I would put forth Viggo Mortensen for consideration. The late, great Bob Anderson (Olympic fencer and fight choreographer for dozens of movies) said that Viggo was the best swordsman he'd ever trained.
ooo I have a good vid idea: "Which UFC fighters or boxers, martial artists or thai kickboxing fighters would make good swordsmen." (make this video) I think: - Muhammad Ali: Good Rapierist, excellent footwork, excellent movement, shuffles, quick on his feet, extremely fast, extremely pressie, used to fighting long reach - Stephen "Wonderboy" Thompson would be an extremely talented Rapierist, if you watch his striking tutorials he understands timing, speed, tells, etc so brilliantly. He has also done point karate, kick boxing & ofc MMA. - Jon Jones: could be a really good fencer too, very brutal & dirty (he is known for fighting dirty he even eye pokes when he can get away with it lol) also he fights with bad intentions like Mike Tyson if he injures his opponent that's fair to him, hey whatever it takes to win right. Also incredible wrestler Olympic Greco-Roman medalist, surprisingly a top level striker too he just had a knack for it or a really smart coach. - Israel Adesanya: could be a really good Rapierist, same things as the others he is a long range kick boxer. - Alex Pereira: he basically has no tell, super hard to read, his opponents say he fights robotically, like an AI that just reads your every move, you don't see its punches coming & hits hard from unorthodox angles & from a short distance. - Cyril Gane: has a Muay Thai kickboxing background, even at his heavy weight class the dude is in peak athletic performance & somehow moves like a lightweight lol, his fight style is already very Rapierist you will notice, he is just missing the sword. You should watch at least 1 round of each fight with each of those fighters. Why because the 1st round will tell you the most about how they would fare in a duel, coming in with full air, full capacity some fighters save their energy for later on in the fight but usually round 1 is the most energetic one. So this is how the criteria should be judged, round 1 = matters the most within the sword context since you are simulating a duel, no extra lives. - Bruce Lee: He practiced rapier, was very athletic and speedy, didnt had any competitive pro fights under his belt as he was an actor but yeah amazing athlete potential Basically other top level strikers with a long range styles. I saved you a lot of time, watch these fighters fight & you will realize that yes they have Rapierist potential.
Well, this is ceraltainly an interesting deviation from your usual videos. Personally, I suspect that the sort of actors you'd describe as method actors would be more likely to make good sword people. They have the inclination to look past the surface understanding when approaching a role. Not just what, but why.
Normally I'd agree, but since we're talking about the traits that would make someone a real swordsman vice someone pretending to be I have to go with those traits I have discovered to be most beneficial to the martial artist.
@RobertChildsRapier What I mean is that they will seek a deeper understanding. Some people just do the drills. Some people try to understand what the drills are trying to instill and why, and then seek to fill in any gaps they might have.
I like this style of videos Rob make more if you can, get inspired by watching what others in the HEMA community are discussing.
I would put forth Viggo Mortensen for consideration. The late, great Bob Anderson (Olympic fencer and fight choreographer for dozens of movies) said that Viggo was the best swordsman he'd ever trained.
Yeah, Bob Anderson is definitely someone I would listen to when it came to which actors would make good swordsmen.
ooo I have a good vid idea: "Which UFC fighters or boxers, martial artists or thai kickboxing fighters would make good swordsmen." (make this video)
I think:
- Muhammad Ali: Good Rapierist, excellent footwork, excellent movement, shuffles, quick on his feet, extremely fast, extremely pressie, used to fighting long reach
- Stephen "Wonderboy" Thompson would be an extremely talented Rapierist, if you watch his striking tutorials he understands timing, speed, tells, etc so brilliantly. He has also done point karate, kick boxing & ofc MMA.
- Jon Jones: could be a really good fencer too, very brutal & dirty (he is known for fighting dirty he even eye pokes when he can get away with it lol) also he fights with bad intentions like Mike Tyson if he injures his opponent that's fair to him, hey whatever it takes to win right. Also incredible wrestler Olympic Greco-Roman medalist, surprisingly a top level striker too he just had a knack for it or a really smart coach.
- Israel Adesanya: could be a really good Rapierist, same things as the others he is a long range kick boxer.
- Alex Pereira: he basically has no tell, super hard to read, his opponents say he fights robotically, like an AI that just reads your every move, you don't see its punches coming & hits hard from unorthodox angles & from a short distance.
- Cyril Gane: has a Muay Thai kickboxing background, even at his heavy weight class the dude is in peak athletic performance & somehow moves like a lightweight lol, his fight style is already very Rapierist you will notice, he is just missing the sword.
You should watch at least 1 round of each fight with each of those fighters. Why because the 1st round will tell you the most about how they would fare in a duel, coming in with full air, full capacity some fighters save their energy for later on in the fight but usually round 1 is the most energetic one. So this is how the criteria should be judged, round 1 = matters the most within the sword context since you are simulating a duel, no extra lives.
- Bruce Lee: He practiced rapier, was very athletic and speedy, didnt had any competitive pro fights under his belt as he was an actor but yeah amazing athlete potential
Basically other top level strikers with a long range styles. I saved you a lot of time, watch these fighters fight & you will realize that yes they have Rapierist potential.
Well, this is ceraltainly an interesting deviation from your usual videos.
Personally, I suspect that the sort of actors you'd describe as method actors would be more likely to make good sword people. They have the inclination to look past the surface understanding when approaching a role. Not just what, but why.
Normally I'd agree, but since we're talking about the traits that would make someone a real swordsman vice someone pretending to be I have to go with those traits I have discovered to be most beneficial to the martial artist.
@RobertChildsRapier What I mean is that they will seek a deeper understanding. Some people just do the drills. Some people try to understand what the drills are trying to instill and why, and then seek to fill in any gaps they might have.
If you don’t mind me asking, what rapier do you use? Who was the maker?
The rapier I use is called a twisted swepthilt and was purchased from Museum Replicas some 30 years ago.
@@RobertChildsRapier thank you for the response.