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Post by zabazagobo on Jun 13, 2018 19:01:21 GMT
Fun choices, what made you settle on Italian rapier over the others? I've been considering about more seriously practicing with rapier lately and would be interested to hear what you enjoy the about the style and how it compares to others.
Broadsword and dagger would be a fun time (seems like you're a big fan of using a dagger in your off-hand), I should give it a swing sometime. What is it about using a dagger as a secondary weapon that you like the best? I usually prefer to use two similarly sized weapons for symmetry so I'd value your input on why you enjoy/prefer using a smaller weapon in your off-hand.
I started sword fighting through the SCA. The SCA focuses primarily it seems on Italian fencing, so that is the style I have primarily been trained in. In the SCA it seems the other styles are secondary and only used by a few specialists in the SCA. I enjoy the point control and the finesse of Italian rapier. When I first started in the SCA there was rapier combat (mostly Italian) or Armored Combat (think medieval broadsword), and I chose Italian rapier more for the perceived intelligence of it over the smashy smashy (perceived)of Armored combat. I know now there is a lot going on tactics wise with armored combat then first perceived. Dagger as a secondary weapon gives me control on the parry. That is my favourite part of it. Regardless of where on the blade I parry a sword I generally have control. I have found fighting Case (paired sword) my off hand is less co-ordinated and tires way too fast. I am faster on the parry and have more stamina with the shorter weapon. Also fighting with paired swords people (even those very experienced) will eventually put the two swords on the same plane. in that moment I swipe my sword across (sweeping both their weapons to the side), transfer the parry to the dagger and thrust with the rapier. I can relate to your anecdote on the 'smashy-smashy' armored combat; I had the same opinion of longsword and sword n buckler styles for a while. I started off being exclusively interested in kendo and kenjutsu and eventually realized rapier was similarly tasteful and refined. So I quickly developed a liking to that system (although I do need to get more serious about it, it's such a fun art). Plus it's really interesting how rapier and katana techniques compliment each other. It was only after spending a good chunk of time over the last year learning more about longsword techniques that I've become an enthusiast of the weapon and it's style.
That's a good idea, transferring the bind to the smaller/lighter weapon (I'm an amateur when it comes to rapier). Given the way I practice swordplay with two equal length swords I don't often think of transferring the opponent's weapon from blade to blade once the parry makes contact, I usually just focus on neutralizing it while striking with my other weapon. When using a shorter weapon rather than one of equal length this seems like a very useful strategy.
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Ifrit
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More edgy than a double edge sword
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Post by Ifrit on Jun 14, 2018 5:34:14 GMT
A dagger is great when paired with a sword, but I really enjoy it as it's own stand alone weapon too. I am too drunk to explain exactly why but it is a very underestimated weapon. Reach isn't the only advantage when it comes to weapons
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Post by howler on Jun 14, 2018 6:05:29 GMT
A dagger is great when paired with a sword, but I really enjoy it as it's own stand alone weapon too. I am too drunk to explain exactly why but it is a very underestimated weapon. Reach isn't the only advantage when it comes to weapons Offhand dagger can be huge. Cannot underestimate a good stand alone fixed blade, even a short one. The longer ones can be used as short swords, particularly with the thrusting jab.
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Ifrit
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More edgy than a double edge sword
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Post by Ifrit on Jun 14, 2018 6:33:19 GMT
A dagger is great when paired with a sword, but I really enjoy it as it's own stand alone weapon too. I am too drunk to explain exactly why but it is a very underestimated weapon. Reach isn't the only advantage when it comes to weapons Offhand dagger can be huge. Cannot underestimate a good stand alone fixed blade, even a short one. The longer ones can be used as short swords, particularly with the thrusting jab. I particularly love my 1905 bayonet. That's perfect to me. It has my favourite profile. Like a long agile rondell. I feel like a rondell would easily take its place though, cause as much as I hate hema guys, I always enjoy hema stuff
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Post by wlewisiii on Jun 16, 2018 20:34:59 GMT
Offhand dagger can be huge. Cannot underestimate a good stand alone fixed blade, even a short one. The longer ones can be used as short swords, particularly with the thrusting jab. I particularly love my 1905 bayonet. That's perfect to me. It has my favourite profile. Like a long agile rondell. I feel like a rondell would easily take its place though, cause as much as I hate hema guys, I always enjoy hema stuff My recently purchased Devil's Edge Arkansas Toothpick is this kind of blade for me. 10" of steel ahead of my hand when someone might have their eye on the saber in my other hand...
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Ifrit
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More edgy than a double edge sword
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Post by Ifrit on Jun 16, 2018 22:51:04 GMT
I particularly love my 1905 bayonet. That's perfect to me. It has my favourite profile. Like a long agile rondell. I feel like a rondell would easily take its place though, cause as much as I hate hema guys, I always enjoy hema stuff My recently purchased Devil's Edge Arkansas Toothpick is this kind of blade for me. 10" of steel ahead of my hand when someone might have their eye on the saber in my other hand... Man, I could totally use one of those. I love the blade profile
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Post by zabazagobo on Jun 17, 2018 0:06:10 GMT
A dagger is great when paired with a sword, but I really enjoy it as it's own stand alone weapon too. I am too drunk to explain exactly why but it is a very underestimated weapon. Reach isn't the only advantage when it comes to weapons Yep, the whole 'reach advantage' = 'total annihilation' ramblings of some always drive me up the wall.
Heck, daggers have the ultimate reach advantage: just throw them right at your opponent. Take that, langschwert elitists haha
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jun 17, 2018 1:01:16 GMT
Nice to see this line of thinking getting more airtime. There's cool (and vicious) things you can do with a short blade like a dagger you'd have a hard time pulling off with a longer blade. Being able to literally insert a handle into someone gives leveraging opportunities half swording couldn't dream of.
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pgandy
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Post by pgandy on Jun 17, 2018 4:21:16 GMT
I’ve posted this video several times but it shows the versatility of a dagger. And perhaps this is the time to show it again.
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Post by silverite on May 3, 2021 5:23:53 GMT
I have dabbled in a few different systems but George Silver's backsword material is my favorite so far. Although had I been in a spot where I could've trained under an instructor a bit more messer fechten would be up there too. As is though Silver's system is pretty simple and straight forward and I love me a basket hilt backsword. My issue with KDF/German Longsword is the complexity of it with the winden and preference for master strikes and the overall aggressiveness of it. Talented KDF practitioners are hell on wheels to spar with though, they strike from many angles and never let up and their ability to control the initiative and force their opponent to use poor strikes is rather impressive and intimidating at times.
Despite what Silver says I find rapiers pretty terrifying and cool. Another aggressive style that impresses me are the polish sabre guys, the whole culture seems rather neat to be honest but thier blade work is pretty amazing . I don't have any experience with either of those styles though I just like them from what little I know of them.
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Post by Deleted on May 4, 2021 9:24:37 GMT
Just to add more to the conversation, especially with more thought, I am a big fan of arming sword and shield. Or even viking sword and viking shield. Or scutum and gladius
But a combination I don't see as much as i would want to in single combat is shield and spear. I can understand why but I find the biggest issues presented could be fixed with a short spear and an increase of aggression. Back when i used to spar, aggression paired with a spear was always a form of advantage a noob could use
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Post by Timo Nieminen on May 5, 2021 3:57:00 GMT
One-on-one, I'd take two-handed spear vs spear-and-shield. For the same length of spear, you have more reach, speed, and leverage.
On a battlefield, it depends on armour. If you're depending on your shield to protect you from the arrows, slingstones, and javelins, and you don't have one, you might be in trouble.
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Post by Deleted on May 6, 2021 2:18:29 GMT
One-on-one, I'd take two-handed spear vs spear-and-shield. For the same length of spear, you have more reach, speed, and leverage. On a battlefield, it depends on armour. If you're depending on your shield to protect you from the arrows, slingstones, and javelins, and you don't have one, you might be in trouble. Excellent point. I do feel way more nimble with a spear in two hands. Plus I've seen spear and shield lose many times against almost anything else.
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Post by Deleted on May 8, 2021 3:44:18 GMT
Thought it might be fun to start a conversation on members' favorite systems of swordplay and other martial arts/historical combat weapons. Could be fun to get into some good discussion on preferences on styles and systems of swordplay and why we prefer our favored weaponry and techniques (and to also derail with any and all somewhat relevant tangents, that's always a good time). To kick off the topic, I'll briefly ramble about my top three picks. 1. A pair of katana I love using katanas in pairs. While it's more historically common to see a wakizashi paired with a katana, I do find that using a lighter weight katana in the weaker arm alleviates the added stress of the length while still affording more reach and power than a typical wakizashi. There's just something really fun about swinging around a katana in each arm that seems to just flow off of the body's mechanics (I've noticed the techniques I practice translate really well to hand to hand maneuvers). This approach also seems to lend itself significantly towards effective parries and blocks, as I find that most of the forms I practice tend to gravitate towards closing distance and emphasizing defense and offense with synchronized movements. I prefer using these kinds of weapons in pairs since it seems to afford a better range of motion and circumvents the katana's blindspots (single edged, shorter, no pommel to manipulate for rapid directional shifting). A single katana by itself has a number of shortcomings that just seem easily remedied by using two of them at once, so it just seems to be too logical to use Japanese styled blades in pairs. Plus, unlike a designated single handed sword, the grip length of a katana is conducive towards powerful cutting which is a nice bit of added versatility. As to why katana get such nice long grips while a lot of longswords have shorter 7-ish inch grips is beyond me. 2. A good ol' longsword I really like a good, fairly long (around 40 in. give or take a couple inches) solidly weighted longswords with longer handles. The longsword is just a beast of a weapon that seems to tackle whatever is in front of it with ease. I love wheel shaped and disc pommels since they're really easy to manipulate with the palm and orient the blade in different angles rather quickly. I've yet to formally study a specific school of longsword fencing (although I do like what I've seen demonstrated by folks on 'team Meyer', to phrase it colloquially), but I've found myself appreciating a single longsword over a single katana enormously. All the angles of attack and that superb sensation of using the pommel for fast re-orientation is just too much fun. Plus swinging around something like Hanwei's antiqued bastard sword is a great workout and feels all sorts of good. I used to enjoy using a single katana, but a good longsword seems like such a robust weapon that since getting the hang of it I haven't looked back. I guess my preferred set of equipment would be a pair of katana at the side and a longsword on the back, for fun and versatility. 3. A rapier and dagger I really have to tip my hat to the combination of rapier and dagger. I don't practice with this style too much, but when I do I feel almost like it's cheating. The rapier's reach is just insane and a well designed main gauche is sort of the Talhoffer buckler of daggers, so the two form this almost anti-climatic pair of lethal weaponry. I really love how the rapier has so much reach yet is so easy to keep on point/ on-line given the balance, although I do wish it had a bit more weight for the cut (although that would likely make it unmanageable with one hand). I don't really care for a rapier by itself since it seems to have some shortcomings with defense (poor leverage for parrying and blocking), but with a dagger (or maybe a cloak) it seems to be a recipe for success. Plus connecting a sudden thrust from an "unthreatening" posture is just too satisfying. I personally would pick effectiveness (suppose it would be open field duel) at 3, 2, 1, in that order, and would be most intrigued with rapier/main gauche vs. longsword matchup. I'd go single katana vs duel as I'm no good with single katana and would chop off me naughty bits by even attempting the impressive feat of swinging two katana. "Naughty bits" You must have seen the John Woo directed movie Hard Boiled. 😹😹😹😹
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