure the teacher gives good info. Thanks and if you read all that then you're a trooper. And nice video

This is like watching Anikan and Obi-won fight. Hectors style is very defensive and endurance focused while Damon's not necessarily fully offensive but looking for an opening and pushing the fight. I'd say it come down to a style difference. Hector doesn't seem like he's thinking too much, he's just dancing along to the rhythm also looking to punish movement or a poorly placed attack, Damon pushes the fight looking for any cracks in Hectors defense and is working to get inside is guard. This was a good fight to learn from.

Synthetics will never be good in the bind, unfortunately. Even blunt metals aren't a 100% indicator of a proper bind, but outside live blades are the best for the bind. Also your use of motion rather than relying on guards/stance is not exactly incorrect, as many different schools emphasis continued motion rather than taking a guard, or as in guards less being a stance you take as much as positions you move through and between.

@DaMonStith

8 жыл бұрын

+Lorenzogino Thank you that makes a lot of sense. I think me friend at first misunderstood my question and his answer reflected the difference in approach we each took in order to test out the synthetic blade I made and sense we are on the subject have you ever used or come across anyone that used an abs plastic longsword?

@Lorenzogino

8 жыл бұрын

Not to my knowledge. I'll ask around within my training circle to see if anyone else has. A lot of people around here have been trying out different available wasters and have made their own.

I was going to suggest trying to incorporate African 2 handed stick fighting techniques but it looks like great minds think alike.

Very effective and practical

Dude...write. This. Book!

I was surprised if the blade was not thicker for its size but original fast an effective💪🏿👍🏿👍🏿✌🏿

Can you demo Flyssa sword fighting styles?

@DaMonStith

8 жыл бұрын

+Boosum135 Yes sir. I have to make some more trainers but I would love to!

I notice the use of the Fool's guard (I think it is) in your second bout. I'm guessing some guards are universal in different sword arts around the world.

I think I love that thing! Without the cross guard.

Well, this is very interesting. I'd love to see what else you do with this concept. Also, I can hear your camera guy breathing on the camera.

Awesome channel.

Nice work Da'Mon!

i know it's half a decade old but nice video! beautiful fencing on both parts i might add :D

As i understand it the swords encountered by the British in The Sudan were made locally with German blades which were exported throughout the Middle East and traded in Africa.

In the late kingdom period in Egypt due ti Persian, Greek and others, did in fact create a two handed longsword.

Da'Mon whats the name of the sword your using?

Wouldn't the Takouba count as a Longsword/two-handed blade?

@DaMonStith

8 жыл бұрын

there are some fairly long takouba but it still is a single handed sword... kind of like an arming sword. Now there are some modern tourist swords that are two handed or hand and a half

The style you used in this video seems to be rather similar to Portuguese jogo do pau (and some interpretations for Spanish/Portuguese two-handed sword based upon it). But then maybe that's not surprising because you developed it from stick-fighting arts too.

@DaMonStith

8 жыл бұрын

+Pradana P. M. Welcome! Yes it is very similar to Jogo do Pau. Are sources for movement comes from the traditions of Tahtib and Hausa stick fighting. Two handed swords aren't very common in Africa so i adapted a method from the stick. Stick fighting served as a means to train to develop skill with live weapons (Edged and impact) in a safer environment. Thank you for visiting us!

@pradanap.m.3195

8 жыл бұрын

On that subject, what do you think about the Modern Tahtib folks?

@DaMonStith

8 жыл бұрын

I think it's interesting but I would like to see more combat application and especially in regards to the sword. Tahtib predates the Mamluk dynasty but apparently they used the art to train for sword. Matrag from Algeria is another stick fighting that correlates to sword.

@pradanap.m.3195

7 жыл бұрын

Some JdP schools can cite unbroken lineages going back to the 19th or even 18th century but we currently have no evidence about whether it was invented back then or was the continuation of older traditions going back to medieval stick-fighting.

It turns out there was a two-handed sword tradition in African history. The kingdom of Sinnar in what is now Sudan used it. Here is the source. www.amazon.com/Kingdoms-Sudan-Routledge-Library-Editions-ebook/dp/B01M1NR92W/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1541561165&sr=1-1

@user-hu1yu5xm9i

3 жыл бұрын

Turns out that look link doesn't work anymore. What's the name of that book?

@andrerobinson3233

3 жыл бұрын

@@user-hu1yu5xm9i Kingdoms of Sudan.

For what I saw the sudanese Kaskara is a cousin from arabic straight swords used in preislamic times and before the adoption of the scimitar from turkic sabers Really interesting seen it used with both hand and to hunt elefants no less

Huh. So I do LED sabre fighting treating ti as an actual sword (but it glows! :P ) with most of our instruction coming by way of tai chi miao dao, and I have to say it looks a LOT like this in the sort of movements and strikes. Simialrly a lack of focus on actively using a guard. From thinking about it lately I'm more and more convinced the *point* of crossguards on european swords is not to defend the hand but to be used in active trapping and binding. I mean if you solely wanted to protect the hand you'd just go straight to a basket hilt, its not like the concept is difficult to come up with

Nice

Sword=sharp metal stick. African=person from africa. African swordsmanship=african swordsmanship. Makes sence.

Old video and new comment, so no troubles if you don't reply, but I do have a question. You state that two-handed swords didn't occur in Africa. Do you only mean "pure" two-handed weapons (a proper longsword or greatsword)? I ask because I know of some swords in West Africa (in particular the heavier versions of the Ashanti akrafena, but also the Yoruba agedengbe) which were principally one-handed but I thought they were designed to be effectively wielded in two (better leverage and control for reduced reach). However, my research could very well be a failure on this, and your statement would seem to indicate it. I also admit my research is purely for fantasy fiction purposes. Still, if you're going to break from reality, it's best to do so knowingly.

I would love to see the research on this.

@DaMonStith

7 жыл бұрын

The Original English Martial Arts Channel thanks our primary focus is on Sahelian broadsword and sabre, Egyptian Stick fighting, and stick and machete fencing from the African diaspora. I am afraid the longsword never made its way into African warfare. I was asked to make a longsword trainer so I this video I am just testing it out and using African stick fighting principles. thanks for stopping by I really dig your channel.

@AngloSaxon1

7 жыл бұрын

Thanks, I have experienced some African martial arts, the Zulu Mesquito style, and a couple of forms of wrestling and they were very effective, I especially like the short spear forms

now that you mentioned the kaskara being a one-handed longsword, can you imagine anybody in Sudan fighting with both a kaskara in one hand and a shield in the other?

@DaMonStith

8 жыл бұрын

yeah that was typically how it was done. In fact a number of19th European observers thought the Sudanese were poor fencer because in their words they had no knowledge of the parry and relied solely on the shield for defense. At the same time they showed a certain amount of respect for their ferocity in battle. i stumbled across a book that confirmed my suspicion that the Beja did in fact use the kaskara to hunt big game and apparently they would chord around the forte of their so that they could wield it with both hands.

@Crusader-Ramos45

8 жыл бұрын

+Da'Mon Stith what's the book called? and besides, fighting with a longsword and a shield would call for some muscles.

@DaMonStith

8 жыл бұрын

+Fernando Ramos Apologies... The book is entitled "The Nile Tributaries of Abysinnia: and The Sword Hunters of Hamran Arabs" The Hamran Arabs are the Bedja.

@23561avatar

8 жыл бұрын

+Da'Mon Stith Good old Victorian tunnel vision: if it's not like us, it's inferior. I wonder how many cultures have been depreciated because of their conceited ignorance. Anyway, great to see a channel about African martial arts.

@DaMonStith

8 жыл бұрын

Thank you for stopping by. Yeah i figured that that was the case. Sword and shield fighting must have seemed antiquated. The author seemed to genuinely appreciate their skill and courage which seemed out of place with his previous comments. For what it's worth his account as least provides some information about sword fighting at least in in 19 th century. Anyways, i appreciate your input.

Africans soldiers (especialy the saharan) didn't use heavy armors because of the intense heat Imagine traveling with armor in the desert Usualy horsemen from great region empires used armors

Hey you might already know this but in case you don't or your viewers don't The Yoruba smiths as early as 800 a.d made certain types of Ida war swords that were very large and used in 2 hands. But it was more common to see smaller single handed ones, but large 2 handed ones did exist, and we know they were used with 2 hands and very tip heavy.

and as far as being accessible i work 6 days a week and i live in the chicago land area i am more than willing to meet up and swing swords, or educate. people always tend to get butthurt on the comments but thats ok no shame in my game gl to you a the least we can always agree to disagree gl to you and your group

Can you do a demo fight between an african long sword and a katana?

@DaMonStith

8 жыл бұрын

+Fernando Ramos I would love to but I don't know too many kendo or kenjutsu practitioners. I will put a call to see if there are any kendoka that are looking for outside sparring opportunity.

@matttheamerican3766

3 жыл бұрын

@@DaMonStith I volunteer to be the Katana wielder.

@DaMonStith

3 жыл бұрын

@@matttheamerican3766 that could be arranged. Once covid has passed perhaps we can meet up.

@matttheamerican3766

3 жыл бұрын

@@DaMonStith That would be awesome! I look forward to the opportunity..

I’d buy that sword if it were for sale. Looks cool.

@DaMonStith

3 жыл бұрын

We could make one for you

@AB-ws2sj

3 жыл бұрын

@@DaMonStith how much would you charge? :D

where you get the practice swords from

@DaMonStith

8 жыл бұрын

We make them.

3:50 DAMN

I couldn’t quite catch the beginning name

press x for doubt, all african swords that i know are one handed especially those of outside influence like the kaskara, saif ,alguinjar and so on. i closest weapon to a 2 handed sword in africa would be the eremet or iklwa which are long bladed spears.

I have noticed a common theme among these weapon videos of yours; the bind is rarely a factor, usually there is a sense of springing off the blade and avoiding the bind to launch another strike, generating from the force of impact. Is this a fair analysis? I am most curious about the African martial arts, and this just seems to be the first thing I can see as a stylistic difference between European and Japanese arts to African. Love your work, I might add. I'd love to see some basic practise videos to see how some of the training on the weapons is done. :)

@DaMonStith

8 жыл бұрын

+Edmund Withnell Thank you my friend. I appreciate your presence. That's a pretty keen observation. You see that concept expressed in various forms of African stick fighting. For our research we use stick fighting in addition to sword dances and ritualized sparring in order to reconstruct a theoretical but complete fighting art. Thus far I haven't observed any binding in stick fighting or swordplay and that can be due to the prominence of the shield as a defensive tool. Then again wrestling played an important part of African warrior culture so I can't a close quarter fighting not involving some closing and grappling. Hopefully time will reveal more secrets. Thank you again for stopping by. By the way, do you train in the Eastern of Western tradition of sword play?

@Theswordundrawn

8 жыл бұрын

Thanks for filling me in~! Makes sense if it's derived from stick fighting and dance. I was also wondering if the lack of hand protection in stick fighting played a factor; without some form of guard, binding would present a risk to the hand, perhaps? But I think your mentioning of the shield makes total sense, and draws a comparison to sword and buckler fencing where binding is less emphasised (though present, at least in Europe). Thank you. As a second thought, since you mentioned wrestling being a focus; does swordplay in African systems place emphasis upon close plays and grappling? As for my tradition; both, strictly. I began in Eastern (Japanese) and a few years ago branched into Western, which is now my primary focus. Kind of bland in both areas; katana and longsword are my focuses. Not a terrific practitioner by any means.

What material do you make your sword simulators out of?

@DaMonStith

8 жыл бұрын

HDPE ( high density polyethylene)

@riddleziddle6038

8 жыл бұрын

+Da'Mon Stith what about weight? same as metal?

@TheDboy83

8 жыл бұрын

+Da'Mon Stith; If you can get your hands on it, polypropylene(...I think), may work. You'd ,also need a mold.

What are your qualifications in terms of martial arts?

@DaMonStith

8 жыл бұрын

31 years in all. 20 of those years have been spent on African based arts. Why do you ask?

@andrerobinson3233

8 жыл бұрын

+Da'Mon Stith Because there is no formal society of African martial arts that can give out certificates or belts in expertise like the asian martial arts (karate, kung fu ect.)

@JJoh4040

8 жыл бұрын

+andre robinson thats because ANYTHING & EVERYTHING positive image about africa is looked down upon

@andrerobinson3233

8 жыл бұрын

***** thats true.

@Theswordundrawn

8 жыл бұрын

+andre robinson Also because grades and certificates do not exist in all martial arts today. It's a common practise in the East, but in some schools, no "grades" existed at all. In Europe, some martial artists were only considered professionals if they had a certificate of authenticity from a school of martial arts (the Marxbruders in particular, for example), but these days such grades and certificates rarely exist due to a lack of living tradition, or simply because they were never (or rarely) used.

Didnt the Dervish have Longswords very similar to European counterparts?

I think when one looks at how the Japanese, two hand, were able to defeat the Mongols, shield, one quickly comes to the conclusion that having a decent navy is a good idea.... 🤪

So you think that two handed swords never developed in Africa because they didn't need the armor penetration? While many western two handed swords were designed to thrust well they were still swords great at cutting through unarmored/lightly armored opponents. The reason why two handed swords became popular was because shields weren't as vital because your plate armor had you covered for most things. You could attack quicker and stronger at a safer distance then someone with a shield and one handed sword. I don't think its about the armor penetration but the lack of armor itself. Like you said the armor they had didn't protect as much. I don't know too much about African warfare but I'd guess that shields were important for protection because it was the only thing that could protect you from missiles and could also defend you well in a close fight. So if you only had 2 handed swords and no shields you would get torn apart before reaching the enemy. Don't take everything I said too seriously I wouldn't consider myself very knowledgeable, I'd just like to have a discussion, and I may have some errors so please do point them out I'd appreciate any feedback. Thanks!

@DaMonStith

8 жыл бұрын

+Konig_von_Refien Good points. I may have missed spoken in regards to armor penetration although I believe we are in essence saying same thing. What I should have said is that in African warfare the shield still functioned as the primary defensive equipment which as you said provided protection against missiles and at hand to hand fighting. If I had to guess what sparked the development of longswords I would say the advent of plate armor which would allow a knight to close with the longsword. I am not an expert and this only a guess on my part. I hope that I am not rambling and have contributed to the conversation. Also I didn't mean to imply that African armor was useless. It served its main purpose which was to protect against poisoned arrows which were greatly feared. Even the Portuguese were very concerned about the poison arrows.

@thepiecrab1414

8 жыл бұрын

+Da'Mon Stith Agreed. I had a feeling that's what you meant. I should say that longswords were around but didn't become as popular until then. About the plate armor you are correct. A skilled combatant could position themselves to deflect attacks off the armor if he needed to. I apologize what I said about the armor, I didn't really think too much about it when I was typing. I didn't mean that it was useless but that it wasn't really adequate enough to ditch your shield for a more offensive weapon. I'm guessing that they had padded, scale, maille\mail, and plenty of other armors probably influenced some by the Arabs. Don't worry about rambling its not necessarily a bad thing. :) Now you got me interested on those poisoned arrows. Is there anywhere I could read about them that you know of?

@matttheamerican3766

3 жыл бұрын

@@thepiecrab1414 Arabs ARE Africans

@thepiecrab1414

3 жыл бұрын

@@matttheamerican3766 Arabs came from the Arabian Peninsula, which is apart of the continent of Asia. Many ethnic Arabs live and have lived in North Africa, but that wouldn't mean all Arabs are African.