To all the people complaining about how the techniques are too slow: The instructors are DELIBERATELY SLOWING THEMSELVES DOWN, so that the students can actually see what's going on. In a real fight, they would be moving much faster. They only go at this pace so that novices can see the techniques in full detail, study them, and then replicate them at a higher speed.
TheSpaghettiKnight Fast for teaching is bad. We try to drill it for speed then use it. It's an ongoing attempt to re-create and use what is in the manuals. Thanks for noticing! Anytime you post martial material there is a cross-section of the populace that gets angry. It's ok. We love them all. Thanks again!
Richard looks like a living historical manual. He even resembles the guys that you see on the manual pics lol If he ever say that he was once a Landsknecht or a Swiss mercenary i wouldn't doubt it.
Mr. Marsden is fine! The term 'Master' and 'Meistro' has a bit of baggage with it. Even in Fiore's day! Of himself he said, 'Some call me a perfect master', but he went on to say he didn't think so!
The producers of Game of Thrones should hire these guys as instructorsThey are even using the swords which were actually used in the late middle ages and reffered to constantly to in the books. We want more detail and realism from them.
unfortunately they're probably looking for hollywood-style instructors who have experience with what movie business wants in a fight scene. realism is for hardcore fans and competitions
A properly choreographed realistic swordfight looks just as exciting if not more than the typical Hollywood-style fights. Smooth flowing moves, precision kills, graceful combatants.
HEMA is a sport I'd probably never get into (or have the chance to, honestly), but I can't help but love watching it. Richard does a great job of breaking things down so that they're easy even for a layman such as myself to understand while keeping it fun and lighthearted in the process. Fiore's stuff is amazing.
Personally i wouldn't call it a sport for the most part, I'd call it a martial art. Kendo, olympic fencing, boxing are sports with all the rules involved. They are martials arts that have devolved into more of a sport. That's my opinion anyway.
@@shaundouglas2057 They're not mutually exclusive. Boxing, wrestling, etc. are simultaneously martial arts and combat sports. Ditto for Judo. HEMA is a conglomerate of various martial systems, but also has a competitive sporting element.
I enjoy richards teachings. Even in these short videos he's very articulate in the way he explains the technique but yet keeps it simple at the same time
Great video. I'm learning a lot from these videos that i wouldn't otherwise be able to learn without formal training. I'll have to watch through again and practice some of these techniques with my friends.
I talked with Richard at the Arizona Knife Collector's Association show in Mesa this past January, where I was exhibiting and his gang was giving demos. Very nice guy. Unfortunately, I couldn't leave my display table to watch the crew give their demonstrations. Your video made up for that!
***** If you go to wiktenauer.com you can find a lot of treatises on medieval and later combat,most of it is about how to use swords,but there's also lots of grappling involved as well. :)
+VaanG0v The idea that a sword-fight is clingy clangy is very very very heavily embedded in what people expect in movies. After all, they have swords, people want to see them using the swords. To start the slow change it will require to affect this, it'll require a lot of really awesome stunt scenes that still satisfy a little bit of that expectation but throw in some new stuff in a way that will make people go "okay! That was awesome and I liked that new stuff!"
As some one who trains Brazilian jiu jiu jitsu and Muay Thai, I found this video to be fascinating. It's really cool seeing the same utilization of certain positions to sweep and joint lock the opponent even while using s sword. Very cool!
TheNewton777 Neat, isn't it? The human body only moves so many ways, and once the efficient and biomechanically sound ways are found, it's interesting to see how many completely unrelated arts follow suit.
That looks like a lot of fun! 😎😍 I wish more medieval movies would integrate grappling into their fight choreographs. And more game have it as a mechanic.
So, can we just get Marsden and Lee to start up their own channel... or just get more of their stuff on yours? I love this kind of thing, and their explanation sessions.
That instructor seems extremely great at teaching, I was impressed. Although, in my ignorance, I don't see how the technique of wrapping your arm around the enemy's sword is practical. Is it assuming you are wearing some type of armor? Or, like half-swording, can your arm hold on to the sword? Basically, my thought is that the opponent could use his full weight/strength to pull his sword away from you (and possibly injure your arm?). But, again, I don't fully understand sword physics. Can anyone explain that to me?
Christian Crockett If you wrap the arm around quickly enough and then grab the guard, no problem. Even if the edge slides across the arm a little bit, something as simple as sturdy clothing would protect you.
Richard Marsden Thanks for the figure, good to see that from another angle. It also helped me notice that the sword slides under the arm, which would make it harder for the opponent to break free (limited mobility). Thanks!
I want to say thanks for making the videos you do, I have been into the study of martial arts on and off my hole life. It has been hand in hand with my involvement in archery. You have exposed me to a hole new genre of martial arts training. I have fond your videos to be very entertaining. So once more thanks. James Tank Underwood
I love how the first response from all doubters is "OMG technique doesn't work against real opponent." Every technique in any system is fallible, and yet they all have a time and place. For those in "the-know" the key is to use any given technique when the opponent cannot help but succumb to it.
A lot of this is similar to how Cane self-defense tactics work, with the arm locks and neck holds. I was kind of envisioning these things being applied with Sword tactics like these, where grasping one's own or an opponent's blade is actually a viable option. I never knew that such similarities did indeed exist. Shows how much completely different Martial Arts can have in common! Thank you for showing us this, Skall. Very informative. :)
For folks wanting to get involved in stuff like this, there are more and more groups around the world. HEMA Alliance has a club finder on line, and there are many seminars and conventions where you can find out more and network with people. We even have several groups in Alaska. hemaalliance.com/north-america-club-finder
Hey Skal, I've searched a bit in your channel, looking for something about big shields. Greatshields, Tower Shields and something of the sort. Do you have anything on that that I might've missed? Weapons that are best used with that, strenghts and weaknesses, materials, historic usage and such. Thanks!
also the Greek Hoplite shield, though that was used in formation. Thinking about it, most large shields that I know from the top of my head were used in formation. Shield wall, turtle etc.
You bet I am. My brother lives over there, and as soon as the work season is over I will see about attending classes. Learning swordsmanship is definitely on my to do list.
+Dire Development Are you in or near Anchorage? There are two HEMA schools there. www.communitywalk.com/HistoricalEuropeanMartialArts%28WesternNorthAmerica%29
Great Instructions. I really like how he points two things out: 1st each technique can be done in various ways. (this is best but this works too....) and 2nd there always is a counter. (and a counter to the counter). (Unlike other instructors always goes like "nothing he can do, wow....") A thing that comes a bit short in the video is how the different sections (Westling/Dagger etc.) come together. Like the arm bar he shows is the first(?)play of the grapple section.
When you said you were a novice i thought you were being modest, but now i realize you were serious about it, this techniques are so advanced, some of them don't seem as practical as others but I'm not the expert. :)
I do wish the Fiore class in my city was closer. It's about fifty minutes for me so I can't go. I thoroughly enjoy the Meyer longsword I do currently but I'd really enjoy doing both
Alot of people complain that it's too slow and they would never work in a proper duel, and while it is true for how it is shown, for the actual technique it is perfectly viable. You first teach how to perform the technique and break it down step by step, and that's fine, what you then do is PRACTICE, practice sparring to learn and adapt the technique for use in full speed dueling, it's basically a tutorial: Give the basics in slow easy to understand ways, then let them adapt and understand how to use what you've taught to be effective.
I have done about 10 years of Hapkido training, and a lot of these locks that you achieve are similar to the knife disarms and locks/throws that I learned. I always love seeing examples of techniques in multiple martial arts. I bet there are similarities in Hema to Aikido, Judo, and Jujitsu when it comes to grappling/ locking techniques
Kairyu & Mina We think so. I've had jujitsu guys visit and say, "Oh, you're doing a...." Here is a fun one. There is an older form of juijitsu being pieced together called Bartitsu. We've looked at it as later-period HEMA. Very interesting stuff, and modern martial artists who have looked at it with us say, "OH! That's a .... but a much harder way of doing it."
Richard Marsden Oh and check this out. wiktenauer.com/wiki/Fiore_de%27i_Liberi Go here. Go to the grappling section and see what looks similar from 1410 compared to today!
#7 is similar to an armpit lock in Hapkido, though the forearm is braced across your chest the way I was taught, not the shoulder but both would achieve the same result. #8, 9, 10 are all exactly the same as some of the head grab takedowns I have learned both from Hapkido and when I did Nihon Kenpo in Japan. # 15 can be done as a choke out if done from side mount in Juijitsu # 17 speaks for itself. Pretty universal # 21 is used in Hapkido as a way to get out of several enemy grabs including to the collar, shoulders, hair, or face. You can also clap both hands over their ears at the same time and stun someone pretty badly in the same situations. I am sure if I remembered more of the techniques I have learned over the years I would be able to mark more similarities. But yeah, I love seeing similarities between martial arts. I just think it is really cool that different humans, across different cultures and locales all end up figuring out similar ways of kicking each other's butts
HA! We need a guy like you. Fiore's wrestling is something I need more help with and I believe those with prior hand to hand martial arts are a good fit to bring the plays back to life. Thanks much!
Haha thanks. I would really love to get more into HEMA but I am currently living in the states and trying to save up money for my wedding, but if I am ever in your neck of the woods I would love to drop in.
Richard Marsden Then you're probably a good teacher :) Anyway, thanks for letting Skall record and upload this, gives the opportunity for guys overseas like me to enjoy it as well.
Are there any parry divert blade to shoulder barge techniques? I'd imagine they would be the most effective and simple. I can't think of anything that would be more effective against a fully armoured opponent.
At 2:10, I question that technique of wrapping your arm around the enemies blade. I just feel like having your armpit exposed while attempting that is asking for your arm to get slashed if he pulls the blade away.
Is there a technique similar to a "Long Sword Kimora" Wherein you use your Hilt to lock their arm and weave the blade back around it, and if the sword is long enough; tuck it through their opposite leg? Sounds overly complex but it can be done in 1 fluid motion given enough practice on the technique. It will leave your opponent unable to move their arm and enable you to simply "Pop" it and completely destroy their arm :), and can be removed in 1 stroke (which will also slice opponent up on the way out)
OK, the bit that worried me was (at 1:44 - 2:20) where he wrapped his arm completely around his opponent's blade and grabbed the guard. I can accept that if you have good plate armour, wrapping your forearm round a sharp blade is pretty safe, but the place where almost all armour has to have a gap is under the armpit. You have critical nerves and blood vessels running though your armpit, and you're just inviting a draw cut right there? Fine with modern blunt blades in a sparring environment, but... (Also, if you were wearing armour sturdy enough to protect your forearm in that position, would you have the flexibility to wrap it like that? I don't know, because I've never worn such armour; but things you can do in a sweatshirt you can't necessarily do in a hauberk over a gambeson).
This system is for Blossfechten - Blouse Fighting, meaning plain clothes, without armor. Grappling the blade usually occurs when your opponent has committed to a movement, meaning he's already swung or thrust into a position that he can't easily withdraw out of due to his own body's momentum or being bound against his opponent's blade. It takes good timing, but bear in mind, the people practicing these systems would have been burgers and nobility. Even if they had to fight somebody in the street, it's unlikely their opponent would have had access to this type of education to counter them. Plebs, like noobs, will overextend and overswing. They lack the experience, education and often temperament and sobriety to win. Not to say it will never end poorly for the nobility, but in Fiore's day, in Italy, there were a lot of people who carried just as a fashion statement or as proof of masculinity without any proper training. The risk of being cut this way is low because medieval clothing was much thicker than the T-shirts the average guy bums around in today. If you bind the blade as shown here, it will be next to impossible for it to move. If it can't move, it can't cut.
I have never practiced or participated in HEMA even once in my life, so I don’t wanna sounds like I know anything because I don’t.. but at 1:53 what’s stopping the other guys from just slicing has arm or rib cage? Like I get he’s grabbing the guard but his arm is literally on the blade
What happened to the good old days when your sempai yelled at you until you got it right. Nowadays everyone shuffles around laughing nervously, and handing out hugs.
I'm a member of an Amtgard group and I find it really useful to watch these since, other then the members who have been participating for 10+ years, most young members are extremely inexperienced in actual sword fighting. The only problem with this particular video for me is that most of the moves he's teaching are illegal in Amtgard. Still, thanks for the video.
Hello Skall, I just wanted to say two things. One keep up the awesome videos man, your wealth of knowledge and study of martial arts is very interesting to watch. Anyways the real reason I wanted to comment was about your knee. I watched the videos where you hurt it and the one the other day where you said you didn't spar because of your knee(I can't be certain) but it looked like your knee cap may have went out. It happened to me when I was back in middle school (I'm 22 now) for the first time and the doctors had no answers for me as well other than wait X period amount of time. Later down the road my knee popped out more times than I can count and it eventually became permanently tilted where nothing I did would fix it and bring it back on track. I had to go through a surgery to fix the tilt (recovery isn't going so swell) and was extremely painful. The only reason I'm telling this to you is so you take the steps necessary to make sure it doesn't get as bad as my leg. Again I don't know for sure what happened to you but what I saw in the incident video (especially the second part where you buckled) it looked a lot like what happened to me over the years. See If you can get an MRI to make sure its not tilted and talk to an Orthopedic Doctor to make sure its tracking correctly etc. I just don't want to see someone have to stop doing what they love because of an injury and be stuck in my situation. Apologies if there are any spelling errors for you grammar Nazis out there. Anyways Good Luck Skall, I really do hope your knee heals up, please keep up with great videos!
Hey Skallagrim! I'm a big fan of the Kriegsmesser but I can't seem to find any instructions on how to us such a weapon. I've seen how to use the one handed, langes messer, but nothing really on the Kriegsmesser. Would it be possible to do a video on such a subject?
Maybe im mistaken but many time looks like the longsword users left hand are glued for their grip even if its many times looks disadvantage like in some of these technics when the grappled hands stick on the pumel even if he could use it to counter,but probably im mistaken.
Ákos Kovács I think you mean the opponent? Ideally they stay glued, and in sparring your'd be surprised, many people hold on tighter and forget to use their off-hand. Fiore (the guy who we study from 1410) shows the IDEAL situation. Can the opponent counter? Yes, he shows as much later!
Can anyone give me some advice on where to find/buy a good practice sword? I have two wooden wasters but I'm interested in a blunted steel training sword like the ones used in the video. Hanwei, maybe?
2:25 Marsden gets his leg cut. This is why you learn the grapple to learn to avoid them, but never *seek* the grapple with a sword, unless fighting in armor.
hello skall and comment section uhm,this thought popped in my head,and i have to ask,i'm curious:now,undoubtedly a big bullet with more powder will make a bigger hole,but, if there's a big bullet with less powder than the smaller bullet,and the smaller bullet,as previously said,has MORE powder than the bigger bullet,wich will make the bigger hole?
Hey skallagrim talk about the twin hook blades or tiger hook blade because there weird sword monk weapons so do you like the look of them so talk about
Fun to see extremely similar stuff in HEMA (Reneissance Italy) than there is in just about any and every asian martial art. But, what ever works, works, and a human body functions the same in Asia and it does in Europe. :P Great video!
Hey Skallagrim, I have a question: Do you know if they have any of this in the NE section of the US? I cant seem to find one. Also, how much does a training seminar from Richard (or any of them) cost?
Mr.Red www.Phoenixswordclub.com no charge for the first three visits, and a whopping 10 bucks per visit after that. You'll fine no better prices! See you when you're ready and have time. Good luck on the job!
To all the people complaining about how the techniques are too slow:
The instructors are DELIBERATELY SLOWING THEMSELVES DOWN, so that the students can actually see what's going on. In a real fight, they would be moving much faster. They only go at this pace so that novices can see the techniques in full detail, study them, and then replicate them at a higher speed.
TheSpaghettiKnight
Exactly. I assumed that people would realize that, but apparently there was some confusion.
TheSpaghettiKnight Fast for teaching is bad. We try to drill it for speed then use it. It's an ongoing attempt to re-create and use what is in the manuals. Thanks for noticing! Anytime you post martial material there is a cross-section of the populace that gets angry. It's ok. We love them all.
Thanks again!
Troll Berserker
Exactly, that’s why trained soldiers in the modern day do so poorly in combat.
Oh wait.
If you want to see them in real speed, you can check out Akademi Szermierzy. They use the same exact style.
@@trollberserker1515 Lmao I actually laughed out loud
This guy seems like an excellent teacher, very clear and slow demonstrations. I'm glad you were able to get some footage for this.
He is a very good teacher, cool guy too, I've had him for a few of my HS classes
Richard looks like a living historical manual. He even resembles the guys that you see on the manual pics lol
If he ever say that he was once a Landsknecht or a Swiss mercenary i wouldn't doubt it.
RyuFireheart Maybe he is a highlander?
Jackie Thunder Everybody loves Misha :D
Никита Борзовский Or a Jedi ;p
Richard Marsden Thank You Meister (Meistro?) Marsden!
Mr. Marsden is fine!
The term 'Master' and 'Meistro' has a bit of baggage with it. Even in Fiore's day! Of himself he said, 'Some call me a perfect master', but he went on to say he didn't think so!
The producers of Game of Thrones should hire these guys as instructorsThey are even using the swords which were actually used in the late middle ages and reffered to constantly to in the books. We want more detail and realism from them.
agreeed
unfortunately they're probably looking for hollywood-style instructors who have experience with what movie business wants in a fight scene. realism is for hardcore fans and competitions
At least to show them few finishing techniques. They must keep "tap opponent sword for ages" part before. It is movies/tv.
Agreed.
A properly choreographed realistic swordfight looks just as exciting if not more than the typical Hollywood-style fights. Smooth flowing moves, precision kills, graceful combatants.
"If it's a peasant, who cares?" Perfect.
HEMA is a sport I'd probably never get into (or have the chance to, honestly), but I can't help but love watching it. Richard does a great job of breaking things down so that they're easy even for a layman such as myself to understand while keeping it fun and lighthearted in the process. Fiore's stuff is amazing.
Personally i wouldn't call it a sport for the most part, I'd call it a martial art. Kendo, olympic fencing, boxing are sports with all the rules involved. They are martials arts that have devolved into more of a sport.
That's my opinion anyway.
@@shaundouglas2057 They're not mutually exclusive. Boxing, wrestling, etc. are simultaneously martial arts and combat sports. Ditto for Judo.
HEMA is a conglomerate of various martial systems, but also has a competitive sporting element.
I own Richard's translation of Fiore's Flower of Battle. Absolutely amazing work, and everyone should read it! ^_^
I enjoy richards teachings. Even in these short videos he's very articulate in the way he explains the technique but yet keeps it simple at the same time
Great video. I'm learning a lot from these videos that i wouldn't otherwise be able to learn without formal training. I'll have to watch through again and practice some of these techniques with my friends.
Ryan Cauffman We hope so. Part of my goal in sharing anything is to let others see HEMA and perhaps take it up!
I talked with Richard at the Arizona Knife Collector's Association show in Mesa this past January, where I was exhibiting and his gang was giving demos. Very nice guy. Unfortunately, I couldn't leave my display table to watch the crew give their demonstrations. Your video made up for that!
cprokopp1 Thanks for the shout out! We do demos where we can I know you guys are strapped to your tables!
"If it's a peasant who cares?" Laughed so hard at that.
Blew my mind, you can actually grapple effectively in a swordfight! Why don't they do ever do this in the movies?
***** If you go to wiktenauer.com you can find a lot of treatises on medieval and later combat,most of it is about how to use swords,but there's also lots of grappling involved as well. :)
In sparring this is the only thing that works for me heh.
+VaanG0v Also,I assume they don't do this much in movies since grappling can seem silly to the untrained eye?
But that's just an assumption. :)
+VaanG0v The idea that a sword-fight is clingy clangy is very very very heavily embedded in what people expect in movies. After all, they have swords, people want to see them using the swords. To start the slow change it will require to affect this, it'll require a lot of really awesome stunt scenes that still satisfy a little bit of that expectation but throw in some new stuff in a way that will make people go "okay! That was awesome and I liked that new stuff!"
If you want to see historical technique with a fine stunt check out longsword from adorea channel.
As some one who trains Brazilian jiu jiu jitsu and Muay Thai, I found this video to be fascinating. It's really cool seeing the same utilization of certain positions to sweep and joint lock the opponent even while using s sword. Very cool!
TheNewton777 Neat, isn't it? The human body only moves so many ways, and once the efficient and biomechanically sound ways are found, it's interesting to see how many completely unrelated arts follow suit.
it really is! id love to see a study done on that, comparing all the motions in different arts and finding the patterns
That looks like a lot of fun! 😎😍
I wish more medieval movies would integrate grappling into their fight choreographs.
And more game have it as a mechanic.
So, can we just get Marsden and Lee to start up their own channel... or just get more of their stuff on yours? I love this kind of thing, and their explanation sessions.
Swordpals is the youtube channel of the group Richard heads.
0:15 smh would be easier to detach the opponent's pommel and throw at him
Luiz Felipe Never gets old. XD
The Ion Curtain It's already old...
Zyrus no its not. Be sad somewhere else.
Luiz Felipe and end him rightly XD
Dominik Doherty
That instructor seems extremely great at teaching, I was impressed.
Although, in my ignorance, I don't see how the technique of wrapping your arm around the enemy's sword is practical. Is it assuming you are wearing some type of armor? Or, like half-swording, can your arm hold on to the sword? Basically, my thought is that the opponent could use his full weight/strength to pull his sword away from you (and possibly injure your arm?). But, again, I don't fully understand sword physics. Can anyone explain that to me?
Christian Crockett
If you wrap the arm around quickly enough and then grab the guard, no problem. Even if the edge slides across the arm a little bit, something as simple as sturdy clothing would protect you.
***** Ah, I understand now. I neglected to consider grabbing the guard. Thanks, Skall!
Christian Crockett wiktenauer.com/images/thumb/d/da/Pisani-Dossi_MS_22r-b.jpg/300px-Pisani-Dossi_MS_22r-b.jpg
Richard Marsden Thanks for the figure, good to see that from another angle. It also helped me notice that the sword slides under the arm, which would make it harder for the opponent to break free (limited mobility). Thanks!
He would make an epic Arthur Dayne
QurttoRco Yea, sad thing he's in Canada.
Obyvvatel I dont see the problem
They shoot game of thrones far away from Canada, so that would be a pain in the ass for him to travel.
Obyvvatel none of the Actors from the show actually live in the places they shoot.
So they are away from home for the whole shooting process?
I can't believe he didn't display the end him rightly technique, what kind of seminar is this?
ahmed shamsi Soon. I promise it happens. Maybe to me. :)
Richard Marsden I'm looking forward to it.
+Richard Marsden Is there a specific type/shape of pommel you personally use to end your opponents rightly?
@@simasgx A pommel shaped sword pommel is the best shape and type. ;-D
Really loving these Blood and Iron videos we have seen since you moved. Great stuff man!
AMAZING TECHNIQUE! EXCELLENT INSTRUCTION! loving! Saving! And sharing! Thank you so much!
What I like about this video is that it shows grappling technique with the sword, we don't see enough of those. ^^
I want to say thanks for making the videos you do, I have been into the study of martial arts on and off my hole life. It has been hand in hand with my involvement in archery. You have exposed me to a hole new genre of martial arts training. I have fond your videos to be very entertaining. So once more thanks.
James Tank Underwood
I love how the first response from all doubters is "OMG technique doesn't work against real opponent."
Every technique in any system is fallible, and yet they all have a time and place. For those in "the-know" the key is to use any given technique when the opponent cannot help but succumb to it.
I love this stuff. It's so interesting to watch
A lot of this is similar to how Cane self-defense tactics work, with the arm locks and neck holds.
I was kind of envisioning these things being applied with Sword tactics like these, where grasping one's own or an opponent's blade is actually a viable option. I never knew that such similarities did indeed exist. Shows how much completely different Martial Arts can have in common!
Thank you for showing us this, Skall. Very informative. :)
I love these technique videos... can't wait to actually see Skal doing some of them.
I'm moving away for University in September and there's a HEMA club pretty close to where I am moving to and i'll definitely be giving it a try.
Allan Reford You're gonna get hooked! :)
For folks wanting to get involved in stuff like this, there are more and more groups around the world. HEMA Alliance has a club finder on line, and there are many seminars and conventions where you can find out more and network with people. We even have several groups in Alaska.
hemaalliance.com/north-america-club-finder
There's a new sword art school of Italian Historical Techniques in my city, it will open this September... can't wait!
Hey Skal, I've searched a bit in your channel, looking for something about big shields. Greatshields, Tower Shields and something of the sort. Do you have anything on that that I might've missed? Weapons that are best used with that, strenghts and weaknesses, materials, historic usage and such. Thanks!
Other than the Roman Scutum or perhaps a kiteshield or Gaulish shield, Nothing really comes close to the size of those fictional shields - I think.
And then there is also pavises.
also the Greek Hoplite shield, though that was used in formation.
Thinking about it, most large shields that I know from the top of my head were used in formation. Shield wall, turtle etc.
Pavise were mostly for passive defence, no? Mostly used to shield crossbowmen during reloading. You wouldn't wield one in actual melee combat.
no, there were a bigger and a smaller version, the smaller was still able to give full body protection and been favoured by man-at-arms...
These techniques are awesome! I never thought of using them as tools in a grapple!
Fiore's approach to longsword is 'judolike'. Leverages, push when pulled, pull when pushed, etc. Really interesting, love it.
Hell yeah! I can attend seminars in Phoenix! I'm totally going to look into this!!
Thunder Bird Definitely go check out their school, they're quite good!
You bet I am. My brother lives over there, and as soon as the work season is over I will see about attending classes. Learning swordsmanship is definitely on my to do list.
Thunder Bird Phoenixswordclub.com see you soon!
Got you guys bookmarked and hopefully see y'all sometime next month!! October at the latest.
Richard's a great teacher! He's still got it!
This will be great for writing my book. Fight sequence descriptions! yay!
Awesome stuff. Thanks for posting Skall!!
Skall it's "Fiore dei Liberi" or "Fiore de' Liberi", you can trust me because I'm from pizzapasta
V. V. Malazan Hahaha . And is it?
V. V. Malazan I think it was the Italian boxer in the original Punch Out.
+Pietro Aimone In realtà é 'De'i Liberi'.
I just wish there were Hema events here in Alaska. I'd fucking kill to learn this stuff
+Dire Development
Are you in or near Anchorage? There are two HEMA schools there. www.communitywalk.com/HistoricalEuropeanMartialArts%28WesternNorthAmerica%29
You just saved a life.
Quite the drive for me, but better than flying.. or killing someone.
Thank you kind sir!
+Dire Development Just remember, if there is no other choice: end them rightly.
Indeed!
Man i feel the same... I practice all alone :(
I am not into swords but I enjoy your videos a lot...
"Depending on if its a peasant who cares" lmao this dudes soo good
really interesting teqniques, especially the one 2:20 that uses a lever
Longsword looks like much more fun than other swords
Great Instructions. I really like how he points two things out: 1st each technique can be done in various ways. (this is best but this works too....) and
2nd there always is a counter. (and a counter to the counter).
(Unlike other instructors always goes like "nothing he can do, wow....")
A thing that comes a bit short in the video is how the different sections (Westling/Dagger etc.) come together. Like the arm bar he shows is the first(?)play of the grapple section.
All of this is so interesting! i need to look into something like this near me. I have always wanted to learn sword and historical combat stuff.
ARGH!!!! I'd love to go to one of his seminars of classes but I'm in Texas!
I love these videos! Great job!
When you said you were a novice i thought you were being modest, but now i realize you were serious about it, this techniques are so advanced, some of them don't seem as practical as others but I'm not the expert. :)
try that on Gregor Clegane
I do wish the Fiore class in my city was closer. It's about fifty minutes for me so I can't go. I thoroughly enjoy the Meyer longsword I do currently but I'd really enjoy doing both
Yep..I'm moving to Canada for this
Sound is fine and is a great video TYVM
This was really intresting. I wish i could learn with you Guys.
on the 5:44 the top center guy that's watching the sparring, he's right forearm is twice as big as he's left one. is that from the swording or what?
Alot of people complain that it's too slow and they would never work in a proper duel, and while it is true for how it is shown, for the actual technique it is perfectly viable. You first teach how to perform the technique and break it down step by step, and that's fine, what you then do is PRACTICE, practice sparring to learn and adapt the technique for use in full speed dueling, it's basically a tutorial: Give the basics in slow easy to understand ways, then let them adapt and understand how to use what you've taught to be effective.
I have done about 10 years of Hapkido training, and a lot of these locks that you achieve are similar to the knife disarms and locks/throws that I learned. I always love seeing examples of techniques in multiple martial arts. I bet there are similarities in Hema to Aikido, Judo, and Jujitsu when it comes to grappling/ locking techniques
Kairyu & Mina We think so. I've had jujitsu guys visit and say, "Oh, you're doing a...."
Here is a fun one. There is an older form of juijitsu being pieced together called Bartitsu. We've looked at it as later-period HEMA. Very interesting stuff, and modern martial artists who have looked at it with us say, "OH! That's a .... but a much harder way of doing it."
Richard Marsden Oh and check this out.
wiktenauer.com/wiki/Fiore_de%27i_Liberi
Go here.
Go to the grappling section and see what looks similar from 1410 compared to today!
#7 is similar to an armpit lock in Hapkido, though the forearm is braced across your chest the way I was taught, not the shoulder but both would achieve the same result.
#8, 9, 10 are all exactly the same as some of the head grab takedowns I have learned both from Hapkido and when I did Nihon Kenpo in Japan.
# 15 can be done as a choke out if done from side mount in Juijitsu
# 17 speaks for itself. Pretty universal
# 21 is used in Hapkido as a way to get out of several enemy grabs including to the collar, shoulders, hair, or face. You can also clap both hands over their ears at the same time and stun someone pretty badly in the same situations.
I am sure if I remembered more of the techniques I have learned over the years I would be able to mark more similarities. But yeah, I love seeing similarities between martial arts. I just think it is really cool that different humans, across different cultures and locales all end up figuring out similar ways of kicking each other's butts
HA! We need a guy like you. Fiore's wrestling is something I need more help with and I believe those with prior hand to hand martial arts are a good fit to bring the plays back to life.
Thanks much!
Haha thanks. I would really love to get more into HEMA but I am currently living in the states and trying to save up money for my wedding, but if I am ever in your neck of the woods I would love to drop in.
Love videos like this! So wish I could join a group like that!
So when do you throw the pomel?
Incredible... I wish I could practice HEMA here in Brazil... :c
I look forward to seeing you there Skallagrim! Im a huge fan of your videos :3
Can someone tell me the name of the technique they show at 0:37?
Good Footage. Thanks Skall!
When will you post another review or cuting practise i love those vids
You guys must have learned a lot that day. Not only this man is knowledgeable, he also seems to have good teaching skills.
GT-Alex Shh, don't tell them, but I'm a High School History teacher and have been for over a decade.
Richard Marsden
Then you're probably a good teacher :) Anyway, thanks for letting Skall record and upload this, gives the opportunity for guys overseas like me to enjoy it as well.
This is awesome, thanks for posting!
Are there any parry divert blade to shoulder barge techniques? I'd imagine they would be the most effective and simple. I can't think of anything that would be more effective against a fully armoured opponent.
At 2:10, I question that technique of wrapping your arm around the enemies blade. I just feel like having your armpit exposed while attempting that is asking for your arm to get slashed if he pulls the blade away.
MercenaryJames He's holding the crossguard.
this is so good, love it
Is there a technique similar to a "Long Sword Kimora" Wherein you use your Hilt to lock their arm and weave the blade back around it, and if the sword is long enough; tuck it through their opposite leg?
Sounds overly complex but it can be done in 1 fluid motion given enough practice on the technique.
It will leave your opponent unable to move their arm and enable you to simply "Pop" it and completely destroy their arm :), and can be removed in 1 stroke (which will also slice opponent up on the way out)
OK, the bit that worried me was (at 1:44 - 2:20) where he wrapped his arm completely around his opponent's blade and grabbed the guard. I can accept that if you have good plate armour, wrapping your forearm round a sharp blade is pretty safe, but the place where almost all armour has to have a gap is under the armpit. You have critical nerves and blood vessels running though your armpit, and you're just inviting a draw cut right there? Fine with modern blunt blades in a sparring environment, but...
(Also, if you were wearing armour sturdy enough to protect your forearm in that position, would you have the flexibility to wrap it like that? I don't know, because I've never worn such armour; but things you can do in a sweatshirt you can't necessarily do in a hauberk over a gambeson).
This system is for Blossfechten - Blouse Fighting, meaning plain clothes, without armor. Grappling the blade usually occurs when your opponent has committed to a movement, meaning he's already swung or thrust into a position that he can't easily withdraw out of due to his own body's momentum or being bound against his opponent's blade. It takes good timing, but bear in mind, the people practicing these systems would have been burgers and nobility. Even if they had to fight somebody in the street, it's unlikely their opponent would have had access to this type of education to counter them. Plebs, like noobs, will overextend and overswing. They lack the experience, education and often temperament and sobriety to win. Not to say it will never end poorly for the nobility, but in Fiore's day, in Italy, there were a lot of people who carried just as a fashion statement or as proof of masculinity without any proper training.
The risk of being cut this way is low because medieval clothing was much thicker than the T-shirts the average guy bums around in today. If you bind the blade as shown here, it will be next to impossible for it to move. If it can't move, it can't cut.
InB4 _"Hodor, u cant grab teh blade Hodor"_
Wonderful video and I LIKE that teacher, very comprehensive techniques!
Keep it up Skall! =^_^=
Looks like great fun!
I have never practiced or participated in HEMA even once in my life, so I don’t wanna sounds like I know anything because I don’t.. but at 1:53 what’s stopping the other guys from just slicing has arm or rib cage? Like I get he’s grabbing the guard but his arm is literally on the blade
This video shows to us once again the pommel is the most powerful weapon ever made.
Great video, these videos have got me looking for a HMA club!
What happened to the good old days when your sempai yelled at you until you got it right. Nowadays everyone shuffles around laughing nervously, and handing out hugs.
I'm a member of an Amtgard group and I find it really useful to watch these since, other then the members who have been participating for 10+ years, most young members are extremely inexperienced in actual sword fighting.
The only problem with this particular video for me is that most of the moves he's teaching are illegal in Amtgard.
Still, thanks for the video.
Wish I could find a hema group in my area
Hello Skall, I just wanted to say two things. One keep up the awesome videos man, your wealth of knowledge and study of martial arts is very interesting to watch. Anyways the real reason I wanted to comment was about your knee. I watched the videos where you hurt it and the one the other day where you said you didn't spar because of your knee(I can't be certain) but it looked like your knee cap may have went out. It happened to me when I was back in middle school (I'm 22 now) for the first time and the doctors had no answers for me as well other than wait X period amount of time. Later down the road my knee popped out more times than I can count and it eventually became permanently tilted where nothing I did would fix it and bring it back on track. I had to go through a surgery to fix the tilt (recovery isn't going so swell) and was extremely painful. The only reason I'm telling this to you is so you take the steps necessary to make sure it doesn't get as bad as my leg. Again I don't know for sure what happened to you but what I saw in the incident video (especially the second part where you buckled) it looked a lot like what happened to me over the years. See If you can get an MRI to make sure its not tilted and talk to an Orthopedic Doctor to make sure its tracking correctly etc. I just don't want to see someone have to stop doing what they love because of an injury and be stuck in my situation. Apologies if there are any spelling errors for you grammar Nazis out there. Anyways Good Luck Skall, I really do hope your knee heals up, please keep up with great videos!
LOL! "Who Cares if its a peasant" I can't breathe
Hey Skallagrim! I'm a big fan of the Kriegsmesser but I can't seem to find any instructions on how to us such a weapon. I've seen how to use the one handed, langes messer, but nothing really on the Kriegsmesser. Would it be possible to do a video on such a subject?
Maybe im mistaken but many time looks like the longsword users left hand are glued for their grip even if its many times looks disadvantage like in some of these technics when the grappled hands stick on the pumel even if he could use it to counter,but probably im mistaken.
Ákos Kovács I think you mean the opponent?
Ideally they stay glued, and in sparring your'd be surprised, many people hold on tighter and forget to use their off-hand. Fiore (the guy who we study from 1410) shows the IDEAL situation.
Can the opponent counter?
Yes, he shows as much later!
Wish there was studio in Ontario almost tempted to move there lol bht unless I have a good job there Dx I can't.
I wish they had stuff like this here in Montreal. The best stuff in Canada is all out west
Can anyone give me some advice on where to find/buy a good practice sword? I have two wooden wasters but I'm interested in a blunted steel training sword like the ones used in the video. Hanwei, maybe?
Any greatsword stuff coming up :p
2:25 Marsden gets his leg cut. This is why you learn the grapple to learn to avoid them, but never *seek* the grapple with a sword, unless fighting in armor.
0:37 what move was that?
hello skall and comment section uhm,this thought popped in my head,and i have to ask,i'm curious:now,undoubtedly a big bullet with more powder will make a bigger hole,but, if there's a big bullet with less powder than the smaller bullet,and the smaller bullet,as previously said,has MORE powder than the bigger bullet,wich will make the bigger hole?
Instruktor legs style similar as W.T. (why i live so far away) moves swift and precise, i like it so
What brand are these practice swords?
Skall could you post a video labelling the websites where you get your items cus the ones I have tried are useless
Can you maby do a review on the crkt urban shark
Hey skallagrim talk about the twin hook blades or tiger hook blade because there weird sword monk weapons so do you like the look of them so talk about
The cool thing is that even in Japanese martial arts, aikido in particular, you see a lot of the same techniques and principles.
Fun to see extremely similar stuff in HEMA (Reneissance Italy) than there is in just about any and every asian martial art.
But, what ever works, works, and a human body functions the same in Asia and it does in Europe. :P
Great video!
Hey Skallagrim, I have a question: Do you know if they have any of this in the NE section of the US? I cant seem to find one. Also, how much does a training seminar from Richard (or any of them) cost?
i realy like were you are taking your chanel, i think the move has sofar worked out in your favor. youtube wise atleest :)
Nox Umbra
Yep, the move was definitely a good thing. :)
I wish I lived in Arizona so I could take his classes.
I recently moved to phoenix and have left the house much, mostly due to job hunting, i think once i find one i may sign up an give it shot
Mr.Red www.Phoenixswordclub.com no charge for the first three visits, and a whopping 10 bucks per visit after that. You'll fine no better prices! See you when you're ready and have time. Good luck on the job!