I know that these comments are going to be an endless sea of love and hate, and that this likely will never meet your eyes. But I feel the urge to apologize. I let David convince me that you were doing exactly what he was twice. I feel as though it is the most idiotic thing I’ve let happen in my recent life. I let him convince me that you were false and disingenuous when he knows not even the slightest inkling of who you are. I’ve been watching your videos for almost a decade, and have many reasons why I remain subscribed to this channel even when I disagree with you at times. And then, I let someone I knew nothing about convince me that you were someone you aren’t. I could so greatly detail how sappy I am over my own gullibility. And yet, you remain transparent and honest, and most of all, accepting of your criticism, and your mistakes. Something that though he claims to do, he clearly isn’t willing to. I for the final time, am deeply sorry for doubting your integrity that I’ve known for so long, because of baseless accusations from someone I do not care about. More than that, thank you for being honest, humble, and genuine in your response, and clarifying the things that confused me and likely others. It really demonstrates that the response you were given was a deflection rather than a defense. And thank you for pinning the comment about the aggressiveness of your defense, and acknowledging that it was in that moment, quite heated. It makes me admire you for how you admit to your own actions, which is something our world has forgotten to do. In all, for the too long didn’t read: I will continue watching your content and supporting you and your team until you migrate or lay down the mantle. Thank you for reminding me why I love Shadiversity, why I respect you, and who was truly being disingenuous.

Never in my life did i think i would be watching a video about sword nerd drama.

Here's the thing, I don't know these people at all. But anytime someone tries to take a position of superiority and tell you why you SHOULDN'T listen to other people, be VERY wary of that person and anything and everything they say. This is almost a totally unimportant debate that should teach you a SUPER important lesson. Anyone who is knowledgeable, honest and straightforward has ZERO reason to want to stop you from hearing as many different opinions and interpretations of things as possible. Because they know that the more YOU know, the more you will agree with them. People who are ill informed, dishonest or deceptive always want to stop you from getting any information that may contradict them because they know the more you know the LESS you will agree with them. Always beware anyone who wants to silence dissenting opinions.

The time comes to mind, when a heckler told a comedian, he can't form an opinion about parenting, because he himself does not have a child. His response comes to mind a lot: "Miss... I am not a helicopter pilot either. But if I walk around and I see one crashed in a tree, I know somebody fucked up"

One thing I have found invaluable, in my experience engineering, is sharing any issues I am having on a project with: a) other engineers that know nothing about the project. b) sharing my issues with people who know nothing about engineering. There are so many times where I get so caught up in the info I know I miss the obvious solutions and sharing it with someone with a broader view on the situation helps remove the blinders. I can see the same thing happening when practicing swordsmanship, especially in functionally uncharted territory like a double bladed sword. Don't disregard someone who is less experienced, they may have spotted something you miss if you had tunnel vision while putting together a project.

I get the feeling he's redefining what he said because it makes him look like a douche. He was very clear in his words and meaning.

I don't know if this was ever pointed out, but the appeal to authority with regard to the double bladed sword is self defeating... because a double bladed sword is not a sword. Let's imagine Sellsword was a channel about halberds and he was a halberd expert. Let's imagine someone hands him a throwing axe and he starts trying to use it as a halberd and declares it to be useless. That's what we're looking at. A guy who has a weapon he's never touched before saying that the weapon is useless based on his experience with a completely different weapon. To reiterate: a double bladed sword is not a sword. Now, having said that, I think it's a totally impractical weapon that is outshined by weapons that are cheaper, easier to use, and more effective. Which I think is, in large part, what Shadiversity's conclusion was as the halberd was clearly shown to mop the floor with it.

As a Norman knight from 1200, I find it hillarious how bad these sword people on youtube are.

i have been fencing for 10 years (as in Olympic style fencing) and playing around with various proper swords for a few years too, and i am consider myself to be on the left wing side of the political spectrum. Shadiversity's content seems to be more reliable from what i have observed, and after looking at this situation i have come to the conclusion that shadiversity is in fact correct (from the data i have observed). i actually looked into this now because people were being rather toxic about this whole thing in some discord communities, I hope this will die down eventually.

It's the arrow on the left or right side of the bow debate all over again. "You can't be accurate shooting from the right side of the bow! I've done this all my life!" _"It's _*_because_*_ you've shot all your life from the left that you can't do the right. Other people learned the opposite and shoot just as well."_

"And remember For what standard you hold other people to, that should b the standard that you hold yourself to." Amen to that brother.

The problem with this approach is that if you only listen to authority, sometimes you can get in trouble.

I don't need to be a painter to say "that's a shitty paint-job"

Just an anecdote to try and visualize Shad's point about correct being correct no matter skill or experience: I work as a deckhand for a towing company, it was late at night and we had to build our tow on two empty barges. I have only a few weeks of experience on the job, compared to my coworker whos been with the company for 2 years. After we built our tow, I had an inkling of doubt about its strength, because of a way I was taught by a few different deckhands before I worked with my current crewmate. However, I didn't say anything, because I didn't want to "insult" a more experienced crewmate by making it seem like he didnt know how to do his job. Later that night aftwr we went off watch, our tow busted due to being too weak to resist the high waters. Moral of the story: If you know better, then say so, the worst that could happen is being corrected. Those who dismiss others due to lack of skill are either disingenuous or arrogant enough to think they could never be wrong.

Ya know, I don't recall Shad or anyone on his channel claiming to be a HEMA Expert. There are forms of swordsmanship and combat that are not based on the German or Italian tradition. I would be willing to bet that the majority of swordsmen training in human history came in the form of trial and error and ad hoc teaching in the field.

I dunno...as far as swordsmanship goes...would it not be a totally different battle if one was trying to eliminate the other opponent for real...so are there really actually swordsman now?

Nurse here. I've seen 25-year experience nurses be less than good. I've seen new graduates' nurses be absolutely brilliant. More years doing something doesn't always mean you get better. And some people can be good at something without being a veteran at it.

“Experience is the mother of illusion” - Immanuel Kant Just because someone has a lot of experience in a particular field doesn’t mean they’re always right, or even anywhere near it.

"Truth is truth whether it comes from a king or a beggar." I'm reminded of Aaron Franklin talking about trimming a brisket because it makes it more "aerodynamic": there aren't a lot of more experienced people when it comes to barbecue than Aaron Franklin, but he was wrong about that (about the need to be aerodynamic, that is; not about trimming in that way being superior). Being a novice doesn't make true statements false, and being an expert doesn't make false statements true. I would say the expert does tend to have a higher ratio of true statements, but that's not absolute.

2:47 "a true swordsman" Really subtle way to call out a use of the true scotsman fallacy.

I didn't know Linus Tech Tips was a sword guy.

I've consistently called out even people I like for doing "blind items," where they criticize people without naming them. I hate that middle school girl kind of behavior. If you've got something to say to somebody, you should be able to say it to their face. I also hate people who appeal to themselves as an authority. If you're really that good, you should be able to explain your point of view instead of just saying "trust me, bro."

Okay, so I'm a vocalist in a metal band. I struggle to do clean singing. So I'm not a "Singer." Does this mean I cannot say that someone who should be singing in, say, G# is flat because I don't practice singing as much as they do? I can tell when someone is flat or sharp without needing to do it myself. I can see when a swordsman is using a wrong stance, or a weak stance rather. I can tell bad choreograph without being a dancer. Like, that argument is absurd because most critics don't participate in the things they critique.

Does anyone know what happened to Scholagladiatoria comment on SellswordArts video? I wanted to reply to it but can't find it anymore. Did I miss it, or was it deleted?

11:34 I just want to point out that David is also demeaning his audience by implying that they need help to distinguish between educational content and entertainment. People may need help discerning what is inaccurate or incorrect, but I think most people can make the more basic distinction between channels they watch to be educated versus to be entertained.

The fact that I have seen you do entire videos correcting past mistakes you have made in videos speaks volumes about your integrity. Do not let this get you down. Just keep doing what you are doing, and we will keep watching.

FYI: I love your Mythbusters'esque approach to trying unique and interesting content that I wouldnt see elsewhere. Yes, sometimes its not realistic, but you're pretty open with it, like with your massive 'Buster Sword'. Everyone knows its unrealistic, but seeing Shad and the boys try to make one that is as close to actually representation while still usable is great fun! I dont see how "A fundamental misunderstanding of how these things (swords) work" leads to "experiments, demonstrations, and videos that are misinformed". Those two statements seem extremely disconnected. The way we learn how the world works is through experiments and demonstrations. I dont know what level of swordsmanship Shad or the boys have, but it is clear they have studied and engaged in at the minimum *SOME* sword training and practice. The desire to attempt to recreate medieval fighting from manuscripts is exactly that: "Experimentation and demonstration". That is a fundamental and base part of learning.

Imagine trying to apply Sellsword's logic to any other sport? We wouldn't have any of the all time great coaches 😂😂😂 What an idiot.

so...he moved the goal posts, maintained his double standards, and then asked you to come make peace with him? 'First lesson, stick them with the pointy end'

I love when people indirectly throw shade and when you call them out on it, they claim "YOU" attacked them - I say just move on and play the same game - You don't need to make video with you talking to him or anything bro - Just make your usual awesome content, and then occasionally remind people to be careful when some content creators make questionable content and just have his vids pop up in the background quietly while talking, and if he ever mentions anything like "Hey, why do my vids always come up in your videos when your talking about questionable content????", just say "I dunno what your talking about, why are you attacking me?!?!?" -

Reminds me of a time where I had my front coilover shocks replaced in my truck. The mechanic installed the top hat upside down. I immediately realize something was wrong when the trucks ride and handling characteristics were way off I brought it back and he tried me saying he has 25 years of experience and he put them on correct. Well, I did some digging And found the installation guide, took pictures and proved to him that he did in fact install them upside down. He tried to gaslight me and say well that’s because I thought you wanted a lift and it’s supposed to be installed like that when you do a lift. BS. He got caught on his complacency just like David

I think it's weird to say that someone should only be able to speak with confidence about how a sword is used if you're a fencer, because there are people like those who forge the swords that also need to have a knowledge of how swords are used in order to make a functional one in the first place. I'm someone who likes to observe a lot of things, and while I am definitely aware that I lack training in certain other things like game deisgn, that doesn't mean I can't speak about what I like and dislike about a game's design just because I don't make them. As a graphic designer and artist, I find the opinions of people who aren't skilled in that to be just as important as a trained professional's because as an artist, ordinary people are going to be seeing my work. It doesn't mean I'm trying to make my work appeal to "everyone", it just means that I'm taking their thoughts into consideration before I make a decision. Sometimes, you have to have "fresh eyes" on something before you can be fully done with it, you know?

Funnily enough, I made the same priori vs posteriori argument to an acquaintance of mine when I told them about the argument happening between yourself and David.

I think that person may not be worth interacting with after this point. They appear to be more concerned with their own image than they do with progressing the subject matter.

I thought the sword community had moved past mediocre HEMA boys being the only people allowed to have valid opinions on swordsmanship, like in 2017.

“Never argue with a fool, onlookers may not be able to tell the difference.”― Mark Twain

As a visual artist, half the advice i seek out is from people who arent artists because it brings in a different point of view

I'm getting flashbacks to when Shad had to combat all the "professional archers" that were trying to disprove his style of shooting and the speed, accuracy, and consistency he was accomplishing when he was starting out and building up the skills and muscles of an archer. Many of the other professional archers were criticizing Shad about his test and results of those tests because he wasn't as "experienced" as they were and he was trying something they felt was the wrong way to do archery. The topic around the 19:00 mark is giving me significant flashbacks to that time on the channel.

"Pride is not the opposite of shame, but its source. True humility is the only antidote to shame." -uncle Iroh

I tried to point out the flaws of his own argument in his video in the comment section. He accused me of not listening to him, and just dismissed my entire list of points which discredit him. I feel like he's very intellectually dishonest. And I also feel he's projecting what he's doing onto others. I don't think he watched your entire video at all, and instead he just imagined the arguments you made, while simultaneously making counter arguments against those arguments. Which is called a strawman fallacy.

Bro just challenge the guy to a sword fight. Whoever wins gets last say. At least in your head.

I think the problem is that nobody is a real Swordsman in this day and age. Nobody fights to the death. Nobody trains to fight to the death. So nobody knows what it's like to do exactly that. A Hans Talhoffer knew this, but nobody does today. Nor does a self-proclaimed fencing master. We are all trying to learn and evolve. A true master knows this and respects the path of others. (and also tries to learn from it) Just keep doing what you are doing, it is a pleasure to listen to you.

"My superior experience allows me to be extra wrong in how I prove things are wrong!" "That's... not a good thing."

This response from Sellsword just reinforces the impression I got when this mess started. But he's not just a holier-than-thou purist, but a liar and a hypocrite as well.

Please inform me if im wrong but isnt fencing more geard towards dualing as opposed to actual combat? Cause ive never seen a sheild 2 handed swords in dualing, let alone the greatest weapon: the spear! The kind of technique used would vary greatly depending on what your opponent uses. Overall this seems like a difference between someone who speciallises in medieval combat and someone who specialisess in Renaissance combat but thats just a theory

Cmon Just have a duel already

I really do believe he makes the same mistake as NUSensei but instead of "modern target shooting" he applies "fencing" to everything in all contexts and situations half of which it shouldn't.

I'd really like to see the live discussion. I really enjoy Shad, and I really enjoy David's stuff too. If this could come to an amicable conclusion it would make me very happy.

I like both if your content, and this has been an entertaining debate. I feel as though both if you are doing your best to articulate your views and ideals of the swords arts. It does seem like David doesn't watch your full videos or the full response. So it feels like he is taking a lot of what you say out of context. And he seems to be trying to stay safe with his expressions of ideas. Nonetheless, I hope you two keep making your own content and have fun doing what you do! I take a lot of inspiration in my casual training in swordmanship 🎉

Honestly, it was his mistake to try a middling critique of other channels. He's being vague enough that there can be no definite conclusion about what he truly means, and therefore he can defend his vague accusations as being whatever he wants them to be.

38:08 this guy @theevol29 swears that shad somehow coerced nusensei into doing that apology video about the impossible draw and when i asked for the evidence for that claim he just stopped replying, those are the guys on the sellsword camp vowing for him LMAO

Love you Shad! Thank you for keeping things civil and addressing the issue in a straightforward, open and honest framework. The online sword community is a very interesting culture. Unfortunately there are these elements of superiority complexes, gatekeeping, and just really nasty attitudes about authenticity, practical application, etc... Thank you for being a wonderful pillar in the community!

From the various sword videos I've seen almost if not all have had points worth addressing and points where they are a bit off if one is addressing period sword usage. I've always been a bit suspicious of those who claim that they alone know the truth.

As a somewhat new technician (3 years in the field) I am constantly learning very valuable information from the master techs. They're invaluable and have shown me so much. I trust their opinion, but I am still willing to think freely with it. HOWEVER, even though I am a much younger and more inexperienced tech, I have still had situations where I've thought THEM a few things, and they go "Wow I never thought of it that way." A fresh opinion is always welcome no matter who it comes from it just needs to land on open ears.

I loved the interaction of Shad making a video about double-bladed swords, Sellsword making a test as well, prompting Shad to do further tests on the points raised by Sellsword. I think I learned a lot more about the topic than just by Shad's initial video, for example the importance of the length of the handle and how you hold it. If there were no further drama happening, I would hold that up as a good example of how different creators tackling the same topic benefits everyone.

Sounds like a Backpaddling to me. I personally do not care to hear the full extent of his backpaddling. I can blatantly see that he is moving the goalposts, claiming he did NOT say what he IN FACT SAID and then trying to remedy it into something more palatable. He is likely going to do this until the backlash is tolerable in his eyes. I´ve seen this behaviour online too much to care beyond the initial point of people doing it, i don´t care if anyone thinks this is fair, that man has clearly overstepped, tried to put others down to put himself up and he is being disingenuous about it and he´s clearly gonna keep doing it. And while i was not even aware of his existence before, i am now, and i am convinced that his content is not worth watching, and that is of his own doing. He lied about what he said, so why would i not assume he is lying about his expertise as well? No reason at all. Thoroughly disappointed.

Shad Dont give this guy the time of day.

I’ve practiced martial arts for 10 years, I’ve never done any kind of real weapons training. So I guess I can’t identify when someone’s footwork or technique is bad because I don’t fence. I have no right to criticize some Star Wars lightsaber fights because I don’t fight with lightsabers…or use the force.

18:02 Nah their conclusions are wrong because they are inexperienced. Has the same energy of: "No you didn't just stab me, I am a master and can't be stabbed by a rookie."

My rule of thumb: if someone attacks the credibility of another content creator unprovoked, in order to bolster their own credibility, they’re probably acting in bad faith

- "You tried to shoot me!" - "No, I was shooting in your general direction, it's your fault you been hit." Some people in this comment section are wild.

So is this the “jock” of the sword nerds, attacking the “nerd” of sword nerds 😂

Anecdotally, I find people saying that they are trying to "keep everything positive" is code for "I will censor everything that I deem as not positive."

I will never understand the people who try to misrepresent you and lie about you. I have been a viewer for a long time and historically speaking, you have always remained transparent, argued about facts without letting your emotions blind you and stayed calm and rational. You never resorted to misrepresenting anyone, taking them out of context or straight up lying like they do. So my point is, how do these people think it's a good idea when historically speaking, you will just categorically expose them for what they are? If they really had a negative opinion about you or a big disagreement with you, then that's fine, but then misrepresenting what you are saying to try and make their side more plausible? They're just shooting themselves in the foot, it's idiotic and self destructive as you have proven to be very thorough and analytical about these "beefs", which I really do appreciate, it just feels like someone trying to defame you while you systematically dismantle everything they say and expose what they are doing, it's pretty amazing imo, you could be a professional at debates honestly.

The real question is: do this guy sellsword knows anything about swords?

He is definitely back peddling because of all the backlash from your last response

So wait.....this Sellsword is attempting to speak from a position of an active real steel swordsman? I currently participate with some of the finest, verified by victories and deeds, armoured combat fighters and duelists in the world and none of them would say this. I am going to have to know what named fighters this gentleman has bested in a full contact bout before I can take this argument seriously, at all.

Honestly i'd love to see David and Tyrant in a no rules arena. Give the big man a splitting axe and see how well he can crush a guard lol

Shad, why is the video thumbnail/title changed? Can you address what's going on behind the scenes? Did you two talk or something?

Just remember Sellswords Art does not have a time machine and did not fight in any medieval battles.

I've been diligently practiting Karate since I was 4; I'm now 26 and have multiple podium placements in various world level interdisciplinary tournaments, both in forms and combat, and often get requested to help tune up sessions for various Mid to high tier MMA and UFC fighters. Ive still been able to be corrected on how to do something by someone who's never practuced a linch, but becauze they had a sharp eye and a suggestion based on how they saw my body move.

I'm confused. At the start of the video, he says a live debate could be interesting? Am I missing something?

11:13 there is no misunderstanding of the context(David), when you tell someone not to listen to another content creator, you are explicitly saying not to watch them too. As in order to watch someone's content, you also have to listen to them. Now if he said don't take their advice on technics, tactics and usage on said things as authoritative or accurate, then he'd have a point, but he didn't(and I believe this was never his intention either).

“If you don’t do the art, you can’t talk about the art” Movies are an art. Art is an art. Music is an art. Cooking is an art. I can assess dissonance in a song without ever picking up a flute. I can assess a fillet of steak without ever touching a grill. I can call out Echo as a bad miniseries without ever picking up a camera.

One takeaway i always get about Sellsword Arts is he is talking about one subset of swordsmanship. Fencing. Fencing is not the whole scope of swords. Its a way to fight using swords but its not the be all end all way to fight. I should clarify a bit, Swordsmanship and Fencing are used interchangeably even though they really shouldn't. Fencing in of itself is a style as it does imply the use of certain swords and sword techniques.

So to add a little bit here, I think a fair example is look at Mythbusters. They tested science in every single episode. Not all of their results were necessarily correct, and they did revisit some of them. The thing is, while they were testing and experimenting with science, none of them were scientists, except for Grant who had a degree in engineering. Also, the impression I get from SellswordArts's argument is "outside opinions are worthless", which I very much disagree with. If you're trying to get an opinion on something, sure, you could ask someone who knows about the same stuff as you do, or you could ask someone who doesn't know and get a different perspective. Sometimes all you need is an outside perspective.

Just watched all 5 videos back to back and skimmed the comments so I wouldn't miss any context, and I've got some thoughts. To be clear on my bias this is my introduction to Sellswords Art and while I have many critisisms of Shad I have been subscribed for a while. Sellswords videos themselves are fairly harmless, even the "who not to watch" one. I believe he was being vague not as a deflection tactic but because he was speaking in generalities, while I don’t agree with the arguments he was making, I do agree that his points are useful as "red flags" and that you should keep those in mind when judging the accuracy of a video (foam, experience, etc). It's reasonable for Sellsword to call those specific clips "out of context" because it wasn't entirely clear what Shads meaning was behind them and they could easily be viewed as what he was describing. Since response videos on character are heavily focused on what the viewers interpretation is, this is a fair thing to address. I don’t fault either channel for this, they just should be more clear in the future. The fact that Sellsword did not address Shads double-bladed-sword response segment is troubling as 1. It shows he cares more about the drama than the art (a critisism of Shad in his comments) and 2. The demonstration portion was evidence Shad used against Sellswords arguments (of foam, experience, etc), he did not respond to it which implies he has no defense for it. The clip Shad used of Sellsword saying the current state of sword content was depressing, that Shad used many times, shows that Shad believed it was important to his argument. Sellsword did not address that clip, a bad look. The comment policing is just a clear Shad W. If you hold one position, make yourself look victimized, and make it a big point in your argument, it's a big deal when you're shown to be hypocritical in that argument. To get meta, the "why" all this happened, pure conjecture. I believe Sellsword made his "who not to watch" video in good faith. Shad took it too personally and responded in a fairly calm way, splitting his response between things that may not have been directed at him, specifics about swords, and why he disagrees with Sellswords statements. Sellsword saw Shads response, couldn't disprove the arguments, picked two clips to show he was taken out of context (and wouldn't make him look too bad), tried to clarify or redefine his previous statements, and pulled the victim card with the comments. This deserves its own paragraph and is big conjecture. Sellsword has a similar sub count to Shad, but his videos get consistently far fewer views, Shad has a reputation (earned in my opinion but that's a different conversation) of stoking drama, making bad faith arguments, and having a more aggressive fanbase (a fraction of the viewers but significant). Sellsword didn’t have any substantial defense and didn't have to respond, he could've admitted fault in some areas while defending others, but he knew that if he made himself look like a victim of Shad, Shads negative reputation would do the work for him and he could get the benefits of drama views without losing credibility in the eyes of his fans. How he acts in the comments and the comment he pinned support this. Extra thoughts. I like Shads calm responses like this. Keeping his political content on other channels doesn't insulate Shadiversity, people will still treat these videos harshly because of his other work, just like we can judge Sellswords arguments in his video with the context of what he does in the comments. Also that nunchuck response video Shad made a while back, I think when the guy said "speed" he meant there's not much time to respond as a strike is made, "broadcasting" maybe? I forget the word.

I'm a Special Education teacher. Should I not teach if I am not a Special Education student?

Only one option Left to do. Time for a Duel.

It’s really telling how there is Shad hate in his comments and barely any David hate in these comments

Your fantasy rearmed series is my favorite section you do on this channel, and I would adore if you did more of it. Granted, I know there's only so much you can do, needing something roughly humanoid or else can wield a weapon, but there it is.

When he pulls out the regular jacket and ascot you know it's serious

I watched David's first video, and didn't think much of it. Your response was long and maybe a touch too "aggressive" for my taste (Shad can come across as very combative sometimes, and I personally would prefer calmer videos like this one when he feels the need to say something potentially controversial.) Overall though, I thought you clearly made your points without misrepresenting David's comments at all, I even appreciated that Shad told people to keep watching David's channel. I called it aggressive, but to clarify, it was aggressively defensive, but I didn't think it was an attack on David and his channel. At this point I didn't think less of either channel, I figured David might just have phrased some things poorly, and Shad maybe was maybe being a little too sensitive. Overall though, it just seemed like a little bit of a misunderstanding. Then I watched David's response video. It was calm and polite, which I appreciated. I didn't think he represented you fairly though, and that didn't sit well with me, but I figured, "Hey, Shad's video was super long, maybe he just didn't pay that much attention when watching it, and Shad can come of as combative so that probably didn't help either." Then against my better judgment, I decided to read through the comments section of David's response. I was surprised to see that David's comments and reactions were completely incongruous with the tone of his video. It did not reflect well on him or his arguments (to put it mildly.) In fact, the whole comment section was so toxic and upsetting that I decided I couldn't follow David's channel anymore without associating that negativity with it (despite enjoying his content.) To my extreme disappointment Matt Easton joined in the fray (I had heard rumors that you guys had a falling out, and then you confirmed it in your video, but I expected better from him.) I haven't unsubscribed from Matt (His channel is probably my favorite when it comes to "sword history" sorry), but I also haven't been able to bring myself to watch any of his videos since. The whole saga had become very off-putting to me, and so I wasn't sure that I wanted to watch this video. I am glad that I did. This was very well done. I imagine it won't be received well, but that isn't your fault. One positive of all this is that you and your channel have risen significantly in my esteem. I'm glad I returned to watching your content again (I took a break before you separated your "Knight's Watch" stuff to a different channel because that was not my cup of tea.) There are still things that I don't agree with you on, and some things I would prefer to see less of, but this video has convinced me to support you on patreon (which I haven't yet done for any other channel.) Well done.

Just remember that HEMA is a "historical martial art" if it doesn't adopt modern changes it becomes quickly inferior to any modern techneque or adaption (see any traditional martial art vs any MMA/cage fighting system).

I work on industrial machines that involve very dangerous stuff such as high pressure hydraulics. Through the past decade, I worked as an engineer I have met numerous "I have been doing this for 30+ years so I know better" situations, even managers told me things such as "this guy has been doing this for 30+ years so he knows better". This is an incredibly dangerous mindset, and I have seen accidents happening due to it. Arrogance and pride are very dangerous attributes and have no place in engineering, you must be able to listen to everybody regardless of years of experience and willing to learn. Somebody, who sets an unofficial standard and removes everyone else from authority "you cannot know unless you have x amount of experience", is actually the same mindset, very dangerous and toxic to other content creators. If David (not Daniel!), wants to dismiss other people's ideas and opinion, then he needs to be specific about each arguments and contradicts them successfully. He can't just say, one can't be right about anything unless...

David was very obviously making a bunch of arguments in bad faith, including things like intentionally sabotaging the process/results of the double ended sword test among other things. He was being cowardly by not directly addressing individuals, because he knew he was being arrogant gatekeeping douchebag about it, and is backpedaling because he was too full of himself to anticipate backlash.

DID YOU GUYS KNOW LEGO MAKES SETS FOR ADULTS. I just finished putting together a Japanese garden set and it’s probably the most fun I’ve had in a long time. Btw I like sword videos and don’t want to get told “you can’t tell your friends about the new things You learned because You don’t fence.”

so..... basically Humble intellect vs Elitist Intellect

OMG I made it into his video for being "disrespectful" for pointing out he is 5 foot nothing, plays with "lightsabers" while getting mad at others talking about fantasy weapons. SSA has a Napoleon complex.

All you have to do is see his type of personality. You know immediately he thinks he’s better than everyone else. You can tell by Shad accurately debating and refuting him is making him FURIOUS.

Talking with the guy is up to you. I personally think you should focus on the content you love. You've made your points.

I left a comment on one of sellswords shorts asking about thoughts or opinions on shads first vod. Sellswords comment to this was about time of release and place of conversation. Witch was fine but it did feel kinda passive aggressive. I checked in on that comment (it was about a week ago now) and it's kinda strange how both people in his community treated the comment and responses. My main comment had 1 like( I'm guessing from a bot) Sellswords had 9. So people red mine and skipped it to read what sell sword said. Fair But then someone came into the comment talking about how passive aggressive sell sword was being and well sell sword responded to him with calling him pathetic and needing to go out side. For obvious reasons I can't copy and paste the thread of comments but if you want to see I can send the short name. Not sure if a link would work.

"You took me out of context" has to be the most overused stalling tactic in Internet discourse. Seems like only 1% of the time are they correct in that accusation, and 99% of the time reintroducing the "missing" context doesn't help their argument in the slightest.

Dudes the fuckin Reddit mod of the sword community. Now of course he’s backtracking his words and saying it was a misinterpretation, when he left it intentionally vague just in case something like this happened. Grade A goober

"If you don't do the art, you can't talk about the art" Sorry all you historians with PHDs in your field. Internet sword guy says your research and brains count for nothing. "You can't talk about human sacrifice if you don't practice the art!"

Go on a livestream with him and hash it out in person

He’s being so disingenuous if he just said yea I was being a dick sorry it would be over

Hold on, we're a cult? Damn, I have missed so many meetings...

So, I would like to start this with an apology to you Shad. A while back I was a subscriber and enjoyed your videos, but there was a moment, (I can't recall the specific video) where I just felt that you were being a bit biased and full of yourself; however, I have been watching some of your recent videos and have now scene the folly in my rash decisions. I was going through a tough time and was in dark place, so my apologies, lad. Secondly, as a fencer/archer(that practices nearly every day and archery on Sundays) and medieval enthusiast, I love your content and approach to wanting to test the boundaries and just demonstrate the mechanics of many weapons both real and fantasy. Keep it going. Glad to be back. P.S. a while back you guys did a video about Legolas stabbing with an arrow and wondered about his dnd class. From my understanding, DM for over a decade, His class is Elven Fighter with a special proficiency in Bow. I will die on that hill.😂

I love how this is dramatic drama, and it's still calm and respectful, even though they fully disagree and dislike each other.