HEMA Guy Comments on Zulu Stick Fighting & Haitian Machete Fencing

[@Skallagrim]

In this follow-up video I have a talk with HAMA instructor Da'Mon Stith who offered more information about Haitian machete fighting: kzbin.info/www/bejne/m3u0p5igltSYbqs

[@WT.....]

Thanks for the interesting content. A martial arts in which I would recommend you review is Eskrima, or as it's more popularly known as, 'Kali'. The martial arts originates in the Philippines and is a very practically-oriented fighting arts that has very recently been growing in public traction. The history and culturally significant standing behind Kali is also worth reading about.

[@germanrodriguez8588]

Can you comment about "Esgrima criolla"? is a knife fencing from Argentina, Jorge prina is the youtube channel who talk about this. sorry for my english

[@MyrmidonsProductions]

Dude you featured the SCA kingdom in my area thanks for the shout out

[@dr.arikgreenberg25]

Would you also be interested in covering the Sikh martial arts tradition of Gatka?

[@lordearthblood]

It could all be a coincidence or convergence of materials, but the sword on sword contact element of haitian machete fencing could have roots in some older forms of ritual sword dance, kind of like the Maculele traditions of capoeira: kzbin.info/www/bejne/oGrOeYqHfM51brc kzbin.info/www/bejne/mmiwn5-Nipx0mpo

[@jamierae5185]

The Zulu stick fighting looks a bit messy at full speed but when it's slowed down you can definitely see a lot of these people are actually very skilled when it comes to parrying, feinting and binding. Definitely not easy to do, especially without any padding or protection outside of the shield.

[@Subarashii_Nem]

I think that's the thing with speed, so much is happening so fast, you miss the little details and it looks like wildly failing. Its impressive just how quickly they strike and defend at the same time and how every action is calculated. Like grabbing the opponents weapon while grappling and defending at the same time. Then being able to get past their defense and strike them while all this is going on. It looks so difficult to do when you slow it down. I can't imagine how it was on the battlefield, performed by soldiers who did this and mainly this, all the time. I bet it was a sight to behold.. Well the skill and precision, not the bloodshed and death part.

[@Ake-TL]

@@diamienthesunbro7834 pls link/info on viking in Southern Africa

[@SM-nz9ff]

It doesn't look the least bit messy, looks like a full speed fight. I mean seriously the only person who could think this looks messy are people who only have Hollywood movie experience.

[@jamierae5185]

@@SM-nz9ff No need to be rude, I'm not only used to Hollywood fights as I've enjoyed HEMA and other martial arts for some time and know what a real fight looks like. But the fact that they are moving so fast does make the smaller details harder to see if you don't slow it down, that's all I was saying

[@Stribog1337]

This one, and others, need so much to evolve into "Historical African Martial Arts". Full blown technicality just like HEMA

[@Lowbrow_Mthakathi]

Zulu stick fighting is an impressive martial artform, having grown up in the Zulu Kingdom, I have seen it a bit and spoken to my Zulu buddies about it. Except for ritual fights (surrounding the manhood transition) the aim seems to score points (especially social) rather than to seriously hurt the opponent, although honour and alcohol may vary this. It's fun, but painful to do it improperly as I know from experience.

[@Sk0lzky]

Kinda reminds me of bare chest weekends back in my reenactment days (early middle ages ruleset is very limited, no face shots or thrusts). We used thick wooden shafts instead of swords and axes and only wore mainhand and head protection lmao It had that "rite of passage" feel to it, especially for a high schooler

[@hollowkid97]

@@Sk0lzky damn never knew you guys went that hard

[@djpizzarocks27]

By Zulu kingdom do you mean kzn?

[@Sk0lzky]

@@hollowkid97 I'm not sure it's "going hard" to be honest. Sure we did often use full force but given the amount of injuries it seems to be surprisingly safe. I don't recall anything major, just lots of bruising on the torso and upper arms. At the same time I don't remember a buhurt where at least one person wouldn't end up in a hospital despite all the ahistorical protective gear >

[@Lowbrow_Mthakathi]

@@djpizzarocks27 yes, Pietermaritzburg to be exact.

[@wlg2677]

Machetes are tools they lack a hand guard. I am medical doctor in Honduras during my younger years as an student and later an intern I had to repair or help repair hideous hand wounds from weekend machete "fighters" and even more gruesome body wounds form the ones that lost. BTW most men actually survived this machete fights we got people even with head cuts that pass the membrane but not by much. Thankfully most machetes in my country are thin, light and very flexible, the blades got stuck at the bone; I seldomly saw full amputations of the forearm, the cuts could pass the ulna but got stuck in the radius, never saw an amputation of the humerus the machete got stuck halfway. My grandmother had an old Collins machete that thing was 4 mm thick at the handle and runned with this thickness up to one half of the blade then it taper to around a bit thicker than a millimeter.

[@DudokX]

I've seen a horrific video of a "gang machete hit" on some poor guy where 4 guys jumped out of a car and started hacking at a guy who tried to defend himself and cover his head and torso with his arms. And it kinda worked even tho he definitely lost fingers and there was "meat" hanging from his arms. He survived long enough for some help to arrive so it seems that hacking through an arm with a machete might be harder that it seems.

[@Lymmar]

We are lucky to have your input on the subject Dr. !

[@amirhosseinmaghsoodi388]

This is great information terrible but great

[@junichiroyamashita]

Well,with a Cold Steel Cutlass Machete i have hand protection,reach,stabbing capability and a solid cutter. I know what to carry.

[@wlg2677]

@@DudokX I believe, and its only an opinion that since victims move and machetes being so flexible, makes the blade go off their edge alignment impeding a "good" cut.

[@mateuszmazur6222]

This was a lot of fun to learn about. I would love to see more content talking about interesting fighting styles. As fun as European styles are I feel like I’ve seen a good majority of what it has to offer. Every little bit helps me become a smarter and more capable. Thank you for all that you do.

[@Rodclutcher]

I agree I have always liked when he does videos like this.

[@onion_wind]

There was a BBC show call 'Last Man Standing' where they sent guys around the world to try this kinda stuff.

[@laurihopeavirta7341]

Me to, do it sword man🇫🇮

[@landsknecht8654]

Actually we're probably scratching the surface on European fighting styles, European martial arts is still very much being developed to this day.

[@verdurite]

@@landsknecht8654 so are ones from other continents

[@famicom89]

really love these videos about more exotic weapons and the relative combat styles used with them

[@GameTimeWhy]

Agreed

[@C._Bradford]

Amen to that

[@szurmatpl]

Very interesring indeed

[@riograndedosulball248]

Wish he done something on Esgrima Criolla Amazing what you can do with a coat and a knife, does feel a lot like Roman legionary fencing

[@LuxisAlukard]

7:45 right guy "damn, my shield is down, I'm vulnerable" left guy "damn, my cap is down, I'm vulnerable" You gotta know your priorities in situations like this... This is great video, thank you, Skall! I would like to see more "unusual" fighting styles like this!

[@commie4164]

yo its not about winning its about looking flash as fuck while you do. lol

[@MK_ULTRA420]

Gotta respect the drip

[@admirekashiri9879]

Good to see you covering some HAMA stuff. Keep in mind some Haitians were warriors from some West African kingdoms who.used machete like weapons like people of the Dahomey, Yoruba and Edo kingdoms. I believe one Haitian hero Victoria "Abdaraya Toya" Montou was a Dahomey Mino (female ekite warriors of the kingdom). So its likely a combination of both HEMA and HAMA that this art comes from.

[@cyrilgigee4630]

Yo, both Metatron and Skall posting African stuff in quick succession, sick.

[@meshuggahlad7]

Tight!

[@Skallagrim]

That's funny, I had no idea he was preparing a similar topic. We didn't coordinate anything.

[@LuxisAlukard]

Welcome to the Twilight zone

[@admirekashiri9879]

Metatron didn't really post anything African lol. He posted a video about black people in Roman history and a video about how inclusively shouldn't be forced into history.

[@pavolverescak1712]

@@admirekashiri9879 he made top ten African weapons

[@highlandoutsider]

The Thai dual sword style would be interesting to get you analysis of, really nice to watch, kinda like the machete style where it looks more like a dance but maybe not quite as flowly. 👍

[@firestorm165]

I didn't know that was a thing. Cheers for that

[@Nerobyrne]

that machete fighting didn't even look like fighting ^^

[@seneca1932]

@@firestorm165 I saw two fighters drilling at a competition I went to. It was awesome to watch.

[@MightyElo]

I would love to see more about that. If I recall correctly, Vietnamese warriors used a dual swords as well (or sword and dagger) against invading Chinese and/or Mongolians.

[@highlandoutsider]

@@MightyElo yeah I'd imagine given the time period there's a pretty similar style all over that corner, Laos, Cambodia ect 👍

[@nyan2317]

I'd like to see manuals written for the zulu stick fighting. I'd reckon it would be a fun game and martial art, still painful but not as much risk as blade weapon.

[@admirekashiri9879]

Actually a very good idea you never know one might exist.

[@wayfa13]

I can ask; the other sword club in my city used to also do Zulu stick fighting

[@Nerobyrne]

I wouldn't be surprised if the Zulu didn't have manuals. Although, maybe modern ones. Many societies didn't write their combat styles down, but modern texts exist.

[@GrandDukeMushroom]

can they write though

[@Nerobyrne]

@@GrandDukeMushroom no, they built an entire civilization with farming systems, unit tactics and infrastructure planning without being able to write 🤪

[@davidtrujillo1689]

I really hope Haiti recovers from the earthquake and the people there deal with the grief of losing their loved ones and get the humanitarian help they need right now. I’ve seen little of Haitian culture but seeing their own fencing styles Can be a great entry way of getting into more aspects of their culture. Great video skall, keep your variety content because it really makes the world feel more diverse and nuanced!

[@brianmccarthy5557]

Great comment, except don't trust spell check. It's segue.

[@johannesstephanusroos4969]

Segway is a trademarked product

[@davidtrujillo1689]

@@johannesstephanusroos4969 Not a native english speaker, i'll edit it

[@davidtrujillo1689]

@@brianmccarthy5557 I'm not a native speaker and english has so many useless vowels that i can't keep track. Sorry for the misspelling it's edited now.

[@trulyinfamous]

Haiti is one of those places where it seems to have been cursed by nature. All I've heard of it is news of natural disasters.

[@JustGrowingUp84]

Okay, this is a nice coincidence, when both Skallagrim and Metatron upload videos about African weapons.

[@phenix2403]

im south african, and i knew about those shields. I had no idea that sticks are used for dueling though, i always just assumed spears were used (and tbf probably were in actual battles). awesome video

[@velazquezarmouries]

I imagine something like an assegai with the long blade would work really good with that style

[@admirekashiri9879]

The techniques you saw can be used with an Iklwa spear.

[@MercenaryJames]

Spear was definitely used in real combat but I'm sure the club is better suited to sparring purposes.

[@garrettadams6158]

I’d love to see Maori fighting. I saw a performance in Matamata when I was in New Zealand, but it was pretty choreographed

[@marocat4749]

I know its a tv series and probably coreographed , but the dead lands is zombies with maoris and good traditional combat. Its good too, but probably kill techniques as well because magical zombies.

[@chrismaws6801]

I'm a kiwi they'd kill each other or shatter each other's bones the only place you'd see contact fighting is on the streets. Most without the traditional kit as there taiaha and patu are sacred or tapu to use outside the defence of your family/whanau or tribes iwi.

[@chrismaws6801]

@@marocat4749 Hey that movies good but tradition wise lots of the Maori people disliked that movie over here it did not stick to tradition. The Taniwha is a river monster not a fukn cannibal man. Lol little bit of a theme here is if somebody drowns in a river or lake here that river or lake must be blessed by the elders before it can be swam in or used again ....to appease the taniwha....I'm a pakeha white man. rules Dont Always count for us. but to swim in the lake or river without it being blessed is tapu or to be cursed.

[@marocat4749]

@@chrismaws6801 ok fair, there is a series too.

[@marocat4749]

@@chrismaws6801 i get its not accurate with zomnies anx som

[@akata7644]

Hey, Skall big fan here Check out the weapons from Benin kingdom. One of the them is called the Ada, this sword was used throughout Benin and Benin soldiers may have heavily influenced the Haitian machete techniques. After all a big portion of Haitians are descendants from that area

[@codaxthevulture4129]

Interesting shape. Is it sharp on the outside like a saber or on the inside like falx Or ginunting?

[@drfudgecookie5800]

Reminds of certain Indian and Middle Eastern designs.

[@akata7644]

@@codaxthevulture4129 It depends, the examples you see are mostly single edged, however, there are reports of double edged variants. I personally believe they hanging tip was used to grapple sheilds like the Egyptian Khopesh or Ngbombe Mambele

[@admirekashiri9879]

Indeed don't forget the Dahomey as we'll as Yoruba also had Machete like swords. I believe a Haitian female hero was a Dahomey Mino her name was Victoria "Abdaraya Toya" Montou.

[@brianmccarthy5557]

Since that whole area was heavily influenced by Europeans, mostly Portugese at first, from the middle 1400's onwards it's reasonable to suppose they had some influence on weapons and fighting styles. There were early Christian kingdoms in the general area, the Kingdom of Kongo for example, who probably had Portugese military trainers, advisors and some imported equipment. In the early 1500's the Pope thought highly enough of King Alfonso of the Kongo to grant him the title of Defender of the Faith, an honor given to only a few prominent monarchs including Henry VIII, before his apostasy. I believe Alfonso got it before Henry. The English Crown still proudly displays this as one of their main titles.

[@cruzaider5339]

"Machete fencing" sounds like the most apocalypse thing I've ever heard

[@THESLlCK]

“Haiti”

[@dvVIII]

And possibly one of the sillier things I've seen. It's machete dancing...

[@landsknecht8654]

I mean it's going to be very similar to gross Masa

[@THESLlCK]

@@dvVIII clown located. Sak pase, mesye?

[@dvVIII]

@@THESLlCK*disclaimer* i practice Kendo, Nito Ryu, and can't help seeing it through those eyes I see a lot of wasted movement (energy) and so much edge on edge play they'd have no edge left for an actual strike. However, I am also a big to each their own kinda person. The world would be very boring if we all liked Vanilla. So if they're enjoying what they are doing I am all for it. The best at any given activity isn't who is the most skilled, it's whoever is having the most fun.

[@MarcioLiao]

Maybe the machete ones are just drills to increase stamina, range of motion, reflexes, and weapon control, and not actually how it is use in combat or spar.

[@dngn4774]

Probably. I can’t imagine how soldiers could spar competitively with machetes and not lose their hands or fingers. That kind of intensity would do more harm than it would prevent.

[@urbanarmory]

With a bit of searching you can see some very earnest and bloody machete fighting. Yeah, there's a fair bit of fast slashing but there's a focus on binding and winding. This is absolutely a drill but it's training important behaviors

[@nikolab.4065]

@@urbanarmory I only ever saw one real machete fight and it involved a fair amount of just plain chopping, like with an axe, nothing fancy at all... the fighters in question were blinded by rage though so I guess that influenced them to just go for the basic caveman swings

[@brianmccarthy5557]

I imagine a machete fight between any of the trained people in this video and your average drunk barroom machete brawler wouldn't last very long. A sensible person would run from somebody who knew how to handle these things and who was mad at you. Unless of course, per Indiana Jones, you had a large caliber handgun and knew how to use it.

[@urbanarmory]

@@nikolab.4065 most machete fights online are idiots slashing at each other, I mean more looking for Hatian machete duels

[@MarcJaxon]

This was awesome, man. I had seen the Zulu Stick Fighting before, but had no idea about Haitian Machete Fencing, which sounds absolutely nutty. Thanks, Skall.

[@jamiejames416]

Yay! Thanks for taking a look at Zulu stick fighting, I'm South African and I haven't had a chance to try out Zulu stick fighting, but I have tried out a Xhosa variant where instead of using a shield to protect the hand you use a blanket. This stuff hasn't been getting enough attention in urban areas, which is a shame.

[@junichiroyamashita]

What are the various variants?

[@jamiejames416]

@@junichiroyamashita I'm no expert, but I know one, the one with the blanket, is mainly practiced by Xhosa, so I guess you could call it Xhosa stick fighting? There's not much covering it, most is focused on the Zulu variant, which is fair considering that Zulu is a household word.

[@admirekashiri9879]

Ye people should start gyms which teach this stuff. You're very lucky you still have this art. For my people the Shona/Karanga in Zimbabwe I don't know of their historical martial arts which is sad.

[@jamiejames416]

@@admirekashiri9879 colonialism and the Rhodesian regime definitely played a significant role in that, it is sad. Maybe like HEMA it can one day be resurrected but I'd doubt it due to the lack of written sources, and the few of those sources being made by foreigners who often looked down on natives, not taking them seriously.

[@admirekashiri9879]

@@jamiejames416 ye one day hopefully I hope its been preserved someone in the country. AD you should check out HAMAA (Historical African Martial Arts Association) btw they cover many African Arts and are trying to reconstruct them and preserve them.

[@Ilyas-ty6cy]

Finally! some content about Machete fencing. It's rarely anyone bring it into a more deep explanation.

[@Wastelandman7000]

It is an interesting weapon. And the blades come in many different shapes and lengths too

[@Ilyas-ty6cy]

@@Wastelandman7000 Yeah it's really interesting, especially machete it's basically a medium-range sharp blade that most people can get in our modern times. With a shape similarity like a falchion, It would be wasted if people do not try to exploit its potential. In the country I live in, we have a martial art that teaches you about Golok fencing here (we call machete a Golok), the martial art is called Pencak Silat even though that martial art will focus to teach you in CQC first before teaching you about armed combat.

[@olinpirkle1633]

Really cool breakdown! I train Kali, and you might be surprised to know that the research the HEMA community does has shown light on certain techniques we practice that would have otherwise gone misunderstood for their practical applications. Big example: unbinding techniques practiced with sticks were not previously seen as unbinding techniques but rather stick techniques that didn’t actually work. Info gets lost from teacher to teacher handed down through the ages, but duh! When two edges meet in combat, they have a tendency to stick. They have to be unbound, and the techniques we were practicing became immediately useful within this context. My instructor told me he figured this out watching HEMA instructors practice. I recommend taking a dive in one of your videos into the Filipino Martial Arts. All the best!

[@anofsti]

Love the love given to africa. I feel that it's a forgotten continent here in the western world, and I'd love to learn more about their military traditions, weapons, armor and combat styles.

[@user-gx6tu3mf4k]

Our military especially has been underestimated and mostly forgotten. Most of my knowledge is on the post WW2 military hardware and vehicles but it seems to be true for all eras.

[@admirekashiri9879]

Check out Da'Mon's channel.and HAMAA (Historical African Martial Arts Association) you'll get a ton of information and examples.

[@dashiellgillingham4579]

The Zulu had a particularly interesting military tradition, because they effectively invented a way of war where you could tell someone one of four words and they'd know exactly what the plan was and what they were doing. Right horn (flank right), left horn (flank left), chest (charge forward on command), and loins (we will tell you what to reinforce as the fight is ongoing).

[@user-gx6tu3mf4k]

@@dashiellgillingham4579 Indeed, theres even a whole section in South African history books dedicated to the famous tactics, and how the Zulus used many of them in waves to great effect on the more traditional foreign formations. They would send one platoon in the oxen formation, then when its organization is low, they retreat while the next platoon slots in. Pretty advanced for its time. Then immediately the books go on to the Boer guerrilla tactics and how they were also effective... We have a strong history xD

[@Nerobyrne]

yeah, I can understand why a lot of Europeans would like to forget Africa ^.^ Well ... not the business owners, sadly 👀

[@caseydubois3645]

As a white boi born in Africa (my parents are missionaries) who is also into HEMA, this and the Metatron's African weapons video were very interesting and enjoyable to watch.

[@Lionheart1188]

ffs don't call yourself a white boy, annoying, cringe & you're clearly not a boy, you're a man.

[@caseydubois3645]

@@Lionheart1188 I'm a teenager, despite what my facial hair might have to say about it. Nonetheless, thanks for the (backhanded?) compliment.

[@KingSlimeProductions]

@@caseydubois3645 people are just dicks online, i’d ignore him and move on.

[@ok0_0]

@@KingSlimeProductions he's just telling him to have more pride

[@picollojr9009]

@@caseydubois3645 he means that color is just color(tho in a very rude manner), dont use it as a way to divide yourself to people

[@alexanderweeks4701]

it’s so cool learning about non western martial arts. so many you tubers only talk about hema, which only makes these arts that much more fascinating when combined with how much culture may have been forgotten due to colonialism. african martial arts can be especially fascinating and i think this field deserves more reconstruction and attention. edit: i anyone reading this has either practiced zulu stick fighting or knows anything about it i’d love to hear whatever insights you have

[@christopherknorr2895]

Full contact LARP is very similar to the stick fighting.

[@admirekashiri9879]

I'd recommend checking out HAMAA (Historical African Martial Arts Association) many members have allt of insights in this Martial art and other African Martial arts.

[@ehsanrahee7411]

I'd really love to see more Middle Eastern styles. Arabic or Persian specifically. There were a lot of great Arabic vs European fights in the movie The Kingdom of Heaven (from what I remember at least). Some of the Prince of Persia games depict a similar style as well. There's a very circular attack pattern that I find interesting and would like to get the HEMA perspective of.

[@vlad_ap5313]

Ok, THIS is awesome! You've been asking recently about what kind of content to make and etc., and I genuinely think this is a great path to follow. Loved it!

[@TheWoodsman661]

I second this opinion

[@Gelwain]

Man, you can absolutely tell the difference between a master and a student. The stamina conservation and focus entirely on angles and leverage is fascinating as hell. Thanks for this!

[@Qaos]

Seeing more duels involving bludgeons/blunt weapons is always interesting.

[@Wastelandman7000]

Especially since bludgeons were probably our first weapon as a species.

[@darreneccles7770]

Would love to see a breakdown of your own favourite hema fights Skall.

[@TheDocAstaroth]

KZbin says, you have only three comments, let's change that! Thank you very much for introducing me to this videos. That was some serious sparing in casual clothing. In the Zulu stick fighting video, I noticed especially the importance of foot work on uneven terrain. The fighter in the lower stances had disadvantage in reach, but advantage in keeping on their feet. I think, that is a dimension of fighting that is not address by HEMA tournaments, as far as I know. What do the old treaties say about that issue? Could be an interesting topic in some other video like: "I have the High Ground!" - "Yeah, so what?".

[@firestorm165]

If memory serves me he actually did do a vid in a collaboration with sword sage a couple of years back

[@TheDocAstaroth]

@@firestorm165 Thank you, I will look it up!

[@bruja_cat]

Yesss!! I’m from the Caribbean & I’m so glad you reacted to machete fencing!

[@warrenbaker4181]

the haitian fencing reinds me of the "sticky hands" drills from unarmed styles

[@Dibromatic]

For what it's worth, this is my favorite kind of content you produce. Keep it up!

[@dorkangel1076]

That stick fighting was really interesting. The shield they used seemed quite like a buckler but since there seemed to be no thrusting attacks, the stick held in the buckler hand made the buckler work like a much larger shield. Fascinating.

[@AgsNfz]

It's very cool to see how uniquely martial arts develop in different cultures, and your analysis makes it all even more interesting

[@saurophaganax_0]

Yo Skall, this was amazing! super interesting and refreshing to see martial arts from other parts of the world that ain't Far East Asian or European (NOT that there's anything wrong with any of those, just refreshing to see) It would be dope if you made kind of a series of videos here and there talking about other martial arts, idk perhaps polynesian, mesoamerican, indian (if there is some kind of visual material ofc) Keep it up mae.

[@djpizzarocks27]

As a South African I really appreciate one of our cultures getting love. (I'm not Zulu I'm Afrikaans I don't know much about Zulu fighting but I know that it killed many brits)

[@jamiejames416]

In the words of oom Cyril, my fellow south Africans

[@mekhane.broken9678]

@@jamiejames416 "My fellow south Africans" translation "We are going to ban alcohol and cigarettes again"

[@lionheart6754]

Stick fighting killed many brits? Wow your very stupid and being a Brit your comment is very insulting I have huge respect for the zulus being a Brit they fought bravely but a lot of zulus died as well and ultimately lost so it’s insulting them too so keep your stupid ignorant comments to yourself

[@Candlemancer]

@@lionheart6754 well they were up against mass guns. The fact that they killed any significant number of us is an achievement.

[@mekhane.broken9678]

@@lionheart6754 you are definitely a brit. You have that arrogant and self important attitude that most Brits have. It's a shame they can't put that energy into fixing their rapidly decreasing list of personal freedoms.

[@muhammadabdulrehman1540]

Not HEMA? Zulu fighting?! YES PLZ

[@user-os7qp3ny3k]

Haitian machete fencing mainly focuses on defense and footwork. Keep the blade upright for simplicity, and use legs to crouch to block down low. Also, shuffle feet to face where attacker is coming from. The art does not focus on offense because they figure people already know how to chop, but need practice in defense. The practitioner is the one on defense, while the attacker tests them in motion. That's why you'll see the attacker go for ankles, to test the defenders ability to block as low as possible. I enjoy this practice, and find that I can practice this with anybody including kids. I allow kids to test my defense, but usually have to wield underhand to block down low as overhand blocks require lots of squats and crouching. Thank you so much for covering these styles. I never knew about Zulu stick fighting, and I appreciate your genuine interest in these styles. I'll watch your follow up video next. I'm so thrilled that you are giving haitian machete fencing the time it deserves. It would be interesting to see a sparring match between a French military style, and haitian machet (in full protective gear of course).

[@straythorn0117]

having trained in philipino Kali Stick fighting for the past few years, I would find it very interesting to see your reaction to the demos and sparring drills that are used in Kali training

[@marianogarabato1111]

Great video! You may can check the "esgrima criolla" from Argentina, the use knifes, long knifes, clothes, dagers, saber, spears and more

[@ThiagoFSR83]

This haitian machete fight reminds me a lot of brazilian capoeira. The dancing moves to drill the fighting tecniques. In slavery times, the fighters would use machetes. In the 1890's onward, in fighting against police and other groups of capoeiras, they switched to razor blades which are easier to hide. Greetings from Brasil!

[@zekekaszycki2968]

I really liked the video especially the breakdowns of the fights. also It was great so hear explanations of why the style might be how they are with Stick Fighting being defined by large defensive shields and Haitian machete fighting being defined by the very devastating nature of the weapon.

[@giggityguy]

I wonder how many Native American styles have survived to the modern day. I'm sure that they were almost entirely passed down through oral tradition, and with the massive population loss, disruption of traditions, and modernization of contemporary tribes, I wonder how much remains.

[@kittymortalkombat]

You can search Okichitaw, there a martial art from Canada with a Cree's fighting techniques and a specific weapon, the gunstock club

[@LordPeachew]

There is a Aztec fighting group in Mexico and there a KZbiner who does Native American armor I think there’s a tomahawk group too In the states

[@keithallardice6139]

@@kittymortalkombat Love the gunstock club, quite possibly my favourite of all weapons!

[@caciqueloko6500]

Here in south america i dont know any native fighting groups like this, i hope still exist somewhere, a lot information is gone forever unfortunaly

[@kingremy1453]

if i remember correctly, vietnam era knife fighting techniques for service members that were above your regular military (green berets, recon, ect) were taught moves that were adapted from Native American/1st Nations knife fighting techniques

[@c0mbat_m0nkey5]

I would definitely be ready to watch any other videos you post about different fencing styles!

[@johnevergreen8019]

Realistically there’s only so many ways to swing a stick or sword and a lot of what I’m seeing is near identical to European styles just with different cultural flare

[@trainingvideotwo1262]

It was a lot cross cultural interactions you aren't accounting for. The Spanish army hired Italian, filipino, French mercenaries. European military tactics and guns brought to Asia. Asian kicking methods brought to France by Sailors.

[@johannesstephanusroos4969]

Flair*, you numpty 😆

[@johnevergreen8019]

@@johannesstephanusroos4969 oh well didn’t ask you did I

[@johnevergreen8019]

@@trainingvideotwo1262 I’m aware of the cross cultural interactions but I’m pretty sure my point might have gone over your head

[@johannesstephanusroos4969]

@@johnevergreen8019 Please just tell me that you know that the two words have _drastically_ different meanings

[@user-yw9mw9hv8o]

love this, I've been trying to look for these traditions that are so obscure to the west and it's always hard to find anything new because i didn't know what to look for

[@ejgames8484]

One weapon Ive always found interesting regarding its history and culture was the Kukri ( Gurkha ). That would def be an interesting video looking at the martial arts involving it

[@Peecamarke]

Great video! Nice to see HAMA getting some attention along with Haiti, even cooler seeing analyzed from HEMA perspective since HEMA's so popular

[@tobiashagstrom4168]

Ok, but why isn't Skall saying anything about that weird "defending from between my own legs" trick at 15:04 ? Also, I think they did spin moves a few times.

[@ronnz5844]

Looked like reflex training to me🤔 Like "follow the blade no matter were it goes" The between the leg thing was probably just to catch the person on defense of guard.

[@F_Yale]

Because if he was honest, he would tear this garbage "HEMA" to shreds, but he's giving them a pass because he doesn't want to rag on the Africans.

[@danielalexander8402]

I think this is a video I'm going to come back to a lot. Top notch. Thank you for making this!

[@Sk0lzky]

16:00 that's exactly how all [warning gore 18+ only] machete fights I've seen end. And yes, they mostly cut from the shoulder there. Sad, gruesome and, at least to me, very random in nature

[@boris1986]

That was very enlightening, actually. Thank you, Skall, this is one of the things why I like your work so much. =)

[@MC_Mega-Jessup]

The constant blade contact reminds me of when I used to do "blind tai chi sparring" (sounds hokey, I know). We did the same thing, but with our forearms constantly touching. The supposed idea was to train muscle memory so you could respond without looking at what's going on or thinking. Whether it actually helps to be blindfolded, I don't know, but it was fun. Kind of like shadowboxing but with a real opponent, if that makes any sense.

[@thescholar-general5975]

Excellent video! Content like this is what keeps me coming back to your channel!

[@mikepennington9057]

There's a video of the machete master featured here of him sparring with a beer bottle in his off hand. Not as an offhand weapon, he was drinking from it while sparring!

[@jaojao1768]

Great video! It is always interesting when you talk about less-known weapons and fighting styles from different parts of the world

[@anoninunen]

Seeing the effectiveness of the ihawu pole-shields, I have to wonder why other shields don't have a similar extension to defend against swings. Is it because linear warfare focuses on spears and arrows? Also, are there other forms of broad-blade sword-use that focus on working from a bind? I wouldn't thing dulled blades would bind so well

[@gfhjkfghj4208]

You also limit your attack angles and give the opponent a lot of leverage. A solid hit from a real, metal weapon at the end of that parry stick and you either let go or twist your wrist. Any two-handed weapon would blow right through either way. You also can't really use it in formation, because the long stick would collide with your buddies and their gear and you'd get tangled up.

[@isitnotwrittenthat1680]

@@gfhjkfghj4208 not sure about the leverage, you could brace it against your arm for control, and I think that the whole impact issue really isn't, as southern Africa did have some pretty nasty percussive weapons and axes. I suspect that it mostly wasn't used because of the dominance of ranged weapons, and the need of tight shield formations to counter, present across Europe and parts of Asia. Due to a lack of good wood supplies, most bows in southern Africa were low powered affairs, used for hunting, often with poison.

[@carloscolon1279]

Really enjoyed this type of video - fun to see actual footage of real practical practice

[@sp_aa]

I'm Ndebele (a tribe closely related to the Zulus) and I absolutely LOVED this video - thank you for doing this review! I live in Germany now and just got into HEMA myself... One of the awesome things about HEMA is the extant historical texts - most of African culture and social wisdom is passed on verbally in the form of prose or song. Also, I hate to say it, but as a woman, it would have been very hard for me to get as involved in African martial arts when I was growing up there because the society that I was exposed to was painfully sexist - things may have changed in the interim. Probably not something that would affect 90% of your audience here, but worth mentioning, since this has never been an issue for me in HEMA Germany so far - nobody even asks me why I am not at home with kids that I don't have 🤣

[@Wastelandman7000]

I feel for you on lack of historical texts. I can't help but think the fighting styles of the Celts, Franks, and Dacians (to mention a few) would be really fascinating to read about and practice. Sadly a lot of fighting styles through history are lost to us because nothing was written down. Peace.

[@bkane573]

Especially since the Celtic people were the only ones that Rome really feared. One Druid went to Rome. One. And the Roman Senate was scared.

[@loganwolfram4216]

Someone's just got to write these texts then. If the Ndebele martial arts are still alive, there's still time!

[@sp_aa]

@@loganwolfram4216 Great point!!

[@aceambling7685]

Return to your homeland. You do not belong on Wodin's soil, anymore than His son's belonged on yours.

[@marcosviniciuspereiramarin342]

Really like the video! Getting to know different styles and bringing someone knowledgeable on the subject as in the follow up video is great content

[@Tevatron044]

According to my parents and my friend's parents, true machete fighting looks different to the fencing you see here. They learned Haitian Machete fighting and are from Jacmel. They tell me that this fencing here focuses heavily on the defensive side since most students are beginners and it's not combat applicable. Combat applicable machete fighting is preserved within families. My father tells me he didn't bother to learn though because he left lol that's probably why he's still alive

[@theapostatejack8648]

Anyone else find the Machete exercises almost hypnotic? The footage had something very near an asmr-esque vibe to it.

[@TocsTheWanderer]

The first two machete clips, especially the second, seemed more like it was some sort of fencing inspired dance, rather than them actually fighting.

[@evanmurphy4632]

been following your channel for afew years now.. awesome to see you cover a fighting style from where I am from here in Africa.. not many people on you tube cover zulu stick fighting thank you for sharing your perspective Skallagrim! would enjoy to hear and see your perspective on the edged weapons used here in south africa too.

[@praisemeheathens2265]

Hey Skallagrim, could you look into fighting styles with Tridents if there are any or styles about using shields aggressively? Tridents in fantasy are sometimes seen but they're always lacking it feels. Is it better or worse than a spear? (Probably worse, I think, but you could probably catch the opponents weapon and might be able to wrench it from their grip) And for shields: are there fighting styles about shield ramming and stuff or weaponizing them?

[@comradebork]

A trident is IIRC the best one-handed melee weapon in NetHack. Never tried one IRL, tho.

[@valandil7454]

I'm unsure how you'd get any advantage out of a trident, it's purpose is to snag as much as possible so it'll be better for catching things, but the lugs that started being fitted to spears were meant to help you pull it out which is way more helpful in a fight As for the shield, you wouldn't need to "weaponize" a shield it is a weapon, a number of cultures tapered the outer edges to make it even more effective, these african shields would be great for creating space between you and your opponent ready for your other weapon. Having been hit in the gut with a centre gripped round shield, even through mail and gambeson I could barely stand they're definately weapons and every martial art has an aggressive way of using them

[@comradebork]

@@valandil7454 A trident gives you 3 puncture wounds instead of one.

[@isitnotwrittenthat1680]

The trident generally is disadvantageous, due to force dispersion and retrevial, as they were often barbed. Shields can be used offensively in multiple ways, shoving with the flat, punching blows with the edge, if you have a central spike, ramming with that, and in the case of zulu style shields, you have a staff, or potentially a spear, if sharpened, built in to your shield.

[@scottydu81]

They’re not really that bad but they become much better with the Loyalty enchantment

[@NicholasJeffery]

Very enlightening and it's always hearing from your perspective in breaking down the sequences. Thororughly enjoyable.

[@Freakmaster480]

Is there a mma equivilent for melee weapon sport combat. I'd love to see what amalgamation of the most effective techniques would look like.

[@Freakmaster480]

@asdrubale bisanzio What I mean Is i would love seeing different weapons and styles from different parts of the world compared. I think if you did at least some techniques from one dicipline would be applicable to another styke of weapon.

[@frankharr9466]

That was fascinating. Thank you. I'm looking forward to the follow-up.

[@bcompass8424]

As someone who somehow knows a bit about machete fighting, that kind of machete "combat" and that constant contact with the blade is not what you are going to use in a real combat situation. I know you said that you are not an expert and it depends a lot on the different parts in which you see the fighting styles but as someone who loves and has searched a lot on this topic I feel that I must explain things like that because you can see a confusion in one situation the weapon is rarely almost never looking for contact with the other is to keep the blade moving so as not to be a constant target and also seeks to have a distance

[@onevision2203]

Same like with sabers. Especially quite short and curved sabers. No one is "searching" for constant blade contact or bind. Its rather hit-parry-hit.

[@velkewemaster]

indeed ive seen machete fights on anger and look very different to this, with next to no blade contact, wide swings & constant movement.

[@bcompass8424]

@@velkewemaster Obviously this type of sparring has to have something useful, I imagine that it looks for coordination and reflexes when looking for the enemy blade or following the movement of this

[@juliaevelsizer4445]

If you cannot do a sword demo please do more of this action and style analysis. It was very good. Entertaining and Educational

[@admirekashiri9879]

I totally agree

[@slimyfishe6524]

Do more videos on Bronze Age weapons

[@admiralkipper4540]

Say please

[@justicar347]

This is one of the more interesting videos in a while. I liked the way you broke down things and analyzed how they were fighting. It would be cool if you followed up with a video on some of the history behind these styles.

[@kamilszadkowski8864]

The Zulu stick fighting looks a lot like HMB duels.

[@DNeff-vv4lm]

Reminds me of my larping days

[@kamilszadkowski8864]

@@DNeff-vv4lm Yeah, it reminded me of my reenactment days. We used to do similar drills in my group.

[@herniagaming]

This is such a good video, and I love that your bringing light to more unknown or lesser known martial arts forms, would love to see more of this type of content, really interesting

[@s4tsug4i74]

The bell sent me

[@tropicalvikingcreations]

Eyyy! :) this was a really nice covering of the dance, practice styles. The information was presented and analyzed really nice and well.

[@MercenaryJames]

The machete drills were most interesting. Seeing how they move while flowing into each others binds isn't something I'd ever think of with a machete.

[@Arcahnslight]

Hey man thanks for covering this, very interesting to learn about from someone who knows how to break it down. Also wanted to say you're looking well and healthy! Glad to see you still doing what you love. Keep it up!

[@johndododoe1411]

Great commentary, but with all their position switching it would be easier to follow if you referred to them by their clothes, like "Blue Shirt" vs. "Black Shirt" or "Girl" vs. "Black suit" . A bit like HEMA tournaments with colored armbands.

[@ConradJudo]

For somebody without a background in Zulu stick fighting, your analysis was actually pretty good.

[@Bacteriophagebs]

Machete fencing as shown in these videos (I remember seeing that show with the white guy sparring with the master years ago) is very much a sport, not a combat technique. When you watch you see just SO many openings for a punch, kick, or grapple that the participants just don't take because it's against the rules. It's roughly as good for combat as modern sport saber fencing.

[@daxmafesi]

thats because most likely this Machete fencing instructor is fraud, im Cuban, and Have lots of Haitian and Dominican friends... NONE OF US IN THE CARIBBEAN FENCE LIKE THIS LOL

[@Bacteriophagebs]

@@daxmafesi I don't know if I'd call him a fraud, he just created a sport, not a martial art. When I saw that show back in the day, it was obvious that everyone shown sparring was playing by the same rules, and that in a real fight they'd get their butts kicked using only that technique.

[@daxmafesi]

@@Bacteriophagebs that’s perhaps a better way of explaining it. But what I think is false is that this has any cultural relevance to history or ties to French Sabre as some have claimed. Yes he’s created his own sport/dance and if they market it that way I wouldn’t have a problems with it.

[@Bacteriophagebs]

@@daxmafesi I agree. It might be loosely tied to some form of fencing in that the guy saw fencing once and decided to do something similar with machetes. In the original show, it seemed to me like it was a small, local sport, basically a single dojo's worth of students and relatives of the old guy that got famous because that show did an episode on it and played him up as some master martial artist.

[@daxmafesi]

@@Bacteriophagebs Bingo!

[@glennnanod3160]

Enjoyed the content. I do FMA so I found both videos of interest. We train with machetes, so I recognize training moves. Please continue to provide this type of content. Salamat. Mahalo and Aloha.

[@labbyshepherdpuppy5943]

Baseball caps and shorts >>>>>>> HEMA gear 😆

[@stratometal]

Yes please keep introducing us to more stuff! Love this. Thanks Skall

[@SaberusTerras]

The machete fighting has a lot of footwork to it that gave me a capoeira vibe. Not the right region for it, I know.

[@LordPeachew]

but the people could be from the same area originally in Africa.

[@SaberusTerras]

@@LordPeachew I was thinking the same thing, but to be fair, they were taken from many different areas of the African continent.

[@LordPeachew]

@@SaberusTerras mostly west and central so connection not to farfetched I don't know if a direct line but their might be similar movements between neighbors

[@beepboopbleep3695]

Hey Skall, been watching for years. Just want to say thanks!!

[@cruzaider5339]

"How to counter a Zulu stance?" A volley from 25 Martini Henry's should do the trick

[@Densoro]

The parries in the Haitian system are so interesting. Coming from a hybridized Italian rapier background, I'm used to people keeping the torso vertical and trying to maneuver the arm to guard peripherally. The sort of 'bowing blocks' shown in the video were things we didn't know how to utilize as newcomers, and trained away from. I wonder what the Haitian defense looks like at speed, and how they apply it optimally.

[@gobihoukou1]

Am I the only one facepalming at the sight of those machete "Pro moves"? I mean, half the time the one posing as a master has his back, neck and head turned to opoonent and completely exposed, while only threatening him with barely reachable promise of a glancing hit. If its just dance then go on, but it seem to be presented as some kind of fighting style...

[@jamesatherton198]

Potentially similar to capoeira, disguising martial arts practice as dancing so you did not get lined up and shot? Pure speculation on my part but could explain the training drills being dance like in nature.

[@LordPeachew]

when fighting with Machetes one can get around you very easily, he is controlling the Opponents blades while turning which is a very useful and hard to master skill and that rotation can also be used to drive the blade into a opponent. In a real fight one would try not turn their back overly but if it happened you still have moves in your tool box to survive. The Haitian revolution the conflict that this style comes from was a chaotic mess of raids ambushes and assaults and Close Combat could turn into a all out brawl from all sides and being able to confront an attack to your back could save your life. If you want to see real fighting there are plenty of machete duel videos on youtube but they can get graphic.

[@gobihoukou1]

@@jamesatherton198 That might be the case, but as an opressor, upon seeing your victims practicing swinging blades at each other reguraly, would you believe its just a dance? It worked with capoeira, but as far as I know, there were no obvious weapons involved, so I would say it was lot simpler to sell it as just a dance.

[@gobihoukou1]

@@LordPeachew I agree that acounting form attacks from the back and sides is important, but it do not seem to me like there is any control of the opponents blade. For example that brother - sister part. Yes, they are touching the blades, but he has no real way of stopping the sister from slashing him. He just moves the blade somewhere, and she freely follows, completely ignoring all presented targets. If she decided to cut him, his blade is not in any position to stop it. Most of the time, he is not even threthening her with his movements. Or this part starting at 16:50. Master wawes his blade from side to side, not even resembling any movement that would be dangerous for his opponent, and that opponent, who is standing in perfect position to cut of his head or really do whatever in world he desires, is just moving to touch that blade. Or am I seeing wrong?

[@LordPeachew]

@@gobihoukou1 I think those might be a mistakes at 16:50 which happens but this is more drill than real fighting. If I remember correctly they use sharps when training so their might be some hesitation to fully commit. One thing that is not shown in this video is voids where you would break the contact by stepping off line. I would check out hamaa's video's on the subject.

[@revzsaz9418]

Thanks for putting this out for us Skall it was a really interesring watch 🙏 It's always fun to have a look at different methods of use and movement. Cheers old boy 🍻 Hope you are well

[@muhammadabdulrehman1540]

Wasn't this the fighting style that forced Alexander the great to retreat from Africa?

[@admirekashiri9879]

No it wasn't lol.

[@aceambling7685]

Lmao the Zulu's didnt even exist when Alexander was alive.

[@F_Yale]

Yeah, brutha. Wakanda forever.

[@benjaminbrand3714]

Love this subject of video! The footwork in Haitian stick fighting is so fluid and dynamic!

[@mychalupa8956]

I really like this one you should do more of this

[@shadyfountain55]

Respect for putting my people on a video ✊🏾

[@DIREWOLFx75]

Nice to see such a decent analysis of so very rare to see forms.

[@Emelineeeeeee]

I'd love to see more videos like this looking at martial arts from different places or less well known martial arts

[@sempi8159]

I really loved this video! Love the educational content about other cultures etc. You are looking great btw! Keep it up!

[@danielbretall2236]

"Sweep the leg" takes on a whole new meaning when the machetes come out. 😬