HEMA at Home - Guards & Manual Exercise

The ongoing series teaching British Military Swordsmanship from home. This is working from Roworth (1798-1824), and is for all military swords used on foot, including Broad sword, sabre, spadroon, hanger and cutlass.

[@CDKohmy]

I like George Silver's terminology to group and explain positions: wards (guards) and lyings (stances). Medium is a lying and most are wards, some are both.

[@cristobalvergara488]

Thank you very much Nick. It's always a pleasure to see your videos.

[@wcropp1]

These videos are a great resource...thanks for all your hard work!

[@knightforlorn6731]

wow what a great video. How does this not have more likes???

[@BeanCasserole-wg7wu]

I know right this deserves to have a million views, such high quality and very informative, perfect video just like all the videos I've seen on his channel. I really appreciate him trying to help people learn and grow their passion for swords and swordsmanship.

[@redrebel2978]

Excellent information , really enjoyable, many thanks.

[@sergelecluse0001]

Absolutely great video. This is going to be of big help. Thanks!!!

[@tsmspace]

yo your videos are the bomb.

[@DaveCollins123]

Great stuff and invaluable for those of us with no local HEMA club to join. Will you be doing a video on the integration of guards with ripostes?

[@AcademyofHistoricalFencing]

Glad you are enjoying them. Yes that will be covered through as different techniques are covered, though the Manual exercise shown at the end of this video does show one option from every guard to get you started.

[@Aikidobear129]

Great information- I am curious though- is there any mention of protecting the cutting edge of the sabre during the blocking techniques? Also is there a particular make or design of footwear you would recommend for a beginning student?

[@AcademyofHistoricalFencing]

With regards ti protecting the edge during parrying, no. In British swordsmnaship a great emphasis was placed on directing the edge into the parry for strength and also to align the protection ot the hilt towards the opponent's attack for your protection, which is likely one of the core reasons why back edge cuts were almost unheard of. There is an exception to this, in Gaspard Le Marchant's cavalry exercise of 1796, the first official cavalry exercise for the army. He directs the user to turn the sword and parry with the back where possible. But all revised and edited versions of his work by other authors and all other contemporary's recommended against this. In all of the infantry swordsmanship manuals we work from it is edge on, and that it tyupical for most sabre systems across various eras eras and cultures. There is a big reason why protecting the edge here is not a big deal, in that you should be parrying with the lower part of your blade, the forte, which is often not even sharp. Also, the blade will be more secure and less prone to disarms if you parry with the front. Any fairly low sole is what we would recommend. Sport fencing shoes are good. We mostly use Onitsuka/Asics Tiger Mexico 66 range, which is fantastic.

[@Aikidobear129]

@@AcademyofHistoricalFencing Thanks for the great information and taking the time to reply.

[@miguelarocazarco5744]

very interesting video !! i will see more of you

[@martingross9588]

The medium guard in escrima is called the center line if you control the centerline you can dominate the center line if you can dominate the center line you will beat your opponent to the cut and kill every time now that also operates in the Chinese martial art of Wing Chun so that that those two arts blend harmoniously Bruce Lee took his empty hand fighting to another level because of his base art being Wing Chun so again I repeat where this gentleman says the medium line is irrelevant and cannot be actually used to defend it's an absurdity you can control this centerline a lot easier by being in the center just studying Wing Chun or study as trimmer you will see what I'm saying is the truth of the matter by occupying the center line with your weapon or your arm which the weapon is nothing more than an extension of the arm It is a lot easier to avoid and counter any attacking line of action It helps you be aware of overextending blocks or Paris where you cannot recoup a defensive position after an offensive or counter offensive action like I said study centerline theory of Wing Chun and centerline theory of Escrima Filipino stick fighting

[@jimmynicolas4602]

Une vidéo comme ont les aime....😀

[@user-rr3sw8iv1c]

I've been practicing cuts and recovery for around a week but my wrists are starting to feel somewhat uncomfortable. It doesn't hurt, but I hear some weird popping noises from the joints when I flex my wrists. Is this a sign that I should rest my wrists for a while, or am I overreacting? By the way, these videos have been super helpful. Keep up the great content!

[@AcademyofHistoricalFencing]

Glad you're enjoying the videos. You shouldn't be getting popping noises from your joints. Definitely take a rest and make sure you warm up before doing these swords of exercises. Simple movements that rotate the shoulders, elbows and wrists are useful.

[@user-rr3sw8iv1c]

@@AcademyofHistoricalFencing Thank you for the reply! Your channel is a blessing for the HEMA community :)

[@nik774]

Think you can do the same with longsword and rapier?

[@AcademyofHistoricalFencing]

I may get on to rapier, but there is a lot to do in the military swordsmanship stuff yet. I'll see what I can do. Longsword no, as I don't teach it. Mike, the other AHF instructor is the longsword instructor, and he is currently very busy mass manufacturing PPE masks for local health workers.

[@jf5078]

Are there any specific engagement gaurds in Roworth's method?

[@AcademyofHistoricalFencing]

No, though the method described for how the French used spadroons is quite similar to say Waite's engaging guard, rhough not the same. Roworth goes on to say you can use that for spadroon or revert to the standard methods already described for sabre/broadsword

[@cwmyr]

Nice! Isn’t that solo exercise from De Angelo?

[@AcademyofHistoricalFencing]

It is the first line of the Angelo divisions poster yes, but it is also in Roworth from 3rd edition (1804) onwards, when Taylor's lessons were added.

[@althesmith]

What do you think of Le Marchant's system?

[@AcademyofHistoricalFencing]

You have to respect it as being the very first, for codifying a system, but also being the first it is hard to compare to what came before it, if not impossible. I must make a video of it. I think Le Marchant's varied grip shifts for different techniqyes were a valualble addition, msotly, and I think his insistence on cutting from the wrist with a fixed arm was good, especially when he was fighting from such a high guard position and with little hand protection. Overall it;s a simple and tight system without too much fluff. However, I think his obsession over now allowing the elbow to be involved in cutting was a mistake as it is neccessary and useful in some actions, particularly many counters, and so I think he was a little overly strict there on a principal that was otherwise good. My greatest problem with his system is the use of the back edge for parrying. Older systems have of course done this, but in the eay he did it I think was deeply flawed. Grip shifting to weak hand positions, taking high inside and outside cuts on the back edge I believe was a huge mistake. The only explanation he gives is to preserve the edge, which is silly when you should be parrying at the forte which on these swords was blunt and rather strong, as well as the guard and personal preservation being far more important. Almost all other manuals written in his time that derived from his system removed this back edge parry, and for good reason I would say, this was a deeply flawed element, in fact many contemporary manuals describe how striking against someone in this posiiton as being the best way to disarm them.

[@althesmith]

@@AcademyofHistoricalFencing I think he relaxes the no elbow movement thing when fighting on foot or at least dismounted adversaries. That back-parrying also bothers me, unless he's speaking more in reference to the blade flat nearest the spine? Still weak but not as bad, pretty common in kenjutsu iirc. I consider it possible that Le Marchant was extremely strong in his wrists and forearms, and didn't think about the possibility that not everyone could come up to his standard. I'm a bladesmith and I have to remind myself that what I think is a nice, lightweight sword is still a handful for someone who picks up a hammer once a year to put up a painting and not most days to pound hot steel.

[@AcademyofHistoricalFencing]

The back edge parries he taught were nothing like the way they are done in kenjutsu. Back edge parries are common in various systems, but these are dead parries, with the grip turned so that the thumb is on the flat of the grip and the guard is facing away from the opponent's blade as it strikes yours. Nothing life the deflective back edge parries typical in kenjutsu, or in Bolognese swordsmanship for example. We really don't know anything about his experience levels. I think there is a good chance he was merely a great rider who developed a good cutting system from horseback without having a lot of experience or know how of sword v sword actions, but that is just a theory. Strength isn't a huge factor here as human anatomy is what it is, and the way he teaches you to parry does hugely risk being disarmed, because the blade is being struck towards the opening of yours fingers and ot into the web of the thumb and palm. I also think the removal of these methods by every other contemporary and future manual says a lot. He was a reformer no doubt, but that doesn't mean everything he did was perfect.

[@amns8900]

I'm researching the Mormon War (1837-38) and the books I've read state the Mormon militia and especially the Danites were very good swordsmen. Any idea where I can find what if any manuals they might have used for training? Was there anything terribly popular that a frontier militia would've been likely to have access to? Awesome channel! I just found you today and bought a replica 1796 cavalry saber so I can do a little solo training and get a feel for what the skirmishes between the Missourians and Mormons might have been like. This solo training video was exactly what I was looking for. Thanks!

[@AtlatlMan]

Berriman's "The Militiaman's Manual, and Sword-Play Without a Master" might help. It was pubished in 1861 but the author had been teaching for thirty years by that point so he would have received his instruction in the 1830s.

[@themanformerlyknownascomme777]

I think this video should have been done earlier in HEMA at home. Also, though your source may not like it, middle guard is standard guard in other saber uses.

[@AcademyofHistoricalFencing]

It's a very personal thing the order in which you teach things, and I constantly vary it to try and find what is optimal, of course its a playlist so people are welcome to dip in and out as they please. Of course the medium guard is seen plenty in other some sources, being a rapier instructor too I'm very familiar with using it, but this series is about understanding British Military Swordsmanship in the Napoleonic era. Just because one master/style doesn';t like something, that doesn't mean it can't work, it's a preference and approach.

[@themanformerlyknownascomme777]

@@AcademyofHistoricalFencing I think you probably should have mentioned that whole "other masters do like it" part, cause the video seem to give off the impression that you agreed with the idea of middle being useless.

[@alexanonimo6876]

@@themanformerlyknownascomme777 Roworth doesn't like it. He's working from Roworth. That's his source, and one of the primary sources for British Military Sabre. I could list several other styles that also do not like it, but that's as irrelevant as you pointing out how some do.