Grip on Indian sword is locked because In an Indian Sword-fight you are supposed to rotate your entire body and move your entire body with your sword. Swordfight usually happened after battle formations are broken.
My parents went to India and brought back a pair of these amazing swords. The inside of the sheath seemed to be blue velvet over wood. I marvelled at the decorations on the blade. The blades were very heavy for a kid and the handle uncomfortable and too small to use both hands. My brother and I probably are alive today with all our limbs because we could not swing the heavy blades.
You can still buy those swords in specific shops in India. They're very expensive and are used as wall art/ status symbols not really as weapons. Places like Punjab, Rajasthan, Delhi, Agra where there are tourists should still sell these traditional items.
@@Masood1810 Oh yes I remember, when I was a child (this is was over 20 years ago), my parents and I visited the red fort in Delhi and got a dagger from there, which we still have till this day
Indian Women also practised swordsmanship and the art goes back not hundreds of years but thousands. There are historical accounts of great swordsmen and women in the antiquity dating back to 1st or 2nd century AD. Also the swords were made with the same material that is used for Damascus steel. So they are hard hitting and very durable as well.
@@ApoorwVikramDwivedi Maybe. Maybe not. But the name is Damascus steel. That's not going away unless there is some strong evidence and it's really not worth proving it to the world and claiming that name.
I belong to a clan that practiced Garadipett or Tulunadan Kalari. British completely shutdown the martial arts practice after they took over our region right after the death of Tipu Sultan. Most in my clan don't know our martial history, even though the name of the clan literally means soldier. My uncle remembers his great uncle storing a cache of swords and spears in a huge wooden trunk, this was 75 years ago. No one in the family knows what happened those old weapons. They probably gave it away as scrap metal.
@@HistorysArena That stuff was in our 600 years old ancestral home which was fully demolished before I heard about the weapon cache. So, there is no chance.
I think a fourth reason would be the fact that they were often paired with bucklers. The ability to close a line independently of your sword blade is just so nice to have.
Just a thought... European swordsmanship of the day tended to focus on extension. You keep your weapon forward, maintain distance. The shape of the talwar's hilt limits your extension slightly. It locks you into more of a hammer grip. That foreshortened reach necessitates a much more aggressive fencing style, taking risks to close distance. That level of aggression can be very difficult to deal with if you don't have any experience with it
That's most likely the case. And it's most likely due to the phase-out of armored warfare due to firearms. You don't need a "whole body swing" to pierce clothes. Beter to just jab them from far away when you run out of ammo.
@@Preetishh Nice try troll. We've all watched Captain Context enough to know that you can't make blanket statements like that. "European swords" could cover anything from the migration period to 19th century cavalry sabers. That's a huge swath of history with wildly varying levels of technology and equally disparate applications for swords and swordsmanship. Care to narrow down your critique into a coherent argument?
@@lukediehl1210 you know the troll comment is baiting you and you know it's factually inaccurate and we all agree with you there so you don't have to argue against it my man
Hardly an original observation on my part, but it's cool to see that the cuts with a Tulwar are more-or-less the same as popular exercise movements with the "Indian Weight Clubs". Young men exercising with those tools would also be perfectly strengthening the exact muscles needed to deliver a good cut with their swords, it seems.
That is a very cool observation. So even when they weren't practicing with a sword, the precious hard to replace objects, they were still practicing swordsmanship with the heavy lathed bits of wood.
That was the original intention,together with the larger Gada mace. Also,maces and clubs were used as weapons as well very commonly,but their use as training tools for fencers is widely known. Matt posted a few videos about club swinging for fencing strenght some years ago.
I was on a remote Indian railway station in the early 70’s, there was a travelling group of tribal people there. The young men were all geared up with tulwars and spears.
Long ago, the 1972 Guns & Ammo Annual had an article on the British howdah pistols, which were much akin to a sawed off shotgun, firing up to 12 bore rounds. It speaks volumes of how much a sword-wielding opponent was feared to warrant carrying such a handcannon.
@@vidard9863 Yeah they were mainly designed as backup gun for big game, and not against people. Even the name Howdah if i remember correctly comes from the thing thats on elephants back people can sit on, and apparently sometimes tigers jumped on them so you could just blast it with the pistol before it gets to you
Howdah is the temporary seat that is hoisted upon an elephant. Kings and later colonial higher officials would go on a hunt while being atop one of those, the usual mode being that beaters would surround big game and bring it to where the elephant is and from atop the hunters would shoot to kill. This all but eliminated the risk factor of hunting big game on foot or from a 'macha(n)' i.e tree-top hunting post. But a big game still had to be put away and that necessitated the need for high calibre guns like the pistol. Also all howdah 'pistols' ( and I use the word loosely here) were not hand-held cannons as they often could be and would be fixed to the howdah for better stability and accuracy, this is especially true for the ones used in times of war.
@@shourjoebasu1896then it’s not an accomplishment. I wanna c a fifty fifty chance of survival at least. Find ur own game on foot, and face it eye to eye with tools on par with what d opponent has. If u still win, then bravo. U can mount d head up on d wall. Otherwise it’s just sad
There's a channel called lighthaven india where he talks about the grip they use as well as the pommel and grip shape. He does actually mention the shape allowing you to hold onto it longer without hand crampimg.
Please don't call East India Company Honourable, they had no honour in themselves neither their deeds around the world. What they did in India or anywhere else as well wasn't honourable at all.
Your absolutely right. However, in Matt's defence, i think he was referencing a specific cavalry unity by it's historical name within East India Company. I agree that in historical context the name sounds ironic and oxymoronic. And of course a bit of context would have been welcome during the video. But at the same time if he was to talk about crimes of east India co, or British empire in general it would have been a lot longer video.
I think they feared the users of the swords way more than they feared the swords themselves. These people would be very skilled and dangerous with their sword, no matter what sort of sword it was.
@@tdmfragplayz2287 there were decent people in Britain even in those days who were disgusted, only the most chauvinistic and depraved nationalists were proud of this behavior
I think a lot about the fact that Columbus was arrested by the Spanish government for the atrocities he committed in the Americas. We don't think of those people as having ethical standards but they did actually know right from wrong, they just didn't always care
To expand upon the 3rd point; the exercise of choice in the region being Indian Clubs, Meels, and Gadas lend themselves to the development of very strong draw cuts by their very movements of the club. Training with this type of equipment is going through a renaissance in the past few years and for good reason. Try it out and be prepared to be humbled the 1st time - I sure was.
I was thinking "slightly more front heavy, so the sword is crafted for use by men skilled with the axe, perhaps?" It makes much more sense if the commonly skilled melee fighter had probably gained first practice and some mastery over bludgeoning weapons and transferred those skills to the sword. That's really quite interesting!
My great grandfather was in the cavalry during the US civil war. I read that the sergeant major complained to the colonel that he had to teach the men to ride before he could teach them the drill. Most civil war cavalry sabers metal sheaths had a dent in them to keep them from rattling. Ron
Interesting detail about the use of mail to provide additional protection against a formidable cutting weapon. You saw similar measures used in Europe during the late 17th Century and 18th century wars with the Ottomans. The Austrian army museum in Wien even has a waistcoat that belong to Eugene of Savoy where sleeves of mail taken for a captured turkish mailcoat have been attached to provide protection for the arms.
I love your research on indian weapons...you can also look up at damascus sword which originated from india...ancient Indian swords were highly traded by neighboring regions,Greeks,kushans,Middle East,South East asia..just like US artillery today :)
it is originated in Syria invented by king David in 1400 BC, he is the first man to arm his army with Damascus swords and after arrival of islaam in India, Arab and Turk sword smiths introduced in India and the Delhi sultanate used first in India.
@@greaterbharat4175 I am from south India once Greeks and Syrians' traders use to visit south India and exchange goods some of them even settled that including Jews, It was introduced in 400BC in Telangana they found foundries which is my birth place.
@@zakiadam3717the earliest mention of damascus steel by Syrian authors alKindi and alBeruni is from about 900 AD. Wootz steel had been in use in South India since 400 BC. It was Arabs that imported the technology from South India after nearly 1400 years after their invention
@@ofAwxen even before the first Islamic battle of badr, Jews were selling swords' to both parties it was 630 s AD, They spread this art to Iran in 700 bc when they were expelled form Jerusalem after fall of first temple.
Familiar with the tool, practiced from an early age, and took care to maintain it as an effective tool. That's a recipe for very effective craftsmen whether the craft is carpentry or slaughter.
@@biswaranjanmallick7407 I think we;re talking past each other a little. I'm saying "The Ksatriya were craftsmen whose craft was killing. So they were good at their job." It made the Sikh tradition so radical. Fighting was a burden an individual Sikh might take on, not a job you were born to.
I did not know that about the Indian culture 🙂 I've sparred with people trained in kalaripayattu which has a sword or knife and buckler or small round shield part to it, but I didn't realise it was a national sport like archery and the quarterstaff was for us here in Britian that's really cool 🙂
@jerrylouiswiththethickness6403And after 500 years also the Islamist were not able to conquer whole India but only a few part but if there was a big empire then were even not able to conquer that.
Perhaps someone may have already clarified in the comments that directly spelled into English it's "Talwaar" not "Tulwar" and the word Talwaar literally means "sword" generically i.e. all swords are Talwaars in Hindi. Special types of swords would have their own names depending on region but would generically still be called a Talwaar 😊
Indian Kshatriyas practiced swordsmanship to the extent that it became a muscle memory because of which it is believed that they could fight for few minutes even after their heads were slayed.
@@rursus8354 he is right , their bodies would would dance for seconds even after their head was cutoff , there is a instance where a warriors head was cut off but his horse keep running for few kilometres and his sword was still in his hand , he has two memorial site one where his head fell off and one where his body fall off
This is one of the channels where I can watch a guy talking shit he is passionate about and find it interesting. No animationts, no special effects. Just facts. Keep up the good work.
Not only the weapon but the people who wielded it were equally skilled and impressive. There's an account of great Indian King, and revolutionary named Maharana Pratap, who is said to have cut his adversary commander along with his Horse, in half, in a slice.
A false made up story... The palace which actually holds the artifacts and weapons and armours of maharana pratap doesn't mentions any such fairytale kind of incident happening... Talk with facts not myths
@@shivangbhardwaj826no he wasn't 7ft tall lol... Go to the palace museum of maharana pratap there it clearly mentions he was probably around 5'7" Tall not 7"
This is risk assessment at its most basic form. Boiled down it is: Could this person hurt me, and does he seem like he's going to. If the answer is Yes and Yes, then you should be concerned.
Very informative! India's grappling and wrestling contributions are well known, but I haven't seen as much discussion of their sword fighting traditions. Clearly, I wasn't looking! Thanks!
Curved blades can have an 'edge' (ha!) over straight blades, if the opponent is unfamiliar with them. I fenced SCA rapier for years with a curved blade against 99.99% straight blades, and I learned some thrusts and draw cuts that were often difficult or awkward for opponents to parry.
Talwar/Kilic/Samsher are slashing sword mainly. Best to use on raids or during skirmishes. Excellent maneuverability and fast to recover from the strike. Plus, being light they favoured swift combat. Efficient against light armoured infantry, archers or cavalry.
The Sikhs Pacifically the nihangs wore there swords (kirpans) inside down. This would result in a more powerful slash when withdrawn. The nihangs are covered head to toe with weapons which is why the British banned and tryed to kill them all. The nihangs are the warriors caste of Sikhs. The footwork thing this guy was talking about is called shaster vidya Pacifically a pentra. It helps the warrior with footwork so he’s more powerful and harder to hit. The whole goal of the pentra is to try to be unpredictable. The nihangs became masters at shaster vidya and destroyed nearly everyone that wishes to kill them. The British nearly lost to the Sikh empire because of the nihangs singhs and there amazing skills. I say almost because in the end the Sikh empire fell because the Hindu regiment decided to betray the Sikh empire which lead to the fall. After this the British did everything in there power to insure that Sikhs didnt become warriors again. Which semi worked. But still we fight today and we even show our gatka and shaster vidya skills
Useful information about the swords, but I think your history is a bit incorrect. Specifically "After this the British did everything in there power to insure that Sikhs didnt become warriors again. " Actually the british army actively recruited Sikhs into the british army. Look into the Black Lions. Sikhs, like Gurkhas, are venerated as great fighters.@@G_singh42
Thank you for this informative video. I hail from an ancient Indian royal lineage; our traditions of swordsmanship are in fact thousands of years old. Though we're a uniquely peaceful civilization, we once were all warriors-and our weapon culture tends to be almost metaphysical in its scope. Perhaps you would like to research pre-talwar swords that we recall as the "khanda" and the "dandpatta". These constitute some of the most legendary swords of India; and I'm certain that you would be happy to create another marvellous video outlining their history. Thank you again.
General rule of thumb says, Super curved shamshirs bladed ones were used by Islamic armies and moderately curved blades ones were used by Hindu Rajput armies and later Sikh armies.
I belong to a South Indian clan which practiced Thekken Kalari.... We used to learn swordsmanship with the Talwar and a shield( Vaal in my language) traditionally since our clan members were the traditional warriors of Travancore kings... Hail the mighty Nairs.. ❤️
A tangentially related thought. Perhaps another reason for the later switch to thrust centric and pure thrusting swords in western armies was the trouble they had in keeping edges sharp enough to be combat effective.
I prefer to believe it was due to new developments in warfare. Better metallurgy made it impossible to cut through mail and plate armor, so the thrusting sword, which targeted unarmored parts like eyes, throat and joints, was developed to counter this new technology. But this takes time to adapt, it can't be done overnight, especially if the practice has become so entrenched in regimental tradition, sometimes even taking so much time that by the time it is fully implemented, warfare has already changed making the upgrade obsolete. The fact that they recommended using a pistol against these cutters and slashers shows that they were aware of the problem, but saw no need to change their swords because new development in gunpowder was making swords obsolete so they thought double wielding a thrusting sword with a pistol was a better option.
In my efforts to combat TH-cam addiction and the postural crippling that comes with it, I am, across-the-board, turning off Notifications ... except here. You are one of the best presenters I have ever encountered. Your enthusiasm regarding your subject matter and the passion you show in sharing your knowledge is contagious and fully engaging. This simple, short presentation took me to India (which I have visited three times) and I could smell the odors and hear the noises and see the colours and feel the intensity of the heat and taste the dust. When I say "best presenters" I really mean it. I can see you leading us, in long documentary format, through the history of European culture, warfare, arms and armament with the same delight and wonder that Lucy Worsley shows in her documentaries or the same fascination and amazement that David Attenborough displays in his Natural History documentaries. I am an education nut and I have, over my long life, watched, I am sure, thousands and thousands of hours of documentary on every subject imaginable and most presenters are adequate and run-of-the-mill but very few have had the deep engagement with their subject matter or the passionate personal style to bring me in and keep me in along side them in their realm. Of the few so highly skilled, you are one of them. Thank you for your ongoing efforts. Keep up the great work, be well, live long and think about longer format. Cheers and best wishes!
Speaking of traditional Indian weaponry, given the ubiquity of Tulwars (and mail): A, what sorts of Indian weapons were designed to to deal with them? B, What would you suggest as a good starting point to learn about Pole-Arms? Sincerely, Ben
There’s always the spear that’s a good choice if you don’t necessarily need to carry the weapon around with you in daily life. The Indians also had their own firearms, but primarily matchlocks, which made convenience a bit of an issue. The Pata sword was a good counter with its long blade and strong protection.
I've heard about the Dhop sword to be a good counter to the Tulwar. Also Katars with their reinforced tip were great against mail, sort of like the stiletto dagger in Europe.
So we still have almost a dozen of swords left by my great great great grandpa who was an infantry man in the afgan army before migrating to east India to fend off against East India Company, those swords are still sharp as razor I am 40 and we recently took them out with our cousins and decided to distribute among us each of the swords each also have a specific name and we are getting them encased to be used as a decoration though we will still have 4 of them for spare 😅
Mad respect to your ancestral grandpa for fighting the tyrannical East India Company. Reading about some of their atrocities, that definitely wouldn't have been easy to do. He had courage, for sure.
I suspect the whole British colonial experience suggests that once they were out of shootey-shootey range and into pokey-pokey range, swords, shields & polearms tend to beat bayonets. Not enough to make up for experienced, disciplined troops with much longer-ranged firearms, as the British liked to sit just outside their opponents' firearm range and shoot into them, but when they had to charge (in India & China, for example), they were at best evenly matched.
The conquest of India was mostly done via overwhelming enemies with superior numbers of local allies instead of some sort of technology gap, as is usually imagined in popular culture. The British musketeers and artillery were met with equally if not better trained musketeers and artillery in India. All the major rivals were defeated because their neighbors banded with the Brits to subdue them. So the idea of long range shootey shootey techniques confusing the more melee focused Eastern armies is not honest.
@@akshaykumarjha9136 This is the case with a lot of colonisation. The small number of Spaniards in Mesoamerica would never have managed to defeat the Triple Alliance without the help of the local Tlaxcala
@@akshaykumarjha9136 No argument with the use of overwhelming number of local allies. The British did tend to have the most recent firearms available (asides from some Irish troops, who they didn't trust not to revolt . . . ), which had longer range and faster reloading than most of their opponent's firearms. However, the technical differences weren't as great as people assume, and the British East India Company mostly conquered India via diplomacy, commerce, and the fact that at one point, it had more troops & warships than any national army.
The skill of the user has a lot of impact on the fearsomeness of the weapon. If the Royal Navy had some tomahawks and Native Americans had some tomahawks it is a different level of fear.
Excellent info. I often wondered how in the mutiny of 1857 the Indian soldiers, especially the famous Mangal Pande, got better of their British officers in a hand to hand combat.
Fantastic unpacking of the topic of tulwars from the European perspective, Matt! I actually was just thinking yesterday that it would be great to hear you cover EARLY tulwars in particular. For example (and I know that blade curvature can vary greatly): were the earliest tulwars as highly curved as some of the later/19th century ones that we often see today?
Hats off to a great video yet again! One that raised knowledge greed and some perspective to this largely untouched era for martial history enthusiasts to which I dare to relate. Accidentally touched the screen on 12.25 a saw the video is about to end. Even a teeth-biting cold Czech Pilsner Urquell bottle brought to Almaty, Kazakhstan three days after brewed can't could not prevent me suggesting a probably more detailed (maybe even series) coverage of weapons technology of blades in gunpowder era (although in adulescentia). Thank you, Matt!
Very interesting view of the Indian talwar. However, you should have mentioned that the Sikhs in India are wearing talwars and small Kirpans as religious item and learn from young age how to use it. Majority of Sikh gurdwaras (temple) providing Sikh marshal arts (Gatka). Even know days majority of Sikhs have a talwars or wearing a small kirpan for their religious believes.
Always liked Sikhs and how carrying a blade was/is part of the religion. Every one i have ever met has also been very nice and polite and just had a good energy about them.
Martial training to Sikhs were given by Rajputs. They have just taken Rajput martial tradion and calling themselves and unique. Have same courtesy to acknowledge. But these days i don't expect anything from sikhs.
@jerrylouiswiththethickness6403 Jaats are just a subclan of Rajputs. All this recent talk about oh jatts this jatts that we was schithian and shiii is just dillusion. There's no point of addressing dillusion they have no valid point for anyone to refute
In a book about the siege of the lucknow Residency during the Sepoy Rebellion I could not fail to note period commentary from the combatants that the celebrated Wilkinson blades on the British side had a distressing habit of breaking against the native Tuwars. Little wonder Tulwars enjoyed a certain celebrity with the British officers.
Very likely to be a consequence of the Tulwar's greater mass and velocity. It also comes with that the Tulwar would more often hit the other sword straight on, where it's at its strongest.
To be fair Wilkson blades were not exactly celebrated outside of the British empire, spanish sources always refer to them as inferior compared to the ones from spain and germany
@@garyguymon9857 Remember Military Grade means as cheap as possible with the lowest standard of material. Its no wonder European standard issue swords and bayonets kept breaking, while the civilian and non-European market was mostly satisfied with the German mid-grade exports.
I am from lucknow I have more than 100 year old talwar.....may be from same time of 1857...its passed down from my ancestor....still this talwar is very flexible and strong.....
Could you also consider the ‘Kai Valari’ weapon used by the Southern Polygars against the British? It was hand thrown weapon that came back to the attacker when thrown at certain angles.
Matt, You mentioned that one of the key factors, is the sharpness of the sword. You also mentioned that there was a a double bevel to the blade. But what wasn’t mentioned, was what the angle of the bevels were. Do you have any data available that gives the angles, of the double bevel? For that matter, are the angles of the double bevel constant over the length of the blade or is there a difference between the straight and curved portions of the blade?
@@adarshmishra367 Definitely considering it…even if it’s commissioned and made by someone else rather than doing it myself. That said, I thirst for knowledge, and have even managed to get a job as a proofreader, because being able to fill in the blanks for editors and writers, helps to make for a more realistic read.
I remember when i was a child in India Hyderabad in the years 1965 to 1975 it was common and we used to learn these all over the place. And yes there were competitions and regional festivals about it. But now in 2024 these things are rare or very privately.
Speaking of Tulwars, I keep bugging you to do an Osborn Gunby saber as part of the Royal Armouries line. But it never even occured to me that the Royal Armoury might not have an Osborn Gunby 1796 Light Cavalry Saber. Luckily I came upon IX.246. And even better within the description of that sword, I found this: "'On this variant pattern generally' The Royal Armouries has a number of examples of this variant pattern" ❤
Matt, do you have any further reading/sources on British defensive equipment in colonial India? The revelation of British officers choosing to wear mail shirts is absolutely fascinating!
I enjoyed your video very much. The tulwar is indeed a fearsome weapon. In Japanese swordsmanship you also cut using the whole body - stepping into the cut and the use of the hips - as you do in using the tulwar. Since the indian tulwar and the Japanese katana share so many variables do you think that they in any way influenced each other? Keep these great videos coming.
It’s unlikely they influenced each other due to geographic isolation and it’s more likely that they arrived at the same ideas due to convergent evolution as the human body is the same and they are both cutting swords
Japan was very much isolationist especially in times when tulwars started becoming popular, so I very much doubt it. Japenese swords changed relatively little since ~1000 AD, it was all very conservative compared to most of the world. Also, besides being mostly single edged, and curved, tulwars and Japanese swords weren't much alike. Pretty much all nihontos were somehow unique with their wide, stout back ridge and kisaki, two handed grip, and minimalist guard/handle. As long as Japan was still borrowing stuff from neighbors, it was pretty much all from China, India was far away.
Last time I checked the predominant religion of Japan was Buddhism. There are many accounts of Japanese mercenaries working in South East Asia. I was merely asking a question about the influence one sword style had on another.
The Shamshir like talwar is called the "Goliya". the word literally means curvy. The khilij/palash design is called a Khadag/Khadga meaning rhino horns.
Ah the good old days, 1857 Mutiny. Still remember the history classes we had on it. List the seven reason the Sepoy Mutiny took place. Makes me shudder. But I still love the history.
The word talwar is not a specific type of sword but a rather general word for long bladed weapons, the literal translation of sword. We call a katana, claymore or even a rapier a talwar.
It wasn't originally meant to be this way though, the root word for Tulwar comes from Sanskrit तर्वारिका, which denoted a specific kind of curve edged light blade that was supposed to be used in close range man to man combat, then there was खंडा Khanda which was a giant heavy straight edged blade, and कटार Kataar which was more or less Indian curved equivalent to European daggers but just slightly smaller versions of them and then हासिका or Hasika the giant combat sickle
I have a pet theory that the viking age swords, with their similar short grips, may have been used similarly. Saxo Grammaticus tells us that the Scandinavians of that time preferred strength and power over speed, and used 'few blows, but those terrible.'
@@Pinicle_of_evolution Yes, but they had a similar confining grip, unless you think they held the pommel in the palm and used an exaggerated saber grip.
@@blakewinter1657 ah the grip. I thought u were referring to the blade. Viking swords did have similar grips but they were thrusting weapons mainly, that "few blows" were probably from Viking battle axes imo
@@Pinicle_of_evolution Well, in the sagas, 4 out of 5 attacks with viking swords were blows. Only 13% were thrusts. The viking sword is optimized for chopping, as well. Their tips are also not optimzed for thrusts, and they're relatively unwieldy for a thrusting weapon (but great for chopping). See Men of Terror, by Short and Óskarson.
Some people in India still weild the Talwaar, especially Rajputs(Warrior Class in India), apart from decoration they also like to cut Birthday Cakes with it.
"Baked" these caste systems out of the "system" yet? Usage of that word "caste" is ill fated event. Swords are swords that's it. Have you ever stood your ground infront of a sword?
@@pushpinderchhatwal7602Yes, i should have used class, instead of caste. Phrase your answer correctly, Did you mean, have i ever been in a sword fight?
@TheRawXboxGaming94 Rajput used to be a nobility this is why i used Class. It is much more than a Community, a Class with Many castes under it, one of many groups under the Hindu Race Umbrella.
haha there's another uninteded connection to American gun culture (and specifically the politics around it)... the British disarmed the Indian population after the 1857 uprising, and that in large part enabled them to rule relatively easier for the next 90 years or so
Every region of India had a martial art, which had unarmed combat and armed combat training - involving sticks, knives, swords and spears. Kalaripayattu (in Kerala), Silambam (in Tamil Nadu), Sarit Sarak (in Manipur), Mardani Khel (in Maharashtra) are some of these martial arts. After 1857, most of them were banned. The making of Talwars was banned or strictly controlled - the local steel industry was forcibly shut. And as you stated, the right to bear arms was also restricted. We see a revival now BUT there are very few folks who know the ancient art and science of manufacturing some of these weapons.
Thanks for setting the record straight...I've been making these points for some time (years and years). We still have bladed cultures today :) I started at 6. We also used wooden wasters btw.
@@anantasheshanaga3666 footwork, angulation...proper entry technique, dhal to intercept opponents weapon and provide opening etc, and their range isn't as short as people think. :)
Tulwar, once it lands on the enemy body will maintain its contact, due to its curvy design, with the place of wound as it moves along its path during sweep of the attacker's arm and will continue cutting the flesh till its point.
I use swinging maces as an exercise method. It comes from India, so I'm not surprised by the description of the sword and the fact that the Indian swinging this sword was feared.
I've seen a picture taken in fairly recent years (10 yrs or so), where tulwars were in serious action. In that picture one of the swordmen fingers the ricasso, possibly to give a lighter cut with a longer reach.
The training also explains why European forces often took a significant loss in their first engagement or two before holding their own, then defeating their enemies. It took that first shock to teach the survivors that there ain't nothing like training with your weapon to be able to use it effectively (especially the British who, despite the cliched caricatures of them, generally learned better & faster than their European counterparts).
British strength lied in their artillery. Guns from the industrialized Britain were ligehter (thus mobile relatively) and could hit longer ranges. Medieval Indian artillery couldn't match the firepower of industrial Europe. This is why in spite of numerical superiortiy Indian armies fell to Brits. Just imagine how futile numbers would be if you can't hit the enemy but enemy can hit you.
The one with a Shamshir blade is called a “Golia”, and the other longer one with a broad blade appears to be one of the two types of “Sirohi” but the only way to be certain is to test the blade hardness. As for how they were worn, yes later especially in the Punjab they were tucked in, but for everywhere else the suspension systems not dissimilar to European suspension, two point of either leather or silk.
Before Behlol Khan could even complete his blow, Maharana Pratap seated on his favorite horse Chetak delivered a sword blow on the helmet of Behlol Khan. The blow was struck with such ferocity and precision that Behlol Khan was vertically cut into two pieces along with his helmet, armour and even his horse. He used Indian talwar.
There were even serated ( saw like blade) versions of talwar too infact during 1st war of independence those swords were quite handy. In fact forged in fire had a dedicated episode of it and one is even there in British museum.
@@Aethelwulf_of_Westseaxe First war of independence, against the invading force of bad-toothed barbarians with weak ass swordsmanship, this is a better name.
If you're defending the genocidal, brutal, and incredibly racist institution of the British Empire then you need to take a long look in the mirror. Calling it the "mutiny" legitimizes a regime that oppressed and murdered millions in India. We have that perspective now and should rethink the language we use accordingly.
Other reason of sharpness and deep cuts was the carbonised steel made using bamboo leaves...also famous as damascus steel in europe introduced by middle eastern kingdoms which sold them indian steel after making them into swords at large scale.
One can slash from left to right and back again from right to left. All , you do is, to twist your wrist to bring the cutting edge in the direction of the cut. Besides, many swords had finger-guards, to protect your fingures from the opponent's blade, should it slide down your talwar during the fight. Thses additional features made it very useful. Afterall, this blade has evolved over several centuries of warfare, just like any other blade in the world. It's gotta have some special advantages. Otherwise it would not survive for so many centuries. 😃🙏
As for the cultural aspect as to why the youth would have been very practiced, the best word would be gladiator, fighting for prize money, such youth could bring wealth to a family. Sometimes in a years prize 30x as much as a large farm would bring. There are some places this is still true, but mainly in the area of wrestling.
That's not how I would put it. The sword was worshipped, Talvars had a weight attached to the name. It was a religious duty to learn the art of weaponry from a young age, to imbibe discipline, humility and for self-protection as well as protection of others. It wasn't for showmanship and had nothing to do with "gladiator" style fighting for prize money. It's the same with Wrestling today. Though there are wrestling competitions in villages, wrestling is much more than just plain showmanship. There's a level of respect and divinity attached to it for the people who actually join wrestling schools in villages.
I’m not sure I understand what point you are making. Are you denying that gladiatorial type combat was done and is still practiced today In such things as mud wrestling? Yet at the same time are agreeing that it occurs? This is very confusing.
@limeberber5065 I'm saying that the concept of "gladiator" style fighting isn't Indian, because the philosophy behind it, the philosophy of why Indians learn to use weapons is completely different. Yes there might've been competitions, but they were held for showing your own skills and celebrating your particular type of martial art, rather than beating your opponents or whatever else you'd expect in a gladiator ring. There's a massive difference in the core philosophies of what it means to be a warrior between the west and the Indic world.
I’m sorry but you view on this is incorrect. lathi khela Has these gladiatorial roots, where the competition would be held for fame, money & entertainment, the same as mud pit wrestling is today. None of which are intended as feats, those displays like in modern gatka occur as exhibition and are not related to core martial principles. The philosophy, to use your word, was a battlefield mindset, dueling was not really a thing, weapons particularly shastar (blades weapons) were reserved for war, and personal disputes were settled with local forms of boxing or wrestling. By the time blade oriented/ thrust oriented dueling popped up in India we’re are talking early 1700s. With swords like the Mel Puttah Bemoh, and daggers like the katar or khanjar being fought with on the knees in an almost sitting position in a ring. So again I’m not sure I understand your grievance? Perhaps it is with the word gladiator, but that is probably the best work for it that can be anglicized
@@RiverofGrassFencing You're just completely wrong here. I'm an Indian and I understand these cultural nuances much better. A gladiator style event was not held to enjoy and celebrate a particular martial art, it was solely held for the purpose of having a winner and a loser, while Indian events were mainly held for celebrating martial arts without much focus on the who the winner/loser was. There's a difference between that and an Indian event in terms of what you're holding the event for, what you're expecting out of the event, and what you're celebrating. People didn't attend those events for a winner/loser dynamic, they wanted to witness extraordinary feats of martial arts, something that they'd never seen before (remember most of these people would already know how to use a weapon, so the bar is very high here). This is not a minor/irrelevant detail that should be brushed off, because this says a lot about what it meant to be a warrior in the Indic context. In the western worldview, the idea of being a warrior is very closely tied to the winner/loser dynamic, as in how many battles/wars the warrior has won, how many men he's slaughtered... etc, that's generally what warriors were celebrated for. In the Indic worldview however, the idea of being a warrior is a lot more complicated, it had more to do with how good your martial skills are (irrespective of whether you've fought in wars or killed enemies), there's elements of preserving dharma (which is a different and complicated concept) and a bit more that's specific to the Indian historical context. We're (at least most cultures) not obsessed with the winner/loser dynamic however. These are very subtle and specific details that probably only Indians can understand ig, but yeah they're there regardless. The main problem here is the use of the word "gladiator" yes, since it has certain ideas and connotations attached to it, and that completely changes the context of these Indian events and how they were viewed by the Indian public. This is why it's not wise to anglicize things. It's just better to not talk about things if you can't accurately describe it, instead of completely twisting it and misrepresenting it.
As stated, as degree of "commitment" to the cause and determination to press the attack will make any weapon more effective. definitely the person, not just the weapon.
well it's not called a tulpeace is it
this comment was necessary
😂
@@pinocchio418it could be called a tulpieces.
You win commet section.
@@emmanuelpiscicelli6232 italian people I stg
Grip on Indian sword is locked because In an Indian Sword-fight you are supposed to rotate your entire body and move your entire body with your sword. Swordfight usually happened after battle formations are broken.
so what was the the general go to weapon when the battle formations were still intact? spears ? or bows and arrows?
@@somnathbose7455both spearmen and archers are staples in different formations
@@mnvshekhawat thanks for the clarification🙏
@@somnathbose7455 they also use lots of different pole arms to be honest
@@mnvshekhawat like ? can you provide some pictures or examples?
My parents went to India and brought back a pair of these amazing swords. The inside of the sheath seemed to be blue velvet over wood. I marvelled at the decorations on the blade. The blades were very heavy for a kid and the handle uncomfortable and too small to use both hands. My brother and I probably are alive today with all our limbs because we could not swing the heavy blades.
Hi there, was wondering do you still have those swords ?
@@saif316 I don't.
You can still buy those swords in specific shops in India. They're very expensive and are used as wall art/ status symbols not really as weapons. Places like Punjab, Rajasthan, Delhi, Agra where there are tourists should still sell these traditional items.
@@kylemacarthur9863 Would be really cool if you still had them & thanks for taking the time to reply
@@Masood1810 Oh yes I remember, when I was a child (this is was over 20 years ago), my parents and I visited the red fort in Delhi and got a dagger from there, which we still have till this day
It's always a relief to hear that you will continue to be Matt Easton.
I feel like one day he will make a joke ending of, "I am East Matton, and I will continue to be until tomorrow."
@@TrueMentorGuidingMoonlight 😬
I worried he changed his name to something like Tony Battaglia.
@Mortablunt I don't think I'd be able to watch his videos anymore, if he were to do that
@@mmmcookies2even if he changes his name to Longrod Vonhugeindong.
Indian Women also practised swordsmanship and the art goes back not hundreds of years but thousands. There are historical accounts of great swordsmen and women in the antiquity dating back to 1st or 2nd century AD. Also the swords were made with the same material that is used for Damascus steel. So they are hard hitting and very durable as well.
Damascus steel tech WAS stolen from India.
its called wootz steel by Persian not damascum steel its an india invention
@@Teja-gl9dp yes wootz steel ingot is the source material. But Damascus steel is the end product. It's because of the way it's produced.
@@kaushikhctrue and the process of making such steel was invented in India
@@ApoorwVikramDwivedi Maybe. Maybe not. But the name is Damascus steel. That's not going away unless there is some strong evidence and it's really not worth proving it to the world and claiming that name.
I belong to a clan that practiced Garadipett or Tulunadan Kalari. British completely shutdown the martial arts practice after they took over our region right after the death of Tipu Sultan. Most in my clan don't know our martial history, even though the name of the clan literally means soldier. My uncle remembers his great uncle storing a cache of swords and spears in a huge wooden trunk, this was 75 years ago. No one in the family knows what happened those old weapons. They probably gave it away as scrap metal.
What's your clan's name?
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bunt_(community)
have you tried to find them?
Those are the part of your history.
@@HistorysArena That stuff was in our 600 years old ancestral home which was fully demolished before I heard about the weapon cache. So, there is no chance.
@@BuntFencer That is so sad!
I think a fourth reason would be the fact that they were often paired with bucklers. The ability to close a line independently of your sword blade is just so nice to have.
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Just a thought... European swordsmanship of the day tended to focus on extension. You keep your weapon forward, maintain distance. The shape of the talwar's hilt limits your extension slightly. It locks you into more of a hammer grip. That foreshortened reach necessitates a much more aggressive fencing style, taking risks to close distance. That level of aggression can be very difficult to deal with if you don't have any experience with it
That's most likely the case. And it's most likely due to the phase-out of armored warfare due to firearms. You don't need a "whole body swing" to pierce clothes. Beter to just jab them from far away when you run out of ammo.
@@Preetishh Nice try troll. We've all watched Captain Context enough to know that you can't make blanket statements like that. "European swords" could cover anything from the migration period to 19th century cavalry sabers. That's a huge swath of history with wildly varying levels of technology and equally disparate applications for swords and swordsmanship. Care to narrow down your critique into a coherent argument?
@@lukediehl1210Don't call out the troll only to feed it anyway man.
@@lukediehl1210 you know the troll comment is baiting you and you know it's factually inaccurate and we all agree with you there so you don't have to argue against it my man
@@Preetishh European swords conquered the World.
Hardly an original observation on my part, but it's cool to see that the cuts with a Tulwar are more-or-less the same as popular exercise movements with the "Indian Weight Clubs". Young men exercising with those tools would also be perfectly strengthening the exact muscles needed to deliver a good cut with their swords, it seems.
That is a very cool observation. So even when they weren't practicing with a sword, the precious hard to replace objects, they were still practicing swordsmanship with the heavy lathed bits of wood.
Right, although there are a myriad other blade types in India and some heavy broadswords could require such practice more
Perfectly said. Good observation
That was the original intention,together with the larger Gada mace. Also,maces and clubs were used as weapons as well very commonly,but their use as training tools for fencers is widely known. Matt posted a few videos about club swinging for fencing strenght some years ago.
Talwar* speak properly
I was on a remote Indian railway station in the early 70’s, there was a travelling group of tribal people there. The young men were all geared up with tulwars and spears.
Probably nihang sikhs if they were wearing all blue
@@mhutch5082yes zooropeans are that .
@@Ydidutakemyname tribal?
Armed to probably fight off bandits and criminals. But those days are gone.
@@Ydidutakemyname they might have been sadhus ,even sadhus carry weapons - because it's pretty easy to recognize sikhs
Long ago, the 1972 Guns & Ammo Annual had an article on the British howdah pistols, which were much akin to a sawed off shotgun, firing up to 12 bore rounds. It speaks volumes of how much a sword-wielding opponent was feared to warrant carrying such a handcannon.
To be fair, howdah pistols were also for tigers and large angry animals of all kinds.
@@vidard9863 Yeah they were mainly designed as backup gun for big game, and not against people. Even the name Howdah if i remember correctly comes from the thing thats on elephants back people can sit on, and apparently sometimes tigers jumped on them so you could just blast it with the pistol before it gets to you
Howdah is the temporary seat that is hoisted upon an elephant. Kings and later colonial higher officials would go on a hunt while being atop one of those, the usual mode being that beaters would surround big game and bring it to where the elephant is and from atop the hunters would shoot to kill. This all but eliminated the risk factor of hunting big game on foot or from a 'macha(n)' i.e tree-top hunting post. But a big game still had to be put away and that necessitated the need for high calibre guns like the pistol. Also all howdah 'pistols' ( and I use the word loosely here) were not hand-held cannons as they often could be and would be fixed to the howdah for better stability and accuracy, this is especially true for the ones used in times of war.
@@shourjoebasu1896then it’s not an accomplishment. I wanna c a fifty fifty chance of survival at least. Find ur own game on foot, and face it eye to eye with tools on par with what d opponent has. If u still win, then bravo. U can mount d head up on d wall. Otherwise it’s just sad
British and European Armies were expert in bayonet combat and hand to hand fighting .
It was the Asian Armies which used Firearms and bows and arrows
That disk on Indian Talwars is the reason why Indian Swordsmen could battle for hours without getting the arm getting exhausted...
its not the sword its the swordsmen
There's a channel called lighthaven india where he talks about the grip they use as well as the pommel and grip shape. He does actually mention the shape allowing you to hold onto it longer without hand crampimg.
Please don't call East India Company Honourable, they had no honour in themselves neither their deeds around the world. What they did in India or anywhere else as well wasn't honourable at all.
Your absolutely right.
However, in Matt's defence, i think he was referencing a specific cavalry unity by it's historical name within East India Company.
I agree that in historical context the name sounds ironic and oxymoronic. And of course a bit of context would have been welcome during the video. But at the same time if he was to talk about crimes of east India co, or British empire in general it would have been a lot longer video.
heard of sarcasm?
Very true, one of the saddest episodes of history that's never told in its true capacity.
I like that the Europeans took to armoring themselves with mail. Like has been said before, arms and armor are a product of their environment.
That i know the chainmail was invented by the celts.
Indians used gun powders and gun way before Europeans.. Europeans ain't developed than asians earlier and now too
I think they feared the users of the swords way more than they feared the swords themselves.
These people would be very skilled and dangerous with their sword, no matter what sort of sword it was.
True but this is a Weapons channel not a Social Science one.
Don't write based comments. The British finally did kill most of the warriors. The Moslems and turkic people did that too. It's not that legendary.
800 years
@jerrylouiswiththethickness6403 I don't smoke. And you can stop replying @me
@jerrylouiswiththethickness6403are you a rajput?
09:45 nothing honorable about the East India company
You’re not wrong, but why look for honor in a merchant adventurer company?
@@omalleyshepherd2936 With reference to 09:45
Think from the British perspective ,for them it was a feat but not for the people of the subcontinent
@@tdmfragplayz2287 there were decent people in Britain even in those days who were disgusted, only the most chauvinistic and depraved nationalists were proud of this behavior
I think a lot about the fact that Columbus was arrested by the Spanish government for the atrocities he committed in the Americas. We don't think of those people as having ethical standards but they did actually know right from wrong, they just didn't always care
To expand upon the 3rd point; the exercise of choice in the region being Indian Clubs, Meels, and Gadas lend themselves to the development of very strong draw cuts by their very movements of the club. Training with this type of equipment is going through a renaissance in the past few years and for good reason. Try it out and be prepared to be humbled the 1st time - I sure was.
Mark Wildman has some good videos on using clubs for strength training. Be interested in seeing any others you can recommend also.
I was thinking "slightly more front heavy, so the sword is crafted for use by men skilled with the axe, perhaps?"
It makes much more sense if the commonly skilled melee fighter had probably gained first practice and some mastery over bludgeoning weapons and transferred those skills to the sword. That's really quite interesting!
Yeah that heavy club training the Indians do looks intense. I remember that WWF Wrestler "the Iron Sheik " had training clubs too
@@TheNomad2727 That brings back some great memories - love hating the Iron Sheik and the infamous camel clutch!
My great grandfather was in the cavalry during the US civil war. I read that the sergeant major complained to the colonel that he had to teach the men to ride before he could teach them the drill. Most civil war cavalry sabers metal sheaths had a dent in them to keep them from rattling. Ron
Interesting detail about the use of mail to provide additional protection against a formidable cutting weapon. You saw similar measures used in Europe during the late 17th Century and 18th century wars with the Ottomans. The Austrian army museum in Wien even has a waistcoat that belong to Eugene of Savoy where sleeves of mail taken for a captured turkish mailcoat have been attached to provide protection for the arms.
"I have been matt easton and i'll continue to be"
how can you not appreciate this fellow? the consistency!
I love your research on indian weapons...you can also look up at damascus sword which originated from india...ancient Indian swords were highly traded by neighboring regions,Greeks,kushans,Middle East,South East asia..just like US artillery today :)
it is originated in Syria invented by king David in 1400 BC, he is the first man to arm his army with Damascus swords and after arrival of islaam in India, Arab and Turk sword smiths introduced in India and the Delhi sultanate used first in India.
@@zakiadam3717oldest evidence of Damascus steel manufacturing found in South India , Indian introduced Damascus in west Asia
@@greaterbharat4175 I am from south India
once Greeks and Syrians' traders use to visit south India and exchange goods some of them even settled that including Jews,
It was introduced in 400BC in Telangana they found foundries which is my birth place.
@@zakiadam3717the earliest mention of damascus steel by Syrian authors alKindi and alBeruni is from about 900 AD. Wootz steel had been in use in South India since 400 BC.
It was Arabs that imported the technology from South India after nearly 1400 years after their invention
@@ofAwxen even before the first Islamic battle of badr, Jews were selling swords' to both parties it was 630 s AD, They spread this art to Iran in 700 bc when they were expelled form Jerusalem after fall of first temple.
Familiar with the tool, practiced from an early age, and took care to maintain it as an effective tool.
That's a recipe for very effective craftsmen whether the craft is carpentry or slaughter.
Yeah, caste system.
@@rustomkanishka Not sure I'm following you. Are you saying kshatriya were as good at what they did as other caste-determined jobs?
@@toddellner5283 yes....yes they were.
@@toddellner5283Umm no.. one particular caste just kept sword to itself and denying everyone to carry it except when war.
@@biswaranjanmallick7407 I think we;re talking past each other a little. I'm saying "The Ksatriya were craftsmen whose craft was killing. So they were good at their job." It made the Sikh tradition so radical. Fighting was a burden an individual Sikh might take on, not a job you were born to.
11:28 This statement made me visualize Village People practicing martial arts. Thank you for creating this image in my mind, Mr. Easton.
*sings to the tune of YMCA* It's fun to train some of H. E. M. A, it's fun to train some of H. E. M. A.
Back in 1983, a friend (in our reinactment group) gave me a replica tulwar as a wedding present!
I did not know that about the Indian culture 🙂 I've sparred with people trained in kalaripayattu which has a sword or knife and buckler or small round shield part to it, but I didn't realise it was a national sport like archery and the quarterstaff was for us here in Britian that's really cool 🙂
@jerrylouiswiththethickness6403yes it is true. It was the spirit of my Hindu ancestors that we are still Hindu today.
@jerrylouiswiththethickness6403And after 500 years also the Islamist were not able to conquer whole India but only a few part but if there was a big empire then were even not able to conquer that.
Perhaps someone may have already clarified in the comments that directly spelled into English it's "Talwaar" not "Tulwar" and the word Talwaar literally means "sword" generically i.e. all swords are Talwaars in Hindi. Special types of swords would have their own names depending on region but would generically still be called a Talwaar 😊
Indian Kshatriyas practiced swordsmanship to the extent that it became a muscle memory because of which it is believed that they could fight for few minutes even after their heads were slayed.
Why not a few hours, and then they sang a victory song? Just a few minutes? I'm underwhelmed!
@@rursus8354 he is right , their bodies would would dance for seconds even after their head was cutoff , there is a instance where a warriors head was cut off but his horse keep running for few kilometres and his sword was still in his hand , he has two memorial site one where his head fell off and one where his body fall off
This is one of the channels where I can watch a guy talking shit he is passionate about and find it interesting. No animationts, no special effects. Just facts. Keep up the good work.
Not only the weapon but the people who wielded it were equally skilled and impressive. There's an account of great Indian King, and revolutionary named Maharana Pratap, who is said to have cut his adversary commander along with his Horse, in half, in a slice.
Well he was more than 7 ft tall so he had enough raw power to do it
A false made up story... The palace which actually holds the artifacts and weapons and armours of maharana pratap doesn't mentions any such fairytale kind of incident happening... Talk with facts not myths
@@shivangbhardwaj826no he wasn't 7ft tall lol... Go to the palace museum of maharana pratap there it clearly mentions he was probably around 5'7" Tall not 7"
The tall one was probably Maha Rana Kumbha
@@shoaibhaq8680lol,after close inspections to the armour he wore,estimations of it being 7 feet were made.
Reason 1: Sharp stick
Reason 2: Pointy stick
Reason 3: Angry man swing sharp pointy stick
The only three reasons someone really needs to fear a sword.
This is risk assessment at its most basic form.
Boiled down it is: Could this person hurt me, and does he seem like he's going to. If the answer is Yes and Yes, then you should be concerned.
punnet of berries
Very informative! India's grappling and wrestling contributions are well known, but I haven't seen as much discussion of their sword fighting traditions. Clearly, I wasn't looking! Thanks!
India has so much more to offer . Even A few lifetimes are not enough .
Curved blades can have an 'edge' (ha!) over straight blades, if the opponent is unfamiliar with them. I fenced SCA rapier for years with a curved blade against 99.99% straight blades, and I learned some thrusts and draw cuts that were often difficult or awkward for opponents to parry.
ha?
Talwar/Kilic/Samsher are slashing sword mainly. Best to use on raids or during skirmishes. Excellent maneuverability and fast to recover from the strike. Plus, being light they favoured swift combat. Efficient against light armoured infantry, archers or cavalry.
This is the first time I've come across a fellow "Sumedh"
I think we need an episode comparing different ways of wearing a sword; how the scabbard is hung and drawn, etc.
Just look old Indian Paintings.
The Sikhs Pacifically the nihangs wore there swords (kirpans) inside down. This would result in a more powerful slash when withdrawn. The nihangs are covered head to toe with weapons which is why the British banned and tryed to kill them all. The nihangs are the warriors caste of Sikhs. The footwork thing this guy was talking about is called shaster vidya Pacifically a pentra. It helps the warrior with footwork so he’s more powerful and harder to hit. The whole goal of the pentra is to try to be unpredictable. The nihangs became masters at shaster vidya and destroyed nearly everyone that wishes to kill them. The British nearly lost to the Sikh empire because of the nihangs singhs and there amazing skills. I say almost because in the end the Sikh empire fell because the Hindu regiment decided to betray the Sikh empire which lead to the fall. After this the British did everything in there power to insure that Sikhs didnt become warriors again. Which semi worked. But still we fight today and we even show our gatka and shaster vidya skills
Useful information about the swords, but I think your history is a bit incorrect. Specifically "After this the British did everything in there power to insure that Sikhs didnt become warriors again. "
Actually the british army actively recruited Sikhs into the british army. Look into the Black Lions. Sikhs, like Gurkhas, are venerated as great fighters.@@G_singh42
Thank you for this informative video. I hail from an ancient Indian royal lineage; our traditions of swordsmanship are in fact thousands of years old. Though we're a uniquely peaceful civilization, we once were all warriors-and our weapon culture tends to be almost metaphysical in its scope. Perhaps you would like to research pre-talwar swords that we recall as the "khanda" and the "dandpatta". These constitute some of the most legendary swords of India; and I'm certain that you would be happy to create another marvellous video outlining their history. Thank you again.
Royal Lineage 😂
@@prashantgiri3514maybe his ancestors were royal...
General rule of thumb says, Super curved shamshirs bladed ones were used by Islamic armies and moderately curved blades ones were used by Hindu Rajput armies and later Sikh armies.
I belong to a South Indian clan which practiced Thekken Kalari.... We used to learn swordsmanship with the Talwar and a shield( Vaal in my language) traditionally since our clan members were the traditional warriors of Travancore kings... Hail the mighty Nairs.. ❤️
So…!?
@@Tomevone Jo mama..
@@thelasthydra6921 🥱
A tangentially related thought. Perhaps another reason for the later switch to thrust centric and pure thrusting swords in western armies was the trouble they had in keeping edges sharp enough to be combat effective.
I prefer to believe it was due to new developments in warfare. Better metallurgy made it impossible to cut through mail and plate armor, so the thrusting sword, which targeted unarmored parts like eyes, throat and joints, was developed to counter this new technology. But this takes time to adapt, it can't be done overnight, especially if the practice has become so entrenched in regimental tradition, sometimes even taking so much time that by the time it is fully implemented, warfare has already changed making the upgrade obsolete. The fact that they recommended using a pistol against these cutters and slashers shows that they were aware of the problem, but saw no need to change their swords because new development in gunpowder was making swords obsolete so they thought double wielding a thrusting sword with a pistol was a better option.
In my efforts to combat TH-cam addiction and the postural crippling that comes with it, I am, across-the-board, turning off Notifications ... except here. You are one of the best presenters I have ever encountered. Your enthusiasm regarding your subject matter and the passion you show in sharing your knowledge is contagious and fully engaging.
This simple, short presentation took me to India (which I have visited three times) and I could smell the odors and hear the noises and see the colours and feel the intensity of the heat and taste the dust.
When I say "best presenters" I really mean it. I can see you leading us, in long documentary format, through the history of European culture, warfare, arms and armament with the same delight and wonder that Lucy Worsley shows in her documentaries or the same fascination and amazement that David Attenborough displays in his Natural History documentaries.
I am an education nut and I have, over my long life, watched, I am sure, thousands and thousands of hours of documentary on every subject imaginable and most presenters are adequate and run-of-the-mill but very few have had the deep engagement with their subject matter or the passionate personal style to bring me in and keep me in along side them in their realm. Of the few so highly skilled, you are one of them.
Thank you for your ongoing efforts.
Keep up the great work, be well, live long and think about longer format.
Cheers and best wishes!
Thank you
In ancient times in India, a person was never given a sword untill he/she learns the art of swordsmanship and always give respect to his/her weapon.
Great vid Matt! My heritage is from Cyprus and i would really enjoy a video on Cypriot swords and knives. Thanks
Speaking of traditional Indian weaponry, given the ubiquity of Tulwars (and mail): A, what sorts of Indian weapons were designed to to deal with them? B, What would you suggest as a good starting point to learn about Pole-Arms? Sincerely, Ben
I think quite a few soldiers (officers, I assume) went for non-regulation swords in response, such as the highland basket-hilt broadsword
There’s always the spear that’s a good choice if you don’t necessarily need to carry the weapon around with you in daily life.
The Indians also had their own firearms, but primarily matchlocks, which made convenience a bit of an issue.
The Pata sword was a good counter with its long blade and strong protection.
I've heard about the Dhop sword to be a good counter to the Tulwar. Also Katars with their reinforced tip were great against mail, sort of like the stiletto dagger in Europe.
So we still have almost a dozen of swords left by my great great great grandpa who was an infantry man in the afgan army before migrating to east India to fend off against East India Company, those swords are still sharp as razor I am 40 and we recently took them out with our cousins and decided to distribute among us each of the swords each also have a specific name and we are getting them encased to be used as a decoration though we will still have 4 of them for spare 😅
Nowday only use for decoration... my father 80 year old kukuri blade I use only for cut coconut and jackfruit 😂😂
wow where do you live now tho?
Mad respect to your ancestral grandpa for fighting the tyrannical East India Company. Reading about some of their atrocities, that definitely wouldn't have been easy to do. He had courage, for sure.
I suspect the whole British colonial experience suggests that once they were out of shootey-shootey range and into pokey-pokey range, swords, shields & polearms tend to beat bayonets. Not enough to make up for experienced, disciplined troops with much longer-ranged firearms, as the British liked to sit just outside their opponents' firearm range and shoot into them, but when they had to charge (in India & China, for example), they were at best evenly matched.
The Afghan Jezail would beat the British shooty shooty range so in some cases the opposite was true
Pokey-pokey range 😂
The conquest of India was mostly done via overwhelming enemies with superior numbers of local allies instead of some sort of technology gap, as is usually imagined in popular culture. The British musketeers and artillery were met with equally if not better trained musketeers and artillery in India. All the major rivals were defeated because their neighbors banded with the Brits to subdue them. So the idea of long range shootey shootey techniques confusing the more melee focused Eastern armies is not honest.
@@akshaykumarjha9136 This is the case with a lot of colonisation. The small number of Spaniards in Mesoamerica would never have managed to defeat the Triple Alliance without the help of the local Tlaxcala
@@akshaykumarjha9136 No argument with the use of overwhelming number of local allies. The British did tend to have the most recent firearms available (asides from some Irish troops, who they didn't trust not to revolt . . . ), which had longer range and faster reloading than most of their opponent's firearms. However, the technical differences weren't as great as people assume, and the British East India Company mostly conquered India via diplomacy, commerce, and the fact that at one point, it had more troops & warships than any national army.
The skill of the user has a lot of impact on the fearsomeness of the weapon. If the Royal Navy had some tomahawks and Native Americans had some tomahawks it is a different level of fear.
Excellent info. I often wondered how in the mutiny of 1857 the Indian soldiers, especially the famous Mangal Pande, got better of their British officers in a hand to hand combat.
Fantastic unpacking of the topic of tulwars from the European perspective, Matt! I actually was just thinking yesterday that it would be great to hear you cover EARLY tulwars in particular. For example (and I know that blade curvature can vary greatly): were the earliest tulwars as highly curved as some of the later/19th century ones that we often see today?
Hats off to a great video yet again!
One that raised knowledge greed and some perspective to this largely untouched era for martial history enthusiasts to which I dare to relate. Accidentally touched the screen on 12.25 a saw the video is about to end. Even a teeth-biting cold Czech Pilsner Urquell bottle brought to Almaty, Kazakhstan three days after brewed can't could not prevent me suggesting a probably more detailed (maybe even series) coverage of weapons technology of blades in gunpowder era (although in adulescentia). Thank you, Matt!
Very interesting view of the Indian talwar. However, you should have mentioned that the Sikhs in India are wearing talwars and small Kirpans as religious item and learn from young age how to use it. Majority of Sikh gurdwaras (temple) providing Sikh marshal arts (Gatka). Even know days majority of Sikhs have a talwars or wearing a small kirpan for their religious believes.
Always liked Sikhs and how carrying a blade was/is part of the religion. Every one i have ever met has also been very nice and polite and just had a good energy about them.
Martial training to Sikhs were given by Rajputs. They have just taken Rajput martial tradion and calling themselves and unique.
Have same courtesy to acknowledge. But these days i don't expect anything from sikhs.
Nobody gives a fugg about langarjeets
@jerrylouiswiththethickness6403Sikhs are rajputs that were under Guru Ji. Some tend to forget this
@jerrylouiswiththethickness6403 Jaats are just a subclan of Rajputs. All this recent talk about oh jatts this jatts that we was schithian and shiii is just
dillusion. There's no point of addressing dillusion they have no valid point for anyone to refute
Sword is called a Teg, a Kirpan and Talwar also in various countries in India
shut up
I just slugged through the Persian epic Shanemah Aside from elephants, precious gems and daughters; Indian swords were listed.
Christopher
It gives me the shivers watching you wave your off hand near that edge, Matt... I'm surprised you still have a full complement of fingers 😮
In a book about the siege of the lucknow Residency during the Sepoy Rebellion I could not fail to note period commentary from the combatants that the celebrated Wilkinson blades on the British side had a distressing habit of breaking against the native Tuwars. Little wonder Tulwars enjoyed a certain celebrity with the British officers.
Very likely to be a consequence of the Tulwar's greater mass and velocity. It also comes with that the Tulwar would more often hit the other sword straight on, where it's at its strongest.
To be fair Wilkson blades were not exactly celebrated outside of the British empire, spanish sources always refer to them as inferior compared to the ones from spain and germany
I think a trend is forming up, Wilkinson blades for show and display , Tulwars and other worksman like blades for utility.@@morgainebarkefors9806
@@garyguymon9857 Remember Military Grade means as cheap as possible with the lowest standard of material. Its no wonder European standard issue swords and bayonets kept breaking, while the civilian and non-European market was mostly satisfied with the German mid-grade exports.
I am from lucknow I have more than 100 year old talwar.....may be from same time of 1857...its passed down from my ancestor....still this talwar is very flexible and strong.....
Could you also consider the ‘Kai Valari’ weapon used by the Southern Polygars against the British? It was hand thrown weapon that came back to the attacker when thrown at certain angles.
Matt,
You mentioned that one of the key factors, is the sharpness of the sword. You also mentioned that there was a a double bevel to the blade. But what wasn’t mentioned, was what the angle of the bevels were. Do you have any data available that gives the angles, of the double bevel? For that matter, are the angles of the double bevel constant over the length of the blade or is there a difference between the straight and curved portions of the blade?
Brother, by any means are you trying to make one?
@@adarshmishra367
Definitely considering it…even if it’s commissioned and made by someone else rather than doing it myself.
That said, I thirst for knowledge, and have even managed to get a job as a proofreader, because being able to fill in the blanks for editors and writers, helps to make for a more realistic read.
I remember when i was a child in India Hyderabad in the years 1965 to 1975 it was common and we used to learn these all over the place. And yes there were competitions and regional festivals about it. But now in 2024 these things are rare or very privately.
Speaking of Tulwars, I keep bugging you to do an Osborn Gunby saber as part of the Royal Armouries line. But it never even occured to me that the Royal Armoury might not have an Osborn Gunby 1796 Light Cavalry Saber.
Luckily I came upon IX.246. And even better within the description of that sword, I found this:
"'On this variant pattern generally'
The Royal Armouries has a number of examples of this variant pattern" ❤
Matt, do you have any further reading/sources on British defensive equipment in colonial India? The revelation of British officers choosing to wear mail shirts is absolutely fascinating!
I enjoyed your video very much. The tulwar is indeed a fearsome weapon. In Japanese swordsmanship you also cut using the whole body - stepping into the cut and the use of the hips - as you do in using the tulwar. Since the indian tulwar and the Japanese katana share so many variables do you think that they in any way influenced each other? Keep these great videos coming.
It’s unlikely they influenced each other due to geographic isolation and it’s more likely that they arrived at the same ideas due to convergent evolution as the human body is the same and they are both cutting swords
Japan was very much isolationist especially in times when tulwars started becoming popular, so I very much doubt it. Japenese swords changed relatively little since ~1000 AD, it was all very conservative compared to most of the world.
Also, besides being mostly single edged, and curved, tulwars and Japanese swords weren't much alike. Pretty much all nihontos were somehow unique with their wide, stout back ridge and kisaki, two handed grip, and minimalist guard/handle.
As long as Japan was still borrowing stuff from neighbors, it was pretty much all from China, India was far away.
It may be possible as India and Japan culture share many similarities
Last time I checked the predominant religion of Japan was Buddhism. There are many accounts of Japanese mercenaries working in South East Asia. I was merely asking a question about the influence one sword style had on another.
Your flow / finesse is fun to watch.
Thanks for putting out the info!
The Shamshir like talwar is called the "Goliya". the word literally means curvy.
The khilij/palash design is called a Khadag/Khadga meaning rhino horns.
A video on the khanda would be cool
My first ever antique weapon purchase was a tulwar! Funny enough I haven’t made a video on it even though I’ve done hundreds on other antiques.
Ah the good old days, 1857 Mutiny. Still remember the history classes we had on it. List the seven reason the Sepoy Mutiny took place. Makes me shudder. But I still love the history.
The word talwar is not a specific type of sword but a rather general word for long bladed weapons, the literal translation of sword.
We call a katana, claymore or even a rapier a talwar.
It wasn't originally meant to be this way though, the root word for Tulwar comes from Sanskrit तर्वारिका, which denoted a specific kind of curve edged light blade that was supposed to be used in close range man to man combat, then there was खंडा Khanda which was a giant heavy straight edged blade, and कटार Kataar which was more or less Indian curved equivalent to European daggers but just slightly smaller versions of them and then हासिका or Hasika the giant combat sickle
Great vid Matt. A topic I know nothing about and super interesting. Love it!
I have a pet theory that the viking age swords, with their similar short grips, may have been used similarly. Saxo Grammaticus tells us that the Scandinavians of that time preferred strength and power over speed, and used 'few blows, but those terrible.'
Make sense
Weren't Viking swords double edged like long swords?
@@Pinicle_of_evolution Yes, but they had a similar confining grip, unless you think they held the pommel in the palm and used an exaggerated saber grip.
@@blakewinter1657 ah the grip. I thought u were referring to the blade. Viking swords did have similar grips but they were thrusting weapons mainly, that "few blows" were probably from Viking battle axes imo
@@Pinicle_of_evolution Well, in the sagas, 4 out of 5 attacks with viking swords were blows. Only 13% were thrusts. The viking sword is optimized for chopping, as well. Their tips are also not optimzed for thrusts, and they're relatively unwieldy for a thrusting weapon (but great for chopping).
See Men of Terror, by Short and Óskarson.
Man with sword: why where people afraid of this sword?
Man with no sword: yes.
No proposition Euclid wrote,
No formulae the text-books know,
Will turn the bullet from your coat,
Or ward the Tulwar's downward blow.
Some people in India still weild the Talwaar, especially Rajputs(Warrior Class in India), apart from decoration they also like to cut Birthday Cakes with it.
"Baked" these caste systems out of the "system" yet? Usage of that word "caste" is ill fated event. Swords are swords that's it.
Have you ever stood your ground infront of a sword?
@@pushpinderchhatwal7602Yes, i should have used class, instead of caste. Phrase your answer correctly, Did you mean, have i ever been in a sword fight?
@TheRawXboxGaming94 Rajput used to be a nobility this is why i used Class. It is much more than a Community, a Class with Many castes under it, one of many groups under the Hindu Race Umbrella.
That's a lot like us americans learning how to shoot at 7 and expected to be able to hunt at 13. At least that was my childhood.
haha there's another uninteded connection to American gun culture (and specifically the politics around it)... the British disarmed the Indian population after the 1857 uprising, and that in large part enabled them to rule relatively easier for the next 90 years or so
I love the depth of knowledge you bring to a weapon I knew absolutely nothing about. It's fascinating from start to finish
Every region of India had a martial art, which had unarmed combat and armed combat training - involving sticks, knives, swords and spears. Kalaripayattu (in Kerala), Silambam (in Tamil Nadu), Sarit Sarak (in Manipur), Mardani Khel (in Maharashtra) are some of these martial arts. After 1857, most of them were banned. The making of Talwars was banned or strictly controlled - the local steel industry was forcibly shut. And as you stated, the right to bear arms was also restricted. We see a revival now BUT there are very few folks who know the ancient art and science of manufacturing some of these weapons.
always a pleasure to take in your content
Thanks for setting the record straight...I've been making these points for some time (years and years). We still have bladed cultures today :) I started at 6. We also used wooden wasters btw.
It's a rarity rather then the norm these days
@@karandullet380 urban India, yes, rural India still has many bladed cultures, both tools for daily use and weapons not less tool like use.
@@adrianjagmagHow do you close distance with a Tulwar to strike since they have such a short range?
@@anantasheshanaga3666 footwork, angulation...proper entry technique, dhal to intercept opponents weapon and provide opening etc, and their range isn't as short as people think. :)
Tulwar, once it lands on the enemy body will maintain its contact, due to its curvy design, with the place of wound as it moves along its path during sweep of the attacker's arm and will continue cutting the flesh till its point.
I use swinging maces as an exercise method. It comes from India, so I'm not surprised by the description of the sword and the fact that the Indian swinging this sword was feared.
I've seen a picture taken in fairly recent years (10 yrs or so), where tulwars were in serious action. In that picture one of the swordmen fingers the ricasso, possibly to give a lighter cut with a longer reach.
What are you thoughts of using a Tulwar for Hema saber tournaments?
I thought you were about to become Matt Weston. But now, I will no longer worry. WHAT A RELIEF!
The training also explains why European forces often took a significant loss in their first engagement or two before holding their own, then defeating their enemies. It took that first shock to teach the survivors that there ain't nothing like training with your weapon to be able to use it effectively (especially the British who, despite the cliched caricatures of them, generally learned better & faster than their European counterparts).
"The survivors did much better their second battle."
British strength lied in their artillery. Guns from the industrialized Britain were ligehter (thus mobile relatively) and could hit longer ranges. Medieval Indian artillery couldn't match the firepower of industrial Europe. This is why in spite of numerical superiortiy Indian armies fell to Brits. Just imagine how futile numbers would be if you can't hit the enemy but enemy can hit you.
The one with a Shamshir blade is called a “Golia”, and the other longer one with a broad blade appears to be one of the two types of “Sirohi” but the only way to be certain is to test the blade hardness.
As for how they were worn, yes later especially in the Punjab they were tucked in, but for everywhere else the suspension systems not dissimilar to European suspension, two point of either leather or silk.
Well, Japanese forged swords just cannot match the Indian talwara made of crucible woodtz steel delivering fierce cutting edge 👍
Before Behlol Khan could even complete his blow, Maharana Pratap seated on his favorite horse Chetak delivered a sword blow on the helmet of Behlol Khan. The blow was struck with such ferocity and precision that Behlol Khan was vertically cut into two pieces along with his helmet, armour and even his horse.
He used Indian talwar.
Late 17th and almost entire 18th century was ruled by Maratha Empire. One of the fiercest empires of India ⚔️🗡️
Ran into a glowing review of Indian swords in some old Russian literature back in the day.
There were even serated ( saw like blade) versions of talwar too infact during 1st war of independence those swords were quite handy. In fact forged in fire had a dedicated episode of it and one is even there in British museum.
Don't call the mutiny as the first war of Independence like an NPC.
@@Aethelwulf_of_Westseaxe First war of independence, against the invading force of bad-toothed barbarians with weak ass swordsmanship, this is a better name.
If you're defending the genocidal, brutal, and incredibly racist institution of the British Empire then you need to take a long look in the mirror. Calling it the "mutiny" legitimizes a regime that oppressed and murdered millions in India. We have that perspective now and should rethink the language we use accordingly.
@@Aethelwulf_of_Westseaxe here comes the brown gore sahab.
@@Aethelwulf_of_Westseaxe Cry about it.
Other reason of sharpness and deep cuts was the carbonised steel made using bamboo leaves...also famous as damascus steel in europe introduced by middle eastern kingdoms which sold them indian steel after making them into swords at large scale.
Surprised they didn’t do a metal scabbard with a wooden insert.
Pretty sure the main reason they stopped being feared was better guns. The famous scene from Indiana Jones comes to mind.
One can slash from left to right and back again from right to left.
All , you do is, to twist your wrist to bring the cutting edge in the direction of the cut.
Besides, many swords had finger-guards, to protect your fingures from the opponent's blade, should it slide down your talwar during the fight.
Thses additional features made it very useful.
Afterall, this blade has evolved over several centuries of warfare, just like any other blade in the world.
It's gotta have some special advantages. Otherwise it would not survive for so many centuries.
😃🙏
Calling it talwaar sword is just like saying chai tea
I think if a group of people are inclined to chop you up, you by extension would be wary or even fearful of their most ubiquitous weaponry.
You have deeper knowledge of our culture than most of our country men. Keeping sword was pretty much part of our culture.
Great insights.
As for the cultural aspect as to why the youth would have been very practiced, the best word would be gladiator, fighting for prize money, such youth could bring wealth to a family. Sometimes in a years prize 30x as much as a large farm would bring. There are some places this is still true, but mainly in the area of wrestling.
That's not how I would put it. The sword was worshipped, Talvars had a weight attached to the name. It was a religious duty to learn the art of weaponry from a young age, to imbibe discipline, humility and for self-protection as well as protection of others. It wasn't for showmanship and had nothing to do with "gladiator" style fighting for prize money. It's the same with Wrestling today. Though there are wrestling competitions in villages, wrestling is much more than just plain showmanship. There's a level of respect and divinity attached to it for the people who actually join wrestling schools in villages.
I’m not sure I understand what point you are making. Are you denying that gladiatorial type combat was done and is still practiced today In such things as mud wrestling? Yet at the same time are agreeing that it occurs? This is very confusing.
@limeberber5065 I'm saying that the concept of "gladiator" style fighting isn't Indian, because the philosophy behind it, the philosophy of why Indians learn to use weapons is completely different. Yes there might've been competitions, but they were held for showing your own skills and celebrating your particular type of martial art, rather than beating your opponents or whatever else you'd expect in a gladiator ring. There's a massive difference in the core philosophies of what it means to be a warrior between the west and the Indic world.
I’m sorry but you view on this is incorrect. lathi khela Has these gladiatorial roots, where the competition would be held for fame, money & entertainment, the same as mud pit wrestling is today. None of which are intended as feats, those displays like in modern gatka occur as exhibition and are not related to core martial principles. The philosophy, to use your word, was a battlefield mindset, dueling was not really a thing, weapons particularly shastar (blades weapons) were reserved for war, and personal disputes were settled with local forms of boxing or wrestling. By the time blade oriented/ thrust oriented dueling popped up in India we’re are talking early 1700s. With swords like the Mel Puttah Bemoh, and daggers like the katar or khanjar being fought with on the knees in an almost sitting position in a ring.
So again I’m not sure I understand your grievance? Perhaps it is with the word gladiator, but that is probably the best work for it that can be anglicized
@@RiverofGrassFencing You're just completely wrong here. I'm an Indian and I understand these cultural nuances much better. A gladiator style event was not held to enjoy and celebrate a particular martial art, it was solely held for the purpose of having a winner and a loser, while Indian events were mainly held for celebrating martial arts without much focus on the who the winner/loser was. There's a difference between that and an Indian event in terms of what you're holding the event for, what you're expecting out of the event, and what you're celebrating. People didn't attend those events for a winner/loser dynamic, they wanted to witness extraordinary feats of martial arts, something that they'd never seen before (remember most of these people would already know how to use a weapon, so the bar is very high here).
This is not a minor/irrelevant detail that should be brushed off, because this says a lot about what it meant to be a warrior in the Indic context. In the western worldview, the idea of being a warrior is very closely tied to the winner/loser dynamic, as in how many battles/wars the warrior has won, how many men he's slaughtered... etc, that's generally what warriors were celebrated for. In the Indic worldview however, the idea of being a warrior is a lot more complicated, it had more to do with how good your martial skills are (irrespective of whether you've fought in wars or killed enemies), there's elements of preserving dharma (which is a different and complicated concept) and a bit more that's specific to the Indian historical context. We're (at least most cultures) not obsessed with the winner/loser dynamic however. These are very subtle and specific details that probably only Indians can understand ig, but yeah they're there regardless.
The main problem here is the use of the word "gladiator" yes, since it has certain ideas and connotations attached to it, and that completely changes the context of these Indian events and how they were viewed by the Indian public. This is why it's not wise to anglicize things. It's just better to not talk about things if you can't accurately describe it, instead of completely twisting it and misrepresenting it.
Thx Matt, enjoyed video immensely.
Those gothic hilted sabers are some of the most beautiful designs ever conceived imo. Way better than the katanas as far as aesthetics go.
As stated, as degree of "commitment" to the cause and determination to press the attack will make any weapon more effective. definitely the person, not just the weapon.