The least humble man on the internet has enraged the nerds somehow

Strange things were afoot with the audience retention of my last video. As it turns out, most of the viewers didn’t actually watch my video… they watched response videos and got mad about the strawman argument that “training is pointless”.
Let’s talk about strawman arguments, nerds, applying science to a fantasy franchise like Star Wars, and responding to some comments.

[@olaasteman2071]

First warning, if you drag Star Trek into this feud I will report you to Star Fleet.

[@chopsueykungfu]

Unless it is about Captain Kirk’s double jump kick or two handed fist attack…

[@NebirosKnight]

Can't believe he doubled down and said training with lightsabers is useless. I no longer wish to get out there and train, just gonna sit here and wait for the Death Star tidal forces to kill me 😔

[@RamseyDewey]

This is what happens when I have 20 amazing videos in my editing cue that I’ve been procrastinating on… I spend an hour making whatever this was.

[@BeamMonsterZeus]

It was worth making, I believe

[@nickolasdesouza3610]

Dub video 🔥

[@talzane5475]

That's understandable, really. I watched the weapon sparring video all the way through and didn't find your claims objectionable at all. I've been training and competing in various weapon sports for about eight years now, and you were spot on about sparring being a poor approximation.

[@angel8fingers]

Sometimes ya gotta just talk about some sh!t!

[@davidturner1641]

so we are 10 minutes in and i didnt hear you say THE OBVIOUS weapons are NOT POINTLESS.... they all have POINTS (of impact)

[@anfang2305]

One thing that is harder than real fighting: real communication.

[@simplestrum]

To their credit, they weren't attacking you. They were only attacking the strawman.

[@stonecoldscubasteveo4827]

Well, Ramsey, I watched your first video, and It kind of seemed to me that you were saying that armed sparring is pointless. OK, I was wrong, you clarified your point. At some point, however, It seems to me that if so many people misunderstood your point then perhaps it wasn't articulated as clearly as you thought, length of video notwithstanding.

[@RamseyDewey]

That was my first thought, but KZbin analytics say otherwise. Most of the people commenting on the video did not actually watch the video.

[@stonecoldscubasteveo4827]

@@RamseyDewey OK, you're the one with the data. The only other thing I can think of is that the title set people off.

[@Sbv-25]

@@stonecoldscubasteveo4827people judged a book by its cover!

[@MrMagnaniman]

@@stonecoldscubasteveo4827 I think there's a little bit of both things going on. A lot of people misunderstood, some of those people made videos, and that activated the internet strawman attack squadron.

[@maxgehtdnixan4913]

I mean, I saw it on Skallagrim. Didn't really see the need to watch it again, because what I saw wasn't that good and nothing I haven't heard before. Skallagrim's gist was essentially that. It wasn't articulated well, aside from a few things he disagrees on. Edit: @RamseyDewey This had very good parts, though. Could you go more into historical warfare? We hear alot about the Romans and medieval Europe here, but given your unique location, you might have some interesting insights in other parts of the world where we don't really know diddly.

[@kapilthevkanapathipillai6424]

I thought Skall was respectful 😅

[@RamseyDewey]

Sure. No one said otherwise. His video title and the opening were a strawman. That's the point of discussion, not the level of respect or disrespect.

[@kapilthevkanapathipillai6424]

@RamseyDewey True. Also, he seemed to agree with a lot of what you said in his highlights. I have not seen your original video yet, so I can't really judge.

[@varanid9]

So your comment is a straw man!

[@MrMagnaniman]

The best synopsis of Skall's video is, "He's right, you know."

[@kapilthevkanapathipillai6424]

@varanid9 I'm the straw that is in a lemonade next to a tiny umbrella 😅🤣😂

[@thescholar-general5975]

I apologize for misrepresenting your view. The reason that people can assume that you say weapon sparring is pointless is because you never said that it has any point or useful quality. Also, as you are well aware, I don't really have any control over the comment section. Needless to say, there are some hot takes in there.

[@crisstoff89]

People jump to conclusions very fast especially these last 10 years or so , for example he said sparring (which I do ) is not the same as competing which is right but you need to train first in order to compete with some level of competence. It doesnt matter how much you train , you wont get over it until you get in the real thing. I think he wants to say that you shouldnt expect the same level of intensity and outcome as the simulation/training or shouldnt rely only on your training.

[@v.nd.tt.s8943]

Honestly that video was talking about the topic so vaguely, you could basically interpret it however you want, and the video title makes it only worse, funny enough.

[@v.nd.tt.s8943]

Also yeah, I didn't see anything offending about it, you're basically just saying you can't claim you're 100% prepared for a real world confrontation just because you spar a lot, because that's a different kind of a topic, to have the courage to finish another person when you're using a weapon, or something like that, doesn't mean I interpreted it 100% right either.

[@jacobhochstetler825]

Totally agree.

[@BebeSensei]

I rewinded this video a fee times after spacing out once trying to figure out where this went from weapons to ewoks to the moon and I still dont know how it was such a seamless tangent 😭😭

[@RamseyDewey]

I considered editing that whole section out, or just not uploading this video at all, but when you have created the KZbin equivalent of Michaelangelo’s David, it would be a crime not to share this level of perfection with the world 😂

[@flamezombie1]

One more quick comment before I make my own video, interesting thing on combat psychology similar to the Zulus: armies had a lot of trouble getting people to shoot the enemy in WW1. The same soldier that could hit a 2" group at 100 yards wouldn't even pull the trigger on an opponent. They switched to human silhouettes and solved much of the issue.

[@Nostradankus]

I've read something similar about archeological digs on battle sites where muskets and other muzzle loaded guns were used. Researchers would find some of these old guns with multiple layers of wad, powder and shot loaded in succession, showing that some soldiers would just pretend to fire when the command was given, then reload and pretend to fire over again.

[@anthonyd1659]

Attention is currency.

[@brandonwells1175]

A folkin Men, dear fellow.

[@darraghmcmullen6205]

Indeed my skibidi fellow

[@paulconrad6220]

Stirring up the always-online HEMA community is a good way to get some, as are their responses. Everybody wins!

[@FredyTirannion]

I have looked up the video in question as I actually fell for a Strawman Trap. As I took things more thoughtfully, I remember one of "HEMA forefathers" in my country (Well he is actually from neighbouring country but back then we were not separated as he started to teach.) Peter Koza . He basically said no matter how much we can simulate ways of old swordfighting, we never can attain the same level of skill- or the same "intensity" as we do not fight lethally or injure our opponents. So in a sense guy with 50+ years of experience in HEMA agrees with you. Fun fact- He was one of the sources of medieval fighting for Kingdom Come: Deliverance. I can point to the documentary "Fechtbuch the real sword fighting behind kingdom come". It is narrated in Czech but it has english subtitles.

[@Laurcus]

The main issue is you were not at all clear about your intentions and you used a lot of vague language, which combined with the video title made it very easy to misinterpret what you meant. Several times throughout the video you said things like, weapon sparring is not remotely comparable to the real thing or that they are light years apart. It's vague phraseology. What does any of that actually mean? A light year is an analogy of distance. To me, a light year is so utterly alien, so vast and unfathomable it may as well be spiritual or extra-dimensional. Light can travel around the Earth 7 times in a single second, so a whole year of that is beyond human imagination. If I interpret your words that way, it's very easy to come to the conclusion that you are saying all training with weapons is utterly useless if the intent is to prepare for warfare, in the same way that driving a car is useless if one's intent is to travel a light year. So I think ultimately the fault actually does rest with you and the way you structured your arguments.

[@nickolasdesouza3610]

Straw man

[@Laurcus]

@@nickolasdesouza3610 It's not a straw man as I'm not arguing for against anything he said or didn't say. I'm simply pointing out that this was an inevitable result based on how he structured his arguments and that his issue is fundamentally a rhetorical one.

[@davidmeyer5316]

He wasn't vague, you didn't like what he had to say. Funny shit you're going on about though.

[@Laurcus]

@@davidmeyer5316 He was extraordinarily vague. I don't feel strongly about what he said one way or another as I don't train with swords or in hand to hand. I'm just explaining why so many people misunderstood what he meant.

[@Laurcus]

@@zackname1612 I find it funny how you and several others keep bringing up straw men and Ramsey's intentions, (Some even accusing me of straw manning him.) when I'm not actually saying anything about his intentions. Obviously I know what his intentions were. Many others did not though, and I am pointing out why. I am simply diagnosing how this misunderstanding happened. It's fundamentally a rhetorical issue.

[@deathmachine808]

Remember - the cloud is just somebody else’s computer

[@FreebyrdFayelanx]

It's a series of computers, referred to as a farm.

[@joekaminski8161]

The realization that I was NOT immortal came to me years ago after watching “Highlander” the Movie. The REAL weapons fights are best left to the Immortals to claim “The Prize”.

[@GuitarsRockForever]

Ramsey, your origional video did leave impression that training with weapon does not help fighting with wespons. I knew it was not what you meant, but some people (actually a lot of people) would take that hint (whether you meant to gave the hint there or not, the result was the same). IMO, you could have said better.

[@RamseyDewey]

Well training for a fight without the context of experience of a fight only goes so far, so if people want to get mad about that sobering reality, let be mad.

[@JohnDoe-sq5nv]

People always forget that Martial Arts actually means the art of becoming a nice person. The goodest of good actually. The kind of person who walks old ladies across the streets. It has something to do with punches and kicks and I'm not sure how, but I'll have to pass through 10 belts first before I'll get it.

[@Darth_Bateman]

??? The fuck are you talking about , mate. . . . It's literally the art of violence.

[@user-rc8br5sw6j]

@@Darth_Bateman I don't know whether there was some irony with JohnDoe but I remember chatting with a kyoshkin can't remember spelling Karate brown belt and he objected to MMA because he compared it to thuggery the science of violence. So things with Do became art forms like the zen arts of kendo or flower arranging the journey is different but hte destination is the same. Whereas actual combat sports are more about inflicting violence. The argumetns the internet go thru then is ah but what you call shitoryu karate (the school my kids are learning nearly 5 now twin girls) is a watered down version of a death struggle. Plus you're attending a McDojo and the belts your kids are getting are worthless. Yada yada. But they are taught courtesy and respect. The sensei told them he hoped that they treated their parents the same way (not yet). So I assuming they will gain general flexibility learn how to learn martial arts especially. Get to black belt level if only because they memorise 116 katas with or without bunkai. Because next year they will I hope start on Kalaripayattu and foreigners either think its the mother of all martial arts via some form or orientalism mystique or they think its an even more watered down type of morris dancing. So yeah they'll learn an indian style for political and social reasons. Then at 7 years old I'll send them to kids self defence incorporating BJJ, MMA, kickboxing wrestling etc. Now that's a five year course which is more about how to respond to violence. At 12 they will be at their peak superiority to boys in India. Then its downhill but I will have given them a start in life. One more thing they have started kubodo which is the sister disipline to Karate which has two main derivations chinese hand or empty hand. Budo is the art of war. Ku is a negation. So Kubudo translates to the way of peace. But it's the weapons forms linked to Karate. Who knows they are 5 years old and have exhibited no signs of psychopathy except when playing with each other. What is taught is not the same as what is received.

[@nappyheaded]

I'm a star wars nerd who is heavily into the expanded universe. I'm impressed with Ramsey's knowledge of physics and star wars lore.

[@chopsueykungfu]

And the fact about Star Wars not being science fiction!!!

[@ShieldWife]

You can fight lots of straw men but it never prepares you for taking on a real argument.

[@Sbv-25]

The comedy writes itself!

[@angel8fingers]

Well said!

[@davidturner1641]

Best Comment

[@DarrinKemp-lr1cz]

Strawmen don't hit back.

[@joekaminski8161]

You can fight lots of straw men but it only prepares you for taking on scarecrows. 🙂

[@retrowave762]

the problem here, i think, was the misleading title of the video the point was that simulation isnt the same as real fighting and sparring isnt the same as competition, yet the video was titled "weapons sparring kinda sucks" as if to imply that these things that apply to all combat sports is only significant to weapon sports many people likely said this to themselves: "'weapons sparring kinda sucks'? then why is it so effective?", and a few took that further to the "pointless" territory; yet as anyone who watched the original video will see and as you clarified here the point was that simulations arent real fights and that sparring isnt the same as competition, which i doubt anyone would argue against one of the comments you read, (39:49) "ok im getting tired of this kind of crap, im a 20 year vet and my training of my subordinates included hand to hand, blades, firearms, and explosives; you must practice and train for the day you need them for real. this guy could be an expert in his choice means of fighting, i dont know him or anything about him but his comments tell me he is arrogant and not very worldly(?) for combat. all types of combat require practice and sparring, he just made himself look like a complete idiot", echoes this sentiment and confusion pretty clearly as well in my personal opinion a better title and less misleading wouldve been "weapons sparring is not real fighting", and its also my personal opinion that a title to that effect wouldve avoided the majority of this also sword collection video when

[@krieger1969]

It's probably the title yeah. Don't blame Skall though, clickbait is essential.

[@MrMagnaniman]

@@krieger1969 Other than Skall's obviously joking video title and intro, he pretty much spent the entire time agreeing with Ramsey, over and over, point by point. However, he also added some context and nuance that was missing from Ramsey's video. He has pretty based takes in general.

[@JohnLoogleman]

​@@MrMagnanimanSkall is nobody's fool.

[@MrMagnaniman]

@@JohnLoogleman Yeah. I'm not really into swords, which is the majority of his content, but I enjoy his videos nonetheless.

[@brandonwells1175]

Ramsey, I'm pretty sure you didn't say that weapons training was "useless," you just pointed out that it is a bit more removed from realism than boxing, grappling, etc., which is true. In HEMA we take safety measures, each of which is a slight removal from the reality of the activity.

[@DagwoodDogwoggle]

At first I thought your shirt was in recognition of Al Leong - greatest martial arts movie henchman ever. Never the boss, always the muscle before the boss. His fight against Brandon Lee in Rapid Fire was one of my favorites.

[@MrMagnaniman]

I loved him in Die Hard, as well. Stealing that candy bar gave him so much character and elevated him to mini-boss status. It was a small thing, but it screamed, "This guy. He doesn't play by the rules." lol Rapid Fire is one of my favorites. The fight scene in the safe house is gold.

[@blockmasterscott]

Al Leong was AWESOME!!!! I love his evil look in his movies. I loved him in Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure!

[@The_Captainn]

Weird, I watched @Skallagrims refutation of your video and he addressed every point you've made throughout the video.

[@RamseyDewey]

He did not.

[@cloudmaster182]

​​@RamseyDewey what did he miss? I watched neither video

[@Chraan]

@@RamseyDewey He did.

[@RamseyDewey]

@@Chraan He addressed about 10% of what I said. That is a far cry from "every point", especially when instead of addressing the main point "a simulation is not the same as violence, and sparring is not the same as competition", he introduced at least 2 strawman arguments, one in the title and intro (training with weapons is pointless) and one when discussing boxing gloves.

[@flamezombie1]

@@RamseyDeweyI think it’s just that saying “it kinda sucks” implies to a lot of people that it’s useless. It wasn’t made clear that that /wasn’t/ what you’re saying, and I have to deal with TONS of unarmed martial artists going “Well what’s the point of HEMA huh? I’m just gonna shoot you!”

[@miguelnovais3878]

I thought Ramsey was a "isolated" youtuber, for lack of a better word. And then he goes and does the Ultimate self defense challenge and response from Skall. Just interacting with other youtubers I love, and I'm all here for it

[@Paraphen]

I follow a number of sword guys because I dig the history aspects of it, so I got a lot of those responses recommended to me w/angry thumbnails like “Weapons sparring is pointless?!?” Kept thinking “wait I watched that video, that’s not what he said…”

[@WilliamTheViking]

Would love to see you and Skallagrim go live together and actually discuss this subject (and others) together. From watching his video as well as both of yours it seems to me you are actually in agreement about a majority of this. Would also be cool to see two of my longtime favorite youtubers have a chat.

[@douglaskurtz8357]

Yk'now, you and Skall are the prime example of how I told somebody that KZbin Martial artists can have the most respectful disagreements...

[@douglaskurtz8357]

I used real bayonets in bayonet training,,,

[@douglaskurtz8357]

"THB" means " to be honest"

[@maxgehtdnixan4913]

"Why would you be getting into duels?" Well, Mensur is legal here and some of us have the scars to prove it. It's not an "actual" fight and more very strictly regulated ritual combat (and much more often than people let the authorities know to "first blood"), so mostly for social reasons. Yeah, I know how insane that sounds. But, it's been culture here since the 16th century and it's just something you do as a young man if you're part of a fraternity. Just like folk dancers do funny dances with axes and whips. Anyway, great vid. I enjoyed it. Especially the bits about Shaka Zulu and Ewoks.

[@obi501]

These are the people who react to a headline, not the article. Scary how easy it is to manipulate the masses if you have a voice

[@CromCruachTheElderK]

all gotta kill our egos or we gonna lose the fight. To be honest, I think it's nice when Content Creators exchange arguments and disagree, politely and without spite. You're good, Love for both.

[@pangopod2969]

I thought Skal's title was only a bit clickbait. But his video was pretty polite, argumented and cool.

[@RamseyDewey]

It wasn’t clickbait. The title was based on a strawman argument. There’s an important difference. kzbin.info/www/bejne/nqKyoJyvdrCqmNksi=rFeoXRA6pxcQ85Ow

[@michaelmacy680]

@@RamseyDewey based on the...title of your video? If you dont want to defend a point you dont mean, dont make it the title of your video bozo

[@RamseyDewey]

@@michaelmacy680 the title of my video was not “weapon sparring is pointless”

[@hailhydreigon2700]

It just sucks that people read video titles and immediately form opinions and start commenting before actually watching. Even moreso on response videos creating a strawman.

[@ynghuch]

Hey Ramsey, I've been asking for a while now with no reply. When are you doing the Red Chucks fight review?

[@talzane5475]

Okay, you brought it up and asked the question, so, here ya go... The moon doesn't control the tides, the sun and the moon control the tides, so if the Earth and Moon were mutually tidally locked, you'd have a fixed tide (high tide) on that "side" of the Earth, but the Sun's tide would still roll around the Earth like usual. The combined high tides would be no different than the tides around a new moon, where the moon and sun approximately align. Edit: The moon would still revolve around the center of the Earth's mass, and the Earth would still revolve around the Sun. Earth wouldn't overheat/freeze and die because it wouldn't be tidally locked with the Sun yet. As for Endor vs. Death Star 2, it would really matter how much the Death Star 2 weighed. Since the regular humans had no issues with Endor's gravity, we'll assume that Endor has mass equal to Earth (~5.97x10^24 kg). If we give the Death Star 2, at 200 km diameter, an approximate mass equal to Eugenia, also ~200km diameter, which has a mass of 5.8x10^18kg, then, it would be insignificant compared to, say, our moon at 7.1x10^22kg. It would be ~1/10000 the mass of the moon, which is ~1/100 the mass of the Earth, so... no, Endor would be fine. The Death Star 2, however, might be within the roche limit of Endor and get shredded by gravity, though.

[@mattdouglas1050]

Ramsey, do you think that all these responses of people essentially arguing your point that you never actually made in the first place is some sort of sub-category of people not wanting to admit they don't know how to fight? I won't call myself particularly skilled, haven't trained in over a decade (yeah, wanna get back into it), but I did have one incident almost 30 years ago where I was attacked on the street. Lucky for me, all I had to do was block... when I blocked a chair slung at me, they ran. It's an experience you don't forget. While I have no problem talking about it, I often don't, simply because it usually isn't relevant to life as usual. And it's place you don't wanna go. I've never been so cold and numb, but I was a aware, and when they ran, I knew the threat was passed and no inclination to chase. And then I spazzed out, twitching, scared of how cold I had become... some years later I read that this is how your body processes trauma, and the encounter would have screwed me up far more had I not spazzed out afterwards. So when I read these comments naysaying your vid, I think that they've never been through an assault. It's tough to admit you don't know how to fight, it's tough to admit how fragile even the best of us are. Despite my training, I was lucky to have come out as I did. Reflexes kicked in and I moved probably quicker than I ever have before. I don't think this means I know how to fight; my first kickboxing match was one week later and I got whooped; it just means that in that one moment my training worked, and I have no inclination to put myself into a dangerous situation to find out if it would work again and doing so would be insanity. Just as there are martial artists who never spar, but think they could fight if they ever got attacked, and won't spar under the rationale that their techniques are too deadly when in fact they're just scared to realize maybe they aint as tough as they think they are; I think most of these commenters just don't wanna admit that they have no experience to judge their ability whether or not they could survive an aggravated assault. The irony is: I survived one, and I don't feel like I know whether or not I would survive another one... because I survived only one scenario out of infinite possibilities. I don't want anyone living in fear. Yet I encourage people to rely on faith and common sense more than martial arts skills to survive and have a meaningful life. Another angle: You're an American who now lives in China. I'm an American who's been living in Thailand for about 4 years now. You're vids are in English. How's your Chinese? My Thai is getting better but still sucks in my opinion. Do you think that if you did the same video but in Chinese that you'd get similar responses? Like with competing in martial arts or being lucky enough to survive an assault, you don't know for sure until you do. But from my 4 years here so far, if you made such a vid in Thai for a Thai audience, I don't think Thai would be nearly as triggered as your English-speaking audience.

[@HelmutDoork]

Fencing isn't supposed to be painful, but in the high school gym course I took it was. There was this one girl who never went for the touch, but instead hauled back and waled on my hand like she was wielding a bat or escrima stick. (We had the hoods and body protection but not gloves)I quickly learned to disarm her. No one taught me the technique, pain did.

[@cloudmaster182]

Which begs me another question "Sparring is practice for competition" So for someone who conpetes in HEMA, what should they do? NOT spar? They have a lot of safety equipment lol, they can go pretty hard without taking too much damage. Accidents happen, but they happen in mma too Idk im an mma guy too. I think we're the only ones regularly engaging in real fights, and sparring hard regularly, at least with strikes. But this also feels like a bunch of mma grandstanding. I just gotta ask what even was the point of these videos? I dont even think u stated a single like, firm statement of opinion on the original video. To me it sounded like a lot of leading questions, and then suddenly "get out there and train" and the video was over. And like, the same thing here. I dont think the actual science of outer space is really relevant in star wars. Knowing more about true science doesnt mean u know more about a particular sci-fi franchise that doesnt even follow like ANY real life laws of scoence or physics. That would come down to like, lore, knowing the timeline and the history, origins of the Jedi and the Sith, whi was a stronger duelist between these 2 characters, etc. Not "the death star wouldve affected tides in real life, i know more abt star wars than you" maybe star trek wouldve been a better example bc they do try to stay fatihful to real laws of physics. So an error like that would actual matter. Maybe im nitpicking the wrong aspect. But the relevance is important, and saying u know more about something than someone who actually like spends a lot of time getting familiar w something u only have a surface knowledge of isnt always a great idea. You may have a greater understanding of actual combat and like, the history of warfare, various weapon types and armor, the evolutiom over yime etc but do u have the experoence wieldong them against a sparring partner or competitive opponent to become personally, physically, familiar w that style of combat? Bc those are completely different things. I like to mess around w swords, and i know how to fight, but i dont presume to know more than a HEMA guy who swongs his katana around for hours every day. So whats ur actual stance on weapons training/"sparring" with weapons. How should a HEMA competitor prepare for a competition?

[@BeamMonsterZeus]

Jeez - I think the majority of commenters are carried away with the lenience of typing a comment anonymously. You all need to get out there and train to even begin to grasp the wisdom and rhetoric here.

[@HelmutDoork]

What? So I'm anon because I'm scared Ramsey, who seems like a well grounded person, would come all the way from China to beat me up if he didn't like my comment? Don't think so.

[@SteveJuszczak-dx3gz]

5 page essays did you grade them

[@RamseyDewey]

I have a few of them failing grades. The students were not happy.

[@sideofhashbrowns660]

Most people everywhere fought with spears and the Zulu empire was not even close to the largest empire on the African continent, the Mali Empire (look up Mansa Musa), The kingdom of Kush, the Songhai empire were all larger and entirely on the continent, taking it further the Abbasid Caliphate at one time controlled much of North Africa. Everything else you said about the Zulus was right as always, Shaka Zulu is one of the greatest men in all of history and I particularly love his "I need no bodyguard..." quote. Great video as always, I also noticed that they don't actually address many of your points, it feels like many of these videos have been made for the practitioners of weapon arts to justify their arts to themselves.

[@BeamMonsterZeus]

Damn dude, you're coming out swinging. Awesome video so far. 20:09 I'm also laughing for the same reasons. Let it out man!

[@GuitarsRockForever]

Ramsey, if you want to go nerd in star wars, you are kind of wrong about lightsabre. There was a near perfect answer for all the lightsabre problems. At the begining, Lucas imagined lightsabre as a laser sword. Laser wouldn't work, that was why we have the now plasma blade idea. However, plasma wouldn't work either (the only thing it addressed was how to form a blade shape). If you are old nerd as me, you might remember there was a perfect fan made theory that lightsabre actually uses a fuctional energy field. It cuts by not using heat (at least, not heat isn't the main factor).

[@angel8fingers]

Yeah man, a reaction video about your video came up in my feed. I just rolled my eyes and kept on scrolling. I had already watched your video in its entirety. I don’t understand why they made those videos for any reason other than they were willing to willfully misinterpret your content, so they could squeeze some content of their own; out of your content. Keep up the good work buddy!

[@MrMagnaniman]

If it was Skallagrim's video, it's worth watching. The clickbait title and intro were a joke.

[@angel8fingers]

@@MrMagnaniman it wasn’t Skallagrims, it was a much much smaller creator.

[@MrMagnaniman]

Yes, people were arguing against a strawman, to some extent. However, I think the root of the legitimate outcry is that there was some context that you didn't include, that many people who train with weapons felt was important. When I clicked on that video, I thought I was going to get a fairly thought-provoking analysis of the ways that weapons sparring is imperfect, ways that people have attempted to compensate for its imperfections, and, perhaps, some advice on improving weapons sparring. I thought this because this is something that I generally get from watching your channel. But that video was all about the shortcomings of weapons sparring without much context or constructive analysis. It was all tear down and no build up, which is very uncharacteristic of your content. Also, I think you should take the long replies as a compliment. It means you made people passionate and thoughtful (to the best of their ability). Other than ensuring the safety of your students, I think that is the grandest thing a coach can aspire to. P.S. TBH = "To Be Honest"

[@RamseyDewey]

They didn’t even watch the video they commented on. KZbin analytics confirm that.

[@MrMagnaniman]

@@RamseyDewey Many of them didn't watch. That doesn't mean all of them didn't watch. This criticism, which I hope you find constructive, is based upon watching your videos for several years, watching the original video, in its entirety, and watching this video, in its entirety, as well. I feel where you're coming from, though. You went semi-viral, but very few people even bothered to address the substance of what you said. They turned into a mob and dogpiled you with very few attempts to even try to understand. That is, indeed, super lame.

[@RamseyDewey]

Semi viral? It was my least viewed video all month up to that point. That’s what happens when people watch a reaction video before they see the actual video. Most of them won’t watch the original- but they will comment on it.

[@toshirohinotori2169]

Hey man, you've responded to my comments on that other video and I get that most commenters didn't watch the whole video but I watched it several times to try and figure out what you were doing...watched this videos several times also...read all the comments....I propose an experiment: make the same arguments with the title, MMA sparring kinda sucks...will the negative responses be similar?🤷

[@RamseyDewey]

@@toshirohinotori2169 Did my most recent video? “Free sparring can make you delusional about your fighting skills”

[@johnbrainard566]

Just for fun, I would point out that the partially constructed death star probably doesn't have the same density as an actual small moon, so *maybe* it wouldn't exert the same gravitational force. Man, it's been a while since college physics class. Anyway, these are fun things to muse about.

[@corrugatedcavalier5266]

I figured there would be some backlash to that video! I am mostly a HEMA guy and had the same reaction to those responses that you're having. "Where did he say that?" People are responding to some imagined critique of something they love to do. I understand the passion, but they're not listening to what you're saying.

[@IggyArt]

You made a video about Taido a while back, could you revisit it it seems very interesting. Thank you!

[@dannyarnold4201]

• *_This was Awesome!_* *_I Love Martial Arts! I also Love Nerdery, in general! Now there’s a new flavor! Strawman fallacies and Nerdery! Two great triggers that go great together! Just like chocolate and peanut butter!_* 😁

[@RamseyDewey]

Thanks so much!

[@angel8fingers]

Lightsabers can’t exist. The physics of our universe don’t allow for it! Suck on that Star Wars fans!

[@nicholasschneider6216]

The funny thing is most of the points you had about the limitations on sparring with weapons are things that get brought up constantly in HEMA discussions. The general idea is that it's supposed to be researching and recreating how people actually fought with swords in ye olde days, so people are constantly talking about how whatever tournament rules or sparring conditions differ from an actual fight with sharp swords, and how that affects behaviors or interpretations of techniques or whatever.

[@marcossantos1998]

I mean, it's not like technical sparring, drilling, bagwork and all those other training tools in striking arts are pointless right? No way you'd make that argument. People misinterpreted too easily.

[@ianhenderson3078]

So ... if I weigh the same as a duck holding a sword, I must be made of straw?

[@dmills5755]

Ohhhh Ramsey lol 😂 the rant on Star Wars was unexpected but super necessary 😂.

[@FedericoMalagutti]

Hey Ramsey! I think I pretty much got what your original message was, but I noticed that for others it wasn’t 100% clear. That’s in my opinion partially at the base of the misunderstanding!

[@angeloesguerra555]

Ramsey Dewey:outnerding the nerds and outtrolling the trolls one video at a time😂

[@terencejeffries5359]

how do all ? training/sparring/exercising and conditioning is most important as ramsey reiterates time and again eg the 4 times i've disarmed people ' on the streets ' , [ with only my unprotected body bar cotton shirt and jeans ], there is no plan, all were on auto response/attack. happy easter. taztez.

[@MrBeckenhimself]

I've asked this question before don't know if you saw it. But I'll try again because I really want to know. Let's say a Hollywood actor / actress was to play the role of an MMA fighter in a movie and he comes to you and wants you to help him or her to get ready. And lets imagine you have six months to get them fight ready so to speak. We all know nobody learns to fight like a pro in six months but in the world of movies they only need to look like they can fight. How would you train that person to make them look like they know what they're doing on the big screen?

[@RamseyDewey]

train them in fight choreography.

[@user-rc8br5sw6j]

@@RamseyDewey And I am guessing you still haven't seen the Road House remake yet. They also set up a pretend weigh in at a UFC fight in between others and filmed some sequences in an Octagon. Marketing also being important. And they had him acting with an actual MMA fighter (retired) who was a not bad actor it turned out.

[@bullet4myex187]

I’m a long time fan of both you and skall. What I said in the comments to which he agreed, especially given the context of what you were actually saying and the type of people online that it was aimed at, you guys aren’t that far apart in opinion. Training and sparring with weapons even with the limitations is better than doing nothing but simulation is in no way the same as the real thing. I think you’re spot on about people getting angry over arguments that weren’t actually made. It’s something I see online a lot. People have a conversation or a disagreement of opinion and when others talk about what was said, it’s all of a sudden arguing about points that weren’t made or imagined disrespect that didn’t happen. The other thing I see a lot especially with people who don’t like you or others who are religious, is the dislike of the religion of a person being used to negate what they said or things like that. It can be pretty ridiculous at times. The biggest problem like I said in his comments is that because people don’t understand the difference they either glorify violence or because they took a class or some simulation attack training ect. They think they are John wick. That’s just not reality.

[@00Spiral007]

I'm a tekken nerd and Ramsey visited where I live. He demonstrated that Dragonov's moves were Combat Sambo, so that's pretty neat, I'd say.

[@DENVEROUTDOORMAN]

Stupid game

[@00Spiral007]

@@DENVEROUTDOORMAN nuh-uh. Is not. It's totally the coolest.

[@dtboctor]

To be fair, the title of the video you are talking about said "weapons sparring kinda sucks"

[@RamseyDewey]

And you believed that meant what?

[@dtboctor]

@@RamseyDewey I don't think it means anything personally, but on the scale of "weapons sparring is pointless" to "weapons sparring isn't the same as actual fighting", the word "sucks" has a negative connotation that could lead someone to believe your scale puts it closer to the pointless than different side.

[@BeamMonsterZeus]

I don't get the algorithm, here. This is good stuff

[@davidcook2513]

Sparring with a straw man is pointless

[@Michael-cb5nm]

What weapon would you use to kill a strawman?

[@RamseyDewey]

The word. The word is out most advanced technology, out most sacred artifact, and our greatest tool.

[@user-rc8br5sw6j]

@@RamseyDewey Are you being a secret Christian or Neoplatonist there Mr Dewey?

[@RamseyDewey]

@@user-rc8br5sw6j My religion is not a secret. Welcome to the channel. First time here?

[@user-rc8br5sw6j]

@@RamseyDewey I regret I chose my terms poorly. Perhaps better phrased as were you making a recondite reference either to the Word or Logos or did you just mean by word that we need to articulate are thoughts better? Something like that. I do lurk a bit but I don't really know enough about martial arts or fighting to contribute much.

[@RamseyDewey]

@@user-rc8br5sw6j That wasn’t a reference to the gospel of John chapter 1, by the way. I was talking about literal words.

[@FreebyrdFayelanx]

Street Fighting not same as fight sport and sparring because of emotions, and, is even worse with weapons because they can easily be lethal and/or mame. There is reputation, the law and many other things to consider. That's how I understood your video.

[@kingbyrd.1512]

This is really indicative of a problem people seem to have where they refuse to seriously engage with a subject. Like the video you made. They lazily quit before even watching a quarter of the thing or go purely off of what other people said about the subject. It's alarming that so many arguments and worldviews are built on a half done foundation of sand. I watched that video and I had no issue understanding what you meant but apparently watching a video for longer than 30 seconds is hard.

[@BMO_Creative]

I like the golfball shirt!

[@GrouchyOldGeezer]

Well, nothing says engagement like 5 page essay comments. ;^P

[@nickolasdesouza3610]

Ramsey I watch your new videos until I have them memorized. Keep em coming

[@diligentsun1154]

'it'S nOt FUnnyYyy...!!!' -humorless nerd

[@resolutedreamer]

I watched your entire original video and most of this one. I skipped over the Star Wars parts. I don't think people actually care the specific thesis of your original video. The tone of the original video didn't have many positive or nice things to say about weapons training. I did not feel like you would recommend weapons training to me after i watched it. As a result, people who like weapons want to say positive or nice things about weapons training in the comments for future viewers to see that it's not all bad. You never actually said the words "don't train with weapons". The tone was just not positive.

[@RamseyDewey]

In other words, they reacted emotionally based on feelings and assumptions rather than logic and facts?

[@jacobhochstetler825]

I think he is saying the reacted to a rational misunderstanding rather than a purely emotional irrational reason.@@RamseyDewey

[@resolutedreamer]

@@RamseyDewey I'm saying that they aren't actually trying to debate with you, their objective is to discuss their own implicit thesis (weapons are good actually) on your video comments.

[@Xzontyr]

On the topic of enraged nerds, I have a question for you Ramsey. If you'd like to delve into it sometime. I have a habit of sharing info on other combat channels. Just unorthodox, throws and techniques we've come across. Simply put, they might seem odd, but they work well for some guys. Some are even just very old forgotten techniques modified a bit. Catch, Greco-Roman, and freestyle wrestlers seem to always be kind and open minded, stating theyv often heard of similar variations.. judo guys though. My goodness. They get a little Gretta about just the idea of trying something different. And react like iv just forever ruined a precious throw. The future is no more knowing that such innocence was taken from kats garuma. Do you think it's fine to discover new and effective techniques by modifying the basics? Or do you see them as forever perfect, and never to be questioned? I love judo. It's obviously a hard staple in the sambo I trained in for years, only were not afraid to attack below the belt, as if that would really matter......

[@RamseyDewey]

When you compare notes with athletes, their concern with technique is gaining a competitive advantage. Everyone who does freestyle wrestling is in this boat. As far as judo goes, only some of those guy are competitors, and some of them more concerned about correcting people on the internet who call the kata guruma “a fireman’s carry” like some sort of heathen. Inventing new high percentage techniques is quite difficult since there are so many of them known and catalogued, that even if you come up with something useful on your own, chances are close to 100% that it’s already being used. Coming up with novel and useful ways to implement high percentage techniques is much easier and much more useful. That’s where the true creativity lies in combat sports.

[@andymax1]

I know I commented, I will have to watch again to see if I misconstrued your argument, its possible, I quite often focus on a single statement, I think probably based on the title.

[@averyscott7442]

I wanna see if I can dumb this down accurately just for fun through metaphor. Is this somewhat accurate to your thesis? Sparring for competition is like surfing in a pool to prepare for high tide Sparring to prepare for live weapon encounters is like surfing in a pool to prepare for surviving the Titanic

[@user-rc8br5sw6j]

Except he trains MMA athletes to fight in competition via sparring among other things

[@ericschaab5135]

I've been trying to find that sketch about star war nerds and the jock... Is it by any chance in KZbin? If anybody could help me find it, I would really apreciate the help! 👆

[@RamseyDewey]

No idea. I saw it on TV in the 90’s.

[@paddyr1568]

Idk about Mandalorian steel, but I cut regular steel with oxy-propane and plasma cutters all day at work, and I don’t get incinerated or evaporated. When welding you have to be careful of uncovered skin getting burnt, similar to sun burn, although ii is the UV light/radiation, not the heat.

[@user-rc8br5sw6j]

What kind of SPF lotion would you need for that?

[@masoncornish6663]

Those first three are common phrases I use in retort to those phrases 😂

[@ashtraydekay6624]

I think everyone made that strawman argument, because you said you can’t spar with real weapons, how you can spar with limbs, because you would die, and everyone is going on that.... just an idea.

[@RamseyDewey]

Well, you can't. Those are radically different things. Arguing otherwise isn't even defensible.

[@flamezombie1]

@@RamseyDeweyThere are a few schools that do though. It’s insane, don’t get me wrong, and they don’t end up good at fighting for the reasons that getting into unarmed gym fights doesn’t make people good at fighting often either. But it does happen. It’s not the same as fighting to the death because that’s not what they’re trying to do. So I’d definitely call it sparring in the same way there’s hard sparring, light sparring, and fights.

[@TheGhostofLlopmondDunderbridge]

Do you enjoy watching fencing Ramsey? The speed and technique is absolutely out of this world but are so lightning-fast that technology is a must for understanding what even just happened, a lot of the time.

[@tomo2807]

Unfortunately Internet seems to be void of respectul debates on any topic lol

[@BeamMonsterZeus]

personal insecurity is at a global, all-time high

[@Chraan]

There are lots of respectful debates, but you probably don't find them under KZbin videos with aggravating content and language. Now, I am not against riling up communities and sparking furious discussions, on the contrary it is part of healthy internet culture, but don't pretend it is because viewers lack respect, while you completely disregard the effect of the source. That is superficial and hypocritical.

[@tomo2807]

@@Chraan well seems you just made my point... lol, people get mad at anything, and as I wrote; the internet...as a whole, not any specific platform just in general

[@Chraan]

@@tomo2807 How did I make your point?

[@tomo2807]

@@Chraan I may have misunderstood your comment so you can scrap that, I've been engaging with some terrible people onlime recently so I have no clue any more, cheers

[@georgemetcalf8763]

Hey, I commented on the gun/grenade comment thread and took it to the natural conclusion of nuclear weapons sparring.

[@philipsalomon6987]

The Strawman always just wanted to have a heart

[@artygunnar]

I will never understand why Commander Spock used the force to opwn the Stargate! That episode of Battlestar Galactica made no sensw for me

[@RamseyDewey]

I know! Right?

[@ssjrose9641]

Hey now!?!?!? 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

[@WadeSmith-oe5xd]

I hate Star wars ever since they decanonized the Legends content. The Legends content was better written than anything Disney has produced. In fact, i damn near requested my money back when I saw the Last Jedi and I refuse to watch Rise of Skywalker

[@corbyrobinson3640]

As a self proclaimed nerd I have never heard the arguement about the deathstar being so dangerous because of it's size as to change the weather patterns of the planets and moons it is near. That is so fascinating to think about, and really would be the preferable method of destroying a planet in my personal opinion because once all the inhabitants of an area affected by the deathstar's effect on their planet, storm troopers could then investigate rebel bases for clues of other bases or retrieve resources for the empire. As opposed to just blowing up the planet. Edit: On the topic of strawmanning an arguement, isn't responding to the comments of a video a bit of a straw man for not responding to the video itself? (Keeping in mind given nuance and tone aren't easily related over youtube comments or the written word, I am legitimately asking the question, not being accusatory or attacking. I have heard of staw manning and arguement, but haven't put a lot of study into it.) Edit the 2nd: Wait, so (34:30 in at this point by the way) the shorter spear carried by the commander you named psychologically affected their opponents in such a way as to make said opponents feel guilty for attacking the commander's soulders? I get why positioning is a huge part of ancient, and even modern day warfare, though we have a lot of technology to help push people out of "secure" places, but shortening the weapons had a psychological effect on the enemies that much? I am going to rewind that segment to rewatch this to see if I can't understand better what you are saying here. Edit the 2nd +1: Ah hold on. So you are saying that shortening the spears caused Shakozulu's (i don't know if I am spelling that right) warriors to have to be more aggressive because of their shorter weapons. Makes sense. Edit the last: I don't want to keep editing and adding to this so I will make this my last. I am currently 45:09 in to the video where you said, "am I stupid or are they stupid". I think the unfortunate fact is that people aren't taught to communicate effectively. We read more into tone, and body language than the words used, and those words are colored by our own past experiences changing context clues that can wildly shift the meaning of a statement. I would say it isn't that any participant is stupid, but that there is a miscommunication occuring, which if intentional on either participant's part then becomes stupid, but if unintentional is just miscommunication.

[@user-rc8br5sw6j]

The ting about the straw man argument is either the other guy is dishonest or just misunderstood your argument in which case you disabuse him of his misunderstanding or you point out their dishonesty. Engaging with the new argument ie arguing something you don't actually believe would only make sense if you are teaching sophistry or trial law. How to think on your feet and win at any argument. It would be like challenging someone to a chess match their bringing a set of draughts / checkers pieces with them. You could play checkers and try to win to show off your talents. Or you could just point out the difference between chess and checkers. That's the first point only one I feel confident to answer because its on how to respond to a straw man argument

[@Dark89Avenger]

Here is the thing : sparring is not the same as competition, competition is not the same as fighting on Da streetz(street fights are usually way less intense, because most people that engage in such behavior dont know how to fight and have never been in an actual fight and tend to back down immediately, once they get hit) and aggravated assault is not the same as fighting in competition. I work in a psychiatric hospital and two weeks ago I got attacked by a psychotic patient,, who is 30kg above me and have a boxing background. He hit me in the face two times by surprise and I have very little recollection how I have managed to clinch with him and put him in some crappy standing guillotine. If he had something sharp, I would have been death. I guess my point is that in real life, the only "self-defense", that matters is awareness and staying out of bad situations. Sparing is okey, but you will never be able to simulate the reality of aggravated assault.

[@nickolasdesouza3610]

Ramsey can you make a short or long video on Gaechi (spelled wrong) nd holloway

[@averyscott7442]

Thank you! 😁😁😁 I guess accounting for the element of lethality is going to be pretty tricky until we figure out Matrix grade simulations.

[@danbeck1593]

As a Muay Thai/hema guy that follows both of yall. I thought skall was misunderstanding your point and arguing against something that wasn’t actually the point.

[@aphidbowler7027]

Very interesting video. Thank you for sharing your wisdom.

[@ashtraydekay6624]

Also second comment, tbh means “to be honest” just writing this cause at the end you weren’t sure what it meant

[@Taekwondotim40]

I think if I met a Judoka or Karateka that knew more about Taekwondo than I did I'd be intrigued not offended.

[@BorninPurple]

- Makes a video called "Weapons sparring kinda sucks." - People made points refuting the point "weapons sparring kinda sucks" for a number of a reasons, stating it's complicated and depends on a number of factors (by making comparable cases). - Ramsey: bUt tHiS iS juSt a sTraWmaN arGuMEnt.

[@hailhydreigon2700]

No. It's actually: - Makes a video called "Weapons sparring kinda sucks" - People made responses to "Weapons Sparring is POINTLESS (a word Ramsey never used) -therefore it's 100% a straw man argument

[@blockmasterscott]

Ramsey, I love your channel and I’ve been subbed for over 10 years, but I kinda have to agree with this.

[@hibernopithecus7500]

It’s projection. Ramsey made at least four logical fallacies in that video himself, and he knows it, so now he’s projecting using logical fallacies onto those who successfully refuted his video.

[@hibernopithecus7500]

@@hailhydreigon2700It didn’t need to be explicitly said. It was VERY heavily implied. Pretty much the entire video was about how weapons training in martial arts bore no resemblance to an aggravated assault, and can’t be trained to either the same intensity OR capability, so does not prepare you for one, which would make it (pay attention now…) *_POINTLESS_* 🤣

[@Sbv-25]

I don’t get this logic that if someone says “it’s not 100% the same”, it automatically means “stop doing it entirely”. Do you think Ramsey cannot find technical value in simulated combat? He is taking about the psychology of dangerous situations. Is he wrong that the psychology of simulation cannot match the psychology of the real deal? For example, i can be the best air combat sim player in the world. But am i going to be mentally prepared if they decide to put me in a real fighter jet? The simulator can teach me technique, but can i apply the technique when i can die if i make a mistake? Experience is the best teacher, as the saying goes. Being good at simulations makes you good at simulations. It takes combat experience to be good at combat. Simulations and sparring is not 100% going to transfer to the real deal. That’s why it “sucks”, but that does not make them pointless. Basically, “It sucks i cannot feel true battle during training”. Does this make sense?

[@lyooyiylklykyokyklky]

I love HEMA, but my God are we full of "umm, ackshually..." type people. I enjoyed your video, I respect your expertise and we are lucky that you lend it to us for free on KZbin. I didn't agree with everything, but that's fine. It was a perspective from an expert that we are free to take or leave.

[@odu2014]

Have you ever done a video on WHY you moved from the USA to China? Is it just because you love martial arts so much and wanted to submerse yourself in the culture? Or are there other reasons? I’m curious.

[@DENVEROUTDOORMAN]

Probably hates Lefties lol...or he wanted to see a new country

[@Sbv-25]

The short version of the story i’m aware about is, is that he and his wife liked it there, so they stayed. I think Ramsey also taught at a university somewhere in Shanghai in that timeframe, something to do with culture studies?

[@RamseyDewey]

In 2009, I got a job teaching at a university in Shanghai. My wife and I liked it here, we stayed.

[@ssjrose9641]

​@RamseyDewey do you speak mandarin?

[@RamseyDewey]

@@ssjrose9641 Poorly.

[@varanid9]

Straw men are so yesterday. I prefer sawdust men, myself.

[@TheReel_Billiam]

That’s interesting, I mean I thought your and Skallagrims( both his previous videos and his response to your recent)videos on the subject was interesting, and both held good points. It seems like they were trying to put words in your mouth.

[@frodokhunt]

I don't understand I have a background in kung fu and weapons before muay thai and kick boxing and I love Ramsey's channel ? Keep doing what your doing coach !

[@hmmmninjas]

Brevity helps your thesis, as it stays sharp and poignant. I agreed with the overall thesis, but I thought sick ramsey made some good points and some weak ones during the video. I made a comment that you can fight as hard as you want in training (as long as you can have people train with you). You can't kill as hard as you want in training. I actually watched it more than once because the first viewing it came off a little "fo da streets". I hope that I got your point because my intent was to give a short version to people who missed the point.

[@moredown1303]

lovely as always