That guy with the knife was quite impresive.

lol the knife strategy that sometimes worked vs spear is kinda hilarious to see: "Stay back, Stay back, Stay Back, CLOSE DISTANCE LIKE A MADMAN, Stabstabstabstabstabstab"

One thing I should mention for context is that these fights were filmed across an evening and some of the fighters have relatively little experience either with the spear, or at fighting against a spear. As the evening went on people generally got better at both (which of course slightly cancels out!). Generally the spear loses a lot of advantage when backed into a smaller space, but as you can see, even in confined spaces the spear can do okay, and of course getting the spearman into a confined space is very difficult, especially if the spearman fights offensively. Generally the rule for the swordsman or knifeman is to close distance, but doing so without getting skewered on the way in is quite difficult. You'll also notice that when the spearman gets hit, it is very often on their lead hand/arm, which is most exposed.

What we learned: if you have a spear, use plated/chainmail arm protection.

Cool video. Would have been nice to see some slo-mo replays of hits. Thought the knife guy was going to get totally trounced, but he did much better than I was expecting.

Admit it, the bowie knife was just for fun :P I appreciate this video, it shows very clearly the advantages of the spear, and shows that without a shield its really hard to defend yourself. I have to things to say about this: -All the people using swords were stuck in their sword vs sword techniques and non of them tried being more flexible, mainly trying to parry with the sword in all cases instead of dodging or perhaps grabbing. -Would be very nice if you show how a shield comes in to play in those scenarios.( now that they have a good defense, and that the spear is one handed instead of 2)

Except for the Bowie guy, i wonder why people didn't seem to try to grab the spear. Many times they managed to get past the spear tip, but few actually tried to grab it. Especially the longsword fighters seem to have their hands glued to the sword. And its not that i do not know that the long sword loses effectiveness if you only use one hand on it, but there were so many opportunities missed where they could have bound the spear by simply grabbing it.

they seem hesitant to attempt to close the distance after a parried or missed strike from the spear. easier said than done i suppose

Matt is too OP. Excellent fighting.

What I find very interesting is that "real life" combat isn't graceful and choreographed. I mean like, when you only ever see sword combat in games and movies you forget that, like in this video, actual combat is very sporadic and clunky if that makes sense? Like the guy with the knife trying and failing repeatedly to grab the spear shaft, if it was a game or movie he'd have grabbed it first time and dispatched the other guy swiftly or something.

Tsajkovski - 1812 Overture

I'm actually more surprised about how little the advantage of the weapon counts against skill and experience... Matt and the one guy with the backsword were clearly superior fighters compared to their opponents, but I'd have assumed the range of the spear would even it out more.

scholagladiatoria Matt, just wanted to say that was some VERY impressive knife work. It goes to show that skill can overcome the advantages of a dissimilar weapon.

Something I've noticed with 2 vs 1 sparring is that usually it seems like the team of two is less aware than the team of one. It's almost as if people subconsciously let their guard down more when they have teammates, because they don't feel like the fight is riding on their actions alone. I suppose it also allows a sort of "feint" in the sense that someone might pretend to not be paying attention to a second attacker, and then suddenly strike at them. Just a theory. But it definitely seems like practicing to fight as a group against a single opponent is an important part of training, despite the fact that it could appear simple at first glance.

spears: win against swords Knife: im about to end this mans whole career

One of the bowie moves where the knife man just dodge the spear and let it pass near his right shoulder is just marvellous.

wow it almost looks like the spear was more effective 2v1 than it was 1v1. Seems to do pretty poor against a short range weapon, knife, over a longer ranged sword. Ironic. Incredible to see how fast a knife fighter can close on the spearman after a miss jab or parry.

Brutal knife work, mate :D

This reminds me of a convention I had gone to years ago, in which one of the panels included amateur boffing. A group of 20 or so from the crowd who payed a small fee were entered int a tournament and offered padded practice swords to compete with; but one rather cheeky individual entered the tournament with a 6 1/2 foot long spear that he had crafted himself. Being that everybody competing (myself included) were complete amateurs, nobody stood any sort of a chance against him. It'd be all of three seconds in the ring and he'd simply stick you in the side before you could close the gap. It felt particularly unfair! I suppose in hindsight, it was something like bringing a gun to a knife fight.

you should put a counter meter to show how many points each person has, it's hard to see exactly when contact was made and when it was parried last second. i still enjoyed the video through

I really liked the Saber/Backsword part (and the Bowie Knife), well done!

Every time I see videos like these my first thought is "Why couldn't fencing be as cool as this?".

that knife work was great! i'd like to see some knife vs longsword

I really did like the "respawning" that they did during the 2-v-1 section. Some of the pairs seemed to work better together than others. And as you have said before, I think, context, context, context

As expected, your students have good skills. I like to watch these sparrings with different weapons.

matt's skill with knife is impressive. very enjoyable to watch

Simply this was terrific. To all who participated ... awesome ! I really enjoyed it. You really get to see the strengths and weaknesses of each weapon. Critical distance and own your space. This exercise only impresses upon me that ancient warriors relied on “defence in depth”. Spear first. Sword second. Knife third. You get a real sense of Roman Centurion tactics. Toss your spear. Close the distance and stab with your sword. Use the knife in ever closer quarters. Ditto for the Samurai : Sogu; tachi: wakazashi: tango. If there is ever a case for bayonets on rifles this is it ! Keep up the great work !

Nice job with the knife, Matt, you make it look easy :P

i reaaally love you videos...you really love this...THANKS A LOT BRO FOR REAL!! saludos from Chile southamerican style

Interesting that the knife fared the best. The guy may have had superior skills and tactics but I think there is something inherent about the weapon too. It makes you give up on any kind of attack apart from one where you can move past the head of the spear, possibly taking control of the shaft with your free hand, and then close in. With the sword they kept trying for sword strikes from afar and kept getting caught by the spear while lunging. But due to the sheer range disparity, the knife forces you into pure dodge mode until you can somehow step over the spear or otherwise get around it. And dodging is certainly possible since the spear's points of attack are fairly limited since it can't cut or slash from the sides. Obviously a spear would probably still most often defeat a bowie knife, but it's an interesting exercise in psychology. You could adopt the same strategy with a sword but it's less instinctual. But now take the scenario of sword vs knife and that strategy doesn't work anymore for the knife at all. The sword would dominate since dodging would become much harder for the knife wielder. Almost like rock paper scissors. Spear beats sword. Knife beats spear. Sword beats knife.

Matt showed us that a knife can defeat a spear, as long as you have good reflexes and a good sprint.

Love that Scooby Doo chase scene run with the bowie knife.

Sweet Fighting :))

Spear man: wounded; Sword man: dead

Bravo comrades bravo! that was great,more stuff like that on this channel would be much appreciated

Excellent demo there, goes to show never bring a knife to an unarmored spear fight, a good spearman will win almost every time. Given they were unexperienced they did a good job. Well done all involved

This was fun, hopefully you do more of these!

Damn Schola you are good. The Bowie vs Spear shows how careful you are, those dodges even through you failed some you tried to force it. You are a Rogue.

I'm a little surprised that only the knife wielding fighter actually tried to grab the spear and just turn it into a clinch. of course, with a knife one does not have to many options, but it seems reasonable to do the same when using a sword. Good Video, Thanks!

The knife did surprisingly well.

Brandon Sanderson sent me here. Awesome channel! Subscribed.

one thing I noticed is that a lot of the people that fought with the spear would release the spear with their lead hand when making thrusts, which lead to them losing control of the weapon and often nearly resulted in a strike against them. What they should have been doing is what the dude that was fighting 2v1 was doing and sliding the weapon through their lead hand, that way they don't lose control and as the enemy closes they can easily draw the weapon back to shorten it and make it easier to defend in close range.

As a professional orchestra musician (who's also interested in HEMA), I find it great when you use some nice ol' Tchaikovsky (1812 Ouverture, correct?) as background music. Small request, though, could you write the name of the piece/composer in the description in future videos? Unless I somehow missed the "credit" during the video? Anyway, thanks for the awesome videos! Big fan.

Awesome video, Matt. Cool to see the different match-ups and applications. Dug the Tchaikovsky in the background too.

1812 overture is great. Great video.

Great choice of background music. It shows remarkably good taste and is quite humourous when paired with the subject of the film :)

Amazing video!

The knife guy is my favourite! :D

Great video. What length is this spear approximately?

Thanks for sharing video,had fun watching. One question,the guy with knife is he fencer since youth or reflexes came with experience?(i ask because i heard usually when someone fencing they study it while still young to develop reflexes and technique,correct me if im wrong)

Excellent job everyone, but particular praise for the knife man. Good job of breaking through the guard and taking control! So many people don't have the intestinal fortitude and timing to do that.

Nice vid mate! Enjoyed the demo :)

The song is the 1812 overture by tchaikovsky for anyone wondering

This video more than anything else SG has done (and you do good videos!) has convinced me that HEMA needs to be a part of my life. Now to find a club in Tokyo...

One thing I personally don't really like about these sparring videos is that often the actions are really fast and it's hard to understand what's going on. It would be amazing if you could do like a commentary of the fight, maybe showing the action in slow motion and explaining moves, parries etc.. It will be much more interesting! Of course this is just my opinion. I love this channel, I check it every day :-D Cheers

Good video, Matt! There's little HEMA spear-fighting on KZfaq, but this video sets a good example :-) May I ask you, how long and thick was the spear? I find that those which are even slightly longer and heavier change the fight dynamics dramatically, usually in favour of the spear-fighter (especially against multiple opponents) - up to a certain point when they become only useful in battle formations, of course. Besides, did you allow for strikes with the spear-head as well? I'm quite sure you know all about the devastating power of a heavy impact with a sharp and pointy pole-head, so I'm just curious why there were none in the video.

I was pleasantly surprised how well the bowie did

The dagger vs spear fights were quite interesting. It really exposes the disadvantage of having a pointy bit at the end of a stick; the pointy bit is the only really threatening part if you're dedicated to jabbing. Soon as it's grabbed, the spearman loses all ability to fight back, and grabbing a spear isn't all that difficult. If you can parry a punch, you can grab a spear. Of course, give a staff fighter a pointy bit, and it becomes a whole different ball game.

Thought that there was absolutely no way the knife fighter was going to be able to block any attacks, but then he does just that. Then I see it's Matt. Well that makes sense then :P

Interesting to see just how quick the spear is for changing direction of attack, especially swapping between attackers. It seemed like quite a few of the hits were because people just didn't expect the spear to be able to do a 90 degree change of attack so fast. He was fending off one guy then suddenly swapped to the other, got a hit and then immediately back to the first before they could take advantage.

love the music!

would like to see this video again when the people get more experienced in spear vs sword fighting

Love "1812 Overture"!

loved the music

Great stuff :) Out of interest, what are you using for the spear? (Shaft and tip) I've been thinking of dong some spear stuff with my lads and am looking at options for relatively safe weapons... No to go and listen to the 1812 again...

A few days ago I was having a debate with some one about knives and walking sticks and although a spear isn't a walking stick the video still seem relevant to our discussion

This is awesome!

I would like to see a video about spears vs armored opponents. I've never really seen it in the movies and im unsure how would it look like. :)

Three quick observations and questions based on them: One:. Would the confined space exercise not be better performed with the spear in a corner rather than in centre room against a wall? Two: Since spears are a battlefield weapon, would it not also be useful to try two spear wielders side by side or back to back to simulate having comrades in a skirmish or battle? Third and final: one skill taught in modern self defense classes to engage multiple opponents is stacking, or moving to try and keep your opponents single file relative to you. from the previous post I understand some of these students lack spear experience, but is a historical equivalent of "stacking" discussed at all in fencing manuals you've come across?

Could you please do a video about Dagger vs Dagger footwork, and/or weapons footwork in general (could only find some on broadsword among the videos)? How much of for example todays FMA (Arnis/Kali/Eskrima) triangle footwork is actually valid, and how much of Musashi's old saying of "having no footwork as footwork" is maybe more accurate?

Love how you put music over the intro emblem! You should try to do it more often, it's rather weird to see just the emblem with no audio at the start of a video.

Matt is too savage for his opponents it doesnt count 😊

I think in your quarterstaff vs sword video, you mentioned that a single man with a staff fended off three men with swords (rapiers I think being specific). I'd like to see your group try something similar, if at all possible.

Neat. Do you guys ever spar with rules that might simulate armor? Blows that glance off and all that?

It was quite educative, specially due to the various levels of experience against spears. I would have liked to see what kind of approach they would have come up with if it was more than one spear, as that should prove quite more difficult to approach. But I guess you need more spears for that.

OMG is this a kitchen beside your training area? Thats cool!

i dont know why but the man with the knife reaching out to grab the other guys spear is funny to me

That bowie knife guy does not fuck around, holy shit

Knife dude is a beast!

To be perfectly honest, Im surpised the Knife guy got the spearmen even once.

mmmh 1812 ouverture. nice :) Cool sparring too.

Man behind the weapon. Dante.

Very cool stuff! Since spear generally isn't used for dueling and is more of a battlefield weapon, would it have been more or less beneficial for the spearman if he'd had a shield? He'd lose some reach, but gain better defense. Wouldn't this, overall, be better?

Red Viper through out after watching the spears man hability... "Ellia Martel, say her name"

I noticed in many spear videos, the spear users (me included) tend to move back and forth a lot similar to the spear thrust movement. Is this on purpose ? won't moving to the sides help in any way? I'd also like to ask if the way wushu use their spears is of any use (using the blunt back side as a staff and similar) when those without the spear come any close?

Experienced or not against their opponent's weapon, these guys know their weapons x.x

Still impressed by the knife fighter. Definitely under compensating.

Now, now I know context plays its part here as always. But might it be advisable for a spear wielder to let go of his weapon once the opponent with a shorter weapon successfully closes, gets past the point and grabs the shaft? I mean the spear shaft, of course. At that close range having a longer weapon is hardly advantageous, better of trying to control the weapon arm of the opponent methinks? Just curious is all. Great video Matt, as always.^^

Add some fritction tape on the rawlings. It comes off in hot water when you want to replace it and it makes edge mechanics a lot more realistic

That spear is pretty short too isn't it? More of a one-handed spear that you'd use with a shield.

The Bowie guy was quite good! What wouldn't one give to be able to time transport a seasoned foot solider from centuries back and get a few tips ;)

The bowie guy did really well. Sword guys: make a choice; either try to grab the spear or bash it. I'm not talking just that one hit. Bash at it until you reach the opponent. Go apeshit on that stick. It is the only way, besides a lucky hit to the limbs. Take the initiative and keep it.

That does look like a relatively short spear to me, is its length based upon the length of any specific type of historical spear? Also, is using the shaft as a striking weapon at close range a viable technique?

And the knife did it! WOOOOO

If someone were going to jab the spear in, wouldn't it be ideal to try and pull it in towards you when you anticipate a jab and hopefully bring in it's wielder, or is that harder than it seems?

The Bowie Knife Guy is the best! Ha ha ha! =D

Awesome

Do you think the best weapon for a LOTR Ranger would be an ax, a mace, a spear, or a sword? As far as a ranged weapon would a long bow, re-curved short bow, or a crossbow serve him best? Would you use a shield in that situation? What type of armor would be best? I would assume the ranger would be on patrol. Carrying his own kit. Fighting as an individual or small party vs individuals or multiple opponents. Thank you for your time. TJ

1:25 that's a very nice tea saucer he's got there.

These fights are very realistic. 1) No one would use a spear in such a small space. 2) The spears are also used to break the cover of the swords, which cannot support the moving masses of spears and staffs. 3) In a real fight, unless you have a metal glove (which makes all that much more difficult), no one would grab a spear with a hand after one spera thrust, it's so risky, especially while the spear is coming back. The tips of the spears are very sharp even in the rear part (obviously those that are made like a blade). 4) in a real fight, the opponent would not remain so close, it is too dangerous, it would be like exposing oneself to danger all the time, while the man using the spear would be safe. The one who has to attack one with a spear, would stands more far, more secure, away from range and at the first failed attack qould moves rapidly on the most exposed side of the spear man.