A lot of Longsword “techniques” don’t work too well actually. Liechtenauer’s five strikes have very limited usability. So it’s mostly simple cuts and thrusts or attempted feints at the proper distance

Turns out a two handed sword is a two handed sword

Truthfully this is not a very good montante simulator. It's far too short and light. It's better as a spadone. At like, 4.15 lbs it's a good bit lighter than almost all historical examples of the weapon.

I haven’t really looked into the two-handed sword variants. But also am definitely on the smaller side compared to the people that would have used such swords historically - usually specifically pointed out to be very big and strong men. For me it’s a two-handed sword and very different in handling and what I can do with it compared to my usual longswords.

Yeah it certainly can be dangerous specially with some other heavier examples. And we are definitely not playing “tournament level” intense. But still there is a lot of options to play with and it’s perfectly fine to do it like that.

Thanks 🙏

I think so too! She has watched a lot of fencing but only now starts and I am pretty happy with the super quick development.

Some people absolutely don’t care about edge or flat. Some try to go with edge on but it’s less of a concern. Most people I know do their best to work with the edge.

Some tournaments allow flat hits and some don’t. There is plenty of variety of rulesets and everyone can choose what to attend. At this one they were allowed so no one can complain about them. I’ve only done one sparring and one tournament with smallsword so I have very limited view on it. But haven’t noticed much grappling even when it’s allowed so maybe it’s not much of a need there.

In almost all cases yes. Several of those were counted in my matches too. Some with even less of a wind up(smaller arcs).

@@AngelChernaevHistoricalFencing I thought so, because after this one some very flat hits were counted. To be honest, I like all tournaments being different and with different rulesets, but in the last tournament where I was a ref, 75% of these hits would have been rejected (yours were fine)... Especially this very flat and very uncontrolled gayszlen at 02:52.

I would say this was of the more controlled and better one handed strikes I encountered. As far as tournaments goes - ruleset are known before sign up, so if I join something, that means I play their game and wouldn't not make a fuss about it. I have mixed feelings about flat and other hits that might be deemed low quality (speaking about incidental ones). On one side I have left myself open and the person has reached me, so I've made a mistake. On the other side, some of the flat and lower quality hits work with slightly different mechanic and look differently, so they can get to you quicker or more unexpected than a good hit. I try to accept both getting hit and myself hitting with the flat as my mistake as that can help me learn and improve. BTW my Zwerch on 01:07 was deemed low quality, which was my only real gripe a the whole event.

​ Thanks for the clarification. I have similar feelings about flat and low quality hits, I don't judge the same if they hit me or if I'm the one performing them. Your zwerch didn't feel low quality, but as usual it's the ups and downs of tournaments 🙂

Haha, yeah, it was funny. I have started doing it a lot lately btw. Might make a compilation of it :) Yes, my PG are still mostly alive but I don't use them too often. The company is out of business anyways so they are not coming back.

@@AngelChernaevHistoricalFencing you should! That would be hilarious.

Thank you. Yeah his distance management is what gets me as well as great mechanics. I absolutely love the light feders. Got myself a couple and started using them for everything. Specially for teaching, they are very pleasant to know that you can do many repetitions and the partner doesn’t suffer as much. For 1 on 1 sessions when you get hit a hundred times - perfect. That being said it has to noted that as with all training tools they do bring some artefacts in the play and only working with them may leave someone unprepared when they go for a more standard option. Also most competitions I know won’t allow them as being too light. My standard recommendation for students still remains the Sigi Concept Shorty as being the best middle ground. And those who can get lights already started ordering them too.

@@AngelChernaevHistoricalFencing awesome, thanks so much for your feedback! I appreciate your input here as I'm also a coach and the teaching aspect was another facet that drew me to them. I teach in Texas outside in the heat and as a result aside from full contact sparring we're rarely ever in jacket and full kit. This makes it a bit more difficult to drill at times as we're always having to dial back intensity to match the lack of protection which I'm sure you know introduces it's own artefacts In the training process. I feel the light feders could bridge that gap very well and as your video shows, allows for higher levels of intensity without a constant fear of injury! I'll definitely pitch them to my school and consider placing a bulk order but for my personal feder I think I might go the standard or concept route, can't go wrong with Sigi! Thanks again and best of luck in your training!

Glad I can be of help :)

Thank you

Thanks, some worked well :)

Thank you

I generally like it and still use it. If you are in a place where you get a lot of strong strikes to the side and top - Zwerch, Schaitel, I think it’s the best thing to go for. I find the mesh to be too shallow, with a lesser ridge and close to the face which makes it non-ideal if you are receiving a lot of thrusts. Mine is also a bit too big for me and can move the mesh into my face in small but significant moments. As I am currently working a lot I thrusts and counter-thrusts, this makes the standard PBT a better choice. I also extremely dislike the synthetic material used for the padding of the mask. I have seen that they now offer a separate top and back of the head protector which should maybe be good enough, but you can place it on a mask of your choice.

Thank you for your kind words. I am glad that people like it. Almost all of the videos are filmed with an iPhone 11 :) as long as it’s bright enough it works perfectly fine.

It sure is. Yes, I would classify it as a sidesword with complex hilt. Some places like to classify those as rapiers because of the guard type but for me it’s a sword.

@@AngelChernaevHistoricalFencing thank you for your reply!

Thank you.

Those bucklers are about average size. Sure a bigger shield will protect better but is also harder to carry around

Thank you. Yeah some of them worked really well :)

Thank you

Yeah it’s an open event and the next edition will be happening next weekend - 10-12.05.2024.

Yep historical sight

Glad you enjoyed it

Thank you :)

Thank you :)

It's not very likely that HEMA will join the Olympics anytime soon and there is quite the "movement" against it happening ever. And Olympic fencing isn't a very watched sport anyways.

I am 175 and I definitely prefer the shorty over a standard with every model of theirs. My overall recommendation for my students is the shorty but it has to be said that a lot of things may change one’s needs.

Glad you liked it

Thank you. No sword hit seen = no exchange. Have in mind I’ve shown the official score even if I would score it differently from the video.

@@AngelChernaevHistoricalFencing that makes sense, and thank you for the additional knowledge cheers my friend

Thank you, glad you liked it. And I am sure you’ve also enjoyed the light feder :)

@@AngelChernaevHistoricalFencing its funky. i have mixed feelings about it in differents aspects. but in the end its about fun. fun with kumpel is good.

Interesting assumption, I wonder why you think that. For clarity - it’s me and I have had a single Kendo training session that was about 10 or so years ago.

I so your stance fit parallel, facing forward and somewhat on the balls of your feet, plus thrust and cut combinations. My bad, I guess I read too much in to all that.

Ha, it’s me and funnily enough I actually almost never train rapier :)

Yeah, I really liked them. They will not replace my current swords used but will I will be adding them to my armoury and recommendations.

@@AngelChernaevHistoricalFencing I wonder how they would perform VS stiffer blades...

The stiffness in blade to blade contact only matters if you are trying to perform something with the flat of the blade. When you are using the edge to overbind onto your opponent it doesn’t matter.

@@AngelChernaevHistoricalFencing I consider buying one, so thank you for your reply and bravo for your work ! Keep improving and next time you will defeat Martin ;-)

Thank you. Glad you find it useful. While I hopefully will improve my fencing in time I doubt I will reach his level. That is ok though as it has never been my point :)

You can get a friend and a couple of boffers and start from there. Then slowly build up the gear and eventually get steel swords as well. It’s not cheap but it’s doable

Martin enjoys this salute :)

@4:50 what a nice cut!

This is after a week of training twice a day. We are both pretty tired. He still absolutely stomps me regardless

It happens :)

Yes it does :)

Thank you for your comment. Yes, his thrusts are super good and he is getting me multiple times as I fail to judge distance. Even when I am point on line he can still move to the side a bit and get me. Flat hits are quite common throughout HEMA and some of the most avid defenders of them not counting still throw some flats. For me there is a distinction between intentional flat and incidental ones. For example intentional hit on the top, back or forward to the face with a flat to mitigate the strike damage is fine for me. Hits with the flat to attempt to whip over the parry is something I dislike and don’t think should be trained. In my tournament and practice we accept flat hits to the head as valid if they are unopposed - hitting without hitting the sword before /during contact with the mask.

Actually instead of the blade, you should look at his hands. Most of the ones that seem flat when looking at the blade due to the flex have his hands pronated to be edge mostly online. I was initially thinking the same way as you until I looked specifically at his hands.

Thank you, glad you liked it. Yeah, I basically edited it to fit the way I would watch a video myself with the rewinds a couple of times.

@@AngelChernaevHistoricalFencing Even though I noticed you edited that way, I couldn't help the reflex of pausing it anyway :D

Yeah, I still do it too sometimes. Or go frame by frame

Thank you

@@AngelChernaevHistoricalFencing You have used the Sigi Lights a lot lately, I think. How do they feel ? Do you like them ?

I used them almost exclusively during my week in Bratislava and hopefully will get my own set soon. I like them a lot. They give the option for a lot more repetitions of exercises on both sides - the attacker doesn’t strain their arms as much and the defender gets hit noticeably lighter. As far as sparring goes - you can complete your techniques much more fluently without a need to hold back and stop your hits to not hurt the other person (within reason). If both opponents are with the same type the game doesn’t really change outside of being a bit faster. If one is with a “standard” longsword, the person with a light needs to really focus on using their strong to parry and their edge to overbind the opponent.

@@AngelChernaevHistoricalFencing that makes sense, thanks for the feedback!

You are welcome. I should receive a set soon I hope and will continue working with them as much as possible so more information about them will come.

That’s quite normal. Arms are quicker than feet and it’s important to be able to disconnect them. Still much to improve in both of course

​@@AngelChernaevHistoricalFencing

In fact, I think you can reduce the frequency of cut to pursue the deterrent effect of each one. Too many cut make you look a bit confusion

Thank you. Funny you should say it - it was before we fenced in Bratislava last year. In my learning spiral I managed to pull of some nice thrusts in 2022 then forgot about them in 2023. Hopefully they will come back in 2024 :)

Thank you 🙏

Because I haven’t sharpened it

@@AngelChernaevHistoricalFencing that makes sense, but also doesn't

I think he points that he has hit. Haven’t asked him :)

Most of his “flat hits” are actually hits with the short edge through a zwerch or a schiel that turn after the impact. That’s a bit on me as for some I’ve done the stop footage a frame or two later than I should have. No specific ruleset used as was just a friendly sparring.