The Italian Rapier Lunge - Understanding HEMA

Host Nicole Smith (multi-award winning rapier fighter) runs through the most basic attack of the Italian Rapier system: the Lunge.
Nicole's sword is a Del Tin Blade with a Darksword Armoury guard
Fearless First Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
creativecommons...

[@Roamstrong]

The inclusion of why you extend arm and body forward before initiating the lunge (i.e. it's for defense and flexibility of commitment) was super helpful. Love those sorts of tips!

[@TimRHillard]

Just now getting into Hema fencing at 55yo. So many parallels to martial arts, but so much boxing. Thats what Jack Dempsey's drop step for the lead punch.

[@SolarDragon007]

I wish that filmmakers would consult you guys about sword fighting choreography

[@kinan2934]

well I'm making a film, and doing just that!!

[@TheApocalypticKnight]

Great demonstration as always.

[@StarBoundFables]

Very clearly demonstrated, thank you! I emulated this (without a weapon in hand,) while at my standing desk, & really enjoyed 2 key points: that the lunge isn't as far a step forward as 1 can possibly go, + your description of recovery post lunge. All-in-all, awesome tutorial! (BTW; Looks like this lunge started in 3rd, then shifted into 4th. Is that for when the opponent's sword is on your inside? And a shift from 3rd into 2nd would be for when their sword's on your outside?) 💭

[@chrismills5201]

I would love to see more rapier videos!

[@yvesgomes]

When they talked about wild lunges, I remember the Alfond Fendante move from Raphael, from Soul Calibur.He covers like... 10 feet or more. lol

[@PSPMHaestros]

These are always so nice!

[@boyluizeduardo]

Great vid! And this background music is very nice and confortable ^^

[@RainbowFactoryJVC]

Very useful video, nice

[@battlebrig9320]

May I request some more videos on longsword solo drills? The last one was really good and useful to me as I'm new to HEMA and can't go to a club very often. Keep up the good work, this channel is great!

[@willnonya9438]

look up the Learn-sword-fighting channel. Dozens of solo drills.

[@battlebrig9320]

Will nonya I'll check it out, thank you!

[@SmigGames]

As Roland Warzecha demonstrates in his video "True Times" starting with the hand, then the lean, then the foot, also makes the strike more difficult to see coming.

[@Nipah.Auauau]

Bruce Lee also talked about how leading punches with the hips or feet gives the attack away and makes you predictable.

[@davidschlageter5962]

If you watch videos of Roland sparring he certainly ins't dominating, so I take a lot of his input with a grain of salt.

[@brandonfarfan1978]

Nice lesson.

[@Sebastian_Gecko]

Small tip: The cars passing by in the background are annoying. Great videos anyways, more! :D

[@Yeknodathon]

Excellent, thanks - which rapier system is Blood and Iron following?

[@brokenursa9986]

You mentioned that you use the off hand as a counter balance when lunging. To me, it feels like I don't need to do that if my off hand is on my hip, since I seem to maintain my balance well and I don't lose anything on the retreat. Should I start using my off hand the way you do, or does it matter, so long as I get approximately the same effect?

[@philipchan9227]

Hello friend! In my experience as an Olympic-style fencer (not quite HEMA but I think close enough in this case to help you with your question), the counter-balance effect of the off-hand is more useful the deeper and more explosive the lunge, as it keeps you from over-extending or leaning over too far. A short, quick lunge may not need the counter-balance to remain upright, and holding your hand on your hip does provide structure and support, as you say. I also find that the tucking of the extended off-hand helps greatly with the recovery motion, especially from a deep lunge. From your lunge, imagine you are holding on to a stationary vertical pole with your extended off-hand. Then use that pole to pull yourself back to your original stance. Even without a physical object to pull yourself to, the muscle contraction seems to help pull your body out of the lunge.

[@josephdedrick9337]

just an SCA comment, we tend to keep our hand in front if possible to better deter/parry blades, though id need to study my lunges more to see what happens better in them

[@ДенисПетров-ъ3и]

This gnarled demonstration lunge difficult to find:-(

[@dylanupdyke7124]

This is one of the swords im very interested in. This style or the longsword. Im 6'-4" tall at 300 lbs. Im healthy and relatively fit and i have large hands. In your opinion, which sword style do you believe would best fit? I only want to decide on one style so i can spend my money, time and energy learning and practicing the one style. Thank you for your videos! I subscribed and am looking forward to seeing you again here. By the way Nicole, liking your hammer pendant. I wear one too 💪😉

[@nialprince5989]

Size/Weight etc have little bearing on what will work for you. A large person can be dump with a longsword, a small person can be fkn amazing with a montante. Have a think about what interests you personally and go with that. A warning though, HEMA is a path of gateways. While you'll get into it only wanting to learn one thing it's almost guaranteed that through exploring things you'll become interested in other weapons/styles (speaking as someone who started with German Longsword and now studies everything from Longswords to rapiers to sickles).

[@croakertheannalist3457]

Please make that guard position video you've been promising!

[@bargledargle7941]

I always wanted to see what would happen if me who know nothing about fencing would try to fence like that against someone who practiced. Too bad I don't have HEMA in my country.

[@philipchan9227]

Could I get some insight into why this is different from an Olympic fencing lunge? I practice Olympic fencing but I have an interest in HEMA and like to see which techniques carry over and which were lost and why. Obviously most uses of the Olympic fencing lunge would be a gross overextension of the body in a situation where you can expect a potentially dangerous afterblow, but the technique can still be used for a lunge of similar length to the one demonstrated here. In this case, I am specifically interested in the use of the different parts of the foot. In the Olympic lunge, i was taught to drive from the heel of the foot, and the foot does not change angle from the regular En Garde stance. In this video, the lunge is driven from the ball of the foot and the foot pivots. What advantages does this incur and why do you think it is done differently than in Olympic fencing? (I suspect it may be to remind us Olympic fencers to keep the foot planted to keep overzealous young fencers from sending themselves flying with a deep lunge, which is apparently not an issue with a properly executed Rapier lunge due to the relative shortness of the motion compared to an Olympic lunge).

[@thebobbytytesvarrietyhour4168]

Basically, by keeping that back foot up, you lose reach and gain mobility. Olympic has light enough weapons that you can be out of position and still recover with bladework pretty easily.

[@CoffeeSnep]

I believe it's because in Olympic fencing rules, the afterblow doesn't matter. This lunge places a greater emphasis on the ability to safely retreat and recover, while making a sacrifice to reach. The Olympic lunge will probably land an effective hit more often, but this lunge keeps you safer if you are unsuccessful, or if your opponent throws an afterblow. Just my personal theory as to the difference.

[@StuartMcDermid]

Which manual is this posture from? I don't recognise it. Every lunge I have ever seen (outside of Destreza) involves the rear heel being on the ground and the posture starting backweighted.

[@thebobbytytesvarrietyhour4168]

While the ideal picturesque lunge may ask for the rear foot to be flat, turning the toes towards the target allows for greater mobility forwards or backwards after the lunge is performed. To keep that heel flat and turn forward, extreme flexibility is required.

[@StuartMcDermid]

As a HEMA practitioner, I follow what the book tells me to do as exactly as I can. Looking at a dozen or so sources that have a lunge: Some use a 90 degree angle lunge with the foot flat. Some use a 90 degree angle lunge on the edge of the foot. (some use a flat foot indoors and the edge outdoors) Some actually turn the rear foot even further back than 90 degrees. I know of precisely one book that uses a heel up lunge and that is Thibault who is different to his contemporaries in many many ways. What any modern individual thinks is best is only important in terms of source selection. Otherwise if you aren't following the instructions of your chosen source to the best of your ability, you aren't doing HEMA any more and should stop referring to it as such.

[@aristotle29]

Lee Smith has 100% said that he does not follow what the masters say in regards to rapier guards. This can be found on this channel. As we all know, Lee knows better than the guys who used these systems to defend their lives.

[@joost1120]

If you aren't following a master's instructions 100% then you're not doing HEMA? What kind of pretentious bullshit is this?

[@aristotle29]

It's not bullshit, it's kinda what HEMA is about. Historical European Martial Arts is about reading the historical manuals, and trying to fence as closely to those manuals as possible. If you are just making up bullshit, then it isn't a Historical European Martial Art, it's fucking around with a sword like object. At which point, you might as well be fighting with a lightsaber.

[@uselesspaperclip8692]

see's the beginning of video looks at crippled leg "well this is going to be a problem"🙀

[@levifontaine8186]

Capo Ferro?

[@laurolavanda1807]

The rapier is of spanish origin

[@CoffeeSnep]

Yes, but quickly spread to other areas. Besides, at the time thrust oriented swords were the dominating single handed sword all over western Europe, such as the side sword, broad sword, and back sword. This is a technique from Italy, using a weapon that originated in Spain. I imagine rapiers produced in Italy might be slightly different as well if the techniques differ greatly.

[@tarquiniussuperbus21]

Counter argument: wmawiki.org/images/e/e4/Gran_simulacro_plate_5_figure.jpg

[@tarquiniussuperbus21]

Its from Capo Ferros Gran Simulacro. The lunge is essentially always the same technique but I would love to see the explanation of a short lunge with a raised back heel and a square chest because I never saw that in any rapier treaties.

[@tarquiniussuperbus21]

PS: Actually this proves nothing, because this would necessitate that the lunge shown here is inherently better than the lunge shown by every master known to me, which I would argue is not the case. In HEMA and in martial arts in general it is important to understand why a move was used historically. In the case of a lunge the profilation of the body in the lunge facilitated by an L stance ensures that your left shoulder is turned away getting it out of harms way and increasing the reach of the swordhand.

[@truepremise2053]

Rapiers don't penetrate armor. They're only secret dispatch or dueling weapons....& even then if they confront at least a 24" shield +weapon, they're probably gonna lose. Rapiers are the most useless sword. It's basically a flimsy short spear that if you have resolve to be cut by....you can probably also just rush & overwhelm them & then pummel them while on the ground or up against a wall....especially if you have a traditional cross-hilt you can punch their chest or face with....be it on a knife or sword....& then there is the axe that you can choke up on. The rapier is not even a gentleman's weapon. It lacks reason...& no good gentleman would ever pick up a weapon before reason.

[@CoffeeSnep]

It's a perfectly good sword for unarmored combat, and very formidable. Stiffer than most swords too, and rather durable. It's designed for someone who at the time cannot use a pole arm, as most one handed swords are designed. Keep in mind that they can also rush you, pommel strike you against a wall, or any of those other nasty things you mentioned that don't relate to the sword itself. They also aren't at all a bad choice against a shield, and were most often used alongside a shield, parrying dagger, or buckler. Keep in mind that people used this sword because in the time and place, it worked wonders, and yes it saw frequent use as a battlefield side arm as well.

[@ezioleonardo17]

man she breaths soo loundly, she can't pronounce one sentence without breathing loudly 10 times

[@pigmentpeddler5811]

here for animation reference, god you HEMA folk are useful haha