"Keep your stance wide, keep your body lowered, as your moving forward balance is the key..."

Thank you very much Skallagrim for the shout out, we really do appreciate it. Even with your praise as Historical European Martial Artists, making videos is definitely a new endeavor for us and we can only hope to achieve your level of quality in this department as you've set an extremely high bar (But, we're always up for a challenge!) Rest well and heal fast.

Skallagrim used to do HEMA before he took a car to the shoulder.

Crab people, crab people. Look like people, walk like crab. Crab people, crab people.

This guy got some very good trained muscles on his legs

Wow! There's so many similarities with footwork in other martial arts. I practice boxing and muay thai, and moving foward and backwards is very similar. Switching stances is a little uncommon because having the strongest arm in the back is to damn useful, but it's good technique for evasive action. There's a particular branch of Thai boxing that uses this triangle stepping a lot. It's called Muay Chaya. Great reference as some of their techniques involved tonfas and an exotic long handled sword. As they said, heal fast Mr. Skallagrim. Watching you learn were particularly awesome videos :)

Thanks Skall, you've given me a place to learn HEMA from knowledgeable people! After watching their videos i can see what you mean when you say having an instructor is a lot better than reading manuals and learning alone. Of course it would be nice to be taught in person but for now ill just keep a close watch on myself in the mirror. I look forward to your recovery and B&I's future videos.

A bit robotic but that made it precise and clear.

Thank you for this, Skallagrim. I'm glad there are videos that cater to the essentials explicitly.

Excellent video! Thanks to Blood & Iron for the demonstration. Nicole's lightfootedness and stability are impressive.

Love this. So practical, yet so fucking cool at the same time.

My leg cramped by just watching this.

Great video! Another important point to add that may have been missed, is to always try to keep the knee facing the same direction of the foot; sounds elementary, but it can be easily overlooked when doing the more complex stuff, and can really mess up the the knees over time.

Nice to see such consummate professionals explaining things from the point of view of their own experience. It's pretty clear that these guys are medal winners.

Kokutsu Dachi from Karate is what comes to mind. I like how no matter the style or the region of origin, if it is made for combat the stances are all generally the same. The only outlier would be Capoeira. Just started my HEMA journey, im in my 40's and have done martial arts for over 16years. Looking forward to getting my first sword! Great video, thanks for sharing.

Like before even watching crew checking in

Great demonstrations, thank you.

This is exceedingly similar to the footwork I learned at my Goju Ryu dojo. The only major difference I could find is the emphasis on not minding where your feet point in HEMA, versus an exceeding focus on where your feet point in Goju Ryu. My sensei used to walk around with a shinai (which I find rather strange, considering Goju Ryu is all about weaponless combat [karate literally means empty or open hand]) and push our feet to point in the correct direction (which was toward one another at around 30' from straight ahead in the short stances; and the front foot inward at 30' and the back foot straight ahead, with the heel on the ground, in the longer stances).

Thanks for the upload Skall. Hope to see similar videos in the future.

Yes! i wanted to see this since i found your channel

Well Skall, once you recovered fully you should do a video that recreates the recovery scene from Conan the Barbarian to celibrate.

Loved the joint operation mate! Good vid!

Thanks for another great video!

Wonderful introduction to crucial fundamentals. Would love to train with the two coaches some day. (For now, I'm in Ireland, and thankfully have my own local club :) ) Hope your injuries are healing well, Skal!

Very nice video guys, i'm gonna explore some more of your works.

Another high quality video!!!

This makes a lot of sense with how your dueling videos looked.

Pretty cool. Thanks for this upload.

Skall, I want to thank you for the dedication you've shown to making videos. I don't think I'm alone in saying that I think I watch your videos for your personality, and the various things you feature in your videos (swords, guns, video games, etc.) are merely props for displaying that personality. Also, I'd like to thank you for the introduction this video gave me to Blood and Iron. Hopefully I can learn the basics of HEMA in spite of there not being a HEMA club where I am! Oh, and get better. I may watch your videos because you personally are entertaining, but it'd be nice if you didn't have to be a 'half cripple'.

It's good to see you up and about. I love your videos, great work :)

what's so interesting is that these stances come so naturally to me now, I don't even think about it anymore

This is so helpful, thank you guys! :D

This was actually really cool!

Skall, I kinda wonder, does the fact that you'r the guy with the big HEMA youtube channel get reflected in the attitudes of the people at Blood and Iron? Considering you're basically popularizing HEMA, do you ever get the impression that they think of you as "the guy with the youtube channel"?

Love it love it love it. Very helpful.

This is great! I think its interesting how these movements compare to my natural movements

man I love this channel thank you so much for your input it is very helpful

Good to see you back on your feet man. Looking forward to your content :}

Wonderful!

This is highly educational, thanks Skall :D

hang in there man!! love you, and the video!

Thank you. Very similar to boxing. The switching in not commonly done in boxing, but fighters that pull it off use it to their style very well.

Nicely done video for beginners everyone evolved! It makes me sad when foot work is overlooked. It's so rewarding to improve it.

Awesome, another quality channel to subscribe to :D

I feel the need to note that sometimes the back heel is raised, most notably in Fiore's work. As far as beginners go though, this is an excellent start. Footwork is the core aspect that everything else is based off after all. I hope they eventually go more in depth with this and explain some more advanced footwork!

Half cripple ... i feel bad for laughing...

Get better man. My left hip has become less and less dependable since an injury decades ago, never really had it seen to, so I know how hard it is to do what you know how to do when your base is unstable. My prayers are with you.

I thoroughly enjoy your instructional HEMA videos. There are no schools near me, I may be moving soon to get to a HEMA School. It would be phenomenal if you could make more videos on techniques and training.

I was at tsukino con and I saw some of the people from the HEMA club doing a panel there, it was very interesting

Really cool video

I am totally subscribing to them

I've never done any martial arts involving a weapon but it's actually somewhat surprising to see how similar stancework is between this and unarmed martial arts like Karate. Even some of the details like having your knee over your foot is strikingly similar (a reason for this in Karate is it strengthens your stance and also protects your knee from being kicked in, as if you don't do this someone could kick right through your knee)

I like what I saw!

Footwork establishes ones foundation and mobility. Without mobility and strong foundation your blade work means nothing.

Keep us updated on your recovery Skall. Can't wait to see you back in action again.

this is just so different to the way we step when doing things... its so intriguing, yet at the same time just feels so wrong. you can rock quite a distances over your forward knee if the toe is in alignment with it.

my hema trainer (for german longsword) brought up that it is possible that the knee should be behind the foot for quite a few techniques. i remember him talking about Von dasichs Ochs

More Please!

I take track and field at school. I understand the concept or ruling for a full planted footing. In track, to avoid strain on the knee it is important stay on the balls of your feet and you big toe in between your knee's. It is the flexing of your calves to help support your quads who then carries your body weight. The heel of course is not considered the balls of your feet. Being able to move freely without constraint is the idea and knowing both techniques are best in any competition. Also pressing a bottom may help the cause too.

WoW swordsmanship is intricate.

Having done fencing for 14 years I'd say its pretty much the same except for switching feet.

I have greatly enjoyed the instructional sword-fighting videos! One suggestion I would make would be to invest in a simple pair of wireless microphones. The sort people wear for TV interviews. They are reasonably cheap, effective, and would go a great distance toward cutting down on the echo which makes it difficult to understand the dialog when filming in an enclosed area.

I love you're not ashamed say someone knows more than me. Because they're an expert in that part.

Very interessting.

Objection: thought I enjoyed how clearly and professionally everything was, explaining visually and in terms of motion and balance how everything is done, I find it lacking in an appropiate soundtrack. My personal choice would have been "Footlose". Thank you for your attention.

Hope things get better for you.

thanks for the video, I want to see cut drills too

I wish there was HEMA club where I live, I'd love to try it out

Personally iv always set up my stance like this.. Step 1- put a straight piece of tape on your floor. Step 2- Stand with your feet hip width apart with the tape line between your legs. Step 3- take a step forward with your left foot until your right heel just raises off the floor. Step 4- turn both of your feet to the right at the same time until your left big toe and your right heel are touching the line forming a straight line between those two body parts. This is by no means the perfect stance in my opinion but i think its the most adaptable to combat sports. I dont know if strikes to the legs and groin are allowed in hema but it seems to me that the stance shown in this video leaves those parts of the body far too open to attack, leg kicks can be brutal especially when your pointing your foot straight at your opponent like that with a wide stance rooting you too the ground, in order for him to defend against a kick to his left leg he would have to shift all of his weight onto his back foot so he can raise his left leg to check the kick with his shin as for getting kicked in the groin he might as well hang a sign off of his nut sack that says "kick here" on it.

interesting video, lot of useful stuff for beginners, but a very basic thing to know is that footwork can be a lot different from weapon to weapon; the things shown here seem to be useful for earlier styles like sidesword and two handed sword, but rapier from XVIII sec on has a lot of differences in footwork.

That frame rate tho... I feel like you just gave me a new glasses prescription! :^)

It's important to keep your toes on your front foot pointing forward, if you have them to the side your calf is exposed. Unlikely target but it hurt and you generally have less protection there.

I've been watching videos all day while fighting my whole issue with authority figures like crazy, but I have a style I developed when mimicking other's just didn't seem like a good fit. It felt like putting on and fighting in armor that wasn't meant for me. That's when I started my own kata and added more to it as time went on. Unfortunately, like many fighting styles, its just flashy and intimidating but easy to beat. The pros are that I can maneuver around a lot of distance and hit many targets while doing so, as long as those targets are standing still, not defending themselves. I can keep in motion the whole time and let the momentum do the majority of the work so I don't have to use as much energy. I've found stopping to collect one's self and then starting again takes more energy than doing a continuous motion and using it to control the movements of an opponent, usually making them deflect high to make them pivot on the foot I want them to so I can set them up and back them into a corner or obstacle and immediately strike with all the stored energy I have saved in a vicious attack the moment their focus wavers when they touch a wall or trip over something. The cons are I usually get off balance too easily because of how fast I'm going. If I exert the same amount of energy as an opponent normally would, I can move much faster but at the cost of stability. I thought if I just kept practicing I would get more used to it and learn how to overcome it by repetition, but its been about a year and I'm still making the same mistakes. I started to add in a leg sweep when I feel my balance waver, then follow up with a jump/lunge in whatever direction is needed. I feel like I need a second brain just to focus on my movements, my footwork and how to conserve energy just so I can focus on the opponent. If I broadcast my movements, its because I want you to see it coming and deflect so I can either direct you to go where I want, or to make you put your weapon as far away from my target as possible. If you're pushing me back, I'm just using the same method as a 3 point turn. Many people try to watch the eyes to see where someone is going to strike next, I usually do that in reverse. I make it difficult to read my movements because 1, I look at the opposite of where I'm going to strike. Even if you figure it out, its not easy to adjust to it because if I see that you cracked it then I just do it at random and my strikes are already unpredictable. And 2, my method of movement is spinning while taking advantage of my flexibility to bend, twist, turn, reach and wrap my arms and body in ways many cannot (think if a contortionist decided to take ballet, then took about 3 Red Bulls and picked up a sword or spear) So these are all the things I'm doing to be as effective as I can but it still feels like I'm just not progressing the way I should be. I feel like its my footing and I just can't get the hang of it. How can I get better?

I have my first Hema class on monday, my background is in kenjutsu(TSKSR) but my mother was a competition fencer and both my grandparents on my mothers side were fencers as well, epee and foil I believe, this whole pointing with your knee and not with your foot thing is going to really trip me up haha. So much emphasis on the direction of your feet in kenjutsu. I feel like I'm going to have to unlearn a few things.

Very similar to most martial/fighting footwork.If you have done any boxing, for example, these concepts are very familiar.

And that, my dear friends, is what You are going to practice indefinitely. :-D I have first started fencing in 1998 or 1999 and footwork is compulsory part of all our training sessions until today. :-D Sidenote: I would guess that Nicole Smith spends more time with light conventional weapons than Sean because her stance is much narrower but I admit that it might be just an angle of camera.

Can you do something about a Blunderbuss? I would also like to see the viking technique of slipping if it helps at all. If you don't know what that is its when you chop with a viking sword with a loosened grip, keep your index and thumb connected though. This pushes the sword forward on the grip for more distance. Can you test if this is better?

Nicole was awesome when I went there for my trial class. And they've now moved to a location much closer to my house.

nice to see the club getting some publicity

Ugh yes thank you I fuck up so much in class today this especially the angles

I'm mainly interested in unarmed martial arts, so this is of limited practical use to me, but it's interesting how similar, or different, it is to the arts I've practiced. My main area of interest is aikido, and it's obviously heavily influenced by similar stances and steps to what I see in the video. There are differences, but the similarities are striking (which is in line with what my teachers have told me about aikido's history, it having strong kenjutsu and iaijutsu influences in technique, despite generally not being concerned with weapon use). On the other hand, the stances in martial arts like judo or karate (which I have admittedly limited experience with) couldn't be more different =)

Yes! While your joints are messed up, you can direct video tutorials with professionals!

Hello i have a question if i may. Take this situation, im advancing fast on the opponent from beyond measure and suddenly i want to stop in the least amount of space possible, how to do it and not eff up my joints in time from doing so repeatedly during practice ? I identified three possible ways to do so and would appreciate feedback on this: 1. Slow down with alot of very small steps on the balls of my feet, absorbing momentum with the calf muscles ? 2. Stop by collapsing into a very deep squat without offering too much resistance with the knees, similar to how you land after jumping, but here you absorb forward momentum. Its the most tiring variant becouse then you need to stand up again. 3. Stop by locking the joints, on almost straight legs and hitting the ground with the heels of my feet, i found that it offers the fastest stopping, almost on a dime, but i worry about the joints in this variant, i'd assume its for emergencies only ?

Interesting

2:26-2:29 gif :? i might :3

You should probably talk to Nicole and Sean about putting up some foam pads on the walls or something; as well done as the basic introduction was, there were some points where they were almost incomprehensible due to the acoustics.

I love your haircut, Skall!

So stance wise, very similar to fencing.

how do you use your legs to correctly avoid pommel throws though?

I think this footwork stuff is very important and and very highly overlooked part in swordfighting. I liked the part about how they mention you want to transfer your movement perfectly horizontally rather than "up and forward". I imagine that going "up and forward" increases the time you can close the distance between you and your opponent by a significant fraction. Also it wastes energy. However In a sword fight everything is highly dynamic. Worry about your footwork for 1 second and your head gets cut off, or your wrists get slit open. So the main point is to work on your footwork so that you don't have to think about it.

Skallagrim, could you make a cutting test for the Cold Steel 1796 Light Cavalry Saber - Steel Scabbard?

Im back too..sorry to hear you are stuck with both injuries..helps not to wear hiking boots for long periods of time as they retraing the way you move without you knowing it..when you stop wearing boots, your feet tends to feel clumsy and lack the senses normally held. Warm up by stretching when you get up. Check Mark Wiley for stretching.

The knee alignment on the rear leg looks like it would cause long term wear and tear to the medial structures?

Hi Skall, I'd like to know your opinion on an japanese Higonokami knife :)

I have boxing and MMA background. Would the footwork I have when doing those work on HEMA too?

Not a video I expected but was really cool. Footwork seems the least important to me but its that kind of behavior that would cause me to lose. That is, if I ever had anyone to practice any of this with.

Awesome-O!!!!

I would love to get an actual sword to experiment with. What do you think are the best beginner swords that are affordable for a teenager with not a lot of money? I'm looking for durability and practicality here, not aesthetics.

It's quite the same I learnt in Taiji and Qi Gong. You think you couldn't hurt yourself too much there because the first is mostly and the latter always made slowly but that doesn't help that much, actually. Doing the wrong movements slowly doesn't hurt any less.

Huh. Sport Fencing footwork is merely just the first one of these. I don't know why, but I was expecting a greater difference.