How to Duel (feat. Adam Savage) - Objectivity 265

Adam Savage (Tested, MythBusters) visits the Royal Society archives. We learn about mathematically-informed sword fighting techniques - and a duelling Fellow! More links below ↓↓↓
Extra hi-res pics from this video: / adam-savage-and-75181154
Objectivity on Patreon: / objectivity
Check out Adam Savage's Tested: / tested
Watch some more Objectivity episodes with special guests:
Treasures from the Cave (feat. Adam Savage): • Treasures from The Cav...
Darwin's Favourite Photo (feat. Hank Green): • Darwin's Favourite Pho...
Telescopes and Pyramids (feat. Physics Girl): • Telescopes and Pyramid...
Subscribe to Objectivity: bit.ly/Objectivity_Sub
Films by James Hennessy and Brady Haran
Royal Society website: bit.ly/Royal_Society
The Royal Society's own KZbin channel: / royalsociety
Facebook: / objectivityvideos
Twitter: / objectivity_vid
Patron thank you page: www.bradyharanblog.com/objecti...
Objectivity T-Shirts: teespring.com/stores/objectivity

[@ObjectivityVideos]

Hi-res pics from this video for Patrons: www.patreon.com/posts/adam-savage-and-75181154

[@jimclark5982]

The author of this book, Thibault, gets a shout-out in The Princess Bride -- his name comes up in the discussion of different styles that Inigo Montoya and the Man in Black use in their duel. Edit: Of course, it came up in the video too -- Brady doesn't miss a trick!

[@donsample1002]

Brady gets Adam to name _The Princess Bride_ as his favourite movie sword fight, but they don’t mention that Thibault is one of the sword masters mentioned in Inigo and TMiB’s conversation. (All the other fencing schools they mention were real, too.)

[@jonathanharrop2978]

That was my reaction when I saw the authors name on the spine of the book. 🤺

[@mazza420]

YESS!!! Adam Savage in an Objectivity video!!!

[@holemajora598]

I love how Adam stops to admire the patina of an old book. Haha I am certain he is taking many photos and notes on weathering H end the damage of books that are actually hundreds of years old. I love it I can’t wait for the video breakdown on that one!

[@Tapecutter59]

Yes, I also noticed his thumb was adding to the patina while describing how the curator had just added to the patina. Pretty sure he was thinking about his own thumb's contribution to a patina created by Newton and so many other intellectual giants of the past. Part of him is in the patina now, metaphorically rubbing thumbs with a "who's, who" of modern science and engineering.

[@2Cerealbox]

I think Adam's thoughts on *why* he likes what he likes is always more interesting than the thing itself.

[@wizard-pirate]

He's a true connoisseur of antiquity

[@CybranM]

I love watching Brady and Adam in the same video! Hope there will be more collaborations in the future :D

[@Nexfero]

Wow those engravings on the first few pages are beautiful works of art.

[@vesteel]

Can't wait for the white gloves episode of this one

[@RobertFisher1969]

Thibault was heavily influenced by Iberian swordsmanship, which is a pretty distinct style. What today is often called simply Destreza. I believe Dave Rawlings of the London Longsword Acedemy studies Destreza and Thibault in particular. It would have been really great if they’d known about him and gotten him in this video as well.

[@PXCharon]

I've been practicing the rapier in the Italian tradition for almost 15 years. I'm not a Thibault scholar, but I'm familiar with the origin of his school from Carranza and Pacheco in the Iberian peninsula. It is, without a doubt, an effective method of using the weapon. The positioning diagrams, as well as the explanations of proper timing and use of mechanics, are all sound.

[@Lasersplitter]

Brady's glasses make him looklike he's Adam's son :D

[@doridear1604]

They also make it look like he has a fake nose XD

[@arcanics1971]

Surely a book on sword based duels would have some -ahem!- light sabres? Not just heavy rapiers. I'll get me coat.

[@maxflentge2158]

Hahaha nice one

[@nicholasbenjamin3826]

Akshually... Almost all one-handed weapons weigh about a kilo. Maybe 1.5 (ie: 2-4 lb) People just can't move heavier objects quickly enough to each-other. You can hit people with lighter objects, but they're terrible at defense because you can't block a 1 kilo anything with a 500 gram smallsword.

[@RFC-3514]

Wait, those glasses, black t-shit, the hair... is Brady cosplaying as Adam Savage, or is it the other way around?

[@allenyordy6700]

Adam is seriously my favorite person

[@christianhorner001]

Holy moly Brady and Adam collab!?! 🤯🤯 World's colliding! Please launch a Brady - Savage podcast. It'll be a cult hit!!

[@redapplefour6223]

definitely check objectivity episode 251 with him as well, and there's a build video on the tested channel with savage & matt parker

[@sarafan3]

This was such a lovely video, great to see Adam at the Royal society!

[@one-man-band]

Its like a dream come true, so glad you got Adam to the archive. I really hope he enjoyed it as much as i think he did.

[@michaelwright2986]

Pepys' Diary: in the early days of the WWW, someone had the brilliant idea of posting the Diary day by day like a blog; that way, I read it, rather than being intimidated by the sheer bulk, and you also get the feeling of arcs developing and then fading away.

[@MrHeroicDemon]

INSANE love you all, and been a big fan forever.

[@justaperson1812]

nice vid brady. cool to see adam checking out the archives.

[@brandonwinstead7137]

And here I thought Adam Savage waltzed in to the Royal Society, donned the white gloves, and pulled an entry on dueling first try.

[@bond007rules]

Next time you have a medieval combat manuscript on the show, good guests could include Matt Easton from Schola Gladiatoria, Dave Rawlings from London Longsword Academy or Dr Tobias Capwell from the Wallace Collection! All scholars and practitioners of exactly these manuals and others describing historical European martial arts.

[@Varksterable]

Just... just... just... Thanks to all involved; that was amazing to watch. /hug

[@evanbarnes9984]

It's so fun to see the signatures of original members of the Royal Society! Especially since I just recently finished reading Neal Stephenson's Baroque Cycle, which really brings the Royal Society to life.

[@stoatystoat174]

The Three Musketeers (1973) has excellent sword fighting With Michael York, Oliver Reed, Raquel Welch, Richard Chamberlain, Christopher Lee, Faye Dunaway and a bit of Spike Milligan

[@hershycows]

Been in other corners of youtube for awhile so this may be old news but HOLY COW BRADY! Looking good man! Also awesome video!

[@Pile_of_carbon]

Haven't watched this channel in a while and holy crap Brady has changed!

[@chintex_]

Those are some gorgeous illustrations

[@scrotiemcboogerballs1981]

Thanks for sharing

[@Jeff-jr4xw]

Absolutely loved Mythbusters when it was airing and it’s wild to see Adam on so many of my favorite YT channels lately. What a treat

[@oldwornoutjeans]

Love the collabs between these two charisma powerhouses

[@veramae4098]

In one of the Lord Peter Wimsey novels he's challenged to a duel by an affronted Oxford student ... who expects to duel with the classic dueling pistols. But as the challenged party, Wimsey has the right to choose the weapon: swords. The student decided to accept the apology Wimsey had earlier offered. Later, Wimsey tells the woman who accidentally set this off: "A bullet can go anywhere, but a sword is bound to go somewhere." BTW, just watched "V for Vendetta". Swordsman! And a black cloak!

[@RoelfvanderMerwe]

Oh my holy God! You got ADAM!! I'm so happy right now!!!

[@guilemaigre14]

Is the whole document numerised and available ? The HEMA community would for sure be delighted !

[@quadropheniaguy9811]

What a beautiful book. Great podcast.

[@rogerlafrance6355]

Interesting example of the trend to apply math and science to explain everything. In horsemanship we see things like Equitation Savant to improve the movement of horses.

[@sommelierofstench]

you know this man sniffed multiple artifacts in this compound. bless him.

[@piccalillipit9211]

*FOR A FEW YEARS* I used to do fencing - then when I started martial arts 10 years later they could not get me to stand still... Fencing is about tiny movements with your fingers and VERY quick foot work. [yu can make the tip of the foil describe a full circle with the tiny movement of your little finger and a wrist flick]

[@buzz.b]

I'd like to state that the illustrated figures (5:40) are most definitely not the Vitruvian Man, which can be clearly observed as the square is fully inset within the circle (the vertices lie on the circumference). What makes the Vitruvian Man far superior to all other attempts is that da Vinci offset the square on the y axis (so that the circumference of the circle lies on the base of the square) which allowed a truer representation of correct human proportions.

[@bigsarge2085]

Intriguing!

[@rade-blunner7824]

When I saw them posting videos from the Prop Store in _London_ on the Tested channel, I knew this was coming...

[@SpiderGirl42]

This is exactly how fencing used to be before the current straight-line style, and indeed the footwork had to be incredibly precise (don't remember when they changed from first to draw blood to white clothes with red paint on sword tip though)

[@Utoxin]

I knew I liked Adam. Princess Bride is the only correct answer for favorite movie sword duel. :)

[@EtecMax]

Brady as an Adam cameo. They look pretty similar with the glases.

[@D.B..]

@6:28 Dollars to doughnuts Adam got equally excited about the wooden box used to store the book.

[@chooseyouhandle]

I'm very impressed

[@CorwynGC]

Thibault is in fact mentioned in the fight between Inigo and the dread pirate Roberts.

[@blindleader42]

The Man in Black explains how Thibault cancels out Inigo's Capo Ferro attack. All in all, a very gentil and civilized discussion of sword technique.

[@leppeppel]

My girlfriend looked over, saw the screen at 4:15, and quite calmly said, "ah, how a migraine feels."

[@henrymach]

What about you guys scanning this book and putting it online? Or is it already?

[@ObjectivityVideos]

www.google.com

[@somerandomperson360]

At 5:30 is that an extinct thylacine?

[@tramsgar]

My subscription flow... it's amalgamating

[@thomast4315]

Another epic crossover.

[@TheGurman8r]

WOW Brady lost a lot of weight! Looking good man.

[@AndyLundell]

Interesting how the illustrations in the sword manual have a very static look to them. There's no sense of motion. I think that's a strong hint that it was done from life models. Probably the artist had dudes in costume in his studio just standing in all those different positions. That probably also explains why the leopard didn't come out right. Couldn't get one of those for his studio.

[@hedlund]

Petition: I'd love a video showing Rupert's favourite piece(s). Preferably co-hosted by the man himself, if he has the time (and inclination) :)

[@j0nthegreat]

we need a new HI just to get a biweekly weigh-in

[@christianhorner001]

Does HI podcast still exist?

[@zach.0]

I want to see how those book images are made

[@NiksSofa]

NO GLOVES! SOUND THE ALARM ! GET KEITH OFF HIS SURFBOARD!

[@sternmg]

Gloves are not worn here because they reduce finger sensitivity and thus make paper tearing more likely, from what I recall. Perhaps there are overriding rules, or merely habits, that _do_ call for gloves with paper materials.

[@Skibbityboo0580]

My stratagy is to run away making that 'woob woob woob' sound from the Three Stooges.

[@Pallethands]

Looks like Brady has been on the fit-a-tron 5000 again

[@orellaminx3530]

Dayum, Brady looking healthy these days. Bravo.

[@petervilla5221]

A British man, an Australian, and an American look through a French man's picture book on sword fighting. This sounds like the setup to a real zinger.

[@quakerninja]

"Proclamations remain futile until the manors change"

[@MoofyYT]

I hope they showed Adam some weapons too. :P

[@veramae4098]

If you're interested in the duel over the Countess of Shrewsbury, see: Anna Talbot, Countess of Shrewsbury in Wikipedia. "verrrrrrry interresting" Retired librarian

[@KX36]

Keith and Adam suspiciously not in the same room at the same time... Coincidence or a Superman type situation...

[@F_L_U_X]

Everyone needs a Brady.

[@faenethlorhalien]

Wow, you've lost quite a lot of weight, Brady. Looking good!

[@donjones4719]

Written during the reign of Louis XIII - perfect! The best of all sword fighting books, the Three Musketeers, is set in his reign, at his court.

[@Veptis]

This skips my watch later!

[@hebl47]

Imagine an alternate universe where Isaac Newton and Robert Hooke fight a duel. Luckily for us, it's not our timeline.

[@social3ngin33rin]

wtf, Adam is there?!?!?! :O!!!!

[@jek__]

I wish they taught young boys to dance using fighting treatises instead of dance movies. It's the same thing, but not just totally arbitrary. Those circles on the ground are the same thing you see with dancing tutorials, but with practical use other than just showing off an unrelated skill

[@wojtasskate]

"ten pages of logos"

[@sarahmcdonald1689]

Yeeeeeeeeeeesssssss!!!!!!

[@zapfanzapfan]

Looks like an attempt to develop a geometric theory of fencing...

[@rasaecnai]

I havent watched in a while. What happened to Keith?

[@TheNinjamanAway]

Keith isn't in every video, sometimes they have people with expertise in the topic of the video

[@sayeager5559]

Hes off saving humanity somewhere. Or surfing.

[@rasaecnai]

@@TheNinjamanAway Thanks. I just worried something happened to him. Maybe he is on vacation.

[@blindleader42]

Someone has already mentioned that Kieth and Adam have never been seen in the same room at the same time... Mighty suspicious, that.

[@jonathanfelgate42]

Yyyyyyyeeeeeeeeeeeeesssssss

[@no_handle_required]

Brady lost some serious weight!!!!!!!

[@warriorsua]

Is it just me or Brady lost weight!? Looking good! Cheers from Ukraine!

[@sergiogonzaleztorres8373]

A video about Thibault with Adam savage, but no mention to Spanish Verdadera Destreza, the style Thibault drew upon. What a pity! That would have made my day. Still, very cool video.

[@seinfan9]

Looking slim, Brady. Congrats.

[@PopeLando]

That dedication page to Louis literally says "Thirteenth of his name", straight out of GOT.

[@NickHermans]

"A rapier lunged right through the eye.... Niceeeee!" Yooooooo man wtf?

[@TheGreatAtario]

Brady! Have you lost weight?

[@tonytrott9789]

Duelling with listols quickly replaced duelling with swords. The Most refined duels were where two men and their seconds would meet somewhere discrete. Dig a grave and the two duellists would climb into the grave select their pistol hold one corner of a handkerchief between them pint the pistol at the opponents head and on the count of three squeeze the trigger. The survivor climbs out and assists to fill in the grave and everyone then leaves. Only one of the wo pistols would be loaed. The selectin of the pistol would be completely random. This ensured that the duel was completely fair.

[@winterborn82]

I have never heard of this before, and it contradicts nearly every description of a historical duel that I've ever read.

[@thomasdalton1508]

Dueling was supposed to be about skill, not randomness. I have never heard of random duels and I'm not sure I believe they happened, except possibly very rarely.

[@h.Freeman]

What no gloves😲

[@polares8187]

Great job losing weight Brady 💪💪

[@no_handle_required]

Proclamations remained ineffective until manners changed-----Those who need rules won't behave under them and those who behave don't need rules.

[@Yaxchilan]

lol jamie tried to kill adam and they used it as a promo. lmao i miss the past, jk

[@esotericVideos]

I want to enjoy this video, but the whole time I'm thinking "Shouldn't everybody be wearing gloves?!?"

[@esotericVideos]

@Real Aiglon Holy crap what put you in a mood? Do you often pick fights with people for no reason? I was sharing my thoughts, not scolding them. idk what the proper rules/reasons are for wearing gloves or not, but seeing people handing very old things without gloves (when they often do wear gloves) distracts me with thoughts about if they should be wearing gloves. And that's all I was sharing.

[@andreaslindegren4617]

Amazing that they brought him down to look at the book. But wierd to leave out @LondonLongsword that actively practice and teaches from this book. Follow up video?