Historical European Martial Arts Testcutting Training

[AuGeUNDoHr1]

I´m very impressed too... I think, the asian variations aren´t bad, but they became sports; the europeans had to kill with those technics or to defend their lives before soldiers and marodeurs. I made judo for eight years and karate for a couple of month, but I already stoped by throwing or kicking an "enemie". Now I learn how to fight like a mercenarie in the 15 th century, with daggers, by hands and with the Grosse Messer... And it is more efficient than judo or karate!

[Erdinger2003]

The hand must stay out of the way of the cut and be ready at all times for a proper response. The only thing that got me was the water bottles filled with water....what is the purpose of cutting them? Are you trying to learn how to cut better? Is that the best way to learn how to use the western sword? What is the purpose of a cut even? I like to ask questions :)

[Kunstdesfechtens]

Cutting water bottles is a cheap and effective way to test one's edge alignment. Adding in a bit of cardio seems OK, as long as you don't push too hard... don't want to see someone hurt themselves with a sharp from fatigue. It's also important to cut with a blunt sword at a pell (post) to help internalize range. :)

[LordEinar]

When you cut a medium (bottle, tatami) you shear it and are able to see the angle of your cut much better than against the air.

Many people twist the blade mid cut because they're not used to the angles involved (really common), and if you do that while cutting mats or bottles (cheap and easy solution), it will stop inside the medium and you can learn to correct it.

The water simply supplies weight; without it, you couldn't easily cut as it would fly away on impact.

[calmandweak]

The hand behinf the back??????

[mrbeast85]

Medieval period manuscripts show fencing with the left hand behind the back like this when using a single handed sword without a buckler.

By folding your left hand behind your back like this, basically you are keeping it out of trouble; prevents you from accidently cutting it or providing your opponent with an easy target.

[calmandweak]

ah, ok. thanks for the explaination

[mrbeast85]

Good video. I especially liked the highlighting of the various guard positions etc.

[Kortoso]

Nice video.

[Malevolantgoat]

Now, is the arm placed behind the back so as to avoid injuring yourself in training?

That would make sense to me...

[Caliburnis]

I've seen that it's done to 'eliminate' a target for your opponent.

[ironmaidenman77]

True...if your only using the single sword by itself...others would have a buckler, knife, or dagger in the other hand

[Hawaiianstile]

that single sword by itself is a bad choice of weapon, terrible defense without a shield or something.

[animematt]

A single sword is a good choice. Your defense options are not terribe at all. Just different.

See how fast he could move with it? You would rely on parrys and dodging.

[Hawaiianstile]

not really, after every hit your totally wide open. not to mention how telegraphic the hits are

[animematt]

He is just doing basic cuts. In reality you would move a lot faster, dodge, parry, halfsword, and everything.

[Hawaiianstile]

what i said is still true it doesnt mater how fast you are your still opened and have no way to parry or block in time after a swing. you can dodge but dodging in sword fights is a last ditch effort that should be depended on.

[applejuiceii]

Nice form. This katana vs long-sword is bs. you should talk to somebody who has trained with both.

Stab: the longsword is far better.

Chopping Cut: The Katana and the Long-sword are equal with some variation depending on the sword.

Slash/Draw-cut: the katana is superior.

There mass is approximately the same.

The one clear cut difference is that the katana beats the Long-sword no holds bard when it comes too cutting through cloth and leather armer.(Cloth armer was on of the most used types)

[DownWithThePlague]

Impressive form.

[GecSword]

In general yes although there are many examples of single edged straight swords.

[bigrobnz]

I"m very impressed!! The traditional martial skills in europe haven"t being passed on like they have in asia and Ithink thats a big loss. They were every bit as good I think but few europeans seem to be aware of them. An important part of our culture has been lost!

[GuamKomudo]

There's no dout that with violence and fighting that people figured out ways to kill eachother, European Martial arts have been lost because white culture is not as based on tradition as Asian culture, the coming of Guns and other tech weapons meant screw hand to hand combat, while Asian martia larts just changed Martial arts from killing people to making you a better person, because killing wasn't needed anymore.

[heavyarms01h]

Well, the more videos like this that get made and put on the Internet, the more aware of the Historical European Martial Arts people will become. And as long as the manuals still exist, as long as there are still people trained in these arts who are willing to teach others, and as people have interest to learn, then they won't be "lost" for long. I'm Asian, and I agree - the European stuff had to have been highly effective, too, or no one would have survived the battlefield to pass them on!

[ZarlanTheGreen]

Yes.

The standard, one handed arming sword, the longsword and the later Zweihänder, side-sword and rapier, are all two-edged.

But you should note that there also existed one-edged swords, that were, arguably, straight.

[Nullan]

Doing a good cut requires lots of training. Doesn't matter what type of sword it is.

[pedro898]

Great vid, some real skill and power on show here. Many of people dont realise just how heavy a real longsword is, yet this fellow's strikes make the sword seem light as a feather.

Thankyou for posting!

RE European swords vs katanas.

A bit of a silly argument really, they have strengths in different areas and were designed for different methods of combat, regardless the debate is purely academic imo as if someone with skill hit you with either the result would be much the same ;)

[demsmine]

although weight is relative, i don't really think that a long sword being around 2-4 pounds is that heavy.

[kardentyrell]

weight between longsword and katana isnt all that different to be honest.

[pedro898]

I meant swords in general, I wasnt making any kind of comment about any specific kind of sword being lighter.

I remember the first time I held a real sword, I was shocked at how heavy it was. In my experience, most people who've never held a sword believe them to be lighter and easier to wield than they really are.

[kardentyrell]

Then you're told the actual weight, and you think...is that it?! XD

[sofus330]

well just to clearify somthing a "katana" is a japaneese long sword. its like saying german dark chockolate tastes better than dark chockolate.

[ZarlanTheGreen]

A katana may be a "long sword", but it certainly isn't a "longsword".

...and longswords were not German. They were european. You would, for the most part, not find any difference in swords, based on which country they were from (as long as they were roughly within Europe), during the middle ages.

[nielsdejong]

someone should kick you in the arse for being such a moron

tell me: if you dont like it: then dont watch it

and another thing, your probably one of those morons attracted to japanese katana's and anime: your the moron listening to some undersized ugly midgets in skirt saying their the ultimate men lol, man your such a moron XD

[gregtubez]

Wow Niel's dong, is that the discipline you learn from european arts, to be a mouthy pretentious stooge, its public, I am allowed to watch it, I have youtube account see! I am also allowed to post comments, and all you can do is insult me poorly with your same freedoms...I dont even know what you are on about in your last paragraph, learn to spell and learn some sentance structure. Midget's in skirts? What the hell have you been watching?

[nielsdejong]

lol aww are you getting rusty now :)

your the one with the filty mouth remember :P

and you do have your little acount dont ya, yes you do :) but grog topf (lol your one to speak about my name :P) you dont have to watch this: if you post like this: you are going to get reactions similar :)

but very well: it is your freedom of speach :P now feeling better? :)

[GuamKomudo]

Shut up... Japanese men don't do that as a normal thing, stereo types are stupid, I don't do that... None of my friends do that either... Anyway, can you tell me the names of some European fighting styles, I have just started boxing and like it alot, it's my first time to do a non Asian fighting style and made me interested, please help me find some sword styles (And stop being stupid, Japanese people are not all freaks)

[nielsdejong]

@GuamKomudo

Sorry? I'm not sure what you are refering to?

I posted something a very long time ago here, refering to that every fighting style i unique and that all those kung fu movies are nice, but not accurate. I don't remember saying anything disrespectfull to japanese, if that is what you are refering.

Actually it's called historical european medieval martial arts with a nice name. In europe there were many fighting styles, yet the gun made them obsolete

[nielsdejong]

@GuamKomudo

Whereas in Asia the gun was introduced much later, and the fighting styles were able to survive, of course this was because it was coupled with religious believes, and the fact that it was written down, whereas european master tought it from master to student.

The fighting style is slowly being reconstructed, thanks to ancient manuals made as advertising for nobles, where they have been recorded.

If your looking for the ancient arts, that's a first stop

[nielsdejong]

@GuamKomudo

Currently we have boxing, savate, stick fighting and other martial arts in europe, though they are less known.

The best however, is still the style where you fight with the longsword, which is actually a light two handed weapon, and the many unarmed techniques you have with it.

Be carefull though, most of these styles are reconstructed as they were in the dark ages, so they can be rough. What i love though, is that i see similarities between these styles and the asian ones :)

[GuamKomudo]

I know of Savate and of course boxing, wrestling. But yeah, the more I learn about Western Martial arts the more I see that they have alot in common with Asian martial arts. Our bodies are all the same, and there are only so many ways to attack and defend with them. It makes sense that the real fighting methods of all nations looks quite similar.

[nielsdejong]

@GuamKomudo

If your truly interested, there are some organisations who practice it: The next few video's are done by them and on youtube

"Fechten mit dem langen Schwert" type in search

"Fencing with five different medieval weapons" type in search

For both its the first one

And i didn't mean any offence to japanese people, only the ones that pretend they can fight people 3 times their size and forget that in martial arts it's about skill/speed/strength, in in that regard size also matters

[GuamKomudo]

You can be the biggest person in the world, but if you don't know how to use your strength in attacks or proporly know how to throw a punch it really doesn't help you much. There is alot more to fighting then being strong, because if you're a huge body builder, and don't know how to block the punch to your chin you lost =) Fighting takes practice, you must be strong and fast to be good, and Japanese people can be strong just cause were small...

[nielsdejong]

@GuamKomudo

I never said you couldn't be strong because your small ^^;

I am saying however that when you put jackie chan against a bodybuilder 2 heads higher then him, and who has experience in actual barfights (there is a difference between what you learn in class, and actualy fights) Jackie chan is sadly going to lose

I actually got this knowledge from my asian taekwondo master he said both skill, strenght and speed were equally important, also skill

Also, how did you like the videos? :)

[GuamKomudo]

I didn't watch the videos yet, and the only Asian martial arts schools that suck are Taekwondo... Because America has turned it into a sport, it's a game of tag with your foot. Take Karate (In Japan) or Judo, America has killed our fighting styles, and if our fighting styles were that bad where a random guy can beat us because he is big then they would not have been used in history. There is nothing wrong with our martial arts except white people turned them into games, you're stupid.

[nielsdejong]

@GuamKomudo

Just watch the videos, trust me, you wont regret it :)

And i'm not from america :D i'm dutch. And i never said your fighting styles were bad, sheez, i said that both speed/skill/strength are equally important, and size does matter in martial arts tournaments, however that doesn't mean your people are bad at them (you win a lot at judo)

Martial arts is a combination of those three, and real life is a lot different then just stances. Just watch the video, you'll see :)

[GuamKomudo]

Unless you have been in a Karate class or Judo class you should stop pretending Karate is all stances, because there is sparring in Karate too. Western Karate schools are crap, that dosen't mean Karate is crap... I have used Karate in real life and I have also recently used it in my MMA class I just joined, take a real Karate class, we do the push ups, sit ups, running, bag work, all the stuff you can do... It's just your people made a fool out of our fighting sytems.

[BlizBob]

Ofcourse every sword can slice but curved swords like sabers and katanas are much better at it. An average kitchen knife is better at slicing than european midevial sword. Ofcourse I'm no expert on sword techniques so I might be wrong.

[nielsdejong]

lol

no offence: but thats not true XD

the longsword was much faster and could slice much better: they were straith because then they could attack with both sides!! the katana was curved but was oversharpened, both could cut just as practical and slice, but the katana would easily break, did you know that in the 16th century many samurai prefered the longsword above their katana? XD it was much more sophisitcated and was better at cutting

[demsmine]

o.k i'm a fan of european swords, but the katana is a bettter cutting weapon, because of the geometry of the blade.

[MrJowee]

That's because they used metal armor in Europe that is resistant to slashing, so the swords had to be designed for stabbing or bludgeoning.

[demsmine]

well that depends on what century of sword it is, in regards to the stabbing and bludgeoning , but yes the armor was the main decider in the blade taper of a weapon.

[nielsdejong]

true

but the longsword was the sharper one

the reason they cut better is simply because the material is very stiff, however; this meant that they were very easy to break, which is why europeans were more flexible (and had to compensate with extreme sharp edges) to withstand trauma

[GecSword]

Was the katana a better cutted because of it's appleseed bevel with extra niku behind the cut? Because pre 14th c. european arming swords had a VERY similar profile but double edged. If anything it was thinner, allowing a cleaner cut.

These were discarded with the advent of plate armour where thrusting swords were far more useful.

[Knightmartialarts]

True, I have an arming sword and a katana. Their cutting characteristics are similar, but the arming sword is lighter and double edged. However, the katana's curve means that it is overall the better forestroke cutter.

Both have their advantages and disadvantages.

[animematt]

Hello sir. I have not heard that the samurai preferred longsword in the 16th century. I heard that they fancied european metal armor and mail though.

I used to be a katana fan. It is a good weapon. But a straight sword like in europe was sharper, and could be used very fast.

[Knightmartialarts]

Very nice form. It's good to see someone who knows what they're doing. I'll not even get started on those katana jerks, but this guy knows what he's doing.

[GecSword]

I'm all for WMA (in fact, I've got very little interest in JSA), but that's simply not true. A katana was very fast and if anything far sharper than europeans swords. The advantage of a straight sword was that it was FAR more versaitle and in general a lot longer. But in terms of lethality, both were both equally deadly (sharpness really doesn't mean a whole lot).

Just trying to add some evenness, although usually it's directed towards katanaphiles ;D

[nielsdejong]

and the average kitchen knive thing? lol

show how much you know about swords :(

man i can't believe people actually believe crap like this nowadays :( quess the little asian midgets compensating are getting through to others :(

1: the longsword was 30 centim longer and JUST AS LIGHT (about 1 kilo) 2: the katana was much more unbalanced 3: the longsword was much sharper then a kitchen knive: and in many cases could cut better then even the katana could

[lordbone]

I still believe in longsword supremacy :D (ook Nederlands)

[nielsdejong]

same here :)

(goed meer nederlanders hier te treffen :))

[lordbone]

(inderdaad, Nederland neemt langzaam maar zeker youtube over :D)

[MattABryant]

I bet that was a lot of fun.

[Djemps]

I like how you slowed down the moves and showed the various guards and cuts. Why no sub-titles at the end?