Clips from Richard Marsden's Polish Saber seminar, 19 July 2015

[@XarkoCZ]

This guy is legit. Informative and entertaining. Good teacher.

[@Skallagrim]

Xarko Yes, absolutely..

[@TravelingTyrant]

Xarko Thanks! Don't tell anyone but, I'm a teacher by profession, so I've had over a decade of experience doing that every day all day!

[@prokopdvere2438]

Xarko But......, but its a trap!!!

[@scubbasan]

Nice, I'd like to see more on Saber fencing. After all, it's an art that lived up to the 20th century. Even some shorter types like the cutlass, very popular in sea battles

[@TravelingTyrant]

There are lots of treatises on various saber fencing, and it all has a different 'flavor' to it. Cutlass, for example, is usually found in military drill books- so not much on details. However, DA Kinsely's book, Blades of the British Empire has tons of first hand accounts of such things. Worth a read if you can find it.

[@CrazyChemistPL]

Techniques he presented look so elegant, graceful and fluid. I may be biased because I'm Pole, but I think the overall aesthetics of this particular sword and fighting style can be universally appreciated.

[@TravelingTyrant]

CrazyChemistPL I made this book partially to bring YOUR culture and ideas and history to an English speaking audience. I have much respect for your country and its history.

[@CrazyChemistPL]

Richard Marsden I must say, I never expected reply from the author himself. I feel... well, I think "honored" is, bluntly, a little too big of a word in this situation, but let's just say it was very nice to read your reply.

[@TravelingTyrant]

Skallgrim's fans deserve attention! If you're in Poland look up Silk Fencing, find Yurek, tell him Richard sent you.

[@CrazyChemistPL]

Richard Marsden Thank you very much for the information. However, right now my interest, for various reasons I don't want to bore you with, has to be limited to theoritical, technical and historic aspect, not the actual practice, but who knows what future will bring. Also, I'm fairly new fan to be honest. Came pretty much by accident, random video suggested by youtube, stayed because I enjoyed overall content and the work Skall does to debunk some long lasting myths.

[@dercssfreak2]

Richard Marsden youre the instructor ? Youre an awesome guy and I wish we had something like this near me in germany ! Keep your good work up !

[@gotharion]

It's really amazing that the most traditional Polish fighting style with the most traditional Polish weapon has enthusiasts over on your side of the globe. As a Pole I feel really happy and proud of that fact. Btw. If you are interested in some more in depth, practical and historical info about the Polish Szabla, (as well as many other types of sabers, swords and martial arts in general) look up some books by Wojciech Zabłocki. (the english wikipedia page is quite limited, but I'm sure you can find more detailed info about him and his achievements and books). Cheers from Poland, and keep up the great work.

[@solgam]

6:35 Poles called it "Cięcie Eunusze (Eunuch Cut)" :D

[@sarahwaldock3196]

Many thanks, hehe for obvious reasons lol

[@Hades8103]

Leaves nothing to the imagination. Love it

[@JustGrowingUp84]

I liked the captions, they were helpful and funny.

[@JustGrowingUp84]

P.S. and the admiral Ackbar insertion was a very nice touch!

[@mediocredude2264]

Zombigotron or not, it may have been a tarp

[@JustGrowingUp84]

Awesome Dude "Don't mind me, I'm just a random fish, here for the lols."

[@MyMagicCookie6]

Zombigotron it made it worth watching twice

[@gwen8841]

The deeper you go, the better

[@mattmanbrownbro]

I really liked the way he was talking on this one. Much more down to earth and relaxed. Thanks for sharing Skall! :)

[@declanmcgillivray1959]

+John Sia I really like the way you commented on this comment. Much more down to earth and chill. Thanks for commenting John:)

[@Merlinthehappypig]

John Sia i really like the way you commented on this video. Very down to earth and chill. Thanks for commenting John :)

[@Merlinthehappypig]

Badger With A Troubled Past And Nothing To Lose i really like the way you commented on this video. Very down to earth and chill. Thanks for commenting Badger :)

[@mattmanbrownbro]

What the hell is going on? Lmao!

[@bbdawise]

I really like the way my boot fits in all of your asses. Very down to earth and chill. Thanks for the lunch money....NERDS! *runs away*

[@dragos7puri]

No matter the domain or field, I find people who know their stuff incredibly engaging.

[@bazookaace]

I'm a self taught HEMA practitioner and what makes me happy with watching these is seeing that in places where Ive put my own spin on things, in other words things I was too lazy to look up or fact check, I ended up having built up a technique backed style. I.e. foot placement and strike body alignment. I guess it just shows what's comfortable is usually (note I said usually) what will work best because you can do it the easiest and typically the quickest.

[@hitrapperandartistdababy]

What an elegant style of fighting, its like a dance when done quick. I love Polish saber fencing:D And a big applause for Richard Marsden, Looks like a great teacher who really has a way of innovating people, its hard not too listen to him especially because of the humor he brings along:)

[@SuperMoviebuster]

Ive been looking for lectures/ seminars about Polish sabre fencing for quite some time now, thank you for uploading its a huge resource to have :)

[@TravelingTyrant]

SuperMoviebuster I have a book out that may really meet your needs. Check it out in the description. Sienawski does stuff as well, but not really geared towards English speakers.

[@andrewplck]

I've lost it at Admiral Akbar. Damn Skall, your little commentary have made my day! :)

[@bohun28]

Looks like it was a great seminar!! I am seriously tempted to put my life on pause for a year or two and go study Polish saber...

[@emuyogi]

These polish sabre tecnics are very special, it is amazing

[@gt4lex]

Lots of interesting stuff again, especially the techniques showcasing how to use that specific blade shape to your advantage. Thanks again Skall and Richard for all the nice footage.

[@TravelingTyrant]

GT-Alex Thank you for watching!

[@jarjars3261]

I was already subbed to this channel when this video came out years ago, yet only recently I have started my journey into the sabre (studying korean swordmanship for years before). This is such a great help. Thanks for keeping this up.

[@victoriansword]

That was really enjoyable. Well done to Richard Marsden. Thank you for sharing this, Skall!

[@HebaruSan]

Those who fixate on the beard, are just letting their guards down for when the mustache strikes.

[@sapienecks]

Love the caption because I am Deaf. Thanks a lot. Would be very nice if you do the same for others like you explained why viking swords were designed with pommel and crossguard that way.

[@loyalsausages]

Richard is a natural teacher! Very friendly and engaging.

[@EnhancedNightmare]

I find Polish Saber to be much more challenging than longsword. Though the satisfaction is bigger when it works out :)

[@Pamjamelia]

"Attacking the sword is risky" Yeah... kept making that mistake the first time I tried longsword sparring, which was only during my first class with the weapon. Still, this makes me want to learn more about Polish sabre now. Just a shame there aren't any clubs near me that teach it. Ah, well. This was informative and fun to watch. "It's a trap."

[@joshuabrown6256]

He's the type of guy i would want to have pizza with

[@TravelingTyrant]

Joshua Brown One pizza for you when you end up in Phoenix.

[@thedarwinist672]

Just make sure to order the pizza unsliced, so he can do it

[@TalionTheGraveWalker]

I bought a szabla and used all the moves he showed before watching him. Like it just came naturally. Good teacher.

[@hanshanszoon]

Good captions ;) For the Europeans, Jerzy Miklaszewski (from Poland) and Ties Kool will give a workshop on Polish saber at the International Lowlands HEMA Gathering in the Netherlands in september.

[@TravelingTyrant]

Hans Hanszoon Jerzy helped extensively with my book! Go see them!

[@SkinnyRiverArtist]

Shame I'm in the UK we only have clubs that do JUST longsword or JUST Epee or JUST sabre etc. So it's a little limited, also riding a motorcycle with a sword on my back isn't the most fun so I can't travel much. Richard seems like a great teacher, loving the socks.

[@NonApplicable1983]

Amazing video. It's so hard to find anything about Polish saber online. It's probably my favorite curved sword! :D

[@NecroTravia]

Greetings from Poland :) Really great seminar. Thanks!!

[@TravelingTyrant]

Necro Travia Thanks for watching. My efforts are to bring Polish culture to an English speaking world with my book and seminars. You guys are already well taken care of! Thanks for watching and much respect!

[@Artur_M.]

Richard Marsden You sir should be granted an indygenat! Too bad it's not a thing any more...

[@TravelingTyrant]

Thanks much!

[@samarkand1585]

It's nice that you subbed it, because I'm not a native english speaker, and as nice as this guy looked, I couldn't figure anything out of what he was saying before

[@ericjadaszewski6786]

Looks great Richard!!! We should organize a Polish saber fencing seminar!

[@spectorx13]

Not gonna lie, those instructors seem pretty cool and fun to be around. Certainly not boring and he does a good job at letting the students be active with him.

[@ChrOnos-tk8tv]

I suggest to make the seminar on The Hussaria - the most effective tactical formation ever.

[@MyPrideFlag]

it's not his speciality, he is clearly ficused on hences.

[@Vinnay94]

Thanks for the upload Skall and thank you Richard Marsden, that was very interesting.

[@KristoffDoe]

Good stuff! I would love to hear this guy's opinion on some of Polish movie depiction of sabre fighting e.g. "Fire in the steppe", "The deluge", "With fire and sword". (Bit of advice - it's not "Star-zewski" - "rz" is one sound, similar to how you pronounce "j" in French (e.g. "je" in "je ne sais pa"). "Stah-'je'-vski".))

[@runakovacs4759]

Damn, I never realized how similar chinese (wong long) saber/dao can be to european saber. it's awesome!

[@Altarahhn]

Nice! Very Informative, very fun! Glad you could be there, Skall!

[@folkmar00]

Some of tactics and moves with Polish saber you can find here on: sieniawskifencing.

[@gears7734]

awesome instructor very entertaining for viewers and informative for students.

[@jakubpocentek5324]

I know it's quite old video, but thanks for Polish accent, I enjoyed!

[@maldito_sudaka]

Amazing! Please, don't stop sending this kind of videos *-*

[@Vorpal_Wit]

Mr. Marsden seems like and excellent instructor. Thanks for sharing.

[@matwetton]

its amazing as an sports sabre fencer to see the classic origins of many of our cuts and parries. especially the open guard to head parry riposte to head or chest is actually one of my favourite attacks, the only difference is i cant grab an opponent.

[@nicolaistergaard9955]

Oooh I quite like seeing Richard talking. Have to find more videos...! :)

[@Jesses001]

Aww sabers. My favorite, especially since they still leave my other hand open for a pistol. This is the 21st century after all.

[@DMSBrian24]

Jesse Sisolack playing dirty :v

[@DMSBrian24]

(actually, Poles also used pistols in XVII century, just not in a duel ;p)

[@Jesses001]

BrianDMS If I want a fair fight, I will go to a boxing ring.

[@叩くと七色に光るゴキブリ]

とてもためになるレッスンだ！ 私には早口すぎて聞き取れないから字幕に感謝しています…

[@dercssfreak2]

Really Cool, I know here in germany by me was a lot about swordfighting,still where I love I dont have anything like that..I wish I could learn those stuff too !

[@SIRXNZ]

He doesn't everything with finesse...damn even when he's just standing there he looks badass

[@Arrowdodger]

This has to be a very fun way to learn

[@tgillies101]

Captions were great. loved this vid. Great attitude

[@sjoerddz]

love these kind of videos, very fun and informative!

[@williammcgregor7150]

Cool video Skall! Does anyone know how to get into polish saber in particular? I usually watch Skall for the German longsword but this looks really interesting.

[@TravelingTyrant]

william mcgregor In the description there is a link to my book which has history, sources, our interpretation and where to get gear.

[@Jameshawk105]

Hopefully your channels brings back awesome sword fighting into the real world.

[@Tyler_Lalonde-]

awesome video Skall! loved it. it looks a lot like fma. can't wait to try this out.

[@weleskosmaty3189]

Dużo naszych... :P Skall, i see that you have a lot of Polish fans and viewers. :D

[@reesfreeman]

6:13 This is a really neat technique for arm hunting. It illustrates the importance of a "false edge" on the back of the blade behind the point.

[@BigZ7337]

This looked like a great seminar, thanks for sharing. :)

[@SnorriSturllson]

6:38 Germans called it Hellish Polish Fourth

[@a661992]

Interesting to see how it translates to La Canne as well utilizing the back edge as one would use for a back cut. We see this as well in Bowie. Since Bowie knife fighting is modified Sabre

[@itinerantpoet1341]

Marsden makes a good point about "false openings", where an experienced opponent lets you think you've parried definitively. In real wudang, we're taught to "invite the opponent" with false openings, letting their blade get close to the body. In this manner, when countring (parrying) you take away their ability to strike while leaving them open for a counter strike. This is why it's so important to truly be able control the opponent's blade, but that takes "feeling" and a level of control most will never achieve because you have to train obsessively over a long period. Hacking and clashing and hoping for the best is only going to get you killed.

[@markoloponen2861]

yeah awesome video! more of these please! :) I think no one can become good sword fighter with just these videos but they sure give inspiration to join some sword fighting schools etc :D keep up the good work

[@viceroy2214]

Skallagrim could you do a video(unless you have already) on how practical the gauntlet blades from the Predator franchise would be. (Preferably the dual gauntlet blades as those seem more versatile).

[@Sicarius_Avindar]

I'm more a Pata fan myself, it was an actual version from Europe

[@username-kr2fz]

Sicarius001 Asian actually.

[@Sicarius_Avindar]

Nelson McGuigan Oh? I coulda sworn it was a euro weapon. Ah well, it's awesome nonetheless

[@meltedplasticarmyguy]

Every culture had their own take on various weapons. Pata's I do believe originated from India. The pata may have somehow found its way to Europe and their own style was developed. That being said there has to be a starting point for everything, but I fear that was lost to the ravages of time.

[@TheTrueReiniat]

Very tight space... Very informative video too, hes also chill so its even entertaining to watch.

[@TravelingTyrant]

Elias Reiniat Very tight! You can see me glance back at the mirror I was afraid to hit! Thanks for watching!

[@IIIRobIII]

Man, i could watch this for hours and i would love a movie with fighting like this shown realistically...

[@adamcichon6957]

Polish production "Born for the saber" is that kind of thing. It's being made by the people, who's daily job is to train and teach different styles of fencing, they also claim that they recreated Polish "cross cut" saber style fencing...

[@minimalshow242]

Both side sharp! I've been hunting these three words for months, commenting and asking questions unnecessarily :)

[@Kenicavus]

Dammit! His classes look fun. Too bad theres no HEMA club in my country T_T

[@TravelingTyrant]

Harvey Kent Which country?

[@Kenicavus]

Richard Marsden Malaysia

[@tgillies101]

start one. maybe near a US or British airforce/army base and advertise to white guys.

[@josephhunt1297]

+tgillies101 racist =P

[@CorvinTheSwasian]

same in hk. and i'm too young to start one

[@Zaros2400]

This was done on my birthday. Really cool!

[@alectaylor-poole9534]

Elliott Long Happy Birthday!

[@ookie4179]

fishing for birthday comments? lol Happy birthday :D

[@TravelingTyrant]

Elliott Long Happy B day!

[@Zaros2400]

Thanks guys! Finally 21 as of 19/7/2015. will I have hit the bottle, it's only in small amounts, and very spread out.

[@enricotonon5410]

Thanks for the integrated subtitles! This way you're sure you've understood everything. "It's a trap" :D

[@zaboobebop]

the technique where you block and grab the hand is also in most styles of kali. except in some techniques, they fully lock the opponents sword hand under their arm while they chop them with the sword hand.

[@feelz_4_dayz885]

one handed increased to 21

[@monthrax530]

I could listen to Richard all day. :D

[@storyspren]

Watching this for a D&D character in 2021, funny to be reminded where that dueling game Hellish Quart got its name :D

[@Sirgabriel97]

Hey Skall, it would be awesome if you made a video talking about dual wielding, if and how it would be practical/effective IRL compared to how it's portraid on movies and series. Great channel BTW :)

[@TravelingTyrant]

gabriel M I might be able to help. We do have accounts and SOME techniques for dual-wielding. farm8.staticflickr.com/7313/9754581413_ab08e9c171.jpg Agrippa www.enworld.org/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=66496&d=1422128619&thumb=1 Not sure 4.bp.blogspot.com/-DEpzco2RjYU/UZwntirqz3I/AAAAAAAAALU/2i7V6Qu3LMk/s320/di+Grassi+-+case+of+rapiers.jpg Digrassi Note in all how they keep them apart. Rapier and dagger was very common, but when most people say dual wielding they usually mean two swords of the same lengths. We do have examples and things to be aware of. They tangle up, so keeping them apart was the advice of some. Though if I call Gunderodt showed otherwise. My memory isn't serving me well. They aren't practical. Imagine walking around town with two. Most people didn't know how to do it. We have an example that Alfred Hutton cited of two men forced to duel with two, couldn't, switched to one, and were both exiled for their troubles. Hope this helps.

[@tablememecenter5794]

I wonder if on the cross cut, while you are inside after nocking the opponent's blade to the side, if instead of a full true edge cut you could throw a snap cut with a sharpened false edge like he mentioned prior.

[@MrChicken1138]

This gu...Man is truly awesome. I´ve learned couple of things myself.

[@ravoln2457]

very interesting. I've always liked sabers and seeing them used out of a sports environment has peeked my interest. I wonder if Turkish technique would be similar with scimitars or even the two handed version (I always forget the names of the sword).

[@TravelingTyrant]

Wrath Kim We don't know but are SUPER eager to find out. Some are studying it now, but so far all I've seen is Turkish saber and buckler/shield.

[@ravoln2457]

Richard Marsden Really? I'm surprised. You'd think there would be still a few teachers rolling about. No one been passing down the fighting style?

[@TravelingTyrant]

Not that we have found and I've contacts 'in country' as it were. Ramfzar is what I'd look into, but single-sword they did not have.

[@ravoln2457]

Richard Marsden Well that is a shame but I do hope that studies yield fruit. It would be a great shame if it was lost to us all together.

[@TravelingTyrant]

Good news is, people are trying to re-create it, just like I am and other HEMA guys. We hope it works out!

[@alurienaalurikins7926]

I find this very pleasant to watch as a Polish fellow reenactor. Generally I found no issues aside the little silly trivia I like to bring up during lessons that in Poland everything was considered honorable as long as it was one on one. So if you had a duel even between important aristocrats - spitting, kicking, throwing dirt or pulling a flintlock - all was considered ok and not dishonorable to pull off.

[@rileykuo3418]

Can you make a video on your thoughts on the game Chivalry medieval warfare?

[@owenslubo9243]

i love these new videos

[@CodenameMalleus]

I assume this was used in an environment/era where people didn't really wear heavy armors. Or are there techniques for sabres (or for sword made for cutting in general) to use against armored opponents?

[@itinerantpoet1341]

Marsden makes a good point about how people reset to just flailing around when they spar, putting scoring a hit above not getting hit. Your objective should be to parry definitively, then-and-only-then taking a counterstrike. But you have to have trained enough to stay calm at all times, and most will never put in that kind of time. If you're not training for at least a few hours every day, don't imagine you can swordfight.

[@igneous061]

cool video, can see cupple diferences and similaraties to british saber (been watchin Matt Eston a bit too much lately.. :P )

[@Suspence202]

does anyone know where you can get the practice sticks they were using at the very end?

[@tnh723]

added this to my favorites, thank you!

[@filipgren6091]

Its nice He knows that polish saber is more than an swordplay. It's an 'attitude.' Give him some mead! He's almost one of us!

[@kodyanderson2189]

love it when im randomly browsing youtube and see my old history teacher with a large weapon, and the expertise to back it up. lol

[@TravelingTyrant]

Kody Anderson Hello! Small world our internet is.

[@revopeels8441]

Good information. Thank you for the upload.

[@Egganopolis82]

took 30 seconds for me to like this video. So few people ever explain that cut.

[@JohnRaptor]

He seems like a good teacher.

[@22yhjjjj]

Legit, I've started writing a story that involves swordplay, but also includes army v army. I wanted to be somewhat accurate, and I already knew what type of channel Skallagrim was. I've maybe binged about 20 of these videos? Learning what weapons are used for what, how people actually fought with them, why somethings work and others dont. It'll also help my sister who says she'll eventually draw all of it (which sucks for her because its gonna be a 3 part saga)

[@kisielthe1st]

Cool af. Are you going to make another video about the topic? Your thoughts?

[@Mr2Helios]

***** Do you have clips with polearms training? Halberd, staff or scythe? I would love to see some "flashy" movements with this type of weapon.

[@Disquoveri]

Mr2Helios Scholagladiatoria does for sure if Skal doesn't. I don't think you'll find much in the way of scythe fencing though. It never really was a 'thing'. As much as I'd love to embrace my inner Dark Knight /Reaper, it's not and was never designed to be a weapon. (there ARE in fact treatises for scythes but few ever actually practiced. It was more or less a pastime for rich nobles who had the time to spare)

[@poopdump2]

Disquoveri scythes kind of transfer to crows beaks in weapon form, so i'd say every polearm with a crows beak (angeled spike) takes a bit there right?

[@scifiman98]

+Disquoveri maybe he was referring to the Polish war scythes, which are basically a reverse sharpened glaive.

[@Disquoveri]

Well now we're just talking semantics :P I am curious now about these polish war scythes...

[@TheSleepLes]

Disquoveri Look up "kosynierzy" on wiki (in Polish means "combat-scythe users")

[@Sliperypickle000]

love these vids.hope they improve my game

[@fimbulwinter-outdoor]

Skall, this is maybe a bit off topic, but I love your videos about taking a look at fighting techniques in video games. I would really love to see your opinion about the techniques in Witcher 3... In terms of armor it is pretty realistic but I would love to see what you think about the different fighting moves because you know... Witcher... swords =D (and yeaaah I know, swords on the back are stupid xD but awesome somehow... this is why I am trying to develop a safe back-dragging-sheath-thingy-whatever xD) Greetings from Germany

[@pekineden9344]

Great video, but i think it would be better if those subtitles were at the bottom as the traditional way,you can't focus at the video and the subtitles at the same time when they are on top.

[@armoredsushi1619]

I'm gonna need to try the Hellish Fourth.

[@juandelata]

man I see a whole lot of parallels between Saber fencing and FMA/Eskrima, especially that umbrella block @7:03

[@TheRealSkeletor]

Informative and entertaining is right!

[@cudarocker]

This HEMA stuff is amazing! IT"S A TRAP!!!! LOL Awesome stuff,Skall.

[@HeadCannonPrime]

If you add in the bright colors and outlandish headwear and tassels of the Polish saberist with the bizarre off time crosscut, I could see that being an incredibly good tactic.

[@HeadCannonPrime]

+Andy Wood who pissed in your wheaties?

[@MrMiddleWick]

Hats off to this guy. If I only got some spare money, I would buy his book for sure. If it only weren't so ludicrous (for polish, at least mine, standards) expensive. But then again, I'm a poor fuck. Hopefully he will visit Poland (Warsaw I hope :P) one day.

[@itinerantpoet1341]

re: attacking the sword. It's only risky if you try it against an expert. With enough proper training and experience, you'll be able to size up an opponent by how they stand and how they hold the sword. This will tell you if you can A) disarm them B) beat their blade off-line and strike cleanly C) fence them and wait for an opportunity. The person I trained with would begin teaching by disarming you until you learned to hold the sword properly. Then and only then did you move on to the next thing. But anytime you slacked with your grip subsequently, they'd disarm you. If you're training with someone who can't do that, you're not training with a master, and if you're not training with a master, you're going to have gaps in your training a mile wide.