ARMA Prize Playing 2011

[@Carakav]

This continues to be awesome. Training with Joey was a pleasure, and I hope he's still doing okay.

[@1cme1]

This guy is incredible. I love how he fights like its a fight, instead of fighting like its practice.

[@Zwerchhau]

Actually, most of the materials in the historical sources are for unarmoured longsword fencing, known as blossfechten. Armored longsword fighting, known as harnischfechten looks very different. People regularly fought unarmoured with longswords. I would imagine this would probably be the more common way of fencing with longswords since on a day to day basis people frequently carried swords, but weren't necessarily wearing armour in their everyday life. The fights in ARMA prize playing generally end under the following two conditions 1) A strike has landed on the opponent which would be lethal or disabling, 2) The fight may end with grappling submission, or when an opponent is being repeatedly pommel-struck or struck through repeated unarmed striking without an effective defense.

[@billwiii]

Impressive! I have to say, the more I study and train the more impressed I am with this.

[@mutsuzawa]

nice techniques. Good to see men doing what we were born to do: fight!!

[@Mysteri0usB]

This Joey character is a god of war.

[@pumpSHO]

thank you for the reply! it looks very academic and fun, i am a fan!

[@Zwerchhau]

Thrusts are allowed, with no prohibitions.

[@currzwurst]

Two words. Look. Closer.

[@AdobadoFantastico]

Those skills are insane.

[@차윤희-s9q]

My mind is screaming ouch....

[@gurkfisk89]

"Also, how do they keep from killing each other?" Just as any other martial artist don't kill each other. Boxers don't hit if the other guy is knocked out. People in Jujutsu don't break arms if the other guy taps out and so on. They don't kill each other because they don't want to kill each other. As for the difficulties to se the hits, many of them are towards the hands and such that I agrre can be rather difficult to see.

[@TheBoxingCannabyte]

As a professional boxer and practionioner of Jeet Kun Do, a newbie to HEMA and Bokken-styled combat, and a long-term veteran of knife fighting (with real combat experience, and over 64 boxing matches, 14 losses, 34 tKO) I definitely agree. And I think TheBeatleLoversThree has likely never been in a fight (or have had extensive experience beyond say a half-dozen training sessions) from the way he talks. The reason I'm confident in this is because NO ONE who has fight experience talks that way.

[@viceadmiralcongo]

Jeeesus Christ that man is a beast.

[@IaMaPh1991]

I cant speak for other ARMA groups, but me and my study partner had one hell of an intense training session this afternoon and walked away with a small handful of bloody cuts and bruises, some of which we had to sit down and cool off a bit before we continued for another round of bouting. Even with proper intent and force behind our cuts and thrusts, all we require is just masks and gloves, and have had no serious injuries so far; worst I ever had was a split knuckle that healed in a week

[@fussylizard]

It's an Albion "Liechtenauer" training sword. The masks collars provide some protection to collar bones, but in general to spar like this you have to have sufficient control to go near-full speed but land blows with full force. The Albion training swords are well designed to minimize injuries, but they do happen sometimes, esp. to hands (many delicate bones).

[@RowanDRain]

I lived in Texas for 12 years...I move to Florida and then learn about ARMA...tough break...

[@The_Gallowglass]

Musashi went against the grain and creates his own methods. All that matters is who is left standing. :P

[@mojothemigo]

I apologize that I can not reply properly with youtube newest screwup comment system. Evil Merlin, I don't know how often you come back to this, but what are the rules of said competitive circuit? In the videos of the tourneys that I have see, the rules are a lot more strict. No grappling, sword grabbing, touching each other with the edge as apposed to a solid strike count, and multiple strike/strike cancelations. Back in ye olden days it was to the first blood, a single solid hit. You can't crack somebody's skull open or lop somebody's arm off with touches, and no second chance coming to the recipient if it happen. The only double strike rule that I am aware of was with stabs of rapiers.

[@fussylizard]

They stop because someone (usually the prize player) has landed a solid blow that had the sword been sharp would have incapacitated or killed the opponent. Real sword fights are quick, rarely lasting more than a few seconds after the first blow, not like what you see in movies. The swords are training weapons (the metal ones are usually from Albion's "Maestro" line and the wooden ones from New Stirling Arms) so while they hurt when you get hit they rarely injure.

[@IaMaPh1991]

What fussy said, and the fact that we exercise control in our sparring

[@Hyperlooper]

What am I seeing when they stop the fight after the fist swing or two? I can't see any contact other than the sword, what is going on there? Also, how do they keep from killing each other?

[@fakejohnwilkesbooth]

The real battle experience isn't necessarily the 'best' training but it is a critical component that we'll never really have, for obvious reasons and beyond. Not everyone would have been in a life-or-death swordfight, but everyone would have known someone who had; there was a living martial tradition. Even so, some people today really are gifted and dedicated in their training and could probably handily beat at least some ancient warriors (though certainly not the best of them).

[@5had0wThi3f]

There's overlap in all martial arts. Human bodies are the same. there's only so many ways to punch/kick/grapple effectively.

[@tatayoyo337]

very interesting, i have a question : at some point there is shield + sword vs 2 handed sword, for 2 fencer of the same skills who get advantage ? thanks :)

[@JooJingleTHISISLEGIT]

apparently the 2 handed, though from my experience shields are overpowered.

[@Alemag_]

nice video. the longsword vs sword and shield was awesome. the guy with longsword has skills.

[@ItalianAvalanche]

I think that the objective of this competition is to display technical proficiency by delivering a non-lethal blow to the opponent. If these were armored warriors fighting to the death, it would be an entirely different situation, involving A) Use of deadly force i.e. not holding back and B) utilizing half sword or reverse sword techniques to penetrate armor.

[@JohnHellscream]

Those were harsh times, the man was always active, always working, training etc. Do not ever underestimate the power of a peasant. I, for example, go to gym, practice kickbox, ninjutsu, also want to pick up the german school longsword. Yet, when it comes to strength im not so much compared to some woodcutters from my countryside. A log once trapped a chainsaw 'neath it, i tried to lift it, got myself a backache for a week. A thin, small woodcutter which was there grabbed it, growled, and did it.

[@MattABryant]

4:00 That's some of the best staff anti-staff work I've seen.

[@SavageInsight]

How did they design safety equipment and weapons?

[@pleeeeep]

1:17 that is some of the most beautiful swordplay i have ever seen.

[@egjundis]

The control & awareness of Joey is impressive.

[@pumpSHO]

ok, what about all the arma and destreza websites?

[@JcubFlows]

how do you prevent accidental stabbings?!

[@gurkfisk89]

I don't know if there is any ARMA chapter in Canada. But there are other HEMA (Historical European Martial Art) groups there. At least in the bigger cities. Try to google *hema alliance club finder* and you will get a map over some of the groups.

[@squirrelonmapletree]

Any protection on areas other than the head? I see blows to the arms and I assume they're painful (pain...ok, but injuries...?).

[@Zwerchhau]

Over-protection causes fighters to ignore blows that would be potentially lethal or injurious in actual Blossfechten. It is important that blows be physically uncomfortable to build proper awareness and avoidance of strikes.

[@miroslavm2503]

Zwerchhau I know that you are going to thing that I am trying to be mean here by I have to disagree with this, having APROPRIATE protection doesn’t leave you lease aware of the fact that if you get a good hit in the head with anything heavier than a small sword or a light rapier or similar you are going to die. God awareness is build by long, systematized and controlled practicing in other word by the appropriate knowledge and skill. If some one holds a sword and gets constantly hit in the head it isn’t because he is unaware that that will kill him it’s because he doesn’t know what to do. Using steel practice weapons at full sped with nothing but a t-shirt and a fencing mask is simply not good or smart it just proves you don’t mind the pain, not that you know how to fight, and without proper skill the pain is never going to go away. Awareness try skill is what stops the hit. Also, I really don’t se the point of jumping in one place like they do in boxing and the annoying sword twitching that is being constantly don by everybody in the video, there is no increase in response time by doing this and when one of your legs is not on the ground you can not react to an incoming attack immediately. In the defense you react with your legs first then with the sword, opposite of offence. A man who is twitching and jumping around only shoes that the natural and animalistic instincts are not under control. Not to mention the hit from above where the hands are up in an almost vertical position, body completely straight, and the hit is done from the wrist with the heals raised from the ground (standing on fingers).

[@ItalianAvalanche]

I would like to see this man compete at one of the world events like Swordfish

[@nathanwhouston]

Would love to see a "Raiders of the Lost Ark" moment somewhere in this compilation.

[@IaMaPh1991]

A sword is used differently against armor than an unarmored opponent. The German and Italian systems showcase different methodologies of sword work for the two orientations of combat. Armoured combat almost exclusively uses the sword as a short spear to work with the point to get between the plates, with the occasional blow of the hilt thrown in. And believe it or not, even armored fencing devolved to grappling even more than unarmored did. IF hes on the ground in harness, he wont get up as fast

[@IaMaPh1991]

full force pulled at the moment of contact. We rarely, if ever, suffer any injuries. Plus the training tools are specifically designed for safe contact with minimal injury

[@BigHossHackworth]

Good to see you can use this stuff against a resisting opponent. To many martial arts demos on you tube are choreographed.

[@michaelroth8459]

the lack of any form of protective gear in this gives me anxiety.

[@Zwerchhau]

Whatdya mean, we got masks on bruh!

[@texasbeast239]

@@Zwerchhau - And gloves... and swords!

[@Chrominance87]

Real bloßfechten. This is the kind of sparring I like, aggressive, brutal and with minimal protective gear(just mask and hand protection).

[@michaelroth8459]

and hand "protection" with those gloves is a very generous term.

[@dogonahottinroof]

They'd fight differently, potentially with wrestling. Instead of basically any attempts at cutting, though, you'd see more thrusts. Longswords don't really cut through plate, so there was another stance or two centered around thrusting.

[@NGNMYokohama]

Yeah, they seem to work great, but it might be nice to have something a little heavier when dealing with wood wasters, right? Seems like those would hurt way more just by virtue of their weight and inflexibility compared to steel.

[@hoasjhdfiadsf]

ouch. no forearm protection?

[@MadOrkest]

...up to 180lb draw. I know that they recovered bones of archers and their bones were actually warped from the muscles and the stress of pulling the bows. So, while I'm no historian/expert, I study fencing, and I believe being too "bulky" would be a hindrance. I'm sure their were some massive swordsmen as well, but the ones you're referring to were likely archers.

[@IaMaPh1991]

Im not wearing them in this video, but I alternate between Mechanix M-Pact gloves, which are light and have a thick rubber backing and thus is a good compromise, and sometimes i use historical duelling gloves of maille, which you can buy off of KoA and other vendors

[@EnhancedNightmare]

There was excavation of a medieval battlefield few years ago. It was basically mercenary force fighting peasant uprising. Research was done on the bones of professional warriors and it turned out that they had muscle mass and structure of modern bodybuilder/ heavy weight martial artist. Peasants of the other side showed stunted growth probably by bad nourishment. If we work out or not our lives atm are mostly spent sitting down (PCs/Cars/Office/TV). 5hrs a week in a gym makes little difference.

[@skrappyjon2019]

Ahhh if only i had the time for this.... =(

[@frogbear02]

super awesome move at 2:00!

[@PandemicalShade]

Oh god, the elbows! THE ELBOWS!

[@IaMaPh1991]

The ARMA site is good if you want to read articles, editorials, and similar works from the viewpoint of a handful of individuals past and present; I guess for me personally I just prefer to read the raw source material, translated and untranslated, and draw my own logical conclusions from what I observe, and other sites excel in that regard over the small selection on the main ARMA site. I havent come across any destreza sites, what is one you use for personal study? :)

[@EnhancedNightmare]

I might have overstated, they used "weight lifting" sportsmen type in the article. I think most of them were wielding hammers and axes, but bulk isn't that much of problem. I still can't beat one fat guy from our club in saber, his technique is too good :)

[@yoyo510]

Man, those look like they hurt!

[@Iamnofirefighter]

Wow! btw. you are using very light gloves! What gloves are these?

[@pumpSHO]

well thinking the force might break fingers or cut skin impressive makes me wish Hawaii had this

[@BigletJohnson]

Why is it over when someone just lightly taps the other?

[@Zwerchhau]

What are you talking about?

[@Zineas]

Because even tho it's a competition. They don't want to hurt a human being in the "earnest" as the masters from the time say.

[@philtheguy5095]

First "blood," or what would be potentially lethal cuts win the bout

[@TheKrodgib]

damn this is awesome but ive always wondered, would anyone that trains these techinques today be able to rival or even put up a fight against someone in the medievil or renaisannce times?

[@LukeTevarin]

I must have misunderstood the term Arma lol. I was looking for a simulator, but imma stick around. This is cool aswell X3

[@Strategiusz]

Omg, nice and crazy.

[@HipposHateWater]

@IaMaPh1991 Judging from what looks to be a Brian Hunt sparring helm, and the fact that Aaron (the only other ARMAteer who I know has one) is judging, I'd say... Jeremiah?

[@Halofreakanoid]

You mean the sword and the sword techniques? .....

[@EnhancedNightmare]

I'm not native speaker so that was my mistake, I didn't mean bodybuilder in modern sense (roid monsters) more like an athlete. My brain still sees bodybuilders in 50's I don't think that the amount of "bulk" enough to hinder movement was possible back then. Still I'd say that some of the halberds or battle hammers required considerable strength. The article mentioned no archers, just mercenaries. Osteology is quite interesting.

[@fussylizard]

In this situation the longsword has the advantage (more control & faster). The sword & buckler guy should try to get a bind while the longsword guy should avoid it.

[@agentother1476]

what do I have to do to get in that class😃😃

[@Zwerchhau]

www.thearma.org/membership.htm#.V31iNDXMuSo

[@TheBoxingCannabyte]

I can't find your comment made just a few days ago but here's my argument against this: Americans who TRAIN IN SWORDSMANSHIP are largely not obese (heh, largely not obese...heh), they eat better, don't have malnutrition to constantly worry about. We know more about HOW to train our bodies, we are larger on average (John Clements probably being the average for back then) So I'd say no, not all all. Especially me when I'm in boxing shape. I guarantee I could outfight your standard 15th century

[@EnhancedNightmare]

For a moment I forgot how modern bodybuilders look even compared to those from 70's. Anyway there was an old proverb: "Even Hercules is an ass if enemies are many." Well it might not translate well into English :D

[@nickkraw1]

On the real medieval battlefield, most fighting was done by peasants with pole arms. A longsword was an extremely expensive, incredibly rare weapon, and until the 1500's if you could afford one you could also afford plate armour. The reason the longsword exists and the shield was abandoned by knights is because of plate armour, and due to its protection, early longsword styles like those in this video are extremely aggressive. The points system here is made for unarmored combat, so it's quick.

[@MadOrkest]

There's no doubt that knights would have been in phenomenal shape to be able to have the endurance needed for fighting. However, they did not need to be "body builders." Given the armor recovered, they probably weren't enormous most of the time. A body builder's body would've restricted movement greatly. The bones recovered were probably that of archers. Medieval archers had to be extremely strong and were the "body builders" of the middle ages. They had to be strong to pull war bows with...

[@wrathVchild]

Sorry to ask, but where is this happening?

[@IaMaPh1991]

You should have seen the other guy that year. Got me in the belly button and i still have the hole in my shirt. He even bent the blade on another guy's flank. Some of us like to use thrusts, in fact I tend to use my point quite a lot. IT just so happens that Joey and many of the other red shirts just dont seem to prefer or utilize them over other techniques. Wish they would, thrusts are indeed very effective.

[@Ostarrichi996]

what is a "mere"?

[@HipposHateWater]

MARE = "Martial Arts of Renaissance Europe." It's basically ARMA's term for what most people use the word "HEMA" for. They feel it's more specific to what they do, and such.

[@Ostarrichi996]

HipposHateWater ok, thanks :D

[@IaMaPh1991]

It IS very academic and fun! :) If you have a local historical encing group in your area I recommend it wholeheartedly. Plus if you want a good academic resource for the original manuals we study, the Wiktenauer is your #1 place to go. Check it out! :)

[@Jetman123]

A sword is not very good at piercing armor, especially not in a cut. That's not any failing of the sword, that's a success of armor. Specialized tactics - the "half-sword" - and the use of the point to go after vital areas were required to defeat armor with this kind of weapon. That isn't what this kind of bout is simulating - this is to simulate an unarmored fight while still affording a measure of safety.

[@ElliFong]

you are fucking aggressive in these fight lol, that make you awesome and keep putting pressure at other

[@Is523APrimeNumber]

I can recognize the skill of those involved, but what surprised me was how quickly they threw theirselves against each other. No time at all to study the opponent and see how he reacts. I guess this was done in the spirit of letting everyone fight in a short amount of time?

[@kenetmendoza2157]

You have to fight 93 times, would you prefer to have long fights or end them quicker?

[@IaMaPh1991]

@halfassedfart well not exactly. you DO hit hard and swing fast. but no more than would be necessary to truly cut organic flesh (you need not swing too hard). as the guy who got knocked on my ass at 4:15, and almost had a pinky severed by the man in question before, I can tell that he DOES hit very hard, but he pulls his blows at just the right time. Also of note, he had broken two fingers by the time this prizing was over. Totally didnt notice till the end either. Thats really about it.

[@fakejohnwilkesbooth]

On average, we're about half a foot taller at most. Better nourished and healthier is arguable, stronger is far, far more questionable. And even there all that "on average" is doing a lot of work. Warriors were not average people.

[@nbw47]

I assume you'd try to knock your opponent off balance (easy if they're in heavy armor), then stab in the joints.

[@douglasknupp4574]

A body of a martial artist by the way...

[@Dwilson1282]

yeah, sure.

[@TheBoxingCannabyte]

It's like saying "Basketball players in the 1920s were better because times were tougher than. Now that all these big black guys are around and tall European guys and even a few tall Asian guys are around, it's like...no challenge, they just gotta dunk" It's SO simplistic and shows utter ignorance of the fundamentals.

[@gabzdark07]

I like your style, not afraid to get some bruises, like MMA fighters. Most HEMA schools aren't manly enough.

[@BeckWreck]

My club is manly enough, but the insurance doesn't really let us do it...

[@IaMaPh1991]

well maybe those arts discovered the same techniques just as the europeans did? its quite possible; you do see considerable overlap between martial arts

[@arajuiojuo]

this is like saying Wanderlei Silva is too muscly to land a high kick (false)

[@JimGiant]

Fencing mask? Check! OK you're good to go! The good old days! The HEMA community is getting way too cautious with safety equipment these days.

[@dhx84]

Except those guys fought for a living and we're probably as well nourished since they're not peasants.

[@redbeardedhillbilly]

It takes ten thousand hours of quality practice and training to master something. I would not want to see our modern martial artists go against our ancestors, it would not be pretty.

[@pleeeeep]

dude no it wouldn't. most fights end up up close and personal.

[@MadOrkest]

Okay, I see. Yes, I'm sure they were in very good shape, much like athletes. I do think there were instances in ancient times where there were "bulky" guys that did have hindered movement. There are ancient sculptures and paintings of men with insanely large muscle structure that is anatomically correct, so it stands to reason that the artist saw this to accurately duplicate it. There are naturally occurring steroids, so it could have been possible, even back then.

[@currzwurst]

defiantly ... *snicker*

[@Dwilson1282]

really? which one? and is there any evidence of you doing any of this?

[@melchaios]

Probably no. As far as I know, Medieval/Renaisance martial arts as they were known back then, are now completely lost. What ARMA and other similar groups have learned about sword fighting is mainly from books and codexes from the time, they're trying to revive the art. And of course, warriors back then learned for necesity/survival, not recreation, wich means they probably spent much more time and resources practicing this stuff --> hence, it is very likely they were better warriors in the end.

[@fakejohnwilkesbooth]

Modern bodybuilders cultivate a significantly different kind of body than heavyweight martial artists, but yes, ancient warriors were very strong. As for body type, the ideal was power and agility and period sources indicate they did gymnastics for much of their conditioning. Also, it's important not to fall into romanticism. They were very strong, but not superhuman, and physically/martially inferior men could and did beat them when they were well enough disciplined and equipped.

[@IaMaPh1991]

@halfassedfart Practice and control my friend :)

[@pumpSHO]

nothing yet...so far just youtubing and finding sources, i can only read english so that limits me

[@Lion85]

LOL AWESOME!!!

[@miroslavm2503]

They have showed mostly bad footwork. At the end of the lunge the back leg can't be left bend (hangig) it needs to be straighten, out and many other things.

[@Zwerchhau]

Mr. Miroslav, I will assume based on your comments about footwork that you may come from a Modern Sport Fencing background. Lunges should never be done with a completely straight back leg as seen in Modern Sport Fencing as this prevents lateral movement (something you don't need to do when merely going forward and backward in your lane.) In addition, when closing or grappling a very straight back leg causes poor balance and it is extraordinarily easy to unbalance somebody who leaves there body weight fully extended.

[@miroslavm2503]

Ok here we go, I knew this was coming. Actually I trained sport fencing for about a year (first season) since that is the program of my school, we are very unique in the way that we have a very wide program of learning we start with the sport foil then the small sword, light rapier then heavy rapier/side sword and with it we practice the use of any type of heavy single handed straight sword there is, meaning the types of weapon usually used by a soldier not a civilian. After all of that we finally start to work with the parrying dagger and that is where I am now, after four and half years. Take also in consideration that I was a pretty quick learner considering my dedication to the art. My school also has a separate section for the long-sword and the try double handed sword. As far as my comment goes, this is the single greatest critic of HEMA clubs and their videos that I have, and that is the footwork. I will put it in perspective, in my training, during the first season the first two months where dedicated exclusively to basic footwork and keeping distance in the second year when we started doing real combat swordsmanship again the first month and a half where dedicated only to the now far, far complex real combat footwork and the next moth we just did all that coupled wit the lunge, passing lunge, spin, different kind of turning motions and as always keeping distance. I simply cannot accept the fact that you are only recognizing the following footwork moves: step forward/back, step right/left and pass forward/back. Do you really think that no one in the 13 or the 14 century didn’t do a lunge (attack with front leg first) or a passing lunge, just because it is not in the manuals, after all these manuals are not complete works on the subject, they are all written for people who already knew something, who where not beginners. There is no book like “Longsword for dummies”, “Sword fighting for the beginner”. These books where often made ass a personal reminder for the fencing master and he surely didn’t need to put all the details in it, like having the leg that pushes you, in to the cut or the trust, straight after that move or the need to first extend the arm fully in a tryst and only then start to push you’re self with the leg. YOU NEVER ATACK WITH THE HAND AND LEG IN THE SAME TIME, TRUST OR CUT, first the hand then the leg pushes the body. In a trust the force is generated (usually at wide measure) by the back leg (with the lunge), there fore IT’S THE THIGH MUSCLE THAT KILLS A MAN not the biceps. This is the same for the longsword, the rapier or anything else, of course except if you are very close an need to get the point out and in to position and there is no room or time to push with the legs with the arms straighten out. As it is very well know sword fighting comes down to good footwork and there is no way that some one can learn the whole thing properly if he is given a sword after just the basic introduction to the skill and I suspect that this is what is happening in menu HEMA clubs. This is a list of footwork moves that a needed to learn in my school: 1. step forward/back 2. step left/right 3. half step forward/back 4. double step forward/back (not a pass) 5. double (crossed) step left/right 6. lunge (sliding, fixed; forward, half-right forward, half-left forward, direct right/left, half left/right reversed) 7. passing lunge (sliding, fixed; forward, half right/left forward ) 8. changing the stance front/back (essentially a pass but not so forceful) 9. changing the stance in place 10. spin 11. turn half/full 12. back turn (after a lung, passing lunge or a spin; for a quick escape) 13. pasato-soto withe the front or back leg 14. evading a trust to the chest/back (meaning insaid/outside line)

[@miroslavm2503]

Zwerchhau I am sorry but didn’t see the rest of you’re comment abut straightening the back leg and grappling so here it goes, I do apologize. I do admit that there is some sense in you’re statements but this is not a problem caused by the fact that the back leg is straight it is caused by the fact that some people when doing a lunge off balance them selves too much trying to reach the target so it then becomes easy to quickly counter attack in the same time, close the distance and try some sort of a disarmament or grappling. If you’re center of balance is correct (upper body is not leaning forward to much) you will have no problems returning back or going left or right or even better doing a back turn and then finish with a trust as he is coming at you. There fore if a lunge is done right there is no off balancing going on if it where not so then the same thing would apply to the rapier and we certainly know that they used a lunge with a rapier and had disarming and grappling actions.

[@miroslavm2503]

Zwerchhau Also, if some one when trusting keeps his arms straight and in opposition in order to control his opponent blade and body in balance (the line going try the upper body is normal (90°) to the ground) he can quickly move in any direction. The opponent needs to do something with you’re tip coming at him first and when he does you will be ready to counter act it, he can not teleport him self next to you and throw you on the ground. If your tip is pointing at him in a stance it means that he needs to be at a wider distance so he needs more time to reach you or else he can be stabbed quickly and he needs to deal with the point first as it is coming at him and than think about grappling soy you will have inaf time to sea it coming and position your self by bringing the back leg forward and the whole body back into the stance. And of course no one is going to stand there after a lunge and just wait with his finger up his ass, there will be a immediate and quick follow up action, it is all calculated after all. The best way to stop a man trying to get close to you and grapple is to hit him in the head with you’re of hand as he is coming. I once tried to act smart with my teacher like that and I tried to trap his right weapon hand with my of hand and he hit me with the base of the palm of his left hand in the head (always the base of the palm, that is the strongest), not a strong hit just inaf to put me back in my place. I did that to other later.

[@Zwerchhau]

miroslav m We have very detailed images and texts that show how to stand, and how to step. They do not show the footwork of modern sport fencing. If you are doing modern sport fencing footwork with Renaissance and late Medieval weapons, you or your school are simply doing it wrong.

[@ItalianAvalanche]

I don't understand. I certainly have a lot of respect for Clements as a martial artist, and although he's aging now I'm pretty confident him and his students could tear it up on the competitive circuit. As with many areas of human nature, I wish these people could put aside their differences and work together. I suppose it's just wishful thinking.

[@HipposHateWater]

Sparring in protective gear will still be dangerous if one fails to show proper control during sparring. Just look at the SCA: they have the worst safety records out of all current related Euro "fencing" orgs despite the horrendously-overbuilt armor they wear. Besides, it's not like a sharp sword will harmlessly tickle your adversary if you put anything less than 110% effort into a cut. Oftentimes I will easily lop through 3" of tatami with a mere 25-30% effort using a half-swordable LS.