The SAFEST Way to Fight with Swords?

[@wolfvermillion1729]

The fact that the other guy looks so amused is simultaneously amusing.

[@Specter_1125]

He’s got a great beard too.

[@marocat4749]

But dont give him the axe. Noo. He has eric vibes with the fun but an epic beard. An very fun and entertaining. Maybe more competetive and showoffish. He is great.

[@onurkneezb]

This guy is the most aggressive sparring partner he has featured as of yet, and I think this works best for this type of video.

[@EladarImm]

Amused bearded guy is amused xD I absolutely love these comments.

[@mattw7949]

New England berzerker.

[@krayzoman]

This sparring buddy seemed a lot more engaged and interactive than most I've seen you make videos with; the honest gut reactions and your responses while continuing the demonstration made your points much clearer than the mechanical demonstrations usually presented, at least to me.

[@iRA_mkb]

Indeee indeed I thought the same, don’t change him.

[@KickyFut]

Yeah! Can you introduce/acknowledge your training buddy? He's quite competent with a sword, and really helps to improve your sword maneuver examples.

[@SneakyMawwfaka]

I was just about to say that, was really neat

[@YouAreLyingJane]

Yea, I was also surprised how the sparring partner was just immediately responding with whatever motion was needed for the demonstration at the moment, great job.

[@rafaelbalsan4512]

And he has a pretty cool beard

[@Subarashii_Nem]

How not to die in a sword fight: Don't sword fight. But for real, I really like these videos because it gives an insight as to how it was done in real life combat because I know for a fact, if I had to fight someone with a sword I'd crap my pants and would instantly just probably die from fear!

[@machal9024]

How not to die in a sword fight - come in sword fight with gun. Like a Indiana Jones ;) Small joke ofc

[@zkull9982]

@@machal9024 that was a joke ever made

[@Blackgranite]

it's actually quite fun in the hobby sense (enter: HEMA), but a real swordfight would be terrifying. But it's a near impossibility that would happen anyway, so the fear can be mitigated. I would encourage at least sitting on the sidelines of a HEMA club to see what goes on in the sport/school of fighting someone with a sword!

[@FerdinandFake]

That's true for a knife fight where there's rarely a winner, with a sword you just have to be better

[@rudy103069]

@@Blackgranite i seen a youtube video where a couple dudes killed each other with bottles. they went to the death,everyone around was tryna get them to stop they just wouldnt,brutal. rage is f,ed up but happens.

[@OS-zp4cy]

How to not die in a swordfight: Step 1: Don't insult anyone's wife. Step 2: You did exactly that, didn't you?

[@RainMakeR_Workshop]

I feel like animation would be a good medium to portray the subtlety of real swordplay. It could zoom in and slowdown and even dramatize the smaller movements like a small circular movement to get on the other side of the opponents blade. I also feel that a character like 09 Sherlock Holmes RDJ who narrates and breaks down their own fights, could be a good way to bring the in average audience member who doesn't know anything about swordplay into understanding the fight. It could even be edutainment in the same kind of way many anime are about niche topics.

[@Blackgranite]

oh man, that's a great idea.

[@edi9892]

@@Blackgranite Personally, I prefer to see the action in realistic speed first so that I know what is coming and then listen to the subtleties...

[@asahearts1]

Someone below posted about how movies need to make fights unrealistic to stretch out the action because if a fight were over quickly it would make the movie boring. I realized after putting your comment together with their that sherlock holmes did a really great job at stretching out the action while simultaneously showcasing what was happening.

[@Nushnark]

@krulty that's pretty much how I try to portay a character in a story I write. He is heavily inspired by RDJs Sherlock in that he can analyse a situation to the point where he can predict an enemies' next move to a somewhat reasonable degree. I'm by no means even remotely close to an expert or even an adept when it comes to swordfighting, but I try to do the more sublte nature of sword fighting justice in these scenes.

[@allengordon6929]

Animation would work far better for depicting realistic swordsmanship than actual live action. When it comes to video games, the same conceit works with art style: it has to be stylized a certain way (preferably with noodle people).

[@Sylentmana]

Other fellow has a most majestic beard and stache.

[@turkoala9193]

Thus I agree

[@StanMuso]

He reminds me a little bit of bearded Jim Carrey lol

[@angusmuir6180]

This is actually really useful for a couple of my writing projects. Much appreciated as always!

[@francisdhomer5910]

Glad to see I'm not the only one who uses him to improve my writing. I also use Shad as well. Just wish I had found them before I published my first book (Over ten years ago) I now cringe at some of the things I wrote.

[@dovos8572]

@@francisdhomer5910 i find it pretty hard to write detailed fights without going too much into details and losing the pasing or i find myself repeating sentences randomly without really knowing how to make a real combo that actually works in a fight. but what me really holds back from writing is the obsession with realistic magic balancing... it is so damn hard to make a magic system that doesn't heavily rely on plot armour to work.

[@francisdhomer5910]

@@dovos8572 I have the same problem when it comes to writing fights. He hit him then got hit back so he hit harder so he hit him some more. Yeah exciting fight scene. The problem I've seen with magic is to many times it is used as plot armor. I love a good tale with magic in it, but too many times I've sat there reading a story and going, "Where did they get that spell? You're three quarters of the way through the book and the magic user has used spells to unlock doors, find his lost glasses and maybe looked long distance. But never brought up a light globe while his companions spent time trying to get a torch lit in the dark. Then the killer creature attacks and he cast a light globe on the eyes or calls lighting. WAIT!!!! Why didn't he do the light globe while they were trying to light the torch? Foreshadowing please.

[@dovos8572]

@@francisdhomer5910 i really wonder how some people can write so good in their first unedited version... it's like watching a painter painting something good with details within an hour...

[@edi9892]

I think that you forgot to mention something very important: swords can move faster than a human can see and if you react only to seeing the blade in motion, it's too late to react. What many people don't realise is that in a bind you can feel an intent long before you can see it! Even better, just as with all grapling, it slows down the opponent's attacks. It also works in unarmed combat. Especially Wing Tsun and Silat are known to emphasise on learning to respond to it.

[@plsuh]

This is very insightful. Pressure from the bind here is very, very similar to the concept of "seme" in Kendo. This is the "conversation" that two swordsmen have with the tips of their blades pressuring one another both physically and mentally. When practitioners start it is a physical attempt to gain advantage by moving the opponent's blade out of line, but as they gain skill it becomes more mental pressure to the point that a high-ranking kenshi can force a less-skilled opponent to open themselves in precisely the way that the high-rank wants.

[@Skallagrim]

I did mention that binding allows you to feel what's going on rather than just see it but I guess I could have elaborated on that some more.

[@edi9892]

@@plsuh Interesting. The Kendo and similar styles I've seen avoid the bind likt the plague and I've been able to frustrate masters who had many years more experience than me, whenever I was lucky to get a bind before I get hit. In that case I could quickly turn the odds, which was real fun...

[@Erime]

The Chinese art of 'Intent Boxing' (Yiquan), when done well/authentically (see Yao Zongxun lineage, for example) revolves around this exact principle and lies at the heart of its particular push-hands practice (no grappling stuff, because it can be extended from forearm to long swords, and to spear 'binding' even). Practitioners practice single arm 'bind' with similar techniques for overcoming as those shown in this video, plus also using whole body 'rooting', coiling, explosive forward bursts and so on, sourced from standing yoga posture work.

[@somewierdoonline2402]

Thank you just what I needed today for my duel lmao

[@DingaLingu]

Step 1, notice they have a sword and not a spear. Step 2, run. Step 3, find a piece of wood twice the length of their sword Step 4, walk.

[@TowaMidriffEnjoyer]

Actually why can't you just be isshin and use a sword and a spear, maybe a crossbow too.

[@Dan_Kanerva]

Gintoki mindset

[@TheGovernmentputcrackinmyblunt]

@@Dan_Kanerva I dropped gintoki after one episode. Should I continue watching it?

[@joundii3100]

@@TowaMidriffEnjoyer The Tuaregs actually did use a sword and a spear at the same time.

[@TowaMidriffEnjoyer]

@@joundii3100 oh shit they look like a de3 starting class

[@Hutchisonisthename]

I’m currently writing a story that has a duel in it and I’m trying to do some research. You are super clear and concise in explaining tips and pointers! It’s very helpful! Thank you!

[@Jordan.A.07]

I love how Skallagrim's partner is so well-versed in swordsmanship, that he instinctively reacts to Skallagrim's actions, before either of them knows what he's doing. I hope I get to that level one day!

[@Jc-cv2ug]

My boy back with the sword lessons 💪

[@danielaugusto174]

Man your content is just too good. You help so much those who create medieval/fantasy-like based content, well as history enthusiasts. Since 2015 i watch your vids, and you never let down.

[@Skallagrim]

Thanks!

[@b.l.794]

Feeling not only provides more information. You can actually feel movement faster than you can see it. visual perception is a lot more complicated than feeling biochemicaly. The light first has to decay a molecule in the retina, which must be detected by a neuron cell. There's some really complicated stuff going on. Therefore you can react much faster and more precise to your fellow duelists if your weapons connect. But from my experience, binds rarely happen in sparring. And if they do, both get cut in the end. one a little earlier than the other.

[@HankCarver]

R. A. Salvatore does a great job of describing exactly this if anyone wants to read fantasy novels with more in-depth descriptions of fencing.

[@lt.branwulfram4794]

Recently, I've been looking into Destreza. What I've noticed, in comparison to Italian rapier's bold, powerful lunges, Destreza is more conservative and defensive in nature, decrying the notion of lunging as foolish and reckless in favour of working around the opponent's defences in order to find and exploit a weak spot, patiently and without haste, with regard towards one's safety. It favours circular movements as opposed to the Italian's linear footwork.

[@aldente3868]

Fascinating.It would be amazing to see the Italian style go against Destreza.

[@laurenceperkins7468]

@@aldente3868 Something like kzbin.info/www/bejne/fH2op4iobs2Ji5Y maybe?

[@zaboobebop]

Its interesting. Destreza in the HEMA world shares quite a bit of similarities to Ilustrisimo in the FMA world.

[@beowulfshaeffer8444]

"The greatest trick a wizard can learn is stepping one foot to the left. They never see it coming." ;) Good video, Skal. I quite like these demonstration/instruction videos.

[@Nir7r0us0xide]

Where is that quote from?

[@beowulfshaeffer8444]

@@Nir7r0us0xide Sorry :) I think it's Terry Pratchett, Discworld. Can't remember which book.

[@sainnth777]

Imagine a promotion like UFC for sword fighting,beatiful fighting art

[@doubtfuldrawing]

There is! Full contact sword fighting check it out!

[@jestfullgremblim8002]

@@doubtfuldrawing hell yeah! Do you mean the medieval one or HEMA (which isn't full contact but still)?

[@marekverescak2493]

@@jestfullgremblim8002 hema is basically Full contact

[@MsKeylas]

@@jestfullgremblim8002 there are plenty variants

[@jestfullgremblim8002]

@@marekverescak2493 idk man

[@kebman]

Now this is something I'd love to see dramatized, and possibly slowed down, so regular peeps can start to see what's going on in a fictional fight. Realism isn't boring. It's just a matter of how you direct it, and use it to create tension and drama.

[@Aerostorm56]

I feel like Skall would be the perfect NPC of a tavern owner called Bearded Men with Swords where he offers you drinks and combat advice for Martial classes.

[@Kragatar]

This really illustrates the value of armor. Even lightweight leather armor or a thick winter coat would make a huge difference, because it renders slice attacks useless and requires a bigger, more telegraphed movement to chop or stab through it.

[@laurenceperkins7468]

To chop yes. To slice or stab, no. The slice gets its cutting ability from drawing the blade across the target. Armor will require a longer length of draw, but not necessarily more velocity behind it. A stab meanwhile will require more pressure, but that also doesn't require telegraphing since most disciplines emphasize getting the stab lined up and preferably in contact with the target before committing body weight.

[@leonardomonteleone5429]

@@laurenceperkins7468 to bite into the material your cutting more force is required

[@laurenceperkins7468]

@@leonardomonteleone5429 Yes, but that force doesn't necessarily require a larger windup to achieve. A slice will require some combination of more pressure and a longer draw distance. A stab will require the attacker to commit more of his bodyweight. The chop is the one that's most reliant on inertia of the weapon itself.

[@wacky.racoon]

Maybe not so much telegraphing, but more intent, as you would have to aim a strike or thrust to hit a weakness in the armor system

[@dlmiller7873]

This makes me glad trained sword fighters are rare irl.

[@decoder1157]

Not as rare as one would think nowadays

[@eldrevo]

Good motivation, yes. It's nice that you combined several weapons and tactics in this one.

[@jarrodsteers8991]

I find this useful as, since it is highly unlikely I will fight a random guy with a sword in this modern age, some of this stuff can be applied to say...a table leg, pipe, or any long blunt weapon someone can find around them. And while there are some obvious differences of handling between a sword and a last minute melee weapon, keeping your weapon between you and the enemy's is good advice to take to heart.

[@cahallo5964]

Staff translates better than a sword to "random stuff I found"

[@jarrodsteers8991]

@@cahallo5964 If one is lying around, all the better. The point I was making was, 'whatever weapon used, keep it between you and your attacker'.

[@janpapai9205]

The problem with movies is that they need to stretch the few fight scenes in the whole thing. If you had one fight that is over after 5 secs like it probably would be in reality it would just leave the viewer unsatisfied. My thought is: have a scene made with technics like in this video here but put slowmotion in on the right moments so you can actually see the fine but fight deciding moves. You would still need more of those kinda scenes than in movies nowadays where they can bash at each other for 10 minutes with full dialoges in the middle of the fight. Maybe a movie about just one famous battle would be most suited bc you have lots of moments where you can put a quick battle scene in? Also sry for my grammar, my main language is german. Love you skall, keep up the good work.

[@asahearts1]

Another person posted above about the sherlock holmes movie and I realized the way they did fights in it was a really good way to stretch out and showcase the action.

[@fugu4163]

Everything looks better in slow motion. Either if it is a swordfight or that hot blonde in a bikini running on the beach.

[@s.kennedy8380]

Immensely informative for historical/fantasy writing. Thank you, Skal.

[@screeeeeeeeee]

I'm a writer, and I wanted to mention that this is my favorite kind of content on this channel. Very useful reference material. I'd love to see more content like this.

[@MarkiusFox]

This makes me wonder if a mechanic in games could be made, simulating the feeling of time slowing down from an adrenaline dump. Not a short selectable mode or when the game wants the action to be cinematic. Like If there is a duel happening, things appear to slow down and sounds are muffled a few seconds before the duel begins and continues until say 5 minutes after the fighting has ended. The trade off would be that the fighting movements would be subtle and minimal.

[@Gomgo22]

I haven't tuned into your channel for a while now, but this is probably my favorite video so far. Breaking down and explaining each action so practically paired with a very talented "opponent", shot at an easy to look at angle, I learned so much. I love the breakdown of historical combat down to tis level of detail. I'm definitely going to catch up on what I missed and stay tuned!

[@TheRadioSquare]

Thank you, life has been rough before I watched this

[@helojoe92]

Nice to see you refocusing away from the "tournament style" HEMA (as I'd call it: Sparring focussed training with heavy protective gear and the goal of winning points) and more towards the treatises. Don't get me wrong, this is not about elitism, but rather what I've felt was missing a bit from this channel, and it's super nice to get this kind of content from you now, with a few more years of experience not only as a fencer, but as a creator as well! Keep them coming!

[@jamesfrye5387]

Good work explaining the ideas behind the bind. I can see why some would favor a double edge blade. Good work to your sparring partner too. Sometimes it's hard to demonstrate your ideas if your partner is "off queue."

[@FulltimeHafling]

I feel like you forgot to mention one important thing, The 'Abzug' as Meiyer called it. Closing your lines as much as possible as you disengage. There is little point in controlling your opponent's blade up until the moment you hit them and then not guarding yourself from possible 'after blows'. That being said this was a great video!

[@Skallagrim]

Yes, absolutely. There are a number of ways to control the opponent after you've successfully landed an attack. In case of thrusts it's often pushing through to the hilt and grappling. With cuts it's typically cover and get out of there.

[@laurenceperkins7468]

@@Skallagrim One thing that occurred to me while playing one of the VR sword games is that, after a solid thrust, having a bar of steel stuck into your opponent's body could actually give you quite a bit of control over which directions they can move... Obviously this isn't something one can easily practice in reality, but it wouldn't surprise me if, back in the day, experienced swordsmen had all developed techniques for using that to avoid after blows. But you probably wouldn't see it discussed much in training manuals since it's not something you can really practice in sparring.

[@lambs5258]

love videos like this. Sword fighting happens so quickly, it's nice to see it broken down like this.

[@LABCHiMP]

One of the best videos you've made. Practical and informative.

[@pensmith]

I think in video games and animation you can just... use a sound-like wave or spark animation to indicate a bind / contact and a shift in contact. The colors and special effects can be exaggerated there, giving visual cues that tell a person what is happening. You can also use different sounds for different conditions of the exchange. The speed of the bout can be affected by stats that allow the exchange to be faster or slower based off of a "sticky" factor for the bind, or the character's physical or skill attributes providing different or faster animations. A perception factor could even be a stat for characters that allows them to see a different animation of the opponent's swing (the timing doesn't change, just less blur) or perhaps causes some aspects of the attack animation to have more visual cue special effects. Telegraphing doesn't always have to be a long held animation point... after all, in fighting games people break down animations and their hitboxes by the frame all the time. It doesn't have to be overly complicated. We have a simple system in the Soul's franchise. If you have the stats to use the weapon then you get certain animations. If you don't then you get a different less effective set of animations. When you block successfully especially in Elden Ring you get a cue that says you can do a counter attack or there's a stagger factor for both players to convey how hard the hit was or how sturdy the player was. Parries and such are overly simplified, but well that's the flavor in that particular game. If you wanted something more true to form then blade stickiness can be an aspect to consider.

[@aldente3868]

Loving these types of videos Skall.There's a lot if good information for folks who want to create a fight scene that would actually work. And please keep this sparring guy.He's awesome here.

[@Hidden-Brush-org]

This is super cool to watch and learn a bit of sword philosophy.

[@oricdragorson793]

Hema 101. :) I love the fact that you show pictures from historical fencing manuals while explaining and doing it yourself.

[@littlelegs4563]

I cannot express the amount of love I have for this channel. Makes me feel so much better having a break from life just to forgot things for a moment. I love you Skallagrim.

[@natercarcater1397]

Love the humor and communication style! 🔥

[@Skallagrim]

Thanks!

[@FedericoMalagutti]

Nice video! I would argue that while increasing the speed of the fight some actions and situation tend to become lesser risky than while going slow (like leaving the blade close to the body, once past the tip to me is more than enough) while others which look super safe in slowmo get super risky at higher speed, like bind work. But in the end many of this things are related to the training of the single fencer.

[@charlescook5542]

Jedi Outcast has the right balance between realism and gameplay, you have light medium and heavy stances for lightsabers. You can overwhelm your opponent with heavy swings but it’s slow and not good for multiple opponents. That game also did a good job of showing how bad it is to have your guard broken.

[@r3dp9]

IIRC I just stuck with medium and R1 spam, only switching when opponents were immune to whatever I was using at the time.

[@dominikstickling8197]

You can also work with the angle of the sword there and basicly slice them or stab them without actually striking to ignore blocks. Basicly a way to include the normal sword fighting in a more abstract way

[@TrueMentorGuidingMoonlight]

Hell yeah! Jedi Outcast/Academy had the best lightsaber combat. It’s maddening that no one ever repeated that system in modern SW games.

[@elianshurtugal]

This has been such a joy to watch! You described so eloquently the need for fuhlen in the binds and recognizing various pressures to which you can drive your next moves and actions. The importance of not leaving the bind prematurely is something that requires a lot of practice and patience because not adhering to binds will often set you up in Nachrissen settings (which you don't want to be in). I love how this video is educational for HEMA practitioners as like a reminder that the windings are important to keep one safe and doing it proper requires knowledge on the strong and weak of the blade. Furthermore I enjoy the addition of the direct displacements present by the messer to showcase that in a dire scenario where one cannot play in the bind, a simple and direct displacement with the blade is vital to keep yourself safe. Love to see more videos like these!

[@misterkami2]

Well done on the footwork in the slippery snow! Great video as always, Skal

[@thekingofchange1428]

This is brilliant, I remember going through a the core concepts here when I was taking fencing classes, with some differences, of course

[@totoru4ever]

This one is possibly your favorite video of mine. You speak like a true teacher.

[@andrewreynolds4949]

I find this very useful. Skallagrim really has some of the best videos out there on swordplay.

[@Anti_Woke]

And so the bind became the theatrical tradition of "hitting the other sword".

[@MA-lq6eb]

💥Very Good...Thnx 4 Sharing my Fellow Swordsman!😎👍

[@UsernameName-vb1he]

I'm happy you guys exist, great job and keep up the good work

[@arturwillrich112]

Really liked the camera work and the "other guy" in this video. Really nice, Skall.

[@shairneshadowfell9879]

some of these points were the exact things i was explaining to my friend a little while ago, this is great!

[@gordyrroy]

To modify an old meme: The amount of the audience dying at the end of Skall's videos is too damn high!

[@AlcerusOfficial]

Thank you Skall! I always love your instructional videos and your sense of humor

[@Fabian-oz5oj]

I just really need to compliment your mate on his awesome beard

[@taintedmyth0s636]

I love the little motion the other guy does at 7:07 with his arm like "yep, you got me" lol

[@StressedYeti]

It's always good to see a video from you, Skall. I also really like the technical breakdowns like this (especially with the diagrams!)

[@stevendeamon]

Im 100% sure I will never need this information but it was entertaining as hell anyway

[@ulla7378]

Regarding the 13:54 "why we don't see it. Watched The King's Man today and it seems to me, that they actually attempt to do it in the "final sword fight" of the movie. Not going to go to spoilers further than that, but if somebody watches the film, the point I am talking about is around 1:53:44 in the movie (:D Assuming that the minutes match equally in all distributed versions.)

[@vtheman1850]

Thank you Skall for showing us the Ultimate Perfect Best Way to fight with a sword EVER.

[@ericsimmons4868]

Did anyone else notice he used the Dark Souls line for "You Died"? I found it very....fitting.

[@TheHuscarls]

Salla Battallador out of Spain, from what I can see, do a lot of their sparring from the bind with all swords. They also focus a lot on their foot work as well and it's always something watching them fence. Great work from them!

[@schrottiyhd6776]

Thanks gave me lots of inspiration for my game!

[@maccurtis730]

The Sword Master in his natural elements of Sword ⚔and Snow. 🌧🌨❄

[@amanzeihedioha]

Don't panic and forget Anime rules.

[@KitKat_burger]

This information will be useful when I need to protect myself from the crazed swordsman down my street

[@Izlude7189]

The goal of any fight is to survive, as unscathed as possible. Totally agreed.

[@HoboMeow]

I really like the manual overlays!

[@graemechapman7078]

Cool video! Love the sword lessons

[@MarcRitzMD]

at 9:50, you acknowledge some risk on your follow-up as the opponent would go from bind to slicing your belly. That slice with minimal momentum behind would be negated by a bit of armor. There's probably a lot of training needed to always be recognizant of which body part gets exposed and whether it can tank hits of varying degrees of force

[@jalapenothroat3333]

Low-key, this video helped me to improve my game in for honor

[@Protologos]

Not that my opinion' means much but at first i thought he was a little over zealous but I was very wrong, you have an excellent sparring partner. Very responsive and makes the demonstration significantly more effective. Hope to see more!

[@ItsDaKoolaidDude]

Excellent, I now know how to handle bandits and ruffians breaking into my house

[@dreadthemadsmith]

Showing that kind of thing would work in an anime format where the final blow is shown several times at multiple angles.

[@chadherbert18]

Nice! I see the dangerous outside-thrust a lot in the PHM Longsword plays, but usually after a they parry your blade wide, so you can step-through with your left foot. Safer if you have a free left hand to post on his arm, followed by an immediate winding back into a hanger. PHM also warns you to feel that they are hard in the bind first, and if you feel them soften as you wind in on the outside, to abort! 😂 Alternatively, in Meyer, they’ll wind the hilt in after you’ve been parried wide, to slice on the inside (Meyer Rapier, but works for Longsword too)… Multiple sources mentioned the Ox thrust as a great onset, in Meyer and PHM, using the thrust to provoke them to parry, then cutting immediately to the opening they give you on the other side - this is one of the onsets that works consistently for me, even against faster fighters, though you need to be aware to not leave your wrist and shoulder exposed to afterblows… The Meyer, 4 Types of Fighters from his Rapier sections explores a bit of the different ways to set on, as the defining factor for the types is what you were alluding to: risk! Type 1 is most risky and prefers to take the Vor with violent cuts or thrusts, Type 2 prefers to Provoke or chase in the onset before striking (my type), Type 3 prefers to Parry or Take in the onset (Skall’s type), and Type 4 prefer not to leave their defensive advantage in the Vor (my type when I’m tired!) Meyer says to master one, then add the rest to your skill set and use each as appropriate (he loves to leave us hanging…) 😂

[@CinnamonToastKing]

Funny enough I use variations of this when PvPing in Elden Ring. Builds are so diverse in this game compared to older games but also at the same time very common builds everyone seems to run *cough rivers of blood, moonviel, turtle build, etc. . I try to figure out what "gimmick" they are going to try and win almost 10/10 fights now.

[@degiguess]

how tf do you bind and wind in elden ring?

[@CinnamonToastKing]

@@degiguess glad you asked! Also why I use the word "variations" since real life and games are different. So the equivalent of binding in Elden Ring is when you and your opponent are both within range of your "quickest safest attack" so to speak. The thing with real life and Elden ring is of course you have a fair amount of spells and ash arts that are fast ,but I won't list all these out. I better example is if both you and your opponent are right in each other's faces walking in circles. It becomes a complete reaction game at this point just like binding. If they swing you might punish or vice versa, you may get a quick poke in which they get hit then back off and you keep in their face. This of course is happening in real time, not me talking or being shown in this video. You have milliseconds to act and its many variations of what could happen. Is it quick pokes? Parry baiting? Back stepping? Ash art? Etc. The tools feel endless in Elden ring compared to real life. I should add that about 90% of the PvP community is either hyper aggressive or one trick ponies that once they realize their "trick" doesn't work its to late or they become "honorless" by healing or running away.

[@degiguess]

@@CinnamonToastKing it's interesting that you break down combat in games like this because I'm more of a kickboxing/MMA person and I always end up mentally attributing PvP in games to hand to hand concepts. For instance, what you describe as binding with someone is what I conceptualize to myself as being in the pocket with someone.

[@CinnamonToastKing]

@@degiguess Honestly however you do it, and if you can actually find a way to use the skills you know in a game its HUGE! I can imagine if given the right amount of time i could compare Elden Ring PvP to cooking haha!

[@soccer2themax]

Excellent video! Loved a review of the basics

[@irfkaptan]

Great content! The Training Partner looks kinda like an badass Landsknecht swordsman

[@kevinlobos5519]

Excellent video, wether your base your swordfighting more on binding and winding or parrying and countering, a complete fencer needs to be at least serviceable in the other. My kung fu school is more based on the second method discussed in the video with most weapons, but as soon as you touch the jian, it goes all the way to the other side, this weapon is so nimble and also thrust and snipe centric that you really need to keep the oponent's blade in check to not end up double hitting each other all the time.

[@NashiHeartSoulSpirit]

My first thought was “better armour” before I noticed that this is a technique video.

[@seidmadr2024]

Oooh, great companion piece to Matt Easton's vid on how to incap someone.

[@skeletalgnome9021]

This will greatly help me when I ever need to not die in a sword fight

[@scottmacgregor3444]

Well if you ever find yourself in a sword fight, step one really should be don't die.

[@FortyHyena]

"This is a good position. If I want to force it, I can even go in all the way." -Canadian Sword Man

[@Sunny-qo2lt]

Can't wait till I get sent back into time and I show off my skills, but for real though this gave me a lot of creative ideas to try to draw.

[@baulvicork5199]

Thanks! I'll be... uh... *needing this in a few days...*

[@metal2133]

So what i learnt mainly is to think outside the box and beyond what you're doing right now, if you're in an inconvenient situation, give it up and quickly do something else, and you can use more than just the sword to help you.

[@ulungprabowo]

Thank you for posting this. I have no experience on HEMA butI always thought that there should be simple and safer technique of the one handed sword fighting somewhere, something that more like boxing compared to asian classical martial arts that has to be learned years. And also somehow I found this is pretty much like verdadera destreza.

[@berner]

Hey Skallagrim, have you had a chance to look at the Thai sword style of Krabbi Krabong and if so, what are your thoughts on its dual wielding style?

[@vincentlee7359]

"Mooooooom, the strange man with the swords is play fighting again!!!"

[@edwardvermillion8807]

this really ties in with my experience with kcd. i know the devs really wanted to make a game that was a sword fighting sim... but... flying and driving sims work because both of those activities are 'sit on your ass and work controls', which is pretty much what a video game is. sword fighting... not so much. there were soooo many moves i wanted to make that the game just didn't allow for, and i'm not sure that any game could allow for... there's just not that many buttons on a keyboard, much less a controller...

[@Ganonne]

This was awesome...as always!!!

[@niwcsc]

Gotta be "that guy" just this once. It is the first time I have seen a video detailing binds in HEMA in such detail, and it relates to kendo concepts a lot. Kendo is all about dominating in binds, just that we can't get too creative with it so no cheeky stabs on anywhere other than the throat, no covered thrusts, and no edge whatsoever. And the bit about feeling is definitely something kendo love to emphasise as well.

[@csiga4444]

Thank you, that was perfect.

[@t.r.everstone7]

Your buddy's beard is fantastic BTW

[@aeronsausse915]

These men's beards are utterly GLORIOUS

[@ryanschulte9040]

And they probably live in grandma's basement

[@wacky.racoon]

I think you showed these move exceptionally well, and if this kind of choreography were rendered at full speed in a film, the fact that it is hard to see would only benefit the adrenaline rush of the fight. Perhaps each individual fight would be quicker, but that could work towards the benefit of the film. I think there's a disconnect between what filmmakers and choreographers want to show (big moves, artsy flairs, etc) and what viewers want to see (meaningful realistic swordplay and martial arts)

[@DamKaKaDaNi]

The art of avoiding the double kill n.n. This reminds me of chi sau in wing chun.

[@MizanQistina]

Roll, roll and keep rolling...