Review: Espada y Daga by TFW (Traditional Filipino Weapons)
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 13 ต.ค. 2024
- ** Specifications **
Overall length: Espada - 69 cm / 27 in, Daga - 42.5 cm / 16.73 in
Blade length: Espada - 53 cm / 21 in, Daga - 27 cm / 10.6 in
Blade thickness: 5mm
Weight: Espada - 666 g (yup, no joke) / 1.46 lbs, Daga - 311 g / 11 oz
Point of balance: Espada - 16 cm / 6.3 in, Daga - 4 cm / 1.5 in from the guard
Blade material: Espada - 5160 high carbon steel, Daga - D2 tool steel, tempered to HRC 58-60
Hilt assembly: Pinned
Price: 325 USD
** Pros / Cons **
Light but balanced for powerful cuts
Very comfortable and practical handle
Sturdy, durable blade
Excellent fit and finish
(no cons that I can find)
** Where to get it **
ww4.aitsafe.com...
traditionalfili...
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They are meant to be used at the same time. The sword in the leading hand and the dagger in the off hand aka the live hand. They are used in very fast flowing cuts. The dagger shoots in when there is an opening for a thrust. As far as the grip goes an fma practitioner wouldn't do the two finger grip for spinning cuts. We practice so our wrists can still roll while having a full tight grip. Another thing you may find interesting is fma is highly influenced by spanish renaissance swordfighting. It's a very well rounded system. You have highly advanced sword and knife fighting mixed with traditional japanese jujitsu, blunt weapons, flexible weapons, karambit, pikal. It's a very effective combat oriented art. I strongly urge you to try and attend a class or at least a seminar. You don't need any prior knowledge to learn at a seminar. You learn effective techniques the first day. I think you'd really enjoy it since I know you are a fan of european martial arts. Check it out some time trust me you'll have a great time.
Espada y daga can be used at the same time for thrusting and for the X block. You need to train how to make the adjustments for both weapons. When thrusting you just need to pull back your elbow for the espada, so both can penetrate at the same time
which form do you practice (assuming you follow one, not just are some one whose very well read). I would also like to add that often in doce pares eskrima we often use two full length sticks, as opposed to espada y daga, but we practice both
In short, it's used for killing people.
I feel like the sword is for defense and the knife is for offense..
@@nichskaikru4567 It really depends. Usually both are used for both purposes in different distances. You do practice using every weapon you have for offense and defense.
These two are quite nice but also challenging due to the different sizes. But you can work very effectively.
I have authentic ones from the Philippines. I used to live there. The handles on mine are made of karabao horn.
handles made from carabao horns and kamagong wood are very authentic...
That's sooooo sexxyyyyyyyyyy
That's harder to make and more expensive.
Very very traditional. Specially made if the handle is made of carabao Horn.
That’s the traditional way the handle was made was from water buffalo horn, my grandpa use to show me how to train with both sword and knife together. But the horn lasted longer than wood and less cause for splitting and water damage.
We called that blade "Itak" "Sundang" or "Pinuti" (Whitened). Most farmers in remote places here in the PH carry that blade everyday like those samurais in medieval Japan, mostly for farm chores and for self defense on some rare occassion. lol. Honestly, when I was a kid, I was once witnessed two drunk farmers stabbing and hacking each other like who's gonna fall first.
"two farmers stabbing each other"
a normal day in central luzon
It's more fun in the Philippines.
Very true 😂
I've seen how nasty the wounds can be. One time we had a bantay dog that wandered off so we began frantically searching for it. An hour later, we hear news from a few streets away that a dog was chasing a terrified child and so one farmer stepped in and saved the child by hitting the dog with his itak causing it to run away, injured. A few minutes later, we then see our bantay dog limping home with a lot of blood and a deep and wide cut on his back. You could see inside the wound, it was quite a traumatic sight. Fortunately, we were able to take him to the vet in time, and he survived. Farming tools are no joke.
If I remember correctly, my grandpa used to have one of them.
I've done FMA with the owner of TFW, as well as other FMA instructors, and to answer your questions about use/technique/handling, the answer is all of the above. FMA trains to strike at all distances, simply by employing basic footwork and striking at short/long ranges. I believe you would greatly enjoy FMA, the training isnt as rigid as far eastern arts, and FMA transitions between empty hand, improvised, and blades seemlessly. The techniques are the same in all three.
The wooden material is Kamagong (Ironwood). It is used in a lot of traditional Filipino weapons. And even the wood itself is sometimes used as training sticks alongside the rattan.
The idea of the Espada y daga traces back to the Spanish colonization of the Philippines when farmers, who were prohibited from carrying weapons for fear of uprising, had to make do with the tools they had. To this day, some farmers in rural areas still use these blades and can be seen walking around with these tied to their hips. In other parts of the Philippines, we call these blades the Sundang and Pisaw. (Soon-daang. Pee-sau as in Sauron)
Those blades are actually a bit "pretty" and ornate compared to the working man's blades. :)
Hahaha, here in Indonesia the word for knife is "pisau"
I did Escrima (philipino Martial arts) for a short time and the wrist cuts where you tighten the smaller fingers is actually the way how they were supposed to be used you even do that while a normal cut with the full arm. So even if you swing the blade you tighten your fingers before you hit to get more speed and power into the blade and the cut
Those blades are so beautiful. I like the shape.
"This blade will cut" - Doug Marcaida
ThePremiumChicken but will it keel?
"it will keel"
It will keel
@@camrendavis6650 willing to try it to your head?
@@ecilatnecniv hell, *yes!*
As a life long student of Filipino Martial Arts and later teaching the combative arts, I will tell you the reproductions you shown are of course, refined to say the least... originally, the Filipinos used materials smelter from raw ore derived from meteorite and volcanic metal as that was all they had until later on from metals taken from foreign invaders. The kampalan and gurot are good examples. the older pre Spanish swords were crude but effective. The Filipino history proclained Lapu Lapu killed Magellen outright with a sharpened rattan stick the moment he hit the beach, by contrast the Spanish said he was killed epically due to their ego proclaiming he died from an honorable fighting a heroic battle, slain by the sword... history is writing by the victor as far as I'm concerned... those little Filipinos are tough as chit... ask Gen. Persing...
Sounds like an interesting story, but holy shit! I've read it three times and I still don't understand half of what you say.
+Heulerado check the history! lol
haha too lazy to do that, honestly
"older pre Spanish swords" - Spanish conquered philippines.
"Lapu Lapu killed Magellan" -Lapu Lapu: A native filipino ruler in Mactan, opposed Magellan.
-Magellan: Spanish explorer that discovered the philippines
"as gen. Persing" -lol i dunno
Hope that clears up some confusion
+basil B General John J. Pershing was the greatest American general of the last 200 years. To make a long story short, he really, REALLY fucked up anything that opposed him
Greetings Skallagrim. Thank you for featuring the Espada y Daga.
To start off, I am a Filipino subscriber of your channel and enjoy the work you've done on reviewing arms and armor from various cultures and time periods.
Unto the main topic of my comment, I am here to enlighten you on several of the questions you've posed and the uncertainties you mentioned regarding Filipino Martial Arts and their relationship to the weapons you've reviewed in this video. Historically, the Espada y Daga (Sword and Dagger) pair was developed during the Spanish colonial period of the Philippines. It originated from a local blade quite similar to a Machete or the Bolo and the design was merged with that of a Spanish Saber. The pairing of the the Espada and the Daga was a combination nature of weaponry popular to the warriors of the time. Both can be used as stand alone weapons or paired with another of the same type or with a large rectangular (bamboo/wooden) shield.
The martial arts of the land was Kali or Sinawali. This martial art has a modern day version called Arnis. You may refer to the following link, th-cam.com/channels/o_0OLNDT9mhlALA-N_c8nw.html. Take note of videos featuring their instructor, Doug Marcaida, as he is a Filipino and a specialist of said martial arts.
As for my own knowledge of combat using such weapons: The main principle of using the Espada is with either trusting or hewing moves. The main styles for using the Espada are either with flowing motions or rapid and forceful flicks and stabs (we call it "Pitik" in the local tongue). The handle design of the blade is like that of fish tail. The main intention when using the Espada was to cut of body parts or cleave into the flesh.
The Daga was specifically used for stabbing plus a combination wrist moves, like twisting-before-pulling-out or flicking it like a hand fan. The Daga was also used to support the Espada as the user would use it to make follow-up thrust after making a wide chop with the Espada. The Daga was either a finisher or a close-range blocking tool.
Regarding the "sheath" or "scabbard," that is mainly used for storage and transport (they were just disposable). Bladed weapons were usually carried into battle with a naked blade. The general mindset was, "Sheaths are Pussies!!!" or "Sheaths are for boys who are in danger of cutting themselves." The sheath was supposed to have a hemp rope or leather strap to allow it to be put around the waist or slung on the shoulder.
Espada y Daga is originated in antique Philippines. It was developed by the anscestors in antique.. Antique always been a quite place. Nobody recognized this place... Pls. Read about DATU sumakwel... Kali is originated in Panay island. But Panay island never been recognized...
@@bayaningbayan7713 No, it is already present all over the Philippines. If you notice the difference between Cebu and Panay's style you can see that Cebu's style is focused more on duels (although dealing with multiple opponents is also taught) while Panay's is more on battlefield necessities (I've noticed the footwork).
Regarding the empty hands portion, both are in many ways similar except that Cebuanos prefer using more strikes, locks, and throws. Panay's style focuses more on "one hit one kill" technique (notice the excessive use of kicks, strikes, grappling and breaks).
It's only now that the sheath have been pretified. They used to be disposable. People would strike you with sheathed swords, the sheath would split on impact and you would be hit by the blade, killing or maiming you. Espada is the Hispanised version of the bolo. Used by the meztizos and hacienderos. The daga is either used independently or with the Espada. It's a first draw weapon. Fast and agile. Especially in close quarter. You are still unsheathing your long sword and his daga is already burried in your chest. Its used for throwing also. Encountering an opponent with a daga and espada, is like having 2 opponents. You are a walking dead already, the best outcome you can hope for is for both of you to die. Patasan, in the local dialect.
I have a Gininting from TFW myself and am planning to get a few more blades from them as I like it an awful lot. I grew up practicing eskrima and we had a number of antique filipino swords (especially kris) around the house. Sometimes Ron's blades have slightly ahistorical/unusual/late period cross sections. The consensus is that they all average a touch heavy compared to some historical specimens depending on the type and region,. Though ginunting is a modern blade, and a very different design, it is about the same weight and POB as our biggest antique kris so I think they're not truly 'overbuilt' the way some Cold Steel swords (for example) tend to be. His pandayan tend to modify their designs fairly often.
TFW blades are all historically accurate. The only modifications actually are in the belt clips added to some of them. They used to be made of wood to tie to the body but wood can wear out and no one has time to keep making a new sheath so the metal clips are added. We go through a lot of research to make sure everything else is historically accurate. :)
Hey Skall, comparing your most recent videos with some older ones it gets really clear how much you improved as a swordsman, very nice, man! Congratulations!
Thank you for doing a review on the TFW Espada Y daga. It is one of my most popular selling blades.
When I saw the first video pertaining to the espada y daga it gave me the basis of the primary weapon design for wood elves in my novel. They're a nicely designed sword and dagger and I looked up information pertaining to their usage, which I felt fit the vagabond, non-cosmopolitan society they're depicted as. Not sure if the daga could be used for tasks such as skinning and the like, but I feel having a short machete-esque primary melee weapon combined with a large knife doubling as an additional weapon and for utility purposes would come natural for a, well, naturalistic society.
yes, the daga is also used as a tool traditionally
Can I ask what's the title of the novel?
Well now I really wanna see that novel
Hey you still here? We need the title of the novel plss
@@Axlken214 It's not even done and prolly never will be because I was forced into a master's degree course I didn't want to even do, had a mental breakdown and now I don't even want to write anymore because of all the stupid political crap festering in pop-culture.
That looks like a beautiful blade! Nice shape, looks very agile and a great compromise between speed, power and strength. Im pleasantly surprised! Might just use this for an upcoming project.
+10 to the Filipino sword makers!
the light and easy to move blade is a characteristic that fits eskrima/arnis.
those are finesse based martial arts, not power based.
so a light manueverable blade is important.
Hello Skallagrim, I wanted to make a request for an opinion-ramble video on how a lot of videogames and cartoons depict people using swords wielded backwards. Looks very unproductive and complicated imo (humble and 0-sword-knowledge opinion).
Love your videos, keep rockin' !!
I second this motion, it'd be interesting to see what he thinks. I could definitely see uses for it, depending on where it's located on your body, some short swords can be easier to do a draw cut in a reverse grip so that's a justification for a brief reverse grip.
+Forest Wolf
Lots of TV shows have their characters hold a full sized sword in reverse.
He already has a video somewhere on his channel about Reverse Wielding just search it up :)
Larry DaLobsta oh I didn't know that. Thanks dude ^^
I think he made a video about that already I'm not sure
I'm glad that you posted this video, Skall. I've had my eye on a couple of pieces from TFW, just for their blade shape (The Sansibar 2 and the Talibong on KoA, if anyone's interested), and now I'm giving purchasing them some more serious thought. Great vid as usual. Keep it up.
Additionally, if I'm not mistaken, a good portion of Filipino blades are also used as machetes and other such tools. In fact, I think that's their origin. I could be wrong, but I think I read that.
Also, I read the description, but it doesn't say what the music at the end is. It's pretty nice.
Espada y Daga is something of a combination of being Tanky, Agile, Hard hitting
Clarifications about the whole concept:
Espada is your main weapon that you do damage more deadly also its not for slicing but more for causing internal damage
Daga is your ultility dagger as it can use for parrying, arm disable, but not for actually damaging your opponent
As a Filipino, I am very glad to see that you liked it. I know how picky you can be and I'm glad to know that these are a good choice for my collection
tfw wielding some tfw
tfw tfw is ftw
Nice meme, m8. I r8 8/8, no h8.
lol XD
from your notes about the biomechanics of the blade use its really suited to stick fighting (which has a lot of wrist cuts) in the doce pares style i'm schooled in. Really great for personal protection instead of wafare with armored opponents. Great review!
I wish more filipinos could appreciate this, it would be a while till we have our own non-lethally armed hobby fighting groups.
have you ever done a vid on sword care like cleaning it
the satisfaction in your smile when the cartons stays still with the cuts at the ends brings a special kind of pleasure in my heart c':
By looking At the handle, the lack of a detachable pommel means that you cannot end him rightly,
6/10 no pommel throwing
I teach JKD which includes Kali/Escrima from the Philipines. The original art was brought from India and was the Hashassins (this is where the word assassins comes from, an opium/hash cult which existed well into British colonial times) art. It was later melded with Spanish sword fighting techniques after the Spaniards had taken over those islands. Therefore we teach pie pan footwork (like a pizza on the floor, fencing theory) for mobility in assault and avoidance. The two weapons are used together in patterns for training and there is a related art which is shadow boxing with them, solo training when you have no partner. We begin with sticks as you have no doubt seen in movies, and then progress to deadlier weapons like these you reviewed, THEN to open handed arts. It's an interesting reversal of how most disciplines are taught, and it "turbocharges" your movements, translating to open hand. The "live hand" would be the dagger, held in reserve/rear to reach out like a cobra when the situation is right. Here is one of the best sifus alive on the planet today for these arts th-cam.com/video/ViNsKpvXf-M/w-d-xo.html ~~ AND ~~ th-cam.com/video/gK3KkYrdCSM/w-d-xo.html ~~ AND ~~ th-cam.com/video/GCwCcVVpsvA/w-d-xo.html
Espada y daga isn't a style of blade but a style of fighting (sword and knife) and much of the sword style is based on mix of Spanish influence and daily life. The grip is more for racking person you are going against. They use the pommel a lot. It is a fun style.
I would think you would have fun largo Mano style blade. Also scabbard is banded instead cause many time they wouldn't even take the blade out of the scabbard a swon at the person that they blade would than cut through the bands and into the person. Also they never (rarely) cleaned the blade so if the person was only cut they would get a nasty infection. I'm no expert but I study eskrima for a time and sill practice when I can.
Hey Skall, I watched your review and your first impression and really enjoyed them, I've enjoyed all your videos that I've watched but this is of particularly interest to me as a Filipino martial artist. Your knowledge of swords and their use has definitely helped you interpret these weapons for your admitted not knowing how these weapons are properly used, for example in your first impression video your description that the daga would not be useful as a blocking weapon is correct. The daga is used in what some styles would call the "thief hand" (the non dominant hand, although mainly filipino practitioners practice to the point of ambidexterity) where the purpose is to thrust or cut with the daga as you're parrying with the espada; alternatively parrying or checking return shots from your opponent. The point of parrying with the daga, or even the espada, is not to stop the enemy's attack with strength but rather use footwork involving angular, triangle, diamond, etc movements (Kali/eskrima/arnis is known as the geometric martial art) to get out of the way while using the blade to clear, parry, check, or redirect the enemy's attack. That is not to say that there aren't blocks employed but they shouldn't be the first choice of the FMA (filipino martial arts) practitioner.
You're correct in saying that you could place your thumb on the blade to compensate for the small handle, in many FMA styles and weapons systems this is preferred for the extra reach; by myself personally whenever I'm able to which is particularly in knife and the smaller swords such as this one. This comes into play with the lightness of the blade so that you can hold it with the thumb on the back of the blade while holding it securely with the bottom two fingers, switching to a hammer grip and back when necessary. Again you're correct in saying that in FMA the guard isn't relied on for anything but ensuring the hand stays there, this is because as mentioned earlier it's your movement, parries and redirects that keep you safe. It is important for your hand to stay in place in FMA because as you mention the espada and daga can both be used for slashing and cutting based on their design, in fact is why the spanish that came to the Philippines so feared the FMAs. FMAs rely heavily on speed and combination of strikes, particularly thrusts, slashes and rips (typically in a thrust/slash/rip or a slash/thrust/rip order), which only become more terrifying when the thief hand is introduced doing the same style of attacks. The bottom of the handle, where the notch is, is used to keep the hand in place as you said. This is because the bottom of the blade, known as the punyo(poon-yo), is just as much as a weapon as the blade. The very nature of this style of FMA, and most FMA weapon tactics due to the smaller blades, brings you very close to your enemy. The punyo is used to smash the enemy's skull, most often after parrying a strike from the open side while using a forward 45 degree step with your left foot and thrusting with the daga in your left hand (typically the starting stance is right foot forward, espada in your right hand). Additionally the punyo is used to clear an enemy's wrist and blade wielding hand as well, something that's true with most FMAs and weapons though notably Ilustrisimo most often chokes to the very bottom of the blade.
As the espada serving as an improvised machete this important to note because at the time of Spanish occupation of the Philippines the Spanish did their best to take away and limit the Filipino's weapons they were so renowned with them, in many cases the blades they were allowed the spanish cut the tips off (creating the Golok) to prevent the thrust/slash combinations I mentioned earlier. Knowing this it is likely that the false edge of this espada is an original design as creating a true double edge would be seen as only military in application, though this is only my hypothesis, while still allowing for rips to be utilized. This limited them to using tools as weapons, such as machete-like tools due to the thickness of the jungles making them a necessity. The thickness of the jungles are also important to note as a reason for the general short length of FMA blades because having a sword much longer than 30 inches, including the handle, was a liability. This is why the Filipinos were so fierce some in the jungles against the Japanese in world war 2 where firearms were less effective in the extreme close quarters, as well as the Japanese' swords (katanas for the most part) were less effective due to their two handed nature and length. Ironically the espada y daga combination is a good match up for the bayonets and katanas of the japanese as they were largely limited to thrusting which involves a very basic FMA combination of parrying with the espada to the daga side, covering with the daga and initiating some variation of a slash/thrust/rip combination with the espada while attacking with the daga when practical.
Again, I really enjoyed your review of these FMA weapons and all your reviews and I thank you for doing them. If you're interested in learning more about FMAs and how they translate to their weapons feel free to email me and I'd be glad to answer any questions or direct you to someone who can, we're a pretty friendly bunch.
I own several blades from traditional Filipino weapons. For the money they're pretty solid. It's worth it.
The sheaths suck but it's a traditional blade and that's how they are.
I don't know about TFW, but in case you didn't know: in most of the true antique Filipino blades, the scabbards are basically just two pieces of cheap unornamented wood bound roughly together with fiber. There may even be a slit running halfway down the edge side of the scabbard. *And it's designed that way.* Longer swords take time to draw, time which you may not have in combat situations. So instead you're simply supposed to strike with the sheathed sword. The fragility of the scabbard means the sword naturally cuts its way out, without you needing to draw it. Elaborate scabbards were reserved for shorter swords, knives, and ceremonial weapons.
Cheap sheaths make for single use draw strikes, emphasizing that the fighter is expecting to die at any point and will fight with anything.
they're used in circular movements, both weapons with both hands. The grip is made with this purpose.
Under $400 for both with sheath is a rather nice price. They seem well constructed. I am more interested in some of their odd ones though. The saw tooth iron wood stick is really odd looking, and one of the Igorot hunting axes has the strangest looking design.
love the shape, I think you mentioned espada y daga in one of your precious videos about dual wielding.
Those blades are beautiful. Majestic but ready to kill.
I was actually looking foward to this review, dude. Took you long enough.
Hey! This review is on KultOfAthena!
Skall, it IS literally a tool. We have several of those (not exactly but the blade shape and length) lying around the tool shed. Filipinos evolved their fighting styles from usage of everyday tools like Okinawans in Japan. And for a guy who claims to know little about FMA, your observations on how to use it, and handling is spot on. Great job, Skal! Loved the vid. Please try out FMA. We usually practice hammergrip on blades for close quarters, with rapid strikes and counters. I think you'll love Kali/Escrima/Arnis
legend has it if you comment early enough he will reply with a knock knock joke
as a practitioner of eskrima we never do two finger grip, but still use twirling strikes, practicing wrist movement. this is to consistently keep a strong grip, as if fighting another trained person then they will likely go for disarms and grapples (or at least should be trained to be able to), so it's best practice to grip it fully at all times
most filipino sword handles are designed for one hand with chopping grip since they are also used to cut plants and chop meat during peaceful times.
And I find the grip shape very effective for that.
For not knowing much about the history or about FMA, you were able to get the concept of swing cuts pretty close to the concepts of FMA. One of the main principles of FMA is engaging your opponent in "Largo, Medio, and Corto" meaning long, mid, and short range. With a couple different styles of cuts this combo can accomplish all of those.
All the TFW blades I have bought have been high quality. You can not go wrong with any of their blades.
Take a look at the channel called "KaliCenter", in case you would be interested into Kali after handling these blades or just to get an idea and enjoy some sick Kali hahaha
anyhow, nice review
Take a look at the TopPrado blades. hihi, hopefully you could review one
i have a karambit from them and i love it
TopPrado blades are not as good as TFW. There will be an edge to edge video out soon to prove that. ;)
I did Kombatan for a while which is a Filipino martial arts. Technically Kombatan is based on Dual Machete techniques, but I would expect that espada would work perfectly for Kombatan too. What I can tell from doing the martial arts is that when you showed off how well if flows, that is probably the most important part for it's use. Kombatan is heavily based on flowing cuts that just channel from one cut to the next in a sort of blade dance, especially cause it uses dual blades ( or sticks ). The Martial Art itself is a new take on older Filipino martial arts combined with the idea of how they used machetes to cut across thick vegetation in the Filipinos.
Hey Skall! a sub from Philippines here 😊
Jubboii Alaba same :D
Really enjoyed this video skall 👌quality intro and montage-ish thing at the end. Keep up the good work, we can tell so much effort goes into your videos.
I wonder if their weapon art is Onislayer.
jumps in the air, gets stabbed in the dick.
lol
but which one is the ubadachi and the onikiri? HMMMM????
Although these aren't katanas so the weapon art is probably a spin slash. I would still rather have chaos blade though... I wonder how much it would cost to get a sword engraved like it.
+jimmies rustler that would depend heavily on the blacksmith or engraver you go to
Looks like a Visayan design, possibly Cebuano. Most FMA instructors would tell you to hold the espada with a hammer grip and keep your wrist relatively straight. It should feel like a cross between a large machete and a small sabre. The daga can be used to cut, but, when paired with the espada, it is used to thrust in about 90% of the techniques.
espada y daga litterally mean sword and dagger.... i dont think that counts as a name imo.
And the Kriegsmesser literally means War Knife.
Many names are just words from other languages xD Pepperoni, is just an italian word (Actually it's peperoni) for Bell Peppers, i don't get why in americans it became a spicy Salame.
Do you have any idea how many languages and dialects are spoken in the Philippines? Just cause you have a weeb profile picture doesn't make you an expert on everything of Asian origin. Its actually quite appropriate because of the different number of languages that are spoken throughout all of the islands because the sheer number of different dialects/slangs.
And the gladius is just the Latin word for sword as scutum is for shield, most weapons just mean "sword" or "spear" or "shield" in the language of the region where they originated and were prominent.
+Eric Beall spanish girl over here, and that shit's nothing like a real espada
I'm a Filipino and practicing the Bladed art of my bloodline Eskrima since i was a kid up to now, Technically Espada Y Daga is just a generic term For using Both sword & knife in combat. Every FMA would call it that way anyway... that sword design is what we call a "Tulis or Pa-tulis" Commonly preferred by Southern Tagalog Eskrimadors since they prefer the point or stab for a kill but on the other hand we visayans prefer the heavy bellied designs for cut and decapitation.
They usually make those from old leaf springs taken from cars or trucks.
Actually, TFW blades are made from steel blends of 5160 and D2 with a sodium nitrate heat treatment. Thats the reason why the edge as well as the blade in general held up so well. :)
+Ron Kosakowski the store bought, export blades yes. But the ones used by Filipino farmers and woodsmen are made from old car and truck leaf springs. They are cheaper material compared to the ones used in the blades in this video.
+Ron Kosakowski following up, I am talking about blades made by these guys here www.filipinobolos.com and just about every Filipino blacksmith who makes blades here use the springs to make their blades. Spanish colonial era smiths would recycle plows into blades. Post-American occupation blades were made from the springs.
Ah, are both blades actually a blend of 5160 and D2? When I saw that 5160/D2 was listed as material I assumed those two types of steel were used for each individual blade.
Thats ok...you did a great review and thank you again. :)
There is a thick version of the Espada for everyday use of Filipino Farmers. Mostly FMA is for close quarters combat unlike european martial arts. During the colonization of the Philippines Filipino Swordsmen combined FMA with some European Sword Fighting Techniques that they learned from Spanish Colonizers
Filipinos are one of the most feared warriors other than the Japanese... Mabuhay Pilipinas... Nice vid by the way
Benedict Adrian Unfortunately we are not feared we feared slavery but thankfully we have some heroes.
"Most feared"
Hahahaha
HAHAHAHHAHAHA
Nice jokes comrade
Im Filipino but im sure we arent feared
Probably for the best we aren't feared. Best we don't look like much of a threat in my opinion
thegame redroom Pre colonial Filipino Mercenaries were sought after by neighboring regions like Brunei and Malaysian states. Sadly nawala ma ung lakas ng mga pinoy. Long gone are the days of The City states of Maynilad and Tondo.
No longer feared. Most our people are busy kissing Koreans' ass, watching Pinoy Big Brother, listening to trashy music, and fighting people in the internet as keyboard warriors after long sessions of playing mobile legends.
The "flicking" cuts that you mentioned where you tighten your lower fingers on the handle remind me of the way I was taught to strike/punch in my martial arts training; relaxed until the moment of impact. You get great speed when relaxed and then tightening up just before the actual hit makes the strikes quite devastating and so we were taught to keep a loose fist and only to clench right before the impact.
These swords look like nice quality blades and the design of them is pretty much perfect. I would agree that the false edge on the back would be good sharpened but that is only a very minor thing, the rest of the blade looks very well designed and I love the handle, perfect for the very fast "flicking" slices.
watching you use a Filipino blade like a German longsword gives me great pain.
I still love the video though.
XD
Dude I'ma both Filipino and german. Idk why I'ma saying this but I just feel like it should be said
From my knowledge of FMA, wrist cuts are very important in their style of combat, so the fact that wrist cuts are easy to perform with these weapons is a key point in the review that I think people should pay attention to if they're interested in buying these for use.
That new intro ;0!
Skallagrim, in the Philippines blades are quite commonly used as agricultural tools. They are not uncommonly used for farm labor.
Didn't you already do a review on those?
Nope, the previous video was only a first impression.
You did do a review on the sharkalope, didn't you?
Seth Mitchell
Yes.
***** Well aren't those both ginunting-like swords? I mean, the Zombie Tools Sharkalope is more of a fantasy knife, and the small and large blades in this video do seem rather undersized and oversized respectively, but other than that they're both the same.
The ginunting is a different blade shape, with the edge on the inside of the curvature. But either way these are different manufacturers and different styles (blade cross-section, handle construction, finish, etc).
So far you're nailing the intended use of the weapon.
skal if u want to learn more about Filipino martial arts look into kali
I'm more than busy enough with HEMA, no need to start anything new right now. :)
+Skallagrim lol ok :p
Very noice :p sucks the false edge came dull, was the bevel thin enough to sharpen easily? Kinda hard to tell in the vid
When I saw you were reviewing a filipino weapon I just really had to watch this (I'm filipino myself), I love your Channel Skall and keep it up!
Why do t you wrap ur beard. It will look more Viking like
I really liked that music at the end, thanks for the video Skall!
What wood is used for the grips on these blades?
Probably Narra tree
Seiba Pendragon too bad it's not ebony.
Well we'll never know
Seiba Pendragon okay
I'd be willing to bet it's actually Kamagong.
the guard is not meant to protect the hands, it is there to prevent the hand from slipping forward to the blade
Espada y Daga, are part of the spanish historical fencing, but theses swords are not correct. Usually in spain Espada y Daga woulf be a rappier sword and a dagger with a big guard.
+Turin Turambar You got him good
+Turin Turambar there are teo ways of answering: you can by polite and helpfull or you can be a pedantic douchebag, just saying...
+José Pablo Alamos Valenzuela two*
You might wanna do some Googling before commenting, bud
How you doing Turin ? Still running away from your fate ?
I had this exact same set when it was made by Kris Cutlery. Loved them, but the long blade would send shock into your hand on hard targets.
Aren't the names just sword and dagger in spanish?
Yes.
I've been watching some of your videos an so far, it is awesome and very instructive.
I'm french and i am very impressed; I mean I was expecting it to be over complicated, with a lot of very strange words (at least for me) but no!
Good balance between explanation and demonstration too.
espada = ten hollow from bleach
espada in bleach come from sword in spanish
weeb
i love bleach i drink it everyday
still wrong... espada means sword... and the espada on bleach are mostly adjuchas levels to vasto lorde... except auroniero...
Bakunawa Benjiro still hollows.
The weapon is coming from a different paradigm, like the falchion a dual purpose farming tool and weapon when required. It may depend on the school of swordsmanship, but I was taught hammer grip wrist held firm putting the whole body behind the cut no follow through, point always in front. As it is a light blade, at 10:25 after reverse upward slash it would be brought straight back down into throat stab.
Congratulations on your great channel! I am impressed on your attention to details in your videos.
I would like to know whether there are any effective real-life sword-and-dagger martial art styles? Or are they just tropes in RPG's?
Wow, I don't know what it is exactly about these, but I loved them from the moment I saw them. These are some of the most appealing swords to me that I've ever seen.
Wow, you really are a good swordsman as you can handle the sword well even though you are not familiar with kali. The characteristics of the sword such as weight and balance suits well to the style of martial arts or combat arts it is used for, which is kali aka arnis or escrima. The filipino martial arts based on videos requires quick and agile movement.
Traditional Filipino weapons are designed around using the wrist for technique. It makes so much sense if the weapons are very light.
5160 steel, if I'm not mistaken, is a spring steel used in leaf springs and suspension coils. it is a very flexible yet tough steel and is great for both swords and knives.
Its actually steel blends of 5160 and D2 for both in the set. Leaf springs are re-heated which is the way they were made in the old days. :)
Well if what skallagrim is correct he stated that the dagger is d2 and the sword was 5160
Not sure if you realize, but I think the guy you replied to is the one who made the blades in the review
I did not know that. I am sorry for that.
Thats ok man. :)
Awesome review. How is your shoulder? Seems like you can do cutting tests again.
My lolo(filipino word for granpa) has one of these and we almost exclusively use it for wood chopping. The sword actually has many names depending on the dialect and fun fact: These were one of the main weapons used in the Spanish revolution of the Filipinos.
This would be like a hunting accessory. The Espada would be used for cutting brush and the Dagga would be a utility knife in practical sense. The Filipinos have adapted the Spanish system of using the short and long blade. The Spaniards hade long swords like the Rapier and dagger for long distance type fighting like in Europe. The Filipinos used the same concept to shorter combat range like on trails and jungle type environments. They used the ambush method to engage Spanish swordsmen and musketeers for close in fighting. With methods of close quarter combat Spanish colonial troops were at a disadvantage in close quarter combat since their muskets and long swords are useless at close range. The Americans had a very hard time to subdue the Filipinos during their fight with them and the Japanese had even a harder time during WWII fighting in the jungle.
Slash and thrust plus block and shield. I have seen Espada (Sword) y (and) Daga (Dagger) fighting before using sticks (long and short to emulate the actual bladed weapon). The fight is on a narrow alley and the weapon partnering is effective in those spots.
do you have any videos or plan to make any videos on how to correctly sharpen various kinds of sword?
what a great video. one of the most well paced and comfortable watch reviews I've seen. I loved it
Espada y Daga is used during the Filipino - Spainard war, the short dagger used for Kali left for stabbing and the right, long bolo sword or Espada for defense guard and for slashing off arms, for practice on the combat session, they use Kali sticks or kamagong to emulate the sword
It's prolly designed more for a handshake grip.
I used to play arnis/kali, and our style of play is with a handshake grip. You swing every joint in your limb to maximize the acceleration of your stick this way.
Those are really cool, I also like the scabbard how they just have both of them there, it pretty interesting.
That was a really nice review!
Could you make a video with some insights and personal opinions on flame/wave bladed swords and rapiers like the flamberge? i would really appreciate it.
Keep up the good work!
the hard part for using the sword and dagger is the fact you can't effectively block since moving with those blades require you to stay literally mobile in order to get in to strike. its a fairly good thing they never cleave like that 27 inch Bicolano minasbad which cleaves so hard while still maintaining the same maneuverability you'd see in a typical general purpose blade because a blade like that cleaving will leave you very open for rapid counterattacks which the dagger can't respond back.
the typical maneuver iirc is to strike first with the sword with a quick follow-up of the dagger while moving into a position where you can connect the sword again, rinse and repeat. one thing you'll probably need in order to use this to devastating effect is rapid footwork and fast hands since it relies on multiple strikes.
They are meant to be used simultaneously...you hold the sword on your dominant hand and dagger on the non dominant hand. The sword is used for slashing then dagger is meant to surprise with a thrust if you see an opening
Just took a look at TFW's site and they have what looks like good quality non-Filipino including European, but I don't have to much experience handing swords yet. But it looks like a place I might check out for when I have the cash to get one.
skall, you lost weight and now you look really good. like really, a bodybuilder.
Eyy. From philippines here. We also used that knife for everyday use. So comftable to used.
You use them in tandem. Both sword and dagger are used to strike, block, and lock in some pretty quick and vicious combinations aiming to end the fight as quickly as possible.
Use them at the same time. Small one in the left hand and the long one in the right hand.
You can do some drills too
'Bout the video: Very cool what you did at 00:03. And thanks for giving us that extra time at the end I asked you a few videos ago. It's really helpful and a lot less frustrating.
'Bout the swords: I wish I had 325 USD right now. The swords look great. First I was expecting a little test with the false edge, until you told us it's a *false* edge. I love swords that are meant to be used lightly like that. The idea behind the use of a lightsaber is basically the same, and I *love* lightsabers.
'Bout History and technique: Their fighting style isn't meant to rely on armor. Quick cuts in whatever body part you can disable is the goal of the fight. Their fighting style definetely looks fancier than that of the medieval Europeans, then. Speaking of medieval, as far as I know there isn't much of a tradition behind these swords, since their broad lasted for very long. I bet some villages still rely on them for many things.
Misc.: Your hair has been great. And I like how you've been changing your beard once in a while.
The daga is used more on stabbing/slashing than cutting, while the espada is used mostly for parring, cutting and slashing.
I know you did this a while ago but in Philippine arts you keep your hand closed no finger rolls but the pull cuts are right you really get stong pinkys. You Really gotta learn to use both hads at same time. A very formidable art should give it a try, it has a way of making you come back
nice blades there. I recommend you ask kali/arnis practioners on their proper handling.
I like how long you hold on to something before you review it. Makes it much more authentic
Actually Skalla FMA is similar to HEMA because it is a hybrid system which include not only what the filipino's themselves made up but also alot of other martial arts including Spanish Sword Fighting like rapier and saber so your strikes you were using weren't that far off. Just don't get lazy with your hand since there's no guard.