Broadsword vs. Spadroon - Max vs. Peter [HEMA]

A clip from a recent sparring session, Max is on the left and I'm on the right. Max is using an Armour Class Highland Broadsword and I am fencing with a Kraken 1796 spadroon. This was my first time sparring with a steel spadr00n and I loved it!
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My HEMA club: indes.at

[@onnimannimaki8846]

That last broad sword hit was beautiful.

[@zerrrp]

really nice sparring but can we take a minute to appreciate max's hair, like god damn it's so... majestic and beautiful? my guy really put a lot of effort on the hair nice job!

[@historyandsabre]

He sure did! 🫶 But it's gone now.

[@zerrrp]

@@historyandsabre NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

[@July__Frost]

Nice sparring. I believe, as a unwanted child of smallsword and broadsword, spadr00n whould be somehow handy for trusting, but you mostly cut, while Max also cuts, but he have an advantage of longer blade.

[@historyandsabre]

Yeah, that is true! The spadroon I'm using here isn't really safe for thrusting though, since it doesn't flex very easily and it doesn't have a rolled or spatulated tip at all. Believe me when I say it stings.

[@Ventruethful]

Excellent sparring and excellent video quality, mostly the slow-mo!

[@historyandsabre]

Thank you, I always like to add the slow-mo to my sparring videos for clarity!

[@MrZdixo1]

Some lovely no. 3 cuts to the arms

[@たこ-i1c]

beautiful sparing.

[@historyandsabre]

Thanks!

[@mr31337]

The lady on the left with the beautiful golden locks did really well.

[@historyandsabre]

It's a guy called Max but I'll tell him anyway haha.

[@jasonjames9836]

Question here: what is the relative blade mass in these two practice blades vs what the relative blade mass would have (most likely) been historically? I would have thought the spadroon lighter by at least a third historically, these look closer matched but I can't see the blade cross section in the video. I would have thought the broadsword could blow through some of the spadroon's parries. Did it feel like it was harder to parry because of mass? or were the blades fairly matched? That last hit to the cheek by Max was impressive. Thanks for another great sparring video!

[@historyandsabre]

Thanks and good question! The Armour Class feder-style blades for their basket hilts are not the chunkiest and represent the slightly quicker side of highland broadswords. They are not unrealistically light, though, as the entire sword still is just above 1.2 kg. The Kraken spadroon used here, in contrast, is not the most nimble thing you'll find and the tip doesn't feel nearly as light as you'd expect. It's not my favourite sword I've used, that spadroon, I have to say. So while the overall weight difference of these two swords is significant, in the hand there is probably less of a difference than you'd expect. Sure, the spadroon is nimbler and not as tiring to use but it's not huge in this specific case. Regarding the parries, I'd say you can parry very securely with the spadroon as long as you parry with the forte near the hilt, as I've mostly attempted in the video, so parrying didn't feel significantly different from parrying with a sabre or broadsword. I'd say it's only really possible to smash through a reasonable parry, if you manage to hit the foible. Cheers!

[@jasonjames9836]

@@historyandsabre thanks! I appreciate the detail in this response.

[@NDOhioan]

@@jasonjames9836 Late response, but from the looks of it the broadsword in the video is a regimental design, from the 19th century. They're designed to have a similar balance to military officer's sabers, so they can be used with the same fencing methods. The famous "cleave-a-man-in-two" Highland broadswords were used in the century prior, and were often heavier than cavalry sabers. Granted, not by much, but enough that period manuals show somewhat different movements to account for the weight of the sword.

[@thomastucker7317]

Wondering what your experience was like with Kraken Swords? And when you bought the spadroon?

[@historyandsabre]

Hi Thomas, the spadroon belongs to another clubmate who I borrowed it from that night. I have heard a lot about buying from Kraken, including from my club mate but since I've had no personal experience with them, I can't really speak on the topic.

[@daxmafesi]

I was about to say the Spadrooner is not using enough thrust work but read in the comments that this practice weapon isn’t safe enough for it. Definitely will be hard to try and out cut a broadsword.

[@polymathart]

Have you ever looked into sword vs bayonet fighting? Surely they would have met each other plenty of times on the battlefield.

[@historyandsabre]

Yes, it is described in many of the sabre and/or military fencing manuals and I gonna teach a few lessons on that during winter at my club! I will also post some sparring footage of sword vs bayonet down the line.

[@calicojack7029]

Great video.

[@historyandsabre]

Thank you!

[@snakesonthismondaytofriday1750]

Not a HEMA fencer (sport epee) but got respect for it- why do the feet cross? I know people look at old manuals but i can't think of another combat sport where crossing the feet is advised. Do HEMA practitioners practice moves that are outdated and inefficient too because they are historical or is it case by case? ⚔🤺🗡

[@historyandsabre]

You are generally correct, although there are exceptions in earlier traditions (looking at you, rapier fencing). The manual I work from is Roworth (1798/1824) and even Roworth says that you shouldn't cross the feet when traversing (circular sidestepping to gain an advantageous position, most often outdoors.) I don't know how familiar you are wit hthe period but the manual is called "The Art of Defence on Foot [...]" and was devised to teach swordplay to the British infanry around 1800. It is not a system primarily used in a competitive context (although you absolutely can and people did historically as well as nowadays) but meant to teach a large number of soldiers how to use the various military swords of their time in as little time as possible with maximum efficiency. What you're seeing here is called "The Slip" or "slipping the leg", which is recommended, in principle, on each parry in order so safeguard the leg from a potential feint or just in general. Roworth and Angelo show the slip as a return to 1st position, which is standing with the legs straigt and heels touching at a 90° angle but in the heat of the moment, I usually default to pulling the leg further back (as seen in Matthewson, 1805), which can also aid in getting out of distanc if you step back with the left foot and recover to the normal stance with the left foot back, known as 2nd position. I wouldn't say most HEMA manuals are outdated in theor core sets of techniques. If we're talking methodology, modern didactics, or knowledge of internal body mechanisms, maybe so. But many historical systems were successful and perfectly adapted to their respective martial contexts. The defensive idea of the slip is therefore ridiculous in a modern olympic fencing match but totally valid and practical in military fencing around 1800. Hope that makes sense, cheers.

[@snakesonthismondaytofriday1750]

@@historyandsabre thanks for the response. Much more clear to me now.

[@HittoTheAssassin]

Spadroon gang all day

[@historyandsabre]

Spadr00n best weapon

[@chomratu]

Why does the broadsworder have their arm bent so much?

[@historyandsabre]

He mostly trains longsword, that might be the explanation :)

[@Vatoeter]

Another reason was that I was getting tired and the broadsword started to get heavy

[@bonedaddy7297]

Just stop.

[@historyandsabre]

How kind of you.

[@jeremy4655]

Lovely video.

[@historyandsabre]

Thanks a lot!