So Many Ways to Cut With a Sword...
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- Опубліковано 20 вер 2024
- Just pick it up and unleash some heroic, over-powered swings upon the villainous foe? Not so fast... There is a little more complexity to historical swordsmanship. From how you grip to how you tighten your fingers to how you avoid leading with the hands instead of keeping them behind the blade as much as possible, there is a lot to think about.
So in this way I demonstrate a few different techniques, from different angles as well as first-person view, to give an impression of how much variation there is. And that's only from a HEMA perspective (Historical European Martial Arts). I'm sure armed fighting styles from other parts of the world could add plenty of other perspectives too.
The reproduction weapons in this video:
1.) Ewart Park bronze sword by Neil Burridge
www.bronze-age...
2.) The Marxbruder training messer
albion-swords....
3.) Fencing side sword by Kingston Arms
ww4.aitsafe.com...
4.) The Knecht kriegsmesser by Albion
ds/albion/nextgen/sword-kriegsmesser-knecht.htm
5.) The Flying Phoenix Han jian by LK Chen
ww4.aitsafe.com...
6.) Type XVIIIa 15th Century longsword by Stephan Lockwood
ww4.aitsafe.com...
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Now I want a video called "So Many Ways to Thrust".
Especially with a curved sword.
*Matt Easton intensifies*
And what if your blade has a slight bend to one side? 😆
@@FlinnGaidin the more the better (holds mangled sword to head) Is that understood?
“So many ways to stab” would be less awkward
The 1st person view looks amazing.
Yep ... looks like video games more than you think it will ... 👍👏👏👍
Agreed! Looks like a VR video game! I always suspected Skall was a computer generated person, now it's confirmed!
Kingdom Come 2: Norwegian boogaloo
If you actually hold a weapon in your own hand and open your eyes, then it is soooo 1st person its incredible
Medievalpunk 1477
Fun fact: The Witcher books make a point to mention if Geralt throws a cut from his wrist, elbow or shoulder. They actually have a lot of descriptions of techniques, though their realism is often hit or miss.
_I'm pretty sure the only way you can cut with a sword is with the sharp end..._
*Ending him with the pommel does not count.*
Although it is the only rightly way.
Stick em with the pointy end
Of course not, that's not cutting. It's ballistics.
@@LuckySketches pommel of mass destruction
@@LuckySketches it's a armagedom class spell
I was hoping you would go into explaining hewing vs slicing and other types of cuts
This is a great idea. I live in a HEMA desert so the only real education I get is from UA-cam and reading.
Already done.
ua-cam.com/video/YZtqCjZ4mTw/v-deo.html
@@Skallagrim Thank you!
@@Skallagrim I am quite impressed by this your new video about cutting. 👍 I was not sure about what can I expect from it but when you started to talk about the "other way to cut not focused on defeating tatami mat" 😛 I was quite surprised but pleased. That HEMA instructor you met there at the new place seems to be really good and your progress is obvious, or at least your understanding of HEMA is more closer to our European way.
How about maces now? I feel like my blunt-force tools of anti-armor destruction don't receive enough love.
That is the arch enemy of the sword...maces hurt more to both armor and bone. Swords, end fast.
5:40 Imagine a window cleaner staring into the apartment like "What the flying fu-"
Love from Poland to Hungary
Can you do a video on if bent swords are still useful please, thanks, love the channel
I think it’s safe to say a sword with a 90 degree bend is no longer effective
@@bradlocken2621 it is, in a self deffense situation it's better then nothing
You can unbent it by striking at wood in the other way the sword will take back his place...why? because i saw mattew jensen a youtuber who does a lot of tests and destructions and he use to unbent swords by striking them again in the other ways lol
Sorry for my poor english je suis quebecois on parle francais xD par ici
@@jeangab536 so mid fight to the death you should just take a break to smack your sword against a tree?
@@bradlocken2621 no you fool he just means the sword isn’t completely ruined
I was just explaining to someone earlier this week that the way you grip a sword influences how it is used. It's difficult to explain it in words without being able to show the different grips themselves. This explanation video helps so much, thanks for making it!
Bro your videos inspired me to order my first sword, an Albion Crecy. It's going to be awhile so looking for a cheaper in stock sword to begin practicing cutting.
I thought this was an incredibly good looking VR tech demo at first xD
This is one of your most informative videos, thanks! Less talking, more technique. Curved swords (forward or backward) add to this complexity a bunch.
10:53
Skall: "[...] end the fight."
My head: "But not rightly!"
Thank you for being you. I have started blade smithing and the first sword I made I did little test cutting.but the description of the ways to use sword has helped me be safe and accurate.
I can also throw it to the air, do a 360, grab it and cut my enemy with it
Would work in a fantasy game or movie.
Spinning is a good trick
@@afinoxi i think he will just stab you in the moment you throw your sword
Seems like a risky move. But if you do it in slow motion tho, accompanied by a lot of running and jumping. Just remember to not wear armor.
@@Luuucaz69 No that is unrealistic everybody knows that
I found this channel accidentally while trying to better understand historical weapons and the like for a novel I’m writing, but I’ve literally spent the last day and a half just binging as much of this stuff as I can. It’s not only awesome and information as hell, but the comment section is pure gold 😂😂😂
I like the first person shooter POV. Very educational to see things from basically your own perspective.
Years ago, I worked several seasons as a tree trimmer, holding a 12 pound chainsaw at full extension everyday develops some impressive muscle memory and muscle tone. Depending on whether you flex your wrist, rotate your forearm, extend your elbow, or rotate your shoulder (or some / all) you can generate HUGE forces and tip speed with a sword. Oddly, because of biomechanics, the natural reactions when roped into a tree, cutting with a chainsaw and directing where cut branches go are basically identical to saber fencing moves.
Now do:
Dumb ways to cut,
So maaany dumb ways to cut...
Dumb ways to cu-u-u-u-uuuuut,
So many dumb ways to cut...
@@c8h885 -_- I saw what you did there.
@@c8h885 Hey polystyrene, expand you a bit and a saw becomes a dumb way to cut...
Honestly, not a bad idea for a video.
Your videos makes quarantine a little bit more bearable. And I’m really becoming a fan of the messer.
The messer looks beautiful. I'm no expert on swords but the blade looks really pretty
As a leftie, I used the "UA-cam Video Flipper" chrome app to view your sword use in a lefty-friendly manner. It worked like a charm! :)
I've literally just been reading Berserk and there really are a hell of a lotta ways you can cut with a sword...
Also a hell of a lot of ways to die as well
I’ve never read any of the historical manuscripts (I’d like to) but it seems like my personal style leans towards one handed blades. That being said I really enjoyed the video and it was both entertaining and informative
This video for me is a game tutorial. Nice work Skall.
Fun to see it from you point of view
You have described a number of Japanese style swordsmanship. Most notably in the execution and end position of cuts for defensive use and how far you should cut as well as two handed use of a sword.
Pretty sure that's the fundamentals of all armed combat since the dawn of time.
@@Ranstone I have yet to come across basics from other HEMA content videos that describe Japanese style swordsmanship. Whether it be Feder or any other longsword(not greatsword). While directionality and single handed may indeed be similar, I have rarely seen two handed the same.
Thank you for all the great Videos on Sword fighting Techniques Skal!
Soon my Bladesmith will have finished my Damascus Longsword, and i of course want to be able to properly wheild
such an ellegant Weapon.
Edit: i allready built myself a few Training Swords in the wright proportions to train myself.
Man, that Knecht is still one of the sexiest blades I've seen. The sound it makes when you swung is really, really hot
Great video Skal, very helpful. I recently received a Ronin Euro #8 (Viking era sword) as a gift and realized I have a really difficult time getting good edge alignment with one handed swords that force a hammer grip. Switching to a handshake grip (which is doable but awkward with a very pronounced pommel) produces much better cuts, but I'm wondering if there's a way to get better/more consistent edge alignment with a hammer grip.
Dunno if the guard would be too thick, but try getting your thumb up the side of the blade. No a thumb grip like with longsword, but just the inside side of your thumb.
Nice! :) You could expand on the shoulder / elbow / wrist cut variants and how to use them sequentially or in parallel! E.g. Long-edge shoulder cut to clear an incoming blade, followed by a short-edge wrist cut to strike the head, or setup a thrust. Or, Squinting / mutating a long-edge shoulder cut with a winding-wrist cut to change the target... 🤔⚔️🤪
Great lesson, well presented, thanks Skal!
I've often wondered when Skall says "that would make the video to long" in his various videos... What does a "Too long" Skall video look like? Is that a stream? Or an hour long video? I'm interested in this.
Matt-length. ;)
Combat really is its own hard magic system. Only, you know, real.
Thwart cut stumped me for a long time, weeks of smacking the target. Weeks more of sloppy cuts once it actually landed edge. Havent gotten a good swing session in for a long time now
I like how other than many other sword enthusiasts on UA-cam, You are actually trained in the art.
There are so many off angles you can hit with a sword it’s crazy. And that’s not even touching on faints
This was awesome! More on techniques in HEMA!
Like the POV camera view :)
When using a two handed weapon I power a cut with my dominant hand. I find that controlling the weapon with left, moving it with right and powering it by turning my core makes it a lot easyer to do basicly any type of cut.
1:42 takes me back to my old oblivion days
My own Chu jian came this week, so this was the first time I saw a video and was like "hey! I own that exact sword!"
Very intersting video. As usual.
This is great. Thank you Skall.
I personally love the Battlefield Vietnam why of doing it where you just wave it back and forth to cut.
Fantastic breakdown.
Now i understand why people keep saying that the sword takes time to learn
Hey Skal, awesome video! I love this series on basics of swordsmanship. You do a great job making these concepts easy to understand and show them well on camera. You should definitely make a playlist. Also, I was wondering if you've seen Roland Warzecha's technique of keeping the point of the sword moving in a straight line to accelerate the cut quickly? It makes very powerful cuts without much effort.
That huge pommel on the bronze sword. I could unscrew it and just throw it at the opponent.
A rightful end.
Thank you for sharing your secrets master swordsman
1:50 man, those are smooooth movements :)))
You're a beast Skall, thank you for tutoring!
You should do a video on the Scene in Game of Thrones where Jorah is talking about the difference between Dothraki swords and armour vs typical plate armour and longswords, could be kinda cool
I'm not so sure if that Ewart Park sword is historically accurate, or at the very least it would not have been historically common. While you see a lot of reproductions that look like this, the vast majority of 8th century BCE leaf bladed swords had pummels which were that wide along the frontal plane of the sword, but did not significantly flare out along the sagittal plane which would have still given a solid grip for a hammer cut, but also allowed the pummel to slide adjacent to your wrist for a handshake grip. The few pieces you do see where the pommel is actually circular like that generally have other features where the hilt is either long enough that the round pummel does not interfere with your swing, or it had a strong central flare in the hilt which would allow the sword to rotate by virtue of the fact that the hilt narrows so much just before it reaches the pummel. From what I can tell, this sword appears to be an amalgamation of several design elements that were common at the time, but generally do not belong together.
I think a lot of the reason so many modern recreations look like this is because so many swords from latter in history (like in Imperial Era Rome) had completely spherical pummels. Again, these would still allow a good degree of mobility by virtue of the fact that the ball hilt curves away from your wrist instead of being flat against the bottom of your hand.
Who needs to pay $600 a month for sword tutoring when this channel exists?
"Do you even know how to use that thing?"
Yeah! pointy end goes into other guy
I take it that you are saying "There must be 50 ways to lacerate your lover"
Just swing it over head Fred.
@@rollochairbreaker230 Just make a big gash; Nash
Just hack with the blade wade
A perfect video about doing perfect cuts
Title alone made me interested thanks for the video
VR learned me you should just wildly flail. Works fine.
Skallagrim shows his mastery in cutting with swords at 11:50 where he slices once and the mat falls three ways
Stick em with the pointy end ...
If youre not trying to fully cut but trying store points, flicking with your wrist near the end of a swing is actually a super effective technique. But I know what you mean.
That bronze sword is gorgeous.
I have read a book about classification of Polish sabers based on destination to different kinds of cutting, thrusting or paring. "Cutting with real sabre" (I'm not sure that it's correct translation) by Wojciech Zabłocki
To be honest, apartment like yours in an apartment building like yours, in my country, would be considered expensive upper middle class home. So I think you have it quite nice even though it's not a house. Apartment houses with apartments very similar to that, are being build in my country in the prettiest parts of our cities, near nature and forests. And those apartments cost a fortune by my country standards.
I'd like to own one just like that. Houses are nice and all, but they require sooo much work and investment. Grew up in a house, now living in a rental apartment. Nice small apartment for myself, but I have so much freetime when I'm not working, that I can enjoy some things more often then when I was living in a house.
HEY SKAL your information about leading with the hands from the shoulder guards has me very interested in something specific which I think you could explain perfectly. I've heard in a bunch of films that you should never use a high guard unless against mounted warriors because it leaves you too exposed in the legs and torso. I've always wondered how accurate this is.
Dat 1st person push pull...
Seriously though this is cool
I'm early! Saber and revolver dual wielding video pls
Yes please, I'd like to see that
Yeah!😠
"make sure the point goes first" that's why forward curving swords were invented.
SKAL! I saw a little clip of one of your videos used on an ad of the game "Idle woodcutter 3D" (mobile crappy game) but i can't find the ad on yt. i swear i saw that tho. am searching for it.
SKALL, now that you're in NS, check out this machete at the Spryfield (Halifax) Canadian Tire: a broken-back, curved Seax with a 1' blade, sharp as hell, with sheath, FOR $19.99 Cdn. Seriously, it's ether a huge Bowie Knife or Medium+ Seax, incredibly well priced. Brand name is SCHRADE, I got it last summer at above store, but check ANY Canadian Tire, associate should have it in computer to order if not on shelf. It's HALF the price you'd expect, at least, and widely available in Canada, apparently.
btw, no distal taper of course, but wicked point, made for thrusting as much as hack and slash, too big for a knife really, it's a highly durable(?), sharp as hell out of the packaging, freaken Short Sword, for TWENTY BUCKS. Ha;) Ya gotta check it out for a review, beat the cr*p out of it: I DARE you to find a better weapon for $19.99 Canadian;) Welcome to NS, dude
[repost, in case you missed it;]
yay
always nice to see a skall video out.
That long sword must be razor sharp. I know you get more leverage, but it was slicing right through those mats like butter.
I think the part about following all the way through with your cuts vs stopping the cut earlier could make an interesting mechanic in a fighting video game.
i.e. you tune your character's fight style with sliders more or less towards offensive or defensive.
offensive: e.g. full cuts = more damage potential but slower speeds to defend after cutting.
defensive: vice versa.
I could imagine it working in something like the game Mordhau.
I was ready for you to cut the sheet.
Thanks for this ... really interesting video, well shown and explained! Some man....!
I think this is one of the reasons why the sword is such a prestigious weapon. It offers a practically endless variety of techniques and styles ( I mean, I suppose one could theoretically learn every possible sword technique, but it'd probably take longer than a human lifetime to master them all)
wow, your VR looks very realistic!
i dont know skall, im not sure but i believe that then you make air noise while cutting it means you edge is wrong , the noise is a result of air friction and if the edge is perfect it causes minimum air friction and makes minimum air cutting sound
Shoulder cut - also known as Video Game Basic Attack
thank you for this video! I've always wanted to learn how to fight with swords but because of financiel restrictions i still have to be happy with my bamboo sticks lol. But if i could only have one sword in my entire life i would definitely choose this kriegsmesser
Any wrist strengthening exercises you recommend?
Lol, though all of this, I keep thinking how much easier it is to teach the body to conform to the weapon.
First time I had to lie prone with a rifle fitted with a foregrip my arms ached... got used to it very quickly, these support muscles, tendons and ligaments tend to comply much faster than large muscle groups, but are also much easier to injure. I already use some rock-climbing red-thingos (no idea what they are called, I'm no rock climber) for wrist strength and BJJ, but it doesn't seem to help much!
You seem to have amazingly strong wrists (I can't get that level of point control at all) for their size... is it just hours and hours of practice and training?
Great question, I wonder the same thing too, and also exercises/stretches in general for sword work. The first time I did any serious cutting I couldn't lift my right arm for like two days because it was engaging muscle groups in ways I rarely deal with. I shoot a lot so I normally focus on exercises that lets me hold a gun out in front of me for extended amounts of time without shaking, but I've added shoulder strengthening and stretches as well for cutting. That said, I still over extend my wrists too often with blades.
I wouldn't take this as real advice, but in the book "Snow Crash" the protagonist practices with a piece of rebar with a duct tape handle, because it's much heavier than a real sword. But that's probably actually just a good way to strain your muscles and not learn edge alignment.
My advise is to just train with the sword
Matt Easton has some good videos on solo training, his advice was basically just hours of practice whenever you have time to. He's talking more about forearm strenght than wrist, but I think it helps you too: ua-cam.com/video/sasBCdY6ulg/v-deo.html
"Snap in down range! High firm pistil-grip!"
awesome video as ever...
Thanks I’ll keep all this in mind next time I’m in a sword fight
This was helpful for game design
Also, if you are using a thumb-grip, you put your thumb on the left side of the sword. It is simply not possible to put it on the right side. Swords only work that way, they are very sophisticated weapons, not like bows.
You could engrave mean words onto the blade, gift it to the opponent and cut them the deepest.
The sound of the blade may be the blade leaving a vacuum behind it
10:40
I've been told this before
... In Hema.. When you cut... You do half cuts.. Making sure the tip is Always a danger for your target
No matter what, you maintain the tip ready to thrust in the blink of an eye
Not always, a bunch of masters say to make full cuts through the body, Meyer and Roworth for example.
I mean, we went from short stabby swords of bronze to short cutting/stabbing swords of iron then longer and longer cutting/stabbing swords until the 1400s -1500s then to only stabbing swords and they shortened and sharpened out again into the 1800s ..
Someone please add skyrim sound effects to the first person sword swings.
1:46 I saw this and immediately thought " Hey wait, I know you"
#974 when two people are having a conversation, you carefully place the sword in between them and say "May I cut in?"
When you draw in the sword with the push pull action, it looks like you almost punch with the sword (as far as elbow action)
Great video
Thanks for the info! Some of this would seem like it's intuitive, but like all martial arts , it's not! I hear people remark frequently "I don't see the big deal, you're just swinging a sword through some straw" . Just like people don't get why an MMA fighter lost a fight when they would have done x,y and z in their place . Unless you do it, and practice, it won't work.
11:56 took me a moment... "why is skallagrim standing behind the swordsman" xD
Hi, Skalla.
I recently have been a little fascinated about the indian pata sword. I was wondering how it would have behaved against the european swordfighting. And also, wich combination of pata sword would be more effective (double pata sword like in Age of Empires 3, pata sword and shield or else... ). I hope that you can review it one day.
Greetings from Chile, Skalla, I love your videos.
Thirteen minutes and I can still think of several types of cut Skall forgot: molinelli, back cuts, cuts with the hand on the blade. Plus, he didn't tackle the subject of push vs. pull cuts.
@Skallagrim I want you to master the Ephemeral Feint