After all, spinning is a good trick.

U should wear armor anyway to spin weapons, because your guard is still open to indirect thrusting, deadly if without armor Actually, spinning long weapons, was more a defensive technique

​@@fluffdragon6305 crowd control aoe

R2 spintowin

No wonder the Aztecs had a hard time against the Spaniards.

I would imagine them smacking their swords into each other

@@motoristacaduco train all day your whole life for a choreographed fight?

@@JohnSmith-zk8xp To be able to fight without smacking your comrades, yes. That sounds pretty practical to a soldier. Soldiers in real life actually would have to fight like this if they weren't using a thrusting weapon, because friendly fire is always on.

Imagine thinking Zweihanders where common as an armament....

@@thomasbriscoe2357 tbh if you were a proffesional bodyguard they could be your bread and butter. And it wouldnt be the first time techniques are tweaked slightly to take into account someone fighting alongside you, sabre techniques taught to sailors come to mind for example

The fech around and find out sword

Best defense, an unyielding offense

Ha. Warframe. You are a man of culture.

Looks more like Tempo Royale TBH.

Aye I prefer tempo royal tho

Crossing snakes is better

Oi Tenno back for work?!

my bet is on scaring the living daylights out of people that are foolish enough to try attacking. taking off limbs would be the least of someone's concerns. broken limbs, torn muscles, total dismemberment. these kinds of things. can't imagine this blade on a battlefield though

@@alexhulea2735 The techniques you see are in a bodyguard role. Battlefield techniques are different.

its interesting to see them sing i thoguht hema discouraged tha

@@lucabaki This Thing with the pikes is just a myth it is busted with a Zweihänder against Pikes your dead they will stab you you have no armor or shield and you cant cut the pikes they are too thick and they are hold by hand so there is no resistance. If you cut a small tree, the tree does not give in, a human does. The Zweihänder was used in War to flank and break up the enemy line and thus disrupt the order of the enemy, but its maine use Was as a guard weapon to protect VIP's from several attackers at once, it was a good defence weapon against two or even three opponents because of its long reach

@@TheAwast2 the zweihander was used to supplement pike formations. Two handed swords weren’t use to cut through pikes, but bat them aside. The length of a pike (16-20ft) made it decently hard to realign after it got hit compared to a shorter pole arm.

But the broken war is still an effective weapon

@@infamoswordz swazdolah!

@@mansman2167 your actions have consequences...

The swords bend in part because these are training swords meant to bend to when thrust at someone so you do not actually pierce them. That said, European swords do often have more bending give so that they are less likely to snap.

bulletproof vests stop bullets shields stop swords and your shield arm is still blue with broken bones

I think before you can get to shield it you would have lost a leg

To Death!

Besides, this is a really heavy sword. It ain't smart blocking something so big if you are not absolutely sure you can finish the swordsman. Two or three hits in your shield would probably put your arm in so much pain. I think the bast way to fight a Montante would be waiting for an opening and closing the space as much as possible, then finishing off with a dagger or some shit. Blocking is kinda dumb... trying to parry is just stupid.

@@aliveyetundead That also is probably countered with the strong psychological effect, can you imagine the fear trying to close in to dagger range against a guy swinging around a sword this fuckin big in your face

Yeah, but it'd also be up to the situation. If you're in a place where you know help will arrive if you just make noise and keep people away, the stuff in this video would be great. If you know you're on your own you'll need to start working on an actual escape right away.

That is true. But just seeing the sheer force that sword inflicts on simple rapiers leads me to believe the Montante is a real force to be reckoned with in such a fight. Even if just your rapier hits it, that could cost you your sword or life.

That is certainly also true. The montante reaches far, hits hard and moves with great speed. It's perfect for harassing the opponents' weapons, and especially one-handed swords.

Could it also be used with some longsword techniques?

Montantero so is montante practical? Does it actually work against multiple opponents?

Better than blocking it with your face!

That's really the thing, isn't it? Watching it from far back, and with little to no experience, it *looks* like there are a lot of openings but it all moves much faster than it looks. There's also the element of genuine fear in a real fight, and the self-preservation instinct that kicks in with it. You may be hired, ordered, or personally desire to harm the bodyguard's ward... but are you really going to give your life just to get that one stab in, which may or may not even do the job before that montante chops into you? Half of the threat is, truthfully, psychological rather than physical. There are plenty of apparent openings, but do you trust them to remain openings for long? It's a very cool technique. Just spin to win!

@@DerAlleinTiger The biggest problem I see is that keeping the huge sword in constant motion, especially while spinning, is exhausting and probably dizzying. If you can even just a minute or two, the wielder will slow down and leave larger and larger openings. The most vulnerable time would be just after the blade passes you; then, the wielder must complete the swing, recover, and regain momentum on the way back before he's a threat to you again. That period may be very short at first, but its length will grow exponentially given a few minutes.

@@tombattraw1410 oh for sure. But often buying a few minutes for help to arrive is all the bodyguard needs

Even if you thrust the he is most likely not stoped but he will still hit you ! Hema its often about not get hurt yourself! and against a montante there is often still a reach disadvantage

Well, at the end of the day greatswords are battlefield weapons. You could almost call them polearms. Carrying a zweihander around in the late medieval period is like carrying around an M16 today. Useful? Yes. Impractical? Totally.

I agree, though I think you have it the other way around. This weapon was made specifically for bodyguards and that's why the Montante is how it is. It wasn't "hey, this weapon suits what I'm doing!" it's more like "We bodyguards need you to make a sword that allows us to fend off (not necessarily kill) multiple opponents while protecting someone." That last bit seems to be why the technique and large size developed: he's not moving from his position that much because he doesn't need to. I'm only realizing this just now after watching this video. It's really cool honestly :)

@@taintedmyth0s636 It's actually entirely ineffective in that situation. Other dude said its a battlefield weapon. He's right. The wide swings and reliance on momentum, as well as the length make it completely impractical in any setting other than a chaotic battle.

@@levi9193 I disagree. It is both a battle field weapon and a bodyguard weapon. There is ample manuscript evidence for its use in both roles.

Publius Vorenus Sextus technically u can use it as a small spear with halfswording and I thought the greatsword was used against pikes to cut through or damage them

You will make your own path.

I relate

May your zweihander swing true!

You should go out more.

Take a cold shower and go walk in the woods.

his enemies should just throw things at him xD hes not using a montante so

@@seamuswbiggerarmalite3379 he should have use a montante. Also, bigger swords are better for monsters too. It should be canonically a montante.

In the first game the starting steel sword is an earlier version of the one in this video, slightly shorter and a simpler hilt.

Thanks, we're glad you like it! It mostly comes down to a lot of practice and habit with throwing the sword around you!

Empire Greatsword!

Indeed. I really dislike when fantasy greatswords are swung slowly and clumsily as if they were a telephone pole with an anvil at the other end.

@@matthewmuir8884 To be fair fantasy sword designs basically have a small anvils worth of unnecessary weight on them.

I used to think of the two-handed sword as being a terrifying weapon for some villainous foe, but now I realize it can be quite good at defending. It could be a heroic paladin's weapon after all.

@@matthewmuir8884 for balancing though. There'd be no reason to use smaller swords if bigger ones did the same damage at the same speed

More like Luleå men :P

Double pay, and your job was to hold that bridge/doorway/whatever for half and hour while we run/reposition/reinforce. It's an incredible thing.

You're totally safe. Conq is highlander's hard counter :)

Tristan Evans I eat conqs for breakfast as hL sometimes but then I get heartburn after my breakfast and get rocked

Not even once! But there was one time where he said it felt like it was close.

None, just bonked later that night in thanks for being saved from a fate worse than death!

@@austinpundit6321 oooh kinky

Exactly what I was thinking! Sheer inertia would make your dismemberment at least likely -- even if you *did* score a "critical hit" on the montante-wielder.

I think it's from the manuscript written by Luis Barbaran. I've seen those guards used after those cuts before. It's always cool to see the connections between history and today.

The complexities of swordplay are lost in translation to a game.

@@sympleton7439 definitely for sure I agree. That being said, they certainly don't have to depict zweihanders as big smashy metal sticks. if you compare this video to the dark souls zweihander moveset you can see that whether for balance reasons or a simple over estimation of weight, the zwei is handeled with far less grace.

If you try to use a needle to stop a tornado, you’re in for a bad day.

Even in a confined alley, it's still like 6 feet long, and you can outreach any other sword with a thrust.

@@levifontaine8186 i may be completely off, but in an alleyway situation you should effectively be able to use a montate as a 6' spear

dreadpiratedan Yes, that’s exact what you’d do.

Interestingly, greatswords stopped at 7 pounds, and were usually at least 5. Not that it's any less scary, but they're lighter than people think.

There are a lot of spin-like movements described in Montante treatises, and for good reason. First of all, as the demonstration itself shows, the very context of montante is that you are outnumbered. It is not a duelling weapon, it is a deterrent weapon. Nobody really wants to be _that_ guy, who loses a limb just to stab the montantero in the back. These guys have been to our training camp, and we used long spears, went with half (or less) this speed, the practice weapons were dull (although metal), all participants were thoroughly informed and trained what to expect and how to react, but even with that, it was really freaky. Like, _really_. As a picadero, you really didn't want to go near the montantero. And this brings us to the next point: he _can_ afford to spin, as he has a tremendous reach advantage, and covering ground very quickly (as you could see in the video). The "danger zone" of the montantero is so big, that any sensible swordsman wouldn't dare to enter, even if the montantero's back is momentarily turned towards him.

@@Angelimir You see the same stuff in staff fighting, especially bo-staff fighting. Lots of spinning both the staff and your self for power or area denial.

@@SomeGunNerd Indeed. As a good montantero, you can essentially "herd" your opponents, and ultimately escape the situation (the guys drilled some scenarios with us for this, how to escape encirclement, how to get pas a line of spearmen, etc.). As a montantero, your goal is never to win - it is to survive.

Definitely, maintaining safe distance here is very important.

Exactly! Gandalf would applaud this performance; "you shall not pass", while i hold the line until side accomplishes what needs doing, whether it's fleeing or reforming elsewhere, or buying time for more soldiers to arrive, in a battle field, the montante doesn't rack up kills, it buys minutes or hours as your side uses the safe time to gain Advantage.

Medieval social distancing.

Not an exact measurement but it is somewhere between 160-170cm in total, as long as some of the swords we use.

The chain reaches barely to the hand from the top of the handle when held idle.

@@ModernSwordsman Thanks for the information!

Yep

It was used for three main uses, breaking pike formations, or as the weapon of a body guard, as you could see here with the video. It can also be used to hold a gate house, or the entrance to a passage something it and it's smaller cousin the Highland Greatsword was really good at. Basically this weapon is designed to let one man fight many.

@@crazyscotsman9327 Thank you, it makes much more sense now.

Amusingly, it actually was recommended as a self-defence weapon for travellers and the drills shown in the clip were actually designed with this in mind (it shows situations like "what if you were attacked by rapier-toting thugs" or "what if you AND your girlfriend were attacked by rapier-toting thugs).

The Montante would handle it quite well. The sword/kite shield guy would have great trouble trying to get past the murderous blows of the greatsword.

what about spear vs montante

Well, a spear can easily be knocked out of the way by the greatsword, creating an opening for the follow-up attack. A spear is also easy to disarm with good timing. The montante/greatsword is a far superior weapon in the right hands.

I imagine rushing a spearman with montante's half sword grip could work well, but wouldn't something like longsword be easier for this task? And about knocking out spear aside - would it work in 1v1 scenario? In battle I imagine it would be possible for sure

I know that spear have advantage over longsword, but with "special" tactic like rushing with half swording you can even your odds. Of course in duel scenario, in battle something like that would make you being stabbed by other spear of spearman's friend. And beating spear aside with actual greatsword, hmm, I never did sparring like that and also not many videos of it avaible on internet, but take a look at "Greg Fasolino" channel and his video about it, person wielding montate have beaten once spear aside

In case you mean spinning, it's usually a bad idea. However, this weapon, the montante, was specifically intended for use against multiple opponents. Spinning lets you cover more area and engage several people.

@@ThornForTheWynn yeah i learn't that abit after. I do hema now so i understand the concept.

@@ringadingding7667 Awesome! Glad to hear that you started. What weapons/systems do you practice, if I may ask?

There probably isn't much besides the name. Just either language's equivalent for "two-hander"