Sparring with nowhere to run! Mixed weapon carnage.

[@_bisclavret]

That Zweihander had a huge win streak. Zweihander OP.

[@WearyFeline]

The zweihander is broken. Devs plz nerf.

[@Pamjamelia]

"That wouldn't even penetrate his feelings!" Assuming that's what you said, of course.

[@AcademyofHistoricalFencing]

"That wouldn't even penetrate his beard" :-)

[@Pamjamelia]

Oh. Well, it probably wouldn't have penetrated his feelings either.

[@CommandoLAX]

"Don't tickle him! That was pathetic!" I had to walk away for a minute I was laughing so hard.

[@Pamjamelia]

"Get back in, get back in! That was shit!"

[@theresafriedrich2025]

I like that guy with the gambi and the smiley on his "helmet"

[@FailedPoet444]

You guys are brave to whip out the montante... I'd be more than just afraid to face that thing. Perhaps only that Kriegsmeser would give me enough courage, because she's a beauty!

[@AcademyofHistoricalFencing]

It's useable so long as you be sensible. No doubt you have to hold back with it though. If you started carrying the mass through with continuous cutting arcs, as they often were, it would be a problem!

[@phillip0537]

As others have noted, this video really shows how useful a big, two handed sword is. That reach advantage with a balanced, relatively fast weapon is really dominant!

[@fakealias1990]

These mixed-weapon videos are very educational. It sort of emulates how combat between two fighters with different weapons would go, but it also highlights how much of a HUGE advantage it is to have superior reach.

[@heresjonny666]

I think this as pretty cool at demonstrating how the montante shines at 'defending' a point (like a doorway, or gate).

[@jordanvex4846]

The dude with the red sword was boss at deflecting with his buckler.

[@arturaugustyniak9008]

cheers

[@paweandonisgawralidisdobrz2522]

Shield 100

[@chemicaldruid4591]

conclusuion: even out of Chivalry:medieval warfare, the Zweihandler is still op. plz nerf :3

[@BS-bd5uq]

probably more OP than in Chivalry lol Two-handed great swords are too slow in that game

[@stefthorman8548]

Aready nerfed, you can't carry it in an sheath, and have to carry it around like an spear, making it an main battle weapon, when most other swords are sidearms.

[@LoudMan01]

It's nice to see how far Havel The Rock has come.

[@Kirokill1]

Red sword guy stood out, for how good he was.

[@Observer29830]

Big fucking sword wins.

[@Tim1000064]

It's very interesting to see how differently some people fight when backed into a corner. Fascinating and fun as always :D

[@GroundSound]

Zweihander op

[@RandomAllen]

What's hilarious is that the Zweihander guy has to go 40%, otherwise it would actually do some damage padding or not because it's like 8 pounds, and HE'S STILL WINNING XD!

[@Vidarson]

the montante is king lol

[@cleanliving1612]

This seems fun as hell

[@Freakybugeyedweirdo]

1:06 Now, that's just not fair. :p

[@AcademyofHistoricalFencing]

Life isn't fair :-)

[@beggerstager]

That's why you learn how to use swords to make life fair

[@itsdonnahs572]

He wouldnt be swinging it and poking it as fast as he was if it was real haha

[@sunnmringenriksheim7812]

You wold be surprised on how fast you can swing a proper great-sword. I would not expect any slower movements from an equal sized sword made out of steel.

[@Lucillevt4011]

A great sword or a Zweihander in his case weighs only around 2-3 kg, you'd be surprised by how fast those things can be swung

[@Shindai]

I forgot you folks do fun scenarios like this. I only had class last night and I already wanna go back after watching this, get some fighty on.

[@imstupid880]

greatsword OP plz nerf

[@asfm2]

2:07 gets me every time.

[@T4nkcommander]

cool to see how everyone reacts to the pressure. This is why Sun Thu says to never attack an enemy that has no where else to go

[@andreigabrielion9575]

This is so cool.

[@ittomainatsu3144]

that claymore is just dope

[@HaronYoungerBro]

5:27 - best duel in this vid so far :)

[@kevinlobos5519]

This vídeo was very entertaining. Funny and intetesting, i just wish i could learn proper HEMA. Keep up this excellent channel!

[@kevinlobos5519]

My favorite part is the first guy with the great sword, he sure knows how to use that reach.

[@Pamjamelia]

Here. You can see if there's a club near you. www.hemaalliance.com/club-finders/

[@kevinlobos5519]

thank you man but i already checked, the closest one is 800 kilometers away.

[@londiniumarmoury7037]

Lol this creates some really funny situations.

[@meareAaron]

i love how the zweihander just 1 taps his oponent compared to the otheres exchanging and dodging blows just to get one in 6 year old vid but still hella cool would love to get a zweinhander someday

[@lupinthethird7059]

This is one more reason to like greatswords

[@RoonVonBismarck]

Could someone nerf the greatsword?

[@MOtherNature790]

It all comes down to who's got the bigger stick

[@xavierjackson1518]

Zweihander OP

[@krossco]

zweihander ftw

[@gozer87]

Isn't there a montante play where you're defending an alley?

[@deanofett]

That is not a sword. That is a polearm.

[@Kubaaa555]

I would love to see more montante videos, even without full speed and power for safety purposes. Most of two handed sword vs something on youtube is bullshit because usually they don't attack lower parts of leg... even in hardcore sparrings like SCA, low leg strikes are disallowed. While low attacks are huge factor with montante or polearms I think. Also, people in many videos with greatsword sparrings tend to fight with them like if they hold longsword... instead of moving blade constantly to make opponent unable to rush

[@caseydubois3645]

Kreigsmesser guy can't catch a break

[@Nexus-Technology]

What/where is this? Id love to get into a group like that ^_ ^

[@AcademyofHistoricalFencing]

This is HEMA (Historical European Martial Arts, and we are based in Newport, South Wales, and Bristol, England, but there are clubs all around the world. Where are you?

[@Nexus-Technology]

Im sorry I meant, what group is this? Im somewhat familiar with HEMA, or videos of it at least haha. Im in Rochester, NY in the US which unfortunately seems to be one of the only cities without any current groups :(

[@AcademyofHistoricalFencing]

Ah right, got ya. Sorry to say that we are rather far away, being in England and Wales, UK. However if you check this map there is one club in Rochester, www.communitywalk.com/THE-HEMA-Group-finder-E-North-America-Eastern

[@zacrigby4426]

Montante beats all

[@nazcret22]

you are abusing the side sword guy hahah

[@WearyFeline]

The devs need to nerf the Zweihander. It's broken af.

[@Zodiak747]

What is the weight of the two handed sword from 1:10? Is again weight accurate to real one?

[@siestatime4638]

For people who are homodextrous (each uses the same hand as the other - get your minds out of the gutter), it would seem to be a good strategy for the attacker to move towards the defender's strong side, so the wall restricts his/her blade movement and choice of cuts. But then, I guess the obvious counter would be for the defender to rotate away from the wall and try to reverse positions.

[@IBmaster4]

People's heads are probably in the gutter because you said "homo"dextrous and not ambidextrous....

[@CarrotSlat]

Homodextrous and ambidextrous are not at all synonymous. Homodextrous means you use the same main hand as your opponent. If you and I are sparring and both right handed then we are homodextrous. If you are left handed then we are heterodextrous. Ambidextrous simply means you have gained some level of proficiency with both hands

[@IBmaster4]

I know what ambidextrous means....that's why I said it....my point is that you shouldn't be thinking people's heads are in the gutter since mentioning that would put their minds in the gutter. Like telling someone not to think of cake...lol

[@CarrotSlat]

+IBmaster4 Fair point. I agree that it is unnecessary to tell people to get their heads out of the gutter. we are all adults and can see the word homo without assuming it refers to ones sexyality in every usage.

[@emperortrajan3609]

Where can I go to do this? This looks like so much fun.

[@AcademyofHistoricalFencing]

Where in the world are you?

[@emperortrajan3609]

@@AcademyofHistoricalFencing Michigan, United States

[@AcademyofHistoricalFencing]

We are in the UK. I'd recommend that you join the FB group HEMA International Discussion, or the HEMA alliance, and ask for your nearest club there, someone will know what is in your area.

[@yusefclark292]

the buckler is cool but is there a square shaped buckler? im curious.

[@AcademyofHistoricalFencing]

Yep, they come in quite a variety of sizes, though round is the most common, square here - kzbin.info/www/bejne/gmSrkpl5etqpsNk

[@sabotage9926]

1:36 If only his sword didn't get stuck in his shield

[@Pamjamelia]

By the way, what was the story with that red-orange blade? What brand was that? Or was it custom made?

[@AcademyofHistoricalFencing]

It's orange and Knightshop/Red Dragon model, they made the orange blades as a specialist run, I think it was for Halloween a few years ago.

[@Pamjamelia]

Ah. Alright then. Just what everyone wants: a pumpkin sword.

[@Robottorta]

You have historical manuals on that kind of centregrip shield on 1:15?

[@AcademyofHistoricalFencing]

Sadly not. There are no manuals on the use of the shield until the 15th century. As a result, we do not teach such shield combat, but we allow people to use them occasionally in sparring for a little fun.

[@sacrosanct_814]

what's the person at 0:24 that was against the wall using. as in what's it called. it looked quite large with a slight curve. also at 2:21 but on the outside this time

[@jthewelshwarlord6331]

That's a Blackfencer synthetic Kreigsmesser based off the Albion model.

[@sacrosanct_814]

The Beastmen Warlord Thank youuuu

[@greatjoeblack2202]

nice kirasa

[@magtegi2]

the greatsword would have won every time if he just did a full force overhead with all his weight behind him but that would probably be really unsafe

[@DriftingViewer5000]

Keeping smashing the weapon to push them back to get out of the wall. How's that for the change?

[@S3CR3TL3V3LZ]

Useless against someone who uses measure to get someone in that position in the first place.

[@F3EDER]

Love the cuirass that one guy is using! Where did he get it and how does he hold up movement wise? He seem to be doing pretty fine with it tbh despite the upper body movement restriction.

[@AcademyofHistoricalFencing]

Its really cheap mass production stuff, the same as I use in some videos. It's actually pretty good. It's one size and not quite the right fit historically, but it works without any major restriction. The Knightshop were selling the, but don;t seem to be anymore, here it is on another site. ectoria.com/breast-plate-only.html

[@F3EDER]

Very nice! I am a rather small guy so wouldn't want it hanging loosely on my shoulders only. Pretty cheap though! Thanks for the link! :)

[@AcademyofHistoricalFencing]

There is some adjustment, depends how small you are. Below 5'6" and less than 40" chest and yes it would likely be too large for you. Main problem with armour that is too large is that it restricts movement at the shoulder and the waist.

[@mrroberts7828]

It seems that not being able to force your opponent onto the backfoot makes some lines of attack invalid or inefficient, did you notice this or am I imagining it?

[@RKcousins625]

Who's the person laughing who sounds like Floki from Vikings?

[@chiddiddychip123]

To the people of fencing I send this question. Do you have any classes in the south of England?

[@AcademyofHistoricalFencing]

We are likely a little too west for you, being in Bristol, and South Wales. Check this community map for HEMA clubs www.communitywalk.com/map/index/942724

[@chiddiddychip123]

Thanks dude. I'll check it out.

[@silentfox139]

Where can I buy those swords

[@AcademyofHistoricalFencing]

www.blackfencer.com/en/

[@LifeLikeSage]

What are those weapons made of?

[@AcademyofHistoricalFencing]

In this video, a form of nylon/plastic. We use a wide range from steel, to these synthetics and also foam too.

[@LifeLikeSage]

@@AcademyofHistoricalFencing How are such things acquired?

[@TonyFelony19]

why can't i find a group of this in me country :(

[@brucel4378]

ok, length of the weapon is the best technique.

[@kendawgthemasterdude]

Curious exactly which weapons were used here

[@AcademyofHistoricalFencing]

Most are made by Black Fencer, sabre, sidesword, arming sword and montante. There are a few Knightshop training swords in there too.

[@mikeperry4262]

Does anyone know what kind of swords they were using, I am in the market for one of these kinds of swords to train with?

[@AcademyofHistoricalFencing]

Here you go. We highly recommend them, and you will find reviews of many of their products on our channel - www.blackfencer.com/en/

[@mikeperry4262]

Great! Thank you very much!

[@southpawmoose]

Greatsword...wins

[@L1nkn1vy]

Are both players under the same space restriction? This is just having both of them adopt an overly aggressive style and throwing realistic caution out the window so they can try and get a hit in even of they get hit as shown constantly in the video.

[@AcademyofHistoricalFencing]

No, the attacker may do whatever they want, and that resulted in a great variety of variation as seen in the video. Some went in very aggressively, with or without caution, some held their ground, others retreated. This was great as it gave people a lot of different scenarios to deal with, as they would have done historically.

[@WeissM89]

It's not that easy without the montante, right, Nick? It was kind of cheating. I wish I could afford to join a HEMA club, this kind of exercises look really fun.

[@AcademyofHistoricalFencing]

Well life isn't always fair :-) I wasn't actually me using the Montante. All but one fights using the Montante it was Mike, and Joan for the other. HEMA isn't terribly expensive to get into. About £150 for basic kit, and a lot of clubs will have kit you can borrow to get going with.

[@WeissM89]

Oh, then it's possible that I have been mistaking both of you in every sparring video I've seen so far. I know that it isn't really expensive (there's actually a kind of cheap one near where I live), but I depend on my parent's money, and with the University and my new motorcycle I can't ask them any more. Thanks for the reply!

[@AcademyofHistoricalFencing]

Sure you'll get to it in the future. It can be hard to tell the difference between us sometimes. I wear red laces on my trainers if that helps :-)

[@DoomSpellSkadi]

fight!

[@j5ylim396]

1:06 rip

[@AlexAlexandrov]

1:05 Gregor Klegane

[@zacrigby4426]

Montante OP pls nerf haha

[@reasonableanarchist9167]

If you don't mind me asking, where did you get the weapons?

[@AcademyofHistoricalFencing]

Blackfencer (Spain)

[@lucarusso6004]

In my opinion this discipline is almost completely unuseful since it doesn't take count of the weight of a real weapon. With a long or two-handed sword, even if you parry, you are pushed back... These fencers continue to recover and attack again, as just plastic weapons enable instead.

[@KurNorock]

I'm not sure I like this "one hit kill" method of swordsmanship. A lot of the guys who "won" the match with a strike to non-vital areas were immediately hit with kill shots. In a real fight with real swords, most of the winners would be the ones dead on the floor. Except the montante guy for the most part. That reach.

[@AcademyofHistoricalFencing]

Often for the sake of simplicity and management, stopping after one hit is landed is necessary. However, where a double was made, that is a hit simultaneously, or where one landed soon after the other, there was no winner there. That was both considered losers. Typically when we have competitive matches and a light or non-vital shot it made, we could score the killing or incapacitating blow, and not the lighter hit. Different systems for different exercises and situations. This video in particular is not intended as a display of good or realistic swordsmanship, but to pressure test people in different ways.

[@KurNorock]

Academy of Historical Fencing fair enough. thank you.

[@smurfymuffins]

It's cool and all, but that bloke with the huge ass claymore wouldn't be able to swing a real sword like that.

[@AcademyofHistoricalFencing]

It's a Montante/Zweihander, and it is within the historical range. Originals usually weigh 2-3kg at that size, and that one is 2.5kg, with a realistic balance too. Most swords were actually a lot lighter than people realise. The big two handers of that size, they are incredibly fast, because they aren't that heavy, because the long grip gives huge leverage, and because the speed at the tip is massive.

[@smurfymuffins]

No shit, I googled it and I was wrong. Thanks for the correction sir.

[@tarquiniussuperbus21]

Way to many double hits. The protective gear saves you from the pain thats why you are driving such an aggressive style lose some gear and you will start to parry and voila it looks like fencing and not sumo with swords.

[@AcademyofHistoricalFencing]

We don't have such an aggressive style. This is an unusual exercise intended to encourage a great many different responses. The gear we have is perfect for what we do, but there are a great many different training exercises that encourage and practice different elements. Wild, aggressive and unusual attackers are something that is well documented historically, and is important to practice against. You're making some broad assumptions based on one single, unusual exercise.

[@tarquiniussuperbus21]

Well I watched a lot of your videos and I must say you are better then most and I apologize if I appeared rude. But you have to admit that the suicidal attack patterns are rampant in almost all Hema or swordbased martial arts. The hole thing looks a lot different when you use less gear or sharp swords (which I do not recommend). In order to combat crazy attacks I implement the historical right of way rule in sparring and instant disqualification in case of a double hit during tournaments. What do you think? Is this a useful implement or not?

[@AcademyofHistoricalFencing]

Suicidal attacks are something to train not to do, but be able to handle, as they were a reality of some combats. So this is what this exercise dealt with in part. Our normal training doesn't look like that and really does emphasize a more defensive approach. At the far end of this spectrum is our duels for example. Using less gear has its own problems. Using too much can certainly lead to problems, but using too little has just as much problems. I don't find right of way rules work particularly well, even though their intent is good, it doesn't work well in reality. As for disqualification in tournaments, it can work. I have seen it done, and it generally didn't discourage doubles, and just made the experience unemployable for many participating and in the audience. We have other ways of dealing with it that punish it, but overall,.I don't find tournaments are particularly useful to HEMA anyway. They can be an interesting exercise, but encourage some horrid things. Have a bit of fun and experience some different pressures, but that's it. A one off organised fight like the way we do our duels gets a much better mindset.

[@tarquiniussuperbus21]

Your right, I guess everybody does it a little differently. I learned escrima before HEMA with no protective gear. The training was geared toward bouncers which needed it for their Job. And I can tell you if you ever get hit on the hand or head without gear you fight much more carefully. The problem is to implement this experience without the pain. This is where I find the right of way rule, penalties for double hits and frequent reminders about the nature of a blade wound quite useful. Fencing looks a lot more like a real fight if these are in place.

[@AcademyofHistoricalFencing]

When we first started this, all our training was done without protective gear. That went on for years before we introduced fencing masks and then actual properly protected gloves. The training was not more realistic for having less gear, very much the opposite. Because it isn't just about how you defend, but how you offend. When the gear is so low that you cannot threaten your opponent, because it is unsafe to do so in a training environment, that vastly changes the fight, drawing it away from one where people mean to really strike to kill. Pain is an important part though, and we haven't removed that. Our padded gear is light, most of the gear we wear you can still very much feel plenty of pain. Penalties for double hits are a good thing though. When we do run tournaments we usually have three 'lives' per person. Each hit (including a double) causes a loss of one life. Meaning its possible for both to lose the fight This is fought round robin, and the remaining lives from each fight are totaled up. Meaning defence and survival is incredibly important.