Hi Matt! At least in the Philippines, there's always a domestic function tied to most of our bladed weapons. While most people abroad refer to, say a bolo for example, as a "sword," for most filipinos, at least in the countryside where they are ubiquitous, they are essentially tools. And when a life in campaign is spent largely by living off the land, the short, handy chopper might be a more valuable asset than a sword specialized for combat.

@chrisplatten2293

Жыл бұрын

Or just crossing the land. A a Brit married to a Philippine lady, I have hiked quite a few peaks in the Philippines. The popular trails are clear, but less frequently used trails require use of the guide's bolo. Even more so if you are the first group through the trail after a typhoon.

@xXZaxoflameXx

Жыл бұрын

When I visited family in the Philippines a few years back, I cut down a tree (banana tree? don't remember) for my grandfather using his old bolo. It was surprisingly easy.

@Raiden6277

Жыл бұрын

@@xXZaxoflameXx if it can chop down a banana tree, it can chop down a person.

@Close.Quarters.Ramen.

Жыл бұрын

@@Raiden6277 I got strong 'Dodgeball' vibes from that.

@matthewlawrence7056

Жыл бұрын

Most bladed weapons are that way in the Philippines, however there’s plenty of specific fighting blades. Among the Moro people the barong used to be this way but in very recent times there’s been a shift. In non Moro groups there’s a variety of fighting blades generally called Sundang. There’s regional varieties, In ilocos there are some patterns of Buneng, In the Tagalog speaking regions there’s Dahon Palay, there’s sansibar/sundang, there’s Lawihans, and more. While they’re not common, dedicated Philippine fighting blades deserve their recognition.

I also want to stress, how important ease of carry is. When we learn about weapons and armor, we often just think about combat, but when you're a soldier, you spent most of your time marching and doing chores. So having a shorter sword, that doesn't get in the way is much more valueable, than you might think.

@classifiedad1

Жыл бұрын

Also that a short choppy sword is very useful for some of those chores, like chopping wood, clearing brush, or cutting food. That those qualities are also great at chopping up people is a nice bonus.

@redactedcanceledcensored6890

Жыл бұрын

@@classifiedad1 true for irregular fighters or poorly equipped levies

@yoeyyoey8937

Жыл бұрын

If you’re getting attacked while doing laundry then you got bigger problems than what kind of sword you’re carrying

@epsilonfallen5830

Жыл бұрын

​@@yoeyyoey8937 True, but you can wear a hauberk and a shortsword and do your work around the camp without them getting in the way. You can't always wear your full kit everywhere you go (things like spears, shields, arbalests, helmets, gauntlets and so on). At least you can defend yourself should you be attackted.

@qwormuli77

Жыл бұрын

@@classifiedad1 Clearing brush might be feasible, but chopping wood with a blade as thin as a sword would not only be really tiring and inefficient, but that sort of abuse would absolutely wreck the blade before the first enemy contact, especially with worse steel qualities than we have today. You wouldn't really want to chop wood even with an axe, if it was meant for war, instead of wood.

An additional theory: the number of daily tasks a non-soldier performs on a daily basis that require a choppy, cutting, or swinging motion vs. a precise thrust is huge. People know how to do it.

@gonzalosanchezblanco6598

Жыл бұрын

Agree with you,if you need to go throu a forest you chop and swing,when building palissades to protect towns or villages chop moves are required

@chroma6947

Жыл бұрын

The brits never thrust!

@Nikotheos

Жыл бұрын

I was thinking even more common tasks: shooing away a bee, making dinner, (at the time) a stone mason laying mortar, a carpenter swinging a hammer. These are the daily tasks of someone who ends up as a peasant levee in an army back in the day. The muscles are already built for them.

@davidhasbrouck7948

Жыл бұрын

18:48 is about when he mentions that.

@phinhager6509

Жыл бұрын

Also, you would have reason to own and carry such a tool for non bellicose reasons.

I am ALL about this. Specialized weapons are really cool, but if we want to put historical combat into context and gain a more realistic understanding of it, then it is absolutely necessary to use and understand the weapons and systems used by the vast majority of the population.

@voidjockey82

8 ай бұрын

I'm not sure whether these are the correct terms but I think I remembered one of his videos mentioning that, the distinction between the civilian history of weapons (self-defence in urban communities, dueling, competitive fighting) and the militaristic history of weapons, and how most content/work regarding them is done for the former.

I think the "human nature" argument is the most relevant one. Id add that across history, people using swords were not professional soldiers and the longer a sword gets the more difficult it is to use, reserving specialist swords like the rapier, to people that can afford to train with them on a regular basis..as a polish person I'd like to remind that even in duel situations it was frowned upon to actually kill your opponent, so cutting>stabbing.

@jameswoodard4304

Жыл бұрын

I don't know. Poking people with things comes pretty natural as well. I think if thrusting was the more practically useful option most of the time, that's the way swords would be designed even if chopping comes slightly more naturally.

@DJRockford83

11 ай бұрын

​@@jameswoodard4304whacking something with a short stick comes pretty naturally and if you have a long stick it's much harder to swing so thrusting becomes intuitive (the guy with the narwhal tusk in the London bridge attack is a prime example). It's simple intuitive mechanics of the human body, plus just whacking at stuff until it's dead will be what most untrained people will default to in the heat of battle.

On top of convenience and versatility, the shorter sword was most likely a bit more cost effective to produce. I believe you're absolutely on point when it comes to the choppy thing, "chopping" motion is extremely instinctive and in a pinch most people would probably default to it.

@alpagator1372

Жыл бұрын

Yeah, cheaper to make, and gets you most of the way there compared to a much costlier larger blade that doesn't give as much advantage compared to the cost.

@INTERNERT

Жыл бұрын

agreed and if you pair a shortish sword with a spear or pole arm you have a powerful and economic toolset for the masses

@alextopfer1068

Жыл бұрын

long thin blades also require more skill to forge and are harder to heat treat. A lang-messer is an easier type of blade to make in my limited experience

@possumsam2189

Жыл бұрын

When a sword is too long, it makes it difficult to pair with a shield or use in CQC

@Uncephalized

Жыл бұрын

Absolutely, and it is much simpler to learn to fight effectively with cuts, both offensive and defensive, than thrusts. The rapier for instance is a very technical weapon that takes a great deal of "schooling" to be used effectively.

Well, this is convenient. I was just recently trying to figure out what a fantasy "shortsword" would be referring to if you wanted a weapon based somewhat in reality, and now here's Matt saying that things like dha, dao, and hangers (and many others) might be called "shortswords" today. Thanks, Matt!

@SheffiTB

Жыл бұрын

Like Matt mentioned, these wouldn't have been called "short swords" (even with the space) back when they were in use. If you want something that *would* have been called that, to be a parallel to what would have been called "long swords" (again, notice the space) back when they were in use, you might want to look at something like the roman gladius.

@aidanhughes2444

Жыл бұрын

Go with silver, he calls basically what we call backswords/ broadswords “short swords” look at the Mary rose sword that’s probably what silver is talking about

@possumsam2189

Жыл бұрын

If you want to see Fantasy 'Shortswords' IRL, you should check out African Swords. Some Indian swords may also fit the desc.

@TheHazmate

Жыл бұрын

@@SheffiTB Well... Chinese have had 2h swords for over 2000 years, which in comparison to, any other sword would be a "short" sword. I think its important not to get too hung up on the word. or else we get issues like comparing Longswords to Claymores (Same thing) or Greatswords, Zweihander, Spadone (same thing) Is the sword relatively short? Its a short sword. Is it big? Its a greatsword.

@bitharne

6 ай бұрын

What @aidanhughes2444 said; short sword is more like a Gladius: great at stabbing but can slash. These swords are more like a standard D&D or video-game "Longsword" (even though we all know the issue there). Broadsword is probably the best "general" category...I think Souls games had this pretty solid. The longsword(arming sword) and broadsword were always quite different and the former had some thrusts and the latter was always a choppa.

In my army days a lot of fellows would take out their side and back armor plates, and obviously shorter carbines were more popular than full length rifles. Ease of carry on the daily counts for a lot with a man in kit. These short handy blades remind me of that.

As a sword collector and former fencer, I've always appreciated your channel. As a diehard Soundgarden fan with the Badmotorfinger logo tattooed on my arm, wearing that shirt has vaulted my estimation of you into the stratosphere.

@thac0twenty377

Жыл бұрын

why did you stop fencing? Get outshined?

@disappearingone11

Жыл бұрын

@@thac0twenty377 Zero chance.

@thac0twenty377

Жыл бұрын

@@disappearingone11 hahahahaga

@yetanotherbassdude

Жыл бұрын

@@thac0twenty377 nah, he just fell on black days

@robertvondarth1730

10 ай бұрын

This HEMA practitioner in Seattle appreciates this

Some other consideration: Swords are really optimal against lightly armored/unarmored opponents. And in that scenario, a cutting sword has a higher chance to deliver an debilitating injury. I'm talking specifically about battlefield conditions, not civilian duels. Especially since in a battlefield situation, the limbs might be more open to attack than your torso or head, which were, historically, more likely to be protected by armor. And even if we ignore armor, delivering an accurate, debilitating thrust to the head, or the heart, or the throat etc., with a sword, is just a very challenging endeavor. Especially in the chaos of battle. With cuts, you have a higher chance to hit something - and if that something is a shoulder, or arm, or thigh, then a cut has a higher chance to deal a grevious injury.

@KlausBeckEwerhardy

Жыл бұрын

And with most cuts the blade stays movable. When you've thrust through someone in a melee it can be quite difficult to get the blade free again before being attacked by the next opponent.

@cdgonepotatoes4219

Жыл бұрын

By cutting you don't also have the issue of someone, in the heat of battle, ride up to your hilt right after you hit them to return the favor.

@robertvondarth1730

Жыл бұрын

Take the hand

From someone who's been in a few streetfights, i'd like to emphasis the chaotic nature of real fighting. Even when i was boxing you'd be focused on your opponent, judging distance, using feints, setting traps, etc, and your jab and 1-2 would generally be your most effective weapons. In a streetfight you might not know where the next attack is coming from, or even who it's coming from, and the ability to just swing in the right general direction (or at a fleeting opportunity) could often be more than enough to get lucky.

"Why?" You pretty much nailed it: ease of carry for purpose as a sidearm, naturalness of the swing (and thus for a sword, cut), compromises on likely distance being unpredictable--so better to be a jack of all trades than a master of a situation you find yourself *not* in. (Again, fits function as a sidearm.)

@PJDAltamirus0425

Жыл бұрын

Especially the earlier in time you go. The more expensive something is and the less money you have, the more tasks your need a weapon to do. Matt sort of covered with the French artillery sword. Having several specialized weapons is essentially a well off person thing.

@kevinstachovak8842

Жыл бұрын

The same basic reasons modern sidearms are pistols

@thechroniclesofthegnostic7107

Жыл бұрын

And when the best all-around tool is what you have, in each circumstance you make adjustments--and: kzread.info/dash/bejne/kYqmqLhuopvJo5M.html

These swords are all sized and weighted similarly to a wealth of agricultural/woodcraft/utility tools all over the world. I think a lot of it comes down not only to convenience but ergonomics. That broad range of sizes - from forearm-plus-fingers to armpit-to-fingertips - and weights - a pound or two is comfortable to swing hard and for long periods of time. And it's a length which we pretty naturally "get" without a huge amount of practice. That human overarm blow, as you point out, is instinctual and universal.

@iamlogiebear

10 ай бұрын

To this point the tools of agriculture have influenced tools of war based on their familiarity of use

@iamlogiebear

10 ай бұрын

/hunting

In a military sense swords were most often backup weapons, so it makes sense that backup weapons would be easy to use and cheaper to make. Ditto for a civilian who is worried about brigands and ruffians. Longer swords are expensive and require skill and training and most people have lives to live.

@caracoldeleche

Жыл бұрын

There you have the case of the military Spanish rapiers, which tend to be much wider and shorter than the slim, long and decorated civilian versions.

@chrisplatten2293

Жыл бұрын

Also for the civilian use, just having it available to brandish at a ruffian my be enough to discourage them. In some ways a fight avoided is a fight won. Hence with you all the time and easy to access is important.

Choppy short swords: *The Katzbalger joined the chat "Points? Thrusting? No such fancy flourishes; I cut, slash and chopp."

Great video! This video is full of reason which explain my fascination with the dao. I do have one thing to add which is that the LK Chen extended the handle by around an inch or so when he reproduced the yanling dao from an antique. So the grip on the original is slightly shorter, and the balance is slightly closer to the tip. Also, do you include sabers and / or cutlasses in this category of choppy swords? I understand that many military sabers or kilij are longer than the blades you talk about here, but they are undoubtedly related to these earlier shorter, choppy blades, and I would argue that the later saber retains many of the advantages of the shorter choppers.

When I trained kendo as a child, parrying on the flat was typically preferred near the hilt because it automatically aligned the blade to return a cut with the same alignment the opponent used to get on your except on the inside. Pretty much a perfect reflexive counter as a default natural response. Edge alignment was always scored in kendo, it's what the yellow string was for

@purplefuzzymonster17

Жыл бұрын

Conversely, iaido generally blocks with the strong of the sword; edge against edge, and trying to get the close third on your opponent's far third. (So still near the hilt.) Blocking with the flat is reserved for weak/hanging parries, where you're expected to avoid your opponent's blow anyway, and the parry is just used to cover your escape.

@CtrlAltRetreat

Жыл бұрын

@@purplefuzzymonster17 Yeah iaido the primary stance is sheathed so I'd expect it'd be difficult to even get into a position where you could do a flat side parry. In jodan it's similar, since you have to come down to meet the opponent's strike in order to parry, so edge parry was the primary option as well. I mostly focused on chudan and if you were quick enough, you could turn into the stroke but if not, a flat side parry was a fairly timing forgiving response to an opponent who was a bit faster than you on the initiative and still give you an opening for a riposte. I wasn't the fastest kendoka in the dojo but I was a bit burlier than most and could muscle around some strikes for a decent response.

@purplefuzzymonster17

Жыл бұрын

@@CtrlAltRetreat Iaido being draw-only is an exaggeration. Sure, the draw is BIG part of the style -- it focuses on the katana as your EDC -- but you still have to fight afterwards. My Iaido school liked hasso and gaidon a lot, and seemed designed to counter jodon. (Which makes some sense -- jodon is an instinctive position, while fighting from gaidon still makes me uncomfortable, even though it's really effective.)

Maybe one additional point about the length would be that while they're short enough to enjoy all those offensive and logistical advantages, those weapons of 20-30 inches are also just long and heavy enough to effectively block across almost a person's entire height without an awkward reach. So when the attacker goes for your leg, you can block with room to spare rather than bending or squatting down.

my theory for why a medium sized chopping sword is the most common... is probably that its the size and motion that feels most natural in the hand. An axe is a front heavy weapon and takes some skill to use as a weapon... but a stick about the length of your arm, heaviest relatively close to your hand, is a pretty intuitive club. Translate that to a bladed weapon and you end up with the dha or messer. It has enough front weight to feel like something that can do some work for you, it has enough back weight to feel nimble and controllable, and it has a shape that is relatively easy to produce and leaves little to the imagination as to how it should be held and used. Thrusting isn't really the most natural thing people do when picking up something to defend or offend with, but swinging is pretty natural. Being light enough to be used in one hand means it doesn't deter people who might not have the confidence with a larger heavier weapon... Put simply, its the path of least resistance.

They're easy to use, wear and generally to make. They work well in close quarters without being seriously disadvantaged when you have reach. And as a general rule they can attack in any way adequately. The ultimate compromise design.

I think the reason why people instinctively cut instead of stab is, because there is a much large margin of error since the cut covers a larger area, while the stab has to be more precise.

They're also long enough for single chops to inflict grievous, even dismembering blows. Good point on the tool analogy. Stabbing is strictly a method for hunting or interpersonal social conflict resolution.

@InSanic13

Жыл бұрын

"Interpersonal social conflict resolution" is an interesting euphemism for murder...

Being easy to carry and intuitive to use are probably the most important factors for a selfdefence/backup weapon, since you need to be able to do your chores without your sword getting in the way and when you're being attacked and under stress you probably want something that doesn't require a lot of technique. You said yourself in your Krieger Messer unboxing, that it just feels right. Also having a free hand can be really helpful. Will there be a follow up video on the Krieger Messer? It looks really awesome, but yours was the only video i could find on it.

@gustavchambert7072

Жыл бұрын

I think another important factor is probably metallurgy and materials economy. Blades of that size have been around since the iron age, because they don't require very advanced metallurgy to manufacture. This means that you can knock out a weapon of acceptable quality and durability, even with relatively primitive tools and materials. Meaning it can be manufactured by a country blacksmith working with bloomery smelted iron. This means that this type of weapon will be easily available to levies who have to supply their own gear, but it can also be easily and cheaply mass-manufactured if necessary. Any kind of longer or more specialized blade, by contrast, will require a higher quality steel and a more specialized craftsman, making it both more expensive and less accessible to the common man/soldier. When you add this to the factors of ease of wear and general practicality you mentioned, it becomes kind of the perfect storm of sword design.

@catocall7323

Жыл бұрын

George Silver also mentions that there a problem with complex hilts was that people would often fumble about grabbing it under threat and end up not being able to deploy it in time. And... Matt mentions this in the video! Of course he does.

I don’t know whether this has been mentioned already, but I believe that a chopper can be used as a tool, in an emergency. And a short chopper is always with you. With a specialized weapon, one may not be able to cut wood, clear foliage or build an improvised shelter.

@georgeashwell2396

Жыл бұрын

This is how the cutlass evolved into the machete!

@Dartharus

Жыл бұрын

Yup was a problem during the English civil war, General Monck recommend equipping troops with stabby Tucks rather than hangers for that very reason, though he saw this as a bad thing "and a good stiff Tuck, not very long, with a Belt: for if you arm your men with Swords, half the Swords you have in your Army amongst your common men, will upon the first March you make be broken with the cutting of Boughs."

I really appreciate the cross cultural comparisons and highlighting of swords we don’t often see much of. And if I can say for myself the yatagan the Turkish forward sweet sword just looks so cool and it has an interesting bone looking hilt to it as well.

Choppy short swords come in very diverse shapes.

An interesting thought in regards to hand protection, the simplest designs usually allow for the simplest sheathing options, a wealthy person who is going to have a shield, maille, and maybe even gauntlets anyway might like the idea of something like the seax of beagnoth or a dussack type saber where the tang is curled into a knuckle bow. Then you can have a nice handy weapon with a highly decorative "knife cozy" style sheath which you can draw from without much deliberate thought. From the commoners perspective, the less decorative versions of the weapon and sheath will be more affordable than a basic Messer or Arming Sword. And having either repaired would be less dramatic as well.

You know what you're talking about. "I don't want to meet you; in a dark alley!"⚔️

In either a civilian or military context, the VAST majority of your time is spent doing things aside from combat. Handy, easy and convenient can't be understated.

Long handles on short swords also gives extra reach if you grip it lower, making it more versatile. Grip it close to the guard indoors when space is limited and lower outdoors to get more reach.

Like you said this style sword is ideal for infantry, munitions, and constabulary type roles where you need to arm a large number of relatively untrained people. Small size and single edge makes it easy to make of cheap materials and easy to use effectively with little training. Hence the large number of examples from all over the world. Great video!

I love how they feel in the hand it just feels right

man, after years of seeing your channel ialways reassure that for martial artist you are a formal source of great information. thenk you

Love the Soundgarden T Matt !!! Grunge + sword talk = badass

The distance thing resonates with me. In a world where massed ranks of lightly armoured spearmen are common, it makes better strategic sense to have a longer, or a much shorter range. A short, medium blade makes it easier to parry and grab a spear point and then move into a very difficult range for a spearman - particularly if they are massed.

I believe choppy swords are also more utilitarian, like the seax or the kukri

@rikospostmodernlife

Жыл бұрын

Or the miriad of machete-swords from the Indonesia-Filipinas-etc region

@rikospostmodernlife

Жыл бұрын

@@BrianSmith-ql5nj the gladius is the archetypal stabbing weapon

I've always said my favourite sword for everyday carry, if such a thing were done nowadays, would be a cutlass. Something with decent hand protection so you can use it more effectively for defence, and short enough to wear without excessive fuss and use easily indoors or in a narrow alley.

Love the Sound garden shirt .

1st, great idea for a vid Matt! Easy of carry, instinctual use (for the inexperienced), a certain amount of safety/increased force applicability (due to the unsharpened back) and utilitarian too...the "choppy shortsword" is definitely an ubiquitous standard! Look at the machete for a more modern example. Also, dope shirt!

Matt, you should interview or do a video with our mutual friend James Elmslie and his study of the Falchion.

Choppy boy is my weapon of choice for everyday shtf scenarios. There are more expensive ones I like better, but I have a Cold Steel Frontier Bowie and I love it. I even love the big square handle, I thought I'd hate it because I have medium, not very fleshy hands, but it actually fits my hand perfectly. I would love an antique Bowie.

I love this channel even more now that I see Matt in a soundgarden shirt

As a veteran and military history buff, I believe that the chopping sword has the added benefit of being used a general purpose tool (survival knife use, machete, etc)

I think its probably no mistake that hand protection and heavy blades are common to colder climates where thrust work was more important to get though clothes, while cutting with no hand protection was emphasized in climates where people wore light clothing.

I think you hit the proverbial nail on the short sword head in my opinion... Great video btw!

I love it when you produce a lot of content.

It appears that each of the swords shown has a blade that is roughly the same length as the user's arm, give or take a few finger breadths. It would seem that an arm's length is the ideal size of weapon for most people to wield. Any longer blade would require training for balanced stances in fighting and any shorter would require the user to come too close to his opponent to safely disengage and avoid thrusts and swings.

@mr.spider6859

Жыл бұрын

Interesting point.

You´ve got a point there. I bought an antique sword of this kind which was claimed to be a "hirschfänger" just because it´s short an choppy. Experiencing it in ones hands gives away that it was balanced for fencing and not just hunting. Auction houses should be more aware of looking for the mechanical behaviour than just the look of the sword. That is (should be) their job.

Matt Easton you putting in the work! Love your videos

Very interesting and informative content. Appreciate it very much!

Great video Matt!

strongly agree and these are some of my favorite sword types

Thanks for this interesting video!

Just found your channel and my god it is some of the best content on this website. Keep it up!

Great shirt! And awesome video as always!

thank you for what you do in educating us and the world about the sort of history I wish I learnt at school and you reticulate it and communicate it so well. thank you

Thank you for another great video, Matt! I'm a bit late for this, but I've been thinking about the sheer usefulness of shorter swords a bit lately and I really enjoyed this video. 🙂

I always come back to this video, it's so interesting on so many levels. Short choppy sword is by far my favorite type of sword and I love seeing all the examples you show us

So cool! Loved to watch the movement of the blade.

The tool aspect is important. Clearing a path, camp sight or making shelter and defenses can all be accomplished in a pinch with a short choppy sword.

Thank you for this. I was just having this conversation with myself in a somewhat less educated manner about shorter single edged swords for a writing project I am doing. This helps!

Easy to manufacture, easy to learn, works well in a sword+shield combination.

It's interesting, you talk about how wearing one of these short choppers becomes a background thing after you wear it for a while and it just doesn't really get in the way. The same goes for tools. When I was still working as a new construction and finish Electrician I would strap on my tool belt and go about my day without thinking about where my framing hammer was or if my measuring tape was sticking out too far, you just become subconsciously aware of where your tools are and learn how to move so that they do not catch on things. Thinking back, I realize that while working as a mechanic and carrying an M16 in the army worked the same way. Your issued rifle is just slung on your back and out of the way while you go about your duties. Sure you have to take it off and put it back on when entering and exiting vehicles, but even when sitting it becomes 2nd nature to just shift your weapon so it's not in the way. It's even less noticeable for a pistol, I naturally tuck or shift or slide the holster in situation where I have learned it might snag or catch, but it becomes second nature and I only notice it.

1:35 "cultures that have had specialized swords often come back to the good old chopper" holds for old school runescape's rune scimmy

Everyone loves a good choppa.

Came for the swords, stayed for the Soundgarden T-shirt.

Always loved the badass style of the katzbalger.

Even in the 18th century we see a lot of infantry swords like the briquette sabre that would fit this classification.

This is an awesome topic. I think a video exploring why arming swords were so dominant for so long would also be interesting.

This was great. I've always been a fan of the shorter swords. Thanks!

One point that marries well with yours (and many other comments) is that so many people throughout history have used single bladed knives in their everyday lives. Since there's no magic line between knife and sword (one reason I like the simple dao/jian terminology), it makes sense that people liked longer and longer blades, until any longer gets cumbersome, and they just took blades they already loved, and asked the blacksmith for one like that, but longer. Yes, other features tend to get added to them beyond what knives have, but from what I've seen (I'm not an expert), those usually get added to long blades that first evolved from the knives of the area.

This is a great overview and a wonderful collection of swords to look at! It’s always interesting to think of how some ideas are wide spread or near “universal” across large swaths of history. If we look back to the Bronze Age, while there are occasionally choppy swords, there are huge stretches where you find “clustering” of consanguinity in size and design philosophy for swords in nearly every bronze aged culture. How much is due to cultural exchange and how much are Elvis Taxa requires a little bit of nuance to ferret out. So too with the single edge blades come the time of the steel age: I recently did a study just looking at curved “Sabres” across cultures that were around 28 inches in blade length and it was amazing to me how those parameters allowed nearly every culture to have some type of “choppy” sword represented, using their own local design!

also, the khyber knife is an EXCELLENT example too

As someone who was a teen in the late 80s/early 90s..... loving the t-shirt.

In the fading last millennium i bought several tools on a farmer's market in northern Thailand that served as presents for my knife- and sword collecting friends. They all thought i had brought combat swords....👍

Great breakdown 🙂 As much as I love swords I really only started using them about 5 years ago when I moved from Jujutsu which I'd been doing for decades with knives and staves to HEMA, so the variety of weapons you use from so many different cultures always makes you the best watch 🙂 The way you've explained our natural impulse when we pick up a weapon really shows how fundamentally training changes us, my teacher used to say we all have a 1st response we can't help and mine's either a thrust to make space, get a little more control of the fight or a grapple if they're already passed the point 🤔

In my area I’m allowed to wear whatever blade I see fit and I also like to carry a choppy short sword. It’s convenient quick to draw easy to use for someone who doesn’t have access to fencing classes like myself and I can use it as a backyard tool. I also like to take it camping and rafting, but I’m also not opposed to taking it on bike rides or to the local café.

Don’t forget the guard can also serve to keep the hand from slipping onto the blade when thrusting or stabbing.

I also figure that a shorter, single edged, broader blade is easier to produce. The combination of required steel quality, ease of shaping, and level of precision in heat treatment are all preferential to that type of blade. More craftsmen are going to be able to produce them, so they are more common.

My favorite are the Chinese Butterfly Swords - usually used in pairs.

I would love to see a video on the evolution of the hanger. It's always been my favorite sword type

User friendly across all skill levels for general public safety. I'd love to see a modern TV sales advert for the short sward. That or like the 80s TV American TV sale shows. That would be a laugh.

I remember messing around with sticks in the forest as a kid, and the size of the stick that I would normally choose would be about that length. It just felt right somehow.

It must be said that Matt's T-Shirt collection is top notch, utterly fantastic. Not only are they all excellent, you never (or rarely?) see the same one twice & there seems to be little in the way of theming except that theyre all great!

Enjoyed that

This is true of modern handguns and combat rifles, too. Using two rifles for comparison, my Savage MSR-15 vs. my WASR-10. They both have a just over 16" barrel, a pistol grip, a detachable box magazine with a standard capacity of 30 rounds, are semi-auto (but would be full auto capable if they were their military counterparts), have sling mounts, a way to shorten them for travel, a place to mount optics, fire intermediate calibers, and the list of similarities goes on. One was developed and manufactured in the US, the other was developed in the Soviet Union and manufactured in Romania. The list of differences may be longer than the list of similarities, but there are universal constants of the human body that transcend cultures, ideologies, military doctrines, and so on that result in parallel development of similar tools to accomplish similar purposes.

That dussack is beautiful man

Maestro Matt, from somebody from the Philippines, THANK YOU SO MUCH for featuring the Barong! I was also wondering if you could also feature the Bolo & the Kampilan, as well! By the way, as to why predominantly short weapons are used, I can only speak from experience here in the Philippines but I personally believe it's the lack of metals. What I mean by that is it takes more metal to make a long sword than a short sword, especially here in pre-Hispanic Philippines where mining isn't exactly common hence the frequent raids on china for metal! Or, at least, that's what I believe. That & the compact size of a short sword makes it a joy to wear, along with all the other reasons you just mentioned. By the way, the Turkish Yataghan, to me at least, resembles the early Greek Kopis or Machaera but that's just me. Still, THANK YOU SO MUCH for this WONDERFUL video, Maestro! May you make more like this in the future! May you & yours stay safe & healthy! Take care!

Good video ⚔️

Enjoyed the video! Learned a lot! One other thing that came to me about the ‘why,’ is because the shorter swords were easier to conceal. Obviously, not everyone was trying to conceal them but the shorter swords were easier to keep “out of sight, out of mind” compared to long swords. Keeps one’s appearance more civilian and less threatening but yet had enough sword to defend.

Hey Matt, great video! I wanted to make a quick comment regarding your point about the purpose of the discguard in Japanese fencing systems. I study both HEMA and a Japanese koryu (classical samurai art), and I have found that a properly sized disc guard (which is relatively large), is very useful for defending your hand when you are doing deflections with the spine of the blade. The system I study does not canonically feature much binding and winding, and no real blocks (although it is understood that you do what you must in a fight), but rather all the defensive actions are done with the spine, flat, and yes occasionally the edge at the base of the blade. For all those things, having the additional knuckle protection is very welcome.

really great examination i think the use of the shield wall also led to the need for weapons like the gladius or seax

Hi Matt. Great Shirt

I own a gerber machete. I could use a pruner to trim my garden, but the gerber makes me happy somehow

This is very interesting.

Thanks mate great content and agree with a lot of it. Fundamentally this design is based on practical reasons

This is my favorite size and style of sword. Relatively simple in design, no nonsense, practical and easy to carry. I'd love to find out more info about the messer, hanger and dussack shown. Those are just some absolutely beautiful weapons. I think my favorite of the three is the hanger. One thing I really like about it is how the knuckle bow curves back and meets the pommel. Good reinforcement there to absorb the shock from taking blows there. I wonder how similar the styles for use of those weapons are and how they differ. Just from the style of sword you can tell there'd be a lot of similarities.

Thank you.

Weapons/tools with similar jobs are going to look similar. Case in point - the Gerber Machete Jr. and Camillus Carnivore X - similar overall length, blade length, good cutting capacity for both, decent saws - like the one on the X a bit better myself - but the X has a few extras that might make it more versatile, like a trimming knife.

I really enjoyed this video. Thanks. I think the yatagan is a pretty sweet sword.