AHF Military Sabre fencing Mike vs Nick.mov

[@GregTom2]

This is the second video appearing when you search "sabre" on youtube. The other one is the duel for the gold in men's olympics in London. So, you can watch the same double hit happening 40 times in a row for 58 minutes, or this video. I, for one, prefer this video.

[@ChaoticNarrative]

I'm a Sport Fencer and a Classical Fencer, I agree with you, as much as I enjoy sport fencing, I don't enjoy watching Foil or Sabre bouts unless it's just one or two, Epee's a different beast to me though, but what I'm getting at is sport fencing's only really enjoyable on the participation side, Classical Fencing and HEMA is just as fun to watch as it is to participate.

[@elmerkappell2318]

ChaoticNarrative I could definitely see that. When you watch sport fencing it just looks like 2 people running at each other. Its probably fun to do yourself though.

[@Temudgin]

God, i wish Historical Fencing comes to Brazil...

[@Nikos3000]

Yep. This was shot in our Newport club in South Wales which is based in the University there. During Uni months we share the hall with them, though its a lovely large space anyway. We get three badminton courts to train on. When the students are away we get the whole hall.

[@SirKickz]

Really glad to hear that. I've loved all of your videos. I've learned a lot about rapier fencing from your instructional vids and just by studying your fights.

[@dreadpiratedan]

i think it's a testament to your skill and showmanship that i managed to watch the whole thing before clicking on "Sports Illustrated Swimsuit 2013 Teaser" in the sidebar

[@hanson666999]

Wow incredible. Watching this is like watching an echo of older times when men still fought with swords. Respect too you both.

[@HamsterPants522]

Finally, a new video after almost an entire year. Glad to see you're still alive.

[@kostas225cmp]

I love the fighter with the red stripes. He has a really fancy poise. Also, Mozart just makes this video that much better.

[@Nikos3000]

They are outstanding. We haven't been able to do sabre work (besides KS synthetic basket hilt) for a couple of years due to the last of our Austrian blade supplies drying up. We have twelve more of these sabres due to be delivered any week now. We surely will do some tournaments with them yes.

[@ZethUDSRakaSDAL]

After all a new video, thank you very much sir.

[@monkeyjr58]

Amazing, guys. Don't ever stop.

[@jamaicaslim]

Great inspiration! I just started practicing military sabre fencing. Great stuff!

[@TchaikovskyFDR]

You swordsmen-ship is so useful in the arts of Saber Fencing I really like, I guess im saying it right, the Combined Parry 5 with a Point in Line, It virtually closes off a lot of lines in which im usually weak at!

[@DMSBrian24]

that Mozart though...

[@toxi87]

absolutely fantastic, and he music was excellent choice.

[@mobslayer2023]

such gentleman

[@Doroboneko]

Really impressive stuff. Thanks for posting!

[@Nikos3000]

Thanks. The sabres are made by Peter Regenyei, details in the description.

[@Nikos3000]

We are indeed back. The training has been constant but I simply haven't had the time to make videos. I've setup video editing software on my laptop at home now so I can edit and upload after training sessions. I fully intend to get back to regular videos on this channel of all sorts relating to historical swordsmanship.

[@vincentgonzales45]

Fencing looks so cool. Wish there was something like that here.

[@Nikos3000]

Where do you live? There are a lot of groups around the world, but I'd need a rough idea to point you in the right direction.

[@sharpie443]

I would love to do that but there are no HEMA clubs in north east Ohio.I've looked and was very disappointed. Learning alone would not be nearly as fun. :(

[@Nikos3000]

We used to use Hutton, but I far prefer Rowarth. His favourite outside guard is very strong. Also his grip, Hutton is adamant about having the thumb on the backstrap wheres Rowarth says that is more spadroon grip and is fine with hammer grip which for many sabres I prefer.

[@RedBaritonePlayer]

Do you have a link to the sabres on a website? Its not possible for me to go to my nearest HEMA club, but I would like to start doing it with my friends and purchase the equipment online.

[@tuerkefechi]

Everytime good to see sabers/broadswords in aciton. Maybe you already recognized the International Saber Symposium in Hamburg this year? Would be great to see you joining it. Only one tip, no offense: fencer with red-white stripes should try to not lean his upper body and head foreward, sometimes seem to have the tendency to do that and present an opening with that. He should try to keep his upper body straight up even when lunging and shifting. Kind regards from Broadsword Academy Germany.

[@HamsterPants522]

The entire purpose in the basket hilt is that it guards the hand from otherwise being completely open. For this type of weapon, I fail to see how having a cruciform hilt would do it a service.

[@fareastpride94]

Any tips to help speed up training? Of course there is practice practice practice, using your time/ effort and showing up to classes. Is there anything else you can say? What to focus more on? Addressing and fixing problems quickly? Any specific exercises to strengthen motor cognition and muscle memory faster?

[@AcademyofHistoricalFencing]

Speed is best improved by regular and intensive sparring. Make sure to get to at least one session a week, and work on solo drills at home. The six cut drill, and Angelo's solo drill are both excellent for this, and we have videos about both. These will also build muscle memory, strength and conditioning.

[@Nikos3000]

Yep, back up and running with the videos. A lot more to come.

[@taekfute]

Beautiful

[@Nikos3000]

Yeh like the other comment I am not entirely sure what you are getting at. The sabre guard is what dictates much of the style of the weapon, having less protection would be far from ideal. Did you mean grip length like a longsword maybe?

[@858dadadave858]

You guys seem pretty damn good.

[@Nikos3000]

Yep we are doing more videos hence the several in the last few weeks. I will do what I can with rapier. Rapier is used less than it used to be in the club due to the huge increase in cost of the weapons. But it's still around, will get some done.

[@JanPospisilArt]

Was someone playing badminton behind the curtains? :D I kept watching the white thingy everytime it popped up.

[@CommodoreFluffy]

This looks like a lot of fun, and I will grand more of a martial art than sport fencing. However, I am always a little disappointed when people deny olympic style fencing any credit or value. Olympic fencers, and I might say sabre fencers in particular are amazing athletes who demonstrate incredible strength, speed and reflexes as well as a fine tuned sense of distance and tactics, even if the specific style of tactics would not be applicable in a real sword fight. Sport fencing doesn't resemble a life and death sword fight for the same reason chess doesn't resemble a field battle, namely because it was never supposed to in the first place. it has its origins in a long history of non-lethal sporting duels which were often carried to first blood and has since developed as a competitive sport; As such, the methods, rules, and equipment of sport fencing have adapted so that the victor of a bout could repeatably be determined by a third party with relative ease and without causing damage to the participants. While this has given rise to abstractions which in the context of a martial art are plainly ridiculous, even many which could be overcome by modern technology, I don't think that sport fencing fails at its goal, while at the same time providing a solid grounding in the fundamentals of fencing for those who wish to pursue it as a martial art.

[@Nikos3000]

Very true, though you won't find that here. When we founded the club, two our of the six initial members were high level sport fencers. Sport fencing does require as you say, and immense athleticism to do well, and those that I have seen transition into historical fencing typically do so very well. I can understand the reason some people deny it credit, simply because amongst most people it is assumed that sport fencing represents swordsmanship as a martial art, and from a martial perspective it would be considered poor, but that isn't what it is. That misunderstanding is what causes so many problems. But that is not a problem with sport fencing, nor historical fencing, but a general lack of knowledge and ignorance, as well as bad representations of both in popular culture. All that can be done is to continue to educate as many people as possible about them both, and sports and martial arts on the whole.

[@100thdragoon]

Quite. I'd resigned myself to this being one of my "dead" subscriptions.

[@SlipSloop]

I love that you guys use British infantry swords.

[@Nikos3000]

Yep they are indeed a fascinating weapon and a lot of fun to practice with. Most weapons the styles we teach in the club come from the continent as they are the best documented sources. However for British sabre we have some really great sources from the late 18th century going into the 19th.

[@SlipSloop]

HEMA Instructor Nick Thomas Have you guys ever attempted using a bayonet against a sabre? I never understood how officers managed to fight in hand to hand against common infantry using bayonets because I would think there would be a serious difference in reach between the two. Let me also add that I don't know jack squat about this sort of stuff but the videos I've watched on youtube left me with the impression that spear vs sword usually always ends badly for the guy using a sword because of the difference in reach.

[@arvidfrykman9850]

SlipSloop As a military sabre fencer who has fought against bayonet wielders, I can say the following: Bayonets are nowhere near as good as people think. Yes, a bayonet fencer has a slight range advantage, but it isn't as much as people think. Usually it isn't more than about 15-20 cm (6-8 in.). An advantage, definitely, but not enough to be decisive. Add to that the fact that rifles or muskets with fixed bayonets weigh multiple times what a sabre does, need two hands to be properly used, can be easily grabbed by a sabre fencer (I've won several bouts by simply moving my left hand forward and countering an over-extended thrust by grabbing the barrel and cutting my opponent in the head) and offer no protection whatsoever for the hands (not easy to fight with no fingers)... let's just say that I'll bet on the sabre fencer nine times out of ten.

[@Nikos3000]

A sabre certainly can overcome a bayonet, but the bayonet should not be underestimated. The success of the bayonet against scots with sword and targe, the Indian's with their tulwars, and various other sabres like shamshirs and a wealth of other cultures is well documented evidence of the effectiveness of the bayonet, not just in blocked formation fighting, but against one-on-one scenarios. Certainly one major problem that needs to be mentioned is the afterblow, for documents from field hospitals and doctors in the 19th century frequently address accounts of the bayonet with its speed and leverage allowing the bayonet to land a strong thrust, but the user is then cut down after it. Also it depends what sort of era, Napoleonic bayoneted muskets are almost the height of a man, when a sabre is only half that. Ultimately the bayoneted musket is a spear, and the spear has dominated battlefields for thousands of years for good reason.

[@arvidfrykman9850]

I should know not to get into arguments on the internet, especially with people who know better than me....

[@cygil1]

I want to study this style of fencing.

[@CallofWar5]

make more videos please. I love these :)

[@AcademyofHistoricalFencing]

blackraver5 Please check the club channel I am now posting from. We have migrated to it to allow both instructors and also students to post videos. It already contains a tonne of new material, including sparring videos and lessons.

[@Cyrusjle75]

Peter's stuff is just amazing. These look as good as his Feders. Really happy to see this style coming back into fashion with the HEMA crowd. Will you be doing tournaments like the one at Swordfish 2012?

[@titow205]

This is the most awesome thing I've seen...I do martial arts, the most letal thing we use is a simply knife and stick...but this is in another level!!...it's a shame in my country they know nothing but olympic fencing, wich is really awful and unrealistic

[@PerkinsVR]

Skallagrim is pretty cool, but i wish youtube would autoplay more HEMA exhibitions instead lol

[@winnington6923]

what's the music called?

[@patio87]

This is pretty cool.

[@bjornthies6000]

Absolutely stunning fencing video. A side question: This is the best record of the "confutatis" from mozart requiem, i've ever heard. Who are the performers?

[@Gabiman66]

THIS is exactly what i'd love to do

[@irongeneral7861]

Excellent! :)

[@ipponbcross]

Where a good place to get the equipment including the swords in america to do this

[@Nikos3000]

Check out the HEMA alliance website and forum, they are a collective of US clubs that will be able to help you find suppliers and clubs.

[@PandemicalShade]

Can you tell me what kind of body / torso armor you are wearing in this video?

[@zoopyjoobles]

Good, but I think Sir Richard Francis Burton would show you a thing or two.

[@MyGamerforlife]

I was wondering why the off hand is always placed at the side in these fights. I assume it's because there is no real reason to use that hand for anything?

[@Nikos3000]

Indeed. With other weapons we study the hand is used more, but in different ways. For example with a long bladed rapier, the offhand is kept up to use for open hand parries and grapples. With the much shorter grosse/langes messer, the hand is kept at the side ready for grappling work. But with this sort of intermediate length blade of a sabre, it is an ideal length to keep constant fast cutting actions going that will ensure the left hand can do little but get hurt. There are the very occasional technique shown in treatise with the offhand for sabre, but they are so rare and unusual, it is better to simply keep the hand out of the way and safe, it is afterall, still easy enough to bring it around if you find yourself closing.

[@egroj735]

Tha soundtrack is immaculate

[@TheUnmaker28977]

Wow. Compared to the charge, ballestra & lunge heavy sabre I'm used to this is almost a different sport entirely. Is there a reason you keep your hand so far behind your back like that? I used to do the same thing when I started fencing but was told not to as it would throw off my balance in a lunge.

[@Nikos3000]

It is indeed very different. With a sabre that is at least as well suited or better to the cut than the thrust the style changes drastically. The blade presence and balance also encourage you to keep the blade in motion and carry actions through rather than the snappy parry ripostes than can be more easily achieved with a light blade. The reason for the left hand being placed behind the back with military sabre is because when kept forward it only serves as a target and something to get hurt. So it is simply about protection. It does not compromise the lunge because the lunge used with these sabres is much shorter and more upright than you might expect to see in sport fencing or rapier. By comparison the hand is kept a little forward in rapier to use for open hand parries and grabs, and thrown back for reach in the lunge much like in sport fencing. Such long lunges in military sabre are often too dangerous due to the counter attack. When you begin to accept that a double hit (both fencers hit in a single tempo) is unacceptable, you begin to do things quite differently.

[@irongeneral7861]

HEMA Instructor Michael Thomas Are you the one in red?

[@knotsripol]

Muay Thai and Krabi Krabong is the best, but a lot of people never herd about it, even some Thai people don’t know about it.

[@hanson666999]

You missed your chance there at the end to stab him when he wasn't looking lol ;) great video.

[@Tito_Viera]

If I don't knew that you guys are legit, I would say that this is a little "Errol Flynn" dramatic fencing. 😄

[@frankiecomstock9064]

how sharpe is it

[@Meaty_Aberration]

Probably dull

[@JediBowlerSaiyan]

Where can you get one of those practice sabres?

[@AcademyofHistoricalFencing]

From Peter Regenyei. He is a Hungarian swordsmith who provides most of the steel training swords in our club, highly recommended.

[@JediBowlerSaiyan]

Thanks!

[@CallofWar5]

Academy of Historical Fencing he made my first feder as well. I love my training longsword so much

[@Nikos3000]

Check our website equipment guide as per your other post.

[@slowmotion5104]

I wonder if these two are relate because of they last name? I'm curious :P

[@Nikos3000]

But an open hilt like a karabela doesn't give anymore freedom of movement. The sabre guard is designed for moulinet with absolute freedom of movement. ems0428 can you give us some more info?

[@unknownghost3145]

Tennis players: Back Hand, forth Hand! *Other the other side* Nick: En Garde!

[@appelsinsaft]

That was really cool! Where did this take place?

[@Nikos3000]

This was at our Caerleon club in Newport, South Wales, UK. We also have a club in Bristol.

[@Gungrave123]

Are those Easton sabers?

[@AcademyofHistoricalFencing]

+Gungrave123 The one Nick is using (left) was an early Regenyei prototype Easton. A bit lighter, and smaller on the grip and overall hilt than the production model. On the right is our Regenyei club spec prototype, which we also had improved further.

[@Sarkhamy]

what is your website address?

[@EnsoLLC]

Gentlemen type of sword fight I see

[@jamestyler4676]

I feel like the guy in the red pants was not aggressive enough. Let the fight be taken over in the last half.

[@ChihuahuaChappie]

Ruthless Gents

[@Nikos3000]

historicalfencing .co.uk, or just search for Academy of Historical Fencing.

[@sarabaya5977]

anything as "la verdadera destreza"

[@ni8shadow]

Add Lightsaber effects please 😊

[@jcfbell3001]

use the point....use the point...

[@aeortiz2004]

Agree with you 100%!!!

[@jcfbell3001]

I want to try one of those patton sabres

[@Nikos3000]

Thrusting exists within the system of military sabre, but it is far less common than the cut. The reality is that when you start using a lot of hanging parries and moulinets, the thrust is really very dangerous. Because if you are to land a thrust iit is very difficult to protect the head from being struck afterwards. You must always be thinking about defence as much as offence.

[@TheStephh44]

theres a sight your unlikely to see any where else on the planet bravo ,to the victor a tired arm ,.

[@L1nkn1vy]

Dark Souls as fuck. Subbed

[@AcademyofHistoricalFencing]

+L1nkn1vy Thanks, but the HEMA instructor account is my old personal one. Come over to our new club channel where all new content is posted.

[@dieule7278]

Fiora wins!

[@patgray5402]

Ahh some classic European combat along with some traditional European music. Life is good. Proud to be European. Or should I say proud to be white?

[@LSDOvideos]

+Luke William Both

[@a-skepticalman6984]

Black trousers wins

[@Ironsatyr]

both are holding your hands/guard soooo high. start with that

[@AcademyofHistoricalFencing]

+iron satyr Too high according to what?

[@Ironsatyr]

+Academy of Historical Fencing could be fatigue, but the position of guard is at parallel with ground or lower. each is completely open (and left does capitalize on this). Sabre fencing is mostly footwork but these are both in a hurry to wail and cut

[@AcademyofHistoricalFencing]

+iron satyr It is not fatigue, what I was asking is do you mean too high according to what style or system? In fact with sabre you can find a great variety from bent low arm, like Angelo and Hutton, to extended high arm as in Roworth and the previous Angelo's work. Sabre fencing shouldn't be mostly footwork, but it does incline that way in a modern context.

[@Ironsatyr]

have it your way then. I also own that collection, and it does not support your claim I cannot find any to support your claim

[@AcademyofHistoricalFencing]

+iron satyr Angelo, where hands are typically high in guard and extended - www.albion-prints.com/ekmps/shops/albionprint/images/rowlandson-highland-sword-fencing-1799-hand-col-print.-half-circle-medium-guard-[2]-104443-p.jpg Roworth, where it is essentially the same - s618.photobucket.com/user/MrBB/media/eb24/11179b.jpg.html Hutton, where the hand is frequently low and drawn back - upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/6/6c/Hutton_Plate_3.jpg Then for something different again in Polish sabre, very low and withdrawn with tip high - www.kismeta.com/diGrasse/images/p44LowWard.jpg The reality is that in sabre there are quite a different number of approaches, even within a single period, and you will find everything on the spectrum to an emphasis on high hand posture, to low hand posture, to point online, to arm well extended, to arm drawn back. Some prefer middle guards like Hutton, others favour outside like Roworth, many love hanging guards, others hate them (like Burton).

[@Lemendeer]

The music destroys the whole video.

[@Nikos3000]

Then go and watch the wealth of other sabre videos on this channel or our club AcademyofHistoricalFencing one, that have no music at all.

[@Lemendeer]

I just muted the sound.

[@Nikos3000]

Lemendeer But then you miss the clash of steel!

[@hlm896]

Are you being serious? The music adds a great layer of atmosphere.

[@johnc5869]

Lemendeer Agreed. I'm here to watch technique, not listen to music.