Yes, compete with yourself first, then with others. It doesn't matter where you are currently, everyone starts somewhere. What matters is what you do to improve yourself.
As a former 2nd degree black belt (age and osteoarthritis caught up to me) what I find most fascinating about martial arts, and I'm sure HEMA is no exception, is how much faster your brain works with experience and adrenaline. When I was a noob sparring an instructor the first I knew he had attacked was seeing a foot hovering next to my head. Years later in that same fraction of a second I could see his footwork, determine possible angles of attack, contemplate several countermeasures, and commit to a response. I'm sure you've felt that feeling of time slowing down. Pretty awesome isn't it?
I'm in a similar situation. Did "contact arts" for many years, but these days it's "moving meditations." Still, it's funny how that "time slicing" trick never quite goes away. Once in a while when I snag a falling object out of the air and someone says "I've never seen someone move that fast in person!" I just joke and tell them "You're all living in slow-motion." :)
Only downside to having your brain process so fast is I couldn't listen to music while in that state because it would drive me nuts how slow it was playing. Well the other downside is when "fight or flight" kicks in and your brain cuts your conscious mind out of the equation since it's too slow. Fighting on 100% instinct is damn dangerous since your training partner becomes simply "enemy" and you care nothing about them. Knocked my best friend out that way (through full pads) and broke another friend's nose. Sometimes taking things slow has its advantages.
Lol yah, you do get some sparring accidents from it :) Two people dropping in and out of "slice time" will sometimes throw mirrored techniques like roundhouse-kicks that crash their shins together, or one person speed-ducks just when the other was throwing an upward moving strike. Even if it all would have been well-controlled at the intended point of contact, along the way there is a lot of momentum. Ah, good times, good friends, occasional bone bruises and spurts of blood... we had a lot of laughs while occasionally knocking each other silly, even (especially?) at the dan levels :)
Rat Basterd. Some good points and I agree on how time seems to slow. I say that having had my ribs broken a few times, been out cold twice and always went home with bruises and that was during "normal" nights. An old teacher of mine used to help us understand that aspect of time slowing. He`d insist in every class the first 10 times we practised a technique we did it at 40% speed (but always with full intent) so we could understand the distance and timing. He said, and I believe him, it was moving slowly that helped train your mind to work at speed.
Blah blah blah i bet you got your black belt from one of those magazines that sell nunchucks and graplling hooks. Learned martial arts by watching anime and shit. You dont fool me 🤬🤬
Sir win johnson The noob he didn’t say that there was anything wrong with the sport, just that the time it takes to become competent with a firearm is significantly less than with any sort of martial art. Which is definitely true
Michael, it depends on what you count as competency with firearms. Sure hitting a static target point-blank with a shotgun is easy, but you could do the same with a kitchen knife or golf club. It takes years to become a skilled, competition-level shooter, as well as physical conditioning for long courses of fire or biatholon, knowledge of the firearm & ballitics, especially for high power, and even strict dieting to be competitive at the national and international level. What srspower said is completely factual. Plate armor was rendered obsolete by the spread of gunpowder. Though, judging by SIRnoob's comment, it's no wonder he hates firearms. Marksmanship requires patience, discipline, focus, and stoicism. Such a poorly-written rant with false "facts" shows none of these, and an unhealthy level of immaturity and over-passionate thinking.
Shiroto, my main point was that it takes much less practice and dedication to become deadly with a firearm, because they are well designed very intuitive machines. But also, I was trying to defend the point that both are respectable sports. And you make very good points
I can relate to the skill gap thing. I train in Muay Thai, BJJ, and general mma I have for several years now. I have increased immensely in striking and ground work but some of the peopel that have done it since childhood are on whole other level. A great coach or trainer can improve your skills so much faster it's amazing. The gym owner and main Muay Thai instructor is an ex ufc fighter and doing one lesson with him you learn so much.
Your progress is legitimately very impressive! As someone whose only education is in sport saber fencing and watching your videos, each step and improvement is very obvious.
You are getting much better, based up on watching your previous videos. Your channel is becoming a big influence on mine actually. One of the things I love about my Longsword focus, is I am always learning, even as I work from Blue Cord (Scholar Rank Traditionally), to Red Cord (Free Scholar Rank), I still know I will be at least 10yrs away from Silver Cord (Provost Rank). This is even without working on any German systems, which opens up even more years of knowledge to learn...
Your comment about using combos and follow-ups instead of just single strikes is very true and reminds me of when I first started boxing and kickboxing after being a life-long grappler. The urge to throw a single strike - be it a kick, punch or a sword cut - and then wait to see how your sparring partner reacts is very strong when you're first learning, especially when sparring with someone that is much more skillful than you. Loving these kinds of videos, keep 'em coming!
If you are being overly defensive, is it possibly because you don't quite believe in your offensive capabilities? Have you tried in some of your sparring to be much more aggressive and to always put in a follow up attack? Try having a sparring match or two where you stop focusing on defense and try focusing on being the initiator to see what works and doesn't work for you. If there is one thing I've learned from gaming in a competitive manner is being too defensive never lets me learn how to go about an effective offense. Instead finding 100 ways the offense didn't work helps me find the few ways it did work.
+Skallagrim a man that never fails, is a man that never learns anything, failure is the key to success (no I'm not a motivational speaker, it's just one of my personal mottos :P)
Sparring is the perfect opportunity to keep practicing. I can't tell you how many times I get hit during the week by newer students because I'm trying to make things work and it doesn't.
William Smith I've heard a good place to start is just to look up a HEMA school in your area. It seems like most major cities, at least in Europe and North America, have a HEMA school somewhere.
Might as well embrace the suck and take that hour trip a few times a month. Then when you get enough fundamentals you can practice at your own place efficiently also as the school
M8 I just want to say that it's your channel that has led me to pursue knowledge and skill in HEMA. I know very little but I'd like to say thank you for not only teaching alot about HEMA but also (somewhat through recommended videos) helping me find other channels like Shadiversity. I don't have a school nearby and am trying to learn on my own. So all in all I just wanted to say thank you and wish you the best in life and continuation in these skills.
Aggression alone doesn't do, it's more a matter of solid offensive techniques, and being good at adjusting to the opponent's actions in a split second.
Yeah, you need to work on those rude gestures and creative insults! However, I don't recommend flipping up your kilt and waggling your privates at your opponent during a sword fight...
I would say that a level of "aggression" is necessary primarily to put pressure on your opponent in effort to cause them to slip up rather than for aggression's sake. When I went up against the advanced students in the epee class I took in college, they didn't push a strong initiative and seemed to think that knowledge of technique would carry them through. One of them in particular stressed the "gracefulness" involved in the art and her style was easy to see through and counter.
It's more confidence than aggression, right? Like, unless your opponent fucks up his distance, your first attack will be countered, but you're doing it to set up the fight and take the initiative to hit him on your second or third intention. But I would imagine that against someone like Lee or any comparable fighter that parry/riposte or Zornhau or whatever is going to be pretty dangerous.
A few suggestions: Try some drills designed to promote aggression like having your opponent deal random attacks from outside of distance and you practising dealing with the attacks without slipping back. Rather than always sparring to win give yourself objectives such as focusing on pressing in, scoring with a body shot or always attempt a counter attack etc. There's a lot you can experiment with using this method. Coached sparring. Spar for a few rounds and have another club member act as a corner(wo)man and give you advice between rounds. You've definitely made huge progress, keep it up!
It's very debatable. You could argue that they would have much more temperament than modern swordfighters, but you could argue that modern swordfighters have much more time to practise and would be more experienced. Eh. I'd have to put my money on modern simply because of lifestyle. Much more time to get better and improve and much more fit and healthy when it comes time to duel.
I'd have to disagree with proteus because nowadays we have way more destractions such as tv and UA-cam if people had porn in the renaissance we'd be screwed
how do modern people have more time to practice? were there more hours added into the day in modern times? Its not like historical masters were serfs who could only practice when they weren't working in the fields or something. The authors of historical fencing manuals were from the lower ranks of the aristocracy, and all generally made a profession of martial arts, generally from a much younger age than modern practitioners. Fiore for instance fought numerous duels in earnest against other/rival fencers, no one alive today can claim to have an iota of that kind of experience. Anyone alive today who calls themselves a "master" of historical fencing styles is probably full of shit. Historical masters would wipe the floor with any modern practitioners.
You're intentionally being daft. If you don't understand how different work and leisure time is from hundreds of years ago, I'm not going to be the one expanding upon how most people don't have to work 9 hours a day in shitty conditions every week and how that might effect your ability to practise or advance. Even at that, people's relationship to sword fighting has gone from a necessary tool to a hobby, and you can learn almost anything you need from the internet and you don't have to pay your way to proper knowledge. You have WAY more opportunities to excel nowadays. Use your fucking brain 😂
Especially when if you really wanted to specialise in something like swordfighting or fencing, you can actually make a living out of that now if you're good enough. Do you think people danced around hitting each other with metal poles for shillings pre 15th century? Hahahaha. Even if you *were* the best fucking swordfighter in the world, you still either had to work or contract yourself to a noble. Even then, you almost never got the chance to fight anyone. If you're at the upper echelons nowadays you can sit on your pile of cash and whack away without a care in the world.
I've actually started doing sword fighting, finally. Not HEMA, but some of the guys I train with seem to have worked with HEMA? I don't know. During fights I still regularly just stand there after getting into a position, where I block a blow or have a blow of mine blocked, because I simply can't think of what to do next. My mind is still very logical, trying to piece apart a battle like a choreography. I'm hoping that'll change soon, making me become more of a reflex fighter. It's been a fun few months, but I've only been doing it once a week. Which is a shame. Sadly, swords, armaments and... anything really, are WAY out of my student budget. So I'm practically training in jeans and garden gloves.
I’m not a sword fighter nor do I do Hema, but I’m a wrestler and it’s the exact opposite for me, I can hardly think when I’m fighting, it’s really just instinct here. So putting moves and techniques that I’ve learned to use is hard, cause I just like to move how my body wants to move? Hard to explain, but I definitely know what you mean
This is one of my favorite videos by you Skallagrim, I have been watching your videos since about 2013 and have very much enjoyed watching you gain knowledge and improve your skills as a swordsman. I have also enjoyed gaining knowledge about historical weapons and the techniques that go with them, learning about the potential damage they can cause to the human body, and knowledge about the armor made to counter said weapons. Thank you for doing what you do Skall :)
As someone who has been fencing for about four months now and sees how far I have come, and how very far I have to go, I especially appreciated this video.
Hello skallahrim. I know this game is a bit old, but could you give me your opinion on For Honor's lawbringer armor and weapon? I am really curious why this armor seems so good but I never saw a historical "picture" of this type. Thank you in advance, -Happy sub
Besides some over sized and some unnecessary parts his armor is pretty ok, i think. And halberd-like polearms are pretty great, if im not mistaken you can use them to trip and "smash-while-on-the-ground" any "heavy armored" opponents, they were made for fighting opponents in armor, if the opponent doesn't have armor you most likely would only need a spear or poleaxe, but hammers and hooks are what set these apart
Vlad Midan personally I main lawbringer and one of the reason why is because he looks so cool. But I think out of everything his helmets are more closely related to real life. Mostly Italian and Spanish designs, but the rest of the armor is pretty fantasy sized and unrealistic. His weapon is accurately proportioned however.
"A bit old". His poleaxe is nigh perfect (excluding some gear sets) but his armour is far more open than real plate. His standard helmet is based on 'frog mouth' styles, but those are static (attached to the chest) and are meant for jousting. His pauldrons are too large overall and the rest of his arm is pretty open (only the outside has plate). His chest armour is poorly shaped, to the point tilting would be hard. He only has grieves and faux-sabatons on his legs, and not even maille on his thighs. Also, his helmet has far to much open whilst still having limited sight.
To be honest Skall, been here for a fair amout of time, came by a recording of yours, a recording of a fight between your Hema instructors. After that I immediately watched the other one, both of them were sabre sparring videos. And then I started looking through your channel to find whatever interesting stuff I could find, and I found a lot of them. Many commentaries on historical manuals and stuff, your first impressions and tests of swords you got... It was really interesting. But then well, eventually I watched all of that content, and what was left was the non-hema first impressions and then lastly the fantasy things. They're all good and interesting (mostly) and I appreciate of course the work you're doing. Hell, I used to consider youtubers were all just plain useless and boring, doing nothing interesting except their showoffs, but you blurred the line in my prejudices. I just wish I could see more direct hema content since, even if I'm probably never gonna have enough time to practice myself, I'm really interested in the subject and would like to find out more about it. This video is the best in a long time in my opinion. Keep up the good work. Salutes from Turkey.
What really amazes me is how the "pro" guy looks like a fat piece of bacon and still he is really fast, really nimble and really skilled. I know being muscular doesnt mean you are good in a sport, but he has to be really strong to move that extra weight around this fast.
Have you not seen enough Strongmen competitions to know that body fat says nothing about someone's strength? Bodybuilders look impressive because of their extremely low body fat percentage, but a guy who "looks fat" can have literally the same amount of muscle mass.
I know bodyfat doesn't mean anything. But strongmans usually tend to be pretty clumsy and slow, because their training rarely includes wide, dynamic motions. Like you say his quick signature lounge is not something what I would expect from someone of his bodytype. But I dind't want to trash talk him or anything, I'm really fascinated about his work (with the blood and iron) and skill. It's just makes me giggle thinking about in medieval period: "Look bro, there is a fat, bald guy, lets rob him." You approach, then before you can even draw your sword, you are half dead... You can never know whos a skilled swordsman.
But the "pro" guy would benefit greatly by losing some of that unnecessary fat(while maintaining his strength). Bodybuilders and strongmen need a very specialized type of body for what they do so it might not apply best for fighting. HEMA is a fighting sport therefore a fighters body(MMA) would fit better-maximum amount of strength(core,upper-body,...) per minimum amount of weight=speed. From what I've seen most of the youtube HEMA people would benefit greatly from improving their physique. If/when HEMA goes more professional than what it is now, I think we will see just that. It's true that weapons are "the great equalizers", but sword fighting is still a physical sport, so body training matters. Even sport shooters today that in theory only need to "pull the trigger" benefit a lot from body training.
Hi skal! As a practitioner of Karate and Jiu jitsu,im happy you addressed the issue about how much work it takes for a technique,or even a choreography to look good. I know your audience is pretty reasonable when it comes to this topic,but the internet in general can hardly grasp the concept of how much practice is needed to execute things effectively
Train harder, get faster, then win a tournament! The biggest and best sword tournament you can find! And tell the commentators not to make any End Them Rightly jokes. BUT, don't tell them what those jokes are, so they'll be FORCED to innovate and make their own End Them Rightly memes.
Jason Godwin I would suggest that you edit your comment. Change one of the "End Him Rightly" to "Pommel". The original comment doesn't make good sense.
The hell happened to that Super Powers in Sword Fights video? I only got as far as him mentioning the Flash then had to go out, I come back and it's been pulled. Did DC get mean?
as a very new practitioner of HEMA this is quite inspiring and the footage of the very early training feels really relatable, i had my first ever spar with a fellow student who vastly outclasses me in experience, i would say everyone has either a year if not more of experience and i have a couple weeks, it was really fun and im quite surprised i was able to land a few hits om his face aswell as a thrust to the torso tho all the times i made contact turned into doubles so it doesnt really count, anyways, im really excited to progress and improve, i need to quicken my reflexes, i look forward to the time when i can stand on similar footing to my companions, maybe even one day duel my profesor, tho i dont think thatll ever happen, he is the master of arms of all spain, he is simply the best
Could you give your opinions on a naginata or odachi? I'd be interested to see what you'd say. Not because their impractical, just because I like the weapons :) AND NO I'M NOT A WEEB xD
"The term weeaboo (or weeb later, compare dweeb) came from a comic strip created by Nicholas Gurewitch in which the term had no meaning other than it was something unpleasant. According to an unpublished MA thesis, 4chan quickly picked up the word, and applied it in an abusive way in place of the already existing wapanese term." From the Wikipedia article for "Japanophile".
A sword without a pommel is like a gun without a bullet. It's the unscrewing of the pommel from the blade that gives the pommel the ending skills it so rightly has.
A cut to the face even if superficial could be very useful, blood hampering vision, awesome seeing your progress, I always love seeing people work hard and improve in any art
this is a cool video, didnt think people were so high up in skill level in this kind of thing.Very interesting, and the fluid movements and mind games make it even more intense than it first seems.
That was a real „when i just started“ video clip at the beginning. Normally you see pretty proish lookbacks when people do videos like this. Very motivating man (:
Excellent video I love how you showed progression through your Hema career. I myself are a Kendo practitioner and I've also done kenjutsu and Filipino martial arts and sword jiu jitsu. I do find it interesting that there is a lot of middle range tactics. In some of the engagements can be foiled by closing distance at grappling range. Just a note yes I know it's dangerous being that close as well. Also if you're trying to get your knee fixed I suggest looking into a book that's called Body by science by Doug McGuff. It has helped me in rehabbing my back shoulders from years of the military and the law enforcement. I'm only 38 but with all the weight and injuries that I have accumulated this kind of training has strengthened my frame and Rehab my injuries. He has plenty of videos on UA-cam as well. Keep up the good work love the videos
Really liked this one it's an example for your very humble attitude which I like and respect most on you and your videos. Good look on your further HEMA way
What I love about HEMA is the emphasis on weapon sparring. There's not a lot of weapon sparring in asian martial arts, but I've had lots of fun sparring with nunchaku, dao, bo, tonfa, jian and recently guan dao... :) I'll soon be putting up a guan dao vs trident sparring video on my channel, and recently uploaded a tonfa vs bo one :)
These are really useful. Analysis of your own fails gives me a better insight into mine than does seeing techniques performed flawlessly. I'd like to see more videos with this type of commentary attached.
Hey man that's some really good progression over the years. I don't know much about HEMA, other than what I've seen in videos from channels like yours, but I have been doing unarmed combat training (Tang Soo Do, Karate, Jui-Jitsu, and some boxing) for about 20 years now. I agree with your own critique about being defensive. Whether it's a boxing match or a sword fight standing right in front of someone trying to weave into an attack without actually committing to anything is a great way to spend a round eating the other guy's punches. Try to get out of that habit of landing just one shot and backing out as well. I know you guys are swinging around swords so a cut would be a more significant wound than a punch or a kick, but it's still a bad habit to get into for obvious reasons. I have to regularly train myself out of it after I've been working a lot of point sparring techniques. Can't wait to see what five more years of training looks like for you. Keep up the good work.
This is some great stuff Skallagrim! It is nice to see some of your training and practice. I have never tried polish saber, but I did train in longsword. We primarily studied Talhoffer. I think your self critique to go along with your training was probably the best part. Thank you for sharing an honest look at the progression through training and honest commentary on the things done right and wrong for those who have not/do not practice the form.
As you pointed out, starting HEMA at a young age gives you an advantage over most other fencers. I started when I was 8 and I've been doing it for 6 years now. That's around the age that the nobility started to train young men to fight.
With another video (where you did bottle cutting with a Patreon member) you could really see the skill gap, and really shows how far you've come with all your training. This just drives the point home. Well done!
Skal, I don't do hema but I do MMA, Muay Thai, and boxing. Martial arts often have a very long learning curve and coaches only shorten it a little. To be able to pick it up and look as good as you do this quick considering the fact that for the longest time, you didn't have a coach. Keep it up!
Nice to see the progress you've made. I started watching around 2013 and there definitely has been improvement in your work (not just swords too). Reminds me of my martial arts journey (even though I'm only 22). I started with oriental stuff when I was little, but sadly fell out of practice. I got into HEMA my freshman year of college. Amazing the similarities to the stuff I did before (and now). Sadly my instructor had to leave for career stuff and our grandmaster lives elsewhere. As is, I still practice as much as I can. I've also got back into oriental stuff, mainly Tang Soo Do and Chinese weapons, but anything else I can get my hands on too. Hopefully I'll be able to train with my grandmaster again soon, but as is, I'm busy with school. Anyways, sorry for the long reminiscing. Best wishes for the future and congrats on your achievements.
One observation. As your skill has increased, so has your fitness. Your movements are faster, more explosive and fluid and you now "think" where you need to be and your body does the rest but now does it a lot faster than you used to. The weight you dropped has helped a lot with your training. You are also thinking faster, as described in the "time splice" comments below.
I really enjoyed this video skall, Seeing that frame of reference really helped me see some differences in technique as youprogressed. I recently started in a similar way with my best friend just practicing and looking at techniques from your channel and Blood and Iron's and I can tell I'm definitely just at the starting point but it's nice to know that even you started from that point once.
You can totally use those out-of-distance attacks to set up a hit. If he responds to your first, non-threatening attack with a parry/riposte, that will bring him closer to you and set you up to counter his counter. The benefit of your first attack being out of distance is that his counter will just barely be in distance, giving you slightly more time to block it. I would imagine someone like Lee is aware of that kind of concept though.
i respect skall the most out of all youtubers not sure why probably because i've watched you grow from the bottom when you had less than 10,000....you've really blown up over the years and even just editing this video you must feel a big sense of pride bet you feel a lot fitter after all this training aswell
I have often criticized you for footwork and clumsyness before now. I will say you got much, MUCH better, but you surely can still improve. I'm happy to see you now notice your learning curve too!
Thanks for this video. It is some nice inspiration and I will say it is very instructive to see your weak technique going up to your stronger technique. Seeing perfect technique is fine, but the important part is getting there. Seeing weak technique and then the same person showing stronger technique is really useful in looking out for the same tendencies myself and .. having of an idea of how to correct them.
Good vid. I wondered if it was going to be a rant about people who don't train enough or "schools that shouldn't exist" or some such, but this was actually a useful perspective.
Great video. I've been with a group for only a couple of months, but now I don't feel so bad about being the "practice dummy" of my local HEMA/Broadsword group. Traing and experience are the keys, although I still can get a lucky shot in against some of our higher level fighters. As in all sports, some people just seem to be "naturals", but anybody can be beaten on any given day. Its fun and a good workout. Thanks again for the video.
I started HEMA after my 18th birthday and I enjoy it a lot, practising with Mike and Nick Thomas of the Academy of Historical Fencing. I'd already looked at stuff and had a rough idea of what I was getting into. My current improvement areas are guards and footwork, Mike powers through my guards easily and I have a lead foot from sabre.
holy shit man! that is so awesome!! the only weapons system ive really delved into is filipino kali and that was really fun, my main focus has been muay thai and bjj lately but i feel like its definitely helped my coordination and footwork when i occasionally pick up a stick, knife or machete. Might a suggest learning an open hand style like boxing or wrestling? any forms of striking and grappling have been very beneficial to finding range and drilling timing and accuracy into my brain! not mention that bjj and wrestling will give you sparring practicie right away so it makes great stress training as well as teaches you to breathe. love your vids man! fight on
Great demo. Takes courage to use yourself as an example of growth. I've taken a few community classes that used Sinawali, Largo Mano and Spada e Daga techniques. I approached it as a good rotational and movement execise routine similar to Tai Chi and it is an excellent low impact workout. imho; HEMA and other martial arts can give insight into getting inside decision cycles and anticipating openings for business as well as physical applications.
Excellent video, its nice to see the skill progression. One of my training brothers has suggested that filming oneself is good for finding flaws in ones form.
Wow seems like you lost weight and toned up as well! Good on you Skall! Dedicating yourself to something and working towards a goal sharpens the mind and the body.
That actually looks pretty fun and technical, good job and keep up!
7 років тому+1
Very interesting explanation, also, a great skill gap could be spot in your last video. Edge alignment and how to strike sometimes is not so evidently perceived when watching you, but have an untrained person doing it in the same video shown us how experience makes a huge difference.
Birfday video! Thanks Skalla! Your fencing has come along by miles for certain! You didn't even look like a fool going up against the famous Lee Smith (I'm pretty sure so would have)! I would say that's a huge compliment, considering his skill! Keep it up!
This is so true. When I first started training MMA the insane skill gap that I experienced when I first started sparring was so demoralizing. Even after training for a solid 5 days a week for a year I was still terrible compared to most of the other people I trained with. But gradually you get better, you gain microscopic improvements over time that add up. This might sound like faux-wise fortune cookie nonsense but training a martial is as much a mental exercise as it is a physical one. Summoning up the drive to go one more round or not to get demoralized when you get absolutely owned while sparring is tough but so intensely worth it when you crest that peak and start climbing the mountain.
I did, in fact, like this video. Also seen some mistakes I do myself, so it's cool to watch videos like these for that reason. One or two of these per month, HEMA related, fencing based videos would not hurt, methinks. Anyhow, awesome content.
ACL injuries are rough, I feel ya. I tore my right one when I was 19 playing soccer, my left about 10 years later for pretty much little to no reason, then my original ACL reconstruction failed 5 or so years after that. I forged ahead in denial but got it redone again. I still remember the original pain, and sound it made.
If I may. I have practiced for almost 8 years. Practice is really important, for without a clean movement you will never get good strikes and parries. What I see missing from your most recent assaults, though, is attack preparation. You mostly decide what to go for and attack, just reacting afterwards. Good hardwired reactions are important for continuing a failed initial assault, but rarely give you a clean victory. Get close, start your action slowly, give your enemy a split second to panick and react. If he does, parry and counter. If he doesn't go all in. If he manages to parry, you should still be at a small advantage. Keep hitting and parrying or go close quarters. If you feel at disadvantage, disengage.
yes, definitely during your earlier videos you didn't need to improve on your footwork and your blade control. But as I seen you make more more videos for Edge alignment and your foot control has been perfect as far as I'm concerned you are as much a skilled swordsman as a 14 or 15 year veteran of the sword would be. keep up the good work bro stay the path.
Dem Feels Skall. As an active grappler I know what you mean. Often in Judo, when facing my coach or another higher level opponent, I too find myself often just standing there for fear of counter attack. After all, they know every technique I know, and are faster than I am. Fear of injury often comes into play. But I have learned a few possible tips. It might not translate over to your HEMA practice however. 1. Play to your strengths rather than fearing theirs. I'm generally taller and heavier. The reach advantage helps a little, and with my ability to control my weight, foot sweeps are generally all I need watch out for. To you, what are your strengths? Find them, exploit them, and don't worry so much about what they are going to do. You can't lose in training after all. 2. Have a favorite technique? Drill the hell out of it till you can make it feared. 3. Have a favorite technique and they know it? Don't use it. Faint it instead. 4. Set things up and attack in combination. I often set things up with a strong fainting Ouchi Gari (Minor inner reap) to simply blast my opponent's leg back and ruin his balance. I have a lot of options then. 5. Getting a "sense" for what is going on takes a lot of time and training. My coach does so many things by "feel" it often gets annoying. 6. Finally, the ONE THING I have found works most often. Simply do something they do not expect you to do. Either a technique they don't know that you know, or that they didn't expect at all. Surprise can equalize things. Also, to and another thing. Physicality is everything. Having the strength to perform, and the speed/explosiveness to move quickly are paramount. There is NOTHING more aggravating, more heart breaking, then known EXACTLY how to do something, but not being physically able to do it.
Love how you improved, you are very good now. I wished, we could have a go one day, but Canada is so far away. When you are in the old country, let me know Bruder.
You don't need to dodge attacks if your have a lot of HP...
"Oh, my forearm was cut off... Bah, I've got another one. It's just a flesh wound!"
Seriously, don't these HEMA scrubs know they can just rely on healers in combat?
wololo
Skallagrim Could you so some course work videos based around a few weapons, I'm really curious on the Nordic and Germanic weapons.
lots of HP means nothing if your opponent wields a weapon with percentage-based damaging... or a pommel
It's not about being good, it's about getting better. Thanks. I needed this.
Yes, compete with yourself first, then with others. It doesn't matter where you are currently, everyone starts somewhere. What matters is what you do to improve yourself.
As a former 2nd degree black belt (age and osteoarthritis caught up to me) what I find most fascinating about martial arts, and I'm sure HEMA is no exception, is how much faster your brain works with experience and adrenaline. When I was a noob sparring an instructor the first I knew he had attacked was seeing a foot hovering next to my head. Years later in that same fraction of a second I could see his footwork, determine possible angles of attack, contemplate several countermeasures, and commit to a response. I'm sure you've felt that feeling of time slowing down. Pretty awesome isn't it?
I'm in a similar situation. Did "contact arts" for many years, but these days it's "moving meditations." Still, it's funny how that "time slicing" trick never quite goes away. Once in a while when I snag a falling object out of the air and someone says "I've never seen someone move that fast in person!" I just joke and tell them "You're all living in slow-motion." :)
Only downside to having your brain process so fast is I couldn't listen to music while in that state because it would drive me nuts how slow it was playing. Well the other downside is when "fight or flight" kicks in and your brain cuts your conscious mind out of the equation since it's too slow. Fighting on 100% instinct is damn dangerous since your training partner becomes simply "enemy" and you care nothing about them. Knocked my best friend out that way (through full pads) and broke another friend's nose. Sometimes taking things slow has its advantages.
Lol yah, you do get some sparring accidents from it :) Two people dropping in and out of "slice time" will sometimes throw mirrored techniques like roundhouse-kicks that crash their shins together, or one person speed-ducks just when the other was throwing an upward moving strike. Even if it all would have been well-controlled at the intended point of contact, along the way there is a lot of momentum.
Ah, good times, good friends, occasional bone bruises and spurts of blood... we had a lot of laughs while occasionally knocking each other silly, even (especially?) at the dan levels :)
Rat Basterd. Some good points and I agree on how time seems to slow. I say that having had my ribs broken a few times, been out cold twice and always went home with bruises and that was during "normal" nights. An old teacher of mine used to help us understand that aspect of time slowing. He`d insist in every class the first 10 times we practised a technique we did it at 40% speed (but always with full intent) so we could understand the distance and timing. He said, and I believe him, it was moving slowly that helped train your mind to work at speed.
Blah blah blah i bet you got your black belt from one of those magazines that sell nunchucks and graplling hooks. Learned martial arts by watching anime and shit. You dont fool me 🤬🤬
On the bright side you look like a total pro to people (such as myself) who have never practiced HEMA
"He started very young..." - so did you! I started at 46, and hope to be decent by my mid-fifties :-)
You really can see why gunpowder took off. All those years of training yet they can be defeated by a novice with a 12 gauge side by side.
srspower i hate guns
Sir win johnson The noob he didn’t say that there was anything wrong with the sport, just that the time it takes to become competent with a firearm is significantly less than with any sort of martial art. Which is definitely true
I thought that swords were killing machines too...
Michael, it depends on what you count as competency with firearms. Sure hitting a static target point-blank with a shotgun is easy, but you could do the same with a kitchen knife or golf club. It takes years to become a skilled, competition-level shooter, as well as physical conditioning for long courses of fire or biatholon, knowledge of the firearm & ballitics, especially for high power, and even strict dieting to be competitive at the national and international level.
What srspower said is completely factual. Plate armor was rendered obsolete by the spread of gunpowder.
Though, judging by SIRnoob's comment, it's no wonder he hates firearms. Marksmanship requires patience, discipline, focus, and stoicism. Such a poorly-written rant with false "facts" shows none of these, and an unhealthy level of immaturity and over-passionate thinking.
Shiroto, my main point was that it takes much less practice and dedication to become deadly with a firearm, because they are well designed very intuitive machines. But also, I was trying to defend the point that both are respectable sports. And you make very good points
i like that american-polish pirate-teacher-tyrant just chilling out in the corner watching you and lee spar
I can relate to the skill gap thing. I train in Muay Thai, BJJ, and general mma I have for several years now. I have increased immensely in striking and ground work but some of the peopel that have done it since childhood are on whole other level. A great coach or trainer can improve your skills so much faster it's amazing. The gym owner and main Muay Thai instructor is an ex ufc fighter and doing one lesson with him you learn so much.
You know after a parry you can get a free guard break?
It's called riposte.
Now let's play a game of "Spot Triggered Fencer"
Repost you mean.
Yeah but if you parry a light going straight into heavy attack is better, unless you're near a ledge of course
After GB if they're out of stam best go for a max punish ;)
And some attacks are not safe so if u block a sidestep-light u can go straight into the guardbreak.
Your progress is legitimately very impressive! As someone whose only education is in sport saber fencing and watching your videos, each step and improvement is very obvious.
You are getting much better, based up on watching your previous videos. Your channel is becoming a big influence on mine actually.
One of the things I love about my Longsword focus, is I am always learning, even as I work from Blue Cord (Scholar Rank Traditionally), to Red Cord (Free Scholar Rank), I still know I will be at least 10yrs away from Silver Cord (Provost Rank). This is even without working on any German systems, which opens up even more years of knowledge to learn...
Thanks. Yeah, it's an endless path of learning. Well, until you are ended yourself, that is. :)
Your comment about using combos and follow-ups instead of just single strikes is very true and reminds me of when I first started boxing and kickboxing after being a life-long grappler. The urge to throw a single strike - be it a kick, punch or a sword cut - and then wait to see how your sparring partner reacts is very strong when you're first learning, especially when sparring with someone that is much more skillful than you. Loving these kinds of videos, keep 'em coming!
If you are being overly defensive, is it possibly because you don't quite believe in your offensive capabilities? Have you tried in some of your sparring to be much more aggressive and to always put in a follow up attack? Try having a sparring match or two where you stop focusing on defense and try focusing on being the initiator to see what works and doesn't work for you.
If there is one thing I've learned from gaming in a competitive manner is being too defensive never lets me learn how to go about an effective offense. Instead finding 100 ways the offense didn't work helps me find the few ways it did work.
You're right, that is excellent advice. In order to succeed you need to fail many times and learn from it.
+Skallagrim a man that never fails, is a man that never learns anything, failure is the key to success (no I'm not a motivational speaker, it's just one of my personal mottos :P)
Skallagrim yeah keep spamming the R1
Sparring is the perfect opportunity to keep practicing. I can't tell you how many times I get hit during the week by newer students because I'm trying to make things work and it doesn't.
+Pierre Fouquet That's not a bad idea, do certain drills in order to build up the offensive skills
I've been subscribed to you for years now, and this is one of your best videos
LIGHTNING BOLT
LIGHTNING BOLT
LIGHTNING BOLT
Seeing other's progress in HEMA always gives me a confidence boost. Thanks Skal!
3:26 Richard shaking his head in the background haha.
also why does he have a skull on his groin? ;)
Because he is Richard fucking Marsden. :)
I've been following your channel for a couple of years now, never really commented, but I just wanted to say this was FASCINATING.
Skalgrim, do you perhaps have any tips for someone who wants to at least check out HEMA but has no clue where to begin?
William Smith I've heard a good place to start is just to look up a HEMA school in your area. It seems like most major cities, at least in Europe and North America, have a HEMA school somewhere.
Yeah I looked one up near me but I live in a small town so the nearest one is the next town over which is an hour away.
Thanks for the help I may do that
Might as well embrace the suck and take that hour trip a few times a month. Then when you get enough fundamentals you can practice at your own place efficiently also as the school
true
M8 I just want to say that it's your channel that has led me to pursue knowledge and skill in HEMA. I know very little but I'd like to say thank you for not only teaching alot about HEMA but also (somewhat through recommended videos) helping me find other channels like Shadiversity. I don't have a school nearby and am trying to learn on my own. So all in all I just wanted to say thank you and wish you the best in life and continuation in these skills.
Too defensive?
Ever thought about listening to some really aggressive music prior to help focus and utilizing initiative?
Aggression alone doesn't do, it's more a matter of solid offensive techniques, and being good at adjusting to the opponent's actions in a split second.
Yeah, you need to work on those rude gestures and creative insults! However, I don't recommend flipping up your kilt and waggling your privates at your opponent during a sword fight...
I would say that a level of "aggression" is necessary primarily to put pressure on your opponent in effort to cause them to slip up rather than for aggression's sake. When I went up against the advanced students in the epee class I took in college, they didn't push a strong initiative and seemed to think that knowledge of technique would carry them through. One of them in particular stressed the "gracefulness" involved in the art and her style was easy to see through and counter.
It's more confidence than aggression, right? Like, unless your opponent fucks up his distance, your first attack will be countered, but you're doing it to set up the fight and take the initiative to hit him on your second or third intention. But I would imagine that against someone like Lee or any comparable fighter that parry/riposte or Zornhau or whatever is going to be pretty dangerous.
A few suggestions:
Try some drills designed to promote aggression like having your opponent deal random attacks from outside of distance and you practising dealing with the attacks without slipping back.
Rather than always sparring to win give yourself objectives such as focusing on pressing in, scoring with a body shot or always attempt a counter attack etc. There's a lot you can experiment with using this method.
Coached sparring. Spar for a few rounds and have another club member act as a corner(wo)man and give you advice between rounds.
You've definitely made huge progress, keep it up!
You have gotten in much better shape, compared to when I found your channel in 2012, you should be proud.
I wonder if the historical master fencers say from the Renaissance would beat the current HEMA "masters" or if the skill gap is big...
It's very debatable. You could argue that they would have much more temperament than modern swordfighters, but you could argue that modern swordfighters have much more time to practise and would be more experienced. Eh. I'd have to put my money on modern simply because of lifestyle. Much more time to get better and improve and much more fit and healthy when it comes time to duel.
I'd have to disagree with proteus because nowadays we have way more destractions such as tv and UA-cam if people had porn in the renaissance we'd be screwed
how do modern people have more time to practice? were there more hours added into the day in modern times? Its not like historical masters were serfs who could only practice when they weren't working in the fields or something. The authors of historical fencing manuals were from the lower ranks of the aristocracy, and all generally made a profession of martial arts, generally from a much younger age than modern practitioners. Fiore for instance fought numerous duels in earnest against other/rival fencers, no one alive today can claim to have an iota of that kind of experience. Anyone alive today who calls themselves a "master" of historical fencing styles is probably full of shit. Historical masters would wipe the floor with any modern practitioners.
You're intentionally being daft. If you don't understand how different work and leisure time is from hundreds of years ago, I'm not going to be the one expanding upon how most people don't have to work 9 hours a day in shitty conditions every week and how that might effect your ability to practise or advance. Even at that, people's relationship to sword fighting has gone from a necessary tool to a hobby, and you can learn almost anything you need from the internet and you don't have to pay your way to proper knowledge. You have WAY more opportunities to excel nowadays. Use your fucking brain 😂
Especially when if you really wanted to specialise in something like swordfighting or fencing, you can actually make a living out of that now if you're good enough. Do you think people danced around hitting each other with metal poles for shillings pre 15th century? Hahahaha. Even if you *were* the best fucking swordfighter in the world, you still either had to work or contract yourself to a noble. Even then, you almost never got the chance to fight anyone. If you're at the upper echelons nowadays you can sit on your pile of cash and whack away without a care in the world.
I love watching videos of people excelling in a skill over time no matter what it is. Awesome video Skall.
Just use a carthus curved sword duh
If you want to go with a Curved Sword, go for Pontiff Knight Curved Sword or Dark Scimitar, the nerf ignored them.
Atno Mornlodan the carthus curved sword is still pretty good at 802
Wait. Sl 802? XD Also, of course it's still overall pretty good, but why would you use it if there's something with the same moveset but better.
Atno Mornlodan it has longer range too
a follower saber is the best. Probably infused with dark.
Good self analysis. Forcing oneself out of current comfort zone, and being analytic is the source of improvement.
Keep going!
I've actually started doing sword fighting, finally.
Not HEMA, but some of the guys I train with seem to have worked with HEMA? I don't know.
During fights I still regularly just stand there after getting into a position, where I block a blow or have a blow of mine blocked, because I simply can't think of what to do next. My mind is still very logical, trying to piece apart a battle like a choreography. I'm hoping that'll change soon, making me become more of a reflex fighter.
It's been a fun few months, but I've only been doing it once a week. Which is a shame.
Sadly, swords, armaments and... anything really, are WAY out of my student budget. So I'm practically training in jeans and garden gloves.
I’m not a sword fighter nor do I do Hema, but I’m a wrestler and it’s the exact opposite for me, I can hardly think when I’m fighting, it’s really just instinct here. So putting moves and techniques that I’ve learned to use is hard, cause I just like to move how my body wants to move? Hard to explain, but I definitely know what you mean
This is one of my favorite videos by you Skallagrim, I have been watching your videos since about 2013 and have very much enjoyed watching you gain knowledge and improve your skills as a swordsman. I have also enjoyed gaining knowledge about historical weapons and the techniques that go with them, learning about the potential damage they can cause to the human body, and knowledge about the armor made to counter said weapons. Thank you for doing what you do Skall :)
0:27 What you're describing is called the Dunning-Kruger effect
Look it up, it's quite interesting
it's not interesting, everybody already knows humans are arrogant.
As someone who has been fencing for about four months now and sees how far I have come, and how very far I have to go, I especially appreciated this video.
Hello skallahrim. I know this game is a bit old, but could you give me your opinion on For Honor's lawbringer armor and weapon? I am really curious why this armor seems so good but I never saw a historical "picture" of this type. Thank you in advance,
-Happy sub
Besides some over sized and some unnecessary parts his armor is pretty ok, i think.
And halberd-like polearms are pretty great, if im not mistaken you can use them to trip and "smash-while-on-the-ground" any "heavy armored" opponents, they were made for fighting opponents in armor, if the opponent doesn't have armor you most likely would only need a spear or poleaxe, but hammers and hooks are what set these apart
Vlad Midan personally I main lawbringer and one of the reason why is because he looks so cool.
But I think out of everything his helmets are more closely related to real life. Mostly Italian and Spanish designs, but the rest of the armor is pretty fantasy sized and unrealistic. His weapon is accurately proportioned however.
We need to teach to skall that the turtle Meta Is over now, he needs to attack more
"A bit old". His poleaxe is nigh perfect (excluding some gear sets) but his armour is far more open than real plate. His standard helmet is based on 'frog mouth' styles, but those are static (attached to the chest) and are meant for jousting. His pauldrons are too large overall and the rest of his arm is pretty open (only the outside has plate). His chest armour is poorly shaped, to the point tilting would be hard. He only has grieves and faux-sabatons on his legs, and not even maille on his thighs. Also, his helmet has far to much open whilst still having limited sight.
But maybe his pauldrons are so big because there is a layer or two of gambeson attached to it to counter momentum from enemy polearms/maces.
To be honest Skall, been here for a fair amout of time, came by a recording of yours, a recording of a fight between your Hema instructors. After that I immediately watched the other one, both of them were sabre sparring videos. And then I started looking through your channel to find whatever interesting stuff I could find, and I found a lot of them. Many commentaries on historical manuals and stuff, your first impressions and tests of swords you got... It was really interesting.
But then well, eventually I watched all of that content, and what was left was the non-hema first impressions and then lastly the fantasy things.
They're all good and interesting (mostly) and I appreciate of course the work you're doing. Hell, I used to consider youtubers were all just plain useless and boring, doing nothing interesting except their showoffs, but you blurred the line in my prejudices.
I just wish I could see more direct hema content since, even if I'm probably never gonna have enough time to practice myself, I'm really interested in the subject and would like to find out more about it. This video is the best in a long time in my opinion.
Keep up the good work. Salutes from Turkey.
What really amazes me is how the "pro" guy looks like a fat piece of bacon and still he is really fast, really nimble and really skilled. I know being muscular doesnt mean you are good in a sport, but he has to be really strong to move that extra weight around this fast.
Debilinside this made me laugh a lil too hard...
Have you not seen enough Strongmen competitions to know that body fat says nothing about someone's strength?
Bodybuilders look impressive because of their extremely low body fat percentage, but a guy who "looks fat" can have literally the same amount of muscle mass.
I know bodyfat doesn't mean anything. But strongmans usually tend to be pretty clumsy and slow, because their training rarely includes wide, dynamic motions.
Like you say his quick signature lounge is not something what I would expect from someone of his bodytype.
But I dind't want to trash talk him or anything, I'm really fascinated about his work (with the blood and iron) and skill.
It's just makes me giggle thinking about in medieval period: "Look bro, there is a fat, bald guy, lets rob him."
You approach, then before you can even draw your sword, you are half dead... You can never know whos a skilled swordsman.
But the "pro" guy would benefit greatly by losing some of that unnecessary fat(while maintaining his strength). Bodybuilders and strongmen need a very specialized type of body for what they do so it might not apply best for fighting. HEMA is a fighting sport therefore a fighters body(MMA) would fit better-maximum amount of strength(core,upper-body,...) per minimum amount of weight=speed.
From what I've seen most of the youtube HEMA people would benefit greatly from improving their physique. If/when HEMA goes more professional than what it is now, I think we will see just that. It's true that weapons are "the great equalizers", but sword fighting is still a physical sport, so body training matters. Even sport shooters today that in theory only need to "pull the trigger" benefit a lot from body training.
+Skallagrim Not to mention that naturallly formed musclemass will result ina a barrell shalped body.
Hi skal! As a practitioner of Karate and Jiu jitsu,im happy you addressed the issue about how much work it takes for a technique,or even a choreography to look good. I know your audience is pretty reasonable when it comes to this topic,but the internet in general can hardly grasp the concept of how much practice is needed to execute things effectively
Train harder, get faster, then win a tournament! The biggest and best sword tournament you can find! And tell the commentators not to make any End Them Rightly jokes. BUT, don't tell them what those jokes are, so they'll be FORCED to innovate and make their own End Them Rightly memes.
What.
We can't let Skall win so easily.
To stop the memes, he must FIGHT the memes.
Jason Godwin I would suggest that you edit your comment. Change one of the "End Him Rightly" to "Pommel". The original comment doesn't make good sense.
TOURNAMENT ARCCCCCCCCCCCCCC
i like showers but first, TRRAAIINNNINNGGG AARRCCC
I actually really like this vid my dude. Reminds me of how far I've come in fencing. And I'm very happy to see you so humble about it all too
The hell happened to that Super Powers in Sword Fights video? I only got as far as him mentioning the Flash then had to go out, I come back and it's been pulled.
Did DC get mean?
No, I messed up the editing. Rendering and re-uploading the corrected version now.
as a very new practitioner of HEMA this is quite inspiring and the footage of the very early training feels really relatable, i had my first ever spar with a fellow student who vastly outclasses me in experience, i would say everyone has either a year if not more of experience and i have a couple weeks, it was really fun and im quite surprised i was able to land a few hits om his face aswell as a thrust to the torso tho all the times i made contact turned into doubles so it doesnt really count, anyways, im really excited to progress and improve, i need to quicken my reflexes, i look forward to the time when i can stand on similar footing to my companions, maybe even one day duel my profesor, tho i dont think thatll ever happen, he is the master of arms of all spain, he is simply the best
Could you give your opinions on a naginata or odachi? I'd be interested to see what you'd say. Not because their impractical, just because I like the weapons :)
AND NO I'M NOT A WEEB xD
weeb.
Vlad Midan ffs dude xD
Where did the word 'weeaboo' actually come from? is it Japanese or is it just a name some guy thought up? XD
It's originated from the word 'Wapanese', which was an amalgamation of western and Japanese. Then some bloke decided to shorten it. Have fun!
WEEB!
"The term weeaboo (or weeb later, compare dweeb) came from a comic strip created by Nicholas Gurewitch in which the term had no meaning other than it was something unpleasant. According to an unpublished MA thesis, 4chan quickly picked up the word, and applied it in an abusive way in place of the already existing wapanese term."
From the Wikipedia article for "Japanophile".
I like this sort of video the most, hearing your analysis of sword fighting is my favorite thing of this channel,
Only master if you can throw an unscrewed pommel while swinging
Been watching a few years now. Glad to see your skills are so sharp despite that accident.
Why bother learning swordsmanship if you can just sell pommels and be happy
A sword without a pommel is like a gun without a bullet.
It's the unscrewing of the pommel from the blade that gives the pommel the ending skills it so rightly has.
All pommels must unscrew.
All pommels must rightly end.
Jaqen H'ghar All memes must die. Let this one rest.
Jaqen H'ghar Are u the Jaqen H'ghar who watches Kripp?
Indeed, pommel peddling is a highly respectable profession.
A cut to the face even if superficial could be very useful, blood hampering vision, awesome seeing your progress, I always love seeing people work hard and improve in any art
You May Be High lvl But You Still Missed Your Attack By Rolling 1! Now It Is My Turn. I Cast Burning hands!
Curse Of Having To Type Everything Word With A Capital Letter Check.
D1.
You Completely Failed.
NOW YOU HAVE TO WRITE IN CAPS.
this is a cool video, didnt think people were so high up in skill level in this kind of thing.Very interesting, and the fluid movements and mind games make it even more intense than it first seems.
That was a real „when i just started“ video clip at the beginning. Normally you see pretty proish lookbacks when people do videos like this. Very motivating man (:
Excellent video I love how you showed progression through your Hema career. I myself are a Kendo practitioner and I've also done kenjutsu and Filipino martial arts and sword jiu jitsu. I do find it interesting that there is a lot of middle range tactics. In some of the engagements can be foiled by closing distance at grappling range. Just a note yes I know it's dangerous being that close as well. Also if you're trying to get your knee fixed I suggest looking into a book that's called Body by science by Doug McGuff. It has helped me in rehabbing my back shoulders from years of the military and the law enforcement. I'm only 38 but with all the weight and injuries that I have accumulated this kind of training has strengthened my frame and Rehab my injuries. He has plenty of videos on UA-cam as well. Keep up the good work love the videos
Man you really motivate me to get fitter and start swordfighting, its been awesome to watch you learn!
Really liked this one it's an example for your very humble attitude which I like and respect most on you and your videos. Good look on your further HEMA way
Watching you progress was very humbling and eye opening! Thanks skall
What I love about HEMA is the emphasis on weapon sparring. There's not a lot of weapon sparring in asian martial arts, but I've had lots of fun sparring with nunchaku, dao, bo, tonfa, jian and recently guan dao... :) I'll soon be putting up a guan dao vs trident sparring video on my channel, and recently uploaded a tonfa vs bo one :)
These are really useful. Analysis of your own fails gives me a better insight into mine than does seeing techniques performed flawlessly.
I'd like to see more videos with this type of commentary attached.
Hey man that's some really good progression over the years. I don't know much about HEMA, other than what I've seen in videos from channels like yours, but I have been doing unarmed combat training (Tang Soo Do, Karate, Jui-Jitsu, and some boxing) for about 20 years now. I agree with your own critique about being defensive. Whether it's a boxing match or a sword fight standing right in front of someone trying to weave into an attack without actually committing to anything is a great way to spend a round eating the other guy's punches. Try to get out of that habit of landing just one shot and backing out as well. I know you guys are swinging around swords so a cut would be a more significant wound than a punch or a kick, but it's still a bad habit to get into for obvious reasons. I have to regularly train myself out of it after I've been working a lot of point sparring techniques. Can't wait to see what five more years of training looks like for you. Keep up the good work.
This is some great stuff Skallagrim! It is nice to see some of your training and practice.
I have never tried polish saber, but I did train in longsword. We primarily studied Talhoffer. I think your self critique to go along with your training was probably the best part. Thank you for sharing an honest look at the progression through training and honest commentary on the things done right and wrong for those who have not/do not practice the form.
your description of the learning process reminds me of my own journey through BJJ.
As you pointed out, starting HEMA at a young age gives you an advantage over most other fencers. I started when I was 8 and I've been doing it for 6 years now. That's around the age that the nobility started to train young men to fight.
I keep coming back to this video because it changes every time I progress.
With another video (where you did bottle cutting with a Patreon member) you could really see the skill gap, and really shows how far you've come with all your training. This just drives the point home. Well done!
Skal, I don't do hema but I do MMA, Muay Thai, and boxing. Martial arts often have a very long learning curve and coaches only shorten it a little. To be able to pick it up and look as good as you do this quick considering the fact that for the longest time, you didn't have a coach. Keep it up!
Nice to see the progress you've made. I started watching around 2013 and there definitely has been improvement in your work (not just swords too). Reminds me of my martial arts journey (even though I'm only 22). I started with oriental stuff when I was little, but sadly fell out of practice. I got into HEMA my freshman year of college. Amazing the similarities to the stuff I did before (and now). Sadly my instructor had to leave for career stuff and our grandmaster lives elsewhere. As is, I still practice as much as I can. I've also got back into oriental stuff, mainly Tang Soo Do and Chinese weapons, but anything else I can get my hands on too. Hopefully I'll be able to train with my grandmaster again soon, but as is, I'm busy with school.
Anyways, sorry for the long reminiscing. Best wishes for the future and congrats on your achievements.
One observation. As your skill has increased, so has your fitness. Your movements are faster, more explosive and fluid and you now "think" where you need to be and your body does the rest but now does it a lot faster than you used to. The weight you dropped has helped a lot with your training. You are also thinking faster, as described in the "time splice" comments below.
I really enjoyed this video skall, Seeing that frame of reference really helped me see some differences in technique as youprogressed. I recently started in a similar way with my best friend just practicing and looking at techniques from your channel and Blood and Iron's and I can tell I'm definitely just at the starting point but it's nice to know that even you started from that point once.
You can totally use those out-of-distance attacks to set up a hit. If he responds to your first, non-threatening attack with a parry/riposte, that will bring him closer to you and set you up to counter his counter. The benefit of your first attack being out of distance is that his counter will just barely be in distance, giving you slightly more time to block it.
I would imagine someone like Lee is aware of that kind of concept though.
i respect skall the most out of all youtubers not sure why probably because i've watched you grow from the bottom when you had less than 10,000....you've really blown up over the years and even just editing this video you must feel a big sense of pride bet you feel a lot fitter after all this training aswell
Honestly I'm too self-critical to feel much pride, I always focus more on the things I still do wrong.
I have often criticized you for footwork and clumsyness before now. I will say you got much, MUCH better, but you surely can still improve. I'm happy to see you now notice your learning curve too!
Thanks. Yep, my footwork used to be terrible. It's still not great, but I'll keep improving.
Don't worry skall, you'll always be number one in my book.
Thanks for this video. It is some nice inspiration and I will say it is very instructive to see your weak technique going up to your stronger technique. Seeing perfect technique is fine, but the important part is getting there. Seeing weak technique and then the same person showing stronger technique is really useful in looking out for the same tendencies myself and .. having of an idea of how to correct them.
Good vid. I wondered if it was going to be a rant about people who don't train enough or "schools that shouldn't exist" or some such, but this was actually a useful perspective.
Watching a good fighter against a master is very cool. Thanks for showing us that, even though you got absolutely annihilated.
Great video. I've been with a group for only a couple of months, but now I don't feel so bad about being the "practice dummy" of my local HEMA/Broadsword group. Traing and experience are the keys, although I still can get a lucky shot in against some of our higher level fighters. As in all sports, some people just seem to be "naturals", but anybody can be beaten on any given day. Its fun and a good workout. Thanks again for the video.
I started HEMA after my 18th birthday and I enjoy it a lot, practising with Mike and Nick Thomas of the Academy of Historical Fencing. I'd already looked at stuff and had a rough idea of what I was getting into. My current improvement areas are guards and footwork, Mike powers through my guards easily and I have a lead foot from sabre.
holy shit man! that is so awesome!! the only weapons system ive really delved into is filipino kali and that was really fun, my main focus has been muay thai and bjj lately but i feel like its definitely helped my coordination and footwork when i occasionally pick up a stick, knife or machete. Might a suggest learning an open hand style like boxing or wrestling? any forms of striking and grappling have been very beneficial to finding range and drilling timing and accuracy into my brain! not mention that bjj and wrestling will give you sparring practicie right away so it makes great stress training as well as teaches you to breathe.
love your vids man! fight on
Great demo. Takes courage to use yourself as an example of growth. I've taken a few community classes that used Sinawali, Largo Mano and Spada e Daga techniques. I approached it as a good rotational and movement execise routine similar to Tai Chi and it is an excellent low impact workout. imho; HEMA and other martial arts can give insight into getting inside decision cycles and anticipating openings for business as well as physical applications.
Excellent video, its nice to see the skill progression. One of my training brothers has suggested that filming oneself is good for finding flaws in ones form.
I was watching how you use in the sword and you're actually doing it correctly good job
One of your best videos to date. And that's not to insult your other videos they are great. I love this channel.
I really this attitude of improvement over your previous skill, rather than comparing yourself to others. It's a great attitude to have :D
Wow seems like you lost weight and toned up as well! Good on you Skall!
Dedicating yourself to something and working towards a goal sharpens the mind and the body.
The better you get at something, the better you recognize how far you have you have yet to go, how much you still have to learn.
That actually looks pretty fun and technical, good job and keep up!
Very interesting explanation, also, a great skill gap could be spot in your last video. Edge alignment and how to strike sometimes is not so evidently perceived when watching you, but have an untrained person doing it in the same video shown us how experience makes a huge difference.
Really cool to see your progress even with injuries.
Birfday video! Thanks Skalla! Your fencing has come along by miles for certain! You didn't even look like a fool going up against the famous Lee Smith (I'm pretty sure so would have)! I would say that's a huge compliment, considering his skill! Keep it up!
Very nice video, quite informative and seeing your progression through the years is really interesting.
This is a motivating video. I liked seeing the progression from someone who is inexperienced to someone capable.
Well done!! Looking great!! Good job sticking with it!
This is so true. When I first started training MMA the insane skill gap that I experienced when I first started sparring was so demoralizing.
Even after training for a solid 5 days a week for a year I was still terrible compared to most of the other people I trained with. But gradually you get better, you gain microscopic improvements over time that add up.
This might sound like faux-wise fortune cookie nonsense but training a martial is as much a mental exercise as it is a physical one. Summoning up the drive to go one more round or not to get demoralized when you get absolutely owned while sparring is tough but so intensely worth it when you crest that peak and start climbing the mountain.
Nice sparring clips. The absence of double hits is impressive.
I did, in fact, like this video. Also seen some mistakes I do myself, so it's cool to watch videos like these for that reason. One or two of these per month, HEMA related, fencing based videos would not hurt, methinks. Anyhow, awesome content.
I'd like to see more of these play by plays, with the recaps and slow motion...very cool...
ACL injuries are rough, I feel ya. I tore my right one when I was 19 playing soccer, my left about 10 years later for pretty much little to no reason, then my original ACL reconstruction failed 5 or so years after that. I forged ahead in denial but got it redone again. I still remember the original pain, and sound it made.
If I may. I have practiced for almost 8 years. Practice is really important, for without a clean movement you will never get good strikes and parries. What I see missing from your most recent assaults, though, is attack preparation. You mostly decide what to go for and attack, just reacting afterwards. Good hardwired reactions are important for continuing a failed initial assault, but rarely give you a clean victory. Get close, start your action slowly, give your enemy a split second to panick and react. If he does, parry and counter. If he doesn't go all in. If he manages to parry, you should still be at a small advantage. Keep hitting and parrying or go close quarters. If you feel at disadvantage, disengage.
yes, definitely during your earlier videos you didn't need to improve on your footwork and your blade control. But as I seen you make more more videos for Edge alignment and your foot control has been perfect as far as I'm concerned you are as much a skilled swordsman as a 14 or 15 year veteran of the sword would be. keep up the good work bro stay the path.
Richard standing in the background was the best part of this video
:)
Dem Feels Skall. As an active grappler I know what you mean. Often in Judo, when facing my coach or another higher level opponent, I too find myself often just standing there for fear of counter attack. After all, they know every technique I know, and are faster than I am. Fear of injury often comes into play. But I have learned a few possible tips. It might not translate over to your HEMA practice however.
1. Play to your strengths rather than fearing theirs. I'm generally taller and heavier. The reach advantage helps a little, and with my ability to control my weight, foot sweeps are generally all I need watch out for. To you, what are your strengths? Find them, exploit them, and don't worry so much about what they are going to do. You can't lose in training after all.
2. Have a favorite technique? Drill the hell out of it till you can make it feared.
3. Have a favorite technique and they know it? Don't use it. Faint it instead.
4. Set things up and attack in combination. I often set things up with a strong fainting Ouchi Gari (Minor inner reap) to simply blast my opponent's leg back and ruin his balance. I have a lot of options then.
5. Getting a "sense" for what is going on takes a lot of time and training. My coach does so many things by "feel" it often gets annoying.
6. Finally, the ONE THING I have found works most often. Simply do something they do not expect you to do. Either a technique they don't know that you know, or that they didn't expect at all. Surprise can equalize things.
Also, to and another thing. Physicality is everything. Having the strength to perform, and the speed/explosiveness to move quickly are paramount. There is NOTHING more aggravating, more heart breaking, then known EXACTLY how to do something, but not being physically able to do it.
great video, it AWESOME to see your skills improve, please more video on strategy and technique
This reminds me of when I started fencing To no. But it's amazing how much you've progressed and how much work you've put into hema.
Love how you improved, you are very good now. I wished, we could have a go one day, but Canada is so far away. When you are in the old country, let me know Bruder.
This was a very interesting vid Skal!