Ok, time for Matt to shop for an authentic, Royal Navy boarding ax for the great barn door display.

@tamlandipper29

4 жыл бұрын

As my other comment, check out the Pitt Rivers collection

that use of the pistol held backwards along the arm as a shield of sorts is genius

@itsapittie

4 жыл бұрын

Isn't it? That's the sort of thing only a combat veteran would be likely to come up with. It's not exactly counter-intuitive, but it is so far outside the purpose of the design that someone who hasn't fought for his life wouldn't be likely to think of it.

@beardedbjorn5520

4 жыл бұрын

It’s a little bit similar to how some Americans in the Revolutionary War would use their musketoon as a parrying stick in their off hand, and their hangar in their dominant. I’m amazed that that kind of thing wasn’t used more frequently. It’s fascinating.

@samuelelder9434

4 жыл бұрын

Wholeheartedly agree

@Immopimmo

4 жыл бұрын

Reminds me of how the Tonfa or Sai are used to parry blows.

@arctodussimus6198

4 жыл бұрын

W.P. Green was definitely ahead of the curve.

A lot of people say the bulb on the end of a pistol is for hitting people. Although this definitely works, after shooting a lot of flintlock pistols I feel that there is a good change it was actually put there in the first place for grip and as a counter weight. Checkering wasn't really a thing until the mid 1800s and Flint lock pistols are pretty heavy but often well balanced.

Often flintlocks had an arms length cord tied to them which allowed it to hang around your waist. The idea is that when you discharge the pistol you can drop it and not lose it

In 1808 during the course of the Anglo-Russian War of 1807-12, the Russian frigate Venus was trapped in the port of Palermo, Sicily and pressured to surrender to a squadron of British vessels under Vice-Admiral Thornbrough. A midshipman aboard, Vladimir Bronevskiy, describes in his memoirs the fortification of the vessel in the event of a boarding action: "Having no need for sailors, we refused these offers [from the Danish] and requested that they only provide us with boarding weapons. They fulfilled this request so thoroughly that every shooter had three muskets and two pistols each and in order to increase their rate of fire, 40 men were assigned to exclusively reload and hand off ready muskets to the shooters in front. The Bocchesi [of Kotor], Greek and Danish skippers gave us their word that in the event that the British boats came alongside the frigate, they would attack with their own and as soon as the frigate were lit on fire, they would burn their own ships and withdraw straight to the city. [...] After sunset, the frigate was turned into a fortress, so to speak, with its sufficient store of powder and abundant small arms. On the upper deck, for the rapid shooting of muskets, scaffolds were built and parapets were added onto the tops and chains made from officers' beds; the portholes for the guns on the lower deck which could not fire were hammered shut; between the lower yards on ropes were hung ballast stones which could be dropped through the enemy's boats from directly above once they closed in onto the hull. Pistols, sabres, spears, halberds, crowbars, boat-hooks and every other implement of death were laid out without our reach. In such a defensive condition, we hoped that it would not be easy to take us in a boarding action." All of this preparation went untested however, because a diplomatic solution was found - the frigate was sold to the Sicilian government and the crew were taken ashore as guests of a 'neutral' nation and not as prisoners of war. They were eventually given safe passage to Trieste and then marched over land back to Russia through Austria and Hungary.

A (more) common man teaching the common man how to fight is pretty interesting. I hadn't realized how uncommon that is, though.

The boarding scene from Master and Commander: Far Side of the World kept popping into my head watching this.

Cork harvesting is done with an axe about half scale the one Mat's holding. The axe is surprisingly useful as a multi-tool. You can use it as a climbing hook, hold by the blade and use the handle as a lever, whack it into the bark and use the eye as a step. Oddly enough in that job the thing you don't use the axe for is cutting wood.

I love how a man waving swords and axes around can be oddly relaxing; context is king. 6:40 Prince Charming. Prince Charming. Ridicule is nothing to be scared of.

On things 1812, if one ever finds one's self in the Detroit/Windsor area (I suspect due to some kind of alternative sentencing arrangement with the courts) a visit to Fort Malden in Amherstburg, Ontario would offer examples of that era's arms, including swords and firearms. I found it somewhat accidentally, when I needed to kill some time, and was delighted.

"I first produced my pistol, and then produced my rapier." (Lizzie et al)

@HebaruSan

4 жыл бұрын

Stand and deliver!

@pseudonym9599

4 жыл бұрын

There's whiskey in the jar.

@davidtuttle7556

4 жыл бұрын

Um da da do dah

@1971irvin

4 жыл бұрын

"I took all of his money And it was a pretty penny I took all of his money, Yeah, and I brought it home to Molly She swore that she loved me, No, never would she leave me But the devil take that woman, Yeah, for you know she tricked me easy" ... 🤘🤘

I never thought of them being used as ladders. Thanks for explaining the bording part.

I would love to see something about the use of the belay pin as a weapon at some point.

I would think that boarding axes were most likely used as weapons immediately after being used to breach a hatch, door or wall. It's already in hand, and you might very well not have time to ready another weapon in such a circumstance.

@Gjoufi

4 жыл бұрын

I read in a Danish/Norwegian text that the boarding officer equipped one boarding group with pistols and cutlasses and their job was to secure the bridge and another group was equipped with pistols and axes and their job was to cut the anchor rope and other important rigging if the boarding was repelled, so I expect that boarding axe in this instance was seen as both a weapon and a tool, because it would suck to be the second group if the axes didn't work as weapons.

@BeKindToBirds

Жыл бұрын

The man chipping at the door would more likely stand aside and let the men with ready muskets and pistols fire through the hatchway than run in first himself.

Firemen, at least in the U.S., use fire axes in a similar way. The spikes are hit through roofs so that the head can be used as a step. The spikes is set to the top of the axe head, instead of the middle, to aid in this.

@jonathindowe873

4 жыл бұрын

We use that kind of technique in roofing all the time, thats still gotta be tough, at least one layer of tar and rock shingle, where i live your odds are that the priors just shingled over it so try four layers of tar and pebbles, then if your lucky it will have been decked with boards and not plywood and you might miss the boards and hit a space in between. But you will probably get a plywood decked house with boards under the decking then old wooden shake shingles then the four layers lol

@chemusvandergeek1209

4 жыл бұрын

According to Alec Steele, the boarding axe is the predecessor to the modern fire axe.

@mrroberts7828

4 жыл бұрын

As far as I know, a lot of early firemen were retired sailors, since they were skilled climbers and used to working in tandem

I joined the navy wheniwa 16 in the 1980's. The PTI's (physical training intructors) used to drill with cutlass, not fencing but a group of exercises used for display purposes. Although i used to give the physical trainers a wide berth, so it wouldn't surprise me if they were taught the basics and i just didnt see it

@adamroodog1718

4 жыл бұрын

I couldnt find them doing it, but heres some 1930's royal navy cutlass drill. kzread.info/dash/bejne/i519pqqJf5iacqw.html

Read the book this morning and found it to be very interesting, especially the group tactics part. Given a choice between a stool or a mop or an axe even a dull sailor should have been bright enough to use an axe as an expedient weapon if a pike or sword weren't available

Naval boarding axes were specifically designed and used as mini-fire axes, not weapons. Boarding axes were ship's property, and not carried by individual sailors. When clearing for action, boarding axes were placed in tubs about the spardeck and (along with cutlases, pikes, and pistols), were laid in handy places about the spardeck. The specific purpose of a boarding axe was to cutaway tophamper (shotaway line/spars/canvas/etc.), that fell to the deck. Burning spars were spiked with an overhand blow by one or more men and, with the axe as a handle, heaved overBOARD, axe and all. Hence the name "boarding" axe.

That’s the first I’ve heard of using a reversed pistol as a guard but having been introduced to the idea I can see it’s merits. Fascinating resource from an original source!

That was quite informative and interesting. Never thought that that flintlock might be used like that.

Christ, when you describe these treatises I want to read them! Thank you for your work.

It's crazy that people mustered the guts to get so close to being hacked to death on board the slippery deck of a rocking ship

@therustysword9315

4 жыл бұрын

Hence the press gang. And what with the industrial revolution putting about a million people out of work around that time, it beat starving to death.

@tamlandipper29

4 жыл бұрын

@@therustysword9315 I'm pretty sure most tars weren't press ganged. It was relatively well paid, and all square meals, mostly.

@therustysword9315

4 жыл бұрын

www.royalnavalmuseum.org/info_sheet_impressment.html Pay and food were only good if you lived to receive them. www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4337985/ dash.harvard.edu/bitstream/handle/1/8852139/Mayberry.html?sequence=2

@davidw6684

4 жыл бұрын

I am sure at various times drugs and/or alcohol helped :) I am thinking charging against machine gun nests WWI & WWII style was every bit as dangerous. At least from WWII on they has antibiotics. I would imagine being wounded in the field or on a ship back in the day (seriously dirty conditions there) would have had a high chance of leading to an infection. Armed conflict is brutal no matter how its done.

@grendelgrendelsson5493

4 жыл бұрын

@@therustysword9315 Thank you for these references, they are very interesting. I have read that the supply chain for the Royal Navy was well organised either through supply dumps at nearby ports or through regular relief of ships on station. When the French were blockaded in their own ports, they suffered from scurvy which did not happen on RN ships.

You often make a point about clarifying the distinction between fact and fiction, so... In the 1930s the American author E. E. Smith wrote the first space opera (the Lensman series) which included armored Space Marines whose preferred weapon was the Space Axe, a "combination and sublimation of battle-axe, mace, harpoon, and lumberman's picaroon" and describes it use primarily as a boarding axe, except for boarding space ships rather than wooden ships. My point is that clearly the boarding axe idea existed in the American consciousness at the time somehow. How did it get there, movies? I can't think of that many "pirate" or other films of the era that would feature such things.

@dantherpghero2885

4 жыл бұрын

Klono's TUNGSTEN TEETH and CURVING CARBALLOY CLAWS!

Excellent video! You, sir, are an honorable person.

Thanks for an informative and reasoned video.

Excellent video. I love the history you teach here. In the Marine Corps, we were required to study the tactics and history of all warrior cultures. I would have loved to have you as a resource for all the classes I taught back then. USMC 1977-1983 W.P.Green must have been ahead of his time. There’s no way I’m throwing away my pistol. lol The axe may have been popular here in the colonies because it was so closely related to the primary Native weapon of the time, the pagamoggon (2 pound rock on a 2 foot stick), or war club. Natives were already proficient with the tool, and the colonists could see the benefit of it. I always carry a hatchet or tomahawk with me. Be it in the Jeep or on my belt. And if I had been around 200 years ago, I would definitely have one on me at all times.

This is great! So many of the fencing manuals were written by the upper classes & don't seem to reflect the experience of the average soldier or sailor. Hope to hear more on this topic. Will be downloading this document for myself. AHRRRRR from Nova Scotia.

Thanks for sharing, fascinating stuff.

Oh man, thank you for sharing this! I will certainly be looking for more info on Lt. W.P. Green in my studies!

We should call that move where you block with the flintlock a Pringle Pistol Parry

Great video. I research a lot of Pirate and smuggling in Sussex/Kent. Not to mention the cudgell, Blunderbuss and Musketoon all effective in close combat.

When the Algonquian people of what is now the northeastern United States saw the metal-headed hatchets used on English ships they immediately wanted them to replace their stone-headed tomahawks. Like the ship axes, tomahawks were primarily tools, used occasionally as weapons. English colonists ordered crates of them to trade to the Indians for pelts, etc.

The American Army and Navy in 18th and early 19th centuries were hugely influenced by French weapons design. Muskets, pistols, and swords in particular. The 1860 Heavy US Cavalry Saber like its forerunners was essentially a French Sword.

@scholagladiatoria

4 жыл бұрын

In the 19th century definitely yes. However, if you look at American swords and guns in the 18th century you'll find that Britain was the primary influence, for obvious reasons. The shift to more French stuff happened after 1812 (ironically given the defeat of France by Britain!).

@EldarKinSlayer

4 жыл бұрын

@@scholagladiatoria The first muskets and pistols produced for our military were copies of French firearms. The first was the US Model of 1795, a close copy of the Charleville musket.

great video!

Interestingly a known military French song from the 18th century describes a French privateer (corsaire) boarding a British navy ship. The weapons mentioned are in this order: 1) the boarding axe 2) the pike, 3) the sabre and 4) the musketoon. So when Sir Matt pointed out in his other vid that the boarding axe was hardly used a weapon, I had to remember the lyrics of this song, haha.

Love your content, entertaining and educational. Thanks for your work!

Matt Easton is back and I am first!! God damn I love your stuff Matt! Such enthusiasm and great info!!

Quite recently I stumbled onto a blog run by a living historian, primarily looking at Royal Navy sailor's clothing from 1740~1790. But my eye was caught by one entry on something that had never occurred to me before: sailors' armour. He posts a period illustration of a sailor and marine ashore on anti-smuggling operations, and each are wearing a vambrace on the left arm, very similar to the way the pistol is used here. Something else that caught my eye is that the sailor has a cruciform piece of armour atop his hat resembling the "secret" that period cavalrymen wore beneath theirs. When I include links KZread tends to decide that I'm a spammer and ghost me, so I'll reply to myself to include one. If it's not visible, search for "British Tars 1740~1790" and then search "vambrace".

We experiment the reverse pistol grip parry in a naval combat training course. I also experiment in this cours the use of a boarding axe (in fact a cold steel training hawk) as an off hand weapon and the rex is quite mixed. The 3 problems of the axe in this context. Main one is that you have a foot less reach in regard of the cutlass. Second as a parry weapon in off hand you have a high risk of being hit on the fingers unless handled near the head ( so you're close to the pistol usage) and at last it is unbalanced so less quicker than the saber. Advantages are you can hook (I succed in it some time) and have a high impact decisve blow versus the pistol

I enjoyed that, very interesting.

Very good video. I also recommend the video by Stoccata School of Defense on this topic and the scottish connection

that second sword to the right behind you is interesting

I think this is a pretty good example of how doctrine is written to benefit the formation while the personal experience of the combatant is going to lean toward things that make them personally more lethal/less killable. I think the reason doctrine was written so pistols were shot on boarding is individual seamen will not hit their targets, but a volley of pistol shots from the on boarding force will make them hesitate in defense of the ship, the moment when the boarding party is least defensible. It's like a doorway or any other dangerous place, clearance by fire is always a good bet that you'll make a bunch of people through but you also will probably lose a lot. Whereas this personal seaman would get across maybe his way and get to use his pistol more effectively on a personal level, but less of the formation would probably get across of everyone boarded that way. Maybe not, I'm no dentist but if I were writing doctrine that'd be my reason for that move.

Thank you for that! KZread is full of videos about swords fighting in the Middle Ages, but there is almost nothing for european and american swords fighting after the 16th century, which is sad. I hope you do more on that in the future!

Funny...i was talking about the use of such an old fashioned gun as a club/parrying device and holding it backwards after spending it under one of your older vids about guns and then some idiot came and started scolding me for it.

Seems like a very interesting source

Lambdin's hero, "Ram-Cat" Lewrie' favors a Gills hanger & double-barreled Manton pistols. Seems quite sensible!

I have a very rare sabre briquet of the napoleonic era. It's identical to the ones infantry carried but has an achor stamped on it. I assume it was french equivalent of marines

@scholagladiatoria

4 жыл бұрын

Possibly marines or regular navy - I have read that briquets were issued in some cases to the French navy.

A boarding ax looks alot like the modern fire Ax kept on hand for firefighting here in the states

Whenever I see him with a axe I want him to say "and my axe"

@ericv00

4 жыл бұрын

No. Not without his Matton Chops. When he grows that back, he can quote Gimli.

@CAP198462

4 жыл бұрын

....because you like his axe-ent? 😝 I’m terrible.

@davidtuttle7556

4 жыл бұрын

@@CAP198462 you made a hatchet job of that.

For the Americans I think another influence was the native American tomahawk (and long knife). The effectiveness of that combo made a lasting impression in the American mindset.

@diktatoralexander88

4 жыл бұрын

Yes, close quarters native fighting, a longer sword had almost no advantage over something smaller like a bowie knife. American edged weapon culture became more focused on the bowie knife and tomahawk since, and still remains to this day.

@bharnden7759

4 жыл бұрын

Not quite. The native's metal working materials consisted of gold, copper, and silver. Soft metals for decoration. The europeans had iron and steel for tools and weapons. The natives were always willing to trade for iron/steel axes, and knives, and hatchets/tomahawks. The natives had stones attached to handles, sometimes chipped to rough edges.

@holyknightthatpwns

4 жыл бұрын

@@bharnden7759 it only takes stone or copper to make a functional tomahawk, assuming there isn't a lot of armor involved. And once the European settlers arrived, native Americans were extremely quick to adopt their metals (and horses and guns). Regardless of what they used before settlers arrived, the lasting impression in the modern American's mind is from after first contact.

@Riceball01

4 жыл бұрын

But I think that there was also a strong French influence since American military forces hadn't been around long enough to really forge their own traditions yet. Given that the Continental Army was trained by the French, it would stand to reason that the same would apply to the Continental Navy and so boarding axes would be a natural thing for them to use even if there wasn't an "Indian fighting" influence. This influence can be seen as late as the Civil War where swords on both sides were based on French designs, as were uniforms with some units adopting French style Zouave uniforms.

@Kobolds_in_a_trenchcoat

4 жыл бұрын

@@Riceball01 to add on to your comment. I think a large reason bigger swords (compared to Bowie knives and tomahawks) never caught on in amber is because Americans never really heavily embraced close ranged weapons. Matt said in an episode years ago (sorry it's been too long I don't remember but it was an episode about bayonets if that helps) that in the American civil war, European military personnel were sometimes brought over to train soldiers and found soldiers were not trained to shoot and then charge with bayonets. In Europe they were. I would imagine this lack of training would extend to larger blades weapons as well. Also notable, where various British and other European colonies had problems with fighting breaking out without guns or with guns having limited access to ammo (or sometimes not enough stopping power to *immediately* kill), America just didn't have this issue. Or at least that is the impression that I have gotten from Matt and my general understanding of American history growing up here and studying it.

Glad you brought out the treatise. I would say the use of them in the US Navy could be attributed to several reasons. The US getting inspiration from the French, the fact that most frontiersman and commercial sailors were familiar with them, the lack of enough cutlases available to purchase and the stingy government supplying enough equipment. The last was a problem til WWII. Maybe a slight respite during the Civil War. The government officials were always tight fisted and of course there profiteers 4 deep waiting to run off with whatever was spent.

Hi Matt, I understand that the gun can be used along these lines at desperate times, but I also understand the official regulations not to teach it in the first place. 1) by holding the gun inverted along the forearm, you're "flagging" anyone your elbow is pointed at. Friendly soldiers, for the most part. 2) by hip shooting weak handed with the sword hand extended out, you can shoot your own fingers off by mistake. 3) by shooting when the parties have mixed in melee, you can easily hit your comrades directly or with a shoot through.

Definitely like to see more of the pistol/cutlass pairing. Similarly, it seem like the boarding axe could be used for extra protection during parrying, though, I guess you wouldn't have the curve to create a sort of tonfa grip. Well, that and a pistol is... well, pistol, lol

I'd like to see more content on the Tomahawk and other American Indian topics. Cheers, Matt.

@jordansblabbering6303

4 жыл бұрын

Would be really cool, the leather shields, the clubs....

@greenmagic8ball198

4 жыл бұрын

@@jordansblabbering6303 Matt may have said before that the tomohawk is essentially derived from the axes of the sailors.

@Lakikano

4 жыл бұрын

@@greenmagic8ball198 I've heard that, but I'm not sure where. Certainly makes sense to use European designs considering their lack of native metal working but I think they used stone tomahawks too.

Not sure how the original can possibly be in copyright. A new published edition could have a copyright, but not if the museum is sitting on it.

@Tananjoh

4 жыл бұрын

I suspect it's not the book itself that's under copyright, but the museum's scan of it.

Speaking as a war of 1812 reenactor, I have a theory as to why the pistol would be held in the grip shown in the treatise. Even though black powder is a much less efficient explosive than modern gunpowder, it can still heat up a barrel to the point of being untouchable. Often this may take as few as 3-4 shots fired in quick succession. What I notice about the treatise positioning of the pistol, is that there is no risk of contact between the barrel and the hand/arm. I would imagine that suddenly being burned quite badly by your pistol, would be distracting especially to someone who is completely novice at hand to hand combat. I look forward to reading further potential theories.

3:49 I look forward to seeing a video about the long-lost manuscript on nautical broom fighting ;) Although a video or videos on improvised weapons throughout the ages would be interesting.

@mikefule330

3 жыл бұрын

The Royal Navy experimented with broom fighting but as the official inquiry reported that it was a failure, they swept it under the carpet.

With all this talk about axes I'm certain everybody would enjoy a video on Tomohawks.

As a fellow Haligonian I appreciate the practically of his fencing training- most people give only downright blows on the head- teach them to attack the right and left and block too lol.

@wendel5868

4 жыл бұрын

William Johnson I love when people who would die instantly on armed combat comments on how to fight properly.

@SUB0SCORION

4 жыл бұрын

I know some people at my club who have been practicing longsword for more than a year and all they do is the zornhau. And even for more trained fighters this is the usually the most used blow

@toddellner5283

4 жыл бұрын

@@wendel5868 In the very few instances when I've used a weapon in a fight it wasn't very hard to keep the basics of training and do something besides straight downward and forehand strikes. I am not the brightest or best trained person out there even if the next guy out there is a very mediocre fighter, so it isn't terribly hard to believe that other people could do the same thing.

Just for the comment, cutlass likely comes from the "coutlelas" french word , which means large knife. As I am interrested in axes and tomahawk, I looked for boarding axe also . We can see in auctions sites many boarding axe from Napoleon french navy so it seems they were produced in mass with a standard form, (also in the Britsh Navy ?) .

i use your channel as an English language source material)) now i can argue that “i recommend you to go” is indeed correct.

@jan_kisan

4 жыл бұрын

@Cyclone Bravo in some aspects. in others British must be closer. usually it happens so that dialects or languages of the same origin develop new things and keep old ones in a bit different patterns.

@grendelgrendelsson5493

4 жыл бұрын

@@jan_kisan A friend of mine from Scotland once used a word that sounded like "grit" for "crying". It wasn't until I began to study Old English that I discovered that it comes from the term "greotan" , "to weep". I suppose many words that fell out of common usage have stayed around as dialect words.

@jan_kisan

4 жыл бұрын

@@grendelgrendelsson5493 yeah, this is a nice observation. i remember even my grandmother using a somewhat different case system variant. so, different grammar, not just words. she used to have that ”old vocative case” of Russian.

Alex is actually from Kraken Swords! :)

The use of boarding axes by the American Navy might at least partially be explained by the contemporary martial tradition of the tomahawk in American military land forces. Americans knew it to be a practical and efficient close combat weapon in fighting Indians, the British and the French on land, so it would be strange if martial axes were completely ignored in the close combat of ship boarding.

Well my family were mercenaries during the Georgen period, served on our own ships (that were obtained less than legally) and most actually prefered axes and some form of two handed machete type weapon that i still have a varient of

@eldorados_lost_searcher

4 жыл бұрын

In the words of a random passerby in the film The Life of Brian: You lucky bastard.

@Jazzman-bj9fq

4 жыл бұрын

@@eldorados_lost_searcherHahaha... Oh to be fortunate enough to be personally smacked in the head with a boarding axe!

@crazywilly3333

4 жыл бұрын

Two handed Machete type weapon? Post a picture!

@wendigo1619

4 жыл бұрын

@@crazywilly3333 it was an african weapon, can't remember what its called but it kinda looks like a woodsman friend, i already posted a few on google, i don't have social media acounts besides YT

@crazywilly3333

4 жыл бұрын

@@wendigo1619 Can you link me to some of those pictures?

another interesting talk could be (although little sword waving im afraid) about these source in different languages and if information is shared (by translations or such) often or pretty locked in per country / language. if someone studies one country it still is interesting how other countries view the weapons / techniques.

Is that guard part of an Adam & the Ants dance? "Prince Charming, Prince Charming, Ridicule is nothing to be scared of......"

Might the early American use of the axe in naval combat also come from training received via the French or adoption of the "French Model" in the post-Revolution period?

@arctodussimus6198

4 жыл бұрын

I think you are absolutely right . I also think the natives in America took to the axe (tomahawk) so well because it was an improvement to their primary weapon, the war club or pagamoggon. Natives were already proficient with the tool, and the colonists could see the benefit of it.

@elmospasco5558

4 жыл бұрын

We Americans love our tomahawks. The aboriginal Americans kind of got us into the habit. The tactical tomahawk is making a comeback among our armed forces even today.

@arctodussimus6198

4 жыл бұрын

Elmos Pasco You’re right! Special Forces have been carrying tomahawks since the 1700’s and Rogers Rangers. It has become popular with all the branches within the last 15-20 years or so.

@charlietipton8502

4 жыл бұрын

I do not recall anyone carrying one in Iraq. Do you have some first hand.knowledge or some reliable source?

@BeKindToBirds

3 жыл бұрын

@@elmospasco5558 No it isn't. Knives are barely present and almost exclusively as tools.

Question about naval weapons: why not bronze? I mean a short sword or pike, by definition not up against armour, why not? Won't rust, plus shinier.

Matt, fantastic example of a boarding axe in the Pitt Rivers collection in Oxford. Have you been?

@scholagladiatoria

4 жыл бұрын

I have been once, but I didn't have a lot of time to spend there. It is on my to-do list.

I would love to hear your thoughts on Naval use of flails, such as slugshot, sap, cosh, blackjack, etc. I understand that the "Mokey Paw" knot was frequently used by sailors, loaded with a lead shot, as a makeshift flail, and I am curious if this was used in boarding actions, or perhaps if it was more of a weapon of personal combat rather than military action. Thanks in advance. Love your content!

I often wonder if the tradition of carrying swords ( and their use in combat) continued to this day if we would have developed new techniques or just kept the existing ones?

@lorgarbeareroftheword5836

4 жыл бұрын

Likely we would have both. With both traditional and newly invented sword systems.

Woot woot! Score 1 for the Axe!

I wonder if the popularity of axes in the US Navy had anything to do with the American experience of tomahawks in frontier warfare. Somewhat ironic if true, given what Matt has pointed out about the British origin of many tomahawks. It's probably just a coincidence, but it is interesting that the oldest surviving French manual is La Jeu de la Hache which, I believe is also the only manual entirely on fighting with axes. Of course is that case, the "axe" is actually a hammer...

A reason the axe might be taken seriously by the American navy is they had learned the tomahawk from fighting natives. In addition it's short compared to a cutlass, and getting your weapon hung up on rigging is an issue on board ships.

I had actually guessed who the french speaker was before you said his name.

DUCK! Matt’s throwing axes!!

I think it would be more accurate to say that during the 19th century guns were steadily becoming the more important weapon for naval and military use (indeed for inter-personal offense and defense generally). See T. H. Monstery's SELF-DEFENSE FOR GENTLEMEN AND LADIES (edited by Ben Miller) in which he makes that specific point in relation to his training theories and practices for both armed and unarmed combat.

Sources on French boarding axes? Source on the axe-climbing technique? I'd like to read more.

Is there any mention to holding the pistol by the barrel and using it as a club? I was told when I was younger that the metal cap on the handle was for clubbing with.

Can we get a video on the sword with a cross guard and finger rings on your wall?

I read through this treatise and tried to apply it's concepts to a bout in Blade and Sorcery in Vr and I have to say I was surprised at the effectiveness of the saber or Cutlass with pistol along the back of the arm combo. I did miss my free hand being able to grapple and grab the opponent, but I also found you could not only block with the pistol, often you could riposte in a kind of armored elbow strike with the pistol to the head or neck stunning the opponent and leaving them open for a second to a well timed cut or thrust. I found a cut, particularly a draw cut to the side of the abdomen given the closeness of my opponent with this technique was most effective, but you could manage a thrust as well at times. A truly interesting concept.

How about rapier on board?

I like the jumper Matt. Where’d it come from?

I wonder if there's any relation to Dorris Pringle-Brule?

In North America in the 18th and early 19th centuries virtually every man would have literally grown up with an axe in his hand clearing farmland. Is it possible that the United States Navy had more of a bent toward axes simply because it felt more familiar to the sailors?

When boarding ships were any types of shields used?

What are the French sources you mentioned for boarding axe? Are they fencing manuals?

Are there any good sources that describe unarmed HEMA? Anything we could get a video about?

@jeanpaulgartier3404

4 жыл бұрын

Pancrase is European and historical

@eoagr1780

4 жыл бұрын

Catch-wrestling, Ringen, savate, classical pulgilism and baritsu are the ones I know. Englishmartialarts channel dabbles into classical pulgilism. Hans Talhoffer ringen if you want something more suite to medieval / Renaissance era. Most treates of the period deal in some extent with grappling, and unarmed techniques.

@killerkraut9179

4 жыл бұрын

Codex Wallerstein maybe There is englisch Translation by Paladin Press . Mostly wrestling and and some dirty Steet Fighting technicks . there are som weopon technickes as well but a big part without Wheopons

In the pre-Greene doctrine where the pistol is fired and discarded, from whence would the combatant draw his cutlass? In a prior naval video, you put some emphasis on the fact that cutlasses were carried in great number on board ship without scabbards. Would the cutlass be inserted into a sash or belt naked?

@scholagladiatoria

4 жыл бұрын

Yes, various places - either in a scabbard if they had one, or more often stuffed through a sash/belt, or sometimes held in the left hand. There are indeed mentions of cutlasses gripped in the teeth, just like in the movies!

As the French were using tomahawks, during the Napoleonic wars. It makes sense that this would carry over to the Navy.

What about the belaying pins so beloved of pirate movies?

Matt, I'm trying to do some research on fighting styles around 1690s to 1720. Specifically on pirates and the naval military of the time. Do you know of any treatises or any other sources for this time period?

@balee666

4 жыл бұрын

There are no treatises, as there were no official training mostly until the 1800s. However, I recommend you the following stuff: The Buccaneers of America (Alexander O. Exquemelin) Paradoxes of Defence & Brief Instructions on my Paradoxes of Defence (George Silver) Various verdadera destreza related sources. Various sources on dussack and messer are valid for cutlass (and early cutlasses used by buccaneers are actually like dussacks)

But where did they put the Boarding pass in the days of no I-phones?

So is the traditional firefighter axe a relative of this axe? Or is it the other way around?

@killerkraut9179

4 жыл бұрын

Axe types with a Spike on the Back existed in The medival period .

Boarding axes were mostly evolved from sawed off halberds. Could be seen on various contemporary illustrations, for example: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_England#/media/File:Edward_England,_Irish_Pirate.jpg

Hey, can you make a video about that movie cliche where they burn wounds to prevent infection in a medieval setting? is that a thing people would ve known to do?

@johnladuke6475

4 жыл бұрын

Cauterizing has been around pretty much forever. They wouldn't have quite as clearly understood the link between killing bacteria and preventing infection in medieval or renaissance (or earlier) settings, but it was well known as a way to stop severe bleeding, and observation would easily show cauterized wounds healing better, even if they didn't really understand why.

@HimslGames

4 жыл бұрын

thanks, I always assumed it was a bad movie trope.

Axe is a trade off, you get more impact at the head than with a sword. Supposedly if you had to cut or trash something, an axe would have a more powerful impact than say a cutlass. Its just guesswork for my part. Edit: From my memory of working with both tarred and normal hemp rope, an axe most certainly stand a better chance at cutting a rope than say a cutlass.

@LazyLifeIFreak

4 жыл бұрын

A cutlass is no good for breaking down stuff.

@badlaamaurukehu

4 жыл бұрын

@@LazyLifeIFreak Yup. If your enemy barricades you want quick entry into those compartments lest they regroup or sabotage the ship, etc...

HOW can one get a copy/facsimile of this book?

The Royal Navy used the cutlass in WW1 in numerous engagements. Mainly small gunboat battles that ended with boarding the enemy vessel. Boat decks too small for rifles that the German sailor had. Cutlass and pistols! Ps Germans also used cutlasses. 'Twas a bloody tale....

@brittakriep2938

4 жыл бұрын

Ancient Mariner : Up to the early 1890 the german navy used needle-fire rifles, then M71 or M71/84 rifles for black-powder cartidges. These rifles had baionnets/Seitengewehre with long blades and brass handle. They had a size of being useable as cutlass/ Entermesser and the navy decided, that this baionnets should be used as a substitute for real cutlasses, even they had no good handguard. Even in worldwar one many sailors and port/land personal had been armed with this old weapons, but no more the needle-fire rifles. I write this to show, that the german forces usually had been well equipped, but not everything was gold!