04-18-09 Rural HIll Scottish Festival and Loch Norman Highland Games - Sword Fighting Explained

The instruction was how to sword fight using the broad sword. Each time, it was explained why and how to do the move, and what was most effective. This was part of the demonstrations going on around the area. Excellent event to attend in Huntersville, NC in April.

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• Rural
• Hill
• Scottish
• Festival
• Loch
• Norman
• Highland
• Games
• Sword
• Fighting
• Huntersville
• NC
• demonstration

[auggust1]

@ garenzy - Grasping your own blade in one hand was known as "half-swording", and opens up a number of of options that don't exist when you have both hands on the hilt. Striking your opponent with the sword reversed, and hitting with the quillons was called the "murder stroke" in period, and is demonstrated in a number of different Medieval fighting manuals.

[auggust1]

@ garenzy - you see sword grabbing regularly in the Medieval fight manuals. The blades were razor sharp at the tip and down the blade about 6 inches or so ("a handspan"), but the blades were less sharp further down the blade - more like an axe than a knife. This made the blade better suited to cleave through armor and bone, but also made it possible to grasp the blade - either grasping your opponent's blade to control it, and grasping your own blade to use the sword as a spear or maul

[elearis1]

@garenzy research it up yourself! o3o

[garenzy]

Why would grabbing your blade with both hands ever be a good idea?

[auggust1]

@mouthforwar17 Yes, disarms are only one of the many techniques available to the Medieval swordsman. One of the purposes of this demonstration was to illustrate as many of the possible types of techniques as I could in a single fluid sequence, and to show that both grappling and disarming were very much a part of the Medieval system of combat.

[auggust1]

The names I used are the English translations of the German names for these guards used in the Middle Ages. While we know that the Scots used these guards from period illustrations, we unfortunately don't know what they called them.

[mouthforwar17]

if u have a targe and a dirk in ur guard hand u wont have to worry about disarmin him u just come down with ur dirk on the back of his neck or up in his throat

[ibuchanan82]

nice demonstration, where did you/he source the names for the guards?

[auggust1]

Yes, the Scots fought with broad swords and targes as well as two handed swords. I'm working on a demo with them next - perhaps by next year. Look for us again at Rural Hill Farms

- Danny

[alexreid88]

correct me if i am wrong but wheren't highland warriors well knowen for carry there leather bound sheilds called tarns would be cool to see sumthing with that