Yes, beginners can win duels. It was one of the warnings masters would give their students because a novice could get lucky or be underestimated.

@sidneyreed

6 ай бұрын

This is actually a great point! It’s something that was in the original interview but I had to cut for time. The recklessness of beginners is terrifying!

@jonasbarka

6 ай бұрын

Beginners are fairly likely to make a "double kill" against an experienced fencer, especially if the they don't know each other's skill level. A fencer who disregards their own safety is very difficult to defend against, and beginners often do this by not recognizing the attack. It is rare fore a beginner to win a (real) duel without themselves being seriously injured.

@luzhang2982

6 ай бұрын

Or simply be in better physical shape than the other person, or whether because the other is distracted or exhausted or otherwise surprised.

@luzhang2982

6 ай бұрын

@@jonasbarka Still important to recognize the difference between rare and won't. The no true scotsman, ahem duelist, arguement shouldn't be applied, as anything can happen at any given time. Sure experience gives one side an advantage (often overwhelmingly so). So do other factors. Real life also wouldn't limit themselves to fair fights, or duel rules either. . . and a beginner wouldn't necessarily limit themselves to only using the sword. Or let's even go with real life duels (though this time not with beginngers). Miyamoto Musashi would piss off other people that he dueled by showing up late and making them wait for him-- or suddenly use different / longer weapons (or rumored wooden ones ) There is no 'true' duel (duels are ultimately social agreements). Anything can happen IRL, and we should recognize all factors including experience affect the results. Is it likely a beginner wins often? No. Can they? Yes!

@bluemoon1716

6 ай бұрын

Fun fact, in the witcher books geralt gets stabbed in the back by a skinny guy with a pitchfork. Even a master swordsman with superhuman speed is vulnerable to pure chance by beginners

I've been a stage, film and TV choreographer since 1977 (mostly known for being the swordmaster for the Highlander TV series, seasons 3-6 and the 4th movie Endgame) but I have also been an historical European and Asian sword instructor since the early 80s and an actual fighting practitioner. Fight scenes reflect several realities - the skill of the performer and the available rehearsal time. (on H'LNDR, I often had only 5 hours over several days to teach actors who had never handled a sword the fight scenes) But having extensive background in researching weapons technique in museums around the world from the original manuscripts and studying with incredible masters, I always tried to incorporate as much historical authenticity into the choreography as the script and characters would allow since it's SAFER. You are not trying to force a weapon to do moves for which it was not designed. Generally, it is also much more aesthetically pleasing.

@funkyjohnhuie

26 күн бұрын

YOU HAVE AN EPIC JOB!!! Great to have you being able to comment!

@jedironin380

Күн бұрын

How did I miss this comment?! It's a great privilege to hear from you here, Sir! Loved your work in Highlander and other projects, especially how "Duncan" would alter his fighting style with the katana to suit the opponent's weapons. I got to attend a Sword Experience with Adrian Paul once as well. I always thought it would be incredibly cool to list "Sword Master" on your resume. 😃

1. It's the same for knife fights. No one wins in a knife fight and you're going to get cut. 2. Liam Neeson is notorious (in a good way) for adding in the real sword combat he learned for Rob Roy into Qui-Gon Jinn for the Star Wars prequels. 3. Fantastic video.

pretty solid production value for such a small channel you are putting your education to good use I see

@sidneyreed

7 ай бұрын

Thank you! It’s refreshing to work on my own projects instead of doing it for clients/other producers. 😁

@Xeonort

7 ай бұрын

Holy crap, yeah! I didn't notice the sub count was 2.65K and not 2.65M.

I really loved seeing the comparison of the movie scene vs real life, especially when he breaks it down after and explains what he would actually do in that situation. So cool!

@eddgar-ce3md

6 ай бұрын

A witcher would be like Spiderman, with heightened senses, and increased speed and strength, he would not fight like a normal human. He would show off, to increase his street cred, literally, because he is a sword for hire.

@advcable

3 ай бұрын

Hema is everything but real life...

Well shot, edited and narrated! I've been practicing HEMA for about 4 years and this is a pretty succinct and user friendly intro to the world of weapon based martial arts. Really happy to see the community growing and gaining more visibility, thanks in part to people like yourself, very well done!

@wren7195

4 ай бұрын

Bless you, keep the "fight" going.

30 years learning, competing in, and coaching historical fencing. Nicely video, good points. One thing about Witcher though is that he was suppose to be tougher, stronger, and -- most importantly -- significantly faster than normal humans. If I could choose just one enhanced trait to give me an edge in any hand to hand fighting it would be quickness. It would be the ultimate combat upgrade. I haven't seen a lot of spinning in HEMA fights I've watched in person. I have seen two guys using longsword in video of HEMA tournaments in Europe who used spins effectively so it's unusual but not impossible in the right circumstances. Add in the enhanced speed of the Witcher and I see how it might work for him. But we don't really know what that would look like since what we see on screen has all the fight choreography limitations your video mentioned. That's all speculation about a fantasy situation anyway.

Two of my favorite silly movie tropes are: 1. The "wind up" where someone pulls their sword back like an axe while the opponent stands there and prepares to block instead of just making a direct stike or thrust to the completely exposed attacker. 2. The idea of someone fighting in multiple duels and not getting a scratch. Even when fighting a complete amatuer, an expert will occasionally get tagged. When two experts are fighting it is extremely rare for either to go multiple rounds without receiving a touch that would be lethal in a real fight. You very nicely demonstrated both of these. 🙂

@bodyno3158

5 ай бұрын

Now everytime I see a "wind up", I sigh for a wasted chance of epic zornhau-ort.

@RichWoods23

3 ай бұрын

3. Any spinning that doesn't involve turning in body contact, and most coronades. Why on earth take your eyes off your opponent, even for half a second, or your point away from them, even if they're down on their knees?

@ClockwerkMan

Ай бұрын

@@RichWoods23 Because it looks cool.

@jedironin380

Күн бұрын

@@RichWoods23 Because the Director said so. 😉

Some interesting studies have been done on the Witcher's fighting style, conducted by people who participate in HEMA, and they found that the fighting style is quite accurate for wat the Witcher is usually fighting, being in the area of large monsters, instead of men. They also touch on how the Witcher seems to be using his shorter blade like a Greatsword, flowing with the momentum of his cuts, instead of just switching between guards to perform an attack, which in some ways is much more useful for fighting multiple, untrained people at once.

@user-wi8yy3bf7m

4 ай бұрын

Who is Geralt fighting and where? In books, movies, or games? The meaning of the "Witcher" style is one thing - chopping, sweeping blows, rotation of the whole body are clearly visible on the screen, therefore such movements are shown to the viewer in films. Direct sword jabs are much more invisible to the eyes, but that's why they are more dangerous and effective.

@ToxicallyMasculinelol

4 ай бұрын

Btw, the most reliable medieval account of monster-fighting in the historical record is Beowulf, and it describes a man ripping the monster apart with his bare hands (he owned a sword, he just chose not to use it since he was such a badass). Some party poopers have denied the historical reliability of this manuscript, but it's accurate on so many other things, down to the most minute details of 5th century Scandinavian politics - why assume it's wrong about Grendel? So I say, if men ever fought epic battles with giant monsters, they did it by ripping them apart with their bare hands, not by doing dainty little acrobatic maneuvers and 360 spins with 2 pound swords.

@vialbite

3 ай бұрын

​@@ToxicallyMasculinelol Otherwise choose a warpick or mace

@leichtmeister

3 ай бұрын

"Studies" Yeah sorry, combat in the witcher show sucks.

@gre8

3 ай бұрын

I would like to see where you saw that information. Movie witcher choreography is entertaining but not very realistic. Game witcher (tw3) has some good sword animations that are somewhat reminiscent of real greatsword technique, as in he flows along with the blade's momentum and, considering he has superhuman strenght, I'm willing to consider it a plausible fighting style for what is worth.

Really nice video, good job.

@zacharybennett3249

5 ай бұрын

Glad to see you here, Matt!

People don’t appreciate the difference that the risk of mortal injury makes in how people behave. Modern fencing duels are only slightly closer to real combat than watching someone play Call of Duty. The physics are accurate (obviously) but a lot of the things people do when there’s no risk of death they just wouldn’t do…

@zachary4670

Ай бұрын

Yep! I saw this all the time. There’s almost no one alive today who has actually seen or experienced a REAL sword fight.

@Olfan

Ай бұрын

@4:31 says it all: "…but that instinct to survive is so strong in beginners." In beginners?! Hitting the opponent first while getting killed in the process has nothing to do with "real life fencing", it's sport. Which has its merits, of course, but is not at all qualified to judge "realness" of sword-fighting.

@oljackie35

29 күн бұрын

@@zachary4670 well actor who played count dooku had many sword duels with injuries soo he can be counted in but unfortunetly he is in better place now

@SamBrickell

27 күн бұрын

The other thing is fighting tactics evolve even with the same equipment. Someone holding a 1911 pistol the recommended way today would look weird to someone using the same pistol in house-clearing for World War II.

@Newnodrogbob

26 күн бұрын

@@SamBrickell that is a fair point

Very nice video, you explained a lot of things very well! With regards to Henry Cavill's the Witcher fight, you are correct in assuming that he used a cut length sword, CGI and camera angles. But the actual sword was in of itself a shorter bladed sword anyhow, this was due to the system used to carry and draw it from his back. Tod's Workshop (who was one of the people used in manufacturing the props for this) actual has a video covering this in detail.

Wait i know these fencers...

3:11 I was totally expecting him to hit you with the "'Tis but a scratch; I've had worse," strategy in order to win. 😂

This is a fantastic video, one of the best I've seen on the topic of HEMA. It shows your skill in cinematography and your knowledge and love for HEMA. This video and this channel in general deserve a lot more views. Keep up the good work!

A cool video! I really love the differences and connections the HEMA instructor, Jason Barrons pointed out between the fencing traditions in Europe and movie sword fighting. Besides this, the action scene in The Witcher has been well rebuilt on the lawn in the real life.🤩

One of the best videos for introducing HEMA.

Super cool love how much effort and creativity you put into this!

I did take a stage combat class just for fun and learning experience. There is one things that I remember too well is the safety of actors is the utmost important to keep in mind when doing the choreographing the stage fight. Also the safety of the audience include since accidents do occur. The stage combat only focus on the illusion of telling story, not on sport where contests are created. That is a big different between two of them.

Lovely video! The efficient translation of the Witcher movie fight into proper HEMA techniques was a joy to watch ❤

Love it! Always wished I had gotten into fencing when I was younger. Loved seeing the side-by-side comparison of the film vs. real life.

@roybleasdale6379

5 ай бұрын

What's stopping you learning now? A rapier can be a great equaliser. Having a few grey hairs should not be an excuse .

very cool!! looking forward to seeing more of this series!

The content of this VDO reminds me of the comparison between the real street fights and the self defense training courses (mostly relying on those of the stunt action scenes) given in many schools. In a real street fight, people fight to survive without using any beautiful technique with targeting to kill; whereas people in a self defense sparring still pursue the rules and the power they use is not so strong as what they are going to face in a real street fight.

@clintonm2357

3 ай бұрын

Short and brutal. Real fights are ugly and cause a lot of injury; I love watching choreographed fights (which most self defense classes are) for their beauty, but that is not effective.

Very cool video with great production value! It's really interesting to see just how unrealistic sword fighting is in films. It makes me wonder which fights in which films are actually realistic. Also congrats Brad!

Nice video! editing is solid and its informative on many ways that movie sword fights are different than real sword fights. I knew they were unrealistic but this really breaks it down as to why! Thanks :D

Nice overview of typical HEMA classes and tournaments.

An amazing composition, great homage to HEMA and gentle comparison of HEMA and film and screen. GREAT JOB SIDNEY!

Good video! very well made and great interviews, nice camera work! nice to see people show casing hema!

Fun video! I was in the SCA for a couple of years, fought both light and heavy weapon. Love watching the HEMA videos!

@orthicon9

Ай бұрын

Me too, in Rapier Combat. My favourite form was two daggers. You rarely see that in movies because it's too fast and the audience can't follow it. No big windups that telegraph what you're going to do next.

@jedironin380

Ай бұрын

@@orthicon9 In the SCA I fought an opponent once who had 2 daggers and small bucklers on his forearms. I had a "katana." He beat the **** out of me! LOL!

Very cool video. I had to laugh a little with the last scratched "Dueling is about violence". Someone better tell those stabbed guys that were buried. Curiously enough, the dueling law was only abolished in my country in 1992, 3 years before I was born (I'm from Uruguay btw)😰 Some duels were "to first blood", so no one was supposed to die (people died anyway) but if the duel was with guns then they were usually deadly. I know from my grandmother that her father and uncles practiced fencing in case they, or the news paper owned by the family, were to be challenged. We even had an ex-president shoot dead a journalist he didn't like in a duel. All this is just interesting, it doesn't make me proud or ashamed.

I didn't know fencing can be so calculated and precise. Here I thought it was just individuals in beekeeping-like outfits swinging poles at each other. I officially learned something new today, so thank you!

Well done, Sid! Awesome work.

@zaklyons228

7 ай бұрын

Aye I know that dude he’s going places forsure

@hiddenname1326

7 ай бұрын

me 2

@NotJGonzo

7 ай бұрын

@@zaklyons228miss you dude! ❤

@zaklyons228

7 ай бұрын

@@NotJGonzo gotta let Angel and myself know when you plan on coming back for a bit!

@sidneyreed

7 ай бұрын

You as well, my sith apprentice in training. 😎

Very cool and informative. Great job!

I enjoy watching movies that have swording scenes and being able to see in this video the comparison of what movies show us and real-life fencing serve what their unique characteristics and purposes are.

Btw, "this is real swordfighting" while some crazy dude jumps into the opponent is more than hilarious, is kind of touching

This is Awesome! I've always wanted to learn sword fighting :D

Excellent and informative video!

Cool video, I've only just started HEMA in Singapore for about more than a year and this really caught my interest. Kudos to you :D

@clintonm2357

3 ай бұрын

I like HEMA better. I saber fenced for years and I prefer being able to strike with my pommel. You can see how often these fencers end up close where a pommel strike would be devastating, but fencing is more “gentlemanly.” Keep at it! Wishing you luck.

The cutting edge of sword commentary.

Absolutely adore this video! Although I don't do HEMA I love it, I do Western style Viking re-enactment. We've started to dabble in masked fighting essentially HEMA but with our equipment etc. It makes you think into how people would have fought.

Idea for HEMA tournaments: if you're going to assign colors (like red vs. blue), have the fencers wear "Knightly Favours" in their assigned color. A blue ribbon or scarf tied around one arm will make it easier for everyone to know who's who, and will fit the vibe of knightly combat.

@greghenrikson952

5 ай бұрын

There's an old Fiore group that does stuff like this--St. George IIRC. But most of the more recent groups have tried hard to distance themselves from anything that seems like LARP or SCA.

@Elriuhilu

5 ай бұрын

Or maybe a coloured cloth hanging from the back of their belt.

@ericnesbitt1734

5 ай бұрын

This is typical in europe and Australia, also the line judges who in this video do hand singles, would also have red sticks and blue sticks, that way their call is clear to the audience. I believe this was done in America before at longpoint a no longer running tornament. Surpised it wasn't done here also, but perhaps they did not have any on hand, or misplaced them on the day.

@leichtmeister

3 ай бұрын

A knightly duel with favours would be done in armour. This tournaments arent about armoured fencing.

People always expect duels to be fluent ongoing strikes, when in reality it is two people moving around, waiting to attack or be attacked, then a couple of strikes resulting in a finish or breaking appart waiting for the next opportunity. All that solo swordplay we train is there to make us better at moving the sword around, but you will rarely get the opportunity to use that nice new disarm you learned, simply because your enemy probably knows what your doing, or maybe even worse frantically tries to avoid whatever you are planning at all cost with unpredictable attacks.

I really enjoyed watching this especially watching different sword fighting styles. Also fighting in real life is different from the movies !

Sidney, Sidney, Sidney, I love this. Absolutely fascinating...

I'm a (not especially good) foil fencer, and yeah, beginners do a lot of weird stuff and sometimes it actually works, but mostly our coach says you don't beat beginning fencers (that is, you don't out-skill them); you just defeat them. But I love your videos because you clearly have a lot of respect for HEMA and sport (Olympic) fencing, or at least you communicate a lot of respect. And you show the most important part of all these sports: to have fun! My coach says the most important thing about someone's first lesson is to make sure they have fun.

Very Nice movie about our favorit sport. Liked the documentry vibe in co-herrent with the goofing of. Made it more realistic. Tumbs up from an other HEMA dude 😉

This makes me want to find the nearest fencing dojo and start learning!

IN America it goes by Blade length. So it just depends on what state you are in and how legal length blade you can have. Some states have no laws as to the length.

Cool video!!! I am a fencer my self and I love that you are promoting our sport! I also love to see how it is done in other countries!

Loved the live comparison to the Witcher scene! 🔥

I remember this show Conquest and one of their episodes delt with musketeer fencing. They first showed the methods used in the movies, the sort you'd see Errol Flynn do. Then they showed how real musketeers fought and the presenter stated to the stunt people regarding their movie moves "Everything you just learned is useless..." The rapiers were designed for stabbing, lunging, and thrusting. I looked through a copy of an fencing manual with it's etchings, and it was pretty violent and graphic where the blades were supposed to stab. I don't think any movie truly shows how violent real fencing could be.

@clintonm2357

3 ай бұрын

There are a lot of slashes, which film well. Real swords thrusted which is very deadly and not great on film. While a knife slash might cause a lot of bleeding but not be fatal, a long sword slash might remove bits.

Well-made video! I love HEMA!

Super cool and interesting video!

That looks like so much fun

Wow funny finding this video on my random searches :) Now I have to see if I’m in your video (unlikely as I think this is filmed after I wasn’t a regular at DHFA. I miss you guys

Talented brilliant incredible amazing show stopping spectacular never the same totally unique never been done before unafraid to reference and or not reference Will never be the same again

Well done!

This was a great video! I love The Witcher and it was cool to see it done in real life. This makes me want to try sword fighting

As much as I love the intensity and ferocity of Hollywood sword fighting, there's just a tension and anticipation to realistic sword fighting that puts me on the edge of my seat! Like watching a Texas holdem where you don't see any of the cards, but you see all the bets that are being made. Then at the end, the cards are shown.

The best movie sword fight in my opinion is easily the duel between Kmicic and Wołodyjowski in The Deluge

@Desmond9100

3 ай бұрын

Check out a movie called Revenger (2018)

I know the Witcher game was crazy on purpose. The bad guys actually use sound fighting principles while the Witcher does not because he is supposed to be inhuman. Nothing translates well to film. The first lesson I taught my children is “strike your opponent, not the sword.”

as a larper, when i switched from longswords to daggers i became almost unbeatable. rather than trying to use a sword to attack, using daggers for defense blows people away. having the option to step back and toss a knife to their chest has won every single duel ive been in, no one can stop it. having two small blades that can block like a shield, cut just as good as a sword, and benefit from requiring the enemy to step in to avoid the dagger throw means i am always commanding the fight. daggers have no blade arc, no wind up, and never interfere with positioning in other words i can always block in the same way i would while doing hand to hand because i AM doing hand to hand. just like two swords, all of my attacks are covered, and i can fight in the same stances as hand to hand like south paw (with the added length of the blade, the leg is fully defended as well). any attack style my opponents do i can counter since i have no blade length to weigh down my swing, and the sacrifice of range is not a factor when you can throw (coreless daggers designed for throwing of course) and when it happens live, that throw is practically invisible due to the angle coming from the blind spot every time and due to the speed, and the speed in which you can aim such a throw with absolutely no downtime for windups etc. im also a trained MA so my footwork is what makes this possible, thoughts on daggers vs longsword dueling? if actual grappling was allowed i think this would be 10x more powerful, i have to stop myself from going into that mode for the sake of the rules, but i feel like that is fair as it would be insanely unbalanced if i was allowed to simply throw a knife, free up a hand, disarm or sweep someone and pull another knife on them.

Enjoyed your video. I fenced with foil and sabre when I was younger. It would have been great if HEMA had been around then.

AM NEW TO THE CHANNEL AND L FREAKIN LOVE IT LOVE FROM KENYA

Hey! An Albion Talhoffer! I have the Fiore, I prefer disk pommels, but they’re the same blade. Great choice for a sharp!

the last 15 seconds is a great S1E1 opener of *something*

As far as duels go and just apologizing, I would add that during the era, entire livelihoods were dependent upon reputation. Which adds a ton of motivation to defending your or another's honor.

superb stuff

That battle at the end... 2 masked men stand before you. Brad, and Alex... but we won't tell you which one is which. One is designated Red, the other Blue - there are no marking on either to help you know which is which, and we won't tell you. THIS is the way.

dang. i REALLY need to to get into HEMA. been wanting to for a very long time.

Looks fun!

The best cinematic sword fights were from "The Duelists," "Rob Roy," and "Potop" ("The Deluge") -- not only for the cinematography and complete lack of music or cutting shots, but because the actors genuinely did realistic moves and had an element of real danger.

We had a thing in my club... years ago now, where if you kept getting doubles during sparing or in club tournaments you would have to do 10 pushups each for every double :D

That 2D General Grievous mask is so cool

Denver huh? I wouldn't wanna go at it in that altitude but you are all clearly adapted 😂

@sidneyreed

7 ай бұрын

The ultimate test 😂

Great video. Very well done and reality is ALWAYS much more interesting than fantasy.

From the brief time i did fencing, a factor as well that doesn't get mentioned is some ones physicality, size, and confidence, some of the matches I won in competition were due to me just being bigger and stronger than my opponents, even though they were more skilled, If you're a foot and a half taller than your opponent, that makes a large difference.

Reminds me of the SCA events I used to attend. Large scale battles were never a bunch of individual duels. Mostly just a bunch of men screaming and swinging wildly in close quarters

I watched a 90s tv show where there are some fights and fencing duels and for some reason i didn't realize why some scenes felt more raw and real than the usual stuff. There was no fancy choreography in that sense but two fighter lingering, stepping in, pulling back or just slipping in gravel and sometimes get cut if they're too slow. (yes there are a lot of opportunities to kill, but the setting makes that fact that it's not happening kinda believable. (the whole honor thing in duels)) Also I watched back one of the fights and it actually looked like if a strike wouldn't have been blocked, it would have been a hit. Don't know if that's a unpopular opinion, but even if i know that the protagonist survives i find the rougher battles more tense and suspenseful than those with all that swirls and finesse and stuff

I really enjoyed the video, well paced, well filmed and filled with information. As a disabled Veteran of the Marine Corps, I collect Knives, Swords, and make knives as a hobby. I taught firearms in the Corps and for LE and am interested in all weapons. So, who won the tournament? I couldn't hear the announcement. I backed up the video and I turned on Closed Captioning and they just left that part out at the end. I was of course rooting for the gal's friend and it looked like he was way ahead and then the scores changed. You guys did a great job all the way up to that point, but then the narrator got bored or was at lunch and forgot to tell us WHY points are deducted, why points were awarded when they were and help the uniformed track the tournament.... Man, leaving us hanging was just plain cruel... but I still enjoyed it. Guess winning doesn't matter, except to the loser. (Yup, I shot competitively for a decade... ) LOL.

This is fire

Wonderful, and thank you for this. Olympic fencing, a truism, with foil is faster, almost too fast to follow with the untrained eye.

Do you have any links to the swords and daggers that were shown in the video? Specifically asking for that beautiful dagger

"I have another scene after this!' 🤣😂🤣

Lets do swords in class

I didn’t realise such swordfighting organisations, let along tournaments existed! Fantastic!!! I used to train olympic fencing (epee) for a couple of years as a teenager and as we moved up at the skill ladder I remember being disappointed and frustrated how unimpressive the actual tournament duels turned out to be. I always regretted not having selected sabre as the guys on the sabre team at least had some cutting done 😅… Now I see that in the actual swordfight (reenacted, but still) the impression is very similar - just two humans trying to avoid the blade at all cost 😅 And the higher you go up the skill ladder, the more a duel looks like a chess match - a lot of circling around and calculating interrupted by sudden, rapid bursts of very refined and economical action. Goes to show how much real violence is boring and nothing more but lethal. BTW, hence the gladiator fights were so crazy and unrealistic - including the fighters being rather on the fatty side - to be more spectacular (bloody) and a bit less lethal.

Anyone know what elbow/ forearm protection brad (17:56) and jason (6:52) use? I've seen them a few times and havent been able to pinpoint where to get a set.

Fun to see Jesse in there! :D

@NotJGonzo

5 ай бұрын

Hola friend 🫡

mam could you please give me advice? Im need your guidance . it's not in this video but there is Witcher Silver Sword that has V shaped handle. V shape handle is useful like hook? or is it only increase high risk that opponent might cut my hand? A lot of people telling different answers but you are true expert. Which handle would you prefer to use?

Of course HEMA fencing is a lot more realistic than movie fencing. Nice to get that explained here. However, there is a huge difference, if the next hit would mean just one point or if it would mean death or life. So, without being able to prove, I believe that the "average" duell in the old times had looked also different from a HEMA fight.

@yaguaraza

5 ай бұрын

Very much so, particularly when you could win the fight but die due to a rather small infected scratch. HEMA fencers often make risky plays no one would consider with live steel and less than modern medical care

@ericnesbitt1734

5 ай бұрын

@@yaguaraza I agree many people would be more respectful of threat in a real fight. however small scratches getting infected and being a major killer is a myth. most surface wounds can dry out and don't get infected unless they were done by poisoned material. people get scratched all the time today and they heal without antibiotics or treatment. There are also many historical examples of people surviving minor wounds. The real danger is deep wounds caused by thrusts for example, we can heal those today, but even if they stiched them up back then you'd most likely die of infection. As much as I dislike risky plays there will always be stupid people who would attempt them, even with sharps. Someone always thinks they are fast enough, it helps to be ready for it.

@yaguaraza

5 ай бұрын

@ericnesbitt1734 infection was a major risk for centuries and what now qualifies as a "minor scratch" due to modern medical techniques was often a debilitating injury. You seem to be utterly underestimating how severe a 'scratch' you'd receive from any sharp edged weapon. We aren't talking about thorn bushes and I've often seen HEMA players win the point while taking a cut that would be crippling in return.

@caralho5237

5 ай бұрын

@@yaguaraza I've gotten pretty deep cuts just from messing around with stuff and they all healed without the need for antibiotics or anything of the sort. You're really underestimating a person's immune system

@paulmartin2348

8 күн бұрын

I started stitching up minor wound/cuts/tears when I was about 9 years old. Would just clean the would well and stitch it with fine fishing line, a sewing needle and a pair of pliers (it is almost impossible to push a sewing needle through skin w/out the use of pliers). The wounds healed very quickly and normally less than a week I would have the stitches out with almost no scar.

When the woman draws the real sword and says it's terrifying, I really felt that. I've done kendo and some Japanese sword technique training and I even have a proper, although unsharpened, steel katana to practise with, but when I hold an almost identical sword that is sharpened I get a sense of dread and enormity. It's a weapon designed to kill that's huge and you could so easily cut yourself or someone around you really bad if your attention wavers-I really don't like holding a live sword. It feels different to holding a gun, although equally as bad, because the problem with a gun is that such an innocuous looking thing could kill a person several metres away in a split second before they even had a chance to react.

In the Early cinema age EVERYTHING was fencing. Right up until the 1980s then films started employing "Swordmasters" who were interested in the techniques relating to the swords being used. It's only got better since then, with occasional relapses into edge-on-edge "ting ting ting" fencing. There is no one-fits-all technique but there are similarities beyween Longsword and Katana, Talwar and Sabre, Viking and Medieval though ultimately each style of weapon needs to be used to it's strengths and not irreversably be blunted on the opponents blade. We're getting there.

Against an experienced opponent, a beginner doesn't stand a chance because the experienced person understands the fundamentals and understands the body mechanics of a beginner but the beginner doesn't understand the body mechanics of the experienced fighter. I found it interesting how Jesse displays mirroring when Jason starts doing things he can't possibly understand which makes Jesse more predictable in his hesitancy. I mean there are systems where you do utilise spinning but it tends to be the long weapons like the Spadone, where you are attempting to either travel down the length of a blade or disengage. I mean duels were lethal. Even a simple cut or sometimes a scratch could lead to loss of limb or death. There were systems of dueling to first blood because the nobles didn't want to lose their children in honour duels. Polish sabre is designed pretty explicitly around that basis. If you want one of the most realistic sword fights put to film, Zrodzeni Do Szabli/Born for the Sabre is a movie that demonstrates Polish sabre dueling so well. The final fight fight is so well done.

There's a time and a place for flashy. In one of my early sessions, I wasn't getting anywhere and was getting gassed fast so I did a sensible thing and went for a Superman punch lunge :p Dude saw it coming since the day before and deflected it easily, but I got a round of applause and earned style points that night, and that's important too xD

Ah. This was nice.

I still definitely wonder what duels and fights would look like with lethal weapons compared to blunted weapons wielded with padding and head protection. Not that I want deadly duels to happen, but it's something I wonder. There's just a huge psychological difference between facing someone in a sport and facing someone with a willingness to kill you and a sharpened weapon. That being said, the sport is also awesome.

I think you can use what you called the secret techniques if you are experienced. Maybe not at a tournament but just for fun while sparring.

Nice!

The video is great, but sometimes the music is too loud. I found it distracting, especially in the beginning.

If I for some unknown reason had to fight a duel I certainly wouldn’t choose a longsword. Rapier or sabre would be the go to option for me due to the hand protection alone.