Rapier and Rotella (Shield) Second Bout Nick vs. Gareth

The second of our first day of sparring with the rapier and rotella combination, a small to medium sized round and concave shield as seen in Capo Ferro's manual of 1610. Nick in all black is a rapier instructor of the AHF, Gareth is a sport fencing instructor who spars with the club on a regular basis.

Category:

Sports

Tags:

• Swordfighting
• rapier
• fencing
• shield

[Dimitri0809]

Wow.. You need to use slow motion and stop the video to explain that the other guy hit by the other guys sword how pathetic. I mean if you wanted to record a cut use an electronic system next time, so fucking stupid this video is...

[Nikos3000]

@Dimitri0809 Slow motion and explanation of hits is the most requested thing my the viewers and is an important feature. Hits are easily missed by even the most keen eyes. We have no want nor need of an electronic scoring system in a martial art, a human is a far better judge.

[Dimitri0809]

@Nikos3000

I don't want a human to judge the hits i want a scoring system to judge the hits.

[Nikos3000]

@Dimitri0809 Thats fine and your choice. Your welcome to do so and make your own videos. Electronic scoring systems are not used in martial arts. They are limited by too many aspects and abused also.

[acerb45666555]

the shield. come in low,(almost crouching), using shield,(held in diagonal slant), as cover. slash at legs. keep moving around jabbing and slashing all the time, cause confusion in opponent. .......this would be the tactic i would use. unfortunately in fencing the shield cannot be used to its full potential as a weapon itself! it makes a good battering ram ! only in medieval reenactments can this be done because everyones wearing chainmail and helmets and is safe.

[Nikos3000]

@acerb45666555 We do sometimes cut under to the legs, but you have to appreciate that the rapier cuts to the legs are often far less significant than with shorter, heavier bladed weapons.  We do use the shields to strike, but with such long blades it again is far less useful, as you have less oportunity to follow up with strikes. The use of rapier and rotella changes the dynamic of a shield fight quite noticeably.

[malemonkley]

It sounds like Mozart's Requiem but not

[allshallbelosttoyou]

song?



[Nightmare7454]

the shield and sword fights tend to be more exciting due to fact that having a shield gives you feeling of potection, thus you also attack more.

[AlWoolridge]

@SethMan91 They're called "Rodelas" and not "Rotellas". It's a spanish word.

[demomanchaos]

A center grip shield is better than a strapped shield since you can hold it out away from your body, covering it better. A center grip with shield side forward would provide the best coverage.

[eddiedaskull]

2:05 Nick's legs and pose looks exactly like some old ink drawing out of some ancient sword fighting manual.