Just got your book! It´s so clear and at the same time so complex! I wish It had been the first book that I bought about on HEMA. I belive I´m the first one in Brazil to start learning George Silver´s Paradoxes! Thank you very much guys!
those wrist twists are a thing of beauty, and the passing steps are great, sadly lacking in modern fencing but so affective, easy and natural and very good for delivering power of the legs . what I really like about silver is that it has some of the older styles of movment, effective body positioning and targeting areas of vunrability such as the wrist, throat, temples. in many ways it is modern fencing but applied to true defence. it is a same it never continued as it has a natural beauty
Silver's footwork is kind of a mystery. My feeling is that the general principles are the same as those of Sigmund Ringeck: that when cutting out from your right side you use a step forward with your right foot, and when cutting out from your left side (towards your opponent's right,) you step forward with your left foot. I imagine that in both cases you might circle the back foot around somewhat afterwards in order to strengthen the blow and get yourself out of the way of the opponent.
@kozushi I thought that Silver taught that the arm movement should be before than leg movement, so cutting was done with single step, not passing. Interesting to see that some people interpret that cutting was done with passing step. And what about true and false times?
@pochazet A few people made their own styles all across Europe. English fencers were no exception, some styles died with time and others lived on. I imagine that the ability to pass on your findings and your style was based on your ability to put down your methods on paper and have people to teach in the first place.
I've been taught Silver and love it, there has never been a situation in a fight that Silver can't deal with. Now I'm not making argument I just thought for those who have never practised this form its nice to know. the defence used in the opening sequence is Gardant, at 0:06 the elbow of the defender sticks out, a feint then swing and he won't have an elbow left. Also the arm grabs will only work if your opponent rushes you, but for the sake of a tutorial this video is the best I've seen. Grats
My greatest doubt at the moment is: If the hand moves faster the body & feet, why the feet lands together with the hands if the hands moved first? thx in advance!
The hand *can* move faster, but it doesn't have to. The striker moves his hand as quickly or slowly as needed for it to land at the right time. So if the striker needs to put in a foot to attack, the hand would be moved at less-than-full speed so that it wouldn't arrive before the foot.
A question from someone who knows nothing about Silver: Why is it called "short sword" when the weapons used are obviously medium length cut-and-thrusters?
Hi Mark! They evolved as natural extensions from bouting with the basic actions - if you've swung down and have to get back up again quickly, that's often the fastest way. Silver mentions once Stoccata can be held point down, from where it's an obvious thing to do, and the false-edge forehand parry is attested to in a roundabout way that you'd have to see the full course vid to explain!. Then we found similar actions in Pallas Armata, so figured they were reasonable extensions of the style
I want that helmet.
(The one from That Guy's website.)
HipposHateWater 5 months ago
Just got your book! It´s so clear and at the same time so complex! I wish It had been the first book that I bought about on HEMA. I belive I´m the first one in Brazil to start learning George Silver´s Paradoxes! Thank you very much guys!
cerkuenik 8 months ago
those wrist twists are a thing of beauty, and the passing steps are great, sadly lacking in modern fencing but so affective, easy and natural and very good for delivering power of the legs . what I really like about silver is that it has some of the older styles of movment, effective body positioning and targeting areas of vunrability such as the wrist, throat, temples. in many ways it is modern fencing but applied to true defence. it is a same it never continued as it has a natural beauty
pe003 9 months ago
Silver's footwork is kind of a mystery. My feeling is that the general principles are the same as those of Sigmund Ringeck: that when cutting out from your right side you use a step forward with your right foot, and when cutting out from your left side (towards your opponent's right,) you step forward with your left foot. I imagine that in both cases you might circle the back foot around somewhat afterwards in order to strengthen the blow and get yourself out of the way of the opponent.
kozushi 1 year ago
@kozushi I thought that Silver taught that the arm movement should be before than leg movement, so cutting was done with single step, not passing. Interesting to see that some people interpret that cutting was done with passing step. And what about true and false times?
ARSGLADlATORIA 9 months ago
oh.
pochazet 1 year ago
can this go against spanish fencing?
pochazet 1 year ago
did the english really have their own style of fencing like the other europeans?
pochazet 1 year ago
@pochazet A few people made their own styles all across Europe. English fencers were no exception, some styles died with time and others lived on. I imagine that the ability to pass on your findings and your style was based on your ability to put down your methods on paper and have people to teach in the first place.
FenrisGuardian 1 year ago
I've been taught Silver and love it, there has never been a situation in a fight that Silver can't deal with. Now I'm not making argument I just thought for those who have never practised this form its nice to know. the defence used in the opening sequence is Gardant, at 0:06 the elbow of the defender sticks out, a feint then swing and he won't have an elbow left. Also the arm grabs will only work if your opponent rushes you, but for the sake of a tutorial this video is the best I've seen. Grats
FenrisGuardian 1 year ago
Very instructional!
My greatest doubt at the moment is: If the hand moves faster the body & feet, why the feet lands together with the hands if the hands moved first? thx in advance!
cerkuenik 2 years ago
@cerkuenik
The hand *can* move faster, but it doesn't have to. The striker moves his hand as quickly or slowly as needed for it to land at the right time. So if the striker needs to put in a foot to attack, the hand would be moved at less-than-full speed so that it wouldn't arrive before the foot.
(Very late reply I know!)
Okaruwazashi 1 year ago
Very nice, guys. Great song, too.
MegalophiasPrime 2 years ago
Very cool. I like it.
Kunstdesfechtens 2 years ago
Good stuff, this.
A question from someone who knows nothing about Silver: Why is it called "short sword" when the weapons used are obviously medium length cut-and-thrusters?
RelativelyBest 2 years ago
Presumably because the other main weapons of the period - the longsword and the rapier - were both longer than a single-handed sword
Stoccata 2 years ago
Nice vid. I cleared up a few questions I had about Silver's style.
tsafa1 2 years ago
Most Excellent!
Woodcrafter1372 2 years ago
like the false edge impulses and ripostes. Where do you source them in Silver? Are they Influenced by some of your bolognese work?
Impressive. most Impressive.
MarkHolgate 2 years ago
Hi Mark! They evolved as natural extensions from bouting with the basic actions - if you've swung down and have to get back up again quickly, that's often the fastest way. Silver mentions once Stoccata can be held point down, from where it's an obvious thing to do, and the false-edge forehand parry is attested to in a roundabout way that you'd have to see the full course vid to explain!. Then we found similar actions in Pallas Armata, so figured they were reasonable extensions of the style
Stoccata 2 years ago
Sweet!
lofny 2 years ago