John Clements turns the Key

[@Rikitocker]

Caffeine is a hell of a drug ...

[@cousinlopez4877]

Fencing is a hell of a drug * insert medivil Rick James* .... Bitch

[@AlbionFan57]

watching this at 1.5 speed is awesome. try it.

[@bearling477]

In this video, John becomes a crab people.

[@UnclePutte]

Always nice to see teachers enthusiastic for their craft. The "dead inside, crawling towards retirement" kind of teacher is a more common sight.

[@Akmon87]

The scale means nothing more then in balance with the same weight on both foods. Key is an hut mentioned by meyer and ha snothing to do with footwork. I would appreciate, if somebody of arma could tell where the heck he find the word key connected to footwork, iam only familiar with the manuscripts till 1600.

[@Akmon87]

i have searched for days and haven't found it

[@jperego7146]

Have you ever learned something that seems to make everything else make more sense? That's what this has done for me.

[@HillardEarl]

What do you think about George Silver, Paradoxes of Defence, London 1599 ?

[@Wikingersohn93]

We need a 10 hour extension for this.

[@gurkfisk89]

I'm not much of a reader of manuscripts but the scale is at least mentioned in the Döbringer manuscript (MS 3227a). But I think it's mentioned in other manuscripts to.

[@joebob4383]

I WANT TO GO INTO WHY

[@Iaazathoth]

Opening the kwa and the bow stance in taichi, the various footworks of many Japanese sword schools and European martial traditions all use variations on these principles.

[@AdelaideSwordAcademy]

you know, some where in the midst of all this, I think he has a point. He's conflating multiple divergent sources, but there's something useful in there somewhere.

[@antoniusmaximus3174]

Makes perfect sense its the same principals in boxing and other hand to hand combat systems. The legs in boxing act as the fulcrum where you draw power from for your punches. Since the body works the same now as it did then it still applys.

[@SavageInsight]

And Martial Arts are revealed in a dance of the 60 XD - Its surprising no one noticed the Key considering the popularity of the dance

[@Whiskey_and_Steel]

Thank you for the new technique.

[@johnsartor1811]

All of this makes sense from a biomechanical standpoint. It all makes sense. Despite the haters, I can't fault the physics involved, because it is self-evidently true. The sword is an extension of the upper extremities, and the addition of a sword simply adds a "joint" between the human hand and the sword handle resulting additional axes of movement. All one must do is envision the sword as part of the extremity, and it makes perfect sense, especially when combined with the concurrent movements of the hips and torso rotation and footwork.

[@kijinseija727]

John Sartor agree, can confirm

[@Zwerchhau]

"The Key" is a term he coined for a particular footwork phenomenon documented throughout numerous sources and many period images, but which isn't really named directly in the sources itself. "The turning of the key" is simply his name to identify that particular movement.

[@JorgeCortines]

Look in Vadi folio 15r.

[@Okaruwazashi]

I wonder if the tooth of the key is the foot, or is in fact the head of the femur. The effect of the foot on the hip and spine occurs because of the movement of the head of the femur after all.

[@foxlunettaart8812]

"WeRe NoT GoInG tO gO InTo WhY!"

[@mojothemigo]

@HansThalhoffer I'm looking at images on the PDF file thats on his website. If he is wrong, he gives very good images from Fechtbuchs that support his argument. His argument is very good as well. I have to be very careful, I am NOT a swordsman and belong to no martial art. You very well might be right, but he does give good evidence.

[@fightsgiantrobots]

I need a .gif of this now.

[@knightandmagic141]

"By pivoting your foot and turning your hips you create a greater range of motion". There, I just saved you almost 5 minutes.

[@Capoeiratics]

:) Eureka!

[@robertlehnert4148]

Except it seemed to have escaped the notice of the HEMMA/HEMA crowd until ARMA in 2010 came out with this.

[@pumpSHO]

do the Clements dance! lol

[@MarvelDcImage]

His body geometry actually looks like those of middle ages drawings of sword fighters - large upper body and thin legs. I don't know if it is because he is wearing small middle ages looking shoes that makes him look like that or because his exercises developed his body that way.

[@Wolfenkuni]

MarvelDcImage remember that most people who fight are wearing padded jackets and pants that are tight.

[@aytcheff]

A quick comment, most martial arts, including this one which I am a practicioner of, hold most of the power in the legs, longsword, and all the associated wrestling unarmed and armed with various weapons, is in the core, hips, and thighs.

[@Henbot]

very true, but I also just thought it was interesting that it was a battle valid stance

[@ranpleasant]

The Scales footwork that Clements is showing is historically valid as it is seen in almost all of the historical manuals and in period art. If one is not doing using the Scales footwork then they are not fully doing Medieval and Renaissance swordmanship.

[@bloodfoxtriberc]

shinmen takezo is laughing in his grave about this hillarious comedy bit.

[@HansThalhoffer]

I do not understand, what he is talking about. Maybe, that has something to do that this video is 4:08 too long. He could have explained his idea in 30 seconds.

[@TheBoxingCannabyte]

It's so crazy this is almost ad-verbatim in how I've been instructucted by my trainer (former 5x World kickboxing champ Eddie "The Flash" Newman) and the training my dad and I have been doing. You just laid it down much better. Great video!

[@BrazenMudrain]

I can guarantee you sir/ma'm that Mr. Clements source material is much older that Mr. Lee and Mr. Ali. :D

[@phosster]

Whut?...I don't even....how....?

[@Ranziel1]

@HansThalhoffer I understood everything perfectly. Learning european martial arts always comes with explanation and historical research, as it remains a lost art and many things are not evident, but you have to understand why are you actually doing it, works better this way.

[@MrPotatoesLatkie]

It seems as if he's rediscovered a valuable insight into footwork. I've seen the footwork in the medieval sources and, have always wondered at the wide stances and, foot placement. This helps in understanding.

[@combatives]

John,slow it down...lower the excitement level...take your time...move more slowly then speed things up and also why don't you reference these"positional adjustments" rather than claim they are everywhere...or obvious. An ounce of proofing spares a pound of criticism..I'm just trying to be helpful here.

[@MtnTow]

I would have to say this is pretty valid. No idea on it historically but i've certainly heard the terms before. Maybe from M. Ali? Can't remember but I'm willing to bet John would wipe most people off off the floor pretty quick by looking at his leg work.

[@Chrominance87]

Great video, and what a character.

[@foroparapente]

Shouting and speaking fast is "character" now?

[@vonsaponatheim3736]

foroparapente Let's just say he's a really dynamic guy :P

[@Thejoeb]

perhaps many peoples opinion, but I think those people can also admit that mr Clements is a very skilled martial artist. strange man, but very good at his craft.

[@foroparapente]

Thejoeb Skilled in combat? Maybe, I don't know that. But he is an asshole egowise, and some eastern martial arts are very critical of that.

[@josiasarcadia]

foroparapente actually, nobody knows that because of his refusal to prove it in sparring.

[@SeanArcherSDA]

I love this guy, he's so dynamic and driven.

[@Ghelimir]

Key . . ? Ki . . ?

[@HansThalhoffer]

@bsapaka Aye, thank you. but is is John's misunderstanding of Philippo di Vadi's "E chi queste chiave cum seco non averà / A questo giuoco poca Guerra farà. Le gambe chiave se po’ben diri / Per che li ti serra e anche ti po’ aprire". He spends a lot of time selling his idea by citing wrongly old masters and telling bullshit about other fighting styles. If he would just present his idea it would serve him much better.

[@Henbot]

man is it me or is anyone else getting utterly exhausted just watching him shahaha But thats really interesting, and looks so much like bruce lees footwork which I remember reading had origins in mohammed ali from spending hours watching matches.

[@tuerkefechi]

I guess it is because of the drugs... or the red shoes... or the scale... or the key.... yeah, I guess it is all about the key is the foot is the scale is the lock is the door that opens the mind to the drugs... :-)

[@66piperaztech]

OH, and if I am about to get sliced in half, I will DEFINATELY make sure I block with the flat of my blade. jk

[@Wertornion]

I don't get the thing here. First say a stance is wrong and after that spend 3 min explaining it great.. If I'm moving with a blade I'm moving as he is explaining naturally, because if you don't do it in some way you con't move. "Oh no i found something special! That everybody is doing! Now i gonna make a video where I'm jumping around saying nothing" And looking at the tags is a whole new world opening for me. xD

[@Vondanzigkungfu]

14 people can't turn the key

[@foroparapente]

This guy needs to learn how to breathe...