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Post by Timo Nieminen on Oct 20, 2017 23:48:39 GMT
Spear. It's effective, and easy to spar with usefully - it works with a padded tip and minimal (or no) other protective gear.
Lots of kinds of swords are fun to spar with. A pair of swords of about 18-20"/45-50cm blade are nice. A sword of the same type as the opponent's, but 4"/10cm shorter, is very educational training. A larger two-hander is lots of fun, but difficult for safe + realistic sparring.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 21, 2017 1:44:18 GMT
I think my favorite thing is working out how to do supposedly impossible stuff. Things like static blocking two handed cuts with a dagger, or muto dori, things of that nature, and then trying to sort out if the way I'm going about it is consistent with what I've been taught - if it is, hey cool some of this stuff must be starting to sink in. If not, then I get a new opportunity to try to take that and massage it into something that looks like it would belong in the curriculum, and at the very least a new spark of interest in going back to basics to build a better foundation and work out why it failed.
In a lot of ways, this is kind of putting the cart before the horse, but I've found it personally helpful.
Pretty much all the weapons are fun, but for the most part the edged ones get me. Fan is an exception. There's something just inexpressibly cool about the thing.
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Post by zabazagobo on Oct 21, 2017 2:21:32 GMT
I'm a huge fan of playing around with a pair of katana. Spend 2 or more hours a day, 5-6 days a week doing so. Japanese swords just seem best in pairs to me, and a pair of katana gives me a great workout, plus it's a lot of fun building coordination with both arms simultaneously. Working on dual-wielding katana techniques is my favorite hobby, and I like coming up with my own techniques as well as practicing those others have thought up in equal measure.
I also have a soft spot for tonfa. Tonfa are just awesome weapons for close quarters combat and self-defense that could be used for all sorts of practical approaches. Plus, they come in pairs, so that's a plus for me as I like using two similar weapons in each hand. But when you get them spinning around to successfully combine multiple strikes and blocks fluidly, it's a total blast.
While I do like nimble straightswords like jian quite a bit, I like rapier more as they're so much more comfortable to use and control with the ricasso. I find myself appreciating single-handed fencing with rapiers more and more as the days go by. It's a lot of fun and quite heavy on strategy (and footwork). Toss in a dagger and you have a winning combination that dominates the range game with solid defense to boot.
So I guess I like weapons that are most effective when used in pairs the most. At some point I guarantee I'll start preaching the gospel of broadsword and shield, but until that day a pair of katana or tonfa are my favorite.
On the topic of broadswords and shields, what weapons/brands would you recommend looking into for practice? It's long overdue that I give that style another go. Also, halberds. I've been aching to test out a halberd for ages, but don't hear much about what's available on the market. Any suggestions on where to look would be really appreciated.
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Post by howler on Oct 21, 2017 4:15:48 GMT
I'm a huge fan of playing around with a pair of katana. Spend 2 or more hours a day, 5-6 days a week doing so. Japanese swords just seem best in pairs to me, and a pair of katana gives me a great workout, plus it's a lot of fun building coordination with both arms simultaneously. Working on dual-wielding katana techniques is my favorite hobby, and I like coming up with my own techniques as well as practicing those others have thought up in equal measure. I also have a soft spot for tonfa. Tonfa are just awesome weapons for close quarters combat and self-defense that could be used for all sorts of practical approaches. Plus, they come in pairs, so that's a plus for me as I like using two similar weapons in each hand. But when you get them spinning around to successfully combine multiple strikes and blocks fluidly, it's a total blast. While I do like nimble straightswords like jian quite a bit, I like rapier more as they're so much more comfortable to use and control with the ricasso. I find myself appreciating single-handed fencing with rapiers more and more as the days go by. It's a lot of fun and quite heavy on strategy (and footwork). Toss in a dagger and you have a winning combination that dominates the range game with solid defense to boot. So I guess I like weapons that are most effective when used in pairs the most. At some point I guarantee I'll start preaching the gospel of broadsword and shield, but until that day a pair of katana or tonfa are my favorite. On the topic of broadswords and shields, what weapons/brands would you recommend looking into for practice? It's long overdue that I give that style another go. Also, halberds. I've been aching to test out a halberd for ages, but don't hear much about what's available on the market. Any suggestions on where to look would be really appreciated. Duel wielding full size katana over 12 hours a week...double WOW! I'm more a collector but would like to practice more, but I'm interested in so many blade categories...and then I need to get into firearms more (which is a higher priority). Rapier with dagger and halberd are certainly effective. Backsword with dagger would be interesting.
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Post by leviathansteak on Oct 21, 2017 12:38:53 GMT
Maybe vanilla af, but i still favour longsword. (Meyer and early liechtenauer)
Messer is a good spot of fun for messy brawls
I do enjoy sidesword, unaccompanied and with buckler as well.
I kinda want to get into rapier but my strong preference for cutting motions makes me a rather ineffective rapier user!
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Post by 28shadow on Oct 21, 2017 14:29:27 GMT
I unfortunately don't get nearly as much exposure to fencing with others as I would want. I like a lot of others do a self study and I always learn new things. For longsword I look at the mechanics and footwork of fiore combined with the principals and concepts of George Silver. Using a longsword like a big backsword is just fine with me Personally I find it so very rewarding to learn and build body mechanics on my own without a coach to tell me it has to be done this certain way. I like just about every sword out there but as a personal thing I prefer ones with enough of a guard to keep me from losing another part of one of my digits (already lost part of my right index fingerprint to a machete, rather not deal with that again).
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Post by Cosmoline on Oct 23, 2017 16:52:35 GMT
On the topic of broadswords and shields, what weapons/brands would you recommend looking into for practice? It's long overdue that I give that style another go. Also, halberds. I've been aching to test out a halberd for ages, but don't hear much about what's available on the market. Any suggestions on where to look would be really appreciated. You mean European swords? I don't know much about Chinese sword and board systems. Ms. I.33 is the earliest European treatise and is buckler based. There's nothing surviving on large medieval shields, so the reconstructions are speculative. But still a lot of fun. There are some later buckler systems from Italy and a smattering from Germany/HRE as well and some very late period Spanish shield. Hard to say how much of that draws from medieval sources though.
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Post by Jordan Williams on Oct 23, 2017 18:28:26 GMT
Sabres! Heavy, light, short, long, European or Asian, I like them all. I've also been experimenting with sickle and shield, but only in cutting practice.
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Post by Vincent Dolan on Oct 23, 2017 22:40:23 GMT
I don't really get the opportunity to spar anymore, particularly not with a suspect knee, but I really enjoy the techniques of longsword, messer, dagger, and spear; I also really enjoy thinking on how sword and shield (arm mounted as opposed to center grip) would work, as well as figuring out ways stupidly impractical things could become semi-practical, such as reverse gripping a sword or dual wielding short swords (as in, wakizashi sized) against a longer weapon. Sadly, in addition to the suspect knee, I don't really have the space or disposable income, so it's all just imagination for the time being.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 24, 2017 3:19:27 GMT
So many words up there that I had to look up. Especially Targe.
Anyway, I enjoy a pair of Dha, Dha with a shield, Dha with Tomahawk, Dha with knife or dagger, Dha with Phlong, Dha with Mai Sawks, etc. Also, I like practicing solo Knife/Dagger drills and Solo Tomahawk drills, sometimes paring the two up and pretending to be Connor from AC3 and slashing redcoats.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 24, 2017 3:21:50 GMT
I've also been experimenting with sickle and shield, but only in cutting practice. Don’t really know the specific sort of sickle you maybe referring to, but in Indian Kalaripayattu, there is a shield and sickle combination and it is pretty brutal to go against. Especially since the shield to has hook type sharpened corners so the opponent might just hook with any hand and attach with the other.
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Post by legacyofthesword on Oct 26, 2017 0:48:22 GMT
I absolutely love the kusarigama. It's got more reach than a spear (if the chain's long enough, that is), and can be used in a bewildering variety of different ways. If someone manages to get past the spinning ball and chain, then the sickle and attached chain are usually enough to get distance and start the chain whirling again. Sometimes you can just use the chain and sickle itself to finish. It's a weapon uniquely suited for both close range and long range fighting. The only weakness is that it gets caught up in trees or close objects, but that can be remedied by choking up on the chain and spinning it closer to your body. I like the kind with the knuckle-guard and chain attached to the pommel best:
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Post by howler on Oct 26, 2017 1:09:03 GMT
I absolutely love the kusarigama. It's got more reach than a spear (if the chain's long enough, that is), and can be used in a bewildering variety of different ways. If someone manages to get past the spinning ball and chain, then the sickle and attached chain are usually enough to get distance and start the chain whirling again. Sometimes you can just use the chain and sickle itself to finish. It's a weapon uniquely suited for both close range and long range fighting. The only weakness is that it gets caught up in trees or close objects, but that can be remedied by choking up on the chain and spinning it closer to your body. I like the kind with the knuckle-guard and chain attached to the pommel best: If your in a relationship, nobody gets past the "ball and chain". Btw, what an exotic weapon.
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Post by legacyofthesword on Oct 26, 2017 1:52:48 GMT
Lol. Yeah, it's really unique - one of those weapons that look awesome but impractical. I made a trainer and was pleasantly surprised to find that not only was it perfectly functional, but it was also quite lethal.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 26, 2017 2:59:14 GMT
Similarly to the kusarigama, there was a rope dart type weapon we used to practice with in Thailand. Also, as legacyofthesword said, throwing knives are also seemingly a nuisance but actually a very deadly tool. It’s the same misconception when you bundle throwing darts or knives with Shuriken or caltrops. A well made dart like knife has enough force and momentum to pierce a motorcycle helmet and then the skull. Speaking from own observations of course (on simulated targets)
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Ifrit
Member
More edgy than a double edge sword
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Post by Ifrit on Oct 26, 2017 4:24:42 GMT
Katana has always been my go to, but knife drills and knife sparring slowly took over as my favourite thing to practice.
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Post by Croccifixio on Oct 26, 2017 4:39:38 GMT
Sabre and Pistol mounted on a horse :D Wish I could practice that here though haha. But in terms of actual fencing, I'd have to go with Espada y Daga (Short sword and Dagger). Or even just one Sansibar if I were as good as my FMA instructor: www.facebook.com/kalahiblades/videos/858197914247332/
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Post by zabazagobo on Oct 27, 2017 3:10:15 GMT
I absolutely love the kusarigama. It's got more reach than a spear (if the chain's long enough, that is), and can be used in a bewildering variety of different ways. If someone manages to get past the spinning ball and chain, then the sickle and attached chain are usually enough to get distance and start the chain whirling again. Sometimes you can just use the chain and sickle itself to finish. It's a weapon uniquely suited for both close range and long range fighting. The only weakness is that it gets caught up in trees or close objects, but that can be remedied by choking up on the chain and spinning it closer to your body. I like the kind with the knuckle-guard and chain attached to the pommel best: Kusarigama are awesome, I've yet to try one out myself though. Can't seem to find them anywhere for sale really, aside from some antiques. How'd you make your practice model?
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Post by zabazagobo on Oct 27, 2017 3:18:01 GMT
On the topic of broadswords and shields, what weapons/brands would you recommend looking into for practice? It's long overdue that I give that style another go. Also, halberds. I've been aching to test out a halberd for ages, but don't hear much about what's available on the market. Any suggestions on where to look would be really appreciated. You mean European swords? I don't know much about Chinese sword and board systems. Ms. I.33 is the earliest European treatise and is buckler based. There's nothing surviving on large medieval shields, so the reconstructions are speculative. But still a lot of fun. There are some later buckler systems from Italy and a smattering from Germany/HRE as well and some very late period Spanish shield. Hard to say how much of that draws from medieval sources though. Interesting, I had the misconception that bucklers were less utilized than they seem to be. Guess it shows I need to read up more on European warfare, I've spent a lot of time focusing on the east, somewhat disproportionately so. I'll look into sword and buckler for the time being since there's more information available on the subject.
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Post by legacyofthesword on Oct 27, 2017 3:59:54 GMT
I took a Cold Steel Trench Hawk trainer and cut the axe blade off, leaving the handle and the back spike, which made the sickle. Then I used a length of paracord for the chain. For the weight I made a monkey's fist knot around a tennis ball. The tennis ball by itself would have probably worked, but it was a little light for my taste. The knot made the tennis ball fairly hard though, to the point that it really hurts getting hit by it (if you aren't wearing armor).
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