How much does armour slow you down when fighting with a Greatsword?

Hello everyone! A while back I shared a fun little clip with Greatsword, doing some techniques from Dürer's fight book. On TikTok, a lot of people challenged me to doing the same flow in armour, and that sounded like a fun challenge to be fair. The original video response on TikTok got flagged for 'dangerous acts'. (🙄), but let's just turn this into an actual item with some commentary. So here's my observations on how doing greatsword in half-armour can actually work just fine, and what that means for contextualising fight books. :D
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[@soldierbreakneck771]

I'm not surprised at all. For a trained person, the difference is so insignificant that even full armor feels like a second skin. There is also landsknecht armor, which is specially adapted for foot combat, for all such movements. In short, the people who ordered this challenge have little idea how much armor is an ultimate thing.

[@VirtualFechtschule]

Yeah, that is very true.

[@leonardomarquesbellini]

If you're wearing it for a short time, then that's true. But wearing armor starts to become a real issue after a few hours, that's when the extra weights starts to really strain your joints and the wear from not having comfortable positions to rest in kicks in, at that point even moving around caan get uncomfortable and fighting is downright painful.

[@VirtualFechtschule]

@@leonardomarquesbellini I'm not sure if I agree. Wearing armour and fighting in it does consume more energy, but I don't find it ever gets painful or uncomfortable. It's just that I get tired sooner.

[@leonardomarquesbellini]

@VirtualFechtschule but how long did you spend practing in it at any given time? Battles could easily drag out for hours, and even if you're not fighting for 100% of that it's not like you can rest properly while wearing armor during the breaks in the fighting.

[@sessy01]

to be fair, battles might last hours but actual combat engagaments last minutes if not seconds, depending if you slay your enemy or just disable them in the trade. during that time, battle lines would and should be advancing or regrouping back, wouded would be dragged out or limp away if able if not finished on the ground or taken for ransom, especially if nobility, hold a command rank or just have a valuable looking kit out on the field

[@remembertostayhydrated]

Absolutely logical for techniques to diverge into battlefield and civilian ones

[@VirtualFechtschule]

Yeah, although some sources are more battlefield oriented than others

[@Specter_1125]

There are some breastplates that even have spring loaded plates around the arm holes that allow for more movement of the arms across the chest.

[@septimus7524]

Oh thats badass, even I didn't think of that. Damn, Medieval Minds were WAY brighter than people give them credit for.

[@VirtualFechtschule]

Yeah, indeed. It's not a super common feature of infantry armours from around 1500 though.

[@Specter_1125]

@@VirtualFechtschuleI would assume as much. I really just think they’re neat.

[@ReznovSoldier]

@@VirtualFechtschule probably would've been very expensive to make too

[@marcodegiovanni3696]

People Who never wear armor simply don’t know where it drop the weight and how free of move you are in…

[@VirtualFechtschule]

Yeah, it's definitely something to experience. :D

[@kelmirosue3251]

This is so cool to watch! I love to see how these stuff works with/without armor as a lot of people surprisingly think armor is bulky and heavy and slows you down. Same with a greatsword

[@VirtualFechtschule]

Yeah, I must say I enjoy busting those persistent myths. :)

[@MansMan42069]

I know Doppelsoldner armour was almost minimal and at most, usually only on the front (since they're frontliners), but imagine how scary it would be to fight a greatswordsman bedecked in full gothic/milanese/maximilian.

[@VirtualFechtschule]

Ooooh, that would be epic. I started saving up for something like that. :D

[@MansMan42069]

@@VirtualFechtschule real final boss energy 😤👌 I hope you succeed 🙏

[@TITANia69420]

Bro, why did Tiktok takedown your response video. Of all things to take down... 😆

[@VirtualFechtschule]

Yeah, I know. XD

[@JediContrast]

When you follow your passions, everything finds its place ✌️. Awesome tecniques! 💯

[@michaelpeters6659]

🎉 very well done sir!

[@Sazan_Jackal]

Eldarishe really said "70kg of armor" in their comment... 😭😭😭😭 aint no way dawg thinks armor weighs that much

[@dequitem]

Cool video, but the last part. I am sure a can do it in my armor without problems! Not all armors are the same 😉.

[@russellfisher1303]

Sup dude ;>

[@VirtualFechtschule]

Very true. This is very much an infantry armour, which means the breastplate is one piece and that affects mobility a bit.

[@billberg1264]

Do you make a distinction between half armor and three-quarter armor? If so, where do you consider the boundary to lie? I ask because, in my head, I've been using the term three-quarters armors for things like what you're wearing in this video. What type of gauntlets do you like to use? Do you find it makes a big difference in how well you can handle your weapon?

[@Specter_1125]

3/4 armor protects from your knees up, including your arms and back.

[@billberg1264]

@@Specter_1125 So, if I'm understanding you correctly, some factors that prevent this armor from being three-quarters armor are that the tassets don't extend far enough, the vambraces/rebraces don't cover the the inside of the arm, and there's no backplate? And, again if I'm understanding you correctly, any one of those factors would be sufficient to disqualify it from the label? That's good to know. I had been using the term to refer to anything with breastsplate + vambraces + rebraces + pauldrons + tassets, regardless of actual coverage.

[@inferna7327]

@@billberg1264 There is no standard or formality, it happens that people who deal with such things have common sense or working head.

[@Specter_1125]

@@billberg1264it’s mostly the short tassets and lack of a back plate.

[@user-if4zv5nj5m]

​@@billberg1264three-quarter armor features dedicated feet armor, with specific hip and knee plates, usually connected together. It's like a full knight leg armor, but without shin protection. Half-armor can have tassets, some lansknecht armors even had extremely long ones, that covered the whole hip, but they are much less consistent (from my experience) at protecting your feet, than dedicated three-quarter armor

[@kantohi3404]

Aight, i stand corrected

[@WaybackFencingClub]

Nothing slows you down more than Medieval shoes.

[@VirtualFechtschule]

In an indoor gym they do. Outdoors it's really not that bad. You still can't do extreme lunges there, but it's not half as horrible as on a gym floor.

[@xCorvus7x]

Pardon, why exactly?

[@2008davidkang]

This is such a clear and concise video! I also watched your "Sparring in Landsknecht Armour" video in which you sparred with dussacks. Both videos shows that apart from certain movements being restricted by the shape of the plates and requiring ever so slightly more effort in maintaining balance there doesn't seem to be much drawback at all! Would you say wearing armour wouldn't be much of an issue on ships as well? I'm asking because I've recently fell into a buccaneer history rabbit hole and I found something that doesn't seem to make any sense. From what I've gathered, none of the various sea rovers seem to, during boarding actions specifically, employ any amour, not even breastplates and helmets (very rarely, a secret cervelliere under the hat). Yet boarding actions are often crowded, with cuts and thrusts, often from swords not too dissimilar to dussacks, raining down from all angles and little space for proper footwork, which in theory, should warrant the usage of armour, at least for some of the crews.

[@user-if4zv5nj5m]

There are two factors: 1. People on the ships are required to do their sailor's job all the time, but fight in boarding actions only at some short times in the battles. Wearing additional 10-15 kg of armor in the battle should result in a drop of their performance in controlling the ship/firing its canons. AFAIK, in a lot of naval fights up until 18th century, officers/noble people used some sort of armor, but after that it became less viable because Canon fire and ship maneuvers became more important and because firearms became more powerful and could penetrate most body armor anyway 2. Armor was expensive. Extremely expensive. It costs like a car or even more. Aside from short periods of time, there was no armor issued even in land armies, Aside from basic helmets. People bought all their armor from their salary/family money. And sailors weren't paid enough to buy one

[@tuerkefechi]

Well done

[@VirtualFechtschule]

Thanks!

[@lesgalloiseries]

I'd like to see an Isekai-style story where some smartass gets dropped in a medieval world, finds himself facing an armored knight in a duel and declines to put on armor, arguing that "armor slows you down and makes you clumsy" only to get immediately shredded.

[@tranceman8692]

I wonder how those wielding greatswords and indeed all the troops would form battle formations and tactics

[@Lo-tf6qt]

It's amazing how many people think that armour is restrictive/useless, when there's a reason why it was used for most of human history, people weren't stupid back then

[@Pentagathusosaurus]

Yes, now let's see you do it on a cold rainy night in Stoke on Trent

[@VirtualFechtschule]

XD

[@jewishswordsman9199]

I know you said once but is the sword sharp, where'd you get it from, and how much? And yeah, here we can see what Dave Rawlings was talking about regarding the most recent Jedi Survivor game using good greatsword technique.

[@VirtualFechtschule]

This is a blunt Kvetun greatsword. :)

[@Orendiz]

Heavy armour does not make you slower or hinders your fighting (mostly). But it does make you tired faster.

[@thurstt9158]

Where did you get your armor from I would like to get some 😆

[@VirtualFechtschule]

Radoslaus the Armourer made the breastplate .

[@stormrhode2330]

Cool to see. I'm not surprised at all by the results, but I'd be more curious about someone who's not as trained or accustomed to armor. I imagine they would be slowed by the displacement of weight and slightly more encumbered, too.

[@user-if4zv5nj5m]

Displacement of weight Is barely felt, because, unlike in modern armor, weight is equally distributed throughout the whole body

[@TheStefan37]

People are really stupid. Of course fighting in full armor is more difficult and different than fighting with only clothes on. Just like dynamic shooting competitions are different than running in full combat gear (I'm not talking only about helmet and plate carrier, but also additional ballistic sleeves, leg protection, groin protection, side protection and of xourse 10 mags, 5 grenades...) clearing buildings or assaulting enemy positions. Also if your line of work is doing things like this it's obvious you're prepared for it. People seem to forget that professional soldiers (especially of that period) did this everyday 9-5. It's not impossible, you're just to weak so you assume its impossible

[@freestylebagua]

Hows the endurance affected?

[@attilarischt2851]

Even if the armour is heavy, that hat wins you the day. A question I have though, isn't that armour unbalancing? Since you only have the plates on the front half of your body.

[@user-if4zv5nj5m]

From my experience, prolonged fights in a front-only quirass puts a strain on the spine, indeed. Ones with a back plate are better in this regard

[@Hickamfield]

If people think you are slower you never fought in the SCA !!!

[@IamSnehan]

Im actually confused as to why there's no noticeable armor on the back

[@VirtualFechtschule]

Because I'm poor and can't afford a full set (yet). :P But this was historically also often a reason to have only a breastplate, so it checks out I guess. :P

[@IamSnehan]

@@VirtualFechtschule fair enough lol

[@SixDeadZeroHEMA]

I will support any video which calmly addresses "armchair historians" who have never held a sword or worn armour in their life. It's good to spread education in a positive way :) Nice hat btw.

[@VirtualFechtschule]

Hehehe, thanks! So I gather that armchair historians refers to the latest swordyoutube controversy? 😅

[@SixDeadZeroHEMA]

@@VirtualFechtschule lol i've certainly borrowed a term, yes :P to be clear as well, i like having conversations with people and i like people asking questions and trying to learn. what i don't like is the smug comments, like from your video, "try doing THAT in armour!". your response is excellent. lmao.... "okay, here i am trying it in armour and it's fine"

[@VirtualFechtschule]

@@SixDeadZeroHEMA Yeah. I do have to say that here on YT the amount of silly comments is still relatively low. TikTok is a gold mine of keyboard warrior quotes though. :P

[@SixDeadZeroHEMA]

@@VirtualFechtschule lmao i bet. you’re doing a great job stomping out myths and being an entertaining educator, thanks for the videos :)

[@bramstrijker4777]

makes you think how back in the day a chad knight could just fcking kebab some foes with skill and stuff... now its just sergeant xbox firing missle of doom

[@MORDKAu]

Yeah armor can affect movement speed, not exactly swinging speed

[@12-nguyenhonguc49]

what will happen when you versus a Japanese sword master? I really want to know

[@Csatadi]

The better fencer wins

[@inferna7327]

The person who doesn't get hit HAHAHAHHAA

[@soldierbreakneck771]

I don’t know what would happen if Oscar met a Japanese sword master, but in a battle between Landsknechts and samurai, I would put all my money on Landsknechts)) That were really tough guys.

[@VirtualFechtschule]

If I ever get the change to do a crossover with someone who's good at a Japanese sword art, I'll jump on it, no worries. ;)

[@12-nguyenhonguc49]

@@VirtualFechtschule thank you for hearing me

[@unterhau1102]

Now do the thug shaker