Very clanky sword you've got there.

@Sugardaddy501

8 жыл бұрын

+ARR0WMANC3R It is a wall hanger; display swords tend to be poorly built.

It would be better just to throw the pommel and end him rightly.

@Fedorchik1536

8 жыл бұрын

+the internet This was old years ago. Don't be a necromancer.

@THEcommandingANT

8 жыл бұрын

+Nick Fedorov nothing ever leaves the Internet . . . nothing

@fuzzydunlop7928

7 жыл бұрын

Knew this would be the first comment I'd see for this video. Was not disappointed.

These illustrations are often a bit tricky to interpret. The armoured guy in it might be half-swording for defencive reasons. He can't evade the incoming murder-stroke by stepping (he would leave the ring), so he must use his sword to defend against it. Generally: If space is an issue, even armoured fighters might be better off half-swording; reducing your range is better than hitting a wall every time you swing your weapon. the armoured guy in the illustration could be preparing to raise his half-sworded sword above his head to catch his opponent's incoming blow. The way he is holding the sword he can absorb a much more powerful blow than he could if he used the standard grip - provided the sword doesn't break. And if he manages to catch the opponent's cross-guard with his blade he could pull the sword out of his hand, cutting them in the process. And an unarmoured opponent with bleeding hand and no weapon of course isn't much of an opponent. But that's of course be a very specific situation. If evading enemy blows is an option you're right about standard grip being superior because it provides more options.

So glad you addressed this...totally asked about this on the half-swording explanation video 2 minutes ago...

In principle, I agree with everything that you said. HOWEVER, I would like to point out that there is one advantage that half-swording while armored against an unarmored foe might give you, and that is that it allows you to get in much closer (to grappling range really) while still being able to use your sword. The advantage of this is two-fold. First, he doesn't have the space to build up power for the murderstroke. You need a pretty long wind-up for that and the longer you can make the lever, the more effective it can be, so it really reduces the danger of that attack. Second, while half-swording increases your control of your sword, if you are really close enough, it still becomes very difficult to aim for very small targets, like the gaps in armor. But you still have an entire body in which to aim. So that also gives another advantage of being in such close range. I'm not saying it's the right choice. I agree with you that it would be much simpler to just use regular cuts from distance. I'm just saying that there could be SOME advantage, theoretically, to halfswording while in armor against a non-armored foe. What if both you and your foe and unarmored? I know that there are some techniques where you counter an Oberhau by grabbing the blade of the sword and blocking a strike like your longsword is a quarterstaff, then twisting the sword so that the point is aimed at your foe's face.

@metatronyt

8 жыл бұрын

+Kyle Flanagan Very good points thank you for sharing :)

@DeusEx1977

8 жыл бұрын

I agree wholeheartedly with Kyle. I have a bit of HEMA experience and I have transitioned into a halfsword style grip in several occasions to bridge a distance gap, maintain leverage and bring my point on target. The icepick grip, in addition to providing more penetrating power, also appears to have a more secure grip, making it useful in leverage based disarms and locks.

@chihuanglin

8 жыл бұрын

+Kyle Flanagan But human skin is very thin and soft, your opponent could just pull his blade and cut through your flesh without swinging his sword. He could also strike your naked face with his steel helmet or other body part that covered in hard matal if his sword doesn't has very sharp edge. So I think a closer distance will actually be a disadvantage for you in this situation.

@kyleflanagan963

8 жыл бұрын

+Raven Chynce You do realize that in my scenario, YOU have armor and your opponent does NOT. What you said totally agrees with what my point is, that being in very close when you have armor and your opponent does not would be a good idea.

@chihuanglin

8 жыл бұрын

+Kyle Flanagan Looks like I didn't read your comment carefully. Sorry for that.

Your videos make my day, keep up the good work

Subconsciously I've been asking this question all along. Thanks for the perspective!

I like the information about knife wielding at the end very much.

Hey Metatron, I am watchin your channel since a few days ago and i have to say i love it! Well made videos and interesting topics :) But could you make more videos about japan history ? For example about the sengoku jidai period? Im thinking about Oda Nobunaga etc . Would be greatly appreciated , at least from me :) Greetings !

Great choice of topic! Take a look at Gloss 71 in Ringeck's Longsword treatise. Tried it out against one of my club mates and it gives you leverage to easily push past a quick parry. So maybe we can think of the half-sword in unarmored fighting as a more fluid position that can give you a momentary advantage. Thanks for the video!

We were practicing in our HEMA group some technics from Codex Wallerstein, were we enter in half-swording as a response for a strong-strong bind. This is a wrestling technic, we were trying to unbalance and/or disarm the opponent, but this still a valid use of half-swording in unarmored fighting. Look at folia 9v, 10v and 13v in the Codex Wallerstein for some examples: wiktenauer.com/wiki/Codex_Wallerstein_(Cod.I.6.4%C2%BA.2)

I love your videos Metatron. As you know fighting in full harness is more difficult then fighting in blossfechten (ie) more constrictive, more tiring, much hotter which leads to quicker dehydration. Halfswording in full plate while fighting your opponents in blossfechten is a good tactic to use, for you have more protection in your guards while halfswording, plus it allows you to breach the distance of your enemy's and get within grappling and hand striking range (they will have the advantage of speed, balance, energy and mobility, to be able to control the distance and tempo of the fight) If you pile into them in a halfswording guard you will have more protection of your head and you can still change grips and tactics. Its best learned through experience so I suggest that you adorn your full harness and spar with a friend who only has a sword in the Mordhau position, have him strike with full intent to your head, and you use a combination of halswording guards and ox, boars tooth exe you will quickly find that blocking a Mordhau in anything other then halfswording is risky at best, this is why we see this image in many of the treatises. Blocking any #1 or #2 strike when the aggressor is using a heavy club type weapon, ( Mordhau with a sword) is difficult to do in any guard other then halfswording. I hope you give it a try and please keep up the wonderful videos friend.

I agree with your view on the icepick grip Metatron, and I would like to add something to your point. The icepick grip can cover most of the angles a normal grip can, but I think the biggest disadvantage is less flexibility in terms of reach. You can cut and stab with both the normal grip and icepick grip, but you need to be (a lot) closer with the latter to pull it off. The normal grip on the other hand, allows close range cuts and thrusts, but it also allow those attacks from a greater distance than an icepick grip.

Hey Methadron, I completely agree with all of your points - save one: While I agree that a lot of the time two people half-swording were depicted unarmoured to show a practice-situation, I can say from personal experience, that you still need half-sword-techniques in an unarmoured fight. Sometimes you cannot get through your oponent's defence with stabs and cuts from normal distance, or you both decide to advance at excactly the same time. In both instances, you will find yourself at half-swording distance, most of the time right before the fight changes into a grappling-match altogether. So, would I chose to go into an unarmoured duel half-swording? No. Still, the chances of me needing to half-sword during the fight are anything other than low. Thanks for a year of great videos and buon natale!

I saw a video showing two guys fencing, one in full plate armour and the other unarmored, so the last one was half-swording. In a point during the fight, the unarmored one smashed his sword's grip in the top of the head of his enemy, and the poor guy falls in the ground completely seek, he was wearing a steel medieval helmet.

I have a couple of comments. First, there is strong evidence that the picture you showed from Talhoffer which showed an unarmored fighter against an armored fighter is supposed to be two fighters in armor, and the artist for whatever reason didn't draw the armor. This is because in subsequent plates, the fighters don't wear armor, but they continue to do armored techniques. Second, you are missing one major advantage of half swording while both fighters are unarmored, which is strength in the bind. If you come to a bind and you manage to get to half sword and your opponent doesn't, then you pretty much win. There's no way to gain leverage in the bind against someone in half sword because holding the blade with your hand pretty much eliminates the weak of your blade and makes it all strong. There are some techniques from Ringeck that use half swording in the bind, some from Codex Wallerstein, and Paurñfeyndt has a section on fighting from half sword without armor, off the top of my head.

my interpretation of some fiore plates is that in an unarmoured duel, half swording can be used in the bind to get more leverage

Have you ever done a video about knives' grips? I'm quite interested in that.

It depends on what period the armor youre talking about is from. In Fiore's Flower of Battle he depicts both hands on the grip of a sword in armored combat. Fiore was a fencing master in the late 14th when armor was slightly less developed, but we see two both hands on the grip in later 15th century German manuals addressing armored combat. I would aim to use that reach advantage and try to put a thrust into a gap in his armor from the long-sword and if my initial attack fails me close in to the the short-sword and grappling. In the medieval world you would almost always would have a knife or dagger, so using the sword to close and grapple and use the dagger would be a good plan. You also seem to be having trouble with your range of motion with the inverted grip with the dagger. You have to remember medieval martial arts use mostly passing footwork, so to extend your range of motion when striking from the left to the right with an inverted grip on your dagger, you should have the left foot forwards. That way you can strike all seven of the openings as prescribed by Fiore.

I agree with you about the knife-fighting, but there martial arts that favor the icepick grip even in unarmored combat e.g. escrima. They use it for blocking with the forearm and for some sort of grabling moves. Also, about wound treatment: the worst types of complications were stabwounds, infection and tiny bonefragments causing inflamation. The latter could come from a mace just as well as from a swordcut. Speaking of cuts: heavy bleading reduces the risk of inflamations and intoxications.

Just a point about knife - you don't have to just stab in hammer grip with a point pointing down to ground. You can also cut with such grip. Try to keep your blade closer to your forearm than yours 90° (make something a little bit more similiar to something like reversed sabre grip maybe?) and by that way you can simply make cuts from your right hip to enemy's right arm or right side of neck. Its actually very good technique, because you don't have to aim at central parts of body, which means its a lot hard for oponnent to for instance grapple your arm or disarm you.

Great video

@metatronyt

8 жыл бұрын

Thanks Roy

Looking t the example you posted, the armoured man is half swording to block the murder stroke, he needs both hands to make sure that his sword it not pushed way when he blocks.

Regarding the image from Talhoffer's treatise-it's generally understood that the people there were actually assumed to be armored since it's an image from within a sequence where in the other images the person on the right is also wearing armor. That being said I think there's also the fact that a murderstroke is called a murderstroke for a reason. And using a standard block isn't necessarily viable with a standard grip(it could be too weak to really stop the blow). And using an evasion might work but is generally a bit more difficult to do in armor then out of armor even if you are well trained. So using a halfsword grip can be useful even when you are wearing armor and the opponent isn't due to gaining the ability to block even stronger strikes using such a grip. I do agree that there are definitely reasons to use a murderstroke or a halfsword grip when facing armored opponents even if you are unarmored specifically due to either a lack of a better suited weapon than a (long)sword or just because it gives you a better chance of actually stopping the opponent than if you were to use a standard grip.

the thing is that in the page of te treatise you show they are actually in an arena, a closed "ring" to called it in modern terms, that wouldnt haloen often in Battle

I would think the only reason to half-sword against an unarmored opponent is if you wanted to apply some less-than lethal techniques such as going for a joint lock or throw to subdue. Great video.

@venator5

6 жыл бұрын

ryanricks It is actually makes sense since they also had disarm tecniques with the murder stroke.

8:42 could the half-swording shown just be in order to give more support to block the strike? Perhaps the armored fighter could do that and hook the front of the guard out of the attackers grasp. Just speculation though.

Metatron, would you think about making a video about warpicks? I never see any weapon youtubers bring them up, really.

Hey metatron, how effective are axes in combat and what techniques were used with them?

I've seen some test on the internet that showed that cutting with knife is really inefficient even vs normal clothes. This is why most "internet martial artists" suggest that knife is piercing-only weapon, especially versus trained opponent.

So good videos

you would go for the hammer/mace over a sword. However, would they be effective against a sword if you didnt have a shield or armor? I feel like too much would count upon parrying the sword's first strike and rushing the opponent. If you had time, I assume you'd be able to grab a shield along with a mace though, and that would change a lot of the outcomes.

Plate armor is pretty good at stopping blunt force maces and warhammers was used a lot when mail was used but you could do a lot of damage with a mace or a warhammer vs plate of course

Nice video, many points I agree on and a good aproach at this topic, I missed videos like this when I was doing mine. Could it be that my video was actually one of the ones you said you watched about the topic? Would be fitting regarding that you commented at my channel yesterday. ;) I agree that half-swording in a confined place, like in your scneario at the beginning, can be a good idea, however I still worried about the rist of injury. Of course in your specific scenario I would still do it because it is an emergency and the risk I put myself to is worth the possible gain (rescuing loved ones and my own life). But I would still going with hard strikes against the head, when I face an armoured enemy in a wide area and I have to fight him (like a juridical duel or something), because through the impact the head will still move and force will also applied on the brain (which then will move) so that it can clash against the inside of the skull to cause damage their or to cause dizziness so I can go for the kill or something. If I don't have to fight him I would flee (all with the premise I have only a sword as weapon available, you stated good points which weapons to choose if possible).

@metatronyt

8 жыл бұрын

+Clausewitz MTH Whenever I make a video it's my custom to watch other videos on that topic to make sure I am not repeating the same things and also to see if there are other points on that matter I might have missed out, it's just my practice, I do it all the time ;) so I found your channel because of that, as after watching Skallagrim I wanted to see if someone else had touched on the same topic. Thank you for the comment, very nice points you bring up.

... I love what is perceived as a realistic scenario ...

Interesting video, i thing for the kinfe both grip are good, because you don't gain mush distance with de more "standard one" and knife are most close combat weapons, you can also make quick injuries with the revers grip and better penetration, but for cutting the standard is maybe more agile... I thing it depend of your style. however, i'm not an expert, it's juste my point of vieuw. i realy like your videos, very well made and documentated.

Shouldn't this be titled "Would you use it if your opponent wasn't wearing armour?" That would seem to me to be the critical question.

@Philoglossos

8 жыл бұрын

+Wreqt The answer to that is yes, but only when closing after entering the bind. You would never enter while half swording if you aren't wearing armor.

interesting. this is like pinch harmonics in guitar hehe. hey metatron would you consider making some videos to introduce people into HEMA? that would be really good

I believe a situation where an unarmored person would use half swording techniques is if they are in an enclosed space where they couldn't easily fully swing their sword like in a small hallway or doorway.

it would be much easier to throw your pommel at the armored knight then do the half swording to end him rightly.. :)

@ilikewasabe

8 жыл бұрын

+ilikewasabe although if its was MY castle my bedchamber would have torches shaped like saurons mace

Metatron, do you know about Skallagrim? He made a video about half-swording as well.

How about sabres? I could imagine pressing against the blunt side, if I am too close to make an effective swing.

correct me if im mistaken but couldnt you use half swording against an opponent whos not wearing armor if he gets too close and prevents you from giving him a solid swing? i know theres also half swording techniques that lead to disarming and take downs as well

There are plenty of depictions of unarmored halfswording, however they mostly include transitional movements between strikes and parries, meaning that you do not start with halfswording, but you switch to it if the enemy closes in; celticbritain.net/tweehandig16.JPG celticbritain.net/tweehandig10.JPG celticbritain.net/tweehandig24.jpg celticbritain.net/tweehandig20.jpg

Murder blows are fine, but not too practical if you're fighting inside or in close quarters. Half swording turns the longsword into something akin to a dagger, and there are times a dagger is best. That applies with or without armor. In our practice we try to flow in and out of half sword as needed, esp. when it comes to ringen where it has distinct leveraging advantages

When you talk about going for a murder stroke when unarmored and against an armored opponent. If your opponent actually fights, basically you're dead first. The ennemy just has to thrust his blade forward in your face with a sidestep. The murder stroke provides absolutely no protection to you, compared to a regular guard position. Murder stroke functions very well, once you have the advantage, but not at all as a first strike. In reality, fights are messy. Switching from regular guard to halfswording (with the according fighting distance) is really about imposing the kind of mess you want. If you manage to get there when your opponnent doesn't expect it, you get an edge because your blade is still a menace and you're past the point where his blade is a real menace ... until he gets into halfswording too.

Just a random thought as someone who only practices unarmored longsword fighting: Halfswording may not be ideal for an armoured knight against unarmored opponents, but it might have its advantages for fighting in armour. Particularly because the biodynamics of halfswording are simple and require little freedom of motion other then in the arms. You can easilly do a lot of halfswording / pommelstriking techniques while never moving anything but your arms. It is my understanding from some demonstrations that it makes sense to always keep one specific shoulder and leg forward while in full plate armour. In medieval longsword this would be the left shoulder and leg. Perhaps this also depends on the type of armor, but from what i've seen it can be quite hard to switch sides due to the cuirrass restricting the waist. I'd love to hear the oppinion on this from someone actually experienced with wearing armour though :)

Yes. I couldn't beat him/em without it. Binden, Schnappen, Halb Schwert, Mordschlag on the other side, Ringen, Finish / Spring away. See Talhoffer.

I interpret it differently. I think that "murder blows" and "half swording" are indications of important tactical concepts and not just isolated techniques. I get the sense that the longsword can sometimes behave like we expect a one-handed sword to behave but other times it behaves more like a short polearm. This could be useful both in and out of armor, as depicted, and is consistent across a variety of sources.

The sword is a big iron bar that is better balanced for swinging blade end first. You would probably have a much better grip and speed if you held it by the proper end. Not to mention reach.

That is a nice blunt sword you got there mate :]

If you're out of armour and your armoured opponent knows you're coming, would you still pick a mace or warhammer? Clearly they offer offensive benefits but they're much worse for defending yourself, which is imperative if you don't have armour or a shield.

@discochoir

8 жыл бұрын

This was my thought as well.

@blackdeath4eternity

8 жыл бұрын

+Robert R no armour + no shield = not unless there's nothing else , no armour with shield= why not?

The welshmen use the pickaxe

In a battle what would be the percentage of people using full armor?I wonder this because if the warhammer is the most effective weapon against armored enemies why they used swords? nice videos thanks for the content

@Goldenleyend

7 жыл бұрын

MrHupo Actually swords where more of a secondary weapon in battles. Well its been a year since you left this comment and you probably already found out, but it makes me feel smart :-)

Underhand knifegrip gives you extra reach compared to icepick. Just try it out in detail against another knife-armed opponent. The edge and point of the underhandgrip knife reach the opponents knifehand or knife arm before the icepick grip does.Maybe the icepick grip is still superior if used with mad dash, absorbing the opponents underhand cuts and go full caveman on the opponent with icepick. 20 strong stabs vs 5 weak cuts might end his ability to do you more harm?

You are right kind of, Halfswording is meant as a means of fighting in armour though the sword used tend to be designed specifically for harness fighting they are heavier somtimes with no real cutting edges. Many of the techniques in Halfswording have a bit of a reliance on the armour itself it is essentially a form of wrestling with a spikey crowbar. Swords for fighting in your shirt have edges the point being to keep the fight at a distance so you can damage your opponent and stay away from him. Here is the thing Halfswording is actually a thing in fighting in civilian clothing there is a bit of trickle down from fighting in Harness. If the distance collapses you know longer have space to manoeuvre your sword you can then grip your sword by the blade in a the halfsword position in a shit I'm in trouble kind of way. Not somthing you'd want to do as a matter of course when you find yourself in that position you want to end the fight or get back to range. Oh the dagger thing. Dagger is your primary civilian defence. Fights tend to happen at close range try drawing a longsword in a crowded room and swords were often illeagle to carry in town. So Why Hammer grip. medieval clothing is often layers of woo,l linen and silk if your rich enough slashing at it takes a bit of getting through for starters. Secondly the dagger is worn on the hip next to the strong hand (sword if it can be worn is on the weak side. The quickest way to deploy your dagger in a crowded bar is to grasp it and draw it straight up in one movement this action can be mistaken for somone charging a punch. In fact FBI figures show that most fatal knife attacks happen with this method.

@Ottuln

8 жыл бұрын

+samael71ful Where do you get the idea that swords for fighting in a harness don't have a cutting edge, or that they are heavier?

@samael71ful

8 жыл бұрын

+Wreqt seen and handled them certainly not all but many.

@Ottuln

8 жыл бұрын

samael71ful Actual historical pieces or modern recreations?

@samael71ful

8 жыл бұрын

+Wreqt originals. We're talking specifically about plate harness the swords became very specialised. Narrower edge to edge blades better suited to thrusting but thicker blades flat to flat that didn't take an edge so well (cutting is redundant) made gripping them easier and safer. stiffer less flexible again to optimise the thrust.

@Ottuln

8 жыл бұрын

samael71ful Cool, that is quite a special opportunity. Were they battlefield weapons, or dual specific? I would love to see them too; are they in a private collection, or at a museum?

Sorry for my ignorance but how would you avoid cutting your own hand when sliding the sword in doing half sword technique?

@aiquangat8620

5 жыл бұрын

kzread.info/dash/bejne/qKups7Kfpra5nNI.html

regarding axes Could one be effective against full plate? Either by penetration of the rear side or sheer blunt force?

@nystagmushorizontalis

8 жыл бұрын

+ClassicalMusic4Ever5 Axes because of their balance should be fine to create enough impact to inflict some blunt trauma. Although personaly I would stray away from any kind of penetration of the plate itself (it's very unlikely to it any gap with an axe) because it wont be deeo enough to deal sufficent damage and the axe would most probably got stuck rendering it useless.

@ClassicalMusic4Ever5

8 жыл бұрын

+Nystagmus Horizontalis that was my main concern, getting stuck and basically killing myself in the process

What about grappling using half swording

I think, half-swording is much more bound to the situation. You present it like to do or not to do. You miss the possibility of switching while fighting the same opponent. While he is far away: normal grip for advantage of distance. When he comes nearer: half-swording for more control. For example, two unarmoured persons, both use the normal grip, #1 attacks and steps forward while doing it, #2 deflects the blow but has his opponent right in the front, so he changes the grip to half-swording and uses the sword like a dagger, what he couldn't do, if he still has both hands at the grip. Half-swording is also useful in the fight against someone with a shorter sword + shield. Ok, it was sparing and historical inaccurate, but I learnt the advantage of half-swording because of the strength and control, while fighting against a viking. He ran into me with a raised sword and shield towards me. So I changed to half-swording, blocked his blow with the part of the sword between my hands and hit him in the back with the point, because I knew, I couldn't get much control if not binding his sword he elsewhere would hide behind his shield.

I think there are some cases when half swording unarmored vs unarmored or armor vs unarmored is usefull. But again Im not specialist and I dont if its still called halfswording :). 1. Un vs Un You have two handed sword and your enemy has one handed sword. He closed the gap. Then I think halfswording would be usefull to effectively fight in close range. Parring, beating aside the sword and immedietly counter attacking with pommel or even cutting with the tip or part of the blade beetwen your hands. Pushing gim back to gain distance. Ofcourse Murderstroke would not be wise on this case :). 2. Ar vs Un Again almost the same situation. He closed the gap, trying to do Murderstroke or maybe even tackle. Switching to halfswording would allow you to parry his strikes more easily, especially because you are armored, so you basically need to worry only about thrusts or Murderstroke. You can strike him with pommel (but not Murdestroke but more like with stave), cut him, thrust, push him back or even straight punch him. Against unarmored opponent, while you are wearing full plate armor, even simple punch is very dangerous weapon thanks to steel gauntlets. It would not kill him but it would most likely knock him out or atleast stun him. Even tackle in desperate situation is an option. When you thinks about it, its really scary how dangerous and fear inducing skilled knight in full plate armor can be :). Ofcourse starting the fight with halfswording and closing the gap yourself would be rather sutpid in these situations :D. Sorry for wall of text and bad englisch :)

Personally I think crushing someone's arm or leg with a mace is pretty damn incapacitating! Even more so if said mace has spikes (I forgot the proper term) that can cut. I do however agree with you entirely. In an unarmored duel, a sword is no doubt superior.

@aidansumner8364

6 жыл бұрын

If you struck an arm with a bludgeoning weapon, it's likely to painfully budge the arm to the side. Wouldn't really be a crushing blow. It's quite hard to damage something that is not held firmly into place. Also bludgeoning weapons have more limited reach then a sword does and a smaller area of damage within the weapon.

Remember to level the audio level between your intro and the rest of the video. To me it sounded a little bit loud. I'm sorry for being an ass. x_x'

is that a black prince sword? looks so beautiful..

@metatronyt

8 жыл бұрын

+Dimitri Balerinas It is, good spotting ;)

@starwolf2125

8 жыл бұрын

+Metatron outstanding details on it!

Spartans Vs Romans (in warfare), any chance?

You forgot to discuss half swording with the dagger :(

Hey do you watch Skallagrim videos. You and him have some great videos.

Metatron, your speculation that the guys in Talhoffer are supposed to be in armour is pretty widely believed in the HEMA community. The whole section is on armoured combat techniques, and the first few plates have both fencers wearing armour. Then you have a plate with one guy wearing armour, then you have neither wearing armour. My fencing coach, and a few others I've talked to, think that either the fencers got tired of wearing armour for the demonstration, or the artist got tired of drawing it, or both. I don't know if mordschlaging is the best way to use a longsword against a guy in armour. I should say however that in that situation none of your options are very good, and the mordschlag is certainly a legitimate tactic. I would personally try to bind the armoured opponent's weapon and go in for a sword taking. Then, assuming I wasn't killed in the attempt, I would try to get my point into his armpit before he could draw his dagger. Armour is OP in HEMA lol.

Did you consider it might have been a matter of honor or training? most of the illustrations you showed have the fighters in a ring of some sorts, there might be a matter of honor to use the same technique, a potentially nonlethal one, a matter of personal training with the majority trained to fight armored knights to just the rules. I mean, you might just be playing actual war thinking and tactics to what is either a contest, a duel or a trial. Killing the opponent might not be the desired outcome.

the blade isn't the only thing you can use to kill with a sword.

Who would win: a knight in full plate mail with nothing but a dagger, or an unarmored opponent with a different weapon, say a longsword. They are both experienced with their equipment and well trained.

@aidansumner8364

6 жыл бұрын

The "knight" (not all plate armour is for knights) with the dagger would likely be able to win with his options with using his armour as a shield and redirecting sword blows to his armour and surpassing the reach of the sword. If the opponent with the sword goes into half swording, the intention of half swording is to replicate the swords use into that of a dagger, so reach would not make too big of a difference. Even if your opponent goes for a murder stroke, 1 murder stroke is likely not enough to put down a man in full plate armour so the man in full plate armour could just go full aggressive and charge the enemy for a stab, with the change to ignore the first blow. Just an extra note, it's not "platemail." Mail is a type of armour that is constructed of riveted rings. That also means that "chainmail" is not a historical term either. I wish games were not so irritatingly misleading.

I would say you look like a wannabe or a nerd... but with the hair, you just look awesome

If I weren't wearing armor? bruh no I'd run

When you get a haircut can you do a video on it? :3 I am really interested in watching... (Don't ask why, i'm not weird)

@metatronyt

8 жыл бұрын

+Dartfish ahah I don't think I will get a hair cut untill I have hair, that's the plan. If my hair starts to get too thin then I will cut it, but I think I might last a few years before that happens ;)

Fiore does. I appear to come from the right, but I enter on the left To give you this thrust with great pain and harm; I make myself called Deceitful Thrust by name; And I am so cruel as I exchange the point of the sword. This play is called 'False Thrust' (punta falsa) and 'Short Thrust' (punta curta), and I will tell you how I do it. I pretend to come with a great force to injure the player with a mezano blow in his head, and immediately when he does the cover, I strike his sword lightly. And immediately turn (volto) my sword on the other side, grabbing my sword almost in the middle with my left hand, and immediately I put the point/thrust in his throat or chest. And this play is better in armour than without. wiktenauer.com/images/9/9e/Pisani-Dossi_MS_20v-c.jpg from Wiktenauer, also in the Stretto Plays Fiore does a lot of grabbing around the opponent on his own blade wiktenauer.com/images/6/62/MS_Ludwig_XV_13_28v-a.jpg

Metatron, I usually like your content, but I have some major disagreements with this video. Firstly, you're leaving out a major factor to half swording which is speed. Since you're in essence subtracting "x" amount of length and weight from your sword by using a secondary hand on the blade, it allows you to stab far more quickly than a standard position/stance. Secondly, there is the factor of unpredictability. Personally, I have used half swording while sparring quite a few times (unarmored vs unarmored) and what I do rather than just holding the sword still is rotate the sword's blade in tight circles with the hand that's holding the blade; at any given point in time I can both change the rotation of the blade and the angle of the blade making it hard to predict what direction the blade will be coming from... now combine that with the improved speed and it's pretty effective if I do say so myself. Not to mention me rotating my blade is very distracting to my opponents. Thirdly, I feel as though the concepts of "in-fighting" and "out-fighting" should be addressed. These concepts are probably most known in the world of boxing, but often times it is better to in-fight (fight within close proximity; requires more power) than it is to out-fight (fighting with a reasonable amount of distance from your opponent; requires more dancing aka foot work and stamina) . I feel as though you really over look both the advantages of half swording and in-fighting; even though often times it is better to rush your opponent with a shorter blade to extort an opening than it is to strike at them from a distance. P.S. When I say rotating the blade I mean in clockwise and counter clockwise fashions much like you'd turn a crank.

@metatronyt

8 жыл бұрын

+albinotatertot I understand your point and appreciate the comment but I think it might have to do with fighting tactics. I think the most important and essential part in a sword fight is hitting without being hit, so choosing the safest way to deal damage to your opponent is always going to be the best and smartest choise. I only complain about using halfswording if your opponent has no armour, if he has then it's the best possible thing, but if he has no armour I think cutting is the best possible option, I would never go for a murder stroke against an unarmoured opponent, and thrusting with one hand can be lethal enough if you have no armour. Sure you can be quicker if you use both hands to thrust but you also need to get closer and that's the whole problem I have with it, there is too much risk of me stabbing him but him retaliating and cutting me in the face which I'd rather avoid, even at the cost of speed.

@albinotatertot

8 жыл бұрын

But as I said, often times it pays off to get in close. I don't think we'll be able to come to terms with this issue, ;P. Regardless, try it out for yourself in a spar sometime, you might change your mind. lol Metatron

@metatronyt

8 жыл бұрын

albinotatertot I will, although up to now my best weapon for sparring is the spear :D

What if he is armed with a pointed stick?

@maciek19882

8 жыл бұрын

Like a spear or with a rotation?

@FTMFHoodYall

8 жыл бұрын

+Zdzisław Dziąsło I think he's also done a video on that

@b33lze6u6

8 жыл бұрын

+Zdzisław Dziąsło spear style

@kebabremover6992

8 жыл бұрын

grab his stick and when you are both holding it you hit him in the head with it and yell stop hitting yourself over and over again .

@MrAranton

8 жыл бұрын

+Zdzisław Dziąsło You shoot him, then eat the banana thus disarming him... oh wait, wrong lesson, my bad :-)

Binged video 167

Pause at 2:09

People! You think you know how it works just because you have seen it somewhere and then complain without any knowledge!

@metatronyt

8 жыл бұрын

If you have that knowledge would you care to explain?

first!

@kebabremover6992

8 жыл бұрын

+Quin Skew you are ohhhhhhhhh

@QuinSkew

8 жыл бұрын

+Just a talking taco Other dudes comment was deleted T.T

@kebabremover6992

8 жыл бұрын

Quin Skew no comment

@QuinSkew

8 жыл бұрын

It's raining tacos! Out of the sky!

Yes I would still use it without armour, no need to add it in detail.

I guess in most cases halfswording isn't good against unarmoured opponent. But I can thing of two exceptions. If you are fighting in confined space making your weapon virtually shorter may by advantageous. Also in duel when opportunity arises it may be good idea to surprise your opponent by quickly switching to halfswording. And then using your sword as a leaver to disarm or lock opponent.