I'm a follower of multiple sword channels (Shad, Lindy, Skall, Metatron, Schola) and I've been a practitioner of Kali for the past 12 years. I'd like to think I know my way around blades and swords better than most. This is probably the best video I have watched when it comes to explaining how swords work, and why they work the way they do, without getting too caught up in the historical minutiae. It's a good compromise between detail, practicality, and simplicity. Good video man, keep it up.
@@katokianimation I think weapon combat can really be figured out with simple physics principles and the large amount of historical documentation that we have. Since militaries were very incentivized to understand weaponry.. Hand to hand combat, however, is way harder to get a casual grasp of. Militaries have rarely cared about it, and traditional martial arts were almost never tested. And the demands on athletic ability are comparatively high. I think a weapon person trying to gain a good understanding of hand to hand, while only putting in casual research, is going to have a really hard time. Which is probably why those videos aren't good lol
@@женя-у7ш9т im not sure if Shad had video on hand 2 hand. He talked about practicing hema and martial arts and learning how to fight generally wich wasn't good. But I would go easier on shad than the other two who really had no idea what were they talking about but talked about a topic like they were experts in the topic anyway. Metatron is the worst. The guy had the worst heavybag work i have ever seen. And he said muhay thai is better than mma. And systema is better than boxing... and even though his technics stinks he would win a sword fight because he would use dirty technics... Also it is a common belive among hema guys that they were perform as good in a real fight to death as they are doing in fencing...
@@женя-у7ш9т i haven't watched their videos for years i can give you two example of Shad showing ignorance. In the video titled problems with Hema states we should just figure sh*t out by our own and why would you learn more technics if you have holes in your game if you could just reinvent the wheel...and according to him that is a huge problem. And why you could ask. Because Bruce Lee said so... Second example, does larping helps hema? And he thinks flailing around with foam swords and do anything that loosly represents sword fighting will transfer well to historical fencing, and they will do well. I don't think he has any idea how much it takes to achive high level skills in a combat sport
There’s a final piece of this puzzle that you sort of allude to in the ‘chopping’ section and that’s the percussive element of swords. A heavier blade can sometimes be useful because in the event the blade is not able to penetrate, it is still imparting force into the target. If I swing a big old arming sword at your head I don’t need it to penetrate your helmet to knock you down or out.
To my understanding, this is part of the reason why a good number of Migration-Era and Viking-Era swords could get pretty hefty by sword standards. You're not going to cleave through a mail hauberk with a sword, but if you hit a guy's collarbone hard enough to break it, he's in trouble.
@@женя-у7ш9т Generally, I was thinking more about how the swords were balanced rather than their literal mass. Most swords from the Early Medieval Period were primarily chopping swords, and as such were balanced further away from the hand to ensure a harder impact. This came at the cost of *some* agility. No, they weren't top-heavy like an axe or a mace, but you're not going to be using one like a 15th-century langmesser either. And that's okay, because that's not the kind of context the sword was developed for. To my understanding, while there were *some* that would feel more nimble in the hand than average, those are the exception rather than the rule.
thing is the exact same design that makes it good for chopping makes it good for impacts so it makes sense to just include that with chopping swords but you are right, it is a point worth mentioning, especially regarding the advantages of a chopping sword
As both a historical fencer and a physicist, I have to say this is one of the - if not *the* - best "layman's crash course" on sword blade design I've seen around. There may be a few nuances to add, but they are so specific that it's not even worth doing so for such a nicely compact and already information-packed video. Great job!
This video just filled the niche that all the youtube sword community could not answer ,explaining the most basic types of damage and swords,with scientific and exsaustive presentation. Also i would love for you to suggest traditional martial arts and weapons to Icy Mike,after seeing how much he liked the shield.
This video is like a gladius,a good compromise between different important sides such a depth,semplicity and clarity, good as a first for a beginner,and still useful for someone with more experience.
Without sounding overly pretentious I haven't learned anything I didn't already know. But I have discovered quite literally the most comprehensive, succinct and well explained newb friendly guide to just about everything I've ever tried to explain to someone. This video is an absolute fucking niche gem. It'll definitely be getting recommended.
I love the idea of some dude showing up with a stick wrapped in sandpaper to a duel. “This is my blade. It’s power of abrasion is unmatched. There is no sword like this one!”
The very basic explanation of the curved blade's strength over the straight blade was great. The use of cam mechanism as a visual aid, and the basic demonstration of the blade self correction was very good.
This is false information. Blades do NOT self-correct in a cut. Go find a qualified tameshigiri teacher and learn to cut correctly. You will see that swords do not self-correct.
@@garron6775 this is because you rarely cut straight down in practice, in most sword systems you cut diagonally son any mistake with with the handling is going to make sword rotate and mess the cut, curved swords like to be edge as much as edge up. TLDR I agree with you, you need a sharp sword and a skilled user to prove those theories
@@yoshi658 Most proficient sword arts have a downward cut. It is one of the standard 8 directional cuts. Further to the point of a sword righting itself in a cut (nonsense), a shinken (Japanese sword); while there are many ways to use the entirety of the length of the blade, generally it is cut using the first 2"-4" of the blade. The curve (called sori) had many purposes none of which is to right the sword in the cut.
@@garron6775 what I meant is that the vertical cut( I mean cut number 7 in sabre or men strike in kendo) seems to be not that common in at least in drills or at least sparring(not counting kendo) and some systems like the one in fiore only counts two downward cuts(fendenti) that said I only practice german longsword, Iberian montante and a little bit of english sabre so my knowledge may be narrow or wrong
@@yoshi658 My primary sword art is kenjutsu. I study from a teacher with a direct lineage to samurai. A verticle cut is used as often as any other angle. The reason you may not see them as much in a bouting art is that a verticle shot is somewhat more difficult to land due to that particular angle offering the smallest target. Whereas an angled cut is presented with a much larger target area. However, I would argue this is a skill level rather than a practical issue. Of course, particular sword designs are going to influence the cutting options. Back to my original point, the content creator knows very little about sword fighting and curved swords do NOT right themselves in a cut. One cuts correctly or the sword tells you very quickly that you did not cut correctly.
ok, as a physicist who practiced martial arts (armed ones too) for almost 30 years, this video was orgasmic from start to finish. Also you expose in a very entertaining and funny way. I stumbled on this video by chance but I instantly subbed :)
This video is excellent. I'm a health professional and have had years of science but I'm in awe of engineers who really figure out how things work and figure out practical solutions to problems.
European medieval swords actually *can* also be used for hooking and percussion: you just have to turn it upside down XD Great video! (Also, I'd like to add: you correctly say that "percussion-based" blades need to gather momentum to be affective, but their shortness also means that that momentum can be pretty likely gathered just rotating your wrist)
It’s honestly incredible how much work and thought must have gone into this video. Nearly 30 minutes of great info, and really entertaining. Your channel is great!
This right here is the kinda stuff that gets me frisky 🤣 Also, physicist, and can confirm your hypothesis. It's the same reason most axe bits have a curved blade rather than a flat one. The greatest concentration of mass on an axe is directly behind the blade so you want as much of that mass hitting the target over as great an area as possible. For historical context, thrusting and cutting swords were primarily (though not exclusively) used against unarmoured opponents and so were popular for civilian use, while chopping swords were primarily (though not exclusively) used against armoured opponents
@@yoshi658 Polearms have ALL kinds of blade shapes. Standard axe heads, 2' straight axe blades like a lochaber, hooking blades like the English bill, which was derived from an agricultural tool for pruning trees.
Not quite true. Thrusting or cut and thrust swords (using the thrust) were the most commonly used swords against armoured opponents. Essentially, plate armour would be pretty much invulnerable to a sword (cut, thrust or chop), but mail could be penetrated with a thrust (why long, stiff-bladed daggers were important anti-armour weapons in the medieval era). They could break the mail links with a strong thrust and drive through into the target. Chopping swords (like the falchion) generally had fairly thin blades, like a modern machete. They were primarily used against unarmoured or lightly-armoured opponents, and would have no impact against armour.
Honestly, this is really good. You should be proud of what you’ve learned and the video you produced with the information. I hope mr. Easton gives you the shoutout you deserve.
that was REALLY good, I think you got the important stuff covered; the rest is actual specifics in the design, some stuff in swords is influenced by fencing style, whether the sword was designed for a specific battlefield and/or overall military strategy (i.e. gladius), etc. All that stuff comes on top and wouldn't belong in this video imho
I love what you decided to focus on in this video and the mechanical details. As a sword nerd I learned a lot of facts about them but it's never explained "from the ground up" like you did here. (With fantastic examples too!) I expected generic info and I came out learning quite a bit!
super job! the ax with the curved ax-handle, won't pivot-overall via the curve/angle of the HANDLE, but WILL pivot via the angle of the overall ax-tool MASS, which is roughly the mean-angle of the handle. Kid-- I KNEW ya were GOOD-- but, I didn't know ya were THAT good. Sem!Per!Fi! Oorah.
You are absolutely killing it with your videos. They are so packed with important information that I feel like I'm in a combat master class. Can't wait to see what else you post!
@@leofriclac thats too simplistic to the many nuances that exist other than simple power that impact the effect each strike has to its target jabs are comparably unlikey to cause knockouts, but still cause decent superficial damage hooks measure less energy than crosses but in practice have higher knockout chance power alone won't explain why this is the case
Small correction, the Aztec and Mayan peoples most certainly DID have metalworking, in fact their jewellery was considering far and away more technically impressive than European and revolutionized Europe's jewellery making when it was imported via Spanish conquest. They had copper and bronze and could've theoretically made weapons from it. However, part of the reason the Macuahuitl existed as it did was because killing power was deemphasized in Meso-American warfare. They favoured capturing as many POWs as possible so they could ransom them back and then use the rest as slaves or for appropriate sacrifice or service. One of the reasons they had so much trouble with Spaniards was the steel to stone/wood discrepancy, but it was also noted by warriors at the time that the Spanish were just seen as cruel and ruthless in their more lethal-focused warfare.
The obsidian sword at the end Macuahuitl was used more so as a chopping weapon then a cutting or sawing one. Usually the first couple of strikes were great at penetrating, however the obsidian shards they used way too hard and lost edge quite quickly, turning it into a jagged club. As far as I know this worked as where it was used conflicts werent that big hence a few good chops, a few ok bats and then off to sharpen your rocks was a viable strategy. As a technicall geek into martial arts and HEMA of late, your video is absolutely amazing. Im so glad i stumbled on it as well as your channel
This was an awesome video and probably the best explanation of how swords work for the average person. Can I recommend you do this type of explanation for how strikes differ and why you would use a straight punch vs a hook or a front kick vs a round house…. It might help people who don’t understand why they throw these different strikes or learn them in the first place
Great video. The only correction I would make is your definition of a cut. It's technically slashing that you're referring to. Hacking and stabbing are all cuts, since a cut is just a separation in skin. Also I have owned Chinese Hook Swords and they can slash, but they require the 2 step motion like longswords.
Great video bro, I've never seen anything from your channel but this was fantastic, I know a fair amount, in theory and practice, about this subject and from my perspective you conveyed pretty technical concepts succinctly and eloquently, a well deserved thumbs up from me ::)
This makes a lot of sense. especially with the whole cutting versus chopping versus thrusting thing. I've seen people use swords the wrong way. Of course, a lot of people's perception of swords is from TV.
As a physics major turned icu nurse who likes weapons this made me very happy! I only saw your other video on why HEMA sucks and wasn’t a fan but now I see that your way of speaking wasn’t trying to be antagonistic. Kudos on the great vid and the physics nostalgia.
I just started Kendo this month, I've had about a total of 32 hours of training in it and we have a huge, huge emphasis on foot work. It would be super cool to see a video on how foot work applies towards the physics of the blade. Great video, great channel! I know very little of swordsmanship and would like to learn more :)
This is so good. Answers do many questions I had for so long being a fan of comics and fantasy I always wondered about the different styles of swords but couldnt grasp it
Young guy explains why a ' point' or blade is better then a blunt piece of metal .But he does it in such a refreshing way, i didn't even notice it's bloody obvious. 😅Well done !
In the SCA I was once tasked with teaching a young man with Ausberger (?) in rapier. He was great at drawing so I drew a pic of a sword and labeled the parts and how they were used to help him. Wish I had this video to show him
Fantastic analysis! Instant subscriber here and now. Of course you now have me imagining a Viking warrior at the sword dealership... "Y'know, the thrusting model sure is sexy, but I'm not sure it would work in a shield-wall. I think I'm'a have to stick with the good ol'-fashioned cutter."
Great video, randomly popped up and expected another cringe awful typical TH-cam video of some creep in a dojo setting. I've since spent the past few hours watching all your videos... Awesome stuff man. Figured I should say something, you do great long form videos, do more!
OOOhh, you used Skallagrim! This is a crossover I was not expecting!! (Mind you, I did know that Shadiversity watches Icy Mike) I know it's not your usual lane but a collab would be very cool!
*Very* nice and compact presentation. Did not realize the connection of sweet spot and extreme form of Khopesh, had only guesses it was mostly a function of stronger metals from bronze to steel which changed geometry from Egyptian Khopesh over Greek Kopis to Roman Gladius. 2nd saw toothed sword is the Leiomano, the Hawaiian 🦈 tooth sword. You are correct as it will probably hook instead of cut, but did rip flesh in native Hawaiian attire. Some group it under war clubs, but a hit from a massive short blade like Machete or Langmesser works like a club if ridge or flat connects.😎
I'm actually a mechanical design engineer and nobel-winning physicist , so I do feel compelled to lend my expertise to discussing how swords *ACTUALLY* work. It's all pretty complicated, but- Pointy end? Goes into the other man. Loved the video :3. Also, I really am an engineer, and that curved ax handle diagram hurt my brain.
Very nice video! I only have one addition to make: where swords were used by people in heavy armour (knights), they were not really used in the way described. There are few places to cut a knight, so instead of cutting you were basically pommeling the opponent with a metal bat. Furthermore, it is hard to stab through even a thin metal plate. Thus you had to find gaps in the armour, which is difficult at a distance against a moving opponent. Hence apart from pommeling, the other effective use was half-swording at close distance. Basically, you grab your own blade with a gloved (!) hand somwhere in the middle, and now have a weird spear / long knife that you can stab into gaps with more precision and force. So, for swords used by nobles in knight armour there was another design compromise for their sword based on how often you were trying to shred unarmoured / lightly armoured peasants and how often you were trying to beat up and stab a fellow human tank.
Excellent work. There are a couple things what could have been slipped in, but trying to get everything into an overview video is quite the tall order so that's understandable. The 2 that stuck out to me are forward curving blades that are intended to (ideally) strike with a forward sweeping point like the falx, which is chopping and thrusting but in a very different way to the mentioned swords. There's also that thrusting swords are faced with a tradeoff between stiffness (to prevent loosing energy bending the sword) and narrowness (to increase the pressure at the point) with some adopting a T cross section instead of a wedge or diamond cross section as a way to solve this (at the expense, as you mention, of ruining their cutting potential). The fact that those are the only things I can notice that are missing is a compliment though.
I also once taught and believed that cutting/slashing and chopping are different types of attack. Yet after researching a ton about it (and also mainly reading Michael Edelsons awesome book sbout sword cutting mechanics) I now believe that the pulling motion of a slice is only going to pull from the force of the sword going forward. As it hits the target, the counter force will move your sword backwards or stop it from going deeper. If you are not trying to go right through the target, you will unlikely to have a deep cut. There is no reason to make the cuts less powerful in a life or death situation. The pulling motion of a slicing may be explained as removing your sword from a body or an obstackle like another swords block. Other than that I think I noticed some anachronistic explanations that does not take in to consideration the cultural context that is around some spesific sword for their period of use. In general I think this is more than a great compilation of sword mechanics and I hope you keep up the goodwork
While thrusting swords are less wide to lower the cross-sectional area, the material is still thick. One of the most important things for penetration is to prevent the blade from flexing. There is a huge difference between swords made for actual fighting and training weapons, like the one you showed in the video. Training weapons are made to flex easily, to make practicing safer. The ones made for fighting are very stiff
Great video as a massive HEMA nerd. My only criticism is on the curved cutting/slicing swords: different designs have differing degrees of curvature for different reasons. Very curved swords like the kilij are great at focusing their energy on a very short area. Whereas less-so curved swords like katanas have more emphasis on reach (for the amount of metal used), having moderate to decent thrusting capability for the design (and for what armor was being faced for most of Japan's history), and the aforementioned self-correcting edge alignment- though the thickness of the blade also helps with this, katanas are one of the *easiest* swords to cut properly with. And the reason some swords may have a straight section (again, like some examples of kilij) before the curvature is to get reach *and* the specialized slicing ability. Also with straight swords like a longsword, you can easily mix a chop and a slice/cut by drawing/pushing as you make contact.
While the self correcting blade alignment on a curved sword works well in that test, it doesn't work like that when you're in combat. You still have to pay attention to how the blade is aligned, and control your cuts, because when you have a grip on the sword and are swinging it through the air and through your opponent, the tiny difference in the balance of the blade has basically no effect on the edge alignment. What helps get the edge generally aligned on its own is the shape of the grip, which is not circular but more of an ellipse, so you know by the feel which way the blade is facing, and straight swords have this just the same. That said, the rest of the video is awesome. Getting all the engineering and physics stuff is awesome and something I don't really see from many channels, especially in this depth.
As a Chinese martial arts practitioner who trains with a variety of sword types and a trained engineer, I congratulate you on your video. Just wish to add one correction. In Chinese martial arts, especially Chen style Taijiquan which I practice currently, slicing, cutting, and chopping motions do not just include the weight of the sword. With all swords but especially the broadsword your weight and body mechanics are fully either behind or above the slicing and chopping motions. Skill plays a huge role in efficacy. See any of Chen Ziqiang’s sword and broadsword videos for an example.
A tibit about curved cutters - I've read that another very miniscule aspect of the curved wedge is that, when hit at the COP (and presuming the apex of the curve runs along it), the edge is encouraged to enter slightly askew of perpendicular. This makes the contact area even smaller, which not only further focuses the impact point but also allows the wedge to enter at an even more acute angle than it is ground to. So basically, albeit on an arguably arbitrary and near-microscopic level, your taper is even MORE gradual and allows for a little more penetration through the cut
Very useful video, even helped me understand cutting and thrusting techniques better. The technique can make up for design. Like, the explanation on momentum got me thinking about the curve used in almost all thrusting motions with the Jian in Chinese martial arts. More range to build up momentum. The cuts with the straight blade of the jian likewise employ round drawing motions which I figure from this video might make up for the lack of roundness on the blade itself. By the way, your pronounciation of jian was solid!
Ive been around martial arts a long time and learned a lot here, it was funny because your explanations made a lot of stuff i already 'knew' click in a more cognitive way as opposed to intuitive. The chinese oxtail dao and butterfly knives are other good examples of choppers. The dao with its recurve handle does help reduce hand shock and now i know why.
In a thrust, the arm doesn't have to be limiting factor in getting your body weight into the point. With the arm straight from the shoulder, the point in line with the shoulder, you essentially stack up all the joints in a line behind the point, allowing much more of the energy of a lunge to be imparted to the point.
This video is basically me saying "Notice me, Senpai! OwO" to Scholagladitoria
@ them in your video description bruh and perhaps they will
A fellow knight of the order of "Context and Penetration" xD
I am amazed a Matt didn't appear in the background when you said the word "Context"
Would love to see you guys collaborate
I’m a big fan of Scholagladiatoria
So glad being a mechanical engineering major finally paid off for this video
I'm a follower of multiple sword channels (Shad, Lindy, Skall, Metatron, Schola) and I've been a practitioner of Kali for the past 12 years. I'd like to think I know my way around blades and swords better than most.
This is probably the best video I have watched when it comes to explaining how swords work, and why they work the way they do, without getting too caught up in the historical minutiae. It's a good compromise between detail, practicality, and simplicity.
Good video man, keep it up.
I hated Lindy's and Shad's and esspecially Metatron's videos on hanf to hand fighting and martial arts. Made me question all of their videos.
@@katokianimation Their "self-defense" videos, presumably?
@@katokianimation I think weapon combat can really be figured out with simple physics principles and the large amount of historical documentation that we have. Since militaries were very incentivized to understand weaponry..
Hand to hand combat, however, is way harder to get a casual grasp of. Militaries have rarely cared about it, and traditional martial arts were almost never tested. And the demands on athletic ability are comparatively high.
I think a weapon person trying to gain a good understanding of hand to hand, while only putting in casual research, is going to have a really hard time. Which is probably why those videos aren't good lol
@@женя-у7ш9т im not sure if Shad had video on hand 2 hand. He talked about practicing hema and martial arts and learning how to fight generally wich wasn't good. But I would go easier on shad than the other two who really had no idea what were they talking about but talked about a topic like they were experts in the topic anyway.
Metatron is the worst. The guy had the worst heavybag work i have ever seen. And he said muhay thai is better than mma. And systema is better than boxing... and even though his technics stinks he would win a sword fight because he would use dirty technics...
Also it is a common belive among hema guys that they were perform as good in a real fight to death as they are doing in fencing...
@@женя-у7ш9т i haven't watched their videos for years i can give you two example of Shad showing ignorance.
In the video titled problems with Hema states we should just figure sh*t out by our own and why would you learn more technics if you have holes in your game if you could just reinvent the wheel...and according to him that is a huge problem. And why you could ask. Because Bruce Lee said so...
Second example, does larping helps hema? And he thinks flailing around with foam swords and do anything that loosly represents sword fighting will transfer well to historical fencing, and they will do well.
I don't think he has any idea how much it takes to achive high level skills in a combat sport
There’s a final piece of this puzzle that you sort of allude to in the ‘chopping’ section and that’s the percussive element of swords. A heavier blade can sometimes be useful because in the event the blade is not able to penetrate, it is still imparting force into the target. If I swing a big old arming sword at your head I don’t need it to penetrate your helmet to knock you down or out.
To my understanding, this is part of the reason why a good number of Migration-Era and Viking-Era swords could get pretty hefty by sword standards.
You're not going to cleave through a mail hauberk with a sword, but if you hit a guy's collarbone hard enough to break it, he's in trouble.
@@женя-у7ш9т Generally, I was thinking more about how the swords were balanced rather than their literal mass.
Most swords from the Early Medieval Period were primarily chopping swords, and as such were balanced further away from the hand to ensure a harder impact. This came at the cost of *some* agility.
No, they weren't top-heavy like an axe or a mace, but you're not going to be using one like a 15th-century langmesser either. And that's okay, because that's not the kind of context the sword was developed for.
To my understanding, while there were *some* that would feel more nimble in the hand than average, those are the exception rather than the rule.
thing is the exact same design that makes it good for chopping makes it good for impacts so it makes sense to just include that with chopping swords
but you are right, it is a point worth mentioning, especially regarding the advantages of a chopping sword
@@Leo.23232 well said ::)
As both a historical fencer and a physicist, I have to say this is one of the - if not *the* - best "layman's crash course" on sword blade design I've seen around.
There may be a few nuances to add, but they are so specific that it's not even worth doing so for such a nicely compact and already information-packed video.
Great job!
As someone who just really fuckin loves any kind of blade really I agree.
This video just filled the niche that all the youtube sword community could not answer ,explaining the most basic types of damage and swords,with scientific and exsaustive presentation. Also i would love for you to suggest traditional martial arts and weapons to Icy Mike,after seeing how much he liked the shield.
This video is like a gladius,a good compromise between different important sides such a depth,semplicity and clarity, good as a first for a beginner,and still useful for someone with more experience.
Without sounding overly pretentious I haven't learned anything I didn't already know. But I have discovered quite literally the most comprehensive, succinct and well explained newb friendly guide to just about everything I've ever tried to explain to someone. This video is an absolute fucking niche gem. It'll definitely be getting recommended.
I love the idea of some dude showing up with a stick wrapped in sandpaper to a duel.
“This is my blade. It’s power of abrasion is unmatched. There is no sword like this one!”
"I am now a science educator so make the algorithm give me subscribers" had me rolling XD
The very basic explanation of the curved blade's strength over the straight blade was great. The use of cam mechanism as a visual aid, and the basic demonstration of the blade self correction was very good.
This is false information. Blades do NOT self-correct in a cut. Go find a qualified tameshigiri teacher and learn to cut correctly. You will see that swords do not self-correct.
@@garron6775 this is because you rarely cut straight down in practice, in most sword systems you cut diagonally son any mistake with with the handling is going to make sword rotate and mess the cut, curved swords like to be edge as much as edge up.
TLDR I agree with you, you need a sharp sword and a skilled user to prove those theories
@@yoshi658 Most proficient sword arts have a downward cut. It is one of the standard 8 directional cuts. Further to the point of a sword righting itself in a cut (nonsense), a shinken (Japanese sword); while there are many ways to use the entirety of the length of the blade, generally it is cut using the first 2"-4" of the blade. The curve (called sori) had many purposes none of which is to right the sword in the cut.
@@garron6775 what I meant is that the vertical cut( I mean cut number 7 in sabre or men strike in kendo) seems to be not that common in at least in drills or at least sparring(not counting kendo) and some systems like the one in fiore only counts two downward cuts(fendenti) that said I only practice german longsword, Iberian montante and a little bit of english sabre so my knowledge may be narrow or wrong
@@yoshi658 My primary sword art is kenjutsu. I study from a teacher with a direct lineage to samurai. A verticle cut is used as often as any other angle. The reason you may not see them as much in a bouting art is that a verticle shot is somewhat more difficult to land due to that particular angle offering the smallest target. Whereas an angled cut is presented with a much larger target area. However, I would argue this is a skill level rather than a practical issue. Of course, particular sword designs are going to influence the cutting options. Back to my original point, the content creator knows very little about sword fighting and curved swords do NOT right themselves in a cut. One cuts correctly or the sword tells you very quickly that you did not cut correctly.
6 minutes in and this is already the best video on TH-cam about swords
This video is fucking addictive. I rarely watch through a video in one sitting.
ok, as a physicist who practiced martial arts (armed ones too) for almost 30 years, this video was orgasmic from start to finish. Also you expose in a very entertaining and funny way. I stumbled on this video by chance but I instantly subbed :)
Coaching dream team from YT
Strategy: Armchair
Striking: Icy Mike
Grappling: Coach Brian
Public Relations: Uncle Chael
Head Coach: Tony Ferguson
This video is excellent. I'm a health professional and have had years of science but I'm in awe of engineers who really figure out how things work and figure out practical solutions to problems.
European medieval swords actually *can* also be used for hooking and percussion: you just have to turn it upside down XD
Great video!
(Also, I'd like to add: you correctly say that "percussion-based" blades need to gather momentum to be affective, but their shortness also means that that momentum can be pretty likely gathered just rotating your wrist)
It’s honestly incredible how much work and thought must have gone into this video. Nearly 30 minutes of great info, and really entertaining. Your channel is great!
This right here is the kinda stuff that gets me frisky 🤣
Also, physicist, and can confirm your hypothesis. It's the same reason most axe bits have a curved blade rather than a flat one. The greatest concentration of mass on an axe is directly behind the blade so you want as much of that mass hitting the target over as great an area as possible.
For historical context, thrusting and cutting swords were primarily (though not exclusively) used against unarmoured opponents and so were popular for civilian use, while chopping swords were primarily (though not exclusively) used against armoured opponents
poleaxes and halberds often have straight heads like guillotines
@@yoshi658 Polearms have ALL kinds of blade shapes. Standard axe heads, 2' straight axe blades like a lochaber, hooking blades like the English bill, which was derived from an agricultural tool for pruning trees.
Not quite true. Thrusting or cut and thrust swords (using the thrust) were the most commonly used swords against armoured opponents.
Essentially, plate armour would be pretty much invulnerable to a sword (cut, thrust or chop), but mail could be penetrated with a thrust (why long, stiff-bladed daggers were important anti-armour weapons in the medieval era). They could break the mail links with a strong thrust and drive through into the target.
Chopping swords (like the falchion) generally had fairly thin blades, like a modern machete. They were primarily used against unarmoured or lightly-armoured opponents, and would have no impact against armour.
Honestly, this is really good. You should be proud of what you’ve learned and the video you produced with the information. I hope mr. Easton gives you the shoutout you deserve.
that was REALLY good, I think you got the important stuff covered; the rest is actual specifics in the design, some stuff in swords is influenced by fencing style, whether the sword was designed for a specific battlefield and/or overall military strategy (i.e. gladius), etc. All that stuff comes on top and wouldn't belong in this video imho
14:40
im not a physicist but some other smart guy said thats how axes work so yea pog
This is a fantastic video. You are rapidly becoming one of my favorite content creators. Thanks for the entertainment!
I love what you decided to focus on in this video and the mechanical details. As a sword nerd I learned a lot of facts about them but it's never explained "from the ground up" like you did here. (With fantastic examples too!)
I expected generic info and I came out learning quite a bit!
This was outstanding! Thank you for taking the time to make it.
didn't expect you to cook up one of the most comprehensive sword videos on the platform, good stuff
"it's surprisingly complicated... or maybe I'm making it complicated" accurately describes the past 6 months of thesis writing.
super job! the ax with the curved ax-handle, won't pivot-overall via the curve/angle of the HANDLE, but WILL pivot via the angle of the overall ax-tool MASS, which is roughly the mean-angle of the handle.
Kid-- I KNEW ya were GOOD-- but, I didn't know ya were THAT good. Sem!Per!Fi! Oorah.
Excellently well done! Praise from the perspective of 25+ years of historical fencing, competition, and study.
I've only read papers with this type of information. So it was cool to see it in a video form. Thanks for making it!
I'm commenting singularly for the algorithm. God speed, awesome channel.
I quite enjoyed this video and the level of detail you went into. Kudos on a solid presentation on how swords work.
Literally best video on swords on this platform
Holy moly.
You have explained the center of percussion better than I have ever seen!
And here I thought I wouldn't learn anything new from this video.
high quality video, only a matter of time before it blows up was surprised to see it hasnt already
You are absolutely killing it with your videos. They are so packed with important information that I feel like I'm in a combat master class. Can't wait to see what else you post!
Samehada had entered the chat.
Great vid, you covered a lot of ground here!
This was amazing. It would be interesting to see a video comparing unarmed linear strikes vs round kicks, hooks, and uppercuts.
Sensei Seth might have done that video for you, he got his hands on a power cube and tries every strike he can think of (if I remember correctly)
@@leofriclac thats too simplistic to the many nuances that exist other than simple power that impact the effect each strike has to its target
jabs are comparably unlikey to cause knockouts, but still cause decent superficial damage
hooks measure less energy than crosses but in practice have higher knockout chance
power alone won't explain why this is the case
Small correction, the Aztec and Mayan peoples most certainly DID have metalworking, in fact their jewellery was considering far and away more technically impressive than European and revolutionized Europe's jewellery making when it was imported via Spanish conquest. They had copper and bronze and could've theoretically made weapons from it.
However, part of the reason the Macuahuitl existed as it did was because killing power was deemphasized in Meso-American warfare. They favoured capturing as many POWs as possible so they could ransom them back and then use the rest as slaves or for appropriate sacrifice or service.
One of the reasons they had so much trouble with Spaniards was the steel to stone/wood discrepancy, but it was also noted by warriors at the time that the Spanish were just seen as cruel and ruthless in their more lethal-focused warfare.
This channel is getting higher and higher in my best martial arts channels
The obsidian sword at the end Macuahuitl was used more so as a chopping weapon then a cutting or sawing one. Usually the first couple of strikes were great at penetrating, however the obsidian shards they used way too hard and lost edge quite quickly, turning it into a jagged club. As far as I know this worked as where it was used conflicts werent that big hence a few good chops, a few ok bats and then off to sharpen your rocks was a viable strategy.
As a technicall geek into martial arts and HEMA of late, your video is absolutely amazing. Im so glad i stumbled on it as well as your channel
This was an awesome video and probably the best explanation of how swords work for the average person. Can I recommend you do this type of explanation for how strikes differ and why you would use a straight punch vs a hook or a front kick vs a round house…. It might help people who don’t understand why they throw these different strikes or learn them in the first place
Great video. The only correction I would make is your definition of a cut. It's technically slashing that you're referring to. Hacking and stabbing are all cuts, since a cut is just a separation in skin.
Also I have owned Chinese Hook Swords and they can slash, but they require the 2 step motion like longswords.
Once again, great information
I don't know how but you made it more and less complicated at the same time and still made it make sense. Props to you sir!
Great video bro, I've never seen anything from your channel but this was fantastic, I know a fair amount, in theory and practice, about this subject and from my perspective you conveyed pretty technical concepts succinctly and eloquently, a well deserved thumbs up from me ::)
Tremendous video and unique approach to making sense of swords w/o obvious biases. Form follows function.
This makes a lot of sense. especially with the whole cutting versus chopping versus thrusting thing. I've seen people use swords the wrong way. Of course, a lot of people's perception of swords is from TV.
Excellent primer on sword mechanics! I hope you get more subs, this quality of video deserves it.
You are doing great work. If the universe is fair your channel will be going places.
Well shoot, I have to thank the algorithm! Subscribed and liked! Keep up the great work.
As a physics major turned icu nurse who likes weapons this made me very happy! I only saw your other video on why HEMA sucks and wasn’t a fan but now I see that your way of speaking wasn’t trying to be antagonistic. Kudos on the great vid and the physics nostalgia.
I just started Kendo this month, I've had about a total of 32 hours of training in it and we have a huge, huge emphasis on foot work. It would be super cool to see a video on how foot work applies towards the physics of the blade. Great video, great channel! I know very little of swordsmanship and would like to learn more :)
One of your most fun videos yet.
Okay, wow. This is a great video that sums up (simply) how blades actually "work"! It also helped me understand "cams" a little better xD - Kudos!
It's been said before, but a lot of the time "good enough " is pretty damned awesome.
Incredibly interesting. Especially the section about chopping, I did always wonder why some people would use axes when swords seemed more powerful.
This is so good. Answers do many questions I had for so long being a fan of comics and fantasy I always wondered about the different styles of swords but couldnt grasp it
Young guy explains why a ' point' or blade is better then a blunt piece of metal .But he does it in such a refreshing way, i didn't even notice it's bloody obvious. 😅Well done !
In the SCA I was once tasked with teaching a young man with Ausberger (?) in rapier. He was great at drawing so I drew a pic of a sword and labeled the parts and how they were used to help him. Wish I had this video to show him
Its assburger
Fantastic analysis! Instant subscriber here and now. Of course you now have me imagining a Viking warrior at the sword dealership... "Y'know, the thrusting model sure is sexy, but I'm not sure it would work in a shield-wall. I think I'm'a have to stick with the good ol'-fashioned cutter."
Great video, randomly popped up and expected another cringe awful typical TH-cam video of some creep in a dojo setting. I've since spent the past few hours watching all your videos... Awesome stuff man.
Figured I should say something, you do great long form videos, do more!
i am lucky to find your channel, fresh and entertaining with logical understanding and nice spirit. thanks.
Super dense, but so well explained and well-written. Love it!
OOOhh, you used Skallagrim! This is a crossover I was not expecting!! (Mind you, I did know that Shadiversity watches Icy Mike) I know it's not your usual lane but a collab would be very cool!
Just saw this and honestly this is a really compelling video. Im excited for you channel!
A remarkably detailed, and i believe, accurate analysis, sir.👍
7:18 No, this is how you get hand sniped. Lead with the guard, not the hands.
Incredibly cool info on the cutting mechanics of curved swords, pretty cool
*Very* nice and compact presentation. Did not realize the connection of sweet spot and extreme form of Khopesh, had only guesses it was mostly a function of stronger metals from bronze to steel which changed geometry from Egyptian Khopesh over Greek Kopis to Roman Gladius.
2nd saw toothed sword is the Leiomano, the Hawaiian 🦈 tooth sword. You are correct as it will probably hook instead of cut, but did rip flesh in native Hawaiian attire. Some group it under war clubs, but a hit from a massive short blade like Machete or Langmesser works like a club if ridge or flat connects.😎
Well done mate, this video was very infomative. You went over alot of concepts in clear and concise manner.
really liked the usage of models
Truly impressive explanation, thank you.
This presentation is one of the best of its kind.
Facts can be so refreshing.
Great Job - Thank You
I'm actually a mechanical design engineer and nobel-winning physicist , so I do feel compelled to lend my expertise to discussing how swords *ACTUALLY* work. It's all pretty complicated, but-
Pointy end? Goes into the other man.
Loved the video :3. Also, I really am an engineer, and that curved ax handle diagram hurt my brain.
Very nice video! I only have one addition to make: where swords were used by people in heavy armour (knights), they were not really used in the way described. There are few places to cut a knight, so instead of cutting you were basically pommeling the opponent with a metal bat. Furthermore, it is hard to stab through even a thin metal plate. Thus you had to find gaps in the armour, which is difficult at a distance against a moving opponent. Hence apart from pommeling, the other effective use was half-swording at close distance. Basically, you grab your own blade with a gloved (!) hand somwhere in the middle, and now have a weird spear / long knife that you can stab into gaps with more precision and force. So, for swords used by nobles in knight armour there was another design compromise for their sword based on how often you were trying to shred unarmoured / lightly armoured peasants and how often you were trying to beat up and stab a fellow human tank.
Excellent work. There are a couple things what could have been slipped in, but trying to get everything into an overview video is quite the tall order so that's understandable.
The 2 that stuck out to me are forward curving blades that are intended to (ideally) strike with a forward sweeping point like the falx, which is chopping and thrusting but in a very different way to the mentioned swords.
There's also that thrusting swords are faced with a tradeoff between stiffness (to prevent loosing energy bending the sword) and narrowness (to increase the pressure at the point) with some adopting a T cross section instead of a wedge or diamond cross section as a way to solve this (at the expense, as you mention, of ruining their cutting potential).
The fact that those are the only things I can notice that are missing is a compliment though.
Best sword breakdown ever.
Very cool analyses. Much appreciate the thoughtfulness and thoroughness.
I also once taught and believed that cutting/slashing and chopping are different types of attack. Yet after researching a ton about it (and also mainly reading Michael Edelsons awesome book sbout sword cutting mechanics) I now believe that the pulling motion of a slice is only going to pull from the force of the sword going forward. As it hits the target, the counter force will move your sword backwards or stop it from going deeper. If you are not trying to go right through the target, you will unlikely to have a deep cut. There is no reason to make the cuts less powerful in a life or death situation. The pulling motion of a slicing may be explained as removing your sword from a body or an obstackle like another swords block.
Other than that I think I noticed some anachronistic explanations that does not take in to consideration the cultural context that is around some spesific sword for their period of use.
In general I think this is more than a great compilation of sword mechanics and I hope you keep up the goodwork
Great explaination video of how things work. For science!
Well done. Very clear, simple and informative. Thank you.
Not even finished and I already know more about curved swords than I ever did before. Thank you :)
You left the flamberge a very cool sword is like to see a breakdown of this beauty.
While thrusting swords are less wide to lower the cross-sectional area, the material is still thick. One of the most important things for penetration is to prevent the blade from flexing. There is a huge difference between swords made for actual fighting and training weapons, like the one you showed in the video. Training weapons are made to flex easily, to make practicing safer. The ones made for fighting are very stiff
@TH-camCommenter1 actually a great point. a flexible thrusting sword would be useless.
Great video as a massive HEMA nerd. My only criticism is on the curved cutting/slicing swords: different designs have differing degrees of curvature for different reasons. Very curved swords like the kilij are great at focusing their energy on a very short area. Whereas less-so curved swords like katanas have more emphasis on reach (for the amount of metal used), having moderate to decent thrusting capability for the design (and for what armor was being faced for most of Japan's history), and the aforementioned self-correcting edge alignment- though the thickness of the blade also helps with this, katanas are one of the *easiest* swords to cut properly with. And the reason some swords may have a straight section (again, like some examples of kilij) before the curvature is to get reach *and* the specialized slicing ability. Also with straight swords like a longsword, you can easily mix a chop and a slice/cut by drawing/pushing as you make contact.
While the self correcting blade alignment on a curved sword works well in that test, it doesn't work like that when you're in combat. You still have to pay attention to how the blade is aligned, and control your cuts, because when you have a grip on the sword and are swinging it through the air and through your opponent, the tiny difference in the balance of the blade has basically no effect on the edge alignment. What helps get the edge generally aligned on its own is the shape of the grip, which is not circular but more of an ellipse, so you know by the feel which way the blade is facing, and straight swords have this just the same. That said, the rest of the video is awesome. Getting all the engineering and physics stuff is awesome and something I don't really see from many channels, especially in this depth.
This was very, very cool. Thank you for this.
Thank you for this wonderful dissertation on the mechanics of murder with a sword.
As a Chinese martial arts practitioner who trains with a variety of sword types and a trained engineer, I congratulate you on your video.
Just wish to add one correction. In Chinese martial arts, especially Chen style Taijiquan which I practice currently, slicing, cutting, and chopping motions do not just include the weight of the sword. With all swords but especially the broadsword your weight and body mechanics are fully either behind or above the slicing and chopping motions.
Skill plays a huge role in efficacy. See any of Chen Ziqiang’s sword and broadsword videos for an example.
Jian pronunciation on point 👌🏼
R1 r1 r1. Sometimes an r2. Sometimes you feint.
How is this channel not more popular? I keep looking at the view counter like “61M? No, 61K! WTF???”
A tibit about curved cutters - I've read that another very miniscule aspect of the curved wedge is that, when hit at the COP (and presuming the apex of the curve runs along it), the edge is encouraged to enter slightly askew of perpendicular. This makes the contact area even smaller, which not only further focuses the impact point but also allows the wedge to enter at an even more acute angle than it is ground to. So basically, albeit on an arguably arbitrary and near-microscopic level, your taper is even MORE gradual and allows for a little more penetration through the cut
Very useful video, even helped me understand cutting and thrusting techniques better. The technique can make up for design. Like, the explanation on momentum got me thinking about the curve used in almost all thrusting motions with the Jian in Chinese martial arts. More range to build up momentum. The cuts with the straight blade of the jian likewise employ round drawing motions which I figure from this video might make up for the lack of roundness on the blade itself.
By the way, your pronounciation of jian was solid!
Ive been around martial arts a long time and learned a lot here, it was funny because your explanations made a lot of stuff i already 'knew' click in a more cognitive way as opposed to intuitive. The chinese oxtail dao and butterfly knives are other good examples of choppers. The dao with its recurve handle does help reduce hand shock and now i know why.
amazing video, really hope you do more on this kind of stuff
In a thrust, the arm doesn't have to be limiting factor in getting your body weight into the point. With the arm straight from the shoulder, the point in line with the shoulder, you essentially stack up all the joints in a line behind the point, allowing much more of the energy of a lunge to be imparted to the point.
Clearly explained, and interesting. Keep up the good work!
just found this on my recommended, glad i clicked, very interesting video and great for nerds like me :)