Military sabre footwork for beginners - HEMA / Historical Fencing

[@paolomorresi3183]

I want to go to London because of your accademy. It would be a great reason for living there. And as always, thank you.

[@cygil1]

One thing I've learned: Practice footwork on flat surfaces! I /lightly/ strained my knee in the park on a barely noticable indentation on the ground, and lost about four months practice waiting for it to recover. My ligaments have toughened up since, but it's easy to injure yourself when you're starting out -- especially if you have sloppy technique (ie, knee and foot not aligned in the same plane.)

[@bohun28]

For someone who does not have a local HEMA club, I'm really enjoying these new instructional videos!!

[@tedblackburn8679]

Me too. Montreal Canada sucks!

[@Anttimation]

Thanks for this video, it's really useful. I wanted to ask you (or anyone who can answer) about the use of the targe in historical context. It's often wielded by archers in their bowhand in video games etc. I was wondering whether it was actually done (to some extend probably, but in some games every archer carries one) and how practical it was.

[@CorySee]

I love the martial arts crossover so apparent in so many styles. I've never done any sort of fencing, but that loose "Horse stance" you're taking up, and the stutter-step advances and retreats, are applicable to so many martial arts.

[@CorySee]

***** That's why I called it a loose horse stance. I've studied plenty and know exactly what a horse stance is. The concept behind it is almost the same.

[@TheBillyDWilliams]

***** Well someone's a grumpy-pants today...

[@nar0099]

***** Well, aren't we all so fortunate to have a master of your standard generously grace us with your wisdom...

[@nar0099]

***** I was being sarcastic, as I sincerely hope you were also being with that Art of War quote

[@TheBillyDWilliams]

***** It's the internet dude. Calm down.

[@micha-elcleveland1265]

Thank you Matt. There were a couple of "points" there that I needed to be reminded of.

[@rryuan]

The foot work initially is very similar to kick boxing. Though we do not lunge in kick boxing because you would lose power in your punches and expose your lead leg to a nasty kick. I can also say that lateral movement is 1) more difficult then linear movement and 2) less effective at sword range. If I were to slip my opponents punch at close range and step off. I am entirely out of his wheel house to strike and possibly even see me. If I were to side step out side of sword range his ability to follow and adjust is much quicker and the side step is far less useful. That being said, if you could side step while forcing them to block you maybe able to force them in to poor footing or an awkward angle of attack. But I've never done any real sword work (only boffer weapons)

[@kasnitch]

I like this new series of videos Matt. Looking forward to watching more of them if you make 'em.

[@vaasmontenegro8303]

Excellent tips on the footwork.

[@oliverdosh7210]

i have been looking forward to this video, and it was very helpful, PS thanks for braving the weather, it must be freezing in London right now

[@JustGrowingUp84]

I checked, and it's actually rather nice (for January) - it's around 8-9 degrees centigrade, quite a bit warmer than the -6 I'm experiencing...

[@scholagladiatoria]

JustGrowingUp It's different everyday at the moment - it was about 1 or 2 degrees when I shot that video and the same today.

[@JustGrowingUp84]

scholagladiatoria And here I was happy for you guys that you get some warm days in January... Well, at least it's sunny!

[@Lukos0036]

scholagladiatoria It was almost 80f here today once the cloud cover broke. XD Florida is a magical place full of lizards and the elderly.

[@jordanmahara7513]

It was -29 C here today, -39 C if you include windchill...

[@kamino78]

I remember almost all of this from my days of modern sports fencing, would you say it's always advantageous to do some "modern" fencing in the beginning to get the basics of footwork and timing down?

[@scholagladiatoria]

kamino78 Modern fencing is a very good grounding for certain historical fencing styles - smallsword and sabre principally. It's less useful for things like longsword or sword & buckler, but still useful.

[@shmuckling]

Nice video. It shouldn't be a surprise how much fencing/HEMA technique seems so similar to boxing technique.

[@derekr8997]

Fantastic! Thanks for the video.

Thanks for the crab dance ! :p On a serious note, could you please write down the source you mentionned in the begining video for sabre fencing ? My English listening is not that good so I didn't understand the name.

[@LuxFerre4242]

John Musgrave Waite

Thank you Lux-Ferre​ !

[@semperfi1000]

I really enjoyed that video. Thanks

[@GallowglassAxe]

Few things I like to add to this. On the turning your foot inward also puts strain on your knee. Its not bad but if you train a lot and do it very often then you will seriously damage your knees. Also, a note in Sport Sabre is that you're not allowed to cross your legs moving forward in any manner and you can get penalized for it. You can do it going backward but if you change directions when your legs are cross then you'll also get penalized. Usually its only used in order to make a lot of distance from your opponent and we never taught this in class. I don't remember but I don't think you can get right away if your legs are crossed either. So if your back peddling and your parry and riposte an attack but they still get you then its their point.

[@GelatinousShark]

This is military sabre though - sport sabre rules don't apply here.

[@GallowglassAxe]

Around the 2 min mark he making hints that its alright to cross your legs in sport sabre.

[@LarsSeprest]

Gallowglass To be fair for the majority of the time sport saber has been around it WAS alright to cross the legs. He was alluding to his next point that if you can avoid it you should never cross your legs.

[@GallowglassAxe]

Seprest But its not any more because the sport is still evolving. Just like in Foil you can now stab the lower section of the bib in order to score a point. I totally agree with him on you shouldn't cross your legs especially in sabre.

[@Tyler_Lalonde-]

I like to think of it as being more fluid. all of this is great but it seems like no matter the footwork it has its pros and cons. some want to take away as much cons as possible but you also take the pros with them.

[@The_Mojave_Mailman]

how much does your sabre weigh, and what is the pob on it? I've been looking fir suitable sabres to spar with but I'm quite novice, some expert knowledge would be grand, thank you so much!

[@wayoflifetaichi3864]

Thank you for sharing this information 🙏🏿

[@PandemicalShade]

Is heel-striking a must in this style (assuming appropriately trained foot muscles)?

[@AltruisticAlbatross]

Useful stuff, my footwork's always been shit.

[@rolandmalone5431]

Do you train the pasado and fliche...

[@justinprather8846]

In the context of a duel the sword hand forward stance and footwork seems most sensible given the knuckle protection, but in the event of a military confrontation wouldn't there be passing footwork involved? Not just because it's a simpler manner of footwork under duress, but because you're trying to take ground in military situations so it's natural to use footwork similar to walking/running.

[@scholagladiatoria]

Justin Prather When you walk you should of course pass feet - however, once confronted with an opponent you should get your lead leg in front, because otherwise you cannot lunge immediately. You could of course attack with a passing step, but if you can get the correct foot in front the moment *before* you need it there, then that's better.

[@dmAkolyte]

This is unrelated to the video, but I have a question: Lets say you are armed with an arming sword, or other one handed sword. You do not have access to a buckler, shield or off-hand dagger. I know that another matching sword in the offhand would be effectively useless offensively. However, if it were your only option for another tool, would another sword ever be advantageous if used as an improvised defensive tool? Or would you always be better off leaving your offhand free to assist in using your 'main' sword?

[@remaint3282]

I wouldn't say 'effectively useless', but it certainly takes a great deal of time to be proficient offensively with both hands. There's at least one treatise that tells of wielding two full sized Rapiers. Wielding two full-sized one-handed swords would also be quite preferable when warding off multiple enemies. In hypothesis, wielding two full sized swords would allow for less lines of attack being opened for your opponent(s, at least for non-battlefield engagements). There's also perhaps a psychological advantage in forcing your opponent to be aware of two near-equidistant blades and blade points moving perhaps unpredictably.

[@dmAkolyte]

Enoch Tuong People committed their lives to swordsmanship. Despite the time involved for proficiency, I'd think if dual wielding were ever effective we'd see some sort of historical precedent for it beyond the single treatise you mention. Would you mind linking that, or a reference to it, by the way?

[@remaint3282]

In truth I have not looked into the topic a great deal myself, but this Wiktenauer page should describe it at least a bit. wiktenauer.com/wiki/Giacomo_di_Grassi (Look for "Double Sideswords") I have heard that Far Eastern styles may have made use of dual swords, but again, I have not investigated into the matter much. Also, I think we must keep in mind that many experiences aren't written down or depicted(or simply lost). An example of this is precisely defined information on the technique regarding the European Warbow(we only have two or so treatises slightly touching on it; although we have quite some artwork).

[@stepover12]

beautiful sunny countryside

[@greybliss]

The footwork is similar to what we learn in boxing, I mean their are lots of differences but the fundamentals such as never crossing your legs and pointing lead foot forward is the same.

[@AlwaysReason]

With the lunge I tend to hurt the living shit out of my back (left) knee, especially in sparring. While backing out of the lunge, I tend to "pull" with my back leg, putting what turns out to be tremendous invard pressure on the knee and it almost colapses out of the socket at times.

[@kamino78]

AlwaysReason Of course you probably know this but pulling out of a lunge you should lift up your front toe and push off with your front heel too recover.

[@TheUnmaker28977]

AlwaysReason That sounds painful. I may be preaching to the converted here, but you should practice recovering by pushing with your front foot. You may want to take break from sparring for a few practice sessions so you can focus entirely on your footwork. It's boring, but it'll pay dividends in the long run.

[@NoWay1969]

So, the saber is mostly a thrusting weapon? The cuts don't look that forceful. How does this compare to how you would use a heavier sword while in armor? Same basic principles?

[@scholagladiatoria]

No Way No, the sabre is equally a cut and thrust weapon. The cuts are forceful enough to remove hands and heads, which is probably forceful enough for most applications. People are soft and squishy. Cutting plate armour is a waste of time and fighting in full plate revolves around wrestling and the use of the sword point in the gaps of the armour. Blows were used against chainmail and other flexible armours, but such armour is also very good protection from swords when used with padding underneath. Swords are generally not very good against armour - that's why things like maces and pollaxes were invented.

[@NoWay1969]

scholagladiatoria TY

[@GdzieJestNemo]

no jumping footwork ? (or whatever it's called in english; moving in little jumps where your heel is nearly always lifted)

[@zenjr1004]

Great video

[@TargetHippo]

How much space is there usually between your thumb and the guard(when using a saber grip)?

[@scholagladiatoria]

TargetHippo About a centimeter.

[@TargetHippo]

scholagladiatoria Also, how long would you say the grip usually needs to be in order to hold it with the thumb up?

[@tmcnairbledsoe]

thx for the videos

[@szepi79]

you know its gonna be an easy winter if they still have grass in the UK in january :P

[@danzigrulze5211]

I haven't seen too many treaties on a sabre being used on foot, mostly used on horse back in cavalry. Doesn't seem different from using an epee in fencing.

[@scholagladiatoria]

Danzig Rulze There are very few cavalry sabre treatises compared to sabre on foot treatises. Epee is a thrusting sword with no cuts...

[@danzigrulze5211]

I was mentioning the footwork involved is similar not the weapons.

[@thelonerider9693]

You make this look easy I have two left feet lol.

[@Kenicavus]

very similar to boxing and muay thai :D good news for me

[@ArfooHuroo]

What kind of saber is that?

[@fontecansada4617]

Can anyone tell´s me what´s the book that the Sir is refering to?

[@justinprather8846]

Note that footwork is the same for bowie before entering grapples.

[@TheVanguardFighter]

It's funny that you say the Saber is a light weapon. The USA 1840 model weighed more than 4 pounds! It wasn't short either, as the blade was 35 inch.

[@scholagladiatoria]

N Arri I think that weight is for the sword and steel scabbard. The US M1840 was more or less a poor copy of the French 1822, which weighs around 2.25lbs. Most European sabres weight 1.9 - 2.5lbs, which is relatively light for swords - it's at the low end of the spectrum for medieval one-handers or 17th century broadswords and rapiers.

[@TheVanguardFighter]

Nope the 1840 is 4 pounds not including the scabbard. The thing was called ol wristbreaker it was so massive. The 1860 is still hefty at about 3 pounds, We in the USA like things big!

[@scholagladiatoria]

N Arri Then no wonder the sabre was not a popular weapon in America if it was made twice as heavy as a sabre should be. 4 lbs is the weight of quite a heavy longsword.. I should state though that I have handled a few M1860 and I doubt they were as much as 3 lbs.

[@TheVanguardFighter]

Regarding popularity, some military men liked sabers and some didn't. George Patton thought they were nice and wrote a training manuel for it around ww1.

[@TheVanguardFighter]

Also sabers in the USA were mostly weapons used from horseback.

[@MsTokies]

movement only happens on one axis? or mutli?

[@opmdevil]

If with one axis you mean only back- and forwards, then definitely multi.

[@wiggumesquilax9480]

Just don't assume the stance that he's taken in the thumbnail.

[@DragonTigerBoss]

AKA Matt's Pelvic Thrust Seminar and less relevant musings

[@bushfosterdad]

pardon my ignorance, what saber is that? TIA!

[@scholagladiatoria]

Ted Palmer It's an antique Rifle Regiment officer's sword, made by Wilkinson of Pall Mall, London, in around 1860.

[@Fistwagon]

4:40 You fight like a dairy farmer!

[@036zacharias]

How appropriate, you fight like a cow;)

[@AlexRolandHuszar]

Get out of here filthy milkdrinker, Skyrim is for the Nords!

[@ukaszkos8233]

- This is the END for you, you gutter crawling cur! - And I've got a little TIP for you, get the POINT?

[@maranborpi]

Bla bla bla...