The TRUTH about GRABBING sword BLADES

Lots of myths and misconceptions about blade grabbing, specifically sword blade grabbing, go around. Here we look at defensive and offensive blade grabbing, with some tips and observations.
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[@Skallagrim]

The pinch grip is my favorite way to hold on to a blade. Arguably not quite as firm as wrapping your fingers around it, but also much less likely to get your hand sliced if the opponent tries to forcefully pull it out (which is not all that easy). Wouldn't really want to grab a strongly curved blade, it's much more awkward to hold on to. And yes, as an emergency response it sure is better to risk injury to the hands than to the body or head / neck. Some people actually do a sliding motion while HALF-SWORDING? Wow... xD I've never seen that in action myself, but it's also not hard to imagine. Being used to blunt practice swords can produce some... artifacts, if you don't think about what you're doing. :) Some people would tell you that EVERY instance of half-swording in the manuscripts is actually supposed to be in armor which is just omitted for clarity or artistic convention. Personally I don't buy that. In some cases yes, but definitely not always. Like you point out, it's perfectly useful and doable with simple leather gloves, which are good to have in any sword fight anyway. Nice coverage of the topic, with plenty of good points!

[@tl8211]

@@fettmaneiii4439 Your name is Fett Mane III, man, you really, really, really, really, really, really shouldn't be saying "its easy in HEMA to sit in a gym looking at papers". Specifically, one slip in an unarmoured bladed weapon fight and you're dead, getting badly hurt on your hand is nothing. Of course holding the hilt or the arm is better, but holding *anything* on your opponent's weapon instantly makes you 1000x safer against a thrust that would surely kill you.

[@johnladuke6475]

@@fettmaneiii4439 Okay boss, you're all over these comments calling everyone fools and trumpeting your "combat experience" so I'd like to see a demonstration, please. Post up your own video of your razor-edge "properly sharpened" sword slipping right through leather and bone. Send the link to both Skall and Matt so that these publicly decorated sword fighters can see how terribly wrong they are about all matters of the blade. They both admit when someone else is right, I'm sure they'll share it with us. If necessary I will even send you an Amazon delivery of a few different kinds of leather gloves and a big ol' slab of bone-in meat. I'm not buying you a camera, get video on your own potato.

[@texasbeast239]

CZ75-style semiauto pistols have super shallow (top to bottom) slides, so you can't reach your weak side hand over the slides and grab a manly hold of them to rack them forcefully like you can with a lot of other guns. You HAVE to pinch-grab a CZ. To make things worse, the ejection port is cut out further back on the slide too, so you have to pinch-grab a really narrow (front to back) section of slide in order to rack it. This means a CZ requires you to grab a very tiny piece of real estate whenever you rack the slide. I can definitely feel my offside hand getting stronger by using this gun! Of course, a pistol also has a slide release lever. Swords don't come with that...

[@jaketheasianguy3307]

@@fettmaneiii4439 "If you do this than i will just do that" is a sign of someone who has never get into a sparring session

[@LuxisAlukard]

Always nice to see SwordTubers commenting each other videos! =)

[@greghenrikson952]

One caveat about halfswording with gloves I learned the hard way--a clean hand immediately gives you feedback about how oily or greasy the blade is. A gloved hand doesn't necessarily tell you until it slips. And in that moment, the leather may as well not be there LOL That stung in the morning.

[@zakremmington6297]

I'm quite fond of blade grabs, I use it a reasonable amount during longsword sparing when there is an opening for it. In my experiance the safest way to do it to avoid thae hand slipping is to twist the blade along the flat putting as much torsion as you can between your thumb and palm as if you were trying to bend the oponents sword in a horseshoe shape. Since I started doing this my hand has slipped far less during blade grabs and makes halfswording with a sharp feel much safer and more secure.

[@Hirosjimma]

Ah that's a good tip thank you!

[@Greideren]

That's very informative, thank you.

[@SirKanti1]

Was going to add that point about applying tension to the blade. Would also suggest trying to grab it with enclosing your hand, grip it like a duck's beak.

[@realtalunkarku]

Im more of a parryier but you are correct

[@rhaivaen]

Sparring, not sparing

[@fuferito]

I'll never forget the end of that fantastic sword duel in _Rob Roy_ which deals with this exact topic.

[@merlball8520]

In that case, the type of sword used was a big factor. Had the opponent wielded as broad a blade as Rob Roy's for the killing stroke, he would have been killed. Obviously that would have changed the nature of the duel preceding the end, though.

[@b.h.abbott-motley2427]

Pietro Monte specifically described making the left gauntlet with mail strips for grabbing: "The left gauntlet demands some strips of mail through the palm, so that it can seize the other’s weapon when it is time, and at that moment we should enter with the right hand against the adversary with very great, rapid blows."

[@MorgenPeschke]

I'd imagine a bit of pitch on the mail could help with the reduced grip 🤔

[@MegaBIGJOE64]

No one should be grabbing someone else's blade without asking permission first, it's not polite. Unless he's sticking it at you. That's my GF rules about grabbing blades. She's on the floor laughing.

[@AveragePicker]

I took a beginners fencing class (Olympic) once and first thing we did after some basic instruction was some light sparring. I stepped in and grabbed the incoming thrust, then thrust at my opponent’s side. The instructor stopped us and said I might be more suited for HEMA. 😂

[@itinerantpoet1341]

Because that FIE instructor is a real fencer.

[@AveragePicker]

@@itinerantpoet1341 Yeah, he was. I never suggested he wasn't a fencer. And yes, he was also real, as he completely existed as a material entity that could be interacted with. I'm not sure I see your point.

[@stormiewutzke4190]

I'm glad you added some realism to grabbing blades. Just a little bit of sliding will cut badly.

[@calculusmaximus5078]

"Sometimes in certain situations it is worth doing". That basically sums up the situation.

[@a-blivvy-yus]

I'm always a fan of the "as in chainmail" clarification for people who don't know the term so well. I know when I was first starting to learn things seriously, this kind of clarification was important, so it's good to see it being done so consistently on your channel. Helps not only the new people, but also helps experienced people to reemember that not everyone has already done this research. That latter point is something a lot of us forget at times.

[@Oooo-bi7bi]

Love your channel. So entertaining and informative. As a meat inspector I studied the anatomy and physiology of the food animal. There’s not really many places you can put a blade in a mammal or person that doesn’t have fatal consequences. I wish the government would make more an effort to educate young people that are caught up in the knife culture. Stabbing someone with a knife is more likely than not going to cause serious injury and will ruin both parties lives involved. It’s good to see you teaching a responsible approach to bladed weapons. Pleased I found your channel, just wish this existed when I was a boy.

[@Sk0lzky]

First? Ok so I'm actually gonna add something with merit: grabbing a pole weapon isn't necessarily that safe, I actually hurt myself pretty badly on a damaged shaft once (took like a month to heal), I imagine if it was damaged at the socket or a langet one might even have a tendon cut permanently crippling oneself. That's, of course, a fairly unlikely scenario (especially in a HEMA context) but I've heard you guys liked nuance

[@Sk0lzky]

Aha! Context: Never done this before, sorry :(

[@edstringer1138]

But you lived , I think it is a life or death skill Rob Roy vs Archiabold

[@Sk0lzky]

@@edstringer1138 yeah totally, in a practical scenario it's better to even just try and slap a blade aside risking losing the arm than to do nothing, I just don't want anyone getting a 3inch ashwood spike going through their precious guitarist's hands (like mine) lol

[@sawyere2496]

This is why the SCA uses rattan. Wood splinters can seriously hurt you.

[@Likexner]

@@edstringer1138 I think the life or death thing is more true when it comes to blades, although i dont dispute that grabbing a shaft could be dangerous.

[@JT_Soul]

Matt, have you ever been to Norwich Castle? I'd be interested in your thoughts on the preserved severed hand of Sir John Heyden (or Heydon), cut off in a duel fought with Sir Robert Mansfield in January of 1600. It's quite a grisly object. It's Sir John's left hand, and it appears to have been severed diagonally by a single sword cut. An account of the duel survives, and it's rather bizarre that we can read a primary source about a duel fought 400+ years ago *and* see a physical body part cut from one of the duelists. Might make an interesting topic for a video or article.

[@merlball8520]

I really like this suggestion.

[@scholagladiatoria]

I haven't! The only time I went to Norwich was as a child. I'm sure I'll go there on day though.

[@Shozb0t]

Norwich was also the location of the annual Headmaster Conference in the movie Clockwise. One of my favorite John Cleese performances.

[@Oldtanktapper]

I remember seeing that, actually visited there a couple of weeks after going to the Whitby museum, where they have another human hand on display. The one in Whitby is a ‘hand of glory’, allegedly used in witchcraft and procured from a hanged man. Norwich museum is a really nice example of Norman keep, well worth a look if you’re over that way. And Whitby museum is great too, full of odd and interesting stuff, including the most unusual leech operated ‘tempest prognosticator’.

[@JT_Soul]

@@Oldtanktapper I've never been to Whitby, but that sounds very interesting. I'd definitely like to see more of Yorkshire in general. Great part of the country.

[@piotrjeske4599]

I think what people forget is what physical work does to hands. I have been walking barefoot a lot all my life. Doesn't make my feet inhuman resilient, but they are tough. My grandfather worked on a farm all his life . He would lift a pot of potatoe peels for pigs straight off the fireplace, and then carry it outside to the pig shed. I can't even touch the same pot without getting burned. My mother is a professor of biochemistry. 40 plus years lab work. Her hands are rough like leather gloves from working with heated stuff and acids.

[@inthefade]

With a dozen years of cooking experience I can confirm this. Some hot things I can grab with no concern that newbies would drop in pain. I'm not sure whether they'd be burned or not, I'm pretty sure burning hot is nearly the same for everyone, but I can definitely withstand heat more than the average person.

[@texasbeast239]

There is a fine line between tough and damaged hands, though. My father suffers from diabetes and is usually completely oblivious to the ravages the disease has had on his feet, until we remind him to look down at them. Just because he cannot feel pain there anymore isn't necessarily a good thing. So I have to wonder how much good that "toughening up" the skin on one's hands really does. Those temperature and pain nerve receptors developed in there for a reason. Another analogy would be a sun tan. While many might drool over the look of a tan, dermatologists will probably all see it as woeful damage and an invitation to cancer.

[@quintoblanco8746]

That's a good point, but people who worked with their hands would probably fight with and against spear, bows, axes, maces. Practicing with a sword will to some extent toughen the skin, but not like digging, chopping wood, carrying heavy objects and so on.

[@merlball8520]

@@quintoblanco8746 If you practice with weapons for hours upon hours at a time, daily, and do physical labor, suffer and heal from multiple injuries, as did almost all professional fighting men from ancient times to less than 100 years ago, then you will build up tougher skin and pain tolerance. I'm not bragging, I just know from personal experience growing up on a farm that my pain tolerance was magnitudes more than city kids I went to school with. And now, decades later I still have a much higher pain tolerance than the vast majority of adults my age. And I know people with more pain tolerance than my own. A person's experience greatly effects their abilities to perform and adapt. No LARPer or HEMA practitioner today comes anywhere close to the reality of professional fighting men of days past. It's the difference between a pro-boxer and a weekend warrior. It's the difference between a pro MMA fighter and someone who practices karate at their local dojo. And a huge factor is psychological conditioning - a man will be more focused and tolerate/ignore a lot more pain if they know it's an issue of life and death (especially someone (a veteran) who has faced such circumstances multiple times) than someone who's intellectually curious and wants to push themselves to see what it may have been like for a historic soldier.

[@absalomdraconis]

It's important to bear in mind that toughened skin has it's limits. At the end of the day it's essentially just leather, and even the ancient Spartans used more than just leather armor. It will genuinely provide you with some protection against some things that would genuinely cause injury otherwise, but it's not fully proof against piercing or slicing (or technically blunt force or heat or cold or any other means of causing injury, though that's not so relevant to this context...), so if whatever stabbing implement is long enough to get through that toughened skin (which, let's face it, any normal blade is) then that implement can absolutely go to town on you if you give it a chance. What toughened skin is _really_ good against is minor to moderate abrasions, brief contact with harmful temperatures of materials, and other work-a-day issues. In combat it's no protection at all, but out of combat it can be a massive quality of life improvement.

[@stephanwatson7902]

9:00 That's a similar idea to how hand trapping actually works, you can see several examples that in the UFC. When Champ Kamaru Usman knocked out Jorge, he hand trapped one Jorge's hands and threw a straight right punch, that knocked him out. It's not that you're grabbing the hand and holding it for long; it's a split-second to open the path, through their guard, for your strikes. P.S. I practice jkd/mma, and I think wing chun has alot of value, but I'm not talking about how many WC people try to handtrap; although Wing Chun traps are effective, you have to know how to fight to use them (Also handtrapping and things in grappling, can obviously be longer than 'a split second' but they can also be just that, too)

[@stephenballard3759]

I will tell you, from my experience taking X-rays and CT in a large Trauma 1 center hospital, that it is almost impossible to grab or deflect a knife. It's almost impossible to get "past the point". Looks very different for swords, especially if you are armed similarly.

[@mitcharcher7528]

In some ways, knives are more dangerous than swords. They’re hard to see, too small to grab, used in very close quarters, and often hidden completely until the moment of attack.

[@stephenballard3759]

@@mitcharcher7528 Absolutely. I haven't kept records, but proportionately, if I throw out a few outliers (like a guy I saw stabbed with scissors by a child) the fatality rate on stab wounds created using a decent-sized knife (say 5" or longer blade) is really high. People who get stabbed were usually stabbed by an adult man, who is either very angry or simply violent, multiple times, with intent.

[@stephenballard3759]

@@fettmaneiii4439 Yeah, me, too!

[@williamjenkins4913]

@@fettmaneiii4439 2 Things. First off. Wow you are so cool your swords are so sharp. Secondly. Razor sharpening a sword you actually plan you use to fight is sub optimal because the narrower bevel increases the damage it takes from contact. Any time and place where sword fighting is a going concern that wouldn't be likely. Also like he said at the end of the day while it is a relatively safe maneuver it does have some inherent risk.

[@jaketheasianguy3307]

Anyone who think they can catch or grab a knife by it's blade has never even deal with a rubber knife in training with full intensity. Swords on the other hand is longer which made it easier to grab once it STOPPED MOVING, either by a block or close quarter situation. Can i get hurt by doing that, not 100% all the time but yes. But i don't give a crap because i would gladly get a slice on my plam to shove the point into the other guy's face. It's a good trade off in certain situations

[@OnlineMasterPlayer]

Wonder if there are any historical examples of leather pieces being put on top of maille gloves. Seems like the ideal solution, you get the protection of the iron/steel rings and the grip of a leather glove.

[@joshuabordelon2192]

I usually just hold the point in my mouth and flail it around at the bad guys.

[@norbertomilan1906]

Lol

[@radivojevasiljevic3145]

In case of rapier we got local expression "virtual dagger" for cases when somebody puts palm to "defend" against rapier cut. Usually followed by "if you want to use dagger in left hand, go ahead and take it".

[@ErwinPommel]

"Anything that has a long shaft is inherently easier to grab" - Matt Easton

[@SamuraiSwordperson]

I think you're my favorite historical arms and armor/historical warrior type of content creator on youtube. I think you should consider doing a video on the NHK taiga drama series, as those shows actually have technically the most period accurate arms and armor that I've seen before. I have not seen any other youtuber like Metatron or Skallagrim, etc cover that. I think it would be beneficial that more people see how armor can be depicted accurately, especially when historical productions in America tend to drop the ball a lot though it's getting better progressively.

[@WhatIfBrigade]

Very informative! In Kung Fu we handled the blade a lot for offensive moves, usually the back of the blade. I hadn't really thought about how much blade thickness would impact blade grabs which makes the Oxtail Dao and Butterfly swords really interesting. They basically fall into the messer/falchion categories respectively.

[@Krshwunk]

Thank you for existing, Matt. This was top-notch as usual.

[@fizzmoe9846]

Matt Easton: "Anything with a long shaft is gonna be easier to grab onto." Me: "Or anyone."

[@l0rf]

I was wondering if anyone caught that :D

[@itinerantpoet1341]

It seems like Musashi was already ahead of the European fencers 500 years ago b/c he recommends "cutting" the opponent's sword, in the sense of putting energy into it to knock it off line and open them up for a clean strike. But, if it ends up in a bind, he recommended pressing into that bind with full strength. If the opponent withdraws their blade, cut directly into their body, pressing the blade into their body to rip them open with the cut. (That happens a lot faster than whipping your blade in a circle to try and cut some other target.) Another reason you want to push strongly in a bind is that it *prevents the opponent from grabbing your blade*-you can tell when they remove a hand, which weakens there sword, and allows you to envelop and cut directly into their body.

[@yeahnaaa292]

Exceptionally well done. As Always. Thanks Matt.

[@gjigaqaquj]

I half sword my chef knife when i have to stab through a brick of chocolate. My coworkers apply all their body weight on the handle with 2 hands and im just waiting for the lever to flip down and slip. I use only the strength of my arms and shoulders. These same people tell me im crazy for grabbing the knife. In my view, im actually lowering the chance of injury because im grabbing the lever in the middle preventing the possibility of slipping the knife into my belly. Its a single edged blade and i am able to grab it in a way that the blade isnt in contact with my skin. Am i crazy, or are they just not well informed enough on blade physics?

[@mitcharcher7528]

If it’s a work environment, wear cut-proof gloves for extra safety, but your technique sounds fine. I do it at home, never once cut myself in decades.

[@dereinzigwahreRichi]

You are absolutely right both in your technique and your assumption of possible catastrophic failure of your colleagues! I was always afraid of cutting large pumpkins (mostly Hokkaido) in half on my kitchen working surface with a big knife. Trying to get something big and sharp into something round and hard isn't my idea of working safely... Nowadays I put a towel on the floor, my cutting board with the pumpkin on it and then I get me my machete... :-D Sounds funny, but I first put the blade in with a little swing of it and then proceed the same way you described, putting this very large knife guided by two hands through something hard until it splits.

[@gjigaqaquj]

@@dereinzigwahreRichi that sounds so fun. I love chopping into gourds and melons with my butcher knife.

[@gjigaqaquj]

@@mitcharcher7528 i would love to get my hands on some of those

[@UnreasonableOpinions]

People have a tendency of over-generalising rules so they're easier to remember. It's easy to go from 'Do X except Y when Z and A when B' to just 'Do X'.

[@Valterius87]

As a line cook, I am well versed in "draw" cuts, as it's part of the cutting technique. Glad you mentioned it early on.

[@-RONNIE]

Always appreciate your input on weapons

[@nilo70]

This episode is eye opening ! Thank you for making this happen

[@kettwood7248]

There are relativley late (1600s) gauntlets with mail in RA, Wallcae collection and if i remember right - in metropolitan museum of art, two of this three are almost exactly same and made in one workshop.

[@TimParker-Chambers]

A fascinating presentation, thankyou 👍👍

[@TheWirksworthGunroom]

Was immediately put in mind of "Reg Prescott DIY" the moment you picked up the sharp!

[@ChicagoDB]

I suppose if a I did wear a fine-mailed glove, for “grabbing”…I would probably want at least a thin leather of glove-leather over the mail…for grip purposes. It would be interesting to see examples of such gloves, to see if that was ever done.

[@williamjenkins4913]

Yeah. Even if you had to replace the lining every time it still seems like it would be worth it.

[@b-beale1931]

I'd probably just keep the fingertips free of maille

[@madshad3351]

Thank you for breaking this down for us. I never want to grab a blade. Even if I was to "End him rightly." But I see where that would be useful. Thank you.

[@jm9371]

Yet another dimension as to how complicated HEMA can be. I enjoyed this content as someone fascinated with a topic they know little about. Great video.

[@leppeppel]

I'd still be paranoid about grabbing a blade with ungloved hands in combat, especially for the "murder stroke," because I assume my hands would be sweaty and that's going to negatively affect grip. If I take a swing at the opponent's head, but they sidestep and my quillon gets caught on their shoulder, for example, the sword's not going to come with me and my hands will slide right down that blade. Goodbye, fingers!

[@jaketheasianguy3307]

To be fair, why would you even use murder stroke in unarmed combat

[@drifter-donosadventureobsc9565]

@@jaketheasianguy3307 just because your opponent is armored doesn't necessarily mean you are.

[@jaketheasianguy3307]

@@drifter-donosadventureobsc9565 I was talking about 2 men fighting each other without armour. Why bother with murder stroke when there are tons of better options

[@adcaptandumvulgus4252]

I still fear trying murderstrikes. It seems the percussive force of quillon striking would push the blade edge into the skin.

[@scholagladiatoria]

Yeah, I'm not a fan. But they do turn up in various sources.

[@adcaptandumvulgus4252]

@@scholagladiatoria I reckon they were a big fan of gloves, aye?

[@vinceblasco]

As a rapier fencer I’ve gotten my hand speared (with a rolled tip obv) a number of times while going for a blade misdirection. It’s definitely dangerous but that doesn’t mean it isn’t worth the risk.

[@jaketheasianguy3307]

Yea, that technique is freaking risky. I prefer grabbing when it's already under control by my blade

[@absalomdraconis]

@@jaketheasianguy3307 : Yeah, using "disposable" metal to prepare the enemy sword for grabbing is the way to go. Anything else belongs in the "last resorts" category.

[@joemurphy1189]

Hi Matt, does anyone have any idea when leather gloves/gauntlets became common? Looking at medieval illustrations, they don’t seem very well-represented.

[@absalomdraconis]

They've probably been common for as long as, if not longer than, leather body armor as distinguished from "non-armor" leather body wear. There may be some old combat manuals written in cuneiform from the library of the old Assyrian capital Ninnevah (they recovered a _huge_ trove of writing maybe a century ago), but I don't know that _anyone_ has gone searching for that sort of content in it. I'd be surprised if most of it has gotten a thorough translation at all.

[@MikeDolanFliss]

Thanks for the post! As someone with about 20 years of Japanese sword practice - mostly bokken, a bit of iaito - I'm curious about the end of the video when you talked about types of blades. It's my understanding that it's common that the weapons I'd typically work with were roughly split into thirds in terms of both intent / use and blade dynamics - cutting third, redirection third, blocking third at the hilt / tsuba. Is it thought that some parts of the blade - e.g. the base, perhaps the "blocking" area - are less sharp, harder for the partner to pull the weapon out, etc? Not relevant for short weapons like knives, but I was curious about larger swords in the European styles.

[@drifter-donosadventureobsc9565]

I also started with kenjutsu, but picked up bolognese swordsmanship over the last year, and that appears to be the case. They use the term "forte" to refer to the lower shaft of the weapon, because it is stronger defensively. However, European weapons are designed to be flexible and wobbly compared to ours, so there is even more emphasis on blocking near the handle because their weapons are not as stiff or forgiving defensively in that regard.

[@readhistory2023]

I saw someone grab his attacker's wrist, instead of the knife blade, when they tried to disarm the attacker. He nearly had his thumb cut clean off when the guy jerked his hand and knife back.

[@jbensinger5715]

Long ago in FMA I was taught that when someone grabbed a blade, rather than yanking on it drive the off hand (or better yet a knee) into the pommel (or preferably the forearm of the sword gripping arm)- it provides a great deal of sliding force and it's very, very sudden. Didn't try it with a live edge for obvious reasons but got about 7" of slide with an unedged blade and leather glove

[@karnovtalonhawk9708]

not tried the blade grip much but have grabbed the wrist and forearm at times. also sadly have had dislocated my thumb a few times but miss judging it :P

[@robwalker4452]

Could you rate Liam Neeson's blade grab in Rob Roy?

[@scholagladiatoria]

It's pretty realistic.

[@greghenrikson952]

It was essentially a lingering at longpoint, opening the way for a natural grab. This goes back to Ms. I.33 16r and 16v. But of course there are always counters. In I.33 it's to scrape/punch the grabby hand off with the buckler. In the movie he should never have lingered, and after the grab he could have potentially stepped back behind the kneeling Roy and planted a foot in his back, pulling the sword free.

[@robwalker4452]

Oh good lord I see that Mr. Easton has already reviewed that fight! kzbin.info/www/bejne/gZ3WhWyMj96Ynqc

[@Joe___R]

If the mail is not just on the palm side of the glove but actually on the inside of the glove under the leather, you would gain the protection without losing the grip.

[@LuxisAlukard]

Great, as usual!

[@daemonharper3928]

Great vid - thanks

[@jonathanyaeger2289]

I’m really interested in the dueling glove references. Could you share any of them?

[@ruiseartalcorn]

Very interesting indeed! Many thanks :)

[@JimRFF]

I feel like blade-grabbing is one of those super niche techniques that can be theoretically useful in some specific situations, but 99% of the time you'd be better served by just carrying a shield instead of keeping an open hand with the intention of trying to grab your opponent's blade haha

[@scholagladiatoria]

It's normally done in situations where you would not be carrying a shield or other off-hand weapon, such as everyday civilian life around town. Or when your main weapon is a bow, firearm or pole weapon, and you can't carry a shield as well.

[@stephenballard3759]

That seems to go without saying. I'd assume any type of shield, cloak or coat, offhand dagger, offhand walking stick, armor, or a glove etc. would all be preferable.

[@GermanSwordMaster]

Its not *that* niche in sparring.

[@JimRFF]

@@scholagladiatoria that tracks well with your observed correlation that blade-grabbing works best with the geometry of narrower, thicker, lighter blades (like one might carry as a wealthy civilian in the Renaissance) compared to actual battlefield tactics

[@itinerantpoet1341]

It's also only viable against medieval fencing, imho. The modern system I practice is well aware of this possibility, and doesn't leave it on the table. And, if you were able to control the opponent's blade to grab it, and they're not wearing armor, I'd recommend a slash, pressing the blade into the body while you twist your waist to make the cut, not grabbing the blade to make a thrust from close range, because, from a high stance, those tend to be weaker body mechanics for thrusting.

[@stormiewutzke4190]

I haven't seen that longsword before. I like it.

[@CrysResan]

While a fairly flamboyant example of swordmanship, the movie "Mask of Zorro" I believe it was from the mid 1990s there are several instances of grabbing, or more precisely flicking opponents blades away, mostly the tip. Those weren't shown as the kind of only thrusting times of modern fencing blades but proper cut and thrust rapiers and sabers. Specifically the scene that comes to mine is when the young Zorro flicks Elena's rapier away when she shoves it in his face, quite dismissively like "Get that out of my face you foolish girl" only for her to show him she's far better versed in sword work than he assumed- not as good as him but still pretty good. I miss just fun movies like that.

[@hurnn1543]

In my club we favor the pinch grip, ideally palm, thumb and fingers on the flat and not actually contacting the edge. Even if they try to pull away your hand can follow along with. You really only need control for a fraction of a second to line up an unopposed attack.

[@J_n..]

there are period longswords designed for judicial duels in the "Kaiserliche Rüstkammer" in Vienna witch have squared sections in the blades where to grip them for halfswording

[@andreweden9405]

Matt, if you haven't already, could you please do a video about the extent to which arming sword/one-handed sword was used on its own, without a shield/buckler, if at all? Thank you!

[@scholagladiatoria]

In short, they were used absolutely loads by themselves.

[@sawyere2496]

Tons in self defense

[@promiscuous5761]

Thank you.

[@JesseP.Watson]

R.e. slippy mail palmed gauntlet/gloves - light leather sewn OVER the mail would give the best of both worlds - it may get sliced up after a few grabs but well worth it I'd venture.

[@stephan-schildwachepotsdam1171]

I always thought that grabbing a wide blade is easier, since you can have better and more contact to the flats. While doing half swording using a feder I found it hader to not touch the edges while with a more broad Longsword blade made it easier to avoid the edges. In both cases I always tend to not wrap my hand around the blade, having the true edge still more or less open for parring or cutting.

[@ethanblinkhorn8396]

im thinking of that scene in rob roy.

[@timfoster4979]

Rob roy always comes to mind

[@Arkeo36]

1. Gloves are just good to have anytime you're working with tools, weapons or otherwise. 2. Matt, would you ever consider doing a review (or do you know anybody reputable who did one) of the humorously named but apparently high quality and durable Condor "Kondoru" katana-style swords? I find that the hilt construction of katana and wakizashi is often the limiting factor when you aren't paying a lot for a sword. The Condor appears to have the distal taper and enough steel to be a decent katana or to do katana things decently without worrying about the ito coming loose since it uses knife-life tang scales.

[@Krishnaeternal]

Matt, I've trained with the katana for almost two decades. I have spilt my floor red by attempting blade grabbing moves. A twist at the waist and a pull, is all it takes, which becomes BOTH a defensive, and since you're grabbing his blade, and an offensive move simultaneously. Evolution notwithstanding. 🙂.

[@texasbeast239]

I came up with an idea for modifying battleaxes to bind other gear even better while hooking. Usually the underside of axe beards are smooth. But what if those undersides were serrated or molded in a pyramidal, toothy texture (like a meat tenderizer mallet)? It could maybe even lean towards sword breaker territory. That could give axes even more contact points with opponent gear, theoretically providing even more powerful of a bind. I would much rather hook and pull a blade with an axe head than with my hand.

[@seanbrown207]

Don’t forget that mail mittens were used in the 12th century and so any blade grabbing with them would be somewhat less riskier. I think the risk and such would be dependent on circumstances, which differ between eras based on equipment available and typical tactics employed of that era.

[@Snikwald]

You could have fine mail on the inside of your palm that was in between layers of leather maybe? To keep the gripping advantage of leather and protectiveness of steel at the same time

[@Likexner]

I have an idea for the ultimate blade-grabbing glove. A layer of leather or fabric, mail on top of it and another layer of leather on top of the mail. The two layers that the mail is sandwiched between would be sown together through the rings so that the layers dont slide and flop around. This arrangement should provide the protection of mail while still maintaining the grip of leather. The top layer of leather would have to be replaced if its cut too many times. What do you think?

[@danielflynn9141]

Matt, where did you get those leather gloves from?

[@edward9674]

Speaking of hurt hands have you heard of Götz of Berlichingen? Are there any other historical examples of prosthetics being used to help knights fight again?

[@hernerweisenberg7052]

Itto Ogami has no problems grabbing a blade in full swing against him between the palms of his hands, a technique also knowen to the fighters of the Yagyu :)

[@ex0ne]

I got a question for you Mat: Have you ever cut yourself or destroyed anything around you while filming one of your youtube films? 🤔 with all that blade weaving around, something must have happened at some point 😁

[@scholagladiatoria]

Yes, several times!

[@ex0ne]

@@scholagladiatoria Maybe a blooper/out takes film in the future? as long as you didn't hurt your self too bad 😁

[@petervanrooij2181]

This will come in handy...

[@toddellner5283]

"Tactics abhor a vacuum" - There are martial arts which teach how to extract the blade in ways designed to slice open the grabbing hand.

[@daniel-zh9nj6yn6y]

Those late medieval guys would have loved butcher's gloves.

[@ColossalSwordFormAndTechnique]

Hey scholagladiatoria. I just received my armorslayer executioner hybrid longsword. I’ll upload a milk jug cutting video one of these days.

[@UnreasonableOpinions]

I wonder if it was done to have a main hand glove all of leather, and the off-hand with fine maille. Then you get most of the benefits of leather inside for grip and indexing, with the ability to grab your blade or the enemy’s forcefully with the off hand.

[@b.h.abbott-motley2427]

Pietro Monte recommended strips of mail for the palm of the left gauntlet specifically, so yes.

[@fsmoura]

13:21 _"It's all handles!"_ _"I'll call a pikeman right now!"_ --George "Halberd" Costanza

[@jeagerblackpaw2922]

Lot of 'armoured' modern gloves with high level cut protection rating (fibreglass armour under leather outer and cloth inner..) about as bulky as the HEMA glove from what I can see. A modern take on the mail one.

[@texasbeast239]

What about a treated, toughened leather palm over a mail inner liner? Would that be too thick and restrictive to use the hand properly?

[@scholagladiatoria]

I can't really guess. Sounds an interesting idea.

[@dogmaticpyrrhonist543]

Sowrd nerd: Yep, yep, yeah, obviously, yep, yep... is that a copy of the A.466 from the Wallace Collection? Without gilding?

[@Plastikdoom]

Yeah have shown some on buddies that, with a sword, or knife, barehanded as they didn’t believe me, and made the same point you and others have made over over again, one, sliding is bad, two, better then a being dead, of your hand does get mangled, easier to live with a damaged, or useless hand, than if your dead. Now, grabbing one defensively isn’t ideal, offensive less bad, as you are presumably in control of the blade and what you do, if you aren’t you’re dead anyways, in a real fight. And I beat softer things that wouldn’t damage the cross guard/hilt or handle. They were amazed, it’s like we figured this out centuries ago, haha, I didn’t. I just learned it from others.

[@PJDAltamirus0425]

I'm kinda curious I know there treatsies of smacking aside thrusts, rapier treastsies, but are theire sources showing people smacking aside cuts? Like slamming the arm or palm into the flat?

[@jaketheasianguy3307]

No because even though cuts are slower, the angles are way more diverse and unpredictable

[@fsmoura]

Yeah, true, with the correct approach and technique, one can indeed grab a blade without much risk, BUT, when it comes to the _bat'leth,_ if you apply these techniques to momentarily gain a hold of it, to some degree, you're controlling it then, thus becoming the wielder, to a degree, and as the rule goes for _bat'leths: "He who wields it, gets hurt."_

[@cullen9119]

Sparring with friends back in the day, especially with bokkens, I used to sometimes push at the "flat" on the back of their "sword" if we came into a bind, to make an opening for my own attack. I always laughed when they told me I was "cheating"--what's cheating in a sword duel?? If I don't have sand to throw in your eyes, I can at least push your sword out of the way! Not saying I ever did it skillfully (though with wooden swords--who cares?), but it's nice to see corroboration of an old intuition

[@jaketheasianguy3307]

Unless what you're doing is play Kendo, almost all techniques are fair and square

[@BoomerZ.artist]

when swords become more rapier/short sword/spadroon thin, does that make it harder or easier to grab. It's thinner so harder to just grab and hold the flat but usually you said less sharp to cut you. My thinking harder as less surface area to hold onto.

[@Wolf-Wolfman]

Easier to grab thin blades in my experience.

[@BoomerZ.artist]

nvm, answered it at the end.

[@LiquidAnomaly]

What sword is that? I want to buy one

[@babyquakes]

What about for axes

[@JetConvoy]

Always wanted Matt to address this topic, I’d like to hear more about it. Also, how come you’re not a fan of the murder stroke, Matt?

[@scholagladiatoria]

Because holding a sharp sword by the blade and hitting the hilt into something feels really really horrible and dangerous. I can think of about 10 other techniques I would rather do against someone in armour. Most of the people who like the murder strike have never tried it with a sharp sword.

[@truntbeefwell9784]

I always assumed - based on those few treatises I've seen - that the murder stroke was more a "remember! you can do this in a pinch!" than an actual technique.

[@fernbedek6302]

Armoured gauntlet is probably good for punching blades out of the way, even if there’s no grabbing?

[@Dseated]

I can do it but it cuts my enemy's hands when they try.

[@robbiej3642]

There's a related subject here, on the general lack of respect for sharp blades. Especially in movies, we see heroes catch a thrown blade, or have an exposed viking hand axe or sword tucked in a belt. I cringe during Braveheart seeing the claymore smacking against the side of Wallace's horse as he rides. Try wearing a sharp axe on your belt and go about your business and you quickly wish for a sheath. Blunt blades let us get away with bad practices.

[@johnladuke6475]

I think it's interesting to note that the real historical equipment that's probably best suited to this sort of technique is maille mittens. Curiously they were also largely superseded by other forms of gauntlet by the time of even the earliest sources we can read. I know that any armour with such mittens is probably also going to pair with a shield and grabbing the blade would be less likely, but if I had to choose the best protection from real pieces, that's what I'd want.

[@Xhaleon]

Probably because they were more slippery and loose than desirable but nothing would have stopped a duelist from having a cute mail mitten on one hand and a leather glove on the other.

[@scholagladiatoria]

Mail gauntlets are not mailed on the inside though. They are leather on the inside, just like almost all other gauntlets :-)

[@johnladuke6475]

@@scholagladiatoria I thought I had seen armour over the years that fastened the maille sleeve over the palm to the mitten. I could easily be wrong and you're a more authoritative source than a google rabbit hole. Was that ever the fashion, or am I just remembering incorrectly? Again, I have to admit that it would be a time-traveling mitten to even be plausible, if it ever existed to begin with.

[@Xhaleon]

@@johnladuke6475 What you're remembering is all the historical artwork that appears to depict those mittens as being mail all over, the simplest possible form you can make one, that's what I'm thinking of too.

[@johancoetser906]

My friend walked home from work one night a few years back in Pretoria when he was assaulted by two men. One stabbed at him with a knife. Fortunately, he managed to grab his assailent's hand and stop the trust. The assailant managed to jerk his hand free and stab a second time. For a second time my friend grabbed his hand to stop the trust. The assailant jerked his hand free, but that gave my friend the opportunity to speak to them, telling then to take everything. They absconded with his wallet, laptop and cell phone. Despite grabbing the assailants weapon hand he was lucky enough to remain unhurt...

[@Kyle-sr6jm]

Trade hand, for life. Not a bad trade.

[@michael3088]

multiple Japanese styles have techniques grabbing, pinching, spporting the sword blades while blocking, deflecting and striking. Granted most of the time is the flat or the spine. Most of the sword styles date from the Edo period so people weren't fighting in armour

[@drifter-donosadventureobsc9565]

The context for this is the idea of grabbing the opponents blade to disable them, not reinforcing your own weapon. The opponent generally still has more control over their own weapon than you do, so I cant say I'm a fan.

[@itinerantpoet1341]

Smacking the blade out of the way by the flat is also viable, but is it something you'd opt for if you had any other choice? Note, this is one of the numerous reasons you'll see a palm up guard position with single-handed straight sword-takes that away.

[@itinerantpoet1341]

For me, the problem with teaching techniques like this is amateurs go nutty on they and start trying to make it a core of their strategy. (imho, this is the kind of think you only teach to advanced students, who understand how "low percentage" it probably is, and will only seek to use it when the alternative is death.)

[@itinerantpoet1341]

And why don't I see the sword being grabbed in Swordfish longsword matches? Why didn't I see he sword being grabbed in Knight Fight? (In the second example, it's because they were too busy punching the opponent in the head with their gauntlets;)

[@wampuscat1831]

A little hand protection goes a long way. Ive had punks pull knives on me, First I laugh at them and close ,grab the blade with hankerchief in my hand with twist. The knife becomes mine..They stand there with a dumb look or run...Id want decent well fit glove to use on a sword.

[@brendonwalker7728]

Rob Roy MacGregor grabbed ol' whatsisname's blade and held onto it and cleaved him quite nearly in two. The Duke of Argyle seemed amused. The Marquis...? not so much. His murderous nephew? Poor lad, prime of his life and all. Don't hold out your blade to a blade grabber.

[@uliphotode]

Oh deer. So i need some bear hands for sword training now.