Medieval vs. Japanese Weapons (Real Sparring)

[@KARATEbyJesse]

What’s your favorite weapon? 🗡

[@nithinkumar.r2326]

Nunchaku

[@Viroh]

AWP Rifle

[@jacoblyndonm1399]

Bo staff definitely

[@MartialArtsGamer]

Call me cliche but I’m going to go with the Katana

[@haku_68]

stick

[@lukediehl1210]

Your tactic on the knight was spot on. Ground and pound. There's a famous story from the Battle of Agincourt where a group of Welsh longbowmen rushed a French knight, pulled him to the ground, then ripped off his helmet and stabbed him in the face. When your opponent has superior arms and armor, you need to fight dirty.

[@HoriaNeagu]

I mean there isn't really any "dirty fighting" when it comes to combat scenarios and survival. Most historical fighting could be catalogued as "dirty". As for the Agincourt anecdote, that would be the standard tactic employed by lightly armoured fighters against a fully armoured knight. Try to unhorse the knight (there were even specially designed harnesses, lassos and "man-traps" to do the job), have some of your mates hold him down while you're trying to either stab him in the vulnerable parts of the armour (gaps in the armour that allowed for movement, like the neck, armpits, hips and such) or to yank off a piece of the armour (preferably the helmet) and go to town.

[@manofculture4938]

@@HoriaNeagu why would anyone use a man catcher when when you can have a billhook or something similar?

[@Specter_1125]

The only reliable way to fight someone in full armor if you don’t also have it, is to get 4 of your friends to help.

[@mattmcintosh3939]

There's loads of stories from Agincourt about longbowmen and men at arms killing French knights. One of the reasons the battle is famous in the first place was because of Henry V's unchivalric use of longbowmen against knights and allowing men at arms to use the English warhammer to crush breastplate and helm of French knights.

[@vendetta8022]

There is no dirty fight for live or death situation. Honor is useless for dead men.

[@sgspartan3353]

I really love the fact that Jesee dedicates his life to giving us knowledge through mixing different arts and their respective philosophies. Truly puts into perspective that though there are many ways on top of a mountain, the top provides the same view for everyone.

[@KARATEbyJesse]

I appreciate that!

[@sgspartan3353]

@@KARATEbyJesse We appreciate you!

[@liamscott1905]

@Jesse Enkamp Wouldn’t the Tinbe be better against the buckler? The bo against poleaxe.

[@simeonellinger2064]

"many paths, one way"

[@Ryooken]

I would recommend he learn more Korean weapons for these types of battles. Peasants who fought professional soldiers in Korea used metal implements when facing armored opponents.

[@DinoMust1]

I have been practicing HEMA for 10 years. It's nice that a great martial artist like you makes such a video. It must be said that HEMA is, as a martial art, at a stage of development that we could define as "embryonic". Historical sources are available, many associations and gyms were born, however each of them is based on its own methodology. This is a necessary logical consequence given that there is no tradition handed down to us to point to and the historical sources (treatises and manuscripts) are often confusing. Personally I believe that the fussiness about martial forms is our thing to do as HEMA practitioners, many times it is the low interest in the guard and the movements, the superficiality in the martial approach, which keeps the HEMA at a low level.

[@KARATEbyJesse]

Thanka for sharing 👍

[@shadowmancy9183]

It's also one of the issues with studying it- you can effectively choose whether you are going to learn it for the art or the sport, with the latter discarding much of the former. I train Fiore (Schola Saint George), and have had some wonderful discussions with the instructor of a Meyer school (Freifechter Guild in Oklahoma), where we came to the conclusion that by extending the range of initial engagement, the art actually comes alive in ways that the sport "move fast, hit first" mentality doesn't allow, whether that be by allowing windings to be executed safely, or simply giving the time for a volta or other cover to develop.

[@capolean2902]

its great for self defense!

[@dascommissar5264]

Surprised that there weren’t double kills, that’s usually what happens when fighting new opponents with radically different styles. Also light gloves against a poleaxe is just plain crazy.

[@Aquilenne]

Not really a double kill, but it definitely looked like the third round of bout 1 was a kill that was also leaving a pretty severe arm injury.

[@aranecek]

Thats true but he kind of pull it off. The knight did not really win that round thanks to the weapon.

[@Navesblue]

"It's not about East vs West. It's about who can move the best. A weapon is just an extension of the human body." That is really poignantly put. Beautiful.

[@camarobro1897]

West is way better come on man don't even play around full plate makes you practically invincible to everything but long bows and the elements

[@ok17tahunyanglalu40]

​@@camarobro1897 but why christian is losed during crusade with more advanced equipment??

[@User-vu1jq]

​@@ok17tahunyanglalu40 since they have limited resources and also because of the unfamiliar terrain. Bro google is free just search it

[@michaelnguyen940]

@@User-vu1jq Still lost after occupying the Holy Land for decades so honestly the unfamiliarity argument should be thrown out the window

[@michaelnguyen940]

@@camarobro1897 Still lost to peasants in pitchforks

[@joeysingingchannel]

Watching Jesse in unarmed combat with the knight I was reminded of the impetus behind judo/jujitsu in the first place. Once weapons are discarded on the battlefield and you still have a massive armored samurai in front of you and you need to throw them down onto the ground.

[@KARATEbyJesse]

Well spotted!! 👊👊👊

[@torstenscott7571]

Yep, in HEMA it wrestling or ringen which included dangerous throws and locks similar to those found in jujutsu.

[@ketsugo3]

Throw on ground ??? It amazes me how misinformed most people are . On the battlefield historically you faced an infinite numbers of people trying too kill you . Only an absolute moron would go too the ground , if one of the 50 enemies don't trample you too death , you just placed yourself in weak position. Ring training is not fighting. No such thing as full contact sport unless killing is allowed. WAKE UP

[@wikingagresor]

@@KARATEbyJesse really good ko soto gake from you at the end with the knight.

[@alexsass6539]

Which is kinda the whole point of having a dagger 😅

[@IamHattman]

This is great to see, so often this sort of east/west comparison is done by strictly HEMA guys. It's great to see someone properly trained using these weapons. I was wondering, will there be more Taido content? That stuff was seriously awesome.

[@KARATEbyJesse]

We just did a whole Taido seminar, check my community tab!

[@IamHattman]

@@KARATEbyJesse I will, thanks!

[@chillazaraka]

100 percent agree. Seeing jesse do this was amazing. If only he did a collab with metatron. Out of all the hema youtubers i think those two talking, giving their perspectives, and sparing would be absolute gold. Id love to see it.

[@gihan9319]

just when i thought Jesse-san had reached the epitome of martial arts content....he goes medieval in all the best ways 🤣

[@KARATEbyJesse]

Haha thanks!

[@ajithsidhu7183]

@@KARATEbyJesse please do staff and single stick tutorail

[@CustodianHadrian]

I bet you and Skallagrim would make amazing videos together, he's a pretty good HEMA youtuber who discusses historical weapons from all over the world and even tries out unorthodox weapons too.

[@efrainsolano2847]

5:34 the way he turned his head and say run😭

[@EH-vzzy]

😂😂 yesss

[@OnedeC529]

That was I was gonna say

[@PaddyANS]

captured it and send to all my hema guys^^

[@tandogjzethenrikc.7544]

Skallagrim did a video on historical sickle-fighting a few weeks back. It'd be neat to see kama go against European sickles.

[@KARATEbyJesse]

Totally!!

[@Mega_penetrator228UltraPower]

Как насчет серпа и молота?

[@krieger8825]

The European gets a falx

[@jonathanschaffer2594]

I also think it was funny during the nunchuck spar, and how shadiversity’s video explained how ineffective they were for actual combat. Then I actually laughed out loud when he lost them because they got caught on the sword

[@IamGrimalkin]

@@jonathanschaffer2594 Well a large part of shad's point was that quarterstaffs were way more effective than nunchucks, which he also demonstrated by his huge effectiveness with the staff.

[@thetalantonx]

That was an amazing video and quite a bit of fun to watch. I'm really glad your final boss didn't use the polearm to full effect, your armor was nowhere near stout enough to take a solid hit from it. It would be a fun follow up video to have YOU get suited up in full armor so you could get a feel for just how much protection the guy had. Thanks for this treat.

[@KARATEbyJesse]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@thetalantonx]

@@KARATEbyJesse One of the things that made it especially enjoyable was the mutual respect had by all and the chance to debrief after each match. The final distilled wisdom was great as well.

[@taichi2245]

Yeah, I was worried that he would get clocked on the head by accident or something -- that's a concussion right there, if not a trip to the hospital. Modern fencing masks were not designed to handle poleaxes... I feel as though this exercise did illustrate some interesting things -- infighting is surprisingly viable even against long weapons, provided that one is trained. But at a certain point the gap in gear really nullifies a lot; kicking and armored opponent in the chest isn't really going to do all that much, and while Jesse managed to pull off a takedown, that was only possible because his opponent opted to get rid of his weapon.

[@thetalantonx]

@@taichi2245 Well said. The average person doesn't understand just how much protective clothing is between the skin and the armor that acts as an additional buffer and how the planes of the outer surface deflect and dissipate force. And then doesn't realize that a blow from a poleaxe or halberd can STILL shatter collarbones or give concussions through it all. You can't really "blunt" what becomes a bludgeoning weapon. I've seen some seriously gnarly injuries from weapons of this type.

[@boreragnarok4680]

What I love about Jesse is that he actually tests his techniques and skills against live resistance.

[@tairapeace]

Being of Okinawan descent and a martial artist as well, I appreciate and respect what you do Jesse Sensei! 🙏🏽

[@lebateriteur]

The back kick against a knight is something i wasn't expecting to see, but definitely needed it

[@KARATEbyJesse]

It was pure instinct! 😎

[@TheEndKing]

@@KARATEbyJesse Did that hurt?

[@KARATEbyJesse]

@@TheEndKing Didn’t feel anything 😜

[@lalli8152]

Im just not sure how viable it would be against knight. Maybe sort of push kick would be to get them off balance for grappling. Knights armor is designed to receive massive blows from actual weapons so no matter how hard they get kicked i doubt they much at all feels it especially directly to plate.

[@the1sonder884]

Not sure how it counted as a win, though.

[@NexGenRogue]

Always happy to see more Kobudo and HEMA! Awesome to see its getting more attention from traditional martial artists too like you and Sensei Seth. Awesome as always, Jesse. Keep it up!

[@KARATEbyJesse]

Just doing what I love!! 😇 Thanks for supporting my work 🙏

[@SpiritualHypertrophy]

HEMA is my favorite martial art and seeing a proper kobudo practitioner like you, Jesse, spar with them is so cool!

[@KARATEbyJesse]

Great to hear!! 😁

[@callcent6908]

0:05 *tick tick* -My turn! That happy voice made it even better)

[@Kage042]

this was very interesting. One thing to consider is the damage each weapon does. It is much more realistic for a sword to take someone down in one hit since it is a bladed weapon, which is why it makes sense for sparring with those weapons to go only until the first hit. The bo and nunchucks are blunt, however, and the force transfer by the nunchucks is a bit inefficient due to it not being rigid, so it is unlikely to seriously injure someone down in one hit. the stabs from the staff would also not do as much damage, so it is less threatening than a spear for example. when u were fighting the knight, you really must get in close to grappling. you would also have a knife to stab in the gaps.

[@Specter_1125]

You’d have to remember that he’d have the same thing. Like they said in the video, unless you have a similar level of armor, your best bet is to run.

[@jonathanschaffer2594]

Blunt weapons can still do damage, and I’m imagining a staff with some metal caps or spikes at the end could help with the impact. But I don’t imagine it being as effective against a person in full plate armor

[@Kage042]

@@jonathanschaffer2594 yes, blunt weapons still do damage, but wooden ones won't do nearly as much as a sharp metal object. also, adding metal caps to increase damage would change the weight distribution drastically, making it fight differently. we see tgis in maces.

[@nicolobraghini1546]

We want a collab between Jesse and Skallagrim/Shadyversity. Will really appreciate how Jessy's knowledge about japanese weapons will compare to hema, since apparently a lot of hema nerds tend to ignore how traditional eastern weapons are used. Edit: Matt Easton could be an even better choice!

[@heresjonny666]

Skall sure. Shad? No thanks.

[@dvldgz6306]

@@heresjonny666 why no shad? Just wondering, not trying to argue

[@timhema5343]

​@@dvldgz6306 armchair expertise, shortcuts, fallacies. Seriously, take everything on this channel with a massive grain of salt.

[@thejapanarchocommunist]

Skall is definitely legit

[@dvldgz6306]

@@timhema5343 thanks. I actually don't watch shad often because host of his videos that get recommend to me are very long form content, which in not a big fan of on YT in general. But I've seen some of the shorter vids. I thought it would boil down to those reasons. I was mostly making sure he didn't do anything wrong or bad to make people dislike him that I was unaware about.

[@radicalsnake2813]

3:58 Problem is that with that kind of shield you are not supposed to parry or block, the buckler is mainly to defend your hands once you go in, not to protect the body. You are supposed to use the sword to change the direction of enemy's weapon.

[@KARATEbyJesse]

Fascinating

[@zeekeno823]

There is also a cone philosophy for buckler. Basically, by extending it from the body perpendicular to the enemy it creates a cone of protection behind it.

[@timk8869]

and lets be real, the staff hits shouldnt count as actual hits, bc they dont do that much dmg (expept head, balls)

[@kellynolen498]

@@timk8869 bull a staff hurts just like any other chunk of stuff on an unarmored target the nunchucs hurt less than a normal stick though because they lack the follow through against a knight id want more range on him but if not id want a dagger and go into a grapple in all the heavy armor its harder to get up takes more energy

[@zenex1741]

@@timk8869 bo staffs can easily break bones.

[@ookamiwarrior]

Could this be the impetus to show that the weapons of the East can actually be sparred with safely? Could be perhaps even see some Kobudo sparring on the regular, in dojos across the world? One can truly hope!

[@KARATEbyJesse]

Who knows!! 🤩

[@kylenguyen7371]

Kama against the fencer would not have been my first choice. Honestly, I would have taken something with equal or greater reach, such as a bo stave. The fact Jesse won with the pair of kama is actually quite impressive.

[@obi-swankenobi8742]

Bro is a part of the lin kuei💀💀💀

[@prosdad6438]

Glad everyone had fun. First instinct was a hot take defending the honor of HEMA, but that isn't in the spirit of your video. I enjoyed the interesting and unorthodox combination of weapons. I think it mostly shows that in an unfamiliar context, a master with a great concept of distance has an advantage over less experienced opponents. That isn't to disparage the HEMA athletes, but to compliment Jesse. He has spent years honing his craft, traveling the world, treating it as a full time calling. His skill and adaptability really show here.

[@matthewa2095]

Your bo staff skills are really impressive

[@KARATEbyJesse]

It's the first weapon I learned! Thank you

[@addictedtochocolate920]

Seeing you amazed at just how effective the plate harness is was great. Sengoku jidai armor is also impressive, but European plate armor is a superior marvel of technology for its time

[@Ehuatl]

As a HEMA and Karate practitioner, I - to little surprise - really enjoyed this video. I'm a bit sad though, as a german, that we didn't see the long sword used. 🙂 I can recommend my teacher Adrian van Bronswijk from Fechtschule Asteria - or maybe you can have a collaboration with Matt Easton from Schola Gladiatoria - for something like that. Would also like to see you try HEMA.

[@KARATEbyJesse]

Wonderful!

[@Wolfwood7149]

As a hema and combat sambo practitioner, I loved this video. I almost never see hard sparring with the kinds of weapons you used. Keep'em coming. Well done.

[@KARATEbyJesse]

Thanks!!

[@simthiam3712]

Jesse's past trainings in staff fighting come in handy during this duet. Impressive

[@stephenlee1059]

What a great experiment. I’ve trained in martial arts for almost 50 years (black belt in taekwondo, 10 years in kempo and kickboxing, several years in jujutsu), plus I fenced in high school and college, and coincidentally I have a PhD in European history. That gives me some perspective here. What I took away from your experiment was something that I think all good fighters, including you, come to implicitly understand. It’s not the style or the weapon, but the tactics you employ. You instinctively executed a leg sweep to take down the knight, which incidentally is a component of jujutsu that samurai developed to fight their armored opponents if caught themselves unarmed. One additional point that I would add: when European knights fought each other they knew their armor was impervious to most bladed weapons, so they attacked the head for concussion (because even in a steel helmet your head will bounce around inside if hit hard enough) and the legs. Even as a young black belt I didn’t have the speed or flexibility as many of my friends, so I realized on powerful, low side kicks to take my opponents down. Same thing here against an armored opponent. Take out his balance and he’s going down. And don’t forget to grapple. Then finish him off on the ground. This link gives an idea as to how knights were trained in tactics, and to use their whole bodies as weapons. www.google.com/search?q=knight%20training%20manuscripts&tbm=isch&tbs=rimg:CWrdeJMYT1zLYUo4DkNEkUOD8AEBsgIGOgQIABAB&client=firefox-b-1-m&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0CB0QuIIBahcKEwiYor7z5_j5AhUAAAAAHQAAAAAQDA&biw=1121&bih=820&dpr=2 Great post, Jesse.

[@KARATEbyJesse]

Thanks for sharing your insights and observations!

[@stephenlee1059]

@@KARATEbyJesse You are very welcome. As a scholar and a martial artist, I really enjoy your posts. They are erudite, humble, thoughtful, objective and informed. Plus you have real skills. That’s much appreciated.

[@EricChristoph]

Easier said than done. But I suppose if you are about to die anyway you may as well try something :)

[@GenaMatogen]

6:20 - Any last pice of advice for me? - Run!

[@adcyuumi]

My favorite weapons: - Western - greatsword (other than the Scottish claymore; too heavy/clumsy) - Eastern - naginata (arguably the overall best hand-to-hand weapon ever designed)

[@ИванКузнецов-ш1п]

What about a Billhook? It has reach plus it has a hook to grab shield/leg. It can stab and hack, which makes it versatile.

[@penttikoivuniemi2146]

Claymore is a relatively small variant of the greatsword.

[@adcyuumi]

@@ИванКузнецов-ш1п There is a long list of polearm-style weapons that I have a huge respect for. The naginata is just my #1 on that list. Billhook might be #2 or #3 tho.

[@elgostine]

@@adcyuumi i mean naginata is just one of TONS of various glaives available in the world, but naginata are aften VERY nicely made historically so yknow they do have a nice flare

[@adcyuumi]

@@elgostine The naginata had a reputation for being a killer, but other glaives never achieved that reputation. The most deadly samurai to ever live (who was a woman btw; I've always found that detail interesting) used a naginata and cut down quite a lot of other samurai in her time. The main reason for the naginata's rep is its blade angle, which is absent on western glaives. Even improvised cuts from odd angles will self-correct into a good cut, so "good form" is less mechanical and more fluid - forgiving in the cut, but on a weapon that will go thru most armor and kill immediately when it does. Western glaives strike a bit awkwardly, like an axe.

[@dlatrexswords]

Thanks so much for doing this collab Jesse! Everyone learns so much when doing this type of cross training, and I continue to respect your ability to improvise on the fly when things ‘do not go according to plan’. Great showing for both HEMA and Kobudo

[@Cru128]

Funnily, grappling is a big part of European martial arts, especially against armored opponents. So, trying to get a knight on the ground isn’t a bad idea, it’s actually exactly what you’d want to do against one, since while medieval armor was very mobile, you’d still have a little difficulty getting up. But, the tricks are mostly done with assistance of levers, aka your weapon. It was also interesting to see the adaptation to your strategy. Though, it’s not terribly surprising to me that the generally shorter weapons failed against much longer weapons, namely with the sidesword vs kama, but that’s a general issue you’ll find in all weapons. Longer blades generally have a greater advantage since they aren’t as reliant on getting close, I’d recommend Skllagrim’s own video on a similar weapon to the kama about sickle fighting and his spars to test it out. Now, in a realistic scenario outside of sparring, if nunchaku were put up against a rapier and parrying dagger, even with the tonfa in the off hand, nunchucks aren’t very good weapons in general and don’t do well at carrying the energy of a blow when compared to a normal stick, but seeing it in sparring getting namely used against the hands is actually pretty insightful, it does show a bit of a strength they could have, and it’s being able to hit targets that a straight blade would need more effort with, and I admittedly disagree with the assumption that a shorter opponent is faster, it’s normally the taller ones in my experience that are faster. Though, smaller opponents are definitely much harder to hit because they’re small. I admittedly don’t have much to stay about the quarter staff because well… it’s a staff. Staves are historically rather effective weapons, especially if made of thicker and stronger wood, though some techniques you employed were actually also done in medieval Europe, so that underlines a similarity between philosophy in regards to these styles of weaponry. Of course with the armor duel again, what would have been done is that the weak spots in the armor would be exploited or the visor lifted up for visored helms or the helmet completely removed if it was close faced. But with the style of armor, it looks to be about 14th century from my perspective, so the helmet is likely a bascinet. But that’s only my observation from watching this.

[@bravenkirok3142]

Awesome to see you dive into the HEMA community Jesse! I love fighting in armored tourneys. I have often used my training from RyuTe Renmei to compliment my swordfighting.

[@Mr_Kujo]

I love how the bo was so effective. Especially the nuki tsuki is such an underrated technique in my opinion. So difficult to react because you don't see it coming.

[@KARATEbyJesse]

Like a snake!

[@wloffblizz]

Now imagine if the bo had a lethal blade attached to it as well to make those strikes truly effective... :) It's easy to understand why varieties of spears and polearms have always been extremely popular in history, all the way up to the invention of rifles. Coincidentally, the naginata has always been one of my favorite Japanese weapons!

[@JSN723]

Staffs are highly underrated and were much more accessible to people of various cultures in early times. There’s a couple videos of quarterstaff fighting and what it can do to armor and bones.

[@ryujitzu3547]

I mean the bo was effective because it had a massive reach advantage, polearms vs blades in one touch is almost universally going to go to the weapon with reach, not to mention that it was a two handed weapon against an opponent with two one handed implements (who probably wasn't trained to think that the lower leg is a viable target, although frankly I don't know enough about hema scoring to say) frankly the only really interesting matchup was the kama, where I honestly thought the kama would have been at a substantial disadvantage but they proved out nicely, using one to direct the opponents weapon and the other to strike was a really effective strategy.

[@SoulShadow69]

thats why many soldiers used spears, it is the improved form of the Bo

[@Cavalier9500]

This was really cool. The Kama worked much better than I thought they would, and the Tonfa and Nunchaku were like a flail and parrying dagger! As per facing the armoured opponent - that's what Jujutsu is for. Take him down and then use a dagger in the joints of the armour.

[@KARATEbyJesse]

Yes indeed!! Thank you

[@leichtmeister]

To be fair: They worked because his opponent refused to use all his tools. No guards, no overhead work, no constant threat with the point.

[@greyngreyer5]

@@leichtmeister Correct. I don't see the point of this video.

[@jangofresh1019]

Something rather essential was missing from that knight's arsenal. A horse that is also wearing it's own suit of armor.

[@astronom_1902]

Actually, in circles of historians distant weapon well-known for it's advantages. If you can chose a weapon - grab spear. You can hold the ground against enemy's cavalry, when you stay in formation, you can keep enemy far from you and attack him before he'll even get able to harm you. As for close quarters... Success of medieval battle depends generally of how successfully cavalry destroyed formation of enemy and how successfully this enemy keeps his formation. And spear fits for this role just brilliantly. For close quarter fight infantryman and archers were using cheap and practical falchions and Messers.

[@windhelmguard5295]

generally yes, longer is better, but if your enemy uses missile attacks frequently, pairing a big shield (like viking round shield or roman scutum) with shorter weapon befitting of the armour your opponent is using is the better call.

[@thorgeirrsteinulfsson5698]

What I find most interesting is that I could basically predict the outcome of each bout: kama vs sidesword: hm, could go either way, depends on which one understand best how to exploit the weakness of the other (better reach/bettter weapon control) rapier vs tonfa/nunchuck: rapier wins (although long play (dagger closer to the body) would have been more efficient imho) sword and buckler vs bo: oh the swordman is screwed armor vs fists: uh... unless they count any hits on the armour as valid I don't see how he could do anything... (and they did) As they said, it is not the style but the skill that is important... and choosing a weapon that efficiently counters the other's!

[@KARATEbyJesse]

Amazing!!

[@tarnishchris]

As some one with an interest in both medieval combat and eastern martial arts...this proves what ive always thought....it's not the art it's the application

[@KARATEbyJesse]

Couldn't agree more!

[@tarnishchris]

@@KARATEbyJessetheir are only so many ways to move from point a to point b....the cross over of physical technique is probably closer that most people think...I took a drill that a friend of mine showed me for his European medieval sword class and used it for a sports karate points class....didn't change a thing

[@ketsugo3]

It don't prove squat Jesse is far more skilled . Therefore you can't get a clear idea of which is better ! I guarantee give Jesse the East sword and the hema guy Kama Jesse still win . He has trained for years . Hema is new , pretty much nobody With equal level

[@tarnishchris]

@@ketsugo3 hema has been around for decades.....I think you are thinking that I am more on the side of the eastern weapons...I'm not. I am saying and have always said that it's 50/50 between the two

[@tarnishchris]

@Hishen Mathurin between my admiration for European and eastern weapons and weapon styles

[@gw1357]

This looks like a lot of fun. Very impressive. That heavy plate is from the late Middle Ages. At that point in history, armor technology had finally outpaced sword technology. The key was to bring the knight off his feet and finish him on the ground with a bludgeoning weapon or with a piercing weapon specifically designed to poke a hole in a helmet or to fit through an eye or neck gap. If you look at warhammers from the period they had what was called a "Crows Beak" on the back side for that purpose. And knights all carried a heavy dagger (not unlike the sai) to poke through face plates. Check out the movie "The Last Duel" for a pretty good representation of this. I thought you did exactly right in the end. Close range. Footsweep and finish.

[@KARATEbyJesse]

Awesome! Thank you so much

[@Sierra-tx1we]

The main problem is the logic of the damage, when you hit the leg you could be stabbed in the troat by the sword. The dinamic of the attack is something you could not avoid to evaluate. Btw nice contentent i love to see those sort of sparrings

[@MariusThePaladin]

I was told that Karate was invented as ways for peasant to fight back against samurai. Well, I can see why now. I'd say your 2nd match was actually spot on with how people fought in armor when they didn't have a weapon that can fight it, but instead of punching, people would tried to stab the pinned opponent through gaps in their armor (or going for joint breaking and such).

[@Duddeldink]

Should have done a Top Gear style intro for the armoured knight xD "Some say, he once fought a moose by ending it rightly, and he has been credited with being the only martial artist to ever be so impressive at blocking, that his opponent ran away. All we know is, that he is called the Knight!"

[@Wub-rv9xx]

Some say he swam across the English channel in full armor, and that he burned down the London Bridge while drunk. All we know is that he's called the Knight!

[@thejapanarchocommunist]

You should've done a bo vs halberd match; they both had reach advantages that would've been neat to see against each other. That or bo vs quarterstaff.

[@HappyCommando92494]

Merging HEMA with Martial Arts of the Orient? Hell yeah! 👊🥋

[@RoxT-c1b]

5:34 The way the armoured person turned, said "run" and immediately snapped back to face forward was so funny xD

[@cerb1221]

quick disclaimer, as an armor enthusiast, this is not what actual armor looked like. This is buhurt armor, which is cheap and doesnt fit properly to allow it to be damaged without too much issue. the changes are... buhurt helmets are normally bigger the cuirass or other chest armor is usually wider at the waist with buhurt generally doesnt fit as well.

[@lordMartiya]

My traditional Japanese weapon of choice against an armored medieval knight: Tanegashima. Armor-piercing, easy to use, and longer-ranged. Plus, it's a GUN. Yeah, I don't think I could take an armored knight in anything resembling a fair fight...

[@douglasknupp4574]

By the time you can get a tanegashima, knights amor was bulletproffed.

[@lordMartiya]

@@douglasknupp4574 Armored MEDIEVAL knight. Before they bulletproofed it. I know it's cheating... But against an armored knight with a poleaxe? With only Japanese traditional weapons and no ability with the yumi? I'll take time travel over a fair and realistic fight, thank you.

[@torstenscott7571]

@@douglasknupp4574 let's not forget that firearms technology evolved faster in Europe than in Japan.

[@subratadhar7698]

use a kanabo and club him to hospital

[@HoriaNeagu]

​@@lordMartiya Even with a yumi, you'd have to be on horseback and have a few of your mates with you and they'd have to be equally skilled or even more so to actually stand a chance against a fully armoured European knigth.

[@gillesdupouy8357]

I was very impressed with how well he dealt with the sidesword using kamas, and the bo skills are terrifying. It's very interesting for me who does HEMA but doesn't know much about kobudo

[@mantispid5]

Yeah you would think a few quick thrusts from the side sword would be enough to win against the kama

[@Alexime.]

this man has nice skills with the bo-staff, the way he used it. you could really see that he used real strategy and speed to win, thats really cool. and his karate skills is incredible. the way he managed the knight when he threw away his weapon was insane!

[@makukawakami]

i like how both of you are so respectful and open-minded about each other's preferred discipline. just sparring and comparing skills

[@HoriaNeagu]

Really instructive video. The only element I'm missing here is the difference in degrees of damage that these weapons are capable of inflicting. For instance, they're treating a blow with the bo the same as a rapier stab or a dagger thrust or a nunchaku hit. That might be a good way to grant points if you're fencing for sports. However, if you're simulating a real combat scenario, that simply won't suffice, because a blunt strike with a relatively light wooden staff won't really do anything to an armoured knight, whereas a thrust or a cut to a vital area (like a gap in the armour) will most likely do some serious damage. Another point I noticed... after the takedown, the knight seemed to have sort of stopped fighting. He was just lying there. In a normal combat situation, I would expect even someone with very limited ground game to struggle, grab your head, try to cover up with their arms, punch, kick, shove, push with their hips, try to either pull you close for a grapple or push you away. Here, the knight just sort of took a breather as Jesse was going to town with his ground-and-pound. Other than that, it's interesting to see the change in technique and strategy based on the weapons available.

[@tankthefrank4650]

AWESOME!!!! Every traditional martial artist dream scenario, watching medieval fighting styles duke it out 🔥🔥👍🇺🇸🇵🇭

[@KARATEbyJesse]

Right on!

[@ZagorTeNayebo]

I believe that HEMA would improve immensely if it included wrestling or judo as a basis for learning weapons, kind of like karate does with empty hand and kobudo, not necessarily because you will use it much when weapons are involved but because it really teaches you what it's like to fight a resisting opponent really close up

[@DockMephisto]

It is really a good idea! ...so good, infact, that we already train wrestling, as it is a fundamental component in HEMA, for longsword, pollaxe, rondel dagger and armoured fighting!

[@Szabla1595]

Fiore teaches a complete system like that.

[@ZagorTeNayebo]

@@DockMephisto It's really really good if your school does that

[@turtlebutme7103]

They do if you read Fiore's manuscript the first chapter states how wrestling should be the basis for the rest of the arts and ringen or war wrestling was a really big part of European martial culture.

[@thuranz2773]

@@turtlebutme7103 yup, I believe that was generally one of the go to ways of fighting an armoured opponent on foot besides, polearms, and blunt weapons. Wrestle them to the ground, and then use a dagger to kill or force a surrender.

[@etherealicer]

Something more about the final conclusion. A point and an edge are also very nice. I think outside of sparing you would not want to be hit by a sword on the wrist, while you might shake a blunt hit from Nunchakus (or even a staff) off. I think that is poorly represented in sparing with weapons (and not just here, it is a general problem). Touch == Point(s)*, which of course is not true, especially if armor gets thrown in the mix. I mean that is like thinking it does not matter where you get punched (or how hard). *Some rules give different amount of points for different target areas (e.g. head vs torso vs limbs).

[@KARATEbyJesse]

Thanks for sharing! 👍

[@joshuahudson2170]

If I were to take a knight I'd go for shield fighting.

[@richardespinoza9157]

The Asian martial art guy has a major advantage. There are allowing him to pick second so he can pick up weapons to counter the hema practitioners.

[@calilaployploy2827]

That ending is funny, but actually real. knocking down an armored subject was a great thing to do. Getting up is hard with all that plate, but mostly in the ground you can use your dagger to stab the knight in the openings of his armor.

[@Vincent_Clarke]

problem is: the armoured subjects don't let themselves be knocked down, and the same subjects were also masters of wrestling. So they may struggel to get up quick, but if you go down with them you may not get up at all - with or without armour. In that occasion the knigh wiuld have drawn the rondelle and done quick work of the boxer

[@FedericoMalagutti]

Nice to see some HEMA on your channel ;-) Cool video!!!!

[@KARATEbyJesse]

Thanks a lot my friend! Thanks for supporting my work

[@That_Damn_Plaid_Ram]

I absolutely love seeing how insanely fast some of the Knight's strikes were with a weapon as large and unbalanced as a poleaxe! I love training and fighting with a sword and shield, but my absolute favorite is the poleaxe, and seeing fights between poleaxes and eastern weapons and techniques is always super fun. All in all, great video!

[@ethankim6624]

love the videos bro! got into kyokushin because of you

[@KARATEbyJesse]

Wonderful! Enjoy

[@MartialArtsGamer]

Kyokushin will make you tough.

[@swordseeker8910]

I love this!!! We do this in our club too! Mostly HEMA vs FMA because that is what is most available but we also have teammates who practice kenjutsu/kendo, wushu, and more and we spar cross styles a lot. It's the closest thing we could get to playing For Honor in real life!

[@Jaime_Protein_Cannister]

That's why pike and Spear are the most common tools of warfer since ancient times , Acient Macedonia during the reign of philip and it's phalanx comes to mind.

[@tennoakahi]

You had the right idea about closing in for grappling, that is how knights took each other down when they didn't have maces or poleaxes. Do you think it would have gone any different if you had an Eiku for the knight fight? Seems to have the right length and heft.

[@KARATEbyJesse]

I think you’re right!

[@Specter_1125]

Even with that, it wouldn’t go great. Plate armor is still incredibly protective against blunt impact. Blunt impact is just one of the few ways you might still be able to hurt someone in it.

[@liverstealerwastaken]

6:30 FINAL BOSS

[@redsheepnobs877]

Thank you Jesse for helping with my martial arts journey I started with karate and Kyokushin but after watching your Muay Thai video I started practicing Muay Thai my nations national martial arts 🇹🇭🇹🇭🇹🇭🇹🇭🇹🇭🇹🇭

[@KARATEbyJesse]

Great to hear!

[@sixstringrevolver6742]

This is such a great idea for a video. One of my favorites so far. The enemy knight was great too. Was really cool to see the nunchaku/tonfa combo, and that staff sparring was top notch. Had to rewatch those rounds 3 or 4 times. Big fan of the Bo as well. Always really liked staff and spear; but my favorite weapon will always be the guan dao/glaive. (Nagamaki's are pretty frickin cool too though haha). Thanks for another great video Jesse! Love to see more Eastern vs European mashups... Maybe Icy Mike isn't too bad with a sword? haha

[@iROChakri]

The best advice to fight somebody with heavy armors like that is to run. He aint wrong. The dude in heavy armors runs so much slower. That's exactly how the Mongols were so scary. They're very mobile and deadly, even they're light on armors.

[@SlimyStorm]

loved the bo staff fight and awesome video love it

[@KARATEbyJesse]

Thanks a lot! 🙏

[@honestbenny]

I remember first time I went to HEMA when I was training Kendo and we had match ups. First few fights we were all just hitting each other since none of us had any muscle memory to deal with attack patterns and techniques that other was were using. If it was our first meeting on battlefield we would probably killed each other in first few exchanges. However as day went forward we started to get used to totally different techniques, patterns and different ways of positioning our swords and fights were really interesting as we were seeing more and more simillarities in both martial arts while also talking about all differences. Had a lot of fun :)

[@romans883]

Conclusion - DONT use brass knuckles against armoured knight with halabard ! You could use a spear or naginata some polearm with either speed or crushing power to defeat him lol

[@mkidp4481]

Just as a medieval enthusiast, that bo staff strike at 3:44 was super clean.

[@brassbucket1998]

Who would win? A state of the art medieval plated knight vs some guy with a metal stick

[@Alhok]

Love the video Jesse! Thank you for helping fencing arts come to focus. As always you are showing main thing - HEMA is more hobby then a sport, and you as semi professional sportsman will have an advantage no matter what weps are used. It would be fun to dance with you, both karate ruleset and HEMA 8).

[@Ighbat4u]

That kick should not have counted because it would have done nothing to him with that armor. Still fun to see.

[@andrewprahst2529]

Man he's got a fun european accent! Just like a real knight!

[@stef.w4180]

The demonstrations work really well, the only problem is that i think a lot of the ninja weapons used are not lethal, or not as lethal as the European weapons so the risk-reward is not in your favor

[@bobo8620]

Absolutely NOT staged video. The guy with the poleax was even afraid to swing it a little harder. And the man with the sword forgot how to hit with it. It's sad to see that so many people watched it.

[@jorne6863]

The staff part is impressing but it's not lethal except if you hit something very specific. Where the sword can make serious injury even if it just hit the hand.

[@tumage8592]

I mean yes, against soft targets a blade is better but if both would wear armor the staff would absolutely destroy the sword

[@rishitmiglani]

I recently started learning karate and at the start of this year and your videos keep inspiring me to continue, you are amazing!

[@KARATEbyJesse]

You are!

[@gabrielpanagsagan9741]

"Do not try this at home" *Looks at my set of knight armor* Not today bud....

[@gluttonyfang6674]

I see this as Elden Ring weapon user vs Nioh weapon user face off in a Hellish Quart match lmao.

[@heideknight9122]

Always love to see the mighty stick. Very interesting! Love when the conversation is educational and fun.

[@benjaminpujols1914]

That was pretty awesome I loved it and it was pretty scary especially with the types of weapons they were using but I think that bowl you had was probably the best one to keep distance

[@BosunM8James]

I've always found myself very impressed with your knowledge of application for these ancient weapons. If anything you demonstrate just how effective these weapons were and still would be today if used in combat. Awesome video and the experts in the video who demonstrated their talent with European weapons was equally impressive.

[@MeldrickCz]

Well brass knuckles vs heavily armored warrior with warhammer mounted on a pole? Please cue in: "Its A Bold Strategy Cotton, Lets See If It Pays Off For Em."

[@davidsunderland7383]

One thing to keep in mind is dueling us different than combat. I can accept the results as a duel but this guy would be dead if they were out for blood.

[@freddym99]

Seriously big props finding the courage and determination to fight a fully armored knight with a pair of knuckle busters

[@Iso20227]

This is nice to see. I definitely have different ways I would do if I fight an actual knight. But I don’t know who would win. As said at the end I of the video, “a weapon, is an extension of the human body”. Meaning, skill is all that really matters. That is why my goal is to be a true weapons specialist. Guns, swords, fists, bookshelves, I don’t care, anything that can be a weapon, I want to be able to use at maximum proficiency. Call it unrealistic or cringey if you will, but I have a dream, and it will become reality.

[@mirsad7]

if this teaches us anything, is that confidence is master in combat. Jesse, youve earned my utmost respect for your combat skills. youve also disproven several youtubers in the effectivness of several martial weapons.

[@carp3tstain]

Love your videos man! Just subscribed. I have about 13 years of training in American boxing, 12 in Brazilian jiu-Jitsu, some wrestling, Muay Thia, and even Krav Maga. Mixed martial arts is the fun and the best way! I spent lots of my time sparring with people with all backgrounds, best way to learn! Especially if you’re humble and willing to learn.

[@KARATEbyJesse]

That is awesome!

[@MrYotosun]

*taps metal helmet* "that's rock solid!" First time ever seeing this channel in my life but I already love it.

[@RandomGuy010]

Just found the channel and don't know what weapons training you have but this was both entertaining and impressive. Would watch longer videos.

[@akshajbhardwaj4029]

Dude your videos are soooo good that whenever I have got nothing go do then I'm like ah let me watch a Jesse enkamp video!

[@InternetUser9000]

was watching his feet waiting for him to get stabbed there 💀.

[@AdelaideSwordAcademy]

"I won against HEMA fencers" .... by ignoring when I was hit ... lol

[@uhuju1]

this is the best video i've seen all month, amazing fighters, clear marking of the hits AND an explanation afterwards

[@KARATEbyJesse]

I appreciate that! 🙏

[@FullAdDariusBR]

Dude simply fought Lawbringer from For Honor in the end lmao.