Can WOMEN defeat MEN in SWORDFIGHTS? Reply to Andrew Klavan

[@zaqzilla1]

Klavan is a good guy. He just spoke from ignorance. He underestimated the force multiplier that a sword is. He was thinking of weapon based martial arts in the same way as unarmed martial arts. The better the weapon the more even the equation gets. Unarmed women are at a vast disadvantage. Add a weapon & training the odds get better for the women. When we get up to firearms the differences disappear. Julie d'Aubigny is a great example of a master fencer who won an amazing amount of duels.

[@franklombardo8246]

zaqzilla1 The problem with this is when you try placing that in the context of a medieval battle where the combatants are wearing armor. The weight and and endurance requirements place women at severe disadvantages. Their hearts and lungs are smaller thus men are not just stronger but have more endurance and agility as well. Also the idea that you can train this mythical woman at a skill level twice any male warrior is suspect. Armored knights and soldiers would receive extensive training. The other problem is that skill and agility snd strength are not independent of each other. In order to train one must develop muscle memory meaning the training to give you the skill boosts your strength. Men being stronger can develop more options in battle. Can some women train to this level to compete. It is possible but overall I agree with Klavsn’s premise. These shows where women are the equal or better of men, especially men that are supposed to be elite soldiers. It is completely unrealistic. I know a martial arts instructor that teaches women safety classes. He will teach them techniques but emphasizes breaking away and running. The problem is no matter the skill level of the woman if a man twice her size manages to get in close and hold her she is done for. The only way skill trumps strength is when someone is denied the leverage to use their strength. The minute they get hold then they can apply the strength to hurt someone. A weapon equalizes sure but Hollywood does not show women being deceptive and sneaky to get advantage which is how a weaker woman would protect themselves. Andrew Klavan may not be right by stating 100% but the actual number is probably much closer to 99% than to 51%.

[@zaqzilla1]

@@franklombardo8246 As Matt Easton likes to say. It depends on context.

[@ergohack]

I can understand failing to recognize the impact a weapon has on the balance of combat. The thing I find far more frustrating is when intelligent people fail to recognize the impact instinctive / biological and cultural pressures have on the _choices_ men and women make (on average), and how the difference in skillsets that naturally develop as a result of these choices has far less to do with capacity and far more to do the pressures which influenced the choice in the first place.

[@jamesmancuso7314]

Force multipliers still produce much larger effects with a higher base; that's what *multipliers* do. Weapon based martial arts are not that different from unarmed arts, and your analysis wholly ignores the existence of armor, the impact of greater reach, more explosive force and speed, grappling, and general toughness, as one hit will frequently not kill or incapacitate unless you hit an important vital. Even in firearms, the difference does not disappear, as men demonstrate superior aim and reflexes.

[@zaqzilla1]

@Samy Nia Well you have the two extremes. I have a bad heart. So most healthy women could give me a good beating. On the other end. You have the US women's soccer team, arguably the best women's team in the world, was beat by a high school men's team. So I agree. Where he went wrong was the 100%. As I said in my original post Julie d'Aubigny was a master fencer. This made her able to use technique to overcome less talented fighters who may have been stronger than her. She had a bad habit of angering husbands by flirting with their wives. Very interesting historical figure.

[@playlisterlady4831]

Since Shad has used up all of his angry ranting energy on Rise of Skywalker, we are now treated to this calm, rational, and detailed assessment of the issue.

[@HolyMith]

I felt some strange catharsis watching Shad vent his outrage and incredulity about Rise of Skywalker (the miraculous film that defeats itself in its own title). I feel like toegther we can now safely return to the valley of beauty that is plausible suspension of disbelief.

[@r3dp9]

I have a friend who called me out for judging a movie I had no intention of seeing based on an angry review online. I dared him to actually watch the movie before defending it, I look forward to getting back to him next month :)

[@NCC1371]

I don’t think that kind of pain goes away. I can’t think about the disney trilogy without getting angry. Still, ROS is struggling to break even. In the words of General Grievous I say: “Crush them! Make them suffer!”

[@scarletrose2880]

@@VunderGuy I mean maybe if you're incredibly sexist yeah. There are a lot of things that go into combat not just strength. Relying on strength along now that will certainly end poorly.

[@ryanbrown4053]

@@VunderGuy it does in super hero movies. That's about it.

[@L0stEngineer]

"I use metric, I'm not a Savage". Oh, I see you took the high ground there.

[@TheAngelobarker]

Strangely playing videogames like warthunder have made me able to estimate the difference 😂. What's hilarious is once the boomers are gone the us is probably gonna complete the conversion to metric that their generation stopped.

[@jonathanchaves8589]

@@TheAngelobarker wtf are you talking about? For a system to work everyone need to be to concourt young and older so is everyone bfault

[@galenusv7831]

It's over imperial system! We have the high ground!

[@inkblotCrisis]

@@galenusv7831 You underestimate my poundage.

[@raycearcher5794]

Shad: "Metric is for men, Imperial is for beasts." Imperial measure: "Hmm. F***."

[@ОлегКозлов-ю9т]

"100 percent of the time" "with exceptions" Somewhere a math teacher died

[@scottmurphy4946]

50% of the time I win 100%

[@spacejesus6581]

It’s works all the time 90% of the time

[@argr4sh]

Honestly depends on the precision of the 100% technically anything under 0,5% would still be possible. So the math teachers can survive, did he know this when he said it, most likely not.

[@Jonas_æ]

“Yes, but actually no”

[@imperius88]

He was being hyperbolic but he's right, in armored sword combat women are absolutely doomed against men.

[@richtercarlsen6289]

I somehow read this as “Cavewomen defeat men in swordfights” and I got excited. Lol. Love the thought and thoroughness that goes into your videos, Shad! Thanks for being such a great resource and creator.

[@fizzledimglow3523]

Sounds like a hook to an animation series, lol.

[@jacklong9449]

You get excited over women killing men?

[@rationalityfirst]

"I use metric, I'm not a savage" Well, that was pretty savage.

[@kineticstar]

There are two types of people on this earth. Those that use the metric system, and those that put a man on the moon. Kidding

[@DemonKingCozar]

What about the people that do both? Hmm

[@SebMoellerM]

... who were scientists, thus likely using the metric system 😉

[@peikonpoika83]

Nasa has been using metric system since 1990

[@KickyFut]

It would be more convincing if he didn't default to imperial first, *hesitate,* then correct himself to metric.

[@moreparrotsmoredereks2275]

One of the things I love about The Mandalorian is that the female mercenary (played by former MMA fighter Gina Carrano) actually has the muscle mass to make her fights believable. When she suplexes an alien in episode 3, you know that she really can do that.

[@danbrown5736]

A lot of people hated that she drew the main character in a fight because his armour is very tough

[@crikeythesplund]

If you haven't seen it. Check out Haywire, she is a pretty good all round martial artist.

[@gilgamesh310]

It bothered me how Mando’s armour didn’t do much to shield against her blows, but otherwise it was a fairly believable fight. But it’s Haywire that really demonstrates her abilities. That fight with Michael Fassbender was amazingly.

[@ОлегКозлов-ю9т]

Oh boy, comments are gonna be so calm and full of well put arguments

[@jarzz3601]

yeah totally

[@micfail2]

This is the internet, there are nothing but well-thought-out and nuanced arguments here 😉

[@Starlitsoul0359]

Олег Козлов *Insane and enraged babbling*

[@wahlex841]

Well, there are sure a lot of pissed imperial system proponents in this section.

[@ShamanMcLamie]

And it's all because he brought metrics into this.

[@christophergroenewald5847]

This actually reminds me of a fight scene from the Witcher books. The final confrontation between Ciri and the bounty hunter, Leo Bonheart. Bonheart was a man who delighted in cruelty and repeatedly showed this to Ciri as he made her watch him hack up the bodies of people she cared about, but also through the way he would physically abuse her when he had captured her. With Ciri being a scrawny 16 year old girl and Bonheart being a tall and muscular adult man, whenever she tried to defend herself, he would literally throw her around. In their final confrontation Ciri actually used Bonheart's own strength against him. She knew that she didn't have the strength to parry his attacks, yet she did try anyway and used the momentum of her sword ricocheting off of his to power up her next swing and land a fatal blow.

[@qwerty_and_azerty]

Shadiversity: thinks this video is controversial because he’s talking about gender differences The real controversy: “I use metric, I’m not a savage!”

[@bumblebebike]

As one of the rest of the world I find it amusing. Nothing against USA either btw

[@catburglar82]

As someone used to the metric system I find all those feet, ounces and fahrenheits deeply confusing. How on earth are 5 feet 11 almost 6 feet? What on earth is a gallon? What devil conjures up such madness?

[@nk_3332]

@@catburglar82 The measures were ergonomic rather than mathematical. The average human has little trouble handling a gallon/4-liters. You try lugging a dekaliter, and you're going to have problems. A liter is a quart and is often too small. They were also the result of two nations' measuring systems colliding. The AngloSaxon and the Norman, like the language, it results in a convoluted system but it's easy to understand and deal with if you are used to it. The hilarious thing is that the Metric System had to be completely overhauled in the 1960's because of the inherent inconsistencies of the system that were becoming troublesome as the precision of manufacturing and science kept running into them.

[@davidpnewton]

@@catburglar82 the irony is that in order to understand something you have to fathom it. The fathom is an imperial unit!

[@IrishBiteGirl]

@@catburglar82 The English... That's the devil... It was the British Imperial System, we use an altered version of that because we were a British colony. When the metric system was created in the early 19th century in France, it was very radical and even changed the hours on the clock. Given that, and the issues France had with Napolean and revolutions at the time... The USA couldn't send a delegate over to learn the metric system from them. Since the mid 19th century though, the USA has put Acts in place for the switch to Metric.. The issue is they are voluntary, so towns and states can and did/do refuse to switch to Metric simply because it is costly. The amount of infrastructure and supplies the USA would have to change to make the switch, are far more than any multiples of other countries in the world, that the cost is just staggering. It could be done, but it would take a very very long time and so much money that I just don't see it being a forced law anytime soon. That being said, the newer generations know much more of the metric system than given credit for, and schools teach it along side the imperial system... Your average American does know both systems.

[@Ratseeker]

Everyone is debating women are swinging swords in war. When we all would be poking each other with spears in reality.

[@gregsupaki]

No, we all wouldn't. Yes spears are much better weapons in war and more practical, but for whatever reason that stopped being so prominent in more recent depictions of historic battles

[@robertstuckey6407]

The Spartans poked each other with spears all the time if you know what I mean

[@sorryforprojectingmyparent6402]

@Comstar: Space AT&T Read the fucking books. I hate ignorance.

[@joshuabacker2363]

@Max De Jong Kinda embarrassing when a person knows more about history than you and all you can say is 'my mom was in france for a few years'.

[@zeppelinled3967]

@@robertstuckey6407 Let's just say Greeks did it :D

[@thegamesforreal1673]

"You do not need much energy/power/strength to produce LETHAL force with a weapon. that's their whole POINT." I see what you did there, shad!

[@tedarcher9120]

Missed that pun

[@josen2791]

Thats where technique armor and strengh comes and most women are weaker than man

[@robinthrush9672]

I was totally expecting a followup, "Especially with a spear"

[@tttheemeraldsword7528]

@@josen2791 laughs in spear and armour piercing weapons

[@elessal]

Just stick them with the pointy end

[@thewolfateandthegoatremain2454]

One thing has to be taken into account: if the fight is a 1v1 duel or if it's a battle of armies. There's a great difference in strenght needed for two clashing infantry formations and two solo fighters.

[@Alex-dh2cx]

Armor is the biggest difference in either case I think. If I can negate the danger of a blade to a degree, it changes the situation entirely. Hammer with helmets is a very different conflict when talking about averages

[@falaramal3979]

@MMoLoLu what century are you talking about? Do you know when the phalanx became an absolute battle tactic? The longer your spear gets the less manoeuvrable

[@danielrickner7190]

I know that if all things are equal opportunity in a fight, someone has a Terrible mind for tactics... But isn't a clash between two, one thousand man armies, just break down into at least a few hundred one v one fights? Like, if sir Leopold doesn't have three friends with him, he isn't going to allow himself to fight three friends on the opposite force.

[@wulfkriger3356]

Take away every variable other than gender because that's the topic. So 1v1 same weapon and armor. Man wins

[@danielrickner7190]

@@wulfkriger3356 now add all those variables back in, because life doesn't occur in a vacuum

[@shadfacts6465]

Shad Fact: Shad can accurately throw a spear from the bottom of the Marianas Trench to the dead center of Olympus Mons.

[@mme.veronica735]

Is that only if there is a direct line between the trench and Olympus Mons or can he use orbits and all of that to hit it?

[@depecher6s311]

Miss Vivian This is Shad we are talking about, not some run of the mill spearsman come on now

[@inkblotCrisis]

Blindfolded

[@captainspaceman1]

For he is mighty.

[@Vulcano7965]

So Shad is basicly Thorkell the Tall? :D

[@amatthew1231]

Dear Shad, Is moon walking an effective combat tactic in Medieval warfare? I expect an hour video on the topic. Thanks.

[@gabriel300010]

only if you put your hand on your codpiece. that will intimidate your enemy and advertise your skill

[@TheLiamis]

Only if you grab your crotch and yell "heee heee jamone " its known as the nani dafuq move.

[@oscarnemo8084]

That's not how you get a video made. Ahem. Moonwalking was commonly used in the late medieval era, when Slavic tribes migrated to the Tiberian peninsula, enslaving the local Maori population. 100% of moonwalking was effective. Your move, Shad.

[@TheJrade]

I hope everyone realizes he is making fun of Star Wars

[@justiciar1964]

I'll attempt it next time I sack the empire's capital, and then let you know how it went.

[@Rebecca_Violet]

This is a serious topic... and I spent the entire episode wondering when Thor's hammer was added to the bookshelf.

[@Kesvalk]

Well, at least i was not alone in that.

[@beardedbjorn5520]

Mate, I was doing the same.

[@pRahvi0]

It just landed there and obviously could not be moved by mortals, so it had to stay.

[@MarcAlcatraz]

Dammit now I’m thinking that

[@lemuhnn]

The bookshelf is worthy

[@pennyandrews3292]

I think another thing worth taking into account is that just because you generally didn't see women on the battlefield doesn't mean they didn't fight at all. The past was brutal and you didn't always have to go to a battlefield for a fight. I can easily imagine situations where women had to defend the home and children while the man was off at war, because, well... if he's not there, who else is left behind to protect all their possessions and the children from, say, criminals that might want to steal their stuff while all or most of the men are off fighting? I'm sure that while seeing a woman on an actual battlefield would have been shocking, I'm not so sure people would have been shocked by a woman trying to defend her children or her stuff violently if it came down to it. If both the women and the men go to the battlefield, there's no one left to protect the home and potentially the children. So I'm almost tempted to see it as more them putting men on the frontlines because they're more comfortable fighting and leaving women with the somewhat less risky job of guarding the home and children rather than seriously expecting women to never shed blood or pick up a weapon. That job probably wasn't as safe and free of violence back then as we might think now, but it was still safer than the front lines of course.

[@cromwellian1]

this seems much more realistic to me too than the scenes we get of those little farms getting ravaged and women getting tossed around. idk tbh i feel like women that have faced that kind of violence and expect it will fight tooth and nail and getting hit in the face with a pan can probably knock you out. i just think ppl have always been people and there's the meek and the bold and i think if you're used to a rough way of life you're more inclined to react with boldness when push comes to shove.

[@christianblomqvist3406]

yes japanese women were trained with naginatas to protect the home.

[@viniciussardenberg6420]

why is nobody intriged by the fact she even HAD a sword in battle as her main weapon? thats not a duel thats a battle where is your horse and lance for god's sake?!

[@theophrastusbombastus8019]

How brave of you describing that pit brawl as a battle. To be honest I was so put off by that rave party of soldiers that they could have been werewolves wielding rocks and I would not have noticed.

[@amyself6678]

In woods hills or small fields armies cldnt charge to use lances or if their army was mostly infantry, south poland is hilly. Charging is risky horse can hit hole or myd and u fall off so leaders may skip that n stay back, horse w saber was safer n lances were minority from mongols to civil war cavalry. Lances r cool though. East europe also had smaller horses n less armor , west got lance heavy til english arrows killed these big horse targets in droves. Vikings were use to boggy groung w few bridges so cldnt count on horses so stayed w foot combat, i guess, e poland is swampy. I am totally guessing. Caltrops wld b my choice to beat cav army. : ). Spears bravely used cld beat horse lancers, only in age of meak peasants did knights rise to dominate,,, horse archers r the best makes lances look stupid ala mongols. ; ). I am rambling for fun

[@Astropeleki]

To be fair, it's pretty clear they are not going for historical accuracy there: the main characters fight with no helmet (and one of them gets shot in the head by an arrow because of it) and there's a brief clip of a soldier wearing one getting an axe through his skull. The blade literally goes through the metal like it was kitchen foil. That would bother me more than anything to be honest xD

[@Hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhj]

That battle scene was one of the worst parts of the series. The lioness of cintra is supposed to be a tactical genius winning her first battle at 14 but this battle is a complete tactical mess. They have the archer and cavalry advantage, yet fight on a hilly battlefield where they see the enemy only roughly 100m before lines clash. Also they knew Nilfgaard was on the march, yet they somehow act as it was a complete surprise for the army to appear there must have been weeks to prepare a proper battlefield and strategy.

[@amyself6678]

@@Astropeleki .. Yeah bad battle scene. Game of Thrones had few shields helmets horses or bows just running up w sword HAHA. .. PS Hero never played Gwent on tv darnit like in game!

[@the10thmuffinmanold35]

Shad: “No swords are 5-10 pounds” Monster hunter players: “yeah... imagine that... haha”

[@GeanAmiraku]

Well, I doubt you can find a 5-10 pounds sword in monster hunter. I think they start from 15-20 pounds.

[@the10thmuffinmanold35]

GeanAmiraku excellent point. However some of the dual swords and swords from S&S may be around 10 pounds. I’m no expert and like shad, I use metric like any civilised person

[@pjabrony8280]

Which raises the question, if swords were so light, why didn't they make bigger five-pound swords?

[@the10thmuffinmanold35]

pjabrony Shad give us answers! Why are you hiding the truth?

[@GeanAmiraku]

@@the10thmuffinmanold35 I use metrics everywhere but in archery, so the only non-metric thing I know is a pound XD Well, maybe the bone weapons are light enough? Who knows!

[@ademetal]

Ha, when you said "I have 4 children" I thought you said "I have fought children!" I had to do a double take there.

[@handlebarfox2366]

Actually, now that you mention it, he probably has. ;)

[@combatikon4652]

"I've fought children more fearsome than you!"

[@tsk9277]

Yep, I read this before I heard it. It did sound like that.

[@duckgoesquack4514]

If your reading this, you have fought children. That's the benefits of going online

[@MrHitmancheg]

I mean, he fought his brother, I imagine it's about the same as fighting a child, except a bit easier.

[@Crypt4l]

Having done HEMA for 6 years I can tell you, yes, definitely, if we were were doing real battles, I would have been killed by women a lot. As well as men, as well as experiences fighters, as well as beginners. I also would have killed all of the above a lot. Killing someone with a long, sharp implement designed to do so, not very hard. Winning multiple rounds against someone more experienced, or faster, that's hard. The question becomes a lot more interesting when full plate armor is involved and a lot more grappling takes place in the that sword fighting.

[@monotech20.14]

Yes , listen to the Daily Wire hack for historical context. I guess he never heard of Joan of Arc. BTW this guy is ignorant and a sexist. Just like most rightwing HACKs.

[@brandonguffey5959]

How many women are Hema tournament champions?

[@katm8128]

@@brandonguffey5959 men vastly outnumber women in HEMA, that definitely plays a part. There are just more of them

[@Firedemon72]

"a man would beat a woman 100% of the time" "ONLY A SITH DEALS IN ABSOLUTES!"

[@overlordmae9090]

"We are all sith now"

[@ReddoFreddo]

Eventhough it's phrased improperly, he did say there were exceptions, he just doesn't know or care how percentages work apparently. However, his statement is still wrong, that a woman beating a man in a sword fight would PRACTICALLY never happen, which is just not true, because it happens in real life all the time.

[@isaaclarson5653]

At least the sith don't discriminate, they "kill the women and children too"

[@HisDarkAngel]

So you're a Sith too?

[@ReddoFreddo]

@Empor ! "They are matches that don't have anything that went into historical combat." Can you give some examples of things that a HEMA duel doesn't have and a historical combat duel does, which proofs that a woman could practically never beat a man in a sword fight?

[@dohavename6775]

Crap, centuries of perfecting the art of sword fight were spent in attempts to find techniques and tactics that'd help to win against all sorts of possible disadvantages, and now this guy says that swords are only for the biggest and strongest? Like men had never fought bigger and stronger opponents? That's what you call "professionalism".

[@anatomicalx9355]

No, it's what you call 'acknowledging differences'. Swords required a decent amount of strength and endurance, as did the weapons that outgrew the sword when plate became more common.

[@joannaclary3795]

Because the gap between two experienced men in a life and death situation are probably less jarring than that between an experienced man and an experienced woman.

[@terrencemoldern2756]

Oh yeah cause some 150 pound girl definitely gonna out perform a proper skilled man who’s at least 250... I seriously don’t need to say anything else 😂😂

[@lssnow8195]

@Rowan Nowicki I think this topic confuses a lot of people. Like the daily wire writer, he pushes his modern politics into this which makes him make ridiculously stupid statements like women dont have strenght to swing a sword (lol), but also people confuse armored and unarmored fighting. In a dueling situation unarmored sword combat women can clearly beat men, historically this did happen. When your talking about fully armored knight vs other knight athleticism becomes much greater importance and physical advantages of men become much more important.

[@lssnow8195]

@Rowan Nowicki Women cannot gain muscle mass the same way men can. Physically weak men of course exist, but average male can by training attain a lot higher stamina and strenght than woman can because of hormones. You can think it like one person is doping and other is not. Of course woman can attain physical requirements that allow them to fight as a knight, but because how armored combat works they are severe disadvantage that isnt there in unarmored sword combat.

[@shadoman7682]

Well I guess in medieval times a man who is trained as a knight for his entire life would beat a medieval woman who has never picked up a sword in her life well yes he would win. However Anyone who is a trained swordsman will always beat an untrained swordsman, male or female..

[@Sean-mq7wt]

The same is true for any martial art. Even something like Judo or Jujitsu is more skill than strength, and there are numerous examples of significantly smaller, weaker martial arts practicioners going to town and obliterating much larger, stronger opponents. Skill and training is far, far more important than pure strength. Strength can help out in equal footing situations, but rarely is a deciding factor, and is one of the most easily mitigated with training. A well trained woman would almost always beat a poorly trained male, regardless of strength. There is always room for blind luck, as even the best practitioners of any martial form can be beaten by a lucky punch/stab/etc., But this is not the expected outcome. Medeival warfare in particular had almost nothing to do with brute strength, and was geared towards organization of troop movement. A well organized and trained army of average sized average strength people will practically always beat an army that relies on brute strength. As for why women rarely were drafted, it's pretty simply. In pre-Modern times, nursing could go on well into three, four, or five years, and typically you would find women giving birth much more often, with pregnancy occurring almost as soon as possible after the previous pregnancy. Someone needed to feed the kids, and it's pretty damn hard to fight if you are pregnant or nursing.

[@jamesmanuel8517]

@@Sean-mq7wt and what are those army compose of? Yes all of them are men. The issue here is medieval war! Medieval wars are hellish and brutal because, men have to carry over 20lbs of baggage while marching in kilometers away and expecting a sudden enemy ambush or attack. I'm not downgrading women here, I'm just stating facts. If women are effective in war then why don't we see a company size military unit compose of them?

[@Sean-mq7wt]

@@jamesmanuel8517 Here's a fun fact: In pre-modern times, people had kids almost as soon as they were able to. You can't go to war if pregnant or nursing, and that was frankly common. As for carrying that gear, understand that women carry huge loads in non-industrialed nations. In modern times in Africa, women will 5 gallons of water (41 pounds, 20kg), with ease, over many, many miles daily. In the Americas, women would pull sledges packed to the brim with goods. Hell, a non-industrial woman would like mop the floor with most modern men in the US by their strength given the amount of physical labor they do.

[@jamesmanuel8517]

@@Sean-mq7wt dude what I said is on war circumstances, I know what women can do in terms of workload, my Grandma has done it in WW2 considering she work at shipping bay at indianapolis for over 12 hours per day. The example I can give you about brutal ancient wars are the romans, the ninth legion march for 15-20 km (what historians estimated) to the teutoburg forest a border from saxony to northern rhine where there are ambushed by the combined northern tribal forces. The fighting continues for hours considering that they even reached the kalkriese narrows in which they were wiped out mostly of exhaustion and outnumbered. In medieval wars, stamina and overall strength is the most important aspect and I'm not downgrading women here it's just that they were not designed in this kind of gruesome warfare. But in this age women has a chance to go pn the frontlines, on medieval wars Female commanders such as joan of arc who were at the back holding the important banner while watching and facilitating the ongoing battle at front that I can agree but i will not agree in an army compose of females. That just a fact!

[@ducklingscap897]

James Manuel you do realize culture plays an important role. I’d say women can ride a bike as well as men can (not racing just normal average riding) yet in some countries women were prohibited from riding a bike. Women can also do a lot of jobs as well as men yet they weren’t allowed to work for centuries.

[@ludovicotommasi5555]

"can women use swords?". Me looking at the girl who constantly beats me into a pulp during hema training: "eh uh yeah maybe dunno really"

[@peetky8645]

this may say more about your inner berserker and skill level than it says about intra-gender violence supremacy.

[@ludovicotommasi5555]

@@peetky8645... I'm not sure I get what you mean, are you saying that I'm bad because a woman can beat me? I'm confused by your wording

[@peetky8645]

@@ludovicotommasi5555 pretty much----look at the NBA vs WNBA....both skilled, men beat the women easily. Testosterone replacement maybe, or less soy products---are you vegan-red meat might help

[@ludovicotommasi5555]

@@peetky8645..... I'm not really sure you know how that works? Fencing isn't basket, it's way more focused on skill and proficiency, strength has quite little meaning, and if you have a good technique the sparring will end before you get actually tired. So yeah, women can beat men. There's also a decent skill gap between me and her (first year VS fifth or smth), but you didn't seem to care about that did you? Do you honestly think raw strength is that important? That a man would beat a woman in most sports, even if the woman has more experience?

[@peetky8645]

@@ludovicotommasi5555 once again, the basis of the thread is a woman in a melee battle killing man after man.......i was just trolling you about losing to a girl....i was in a fencing club in college and the women fencers on the actual ncaa team would beat my ass every time....in a fight, i would take them all though. If you are unable to do the same, go join a gym and hit the weights

[@laurahamlyn3247]

"you do not need much energy, power, strength to produce lethal force with a weapon, that's their whole point" - yep stick 'em with the pointy end!

[@XCrawlFan]

"The pointy end goes into the other man."

[@WakenerOne]

@@XCrawlFan But could Jon Snow defeat Zorro?

[@Nazareadain]

You sure as shit need a whole lot more when they're wearing gambessons, chainmail, shield or even plate.

[@realdaggerman105]

Nazareadain Which is literally a point in Game of Thrones, where the quote came from. Because Arya sticks the hound with the pointy end, and the hound didn’t care.

[@WakenerOne]

@@realdaggerman105 True - but also dependent on your sword discipline. There are disciplines which think of the weapon as less for stabbing or chopping, and more as a long razor blade. People of the razor blade mentality are going to look at the joints - which have to exist. slice 'em in there, and all that armor becomes a liability - the attacker will have a huge problem with a cut major vein, artery, and nerve.

[@adamjnotthecongressmanschi7026]

“I use metric. I’m not a savage.” I wanna subscribe again.

[@princeoftonga]

That’s actually true at least in submarine warfare. My uncle was a submariner and he said that for depth they still work in feet mainly because it complicates fire control for a enemy who works in metric. Even to the extent of having their cruising depths being deliberately a non metric depth. Like how if you’re at 400 feet that’s 121m. Just calculate for 120m and that’s close enough but if you’re at 350 ft that’s 106m. Calculate for 100m and you’re 6m out but calculating for 105m is just that little bit more complex.

[@princeoftonga]

@John Smith yeah that can understand how that could be interesting. I’m from Britain and of the generation where I kind of learned and used both. Like on the roads we still use miles but for technical and fine measurement things we’ll use metric. It’s really weird when I think about it. Never managed to get to the stage where I could just on the fly convert them in my head (beyond a rough approximation) though. people who can do that are wizards!!!

[@nuclearjanitors]

Metric for anything off papers is dumb as fuck. Inches and feet are way more practical in day to day life. Also There are countries that use metric, and there are countries that have their flag on the moon. Losers.

[@deanfirnatine7814]

I like being a savage ;)

[@deanfirnatine7814]

@@nuclearjanitors Sweet Burn Bro!

[@Davidofthelost]

Shad: “I use Metric, I’m not a Savage!” Me, who doesn’t use metric: “How dare you! I shall paint your holdings in goats blood for this insult!”

[@Hopeofmen]

Yes, about five stones' worth!

[@mike7652]

Indeed! Shad shall rue this day!!

[@ShamanMcLamie]

I find it absolutely hilarious that a flame war is raging in the comments and it has nothing to do with the controversial and politically charged topic of this video. Also metrics is for the unenlightened barbarians. For god's sake the French invented it.

[@frking100]

Nah why be bothered by their petty insults they metric system users claim superiority but it is not their flag in the moon.

[@AnoAssassin]

@@frking100 The Apollo Project used metric, get that pride right back down

[@grantd3880]

Me and My sister were big into swordfighting for a long time when we were kids. Now, my Sister is far from average ill admit (dont tell her I said that), but she has always been little. It was pretty darn funny watching her catch these teenage guys on he shield and throw them around. She actually had to ditch the shield at one point so that the fight was anywhere close to fair. Now that we are older (full grown) it is clear that she suffers for reach, but she knows that and compensates for it. On average I win sure, but she always gets her shots in and occasionally she soundly schools me in the fine art of staying away from the swordblade! =D Ive tried to "teach" (I have no professional training) a few women to swordfight, what Ive found is that the main difference is motivation, interest, and reach. Only the last one on that list is chosen by nature, and some gals dont struggle with that. I know a woman who is 5'11"-6'. It helps significantly when you have a sword in your hand for 15 years though.

[@juliamay8580]

"Even a child with a knife can be dangerous". I don't remember where i heard that, but this discussion reminded me of that.

[@0okamino]

Just ask Lancel and Pycelle. ;)

[@katxiii3660]

@@0okamino Or Bruno Bucciarati

[@ThatOneGuy-iv9sn]

The new Cod MW perhaps

[@adamlivingston6599]

I recalled one that said "The most dangerous person with a sword is the untrained peasant", because you have no idea how they are going to use it. At least against a soldier with similar training, you have some concept of how they will move, what kind of strikes they will make, and how to defend against them.

[@Muireachgaming8957]

My mom is a self defense teacher, one thing she tells other women is that a small gorilla can overpower a 6 foot man. Even when facing an armed (say has a knife) opponent, an unarmed woman who is well trained can beat him. I know of a story where an old grandmother beat her attempted rapist dead with her walking cane, even though the man was fit and young (so like in his 20s)

[@Pyre]

I'm reasonably sure this has popped up somewhere in these comments already, but for a while there, *recently*, the top longsword fencer in the world was a woman. So, y'know.

[@jarudesandstorm6961]

out of curiosity what is her name? and is the she top women's duelist against other women or the top duelist against both women and men?

[@Pyre]

@@jarudesandstorm6961 It took me a minute to be sure I was finding the same woman I was thinking of! The woman in question goes by 'Samantha Swords' (cringe and let it pass! Her real name appears to be Samantha Elizabeth-Mott) and the event she won was the Harcourt Park World Invitational Jousting Tournament, in 2013. This was either a Hema event, or HEMA was how she ended up at it. Of note, while the event was a mixed-gender competition, obviously it can't quantitatively be called a full gauge of every relevant combatant worlwide. If one is going to consider that a game-breaker detail, that's on me.

[@jarudesandstorm6961]

@@Pyre cook thanks! I'll looke her up! 😊

[@GhPadua]

Obviously I, a man, even tough I`m out of shape and don`t fence, would beat her 100% of time thanks to my superior male force

[@KitKat-om5gu]

@@GhPadua ur comment is so cringy

[@RightInFromDenmark]

It actually sounded like he said a woman who just picked up a sword for the first time will lose to a trained male warrior 100% of the time, like he didnt even acknowledge the possibility of a trained female swordfighter. Like at all.

[@maluVerruck]

And didn't acknowlegde the possibility that a untrained man would lose to...

[@mainie_videoediting]

yeah and like why would a woman try to fight someone with a sword if she can't fight with a sword ^^ if I see someone fight with a sword in a film I assume it's not the first time they've ever picked up a sword unless it's made VERY clear that it is (for comedic effect or whatever).

[@lrmarshall5930]

The Queen was established in an earlier scene as being a warrior, having just come back from a war (or something, was a while ago when I watched it).

[@renefloran1567]

Which the queen was trained in. I can understand a woman raised in nobility not being able to really handle it vs a trained man but same can be said for the otherway around

[@jadespades4237]

He was the victim of his own perceptual set.

[@emsnewssupkis6453]

I used to fight and train fighters in the SCA, the medieval war people. I am a woman. I was, many years ago, quite strong and did construction work for a living and fought for fun. I had full steel armor and helmet and a shield and except for very very rare occasions, fought nearly totally...MEN. Men tend to be bigger and stronger than women and this was in my case, too. To win a battle I had to use cunning and tactics because I couldn't just smash my way through an event. Nearly no women can do this as well as most men, men evolved over millions of years from earliest mammals to today to fight for the right to have a female who would then give birth...males had to fight to exist! They always will be faster and stronger than females and females have the ultimate weapon for dealing with men: ahem. We all know what that is! Eve explained everything to Adam in their lovely garden...

[@robertgagne2388]

Well Said :)

[@garbajful]

From the horse's mouth...Thank you

[@stevenbacon-cheddar9914]

Yup. PPH (Power of the Pink Hole)!

[@privard89]

Great and underrated comment. This is the way

[@Non_Consistent_Potato]

I feel like any man who won't fight a woman simply because she is attractive, is quite stupid.

[@robfromjersey7899]

"I use metric, I'm not a savage." I see how it is..

[@dominiquepopinski4675]

I look at it like this metric prominent in areas lacking freedom🤣

[@josephb.7004]

There are two types of countries. Those that use metric And those that have been to the moon! Who’s the savage again? 😉

[@Defdoel]

that was my same reaction 😂 *unsubscribed*

[@carlos05231981]

@@josephb.7004 ** (mic drop)

[@gunbloodx]

@@josephb.7004 Have been to the moon using metric ;D

[@Jfreek5050]

"Five to ten pound sword" *Unleashes Final Fantasy Sword*

[@williamt.sherman9841]

i'm just pissed that he called me a savage.

[@Grobut81]

@@williamt.sherman9841 Then kindly stop being a savage and adopt metric.

[@pokemongo4077]

They don’t make any sense, no matter the muscles of the person Onkels there weight 10 times more the can’t use these heavy swords from the games because they simply tilt because of the center of gravity.

[@duckgoesquack4514]

Guts: do you even lift bro

[@andresalgado9375]

Cloude Streifeur des Bourdeux, a medieval knight who wielded a giant two handed sword called Buster Sword.

[@jconte2343]

“There are no guarantees in battle.” Not sure where I heard that, but it makes sense.

[@davidtherwhanger6795]

I've heard similar quotes. I've more often heard "I only have to get lucky once to beat you."

[@Dell-ol6hb]

@MARK PEARSON That's pretty weird unless that 13 yo is absolutely gigantic compared to you, even then most 13yo are shit at fighting.

[@MrPanetela]

it does not matter who said it or when as long as it is true. case in point. KJV Bible Judges 4:21. an entire war was won by a single tent peg and hammer, by the hands of a single weak woman!

[@funoff3207]

@MARK PEARSON then you'd be dead

[@ethanfrazee3442]

Murphy's Law

[@ingold1470]

So J.R.R. Tolkien got it right? If a woman with near-suicidal determination like Eowyn uses royal prerogative to get the best training and equipment in the realm, she can fight almost as well as her brothers, but the vast, vast majority did not.

[@FREEMAN....]

Training can't change biology. It happens only in Dinsneytflix.

[@LhynnBlue]

Shed still lose badly to the overwhelming majority of men she met. As they would likely have access to training too.

[@daniilasafov9211]

@@LhynnBlue Well, those with a near-suicidal determination usually benefit from training more and learn more (motivation plays a huge role) + there may be some genetic advantage for learning the skill of sword-fighting. And, if we count possible wealth and that wealthy people can afford good teachers (Eowyn was a royalty, though to her it was unhelpful).... No, she wouldn't lose to the overwhelming majority. She would be a very good warrior. P.S. I don't believe that lady-trainer from Blood and Armor loses very often to the other trainers. And there actually is a decent amount of women fighters in history (Jeanne d'Arc not included)

[@dervakommtvonhinten517]

i dont think she fought as well as her brothers, but a woman with a sword isnt useless either. if i got to decide wether i wanted a group of male warriors or an army of female warriors, i would take the army. if both groups had the same quality and size, i would pick the men.

[@FREEMAN....]

@@dervakommtvonhinten517 there is nothing such as an army of females. For some reason.

[@franciscoostos8527]

i was doing "verdadera destreza" swordfight,and my instructor was a woman,i could not beat hear no matter how many time i train,she moves like water

[@jeangale6914]

Be water my friend- Bruce Lee.

[@adolfodef]

@@jeangale6914 I am only 60% water...

[@Houston810]

Try tackling her to the ground so hard she can't breath, then see if you win...

[@Manurskull]

Beacause "verdadera destreza" was made to use your ability not your strength. It was the best style of dueling in its time. A woman can fight as well as a man but in ancients times (in a unconscious way) womens was see as the future of the population, less mens didn't matter but less womens means less population for the next generation.

[@beardedbjorn5520]

Kick her in the vag.

[@geofff.3343]

My favorite quote from history is, "God created man and woman; Samuel Colt made them equal." Just to keep in mind that tools are not to be disregarded.

[@QarthCEO]

Melee combat and using guns is not even remotely the same thing. A 6 year old could easily kill you with a gun, not in a sword fight.

[@geofff.3343]

@@QarthCEO Swing and a miss. Read the whole of my comment, think on it, and try again.

[@droe2570]

Yes, but firearms are not swords.

[@geofff.3343]

@@droe2570 You made contact but tipped it foul. Swords aren't guns but both are tools. A gun is a greater equalizer than swords, but a sword will bring things to an even keel too. You're are taking the quote too narrowly.

[@passonthestar3689]

@@QarthCEO That's an extension of the point. A weaker person is almost always gonna lose hand to hand A blade narrows that gap a lot and scales with skill And a handgun removes strength and size from the equation almost entirely so long as you have skill

[@Berglund.]

When he said "i have four children" i thought he said "i have fought children" and i got a bit concerned lol.

[@thedokkodoka4349]

I have fought children, too. When they tried to get back the cherry ice cream I've stolen from them. It was a bloody mess and I had to get rid of the red stains all over the place.

[@thereaction18]

"How To Fight A Baby" video starts appearing in recommendations again.

[@dartdevious561]

When the Mind Flayer sent their army of children at me, I knew there would be a lot of cherry icecream on the battlefield.

[@nannasbraindump6343]

I fight children every day... I'm a mother..

[@kenkaneki3873]

Shad was Anakin all along

[@paulschaaf8880]

One of the things that always annoys me about fight scenes involving women in TV and movies is that they almost always set them up as unarmed fights. Just give the woman a weapon and it's instantly a hell of a lot more believable. In most cases she knows she's walking into a situation where most if not all of her opponents are going to be bigger, stronger, and faster than she is. Why is she unarmed? If it's a super hero movie then that's fine, but otherwise just give her some kind of concealable weapon.

[@paweandonisgawralidisdobrz2522]

Andrew: women cant beat men Obi-Wan: ONLY A SITH DEALS IN ABSOLUTES

[@drthmik]

Silly Obi-Wan... that was a statement of an Absolute! 😏

[@rachdarastrix5251]

@@drthmik And it was also bullshit. Sith spend a decade contemplating the outcome before they even make their move. Whatever move it is I am referring to.

[@aralornwolf3140]

*Sigh* Shad, Andrew Klavan IS Sexist. Just because you don't pay attention to the toilet roll which is the Daily Wire doesn't make Andrew Klaven ignorant; just you. www.mediamatters.org/daily-wire/daily-wire-cesspool-hatred-and-bigotry Do not defend a person who is sexist by saying they are not.

[@speedy01247]

this is like saying a Tiger can always beat a man, cause tigers are far stronger faster and bigger than humans. skill, smarts and tools can give someone weaker an advantage.

[@paweandonisgawralidisdobrz2522]

@@speedy01247 exactly. Give a rifle to the human and give a rifle to the tiger. Tiger cant use it so the human now has the advantage. Weapons change a lot

[@Tomcat_Coyote]

As a gal who practiced European fencing , Medieval Fencing and Kendô for years , i can tell you that YES , women can defeat men in sword-fights , and it's not that hard . When swords and pointy sticks are involved , it doesn't really matter how strong you are , what matters is who hits first , at least when Hema and " sporty " fencing is concerned . I knew straight away i was never going to hit as hard as my fellow male fencers and kendoka , so i just made sure i was faster instead , and more nimble in general :)

[@SagaciousNihilist]

So women would only be good as rogues not warriors? Lol

[@Tomcat_Coyote]

@@SagaciousNihilist No , of course not . It is not at all what i implied , it was a generality . So cut the "Lols" . As you are probably aware , there are women that as tall , bulky and muscular as any man , if not more . Those women would not be at a disadvantage in a regular sword-fight because they stand on equal ground with your average man . What i DO mean is : on AVERAGE , due to sexual dimorphism , a woman will have a lesser body mass and muscle mass , putting the average woman at a disadvantage against the average man when some weapons are concerned . So , in order not to be at a disadvantage , your average woman needs to evaluate her strengths and weaknesses and that of her opponent(s) in order to choose a weapon and fighting style that will put HER at an advantage regarding other factors than size and brute force , and thus allow her to compensate for an eventual lack of strength and general toughness in , say , speed and mobility . And that is entirely applicable for men as well . Especially in fighting sports such as HEMA or Medieval Fencing in general where you can chose your weapon . You have to be aware of your strength and weaknesses and find the weapon that is better suited for you . I personally favour short swords , rapiers and daggers despite being taller than the average woman , but i still lack muscle mass compared to the average man .

[@xophaser]

of course a woman can beat a man, all people aren't equal. But I know which side i will put my money on in any physical combat ratio of wins. There are like soy boy these days and woman taking testosterone to be like men (guess that is ground for testings and can be disqualify on professional sport), or I seen some born like they are in between...People in poor countries region don't get the food as other country so race demographic size are different. But general combat is about size (good or bad), strength x speed/reflex x endurance on the physical side (muscle). I am not taking about training/skill or mental makeup as that is its own results. Smaller/ pointy weapon can reduce the advantage of strength and some endurance. What this doesn't tell is actual warfare. Strength and endurance plays a huge part. An invader is at a disadvantage to defender. You would have to carry all your food, weapon, gear over hundreds of miles, run thru bomb, fight while injured from other battle or travel. Men have more hgh/testosterone for recovery, stronger bone. Even with the gun, you need to carry amour, carry your own stuff, run thru the battle, fight up hills. Image this in medevil times, not fun. It is not about just all of the sudden standing full strength infront of an opponent (suppose to be witcher battle field). men have been killing each other in for years, the mental makeup is there, billions have died. The hunter mentality. Yes my friend is in kendo and men and women battle all the time, victory going to both side, but one side has more (and more fighters too). I thought reflex would be an advantage, but he said height because of reach is pretty big advantage. On average man would have more reach.

[@ignaciotaborda6538]

Just here to say i love your flesh tearers profile picture.

[@TheTinLion]

We're talking about combat here. Not scoring points in sport. It's cool you were a great fencer but we're talking purely physical combat without rules. Even at age 12 I could feel a physical advantage over my older sister. She was in second year in college & played fastpitch softball. She teased me growing up. Wrestling, putting me on the ground, sitting on me, etc. I remember the day she stopped. It was because she tried to put me in a chokehold from behind and smash my face into a pile of leaves outside during Thanksgiving break. Except I grabbed her wrist & could control her arm. Not through leverage or twisting her wrist. It was strength. At 12. And I felt the change in strength. And she was super in shape. Had catcher's legs & arms.

[@rhyceg]

An informed, measured and fair response that doesn't drag someone else through the mud on KZbin... I feel like I am in an alternate dimension. It's so refreshing to hear a professional critique of comments made, rather than a personal attack, Great job Shad!

[@leirawhitehart1236]

No kidding! Exactly what I thought.

[@leirawhitehart1236]

@Maximus Brutus I disagree. I thought he presented pretty good arguments, all without demonizing the man he was countering. You present a good question though, "has any woman at HEMA ever actually won against a man?", and I think he answered yes to that, though it's easy to miss. It would've been great if he'd shown video footage of a woman beating a man in one of these tournaments in order to prove his point rather than just showing pictures to prove that these sword fighting classes are mixed, however, I don't think it's impossible for a woman to defeat a man in armed combat if she happens to be particularly skilled. As for his explanation for why women didn't fight in wars, boiling down what he said to "boys are more violent" is misrepresentative. What he said was more complicated than that, and had more to do with men naturally being more *protective* rather than *violent,* as well as factoring in the fact that women give birth, and thus making them more vulnerable while pregnant, and even after pregnancy, among other reasons he didn't name. Not to mention, that a society with less men than women can survive just fine, but a society with less women than men is a problem in terms of future generations. So no, it is not because "boys are more violent". I hope to have a very fruitful discussion with you about this, and that I don't come across as too harsh.

[@joshuabacker2363]

@@leirawhitehart1236 You probably shouldn't massively misquote people if you want a fruitful discussion tbh.

[@leirawhitehart1236]

@@joshuabacker2363 how did I misquote you? You asked two questions, if a woman ever won against a man in a HEMA tournament, and if "boys are more violent" was his answer for why women didn't participate in wars, and I answered both. Well, actually one really, as I didn't know the answer to the other one. But as far as I know, I didn't misquote you, and if I did, I didn't mean to.

[@joshuabacker2363]

@@leirawhitehart1236 "how did I misquote you? You asked two questions" No, I did not. learn to read.

[@FaceD0wnDagon]

This is one of the most gentle and considerate "debunking" videos I've ever watched. Good on ya.

[@Snarkknight5]

Well, as we all know, swords weighed 'five to ten pounds' because they had built-in estrogen detectors, fabricated right in the hilt. That way, if the hand that gripped the hilt was, in fact, of the feminine persuasion, the sword would cease to become a sharpened implement of stabbity death, and would transform into a frying pan, to inform said woman that she really should return to the kitchen.

[@dillangren7561]

Indeed

[@averongodoffire8098]

I don’t know if I should laugh, yell boo or slowly clap while grinning... ah hell I’ll do all of them😂😠👏😁

[@rossmorton7002]

Ah yes, but if you've studied the historical treatise "Disney's: Tangled", you'd recognise the frying pan for the powerful weapon that it is.

[@averongodoffire8098]

Ross Morton Ah a fellow historian and scribe no doubt🧐

[@tracylaurenmarrow4639]

@@rossmorton7002 and if you played the highly historical world war 2 simulator Player Unknown battlegrounds you'd understand how impenetrable frying pans are

[@Fyrn420]

MauLer "So Shad.... Why do you hate women?" *EFAP Burst out laughing*

[@johannao4849]

It’s always been strange to me that in stories where a smaller man fights a bigger foe (a common trope), people are very willing to acknowledge skill, speed, strategy, motivation etc. They root and cheer for that… But if that smaller person happens to be a woman they cry “Fake!”

[@countmarkula1993]

Well, when i think of those fights that you speak of its more like a David and Goliath battle. Where the smaller man is the clear under dog and usually has to think creatively to win the fight. There is a good example in at least 2 Indiana Jones movies where Indy is getting his ass whooped by bigger men, until he uses his environment to his advantage. People cry fake when it's like bat woman or atomic blonde where its just pure fantasy, as in the smaller woman just walks through the bigger men like they are made of paper (excluding women with super powers). Who would be a more believable super ass kicker in melee combat, Arnold Schwarzenegger or Clint Eastwood? Nothing against Clint but he isn't as muscular and physically intimidating as Arnold.

[@engine2truck6]

People who think women can beat up men watch too much television.

[@dragonwarriorz1]

Because men are protectors, women are mothers. Men should fight, women should not. Why does everyone want women to have to endure brutal fights?

[@jidk6565]

I've been married for 4 years And my wife, while slightly shorter then me, is SIGNIFICANTLY bulkier then me and it's mostly muscle I use to do weight lifting, and I met her there She outlifted me at every point And at the end, when I was completely outclassed (even though I'm a stronger guy) there was only one thing on my mind, love 😅

[@jidk6565]

@@dragonwarriorz1 no one wants them to, dont know where you got that from? But the honest truth of the matter is, you shouldn't underestimate women, that's what people want

[@frankster5076]

My old Master is a woman and she told me several times that she was at a disadvantage against her male friends who were Masters themselves. To clarify when it comes to technique and speed she was just as good or better but once there is contact the difference is significant and game changing. The energy output (Chi, Gi or Ki) is where the true power comes from in martial arts and it IS devastating to the human body! The only way a woman wins in a one on one sword fight when both are experienced swordsman is that she is simply the better skilled fighter (which would be the case in most fights). If she does not allow for the energy to deflect properly the fight would be decided quickly but this would not necessarily be the case in reverse because of the difference in energy output.

[@elfascisto6549]

Chi doesn't exist man

[@petersmythe6462]

"where you're swinging this five to ten pound sword again and again and again" Solution: use a three pound sword and don't miss.

[@willhyde5026]

Better solution: use a bow and shoot the attacker through the throat

[@ladywaffle2210]

Best solution: Instead of using a sword or a bow, since this is the Witcher, study hard and learn magic to A) smite your enemies or B) imbue your blade/bow with various flavors of smite to smite your enemies

[@Lightning_Lance]

@@willhyde5026 unlike swords, the usefulness of a bow does scale directly with how strong you are. So it doesn't make sense to have the women use bows. Unless you're desperately trying to keep them alive, I guess.

[@ismata3274]

Use crossbow? Use a nonlongbow, like horse archers. Use a poissonned blade. Better yet, use blowdarts, or slingshots. David did accept Goliath's call to duel (was that called a duel?🤷). He didn't accept his call to fight with same weapons (or exactly the same weapons) and same style. And one can certainly fit ones weapons to oneself, if one is a QUEEN. Maybe hers is a valerian sword?

[@AllegedlyElPresidente.]

*_$imp_*

[@FrancoisMarchant]

Taking the "man are in average stronger, higher, heavier than girls" and deduce that "no woman can beat a man" is basically not understanding how statistics work. The real truth is : in combat, the bulkier has an advantage (not ultimate, but a big one), and that advantage is MOST OFTEN going to be on the man, because he has the most chances of being the bulkier. I've been facing women that were bulkier, stronger, even heavier than me in MA (and i'm not a light person), and got my ass handed to me. The man isn't always the bulkier, it's just a tendency. It's basically like saying "No chinese will ever be taller than a dutch", or "no man will ever live longer than a woman". I think it's pretty baffling to see that people misunderstand statistics and tendencies that badly.

[@FrancoisMarchant]

@Mickey D "Historically" means nothing. What period ? What country ? The idea that women are frail things is very cultural, and very much a bourgeois-XIX century concept. Women worked the fields like men in western europe during most of the high medieval era, and still do in many countries today. So would a peasant woman be stronger than the son of a tailor, for example ? Very likely. Strength is less a matter of nature, and more a matter of what you're doing with your life. Sure, the fallacy is to think : "women athlete are weaker than male athletes" and "regular men are stronger than regular women". But a woman athlete is stronger than a regular man, so it is absolutely believable that a woman can train to beat a man, especially if he isn't trained or used to physical labor

[@cannonc8052]

He’s talking about war. he means fighting all day and still be able to go toe to toe with another man. That’s where women will fall. Unless it’s big Bertha out there majority of women are not going to have the average strength a man does that late in a battle.

Francois Marchant women being more frail than men isn’t a 19th century concept, you socialist poop pile. It’s been a thing since humans were hunter gatherers lol

[@nehriim3748]

@MARK PEARSON pretty sure there are many women that could utterly decimate you with pure strength

[@APerson863]

MARK PEARSON I feel like you are a troll, and hope that you are. But if you’re not. What do you hope to get out of this? Why do you think these statements are necessary?

[@alfstlen3160]

"You are only as good as your last fight" -Fiore de Liberi, Itallian renessance duelist

[@brotherknight9484]

Renaissance*

[@patrickfoos9828]

*only as good as your last spelling

[@emlmm88]

Did he mean your last fight as in the most recent fight you've had, or your last fight as in the one that is your end?

[@xiuqitan446]

@@emlmm88 basically, "skill level" cannot be standardized and measured but only concluded by others after looking at all the duels one go through, therefore there is not much value talking about hypothetical match ups based on one's skill they show in previous battles

[@emlmm88]

@@xiuqitan446 Oh I've got you. So he's saying that the skill of a swordsman is so nonlinear and dependent so many variables that you can't accurately extrapolate to predict hypotheticals.

[@studentjohn]

To offer a vaguely relevant observation: I have seen a group of off-duty female police officers (it was a hen do) deal with a guy who went for one of them by, basically, swarming him down - and very effective it was. Talking with doormen and reading various accounts from people in similar professions reinforces the impression this gave me: Women who deal in violence do so by applying numbers, aggression and surprise. Doormen, for example, usually admit they dislike the violent girls more because (well, in part) it's always girls, plural - one attacking woman becomes 8 or 9 almost instantly. Guys, for whatever reason, seldom do this unless they've actually be taught to and hence, despite having the physical advantages individually, don't inspire the resigned dread a big hen party with a bad attitude does. This, maybe, has a bearing on the subject: Even hand-to-hand, where women are at a much bigger disadvantage than with weapons, they find ways to successfully deal with violent men - and it highlights that the idea of doing a one on one average male vs average female comparison can (CAN, not always is) itself be misleading when applied to actual violence.

[@robusterbrown1291]

It’s hilarious to me that bows require more strength than swords

[@zerotohero884]

Right?

[@georgg.5730]

But true nonetheless. Wielding a well-balanced sword is mostly a matter of endurance first and strength second. With a heavy warbow, it's exactly the opposite.

[@PreferredMethods]

Yep. The bowmen got a lot more respect back in the days of real warfare! 😆

[@georgg.5730]

@@PreferredMethods I have absolutely no clue what you're getting at. Prestige doesn't have jack to do with the requirements of a vocation. Not today, not back then.

[@AlexanderRM1000]

@@georgg.5730 Bowmen were from the common rabble (hence why knights, the nobility, got all the romance books written about them and got the enduring prestige) but even their noble commanders were forced to treat them as a rare and precious commodity since most people couldn't wield a longbow.

[@tomiedah4605]

i remember getting my butt handed to me constantly by a girl half my size and weight when i was training in taekwondo. Why? she was a brown belt and a winner of seven local tournaments and i was a white belt with an attitude who needed to be brought down a peg. Anyone who says women will lose 100% of the time against a guy (be it armed or unarmed combat) obviously doesn't know about the advantages of skill and tenacity in a fight. those two combined ignore gender, size and weight difference.

[@williamwontiam3166]

Well that and how modern weapons are deadly without any help.

[@TougeWarrior93]

Taekwondo is full of rules,if you did real fighting the bigger person would win 90% of the time

[@litchtheshinigami8936]

sounds like me when i was a kid.. except i didn't do any fighting sports till i was 9 wich is when i got into kickboxing.. as a kid my stepbrother was bullied A LOT and he was too afraid to do something about it so one day at the playground (mind you i was 8 or 9 at the time and my step brother is several years older so these kids were about 11/12 years old..) i asked him wich kids were the ones that were bullying him.. so imagine this an 8/9 year old girl that looks pretty adorable and harmless walking over to a group of 3 older boys that towered over her telling them to stop bullying her stepbrother. they kind of replied with a so? what are you going to do about it? before i just straight up punched the leader of the 3 in the nose so hard i knocked him out and broke his nose.. i remember the other two not knowing how quick they had to run because their friend was just falcon punched into oblibion by a little girl they of course immideately went to the guys parents and me and my stepbrother went home.. later that day his parents were at the door quite cross because well their "angel" of a son had been punched in the face by this alleged little girl. so my dad called me over and asked me to explain to them why i had punched him and that he had been bullying my stepbrother for quite some time already and if they did it again that i would hear of it and come and teach them a lesson again. luckily my dad wasn't angry because he wasn't much different as a kid and he knew that my intentions were to help someone that couldn't defend himself and was bullied just because he was unlucky and had scars on his face from the many jaw operations he had had (he was born with a broken jaw so he was an easy target the fact he had had a brain bleed later on too didn't help either as he lost most of his sight in one of his eyes and his personality changed drastically) basically he was never bullied again and in the end actually ended up making friends with his former bully and to be honest he isn't that bad of a guy now he's an adult

[@med4nel]

@@TougeWarrior93 well, I think a trained fighter can win against bigger opponents. Actually I know a trained fighter can win.. since I experienced it myself. So I wouldn't say 90%

[@Nediablo]

I'm 6 foot tall. 205 lbs. At my heaviest, I was 276 lbs. I'm an average athlete. Quite strong. I'm 100% certain that a woman half a foot shorter than me with a weight disadvantage who's had combat training would pummel me. Be that unarmed or especially armed, I'd get my arse handed to me 🤣 Do I have physical advantages? Sure. If I was trained would the gap close, yes of course. But to say a woman would get beat every time is crazy. One good low kick could blow a knee out. One solid jab to pop a nose. Speed really does help.

[@JohnBradford14]

Can a woman beat a man in swordfight? Sure. She just will most likely need a certain type of sword and fighting style depending on what she's up against. You know, like ANY sword fighter might have to do for ANY situation.

[@Wright805]

You said it perfectly.

[@danmorgan3685]

@@calculator91 You start off calling anyone who could disagree with you an "autist". Classy. Klavan didn't make a general statement so much as an absolute one. Since he made an absolute statement then one example is all that's needed to disprove his claim.

[@Reisboy_PhD]

@@danmorgan3685 only siths deal in absolutes...

[@churblefurbles]

Problem is that its been used to muddy the waters to dismiss a basic truth, the one Klaven alluded to with hyperbole, sure even a child could possibly under some very unique scenarios take out a man with a sword, but the chances are very much not in their favor.

[@abelboronkai448]

@@Reisboy_PhD you are strong and wise and im very proud of you

[@liamrobinson2084]

Strength counts, speed counts, skill counts, endurance counts, training counts. Men usually have more strength, more speed, more endurance (especially upper body), more capable of absorbing hits without debilitating damage. All these things would add up to more training hours without injury, more armor that can be efficiently and effectively worn, more ability to overcome the armor of an opponent. HEMA is cool, but it isn't real combat. In actual combat the results tend to be massively one-sided. When the well-trained, well-armed, all-female Agoje (royal house guards, more or less) of the African kingdom of Dahomey encountered French (all-male) troops in the second Dahomey War ( to stop the Dahomey practice of slave trading) over 700 female fighters died and the rest surrendered. The French had 6 casualties in the engagement. The Agoje were life-long soldiers, trained constantly, and were equipped with repeater rifles, like the French. Klavan's error was in making an absolute claim, but backing that off a fraction of a percentage makes him entirely correct. Finding a couple of edge case exceptions doesn't disprove his essential point, it only points out the extreme lengths needed to disprove his position. At equal skill, and equal experience, one on one in a controlled environment with rest breaks and rules and no intent to actually harm, a woman can find a way to deal with her disadvantages. In a pitched battle my guess would be "no". By the end of the battle every woman fighter would be defeated, captured or routed eventually. Perhaps not by the first man they encountered, but probably. The trouble with this trope and other"girl-boss beats up grown men" tropes is that these fights are always ridiculously one-sided in favour of the female characters. Rings of Prime did this with Guyladriel, The Witcher is guilty of it, all the Marvel movies too. For years I worked in federal penitentiaries as a teacher. The men I taught there included many men serving life sentences for murder. These men seemed to fall into three categories: people who thought they were John Wick, people with mental illnesses, and a large number of men who had killed their wives, girlfriends or ex's in a momentary fit of rage, almost by accident but not quite. ( I'm not justifying their actions, just describing). Virtually the only female character that pulls off the "woman beats man in physical combat" trope is Cara Dune. This is because she justifies it both in casting Gina Carano, and in the character's specific makeup. She is from a heavy gravity planet, which makes her much stronger and more resistant to damage than a standard -gravity human, and she is a thoroughly trained and very experienced professional soldier, and her fight with Mando is a stalemate, not a girl-boss cakewalk. Weapons will tend to make the fight more fair, but not completely. A taller fighter may use a longer sword, further increasing the reach of his longer arms. Getting within his reach means being within grappling range, increasing her disadvantage. Can she block his strikes? Will her smaller, shorter, lighter sword block effectively? Will she be able to hold on to it? Will it break? Will she be strong enough to push her blade through his armour fast enough that she doesn't get killed while her blade is occupied elsewhere? How long will she be able to keep fighting without respite? Even guns aren't a perfect equaliser, at least not for female soldiers in modern armies. Protective equipment is still heavy, physical strength and durability are still as important. Even down to how big a gun you can handle efficiently, and how much ammo you can carry. Mixed combat teams are less effective and efficient than male-only formations. The only good part of the garbage Willow series is when the idiotic girlboss princess Kit realizes that she isn't actually all that good at sword-fighting, but that all the soldiers and teachers she had sparred with had been letting her win because she is the princess. Cheers gents, excellent video and discussion.

[@steve8610]

I gotta say, I really admire how articulately and respectfully you reason on stuff. You don't try to rob someone of their dignity (even when they're wrong) but you also acknowledge when some correction is needed. Kudos to you, sir! Don't ever change!

[@QarthCEO]

All he did was a 20 minute long "NOT ALL" meme. Yeah, no shit not all, next.

[@pRahvi0]

I also like the fact he did this video because it involves swords. :D

[@orksy2935]

I have a suspicion that Andrew Klavan's stance is influenced by the oversaturation of media representing small petite women overpowering big tough looking guys in single combat and in groups. And he'd doubling down despite contradictory statements to power through the twitter harassment mob. Be good to see how (if) he responds to Shad or if they can have a candid conversation.

[@testing2741]

@@QarthCEO ding ding ding we have a winner in the best summatin of this video

[@mythicdawnist]

"How many women have you seen get into a fight vs. Men?" Honestly, about the same if not more. Probably not valid though cause I grew up in Florida

[@w4ntedm4n92]

At least in clubs i worked at, women will flat out pick a fight with a guy and then taunt them with "what are you gonna do hit me bitch?"

[@rtg5881]

@@w4ntedm4n92 Well then, they are lucky that ive never been to those clubs. Cause i would deliver them a fistful of defense of others. After asking them to stop and await police, of course, im not going to potentialy kill someone without a warning. But if they continue after that, ill most certainly aim to deck them as quick as possible.

[@w4ntedm4n92]

@@rtg5881 Lol no you wouldn't

[@rtg5881]

@@w4ntedm4n92 Will let you know if i ever plan to visit any clubs at all, deal? Its unlikely that i will, but you know, just in case.

[@rtg5881]

​@@w4ntedm4n92 But yeah. i would and most likely i will come across a chick beating her spouse at some point. If i think of you, ill let you know if i have to and if so if she wakes up. Plus video.

[@fightingprawn8918]

Andrew: "women cannot use swords" Shad:"Bring me my Long Man Pants!"

[@calemr]

Long man? Only 20 minutes. Hah!

[@willparry530]

@Pan M It's not the ones in books that Andrew is contesting, not modern methods of fighting. It's the realism of more medieval methods of fighting--with Shad demonstrating it *is* realistically possible.

[@fightingprawn8918]

@@calemr 20 minutes to talk about two 30 second quotes seems sufficiently long man to me.

[@willparry530]

@@fightingprawn8918 Lol, very true

[@willparry530]

@Sean M Yes, but some fantasy specifically emphasizes how some individuals are normal, not everyone having magic or other special powers. The difference here is that even the statement that Shad is rebutting, had an unrealistic expectation of *reality.*

[@dannik9932]

Unfortunately, Shad, I have to disagree with your arguments. You are arguing from the perspective of sport, whereas Klavan is making an argument for war. These are very different situations. While a female may be able to score hits on a male target at slightly decreased rate on average, her capacity to severely wound or incapacitate is far lessened. Fights to the death usually require multiple successful strikes (especially when armor is involved) to incapacitate the aggressor. Strength and durability (bone density/muscle density) are far more important in real combat versus sport combat. A male is far more likely to survive/shrug off a blow to his helmet from a female strike with a hammer than a female is to from a male strike. While the helmet may be the same, the durability of the creature inside it is not. Note, I do agree that the presence of weapons does lessen the physical differences between the sexes, but not nearly enough in terms of martial combat. A woman would need to have exceptional skill over the male counterpart in order to overcome the physical disadvantage. This is not impossible, just highly improbable.

[@tylerdordon99]

You have to also add the fact that they are fighting soldiers who have killed people before! That is a huge advantage even against a physically capable civillian.

[@richardgutermuth2043]

Then what about female samurai who not only survived war but excelled at it? There is historical evidence of them

[@dannik9932]

@@richardgutermuth2043 Read my last paragraph again.

[@mhead81]

but if woman use pan U die in one strike

[@R3IsL]

Anyone even know what happens to someone's head if it gets hit by a hammer with a helmet on because i dont so it just sounds like a messy example to use to me.... if it's heavy enough, literally just letting gravity do everything would probably already be enough to stun a guy, even if it doesn't have the weight to do that I still don't think it would require much force to stun someone...

[@jadespades4237]

Durring the Edo period of Japan, the wives of Samurai who had castles, so the wealthiest ones, WERE trained in armed combat and it was their job to defend the castle and their family if the lord was away or even join him in battle in dire circumstances. So, yeah, there are moments like that that prove him wrong.

[@kitofwhales4440]

But like that's home turf and not a horde of people coming at you

[@mikejohn29mj]

@@kitofwhales4440 That's why they set traps for intruders.

[@krvproductions6642]

@@kitofwhales4440 whether or not it was a siege or an open battlefield, training is training. On an open battlefield she probably wouldn't take much part in the fighting, that being said in case she needed to be relied upon she was trained for it. Anyone with a sharp weapon is dangerous, someone who has been trained to use that sharp weapon is even more dangerous. I doubt she was as strong as her husband or other men, but you don't go to the gym to get better at sword fighting. And 'a horde of people' coming at her is also charging at another 'horde of people'. she wouldn't fight alone.

[@johnweatherman5685]

They also used the naginata, not the katana. If things got that close it was mostly trying to take your enemy with you, not actually any real hope of winning.

[@timothypeterson4781]

I've seen conflicting reports on that. That they were definitely expected to defend the home etc... But that they were trained seemed to be more spotty historically.

[@MediocreHexPeddler]

"...five- to ten-pound sword..." I'm sorry, what?

[@s8theninjawarrior916]

Its like hearing my friends say a sword weighs around 30 pounds... I was depressed by how stupid they were to assume something like that without even knowing what they were talking about...

[@musicandalltheprettybits2670]

Where did he get that information, what sword is 10 friggin pounds?

[@s8theninjawarrior916]

@@musicandalltheprettybits2670 he didn't get that information anywhere, he assumed and was just wrong

[@TheLiamis]

Noone told him the beserk sword isn't real.

[@_John_Smith_]

@@musicandalltheprettybits2670 anime swords

[@TheRealGuywithoutaMustache]

I don’t mean to get political, but I’m only here to watch this and drink my tea.

[@AJZulu]

Sip*

[@Vulcano7965]

I don't even know why this is political. You can aknowledge reality or deny it. And the daily wire has a tendency to deny reality more than it should ^^

[@soygandalf3968]

I'm smoking a join... wich is the spanish comparison of your drinking tea.

[@jebalitabb8228]

Vulcano Damn you beat me to it, Ben “Only debates college kids” Shapiro’s platform isn’t necessarily the pinnacle of accuracy. Rap isn’t music, Porn is evil, now this, they got all the hot takes over there.

[@Sora-el-manco]

Tea is offensive to me, delete this you son of a bitch

[@SolDeSaBelle]

12:34 I understand the point being made, but as a matter of out-of-context math, wouldn't a force multiplier be the opposite of an equalizer? What I mean is this: if the difference in strength is represented as "Men have an average strength of 6, while women have an average strength of 4", then a weapon, let's say a sword that would (let's say) *TRIPLE* their respective strength would then *also triple the gap between them,* from _6 - 4 = 2_ to _18 - 12 = 6_ Am I wrong? Is "strength multiplier" just an inadequate expression here? Because the argument really seemed to rest on it somehow...

[@justincase9650]

Strength multiplier is not the best term, a sword is more of a Strength Enchanter. Picture it like adding a number more so then multiplying it. Man- 6 strength Woman- 4 strength Sword- 50 strength Armed man-56 strength Armed woman-54 strength It is a multiplier when referring to more blunt weapons (like brass knuckles) tho. And modern guns fully equalize the odds.

[@SolDeSaBelle]

@@justincase9650 Now that does indeed reduce the gap between them, when compared to each other. Or, to put it another way, 54/56 is indeed closer to 1 than 4/6 is. Fair play for managing to satisfactorily find a way to salvage the metaphor for both the literary and the mathematical parts of my brain. I demand Shad issue an erratum on this matter! This is indeed of the utmost, grave importance! (well... it is for me - and will remain so... probably... for another half hour? If that?)

[@duckshallrule6937]

Imagine male humans have 10 hp and deal 4 base damage, and female humans have 8 hp and 2 base damage. Imagine that a sword gives a x5 damage multiplier. Men are *technically* superior, but the force multiplier effectively equalizes the two.

[@ghostwizard7597]

"Every single woman who did that would be killed in two seconds" Joan D'arc: ... It has passed 3 days and i'm still not dead Edit: How tf do y'all miss the Read More button every. single. time????? . . . . . she did die in the fire, but that's not the point

[@AngelLustZombie]

ah but you see, she died in a fire not in a swordfight!

[@ghostwizard7597]

@@AngelLustZombie poor witchtress

[@artorhen]

Men were sore losers

[@metaxu3305]

I get your point, but Jeanne d'Arc have never killed anyone. Confirmed by French primary sources and the documents from her trial.

[@ghostwizard7597]

@@metaxu3305 Oh really? Wow, that's surprising! Being her and all, i thought she had killed quite a few people

[@LamantinoElettronico]

"I use metric" How can one like twice?

[@jeffjefforson5929]

Mayor League Gamers Pay a few Russian Botters and you can like thousands of times :)

[@willparry530]

lol, well, Shad *is* Australian so Metric is default for them.

[@Imurai]

@@willparry530 and yet they drive on the left :(

[@willparry530]

@@Imurai Don't *most* countries with paved roads drive on the left?

[@mdeyna7173]

@@willparry530 no definetly not

[@Kadalius]

I know I'm a little late to the party here. I'm a US army veteran, I have fought in armed combat with fire arms and trained extensively in unarmed combat. As for large scale combat either with firearms, unarmed or with bladed, two things 1. Pure dumb luck. Cant understate it. Sometimes your ina better position sometimes your not. That's of your not shot with a bullet or arrow before you even get to engage the enemy. 2. Hesitation, so many people hesitate. Trained people mind you. Its just different when your life is on the line. Some people think clearly others dont.

[@averongodoffire8098]

These two items are big when it comes to combat and also it depends how people fight some will be caught off guard others ignore it and just adapt better Also Did they wake up on the wrong side of the bed that morning are they feeling off One of the better analysis that I’ve seen is deadliest warrior where they often look at armour and arms alone especially when simply using hypothetical soldiers and I think it often believe those are the best way to judge a fight or combat situation I may be wrong or I may have missed something I’d like to hear what you have to say

[@huyvuminh1048]

hi! what is your opinion in the man vs woman in comba? I think in the modern day a gap between an average men vs an average woman are significantly lower. I would love to hear your input

[@PSDuck216]

A DI during the Vietnam War said: If you die, it is because you made a mistake. Ninety-nine percent of all combat deaths are because of mistakes. One percent: your luck just ran out. It may be DI talk to recruits to make them pay attention, but it makes a lot of sense.

[@dogmaticpyrrhonist543]

Item one is so fucking important, and averages out over large numbers,but can still be weird.

[@Gaming4Justice]

@@huyvuminh1048 I haven't taken part in a real combat, but I've done the conscription training in Estonia. There is very little in difference between men and women in terms of being an effective fighting force because there literally is no matter in terms of strength. Even in terms where you had to walk like 40km with a very heavy travelling bag, women, if they're fit, don't fall behind on men. The difference would maybe be starting with heavier weapons and sprinting speed across the battlefield. I was a heavy machine gunner and I doubt that women would have been assigned to carry a 100+ kilogram weapon box to carry around. That I can assume from the different standard of required physical fitness like the NATO test that gives women more points for less push-ups, sit-ups and running. They also perform less repetitions in push-ups, but not in sit-ups or running. They were faster than some men in long distance running. But here I am talking about conscripts for 11 months not professional soldiers for years. Some weren't as fit and didn't have the best health. I for one being flat-footed couldn't run faster than 20 minutes for 3,2km. The women who weren't flat footed ran it about 13-14 minutes, around that.

[@lukaslambs5780]

Thanks for being so measured and constructive and respectful. We need more of this!

[@reflector36]

1:59 "I dont think any reasonable person is denying that reality" When referencing that statistically speaking, men on average are stronger than women. The world needs more reasonable people.

[@SoI_Badguy]

@@allan7380 I think you missed a "no" there before difference

[@PoliteMetalHeadDude]

"How would you beat him?" "With a stick while he slept. But on a horse...that MAN is unbeatable."

[@homidahroun8486]

Good movie.

[@sol-ym5he]

Great movie

[@Nobody-lm5gh]

Is that from "A Knight's Tale"?

[@osiris8680]

Nobody yep

[@Nobody-lm5gh]

Been a while since I watched it. I should definitely revisit.

[@Aravaganthus]

"If you have most of the men alive, that tribe is going to be destroyed in a generation" *Laughs in Latin, then invades the Sabines*

[@l.o.b.2433]

*Laughs in beige*

[@SafetyBriefer]

Well done.

[@DarkNaifu]

Invade who. If the men were that capable, wouldn't they have been the ones fighting in the first place?

[@X-Vidar]

@@DarkNaifu Well, in the Romans case the women weren't wiped out, they were never there. The city was just founded and they were pretty much all men. Sending your women to war in an ancient society is still a terrible idea, it's just that if you lose them for whetever reason there's ways to fix the issue (I.E. kidnapping).

[@emsnewssupkis6453]

@bokudensuduharagmail Spartan women could fight but didn't, they stayed home to have...babies. And this is why men fight and women don't. We can defeat men in the bed, easily. If a man is stupid and messes up the woman, they have no children and thus, end existing. So the key is to have good women who have children who can carry on.

[@rustydave8558]

What he was talking about is these movies like snow white and robbin hood that get remakes and they turn the princess or heroine into some skilled swordsman with seemingly no training.

[@vojtechnosek9560]

Well, one of the best sword fighter I've met was a woman. She had no chance to win, if she got too close, but she trained for that from the start. Her lighter weight and frame gave her huge disadvantage in wrestling, yet quite big advantage on foot. All shee needed to do was know her limits.

[@vojtechnosek9560]

@Corvo@AZ Do we know each other? If so, you maybe met her too. If not, how do you know about my experience with sword fighting?

[@brendano2322]

I feel like it is pretty safe to say one of the aspects that separates the great fighters from the rest is the fact that great fighters know their limits and constantly work to mitigate the impact those limits can have as much as possible. It's hard to survive and fight another day when you can't acknowledge what could lead to your death, so to speak.

[@holdencross5904]

Exactly. She’s using her strengths to her advantage and understands her weaknesses.

[@pepethelastsamurai3480]

@@holdencross5904 females also generally tend to have better balance than males.

[@peetky8645]

what kind of sword fighting. in a medieval melee battle, you dont have room to maneuver and retreat. guy would just get inside a woman's reach, knock her down and kill her. one on one in a solo-fight with a man a more skilled female might prevail, but i wouldn't bet on it if the guy has a modicum of skill and is allowed tackle tackle the female.

[@clanpsi]

No they can't! Everyone knows women don't have opposable thumbs.

[@erikkaareson6493]

Made my day.😂😂😂🤣🤣🤣👌

[@orioleaszme3415]

LOL

[@dgam4211]

too good

[@Jarl3169]

Lol wth😂

[@jackodum5410]

I've seen it happen in a HEMA group multiple times, so yes. an experienced woman can defeat an experienced man in a sword fight.

[@tropeadope4532]

It's all about strategy!

[@NWolfsson]

A really well worded example taking the point of dissension (Queen Calanthe) into account. You, sir, get my like!

[@landlockedcroat1554]

you die too fast in HEMA

[@tropeadope4532]

@@kaozium7878 Outsmarting your opponent. Taking advantage of weak points and openings. That sort of stuff.

[@tropeadope4532]

@@kaozium7878 A.) Because if anyone, man or woman, swings a sword wildly with all their strength they're easy to predict and thus defeat. B.) The average strength of a woman tends to be less than a man's. Like with fighting anyone stronger than you you want to fight smarter not harder. C.) The faster you can defeat a foe the better, however, that speed is most useful in executing a plan based on what is known about how the opponent fights, their weapon, and how many attacks would be most effective to win. This requires strategy. There are definitely women who could beat a man in sheer physical strength in a fight, but not every woman is like that. The easiest way (in my opinion) to compensate for lacking strength in a fight is strategy and execution.

[@auramaster13]

I am a large Andrew Klavan show fan and I thought this was a wonderful rebuttal, good and thoughtful commentary. Excellently done.

[@ElSeto93]

"I use metric, I am not a savage." Real talk.

[@DakumunDahBat]

As someone who is an American and uses the Imperial System.....I totally agree with ya XD

[@spartstar45]

W meter, centimeter and kilometers \[T]/

[@scottydu81]

I fully support the United States’s sovereign right to use our own standards and measurements. Get figged.

[@g.poupin1700]

@@scottydu81 Guess what ? No one care

[@thestoopidiot870]

@@scottydu81 I have the right to smack myself in the face with a hammer. You have to respect my right to do so, not my idiotic decision to do do.

[@belindacratchit]

Hey, great video! As a female swordfighter, I partially agree with Andrew. I used to do medieval sword fighting and I did, indeed, get my ass kicked many times by bigger, stronger men. BUT this nice gentleman needs to stop being so MEDIEVAL in his head! Indeed, as soon as I moved to rapier / rapier and dagger, and even more with the 18th century dueling sword, things changed! With lighter, thinner weapons, smaller, faster and more flexibility opponents get a major advantage. If you look at, for example, the techniques of Italian Master Ridolfo Capo Ferro (17th century), many attacks are not based on brute force, but skill and, even more important, FLEXIBILITY. With an 18th century dueling sword in hand, I loved to fight tall, strong men with, most of the time, a lot of strength and zero flexibility. Almost too easy 😊 - and for the extra advantage, be sure to wear a dress as a woman, so that your opponent won’t see your legwork coming! So well…let’s say that a win depends both on the type of sword and on the woman wielding it ^^.

[@ismata3274]

and if your life depended on it, you could have used a poisoned tip either on the sword or the dagger. why not?

[@DJB3lfry]

Just goes to show that strength is not the defining factor of a successful warrior, it's just complementary to the actual important factors: poise, flexibility, critical thinking, and reach, which is one of the biggest deciders. Someone with a rapier, spear, or other long thrusting weapon will be able to keep any opponent at a distance, which gives them more time to react and a better window of defense.

[@nemo9864]

"It depends on the women" is the most important part. Also the dress.

[@lieutenantkettch]

You use Capo Ferro a lot then? But what if your opponent counters with Thibault? 😉

[@DeeFig66]

You are so badass.

[@amanibob1416]

"What about stick-like weapons?" Bilbo Skywalker

[@DLF-xq9lq]

Is everyone forgetting that the Witcher is a fantasy, not reality? Fantasy sometimes have shorter men fighting overpowered villains that they couldn't defeat in real life. No one gets upset because it's freaking fantasy.

[@llamallama1509]

"How many women have you seen getting into fist fights vs men?" you'd be surprised.

[@PanthereaLeonis]

Men fight to show off. Women fight to utterly destroy. Can be over in seconds. With the opposing party having a stiletto embedded in their eye socket.

[@nemo9864]

@@PanthereaLeonis Women usually hit upwards directly into the jaw using an open palm, which is biomechanically the best place to hit. Most men aren't expecting to be hit either and aren't blocking, leading them to be knocked out.

[@QueenCloveroftheice]

I went to a public school here in America. Girls got into fights 5x more often than boys did. And they fight dirty... Way more injuries in a girl-on-girl fight

[@HillsAliveYT]

@@PanthereaLeonis The worst fights I've ever seen in real life have all been between women specifically because of this.

[@astamasnow]

I can count more women fighting than men, and I myself almost started several

[@Ben10man2]

I really like how calm, collected and respectful you stayed in this video. Fantastic work

[@FeatsDaily]

Spencer Ricker I was thinking the exact same. GG Shad.

[@willparry530]

Agreed.

[@hansihobr]

And I really like how you comment it without "quoting" or using "...Name:..." like everyone else :)

[@2287nemo]

Have to agree. It shouldn't have to be said... but in the age of internet shouting matches and verbal warfare it is incredibly nice to see a respectful, level headed and objective response to a controversy. My faith in humanity lives another day, it seems.

[@Ben10man2]

@@2287nemo Unless it's star wars, I always get greeted with friendly Shad and that definitely shows hope

[@jeremykiahsobyk102]

Love how you can address (and correct) this situation without getting personal, spiteful, or over-the-top with your rhetoric. I agree with your assessment (having trained many women in grappling and marital arts), but I'm sincerely impressed by the way you kept your discussion civilized.

[@HasselHoffman-im5he]

One thing to take into account in this scenario would be speed. There’s a line from the 2002 film “The Count of Monte Cristo” where Richard Harris’ character makes the comment that the stronger swordsman does not necessarily win”. In a sword fight being faster can give you a significant advantage over a stronger opponent.

[@garbajful]

True, and men are faster as well. Lol

[@HasselHoffman-im5he]

@@garbajful not in every situation. I mean if a woman is a speed oriented fencer while the man is a strength oriented fencer, the woman would win in that instance

[@traviscue2099]

People also take out the biggest one in wars, exaustion.. The biggest man on the field can be taken down by the smallest man if the big guy has been swinging his sword for the past hour.. And if that's the case, a women fresh into battle could very easily take down a wounded or tired man.. Like the men in wars were all in poverty and not exactly the healthiest of men.. And average men vs average women, it can come down to skill.. especially once a weapon is involved.. While a lot of men would win, its not all.

[@garbajful]

What's the point in everyone pointing out the rare exceptions? Bottom line is the overwhelming majority of women can't go toe to toe with men. There's always aberrations, but so what...

[@garbajful]

@@HasselHoffman-im5he There's always exceptions. I'm talking about the rule.

[@RokuroCarisu]

Andrew Klavan seems to be under the impression that every sword was a zweihander.

[@wilezekiel5773]

And even zweihanders aren't THAT heavy, and if a sword is balanced, weight doesn't matter quite as much

[@Eay89]

Everyone knows that real swords all resemble that sword cloud uses in final fantasy

[@maltehoffmann2914]

@@Eay89 no, final Fantasy made them to small

[@Eay89]

@@maltehoffmann2914 you're right what was I thinking

[@gauloab4815]

and a big one at that!

[@Sethrain]

"I use metric, you know. I'm not a savage." Best quote of the new decade.

[@BathoryVampyr]

*screams in savage*

[@dashy9482]

I AM A SAVAGE!!! INCHES! FEET! RAAAAA!

[@mattclifford5942]

Yet there is no metric unit (base 10) for time rather the one that everyone uses

[@bighands69]

Metric is an inferior system.

[@ckl9390]

​@@mattclifford5942 There is a metric time system, and the French did try to introduce it, but it failed because the Mesopotamian (I think, could have been Sumerian) time system that we use has become so ingrained that it is almost an instinct. Everyone disagreed on how much a pound weighed or how long a foot was (or how many inches were in a foot), but 60 seconds per minute, 60 minutes per hour, 12 hours per "day" and another 12 per "night" was essentially all that anybody in Europe, the Mediterranean, and Arabia could agree on. Measured time, particularly using that system, has been around at least as long as agriculture. Not even the French could overcome a measurement scale that has been used to long that it is essentially an instinct. *I have no idea what Asian measured time scales look like. It could provide an interesting naturally developed contrast to the "Western" measured time scale. Interesting information: I read somewhere that a "jiffy" is a real measurement of time, specifically 1/60th of a second.

[@Top10AnimeBetrayals]

"Swinging this 5-10 LBS sword" At this point, his credibility went down to 0, unless she's wielding maybe a claymore. In that case, it would be closer to 5 LBS. Swords aren't heavy because of their weight alone. They're heavy because of how far they reach beyond the axes (shoulders, elbows, wrists)

[@killian9314]

It's a principle of levers and balance, something is harder to move the more weight is shifter away from the point of force.

[@the13nthpartyboy]

axis*

[@Top10AnimeBetrayals]

@@the13nthpartyboy "Axes" is plural for "axis"

[@the13nthpartyboy]

@@Top10AnimeBetrayals You're correct. My bad.

[@danmorgan3685]

Klavan is extremely right wing he doesn't need to know what he's talking about. All that matters is does he get money from the rubes in his audience by reinforcing their prejudices.

[@jeice13]

Hema is not a good basis for dismissing the strength gap as it appears to be based on where you make contact not fighting to injure. This makes it more a contest of skill than lethality

[@seamonkey1236]

"2-3 pounds" *angrily checks Skyrim*

[@DaRkMaNxSaMa]

Lol, theres a mod that changes the weight of swords to the accurate weight.

[@insiainutorrt259]

There are only mods... no such thing as this skyrim you speak of...

[@logan4215]

Many swords weight at least 5 pounds including all claymores, bastard swords, William Wallace's sword was 6lbs. This is cherrypicking

[@SpectralKnight]

Well depends on the material. Swords were usually a steel alloy. Skyrim swords are made of fantasy material. Bones of a dragon or alloys made for demons would be heavier than steel :)

[@k-aw-teksleepysageuni8181]

​@@logan4215 YoU FkN LOUT, you just mentioned great swords, and hand and a half swords....Swords that were specifically made to be BIG and HEAVY...William Wallace's sword and great swords aren't even really meant for slashing. They cleave and stab, and are wielded more like an axe/spear combo than a traditional sword. Traditional swords, like arming swords, sabers, scimitars, cavalry sabers, and traditional knights longswords are all TOPS 4lbs. Most sit around 2 to 3 pounds. Swinging around anything heavier would make the blade unwieldy and slow to attack with...

[@theboyoofoly]

There was actually a major event in Ireland in the seventh century called the "synod of Tara" where the Irish nobility and clergy gathered and agreed to exempt women from warfare, they were expected to train with weapons, and to defend their homes in case of attack, and is supposed to have been a direct result of a war (largely spurred on by Saint Columba) where a large number of Irish women had died in battle, significantly impacting both population and daily life

[@abhainnxv]

Bloody Ireland where everyone has to be a badass..

[@vinchinzo594]

Minor correction; That was the Synod of Birr.

[@kylestephens4133]

Reminds me of the time a unit of Romans obliterated a group of Gothic youths. Only after the battle were they surprised to find they were women. I am sure the ladies stood their ground bravely, but they died quickly.

[@kylestephens4133]

@Elizabeth Bennett Would never disagree with you there

[@kylestephens4133]

@Melvin Deeply Nice anecdote, but men usually hold back against women unless their lives are at stake. Women initiate 50% of all domestic violence but they make up over 80% of the hospitalizations. Nothing against your aunty, but reality is what it is.

[@puarchud]

MauLer says to review the sword macmuffin in Rise of Skywalker

[@micfail2]

He also wants Shad to review the terrible lightsaber fight on the ruins of the Death Star. I also very much want to see both of those reviews.

[@JealotGaming]

Ah, Mr. Objective himself, eh? I'm sure he's 100% non biased about it.

[@tiagodarkpeasant]

that is the shield of star wars, nobody belive rey can win because she is a newbie, but they use sexism as a shield

[@jaxonflex5680]

I actually follow both these channels so it's funny to see unrelated channels intersect. I did two semesters of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in college a few years ago and a girl in my class went to a family reunion and wrestled with her cousins in a completion - including male cousins. None of them had any training in any type of martial art and she kept beating them even though she like a few weeks of training. She was small and couldnt have weighed more than 120. That being said, she couldn't beat any of the males in our class because they also had the same amount of training. This happens on the time in Jiu Jitsu where a purple belt with easily man handle a blue belt even when the blue belt is 50+ pouns bigger due to far more training. So if skill is equal then the winner probably goes to the stronger opponent. Otherwise skill can actually level the playing field pretty quick.

[@jaxonflex5680]

Forgive my grammar

[@mythguard6865]

I’m glad we’re finally getting a much calmer response to this.

[@SirSpence99]

Which is exactly why I'm not unsubbing from Shad for this vid when I did for two other channels that covered the exact same topic. It didn't help that one of them had two videos in the last 3 months that I cared to watch, and one of those directed me to the other channel. So they were already on the chopping block.

[@ryanweible9090]

and calmness is kind of the thing, had he phrased things rationally, then its unlikely he would have gotten the response he got, but he went way over the top and chose wording that just was begging for a fight. I would know this And i am far from a "Scribe" as he claims to be. I do feel you do have to wonder why he didn't think of his word choice to be more rational, rather than going on effectively a rant. You generally know when you are initiating a conversation, and when you are initiating a fight, and his phrasing...its hard to believe that his words were chosen in such a way with the intention of just expressing a rational opinion. a few goofs are excusable, getting wrong numbers mid conversation, I have done that in even more embarrassing ways, but his whole tone and word choice, It is very hard to believe that he was not intentionally looking for a fight.

[@mythguard6865]

Ryan Weible I’m assuming the He is Mr. Klavan?

[@WritingFighter]

_"... swinging around a 5-10 lb sword again and again..."_ Oh boy, here we go again. The notion that swords are tiresomely heavy and require great strength to use to swing, and that sword fighting involves battering, bashing, clashing, strength-pitted binds.

[@flightlesschicken7769]

Could you imagine a 10lbs sword? That thing wouldn't be s sword. Maces didn't weight that much

[@jackisilluminati9142]

@@flightlesschicken7769 a thicc chonker of a sword

[@thisguy7449]

But you seem to forget the weight of armor

[@flightlesschicken7769]

@@thisguy7449 It does not feel as heavy as you would think. Because the weight is equally distributed

[@thisguy7449]

Also the average man in medieval times would weigh around 70 kg and average height was 160cm something. Which obviously would make things heavier. Women ofcourse would be even shorter.

[@maximaldinotrap]

Short answer: Yes Long answer: Yes but it also depends on the level of skill and experience.

[@aelexlegrand4642]

It always depends on the level of skill and experience but one's physic still is very important and will make up for a lack of both.

[@1810jeff]

Yes but when skills are around the same the man will usually come out the winner since men have stronger muscle fibers, more stamina and can just tank more trauma than a woman can, and that's not even mentioning how men have a system in their bodies how when in danger men get hyper focused and it affects our reflexes but this system is almost absent in women because this system relies on testosterone and women only produce a small amount of testosterone in their pituitary gland.

[@joelajith8857]

1810 Jeff uhhhh dude that’s universal to all humans. We all have flight or fight systems thats dependent on Adrenaline, also known as epinephrine, not testosterone lmfao. Men are stronger, but I’m sure a man will find it as difficult to recover from a sword blow with or without armor as a woman would find it difficult. Women might lose a majority of the time, but really depends on the warrior.

[@jays.6843]

@@1810jeff Bruh...I don't think you're very good at biology.

[@joelajith8857]

samuria 86 Dude less testosterone does not make them get panic attacks more often than men that’s just simply not true. Also, just because it’s from a woman does not mean the man will not get staggered. A sword multiplies force as Shad said. With this in mind, even weak people who use a sword can deal lethal force. So the force may not be as great as a mans, but the force is enough to cripple them. The way you talk makes it clear that you’ve never been in a fight before, because you’ve never been hit by a woman worth her salt.

[@JtWYeah]

On the question of why didn't women fight in many wars (you sort of mentioned this) it was more of 'women need to protect our children' than 'women can't fight'. There are many examples in wars where the country was in the risk of total destruction that they would use women for war. You got it so correct in describing basic biology and history. I can't explain how much of a relief it is to hear someone speak these basic truths of history and society. So much of it can be chalked up to biological factors. First video I watched from you but very very well done.

[@DenerWitt]

did those women win the war tho

[@spacepiratee215]

There's also the social standards of the time, women barely were able to join the us military in 1948 (legally at least)

[@derdingsreturnsnochmal5177]

Before watching: Short answer: yes Long answer: Nothing that doesn't contradict the laws of physics is impossible.

[@TurlessTiger]

It's not like Klavan said there were no exceptions. Just the opposite in fact.

[@khhnator]

@DOAMA the big problem is... which men and which women are you talking about? because the psychical differences between the strongest and the weakest members of the the same gender are much larger than the differences between the averages of man and women. if a man fights a women of the same strength and skill... why should she be at disadvantage? you just comparing individuals at this points, not genders

[@nocturnal101ravenous6]

Unstoppable spear versus unbreakable/unmovable shield. Idiom turned Physics both a paradox that would end reality as we know it.

[@nocturnal101ravenous6]

@DOAMA Are you trying to Gamify this? The real world doesn't work that way, If you have a Female and Male masters equal in skill, than it should never be 100% male to 0%female win ratio as they should in all technicality have an equal chance at winning a match, as both should competently know and understand how to properly fight and play ones advantage to an opponent disadvantage. Fighting involves more than just raw strength that is the males advantage, Stamina and Speed are NOT on a males side as an advantage, in fact that is a paradox all unto itself, a lot of Male warriors in ancient to Med. times died more to exhaustion and lack of water on the battlefield, The more muscle mass the more energy you burn depleting your stamina and making you slower, and there are many, many, female warriors in history that actually owned on the battlefield frankly because they apparently weren't stupid, I mean some died absolutely horrible deaths but how many warriors on a battlefield lived to see old age? You kind of accept the reality that you will die in a horrible way.

[@Iggy1eco]

Shad likes danger by stepping in such a minefield. But he's cleary not a Savage. *Subscribed*

[@MrBEarlE]

"have you ever killed a man with your sword?" "I have found my banner to be 100 times more effective."

[@WESTERNOGRE]

Ye fight with a spear wimpy lad?

[@OferRaid]

@@WESTERNOGRE Banner means a group (dunno how big) of soldiers/knights). So, others fighting for you.

[@Lobster_Lars]

Is that a quote from something? I sounds familiar

[@Sebomai-b8i]

which is why a sufficiently cunning and martially skilled man can depose a female monarch with ease.

[@GrokNZ]

Isn't that a quote from Fate/Apocrypha? "I have found my banner to be 100 times more effective" totally sounds like something Joan of Arc says, she isn't denying she has killed with the sword or that she knows how to use it, she implies her banner accomplishes more.