Rob Childs Rapier Vid 51 - 2023 Sword Crush Gold Medal Match

Gold medal match for single rapier at Sword Crush 2023 in Santa Rosa, CA.

[@IljaThePerson]

Those level changes by Kai were fuckin' legendary.

[@fritzious737]

Oh hey Kai is the guy that’s teaching me! Good show I feel a lot less bad with how I do against him now

[@pono302]

Two top-tier rapier masters in the present.... what a match!

[@TheFencingFox]

The hug at the end is the best part🦊

[@FabrisFanatic]

It was cool being ringside for this fight - that last exchange was so much fun to watch with it being equal parts swashbuckle and martial.

[@trent7677]

Very nice! Thank you for sharing. Everyone involved should feel very proud.

[@milanmilacic9311]

The last exchange was so good!

[@scrtwpnx]

agree with the videographer. thrusting to the mask is often missed. i usually go for the body. a lot easier for judges to see

[@FirebloodDamian]

Against most fencers Childs hits well enough to visibly push his opponent's head back. I've seen from personal experience and videos, lol. Kai is fast enough to void and even looks like he parried an attack with his hand.

[@drachimera]

That was awesome!

[@malachiingram4427]

first time viewer on the channel, guy on the left was coiled up like a spring my goodness. very cool fencing.

[@danielnunez7424]

is the guy in red jacket using a Pike armory shell hilt rapier?

[@RobertChildsRapier]

For that you would have to ask Kai Eva what he was wielding.

[@scottmacgregor3444]

Im curious how you're liking the Wkusi Cobra? Im going to need a new mask soon, and i think it might be that.

[@RobertChildsRapier]

I tried it out and it seemed to work perfectly well. I only have this one tournament to go off of, though, so more testing is needed.

[@fabricio-agrippa-zarate]

2:14 what afterblow? Kai deflected Child's thrust.

[@IljaThePerson]

100% agreed, having seen that in person.

[@veralnox457]

Oh hey. I usually end up fighting Kai at SoCal

[@Monstereway]

7:13

[@JeremyRoyaux]

Hello @robert Childs. I am discovering your channel at the moment and there is a lot of interesting stuff, thank you ! I have one question for you about "competitive rapier". In another video (or comment) you explain that you were influenced by modern fencing, russo-hungarian and italien rapier. I was wondering what is your opinion about Destreza, since they mainly used rapier for their system. A lot of HEMA clubs still practice it but it's not seen a lot in tournaments. What do you think about the system and is there some things of interest for you in it even if it's not the best "competitive" system at the moment? Thank you

[@RobertChildsRapier]

I think Destreza from the waist up has a lot of valuable knowledge and techniques. Constraining movements, controlling the blade, it is full of techniques and tactics I wholeheartedly endorse. But from the waist down--meaning the footwork--I think there is room for improvement. I am a firm believer that footwork is fully 50% of any swordsman's defense and Destreza (at least in my experience fighting those who practice it) is lacking in swiftness. A couple of months back I watched a Destreza seminar populated by a host of practitioners who came together to discuss the style. Among those topics was a discussion on the challenges of Destreza in competition. One of the wisest things to come from that portion of the discussion was a comment that, in competition, Destreza practitioners should incorporate the philosophy and tactics of Destreza with other influences.

[@JeremyRoyaux]

That's indeed a wise auto observation to make ! That reminds me about Alberto Bonprezzi. He also explains the same things in some other interview . He would probably agree with you and when you see him spar , his footwork is not really classic destreza. He explains that he uses more traditionnal destreza for teaching but it's heavily modified for competitive bouts. Thank you !

[@shkotayd9749]

@@RobertChildsRapier "I am a firm believer that footwork is fully 50% of any swordsman's defense and Destreza (at least in my experience fighting those who practice it) is lacking in swiftness." Sounds like most combat sports like boxing. In fact the most efficient way to use your power is to use your footwork to add power through body mechanics to your punches. Quickly managing distance, especially laterally, is a key part of defense too, as you dont have to absorb punches, but with a little of the right movement, can make them miss.

[@RobertChildsRapier]

@@shkotayd9749 Footwork is indeed 50% of one's defense. While I can appreciate the style of Destreza for its bladework, I do think the footwork is a limiting factor.

[@shkotayd9749]

@@RobertChildsRapier I think I'd like to learn how to start handling a rapier for sparring! I wonder how it would feel, but I can see you are right handed and lead with that foot. As a righty boxer, I lead with my left. Right now I'd be 99% guaranteed to lop my own head off if someone gave me a real sword through pure incompetence >.

[@beepboop204]

🙂

[@yuriys.6352]

в того зліва ліва рука живе своїм життям ))))

[@BillyraycyrusIII]

Its cool until you see a little tap being scored. lol what the hell is that?

[@LHVMleodragonlamb]

slotter

[@1guitarlover]

The guy on the right keeps always a low stand and a low guard. Not of my choice indeed.

[@ariesofmars2492]

You can say Kias mask works in his favor.

[@jimlo632]

Not sure which was worse, the judging, the other guy not calling shots landed on him or the way out of tempo after blow attempts lol.

[@dsan94]

To be fair, there were blows both ways not self-called and I've been on the losing end of a very bad judgement call when fencing Rob. Also, I'd much rather see late afterblow attempts than watch idiots stop immediately following an action.

[@jimlo632]

@@dsan94 if some one got thrusted in the head in real life it would stop the after blow but i know most people fence for sport and just try hard to get the win in any means. A after blow in tempo is one thing but getting hit and trying to hit them 3 tempos later just so u can try and score a point after you already lost is ridiculous. Also that dude got hit with so many shots and didnt self call . That shows he is just fencing for sport and the win. From what ive seen rob self calls a good amount of the time.

[@jimlo632]

@@dsan94 also just re watched it and didnt see sny hits land on rob that werent called. Maybe i missed it what tims was it at

[@RobertChildsRapier]

Judging a match between two high level rapier competitors is always tough. Were there missed calls? Sure, but that is bound to happen even with the best judging around. I do think both judges in that gold medal match were giving it their all and--more importantly--I believe they were being honest to what they saw. I've got some of the sharpest eyes around and even I am not perfect. And I will say they did exactly as I would have done when the action became confusing or unclear: they washed the exchange and told us to do it again.

[@dsan94]

@@jimlo632 that is simply not true. There are many accounts of people taking a thrust or bullet to the head and continuing to fight. There are accounts of people receiving non-fatal wounds and shutting down.

[@LHVMleodragonlamb]

leftie has better gear opposing looks renaissance fair