Saw a guy dressed as a gentleman while offering his opinions on best melee weapon for the zombie apocalypse, and have been hooked/subscribed ever since! XD
In eskrima with the short curved blade or stick there Isa "fools" guard with weapon very low to the ground and possibly 2nd weapon held back. This allows you to swipe up and block while circling away from enemy weapon allowing a follow through to turn into a downwards slice with both hands. It's tough but has won me 3 different competition matches(padded stick) against very good opponents. It was learned early on in blue belt and most people ignore it when learning advanced techniques but most times it feels perfect for me. I'm also a big guy so a swipe down has a lot of force and my mobility is lower so I need good opening opportunity. Thanks for these videos I am absolutely loving this.
I just found your channel and I’m loving how much I’ve been learning. As an artist and character creator + someone who’s always been interested in swords and sword fighting, your content is incredibly useful for research. I’m hoping that through your content I’ll be able to create an interesting and dynamic move set for a character I’m currently working on and more in the future =3
TLDR: You can take principles of completely different styles and apply them within the context of your own discipline to come up with something really unique that remains effective. When I got into epee fencing I basically had no idea what a small sword was but I had been watching TH-cam videos about long sword for a long time. So much of my early development in fencing is essentially just me trying to figure out how to adapt fool's guard and wrath guard into epee. I was relatively successful at this although when my first tournament honestly my most successful move really was more of a false edge saber cut. But at that meet I fenced an instructor who was shorter than 6ft for the first time. She taught me how exposed my hands were and how to counteract that. So now I, a 6'5 man fence with an epee like a 5'4 woman with a long sword. Which works pretty okay, unless I'm fencing my 6'7 instructor who bases his technique on German rapier.
Keep these shorts/videos coming, gives me good stuff for descriptions and such for running ttrpg games in particular Lamentations of the Flame Princess ttrpg, and you just seem legit and fucking cool
Interesting. I briefly studied Italian longsword back in the day, and it has a bunch of guards (as I'm sure you know). I wonder if I still have my old manuals somewhere...
Totally different approach since guards in Italian traditions (or at least Fiore, the system i'm studying so I will just talk about his system only) are use to set the opponent up, forcing a predictable outcome for your plays. Guards in German traditions on the other hand represent the positions that you launch an attack and return to after the attack
@@jaketheasianguy3307 hm, yeah, I seem to recall that you'd almost never return to the same guard, rather, you moved from one to another, the motions of transition forming your attacks. It's been a long time though. I hope you're enjoying it ^_^
Using this channel to help me choreograph duels like Fikshun's public duel series of Shorts, except using accurate HEMA techniques alongside a little bit of embellishment to make things remain visually pleasing, as no characters will die in my duels.
If i had to describe the 4 guards: Vomtag: offensive guard sacrificing sword presence (i.e. pointed at the enemy and not outwardly defending the body.) This guard is offensive due to how its able to make counter strikes or deliver a really strong zornhau to the head. Both ox and plow are defense guards that provide the business end of your weapon to the enemy to gently dissuade them from being overly aggressive. Strong thrusting presence and the blade coverinf the body make this more defensive than offensive The fools guard, like vomtag, is an offensive guard, sacrificing defense to focus more on a parry/ripost style, also can be deceptively fast to cut upwards, while not as devastating as the others, catch a finger with that ipward cut and they wont want to be holding a sword anymore. The important thing is that every guard provides both offense and a measure of defense at varying efficiency for what its designed for. Vomtag is great for ending a fight in a single hit with very strong biomechanics and powerful counter options. Ox is a great high guard and counter thrusting tool Plow is a strong defender for the torso and the thrust is hard to react to from this guard. Fools guard is a high risk but very high reward since you cant afford to miss a single parry or else you lose. Im not really a sword master or anything, but these guards are the basis for understanding both biomechanics of swordsmanship and footwork. Pay attention to the feet when robinswords goes from stance to stance and you should see what i mean
I'm here from the channel Sellsword Arts and I'm already hooked. it hurts to say this but i Immediately recognized all of these from For Honor, the character Warden features these in their animations.
Are you a fan of the thumb grip? It activates your cross and makes hand defense much easier. Also i think your pflug should be done with relatively straight arms and slighty away from the body in ordee to facilitate the guard a bit better. Just wondering why you hold yours so close? Thanks!
The lack of passive defense in soem of these reminds me of the dynamics youll see in boxing guards as well. In general theres a tendency as the hands drop for that lack of passive defense to come with an increase in situational awareness and energy efficency. But these tend to be guards that excel at outfighting and require good footwork to make full use of, to the extent that it can get a little uncomfortableto use closer in. I'm curious if this is the case in fencing as well.
Meanwhile I'd say for Fiore's techniques we use almost the same core, save that instead of Alber most prefer Iron Gate or Boar's Tooth (it changes depending on what side, we actually have an identical guard to Alber but it is used less often) and we use different names and slightly different foot/guard placements
I would like to see more of Ox, it seems like such a counterintuitive starting position. Like if an opponent goes for your legs it seems like a long and awkward motion to block
If an opponent goes for your legs, don't bother blocking. Since your arms are attached at the shoulder, striking for the leg requires your opponent strike at a downward angle. Meanwhile, if you strike at his chest, your strike is level. Since a strike at an angle has more distance to cover than one which is level, your opponent's face will be in your range before your leg is in his range. Further, the legs are very mobile targets. After the hands, they are the easiest part of your body to quickly shift. So, if your opponent strikes at your leg, let him. As he commits to it, step back and strike his face. Yours will land, his will miss.
@@meepdhctdjsh Claymore is an englishified version of "claidheamh mór" which literally just means sword in scottish. They used the same word for basket hilt backswords which are about as long as an arming sword.
I used to practice martial arts, ju-jutsu to be specific, and we used to do a little light fencing since we had all manner of wooden weapons at our disposal. I read a lot of Musashi at the time, and liked the idea of attacking the hands and wrists. My sparring partner and I exchanged a few blows and parries, so I backed off and went into the fool’s guard, or gedan-no-kamae. Confused, my partner took the basic chudan-no-kamae, with his sword extended in front of him, took a cautious step towards me and I instantly flicked my sword up and halted beneath his fingers. When he realised what just happened, he gave up.
Was watching Shrek 2 and at about the 48 min mark Prince Charming does some flourishes with a sword and I was curious if what he's doing has any basis in actual swordsmanship. I don't know much about swordplay but love watching you break it down and dissect swordplay in media like dark souls so figured I'd ask.
I see you are demonstrating with bent arms in Plow (Pflug) and Ox (Orchs). What are your thoughts about using skeletal rigidity to shore up those guards? I also notice the similarities of bent arm Orchs and Schlüssel.
The way my club interprets it is that we treat the arms extended as the hanging. The hands are kept tight to the body to deny them as targets, then thrust them out into the hanging as necessary. Not that the hanging aren't also ox and plow.
Using skelator structure is good when using ochs to wind and cover; but as a starting position for something like a zwer or a counter thrust by going to the opposite side ochs, the arms can bent
How do I counter my friend who’s only attack in duel is stabbing? Like really lightheaded stabs. Deflecting to one side isn’t as useful as she stabs and immediately stabs again
A thrust in opposition is one option. As they thrust at you, you thrust back at such an angle that you displace their thrust and land your own. You're looking to catch them on your sword so they can't just slip away.
@@robinswords so what you mean is that as I thrust I should change the direction of my opponent’s sword a little bit? Or could I just do a little dodge/side step and thrust?
My instructor summarizes his thoughts on Alber the following way: "If you use this guard, you are either stupid and have yo idea what you're doing, or you know exactly what you're doing. But if you think you know what you're doing, you probably don't."
I like how when this guy holds weapons, he holds them in a way that looks like it would be comfortable to do for extended periods of time. That's probably one of the most important parts of a stance.
So I just recently made myself a wooden longsword to train. What should I start with practice wise ? I'll be doing it solo as I don't have anyone to train with.
Can I ask what type of protective gear one would typically wear while using these guards? I have no experience with swordplay, but these guards all seem to leave the user very open. However, I do acknolwedge the stances are not static so to speak and want to account for potential protective gear as well before I jump to unfair conclusions.
I use ox guard with long guard hybrid. Sword pointed very far outward, and footwork always far far back out of reach. Good luck trying to get a hit with this style. I learned from Shadiversity’s style 👍
You possibly could, but in general they had a different purpose and you'd be better looking a more specified source. Diogo Gomes De Figuryredo is a great source for Montante! (A Greatsword of Spanish Origin)
Not really, greatswords are not meant as normal fighting/dueling weapons, it's an area denial weapon mostly. You can sort of try to do this if you hold it by the ricasso and halfsword but generally greatswords are too heavy and awkwardly balanced to keep in guard for too long.
Hey, saw a lot of content of you, can you please review/rate how weapons work in the game "Dark and darker"? I heard they put plenty of time to make it realistic
wait so. the final fantasy 14 dark knight guard is actually practical?? kind of?? i always assumed it was just an indulgent fantasy thing but after seeing the ox guard it actually looks kind of viable
It varies. This is a SIGI which is only available through the manufacturer AFAIK. Regenyei is the industry standard and you can get them direct in Europe, or through HEMA Supplies and Purpleheart Armoury in the U.S. The pricepoint varies with quality and availability, but you're looking at around the $300 range on average.
I discovered this channel recently but it really looks like it's gonna be a great ressource when it comes to drawing swordfighters
Hope it helps!
This and Shadiversity are two great sword channels :D. There's a 3rd one where the guy's in a gym, but I forgot the channel's name :(
@@louisrobitaille5810 sellsword arts?
I recently discovered this channel and now I want to learn sword fighting with a Messar lol
@@louisrobitaille5810sellsword arts, there is also virtual fechtschule and Björn Rüther
Damn, you taught the basics of the core guards better and faster than any of the teachers I learned from. Props for that
I learned these guards from for honor😂
@@loganwilkins8672 tfw you find out Warden's right guard stance is actually historically accurate to some degree and not just a cool made up stance
Also theres lot of people who teach bullshido with swords or make it unnecessaryily complicated :D
I have been sent here by sellsword arts.
Ah, welcome!
@@robinswords he sells swords, you're robin them 😎
@@Nerobyrne ...oof...
@@Nerobyrnebased
This man out here killing it and educating fans. Needs more attention.
Saw a guy dressed as a gentleman while offering his opinions on best melee weapon for the zombie apocalypse, and have been hooked/subscribed ever since! XD
Yep, that was my first video from this channel as well.
I love that they're so intuitive; I mess with a plastic practice sword and I've done all of these without knowing that they were real techniques
In eskrima with the short curved blade or stick there Isa "fools" guard with weapon very low to the ground and possibly 2nd weapon held back. This allows you to swipe up and block while circling away from enemy weapon allowing a follow through to turn into a downwards slice with both hands. It's tough but has won me 3 different competition matches(padded stick) against very good opponents. It was learned early on in blue belt and most people ignore it when learning advanced techniques but most times it feels perfect for me. I'm also a big guy so a swipe down has a lot of force and my mobility is lower so I need good opening opportunity. Thanks for these videos I am absolutely loving this.
I just found your channel and I’m loving how much I’ve been learning.
As an artist and character creator + someone who’s always been interested in swords and sword fighting, your content is incredibly useful for research. I’m hoping that through your content I’ll be able to create an interesting and dynamic move set for a character I’m currently working on and more in the future =3
I'm glad it helps!
It's way too hard to find a video that summarizes these guards for a beginner, and you just did it amazingly, so thank you
I am just starting to learn hema and found your channel entirely by the algorithms grace
discovered this channel through a recommendation by Sellsword Arts, definitely glad I subscribed
Welcome!
the funniest part of the fool's guard is that anyone who sees it will either shit themselves or go for it
love your content man keep it up
Thanks, will do!
TLDR: You can take principles of completely different styles and apply them within the context of your own discipline to come up with something really unique that remains effective.
When I got into epee fencing I basically had no idea what a small sword was but I had been watching TH-cam videos about long sword for a long time.
So much of my early development in fencing is essentially just me trying to figure out how to adapt fool's guard and wrath guard into epee.
I was relatively successful at this although when my first tournament honestly my most successful move really was more of a false edge saber cut. But at that meet I fenced an instructor who was shorter than 6ft for the first time. She taught me how exposed my hands were and how to counteract that.
So now I, a 6'5 man fence with an epee like a 5'4 woman with a long sword. Which works pretty okay, unless I'm fencing my 6'7 instructor who bases his technique on German rapier.
Man is teaching good blade and sorcery tactics
The fool's guard to me is the most comfortable stance I can work with.
That trampoline with it's foam covering the springs missing is very relatable.
Keep these shorts/videos coming, gives me good stuff for descriptions and such for running ttrpg games in particular Lamentations of the Flame Princess ttrpg, and you just seem legit and fucking cool
Interesting. I briefly studied Italian longsword back in the day, and it has a bunch of guards (as I'm sure you know). I wonder if I still have my old manuals somewhere...
Totally different approach since guards in Italian traditions (or at least Fiore, the system i'm studying so I will just talk about his system only) are use to set the opponent up, forcing a predictable outcome for your plays. Guards in German traditions on the other hand represent the positions that you launch an attack and return to after the attack
@@jaketheasianguy3307 hm, yeah, I seem to recall that you'd almost never return to the same guard, rather, you moved from one to another, the motions of transition forming your attacks. It's been a long time though. I hope you're enjoying it ^_^
You're like Henry Cavil with a sword
More like Christopher Reeve, but yes 😂👍🏼...
Thank u for explaining swordplay... I am ultra grateful for your level of expertise.
this guy really has peak fat distribution
Thank you for being pleasant to watch and informative.
This guy needs to be in a movie or TV show.
Im currently attempting to write a high fantasy novel-esque story. This was helpful in describing the characters who duel with longswords
Thank you. I appreciate the content as a fellow historical swordsman.
" Very Reductive " EXACTLY. Great Short 👍
Using this channel to help me choreograph duels like Fikshun's public duel series of Shorts, except using accurate HEMA techniques alongside a little bit of embellishment to make things remain visually pleasing, as no characters will die in my duels.
I am in love with the idea of you.
That's a perfectly normal thing to say...
ochs gotta be my favorite guard
Dude yes! Please please please longer instruction videos 🥺
If i had to describe the 4 guards:
Vomtag: offensive guard sacrificing sword presence (i.e. pointed at the enemy and not outwardly defending the body.) This guard is offensive due to how its able to make counter strikes or deliver a really strong zornhau to the head.
Both ox and plow are defense guards that provide the business end of your weapon to the enemy to gently dissuade them from being overly aggressive. Strong thrusting presence and the blade coverinf the body make this more defensive than offensive
The fools guard, like vomtag, is an offensive guard, sacrificing defense to focus more on a parry/ripost style, also can be deceptively fast to cut upwards, while not as devastating as the others, catch a finger with that ipward cut and they wont want to be holding a sword anymore.
The important thing is that every guard provides both offense and a measure of defense at varying efficiency for what its designed for.
Vomtag is great for ending a fight in a single hit with very strong biomechanics and powerful counter options.
Ox is a great high guard and counter thrusting tool
Plow is a strong defender for the torso and the thrust is hard to react to from this guard.
Fools guard is a high risk but very high reward since you cant afford to miss a single parry or else you lose.
Im not really a sword master or anything, but these guards are the basis for understanding both biomechanics of swordsmanship and footwork. Pay attention to the feet when robinswords goes from stance to stance and you should see what i mean
This is the 5000th video I've liked on TH-cam. that's not important to anyone but me, but I hope it brightens up ur day
It does c:
I'm here from the channel Sellsword Arts and I'm already hooked. it hurts to say this but i Immediately recognized all of these from For Honor, the character Warden features these in their animations.
Welcome!
@@robinswords happy to be here!
Everytime robinswords swing facing the camera i slightly jump.. ive been watching this guy for almost a year now and im still jumpy xD
Omg it’s the Marth parry
Your channel is feeding my Elden Ring hyperfixation
bought a sparring sword recently along with my friend and have been trying to get techniques down, super excited
Thanks for the videos man I appreciate them
This man is the irl version of Master Wing, but instead of teaching us NEN he's teaching us Sword techniques.
“Never use low guard” -The Baron of Ibelin 😉
Hats off to the artist, who really tried hard to draw the human body on mushrooms.
It's wild because Kenjutsu has very similar stancing.
Only so many ways to swing a stick
I've seen 5 minute videos that were more confusing and explained less. Thanks for explaining the why and the how so concisely.
Are you a fan of the thumb grip? It activates your cross and makes hand defense much easier.
Also i think your pflug should be done with relatively straight arms and slighty away from the body in ordee to facilitate the guard a bit better. Just wondering why you hold yours so close? Thanks!
The lack of passive defense in soem of these reminds me of the dynamics youll see in boxing guards as well. In general theres a tendency as the hands drop for that lack of passive defense to come with an increase in situational awareness and energy efficency. But these tend to be guards that excel at outfighting and require good footwork to make full use of, to the extent that it can get a little uncomfortableto use closer in. I'm curious if this is the case in fencing as well.
Meanwhile I'd say for Fiore's techniques we use almost the same core, save that instead of Alber most prefer Iron Gate or Boar's Tooth (it changes depending on what side, we actually have an identical guard to Alber but it is used less often) and we use different names and slightly different foot/guard placements
When you combine fools guard with auchs guard the combination starts to look like the original Conan film choreography
I would like to see more of Ox, it seems like such a counterintuitive starting position. Like if an opponent goes for your legs it seems like a long and awkward motion to block
If an opponent goes for your legs, don't bother blocking.
Since your arms are attached at the shoulder, striking for the leg requires your opponent strike at a downward angle. Meanwhile, if you strike at his chest, your strike is level.
Since a strike at an angle has more distance to cover than one which is level, your opponent's face will be in your range before your leg is in his range.
Further, the legs are very mobile targets. After the hands, they are the easiest part of your body to quickly shift.
So, if your opponent strikes at your leg, let him. As he commits to it, step back and strike his face. Yours will land, his will miss.
I play a lot of hellish quart. This actually helps a lot!
That first Guard is also kinda deceptive, since it appears very relaxed.
Probably the best channel on TH-cam
glasses come off and... 'oh damn Superman!!'
Can you do a video on the difference between greatswords and claymores?
claymores are Scottish great swords, that's the difference more or less.
The claymore is a great sword
@@meepdhctdjsh Claymore is an englishified version of "claidheamh mór" which literally just means sword in scottish. They used the same word for basket hilt backswords which are about as long as an arming sword.
I used to practice martial arts, ju-jutsu to be specific, and we used to do a little light fencing since we had all manner of wooden weapons at our disposal.
I read a lot of Musashi at the time, and liked the idea of attacking the hands and wrists.
My sparring partner and I exchanged a few blows and parries, so I backed off and went into the fool’s guard, or gedan-no-kamae.
Confused, my partner took the basic chudan-no-kamae, with his sword extended in front of him, took a cautious step towards me and I instantly flicked my sword up and halted beneath his fingers. When he realised what just happened, he gave up.
I think the weirdest thing about this is that I'm seeing this person in sweatpants for the first time.
I'm watching this at 3am and I literally thought it was Clark Kent teaching me HEMA...
Because it literally was 😂💪🏼...
God I love this man! Thanks
Was watching Shrek 2 and at about the 48 min mark Prince Charming does some flourishes with a sword and I was curious if what he's doing has any basis in actual swordsmanship. I don't know much about swordplay but love watching you break it down and dissect swordplay in media like dark souls so figured I'd ask.
Thank you for educating
I see you are demonstrating with bent arms in Plow (Pflug) and Ox (Orchs). What are your thoughts about using skeletal rigidity to shore up those guards?
I also notice the similarities of bent arm Orchs and Schlüssel.
The way my club interprets it is that we treat the arms extended as the hanging. The hands are kept tight to the body to deny them as targets, then thrust them out into the hanging as necessary. Not that the hanging aren't also ox and plow.
Using skelator structure is good when using ochs to wind and cover; but as a starting position for something like a zwer or a counter thrust by going to the opposite side ochs, the arms can bent
It's "Ochs", not "Orchs".
Those illustrations are so cursed.
How do I counter my friend who’s only attack in duel is stabbing? Like really lightheaded stabs. Deflecting to one side isn’t as useful as she stabs and immediately stabs again
A thrust in opposition is one option. As they thrust at you, you thrust back at such an angle that you displace their thrust and land your own. You're looking to catch them on your sword so they can't just slip away.
@@robinswords so what you mean is that as I thrust I should change the direction of my opponent’s sword a little bit? Or could I just do a little dodge/side step and thrust?
@NameLess I deflected and dodged most of her attacks. I was victorious
@NameLess I brought her head to her father
Thank you!
Awesome stuff! It's just a shame that illustrators back then didn't really use uhh.. accurate body proportions lol
Be being highlander fan. I love this channel
I like your content sword man
wish i knew which one guards my heart, because you've stolen it
My instructor summarizes his thoughts on Alber the following way:
"If you use this guard, you are either stupid and have yo idea what you're doing, or you know exactly what you're doing. But if you think you know what you're doing, you probably don't."
Love the content
You are right, plow does help with thrusting.
Im not in hema at all, but i first got introduced to longsword guards by Bjorn Ruther
As someone who just started Italian long sword the roof technique reminds fedente.
clark kent cosplay?
I like how when this guy holds weapons, he holds them in a way that looks like it would be comfortable to do for extended periods of time. That's probably one of the most important parts of a stance.
So I just recently made myself a wooden longsword to train. What should I start with practice wise ? I'll be doing it solo as I don't have anyone to train with.
Hmmmmm interesting. I’ve made use out of something akin to the fools guard a lot in lightsaber fights against my brother
Can I ask what type of protective gear one would typically wear while using these guards? I have no experience with swordplay, but these guards all seem to leave the user very open. However, I do acknolwedge the stances are not static so to speak and want to account for potential protective gear as well before I jump to unfair conclusions.
I use ox guard with long guard hybrid. Sword pointed very far outward, and footwork always far far back out of reach. Good luck trying to get a hit with this style. I learned from Shadiversity’s style 👍
Would the same methods be used for larger greatswords like a zweihander or something similar, and if not is there any manuscripts that cover it
You possibly could, but in general they had a different purpose and you'd be better looking a more specified source. Diogo Gomes De Figuryredo is a great source for Montante! (A Greatsword of Spanish Origin)
Yes, check out Goliath
Not really, greatswords are not meant as normal fighting/dueling weapons, it's an area denial weapon mostly. You can sort of try to do this if you hold it by the ricasso and halfsword but generally greatswords are too heavy and awkwardly balanced to keep in guard for too long.
the guards are similar, but the things you use them for are different
Where can one learn the german school of swordsmanship?
I'd like to see what this guy could do in Blade & Sorcery VR where the sword weight is only simulated. How much of the training carries over or not.
Kinda wonder how much (if any) of those styles might relate to farm/life tools regionally used 🤔
Well, plow & ox come to mind
Hey, saw a lot of content of you, can you please review/rate how weapons work in the game "Dark and darker"? I heard they put plenty of time to make it realistic
Which one is your favorite? I think I like the first.
So there was a lot of plowing and thrusting going in with two handed greatswords? Man, kinda wish I was alive at that time.
Love your vids man also where do you get your swords from
Clark kent just taught me longsword
cooOooOol ✌🏻
Thank you for the excellent explanations! Could you tell me where you got the sword in the video?
SIGI Forge
me on the 2nd one ah yes obiwan.
Plough is useful in blade and sorcery
wait so. the final fantasy 14 dark knight guard is actually practical?? kind of?? i always assumed it was just an indulgent fantasy thing but after seeing the ox guard it actually looks kind of viable
Why does this bother me more than actual thirst traps
Hes got huge milkers
Can you show me how one would guard a slash using a pelisse?
😭 I wish I were a millionaire so I could tip the ever livin' hell outta you for all these good teachings! Priceless! ✨
Appreciate the sentiment all the same 😊
Sword fighting, the fools dream. No matter how skilful chance can take you down. Well documented.
I'm gonna be honest I'm usually in fools guard.
The 2nd one looks like the fucking Brettonian long sword in vermintide 2
Where do you get these swords and how much do they usually go for.
It varies. This is a SIGI which is only available through the manufacturer AFAIK. Regenyei is the industry standard and you can get them direct in Europe, or through HEMA Supplies and Purpleheart Armoury in the U.S. The pricepoint varies with quality and availability, but you're looking at around the $300 range on average.
@@robinswords that's not too bad, not bad at all.
I'd like to see a video on claymore