Exactly, and if you're encountering an unskilled opponent he'd most probably flail real quick with the sword rather than skillfully perform calculated strikes. So to me, with a skilled or unskilled opponent, going unarmed is a bad idea either way.
In reality probably more than twice - your arm is very likely going to be messed up but you still probably have an arm with at least a functional shoulder after trying to block a sword with it and some time before the bloodloss will get you, so you can still flail that mangled arm around to some degree of defence. And if you get the timing right or get lucky you might even be able to turn the tables, just don't bet on it...
This isn't really difficult. The following moves will work every time against a swordsman. 1. Face your opponent with either your left or right foot slightly forward. 2. When your opponent begins his move, quickly rotate your body 180 degrees. 3. Run away as fast as you can.
I remember an old martial arts movie where the protagonist simply caught a downward strike between his first two fingers on his right hand. He then proceeded to flip the sword out of the attacker's hands. Seems straightforward enough.
A lot of those movies played on the mystique of unarmed fighters who could kill with their bare hands and with style. Some of the moves wouldn't work as well in a real fight.
If you're superman it should work great! I think it can also work if you happen to have a solid metal prosthetic right hand, possibly because this was previously attempted with a real hand!
I did manage to pull off unarmed vs. sword at least once in sparring years ago, at least to the extent that I avoided a cut & then rushed in. As I recall, we paused there. My sparring partner was definitely better at grappling, though, so I still would have lost if we had continued. That's one of the worst parts about unarmed vs. sword. Successfully getting around the sword still requires winning the resulting grappling match.
Reminded me of that clip of a hema bout where the guy who was disarmed realized he was in command grab range and powerbombed the opponent. It was brought up that even if an armed peasant managed to disarm a knight they still had to deal with a muscular ironclad wrestler who's closer to you than the hurty end of your pointy stick.
@@Mordecrox- Which may be why so many of the pointy sticks had a spike or hammer on one side. Disarm, then bludgeon or get that spike into the armor and hold while your buddies finished the job.
And typically, even if you do manage to get the weapon out of their hands, you're in a rotten position to do something with it if they don't lose their mind.
You know, im starting to think that if an unarmed person could always beat a swordsman the sword would not have really.. been invented. So yeah, best choice is probably running away, if thats not an option - hope that your opponent is using a sword for the first time
If you want to make that forearm deflection more viable, you can either wrap your cloak around your forearm (provided you have enough time) or wear a hidden bracer or block of wood under our sleeves as some street fighters in Spain were attested to do (e.g. in Godinho). The former may not be able to step direct two-handed blow, and the latter may fail as well or get your arm broke, but it is hell of a lot better than nothing.
doing it with a skin-exposed arm it's guaranteed to rend your flesh like a kebab, so yeah, either you're ready to get injured, or have prepared something like this before attempting it.
If you have enough time to wrap a cloak around your arm then you probably have enough time to start running away. This would have to be some really contrived scenario where he corners you in a dead end alley but is also the slowest attacker ever.
Unarmed sword defense is like extreme unarmed bat defense. You have to get in close, VERY fast, attack the hands, and trap the weapon or disarm the opponent. Works best is a relatively close environment where the ability to escape is limited. In an open environment just run away.
Pretty much, yes. Will it work against a COMPETENT swordsman? Probably not. But against an amateur, or a drunk, sure. As someone who had to defend himself against after being cornered by a sword-weilding assailant who was BOTH (my alcoholic, abusive, and likely schizophrenic soon-to-be-ex), I can say that it can be done. It certainly helped that she didn't know anything about measure or tempo, and approached in the long point guard, forcing her to take an extra tempo to withdraw the blade before she could initiate an attack- which gave me the fraction of a second I needed to step in and seize her wrists. If she'd had any fencing experience whatsoever, I'd have been screwed.
4:30 if you examine the old manuscripts carefully, the take down includes _biting the genitals_ of your opponent, in order to reduce the risk of them being able to use the sword to 'end you rightly' with the pommel. Just look at the head positioning in the illustrations. Is that why codpieces were so popular?
Nah.. some drunken guy with a machete decided to bring his life's drama to the streets. My cousin was coming home from his shift and encountered the guy. My cousin lived beside my house so I saw it happen. Immediately after he was injured he ran to my direction and slammed the door on the drunk. He didn't pursue further. We heard he was later detained after police found him.
@@traptor14x98 he didn't die. The doctors cut off the flesh that was still attached and grafted skin on it. His right forearm looks thinner than the left but he's able to function in society.
I agree with everything that's been said. I would like to also add that it is safe to deduce that the most realistic scenarios that these techniques would be used rely on the attacker not being in an all out "fighting" situation. Maybe against an overconfident opponent that tries to simply cut you down without committing too much on faints or proper footwork (regardless of him being trained or not), or someone drawing a weapon in a fit of rage and trying to attack you wildly (still a slim chance of living through these though). I find it very unlikely that any of these were created for a duelling scenario in which both opponents start facing in other, with proper stance etc. Of course as you said the training in itself being beneficial as well as the high skill gap are the 2 most important points.
Pretty much, yes. Will it work against a COMPETENT swordsman? Probably not. But against an amateur, or a drunk, sure. As someone who had to defend himself against after being cornered by a sword-wielding assailant who was BOTH (my alcoholic, abusive, and likely schizophrenic soon-to-be-ex), I can say that it can be done. It certainly helped that she didn't know anything about measure or tempo, and approached in the long point guard, forcing her to take an extra tempo to withdraw the blade before she could initiate an attack- which gave me the fraction of a second I needed to step in and seize her wrists. If she'd had any fencing experience whatsoever, I'd have been screwed.
@@drizztdourden4241 It depends on what you mean by suddenly. She had initiated a verbal argument hours previously, and had consistently refused to allow me to withdraw from the berating; and she had been obviously drunk for quite some time, so there was reason for me to be wary, but she cornered me unexpectedly with a sword she pulled off a wall hanger in the other room. The attack itself initially consisted of advancing menacingly with the point extended (anyone who knows fencing knows this is not a viable guard from which to fence), so I had several seconds of warning that I was about to be attacked, but I was stuck in a corridor with a locked and child-safety-latched door behind me (which meant I could not rely on opening and escaping through the door faster than an attack could be delivered). As she advanced into measure, she suddenly raised the point above her head to deliver a downward blow, which gave me the opening to rush under her guard and seize her wrists. I tried to use a forearm-over-wrist arm bar to twist the sword out of her grip, but was unable to actually get it out of her grasp (though I did get it into a position from which she could not attack). Couldn't get enough rotation on her wrists to force her to release it. Despite outweighing her by nearly double. Eventually had to use my body mass to press her off-balance against the wall and hold the sword arm hyperextended with one of my arms as an elbow-lever, then use the other hand to pry her fingers off until she gave up. She didn't make it easy, and I was very close to resorting to elbow strikes to the face to gain control of the weapon. As to serious intent: she swung a sharpened sword at my head. I count that as serious intent, yes.
As a life-long (since 5 years) empty-hand and weapons practitioner with a couple years overseas, the best advice is RUN AWAAAAAAAAAAAAY!!!! But thanks for showing how narrow a situation has to be for a weapon disarm to work.
What if they have a gun instead of a sword? Is running still a good idea if you don't have cover? I suppose attempting to disarm is still mostly useless if all they need to do is pull a trigger.
@@elio7610 If someone is pointing a gun at you and they REALLY want you dead, then unfortunately you're just gonna be shot. But I'd say that the majority of the time an assailant is using a gun as a free "I'm invincible, you're scared of me, give me your stuff" card but they don't actually want to use that gun.
@@julietfischer5056They'd have to be truly mentally deficient to do that. Even if you don't WANT to, I'd imagine most of them at least want to have the option.
tl,dr: it's like defending yourself unarmed against a knife, but its even worse because the knife is much bigger this time. get close to the opponent to grapple or run.
In a way I think it might actually be more viable than fighting someone with a knife. Closing the distance will be difficult, but once you do close the distance it will be easier to prevent your opponent from attacking you with their sword, since it's a much larger weapon for them to have to swing or stab towards you. If you're facing someone with a knife on the other hand then closing the distance will barely even do you any good, they'll still be able to stab you with minimal effort because a knife is small enough that you don't need much room for movement or building momentum.
Unironically probably a decent tactic. At least you have a bit of range attack that will hopefully distract them long enough to get in. (Of course you're still probably screwed, but, slightly better than nothing.)
I mean, the modern equivalent of pocket sand is OC spray. I carry one bottle around with me everywhere I got and have a backup one sitting at home. Also another similar option is to get a high-lumen strobe flashlight which I have several of those as well.
I think if you find yourself in this kind of situation and you cannot simply run away, then even a 1 to 2% chance to getting some of these techniques done is better than the 0% chance of getting out of this situation by doing nothing. Definitively worth learning.
I would say you are able to run away far more often than what you might be thinking, or at least run to give your self time to improv a weapon, like picking up a stick.
@@SaiTaX_the_Chile_boi I really don't understand why so many feel the need to make this argument every time a video comes out with advice on what you could do to attempt to survive a dire situation. Yeah, obviously if it's at all possible you should just run away, no shit, but the whole point of a video like this is WHAT TO DO IF YOU CANT. Yes, it will be extremely rare to end up in a situation where you are unarmed, your attacker has a melee weapon, and you have absolutely no chance to run away. In the vast majority of cases you will have some opportunity to run away, but what happens if you don't? Are you just supposed to sit there and die because "Welp, this had such a low probability of happening that I just assumed it never would, guess I'll die" Really? The chances of getting struck by lightning, or winning the lottery, are also extremely low, but if you Google it right now there will be thousands of results full of advice on how to avoid getting struck by lightning, and smart ways to handle your money if you win the lottery. Just because something is improbable does not mean it's impossible, and knowing that I'd say it's a pretty good to at the very least keep little methods like this in the back of your mind for a rainy day, if not legitimately put some time and effort into practicing them, just in case. On top of all that, not everyone lives in the 1st world, and there are plenty of places all over the planet where dire situations like this happen much more frequently, and guess what, they still have internet access, and advice like this could potentially save lives. Things in the 1st world have been getting pretty bad in recent years too, crime rates are going up, and America specifically is really going downhill in just about every metric, so again, this information is useful.
@@SaiTaX_the_Chile_boijust running away isn't as simple as it's always described. Running away is a skill that needs a ton of practice. How good is your 100m dash? How long can you sprint without losing your breath? How good are you at overcoming obstacles? How good is your orientation under stress? How capable of fighting do you feel after a 400m dash? The scary truth is, if someone is charging you with a knife/machete/hatchet etc., you probably won't outrun them. They just have to reach you with the tip of the blade to inflict damage. The time it takes you to turn around gives them plenty of time to charge and once you're both running, it's horse power vs horse power whilest they have the reach advantage. If they catch up, congratulations, now you're tired and they still have the weapon. If you actually manage to outlast them, they still might throw the damn thing into your back (and chances are high that they got a 2nd one). There are a few videos on YT where this actually gets tested and the attacker pretty much always shanks the runner. So if your plan is to run away, practice that! Treat it like sparring in martial arts. Give a friend a small pool noodle and let them chase you once or twice a week. Additionally, practice your dash and endurance running on a track and in the field, learn some parkour, do orientation drills in unknown surroundings, practice to cry for help (yes, that needs practice too!) and hit the gym at least once a week to lift some weights, so you get stronger and more explosive. Tldr; Running away is only viable, if you're really good at it, so how much do you practice?
@@jc-kj8yc I agree 100%, just the turning around takes time, not much but enough time for your opponent to get 'that' bit closer needed for an attack. If the distance between you and your opponent is 10' or more and you trust your dash speed and/or stamina then yeah, run to the hills, run for your life 🤘🏻😉 I practiced this just for fun with a friend many years ago, using a piece of garden hose as a knife stand-in. NO chance of running away if he is at a 6-7 feet distance (unless he's a complete moron) A sword, machete, a baseball bat, or even a length of metal pipe is slower to swing or stab with but got much more range, so... The scary thing about a simple knife is how fast it is to attack with Thank you for your comment
The old Liam Neeson defense in “Rob Roy” where he guides the rapier thrust through a non lethal part of the abdomen (hopefully) and then closes down and attacks.
I think that definitely a lot of these techniques are meant to be used against a less skilled opponent. I know that for a lot of firearms self defense training you're not trained to do things like strafe or shoot accurately while moving or things like that mostly because the teacher is counting on the crooks not being able to hit the broad side of a barn and therefore simply standing still and having better shot placement will win the day. Obviously it's always better when you DO learn more advanced things but yeah I think when it comes to self defense a skill gap between you and your attacker is the name of the game hence why we learn these things. This was a great video by the way, I always enjoy watching your content.
"Strafe" does not mean sidestep. It has leaked into popular vernacular through misuse of the term by video gamers. Strafing is a machine gun or cannon attack from an aircraft upon a ground target. It does not actually mean "shooting while sidestepping".
@bronco5334 no, it's not "misuse" of the term. In life your definition of strafe is correct. In the context of gaming, strafing is moving left and right quickly to dodge incoming fire. 2 separate definitions of the same word. Its been called that since the first shooters cane out. It has nothing to do with shooting going sideways lol, although you can shoot while doing it
Assuming that your opponent is as fast or faster is okay if it is in a way of not expecting it, but being prepared for it. Otherwise, having a limiting mentality is worse and harder to grow out of than foolishness.
Sadly for me all the points I wanted to make were covered in your final summary. Keep up the good work, my real problem with videos such as this is the number of people who watch them and unquestionably believe that such martial skill is easily learnt from these presentations.
Never watched the second channel, but Shogo's main channel is great for insights into japanese culture and society issues. Simple to follow, very fluent in english and understands western perspective because of his background.
It’s a complex formula. The military says: your opponent always has a vote. That goes two ways: skill, armor (or not), age, fatigue level, terrain, existing wounds, and inebriation. A person who has to defend but gets a knife out may take non-disabling hits and kill his opponent, only to bleed out or die of sepsis. I think the overall outcome for unarmored fights vs a completely unarmed opponent is in the 85%+ chance of death range, but even that seems optimistic, since fights between equally skilled opponents come down to to the thing that is different between them. Thus, without a weapon, an unarmored defender is screwed.
I apologize if anyone has already pointed this out. At 2:10 the technique looks a lot like shomenuchi iriminage. (To make this throw more effective, try placing your free hand on your assailant's lower back during the throw.) I suspect that these techniques were developed for the scenario of disarmed-samurai-in-full-armor versus armed-samurai-in-full-armor.
I think the whole discipline, if we can call it that, relies on a significant skill gap between the armed and unarmed parties. I remember doing a knife defense camp for a week, then on the last day we used markers as "knives" and wore white t-shirts. Everyone was very, very colorful after some free sparring. You're just going to get cut up. A lot. So don't get into knife fights, or sword fights!
Knife fights, Sword fights... And frankly I wouldn't want to fight a mace either. You try to slap that to the side and I think you just get broken fingers.
@@1stCallipostle Honestly against a mace you probably have a better shot just rushing the guy and punching him in the face until he goes down. Mainly because maces can't stab you up so running in is less dangerous. Just gotta avoid the swings and endure the lighter hits to your body.
Usually the "I can keep trucking" mentality comes from people that haven't actually been hit in a fight before. I personally haven't been in a fight but after hitting my side on a corner pretty hard, I *know* that I'm not invincible and will probably stop even after a non life-threatening injury
@@AVGyerra22well during a fight, there would be a hell of a lot of adrenaline in your body, which would definitely help you keep trucking, but if you get a broken arm, or several broken ribs, or a deep laceration, you're out of that fight
Since I have watched the video about knife vs martial artist you have posted, this seems utterly ridiculous. That vid was simply eyeopening how different reality is from theory.
this is a great example of the importance of gauntlets, especially paired with arm guards that extend past the elbow, also I love how you brought up tactics from MMA because I've learned several takedowns from wrestling and I greatly appreciate how you brought martial arts into the discussion of unarmed combat
I feel like unarmed vs a sword if you can't flee then you are basically dead anyway. Since your already basically guaranteed to die your only chance is to lean in to the risky play. If you can get a hard tackle without taking a fatal strike then you could disarm them and bring them into a grappling match where the odds are more favorable.
If they cut you at all youre at a huge disadvantage in a grapple. You wont be able to leverage properly if your joints are cut, cant maintain a strong grip if your hands are cut and if they have any limb free they can just dig it into your wounds for easy escape/advantage
@@kingkino2116 that's very true. But if it's between certain death at the point of a sword and in a disadvantage position in a grapple, I will take the grapple.
Part of me honestly wants to see these unarmed techniques in a Batman movie/game. They look cool, and since Batman is supposed to be a master at hand to hand while fighting mostly untrained criminals, the skill gap question is more believable.
@@christiandauz3742And yet still seems to prefer punch 90% of the time. The rest of the Bat Family tends to be smart enough to bring like a Stick or Two sticks. And then when Jason is allowed in the party then we have flashbangs, handguns, a sniper rifle, and a knife but we'll ignore that.
@@Deatheater4444 Yeah armor makes him WAAAY more capable of fighting guys with swords and guns than an actually unarmed person. Someone in plate armor versus someone with a sword probably just wins outright unless the opponent also has armor. In which case its still way more even because the sword loses most of its instant lethality. Batman can block a strike effectively is the point and thus is capable of attempting grapples.
I kept thinking to myself “USE THE HOODIE!!!” My first plan of action if someone comes at me with a blade when I’m unarmed is to take my shirt off and try to catch the blade with it.
@@Skallagrimalso flicking it at the opponent, whip his eyes with the zipper! (Ideally of course) Done in knife fights, living folklore in Argentina actually.
I really like your cursor :D Also it would be fine if you said "Seki" Sensei, the guy just says the "ki" part really fast so it comes out as "kh", but it's still okay to say the whole thing in normal speed. It's like a familiarity thing. Rob - Robert kind of a thing, but not in a belittling or infantilizing way.
having seen people grab swords in HEMA tournaments, they almost always go for that attempt once the sword has lost momentum and is more or less suspended in space after a parry or while it's bound when both people are moving in to close ground the thumbnail image looks like an attempt to draw a moment like that, a freeze frame done on papyrus, representing an opportunity to grab the sword when it's suspended in space. i've never seen someone try to grab a sword bare handed but i've seen people lose or cast their swords away to go for a grapple involving grabbing the other person's sword
This is true for pretty much every kind of weapon disarm. If your opponent acts in a really stupid way, you get a very short opening that you have to use perfectly for the technique to work. If you fail at any point, you lose. You would think most people intuitively understand this, but there are still way too many idiots who think that knowing a gun disarm means they are safe from guns now. Thank you for this important demonstration.
Kendo points require more than just a shout. The concept is called 'kikentai no ichi', which basically translates to 'spirit, blade, and body as one'. The overall concept of what it is trying to do isn't all that strange for a martial art: ensure good consistent body mechanics and promoting putting your all into each attack. It's just that the method of measuring that is a bit more rigid and not useful to anything trying to be a real combat art. You have to show that you have the sword (shinai), body, and spirit all working in unison to land the strike, by doing the following three things simultaneously: Ki: This is the shout part. Pretty straight-forward. Technically, you are supposed to shout the name of the location you are hitting, but once you into the Dan ranks, they generally don't require that detail because it's pretty clear what you were aiming for just from watching your attack at that skill level. Ken: This is the shinai strike landing. If you look closely at the shinai, you'll see that there is a band of fabric about 3/4 of the way up the bamboo shaft,, and well as fabric covering the tip. you have to strike between those points for it to count. That is where you *want* to hit with a cutting sword in pretty much any martial art, but in kendo, it is absolutely mandatory. It is also supposed to be a powerful strike, which is usually judged based on the sound it makes when connecting with the armor. The one exception to all of this is the one storing point that is not a cut, but instead a thrust to the throat. Tai: To show your body was also in the strike correctly, you have to stomp your front foot on the floor. For it to be a valid point scored, you have to do all three of these at the same time.
the only way the boxer would have a chance: is if he has full amour and the guy with the sword not, cause then the boxer really could tank a few hits depending on where they land.
I like that in the Stormlight Archive series One character manages to do unarmed defense against a sword attack. He managed to clap his hands around the sides of the blade to stop it. When a young character asked a swordmaster about it, the swordmaster just grunted and said "So he managed a last clap. No, I won't teach you that, because 9 times out of 10 you will end up dead. It is not something you can rely on." He noted that it only worked against magical blades that cut anything, so slow swings with more control works best, and it has to be done in an overhead downstroke. And would still mostly fail.
I think the big caveat is the skill gap if you want to take unarmed vs sword seriously, but even then it's situational. Not exactly unarmed vs sword but in a tournament pool, my opponent, didn't quite grasp the measure difference between us, would approach me and pull back for a cut and lead with the hands. So twice, I closed distance and entered a grapple with my left hand, catching their pommel/hands like in the first technique and pushed their hands back to break structure while thrusting with my sword. While my own sword played some roll in altering how we both entered the exchange, (threat of my own weapon, the ability to safely defend myself, etc), it demonstrates the validity of the mechanics of the technique, if not the situation with which to use them. I would think the techniques are more applicable to entering a grapple and you are either disarmed or have dropped your sword to preform the grapple. I could also see it being applicable to armored combat, drop your sword, armor allows you to safely enter grapple, preform a technique before drawing a dagger. The Fiorie pannel you showed even depicts a sword on the ground as if they drooped it or were disarmed, not entering a fight unarmed. I've also seen Jesse Tucker have his rapier disarmed and go on to win the exchange with just his dagger, so there's that
In my novice opinion , surroundings seems best way to stay safeish ( hallway) ( doors) ( trees) basically anything to slow or limit the sword man's ability to use their weapon as intended to then counter (, loving the videos dude 🍻)
maybe trees yea, but hallways or doors are a definite no go imo, you need that space to get around them. If you are in a tight space, you literally have no where to dodge, they can just keep the blade infront of them and you are dead.
We kinda tried this in practice and most swords didn't care that much, and even the montante could perform ok in limited space. There might've been a view more points where we could get in, but nothing major. The spear had notable more openings though, although i am not sure if that was just because of the manuscripts we used to have a lot of backsteps or an actual fault of the weapon, although the spear is specialiced in long range so i asune the later.
@@ragegaze3482 ok yea I see exactly what your saying ,the only reason I thought this ,was say a hall way ,you could take an educated guess at where the stab would come from ( but I see your logic perfectly 🍻)
Regarding the kendo scoring rules: -They have to hit with the last third of the blade -They have to make sure the alignment is right (there is a bit on the blade that signals whether the edge alignment is correct -They have to hit with sufficient force / structure -The shout doesn't have to call the target area, it just has to be done -They have to hit and not be hit back / countered -They have to be ready to continue fighting and defend themselves immediately after So the incidental hits vs the boxer you see did not count due to not fitting all these criteria.
I remember one time I was sparring with someone, and felt like experimenting. So I decided to be passive and try to bait out an over-extension, particularly a downward one, and stomp on the dull part of the blade. I was able to effectively pin it and safely shove them back, forcing the blade from their grip. So if you're really fast, flexible, and coordinated- and you have some robust shoes- I think you have a decent chance, depending on the blade. If you're willing to risk dislocations, that would help too, I suppose. Dislocated shoulder is better than a socially distanced skull.
I think the idea with that boxer may have been that their gloves worked like gauntlets, so they could block with them and it's why hits weren't counted. It made it a slightly more even playing field and allowed the boxer to use techniques as they were used to in boxing.
Weapons are invented for a reason. Can you win a fight if you are unarmed against sword? Yes, but chances are pretty slick... Can you win sword against pistol? Can you win pistol against assault rifle? Can you win with rifle against tank? Yes in some very specific conditions you can win, but 99.9 times out of 100 you are going to lose in a blink of an eye.
We use mismatched weapon drills such as dagger v sword or spear with a technique called “hunting tigers”. This involves giving ground and voiding back from attacks until we’re absolutely sure there’s an opening.
Id like to note most of the training provided for unarmed defense is framed in scenarios where you've been caught off guard and are dealing with a criminal, not meeting someone with martial dedication who you'd like to trade blows with. Plus the amount of people willing to dedicate the time to learn how to correctly assess situations in clutch situations and develop the muscle memory to perform under stress makes the amount of people who legitimately can pull this type of stuff off is way lower, it takes time, and the basic principles of engagement are counterintuitive and the need to build up the necessary skills is little to none with guns readily available. With that said the reason most people can't pull off unarmed combat against someone with a weapon is the same reason people get hit with big looping punches that on tape anyone can point out as completely telegraphed, the fear and suggestion of death causes people to pause when that's the key and possibly only time to win without sacrifice. It's hard to dive into the center of a storm though I will say, most people would think like outboxers in this situation but that doesn't work because we're arbitrarily imposing a limited space for the purpose of entertainment when in real life it'd prolly be a better idea to let the assailant chase you around with their extra weight until they become slower and sloppy enough to safely engage but since that's not an option your only truly viable path to victory is forward. This video and the HEMA community seems to assume someone truly proficient in defending themselves against someone with a weapon is going to remain reactive and avoid the person with a weapon remaining out of range instead of being proactive and changing the rules of the fight entirely. People take on disarming techniques with a spirit of passive defense as if they're ever going to be able to react to a form they're already unfamiliar with(fallacy) instead of aggressively removing their opponents ability to use their advantages, that's like playing a war of attrition in someone else's land while simultaneously agreeing not to take rations from your benefactors. IMO people get caught up in participating in the rules of engagement of their adversaries perceived threat instead of capitalizing on every situation. Plus historically capes, certain jackets, and gloves were made with the intention of giving the option for gentlemen, aristocrats, and nobility an option to realistically catch blades in situations where true weaponry may not have been permitted, seemed improper, or barbaric to carry around a shield and it's not like armor is famous for being comfy either(Arrogance of oligarchs?). Along with that in every encounter shown the sword is completely drawn which isn't how all situations would play out. You're literally starting in a position that gives the sword an advantage which puts the unarmed fighter in a defensive position from the jump. It'd be more indicative for a comparison of combat styles if the fighters had to shake hands/bow then assume whatever stance they dictate appropriate, then the glaring issues of the time it takes to unholster a weapon would be highlighted, while holistically involving both fighters unique styles so it'd be a equal competition instead of a sword fight where one person's unarmed. Regardless thanks for the many videos and education as no one style is perfect and we can all learn from each other and constantly improve the arts that have been passed down to us.
To be a little bit fair this looks like the stuff you teach to your students last as "use only if you cant run away and have no other choice". Cuz if it's life or death and pushing that sword away as you close in means you are losing some finger, but the alternative is death....I mean it would suck, but if its do or die. People can be willing to trade one hand for their lives. As its pointed out many times, even after being badly wounded by a sword, your opponent can still fight. Plus a pair of proper thick leather gloves and the applicability rises a bit. Small bit but still. The main issue here is people who treat it as some kind of mystical technique that can defeat any blade.
Have pulled off all of the stuff you demonstrated in sparring. The big thing is, in (nearly) all cases I also had a sword at the beginning. We would clash, grapple, and I would either lose my sword or just drop it and then do the technique. My favorite instance of this is when I dropped my sword and did the first disarm you show, my opponent quickly went to recover my sword but wasn't fast enough and I hit him on the head when he turned back.
The Korean on the window says 대한검도 (Daehan Geomdo), i.e., "Great Korea Sword Way," in which "Sword Way" (i.e., fencing) comes from the same two Chinese characters as used to signify Japanese kendo. Geomdo and kendo, however, are not exactly the same martial art despite having certain similarities, just as Korean hapkido and Japanese aikido use the same three Chinese characters but are not the same martial art. The golden Chinese characters visible inside the dojang also say 대한검도/Daehan Geomdo/大韓劍道.
If youre unable to escape, one thing you could do to try and regain some effectiveness while unarmed is to try and wrap an article of clothing around one of your arms as quickly as you can. that should at least help keep your skin from getting flayed by glancing blows and depending on the blade in question mitigate a more well aimed strike. Especially if the blade in question is something more like a machete with bad edge geometry.
Machete are specialized for cutting-chopping, they're thin and blade heavy, I don't see anyone tanking even a glancing blow from that, without at least some thick padded cloth armor. Their blade heavy, efficient force transfer with little flex makes them hit that much harder compared to other swords.
@@steelwasp9375 thats definately the case with well made machete, those would be like trying to tank a falchion, but there's plenty cheap ones out there that are really useless at cutting anything substantial. I read one case where a man defended himself against a machete with just his bare hands and managed to pull it out of the attackers hands and chase the attacker away. Got real chewed up but still made it to see another day. that being said i certainly would not want to just make the assumption that my opponent had a garbage walmart blade just in case.
Hilarious! I love how movies depict characters dealing with knives and swords like a walk in the park. The average guy thinking he can go up against a person armed with a sword. Yeah you're at least gonna lose part of your hand.
Funny, I discovered Weaponism last night, and binged a bunch of their stuff. I dont know anything about Kendo but it seems like if they score, they just keep going if they are already in the starting position, or close enough. Instead of taking the time to reset, they just keep going. But in the boxer video, I got the feeling they just messed around and hit eachother.
The only chance is to grab his arm and make him drop the weapon, but if the other guy has the same skill, that would be almost impossible to pull off. In any case, as slim as the chances are, no doubt they are better with training. Of course, your 1rst choice would be to avoid the fight at all costs. If you manage to run away, your're good. But if that's impossible, at least you have trained. It's better than nothing, but probably not a lot better than nothing. I suppose that's why those techniques were trained: to use them as the last chance you have. If you are a knight, you better train for any possible situation, even if unlikely. Also, maybe you had armor, or at least sturdy gloves, then your chances could be better.
In an open field of battle picking up a stick or rock would open up your options dramatically but the second you introduce scenery your chances are a tiny bit better since you could put something between you and the sword like a tree forcing the sword wielder to either stay on the other side poking at you or get past the tree to strip you of the cover during which you would have a much better chance of closing the gap (TL;DR Use your environment) Edit: Even better assuming you had a second you could remove your own shirt and use it to catch the blade
Everyone is forgetting the real secret to defeating anyone, with any weapon, at any time. The power of friendship. Like my friend Steve, who I pay to follow me around and carry a gun.
Realistically, I think almost all the chance of actually pulling off any unarmed vs. weapon techniques successfully would tend to come in the brief window *before* they actually start attacking you, if you take the initiative while their guard is down because they don't expect you to do something as stupid as fight them without a weapon. If you manage to take them by surprise, you have a brief window of opportunity. Without the element of surprise, you have basically no window of opportunity whatsoever.
Having been taught and practiced unarmed vs sword techniques...yeah, they're super hard to pull off, and terribly prone to failure. Like, sure, when you're drilling one specific technique it's nice and reliable--you get the cut you expect and already know what to do. But then, even in reduced speed free practice, where you have time to think about what you're doing and see what's coming--the person with the sword wins the vast majority of the time. And this includes going against people who are mostly trained in unarmed and have very little skill with a sword. Several feet of sharp metal is a heck of an advantage. Knife defense often goes the same way. Techniques work in practice--but as soon as you go more freestyle? It gets extremely hard, even moving at "don't hurt your partner" speeds. But, worst case scenario? I'd rather have something I can try rather than nothing. But I cannot emphasize enough how important I think the 'freestyle' (even moving at 75-80% speed) practice is to grounding people in how hard these are to pull off.
it is a great way of proving how bad someone is at sword fighting, stepping in and taking the sword. in short the skill gap matters more than the fact you know how to do this. if they are so bad you can do this, then it's merely making a point.
Advice from an Ex-Wetwork class on Kukri: "You're going to get cut, so get cut on your terms and DON'T GET STABBED" From my Aikido instructor: "Every maneuver is 2 parts: 1. dont get hit. 2. do a maneuver"
I’m only 46 seconds into the video… BUT! It made me think of a scene I saw where, One opponent raises his sword to attack the unarmed opponent and the unarmed upon seeing the sword being raised, rushed in and basically put his shoulder in their stomach and lifted the back of the knees while driving forward (very aggressively) and tackled them to the ground to grapple
The biggest problem I see with even the more reasonable counters is getting close enough to attempt any of this at all. If it's any somewhat competent swordsman they wouldn't be standing that close anyway and would be keeping proper distance as soon as the opponent made any effort to get closer. Their opponent being unarmed wouldn't suddenly make them forget about their measure.
Make it two unarmed, then. Or three. Wolf pack tactics. How would that play out? Also, other types of weapons and armors, the environment, the tactical situation...
The point of this kind of techniques is basically that you are screwed and you are trying to save your life with a risky desesperate move. Now, I find it a bit strange the way these techniques are discussed in this video. I may have missed it, but there is no mention about timing, as it may be the most important point about this. A bad timing will definitely allow any attacker to change or correct his attack.
even by holding oit a sword in front or back is often enough to keep an unarmed person at bay, or have them run into it. literaly a few moves in tai chi jian. also the range iw so much more than some expect, with just 1 or two steps you can hit someone trying to flee. best chance is to surrender or run fast, very fast
If people have a harder time with unarmed vs knife, then this is just a no brainer that bigger blade weapon like swords are even harder, 2-3 times harder. the lethality & the range of the attacks are simply the most deciding factors withing those milliseconds of counters.
Sorry for my poor English. in our club we tried some grapling from a clinch. And a pummel strike stops double leg takedown really poor, unless it was pressusly in to a spine. It's much more profit to defend with a grapling technic.
Super easy to test this out with sticks. I think I discount how much I learned as a kid on a farm. If all things are equal, basically any weapon is enough to COMPLETELY dominate the a single unarmed opponent. Flight is basically the only option but it’s definitely the best option! They show ball bat strikes in movies like they’re made of foam… they will one hit you if they land anywhere except your arms
A very important part is also having your opponent move really slowly.
🤪
The master move is then to speak very slowly, as if in slow motion, distracting your opponent and forcing them to fight in slow motion. It’s science.
Exactly, and if you're encountering an unskilled opponent he'd most probably flail real quick with the sword rather than skillfully perform calculated strikes. So to me, with a skilled or unskilled opponent, going unarmed is a bad idea either way.
And to strike only when you are fully ready, of course
Like in a 70s Bruce Lee movie.
You can use your arms to block swords twice. Then you will be un-armed
Dis-armed.
Tis but a scratch
good one😂
In reality probably more than twice - your arm is very likely going to be messed up but you still probably have an arm with at least a functional shoulder after trying to block a sword with it and some time before the bloodloss will get you, so you can still flail that mangled arm around to some degree of defence. And if you get the timing right or get lucky you might even be able to turn the tables, just don't bet on it...
I've had worse.
This isn't really difficult. The following moves will work every time against a swordsman.
1. Face your opponent with either your left or right foot slightly forward.
2. When your opponent begins his move, quickly rotate your body 180 degrees.
3. Run away as fast as you can.
NIGERUNDAYOOOOO!!!
In all honesty, while you just have to run barehanded the swordsman has to carry a sword so yes, this might work
What if the swordsman chases you?
@@rainmaker9300 DAWORLDO!!!
@@ArifRWinandar The swordsman has to carry a sword so assuming equal physical form you should be better
I remember an old martial arts movie where the protagonist simply caught a downward strike between his first two fingers on his right hand. He then proceeded to flip the sword out of the attacker's hands. Seems straightforward enough.
A lot of those movies played on the mystique of unarmed fighters who could kill with their bare hands and with style. Some of the moves wouldn't work as well in a real fight.
If you're superman it should work great! I think it can also work if you happen to have a solid metal prosthetic right hand, possibly because this was previously attempted with a real hand!
Who needs that hand anyway
Unarmed vs Sword, a step by step guide:
1) Become armed
I got arms, what is step 2?
Use one of those arms to draw, aim, and fire a handgun.
Gun
2) Use that fancy footwork to stab the opponent.
@@slytlygufyUse both please. One handed shooting is SO Pre-1970's.
Best technique for unarmed vs. armed: Do not skip leg day.
Sounds like sprint start cardio day might be better.
I did manage to pull off unarmed vs. sword at least once in sparring years ago, at least to the extent that I avoided a cut & then rushed in. As I recall, we paused there. My sparring partner was definitely better at grappling, though, so I still would have lost if we had continued. That's one of the worst parts about unarmed vs. sword. Successfully getting around the sword still requires winning the resulting grappling match.
That's true for every form of combat where wrestling isn't explicitly prohibited. If you can't wrestle/grapple, you can't fight.
Reminded me of that clip of a hema bout where the guy who was disarmed realized he was in command grab range and powerbombed the opponent.
It was brought up that even if an armed peasant managed to disarm a knight they still had to deal with a muscular ironclad wrestler who's closer to you than the hurty end of your pointy stick.
@@Mordecrox- Which may be why so many of the pointy sticks had a spike or hammer on one side. Disarm, then bludgeon or get that spike into the armor and hold while your buddies finished the job.
And typically, even if you do manage to get the weapon out of their hands, you're in a rotten position to do something with it if they don't lose their mind.
yo gimmie that @@Mordecrox
>command grab range
this sounds incredible
You know, im starting to think that if an unarmed person could always beat a swordsman the sword would not have really.. been invented.
So yeah, best choice is probably running away, if thats not an option - hope that your opponent is using a sword for the first time
Same for armor; if armor did not protect you, nobody would have worn it. Of course, it all depends on what you are facing against.
Or has never done anything outside the training arena.
Weapons add a huge advantage, so does training. Untrained w/sword vs trained h2h... advantage sword, but maybe 70/30 or 65/35.
If unmarmed was a viable technique we wouldn't have spent thousands years to invent basically anything that's not unamrmed
So you guys are saying Hollywood movies and wuxia are not entirely accurate? o.O
If you want to make that forearm deflection more viable, you can either wrap your cloak around your forearm (provided you have enough time) or wear a hidden bracer or block of wood under our sleeves as some street fighters in Spain were attested to do (e.g. in Godinho). The former may not be able to step direct two-handed blow, and the latter may fail as well or get your arm broke, but it is hell of a lot better than nothing.
doing it with a skin-exposed arm it's guaranteed to rend your flesh like a kebab, so yeah, either you're ready to get injured, or have prepared something like this before attempting it.
Or just start throwing rocks if there are some in the vicinity. Which is fortunately quite often.
If you have enough time to wrap a cloak around your arm then you probably have enough time to start running away. This would have to be some really contrived scenario where he corners you in a dead end alley but is also the slowest attacker ever.
Unarmed sword defense is like extreme unarmed bat defense. You have to get in close, VERY fast, attack the hands, and trap the weapon or disarm the opponent. Works best is a relatively close environment where the ability to escape is limited. In an open environment just run away.
Pretty much, yes. Will it work against a COMPETENT swordsman? Probably not. But against an amateur, or a drunk, sure.
As someone who had to defend himself against after being cornered by a sword-weilding assailant who was BOTH (my alcoholic, abusive, and likely schizophrenic soon-to-be-ex), I can say that it can be done. It certainly helped that she didn't know anything about measure or tempo, and approached in the long point guard, forcing her to take an extra tempo to withdraw the blade before she could initiate an attack- which gave me the fraction of a second I needed to step in and seize her wrists. If she'd had any fencing experience whatsoever, I'd have been screwed.
4:30 if you examine the old manuscripts carefully, the take down includes _biting the genitals_ of your opponent, in order to reduce the risk of them being able to use the sword to 'end you rightly' with the pommel.
Just look at the head positioning in the illustrations.
Is that why codpieces were so popular?
Wouldn't surprise me if Spearmen throughout history target the enemy's nuts
The head position probably isn’t biting of genitalia i think thats a huge logical leap.
My cousin did this. Trying to parry the flat of a machete from a drunken guy. Exactly like what you did but it filleted his arm quite a bit.
Is or was he okay?
He watched a lot of anime?
Nah.. some drunken guy with a machete decided to bring his life's drama to the streets. My cousin was coming home from his shift and encountered the guy. My cousin lived beside my house so I saw it happen. Immediately after he was injured he ran to my direction and slammed the door on the drunk. He didn't pursue further. We heard he was later detained after police found him.
I am sorry to hear this. :|
My condolences.
@@traptor14x98 he didn't die. The doctors cut off the flesh that was still attached and grafted skin on it. His right forearm looks thinner than the left but he's able to function in society.
I agree with everything that's been said. I would like to also add that it is safe to deduce that the most realistic scenarios that these techniques would be used rely on the attacker not being in an all out "fighting" situation. Maybe against an overconfident opponent that tries to simply cut you down without committing too much on faints or proper footwork (regardless of him being trained or not), or someone drawing a weapon in a fit of rage and trying to attack you wildly (still a slim chance of living through these though). I find it very unlikely that any of these were created for a duelling scenario in which both opponents start facing in other, with proper stance etc. Of course as you said the training in itself being beneficial as well as the high skill gap are the 2 most important points.
Pretty much, yes. Will it work against a COMPETENT swordsman? Probably not. But against an amateur, or a drunk, sure.
As someone who had to defend himself against after being cornered by a sword-wielding assailant who was BOTH (my alcoholic, abusive, and likely schizophrenic soon-to-be-ex), I can say that it can be done. It certainly helped that she didn't know anything about measure or tempo, and approached in the long point guard, forcing her to take an extra tempo to withdraw the blade before she could initiate an attack- which gave me the fraction of a second I needed to step in and seize her wrists. If she'd had any fencing experience whatsoever, I'd have been screwed.
@@bronco5334 did the person attack you with serious intent suddenly?
@@drizztdourden4241 It depends on what you mean by suddenly. She had initiated a verbal argument hours previously, and had consistently refused to allow me to withdraw from the berating; and she had been obviously drunk for quite some time, so there was reason for me to be wary, but she cornered me unexpectedly with a sword she pulled off a wall hanger in the other room.
The attack itself initially consisted of advancing menacingly with the point extended (anyone who knows fencing knows this is not a viable guard from which to fence), so I had several seconds of warning that I was about to be attacked, but I was stuck in a corridor with a locked and child-safety-latched door behind me (which meant I could not rely on opening and escaping through the door faster than an attack could be delivered). As she advanced into measure, she suddenly raised the point above her head to deliver a downward blow, which gave me the opening to rush under her guard and seize her wrists. I tried to use a forearm-over-wrist arm bar to twist the sword out of her grip, but was unable to actually get it out of her grasp (though I did get it into a position from which she could not attack). Couldn't get enough rotation on her wrists to force her to release it. Despite outweighing her by nearly double. Eventually had to use my body mass to press her off-balance against the wall and hold the sword arm hyperextended with one of my arms as an elbow-lever, then use the other hand to pry her fingers off until she gave up. She didn't make it easy, and I was very close to resorting to elbow strikes to the face to gain control of the weapon.
As to serious intent: she swung a sharpened sword at my head. I count that as serious intent, yes.
Seki Sensei has some cool stuff and like you said he explains the reasons for the katas, the limitations and the historical aspect of those
As a life-long (since 5 years) empty-hand and weapons practitioner with a couple years overseas, the best advice is RUN AWAAAAAAAAAAAAY!!!! But thanks for showing how narrow a situation has to be for a weapon disarm to work.
What if they have a gun instead of a sword? Is running still a good idea if you don't have cover? I suppose attempting to disarm is still mostly useless if all they need to do is pull a trigger.
@@elio7610 If someone is pointing a gun at you and they REALLY want you dead, then unfortunately you're just gonna be shot. But I'd say that the majority of the time an assailant is using a gun as a free "I'm invincible, you're scared of me, give me your stuff" card but they don't actually want to use that gun.
@@VivaSativaMusic- Some haven't loaded their gun. It's there to scare the victim.
@@julietfischer5056They'd have to be truly mentally deficient to do that.
Even if you don't WANT to, I'd imagine most of them at least want to have the option.
@@1stCallipostle- Why do you think that's stupid? Most of these people just want the money.
tl,dr:
it's like defending yourself unarmed against a knife, but its even worse because the knife is much bigger this time.
get close to the opponent to grapple or run.
In some way the size of the sword is its detriment because it would make the sword easy to spot from far away which lets you know who to avoid.
In a way I think it might actually be more viable than fighting someone with a knife.
Closing the distance will be difficult, but once you do close the distance it will be easier to prevent your opponent from attacking you with their sword, since it's a much larger weapon for them to have to swing or stab towards you.
If you're facing someone with a knife on the other hand then closing the distance will barely even do you any good, they'll still be able to stab you with minimal effort because a knife is small enough that you don't need much room for movement or building momentum.
This is why you should always carry a dagger.
@@elio7610 Historically, in medieval/Renaissance Europe, people did typically wear a dagger or at least a knife.
@@b.h.abbott-motley2427 Their eating knife, if nothing else.
You could always try pocket sand...
Unironically probably a decent tactic. At least you have a bit of range attack that will hopefully distract them long enough to get in. (Of course you're still probably screwed, but, slightly better than nothing.)
Pocket sand rocks.. if you also have a weapon or trying to run. Your opponent would just flail at you and hack you up on approach.
Have you all just thought about carrying a gun instead?
🤣
I mean, the modern equivalent of pocket sand is OC spray. I carry one bottle around with me everywhere I got and have a backup one sitting at home. Also another similar option is to get a high-lumen strobe flashlight which I have several of those as well.
I think if you find yourself in this kind of situation and you cannot simply run away, then even a 1 to 2% chance to getting some of these techniques done is better than the 0% chance of getting out of this situation by doing nothing. Definitively worth learning.
I would estimate it as 0.1%, but still better than nothing.
I would say you are able to run away far more often than what you might be thinking, or at least run to give your self time to improv a weapon, like picking up a stick.
@@SaiTaX_the_Chile_boi I really don't understand why so many feel the need to make this argument every time a video comes out with advice on what you could do to attempt to survive a dire situation. Yeah, obviously if it's at all possible you should just run away, no shit, but the whole point of a video like this is WHAT TO DO IF YOU CANT. Yes, it will be extremely rare to end up in a situation where you are unarmed, your attacker has a melee weapon, and you have absolutely no chance to run away. In the vast majority of cases you will have some opportunity to run away, but what happens if you don't? Are you just supposed to sit there and die because "Welp, this had such a low probability of happening that I just assumed it never would, guess I'll die" Really? The chances of getting struck by lightning, or winning the lottery, are also extremely low, but if you Google it right now there will be thousands of results full of advice on how to avoid getting struck by lightning, and smart ways to handle your money if you win the lottery. Just because something is improbable does not mean it's impossible, and knowing that I'd say it's a pretty good to at the very least keep little methods like this in the back of your mind for a rainy day, if not legitimately put some time and effort into practicing them, just in case. On top of all that, not everyone lives in the 1st world, and there are plenty of places all over the planet where dire situations like this happen much more frequently, and guess what, they still have internet access, and advice like this could potentially save lives. Things in the 1st world have been getting pretty bad in recent years too, crime rates are going up, and America specifically is really going downhill in just about every metric, so again, this information is useful.
@@SaiTaX_the_Chile_boijust running away isn't as simple as it's always described. Running away is a skill that needs a ton of practice. How good is your 100m dash? How long can you sprint without losing your breath? How good are you at overcoming obstacles? How good is your orientation under stress? How capable of fighting do you feel after a 400m dash?
The scary truth is, if someone is charging you with a knife/machete/hatchet etc., you probably won't outrun them. They just have to reach you with the tip of the blade to inflict damage. The time it takes you to turn around gives them plenty of time to charge and once you're both running, it's horse power vs horse power whilest they have the reach advantage. If they catch up, congratulations, now you're tired and they still have the weapon. If you actually manage to outlast them, they still might throw the damn thing into your back (and chances are high that they got a 2nd one). There are a few videos on YT where this actually gets tested and the attacker pretty much always shanks the runner.
So if your plan is to run away, practice that! Treat it like sparring in martial arts. Give a friend a small pool noodle and let them chase you once or twice a week. Additionally, practice your dash and endurance running on a track and in the field, learn some parkour, do orientation drills in unknown surroundings, practice to cry for help (yes, that needs practice too!) and hit the gym at least once a week to lift some weights, so you get stronger and more explosive.
Tldr; Running away is only viable, if you're really good at it, so how much do you practice?
@@jc-kj8yc I agree 100%, just the turning around takes time, not much but enough time for your opponent to get 'that' bit closer needed for an attack.
If the distance between you and your opponent is 10' or more and you trust your dash speed and/or stamina then yeah, run to the hills, run for your life 🤘🏻😉
I practiced this just for fun with a friend many years ago, using a piece of garden hose as a knife stand-in. NO chance of running away if he is at a 6-7 feet distance (unless he's a complete moron)
A sword, machete, a baseball bat, or even a length of metal pipe is slower to swing or stab with but got much more range, so...
The scary thing about a simple knife is how fast it is to attack with
Thank you for your comment
How I like it when a person politely and courteously expresses his opinion! Thank you for the video.
The old Liam Neeson defense in “Rob Roy” where he guides the rapier thrust through a non lethal part of the abdomen (hopefully) and then closes down and attacks.
I think that definitely a lot of these techniques are meant to be used against a less skilled opponent. I know that for a lot of firearms self defense training you're not trained to do things like strafe or shoot accurately while moving or things like that mostly because the teacher is counting on the crooks not being able to hit the broad side of a barn and therefore simply standing still and having better shot placement will win the day. Obviously it's always better when you DO learn more advanced things but yeah I think when it comes to self defense a skill gap between you and your attacker is the name of the game hence why we learn these things.
This was a great video by the way, I always enjoy watching your content.
"Strafe" does not mean sidestep. It has leaked into popular vernacular through misuse of the term by video gamers. Strafing is a machine gun or cannon attack from an aircraft upon a ground target. It does not actually mean "shooting while sidestepping".
@bronco5334 no, it's not "misuse" of the term. In life your definition of strafe is correct. In the context of gaming, strafing is moving left and right quickly to dodge incoming fire. 2 separate definitions of the same word. Its been called that since the first shooters cane out. It has nothing to do with shooting going sideways lol, although you can shoot while doing it
Major tip for any aspiring martial artists; never assume you'll have more actions than your opponent. They will be as fast as you.
This is the biggest one. Assume they will be as fast or faster than you so you aren't cocky.
If someone is willing to attack you and you are are just defenseless and not prepared, chances are that your opponent has more action points.
People that don't train lag, don't need to assume anything
Assuming that your opponent is as fast or faster is okay if it is in a way of not expecting it, but being prepared for it. Otherwise, having a limiting mentality is worse and harder to grow out of than foolishness.
@@steelwasp9375 you think believing you are the strongest at all times (foolish) is better than believing others are stronger and faster than you?
Use the Indie tchnique:
When unarmed -> draw ur revolver -> shoot the sword swinger (with an annoyed/bored face expression)
That scene was improvised, it was supposed to be a sword vs whip fight, but Harrison Ford had diarrhoea and didn't want to jump around.
@@jimslater8685 And that's how legendary scenes are born :D
Here was my sensei's opinion on the subject: You are likely dead, but you are dead if you don't do anything anyway, so you might as well try
Sadly for me all the points I wanted to make were covered in your final summary. Keep up the good work, my real problem with videos such as this is the number of people who watch them and unquestionably believe that such martial skill is easily learnt from these presentations.
Glad to see you’ve found Shogo. That’s his second channel, promoting his sensei’s dojo. His main channel is about Japanese culture and society.
Never watched the second channel, but Shogo's main channel is great for insights into japanese culture and society issues. Simple to follow, very fluent in english and understands western perspective because of his background.
2:10 the tactical hug maneuver, overcoming your enemies with the power of love
It’s a complex formula. The military says: your opponent always has a vote. That goes two ways: skill, armor (or not), age, fatigue level, terrain, existing wounds, and inebriation. A person who has to defend but gets a knife out may take non-disabling hits and kill his opponent, only to bleed out or die of sepsis. I think the overall outcome for unarmored fights vs a completely unarmed opponent is in the 85%+ chance of death range, but even that seems optimistic, since fights between equally skilled opponents come down to to the thing that is different between them. Thus, without a weapon, an unarmored defender is screwed.
Mr. Miyagi said it best, "Best defense is no be there".
"Let's ask Seki sensei" is a great channel they explain the techniques in detail.
I apologize if anyone has already pointed this out. At 2:10 the technique looks a lot like shomenuchi iriminage. (To make this throw more effective, try placing your free hand on your assailant's lower back during the throw.)
I suspect that these techniques were developed for the scenario of disarmed-samurai-in-full-armor versus armed-samurai-in-full-armor.
I think the whole discipline, if we can call it that, relies on a significant skill gap between the armed and unarmed parties. I remember doing a knife defense camp for a week, then on the last day we used markers as "knives" and wore white t-shirts. Everyone was very, very colorful after some free sparring. You're just going to get cut up. A lot. So don't get into knife fights, or sword fights!
Knife fights, Sword fights...
And frankly I wouldn't want to fight a mace either.
You try to slap that to the side and I think you just get broken fingers.
@@1stCallipostle Honestly against a mace you probably have a better shot just rushing the guy and punching him in the face until he goes down. Mainly because maces can't stab you up so running in is less dangerous. Just gotta avoid the swings and endure the lighter hits to your body.
People also seem to forget how much weaker being injured makes you, assuming the pain doesn't outright stop you
Usually the "I can keep trucking" mentality comes from people that haven't actually been hit in a fight before. I personally haven't been in a fight but after hitting my side on a corner pretty hard, I *know* that I'm not invincible and will probably stop even after a non life-threatening injury
@@AVGyerra22well during a fight, there would be a hell of a lot of adrenaline in your body, which would definitely help you keep trucking, but if you get a broken arm, or several broken ribs, or a deep laceration, you're out of that fight
What an unexpected joy seeing skall react to let's ask shogo and seki sensei
Since I have watched the video about knife vs martial artist you have posted, this seems utterly ridiculous.
That vid was simply eyeopening how different reality is from theory.
this is a great example of the importance of gauntlets, especially paired with arm guards that extend past the elbow, also I love how you brought up tactics from MMA because I've learned several takedowns from wrestling and I greatly appreciate how you brought martial arts into the discussion of unarmed combat
I feel like unarmed vs a sword if you can't flee then you are basically dead anyway. Since your already basically guaranteed to die your only chance is to lean in to the risky play. If you can get a hard tackle without taking a fatal strike then you could disarm them and bring them into a grappling match where the odds are more favorable.
If they cut you at all youre at a huge disadvantage in a grapple. You wont be able to leverage properly if your joints are cut, cant maintain a strong grip if your hands are cut and if they have any limb free they can just dig it into your wounds for easy escape/advantage
@@kingkino2116 that's very true. But if it's between certain death at the point of a sword and in a disadvantage position in a grapple, I will take the grapple.
Part of me honestly wants to see these unarmed techniques in a Batman movie/game. They look cool, and since Batman is supposed to be a master at hand to hand while fighting mostly untrained criminals, the skill gap question is more believable.
Batman has weapons and armor
@@christiandauz3742And yet still seems to prefer punch 90% of the time.
The rest of the Bat Family tends to be smart enough to bring like a Stick or
Two sticks.
And then when Jason is allowed in the party then we have flashbangs, handguns, a sniper rifle, and a knife but we'll ignore that.
He also wears armor. Spiky armor on his forearms, no less.
@@Deatheater4444 Yeah armor makes him WAAAY more capable of fighting guys with swords and guns than an actually unarmed person. Someone in plate armor versus someone with a sword probably just wins outright unless the opponent also has armor. In which case its still way more even because the sword loses most of its instant lethality. Batman can block a strike effectively is the point and thus is capable of attempting grapples.
I kept thinking to myself “USE THE HOODIE!!!”
My first plan of action if someone comes at me with a blade when I’m unarmed is to take my shirt off and try to catch the blade with it.
Yes, wrapping thick clothing around your arm has been a common tactic against sword or machete attacks.
@@Skallagrimalso flicking it at the opponent, whip his eyes with the zipper! (Ideally of course)
Done in knife fights, living folklore in Argentina actually.
I really like your cursor :D
Also it would be fine if you said "Seki" Sensei, the guy just says the "ki" part really fast so it comes out as "kh", but it's still okay to say the whole thing in normal speed. It's like a familiarity thing. Rob - Robert kind of a thing, but not in a belittling or infantilizing way.
Shogo has great content, very knowledgeable and well presented, I highly recommend his channel
Great video; love the commentary and discussion of real world applications for edged weapons vs an unarmed and unarmed opponent.
holy crap, the intro!! skall, your editing skills are pushing the fucking envelope!!!
having seen people grab swords in HEMA tournaments, they almost always go for that attempt once the sword has lost momentum and is more or less suspended in space after a parry or while it's bound when both people are moving in to close ground
the thumbnail image looks like an attempt to draw a moment like that, a freeze frame done on papyrus, representing an opportunity to grab the sword when it's suspended in space. i've never seen someone try to grab a sword bare handed but i've seen people lose or cast their swords away to go for a grapple involving grabbing the other person's sword
The boxer basically competed by the rules of the Marquess of _Nuh-uh._
This is true for pretty much every kind of weapon disarm. If your opponent acts in a really stupid way, you get a very short opening that you have to use perfectly for the technique to work. If you fail at any point, you lose. You would think most people intuitively understand this, but there are still way too many idiots who think that knowing a gun disarm means they are safe from guns now. Thank you for this important demonstration.
I don’t know what’s more awesome, the mk shirt, the castlevania poster, or the realistic historical combat lesson.
I like when his partner just throws his hands up like "what should i even do"
Kendo points require more than just a shout.
The concept is called 'kikentai no ichi', which basically translates to 'spirit, blade, and body as one'. The overall concept of what it is trying to do isn't all that strange for a martial art: ensure good consistent body mechanics and promoting putting your all into each attack. It's just that the method of measuring that is a bit more rigid and not useful to anything trying to be a real combat art. You have to show that you have the sword (shinai), body, and spirit all working in unison to land the strike, by doing the following three things simultaneously:
Ki: This is the shout part. Pretty straight-forward. Technically, you are supposed to shout the name of the location you are hitting, but once you into the Dan ranks, they generally don't require that detail because it's pretty clear what you were aiming for just from watching your attack at that skill level.
Ken: This is the shinai strike landing. If you look closely at the shinai, you'll see that there is a band of fabric about 3/4 of the way up the bamboo shaft,, and well as fabric covering the tip. you have to strike between those points for it to count. That is where you *want* to hit with a cutting sword in pretty much any martial art, but in kendo, it is absolutely mandatory. It is also supposed to be a powerful strike, which is usually judged based on the sound it makes when connecting with the armor. The one exception to all of this is the one storing point that is not a cut, but instead a thrust to the throat.
Tai: To show your body was also in the strike correctly, you have to stomp your front foot on the floor.
For it to be a valid point scored, you have to do all three of these at the same time.
Woah, Kendoka are real nerds
I respect that
the only way the boxer would have a chance: is if he has full amour and the guy with the sword not, cause then the boxer really could tank a few hits depending on where they land.
I like that in the Stormlight Archive series
One character manages to do unarmed defense against a sword attack. He managed to clap his hands around the sides of the blade to stop it.
When a young character asked a swordmaster about it, the swordmaster just grunted and said "So he managed a last clap. No, I won't teach you that, because 9 times out of 10 you will end up dead. It is not something you can rely on." He noted that it only worked against magical blades that cut anything, so slow swings with more control works best, and it has to be done in an overhead downstroke.
And would still mostly fail.
I think the big caveat is the skill gap if you want to take unarmed vs sword seriously, but even then it's situational.
Not exactly unarmed vs sword but in a tournament pool, my opponent, didn't quite grasp the measure difference between us, would approach me and pull back for a cut and lead with the hands. So twice, I closed distance and entered a grapple with my left hand, catching their pommel/hands like in the first technique and pushed their hands back to break structure while thrusting with my sword.
While my own sword played some roll in altering how we both entered the exchange, (threat of my own weapon, the ability to safely defend myself, etc), it demonstrates the validity of the mechanics of the technique, if not the situation with which to use them. I would think the techniques are more applicable to entering a grapple and you are either disarmed or have dropped your sword to preform the grapple. I could also see it being applicable to armored combat, drop your sword, armor allows you to safely enter grapple, preform a technique before drawing a dagger. The Fiorie pannel you showed even depicts a sword on the ground as if they drooped it or were disarmed, not entering a fight unarmed.
I've also seen Jesse Tucker have his rapier disarmed and go on to win the exchange with just his dagger, so there's that
I would love to see you do a video on the 3,000 yr old sword recently found in Southern Germany
In my novice opinion , surroundings seems best way to stay safeish ( hallway) ( doors) ( trees) basically anything to slow or limit the sword man's ability to use their weapon as intended to then counter (, loving the videos dude 🍻)
maybe trees yea, but hallways or doors are a definite no go imo, you need that space to get around them. If you are in a tight space, you literally have no where to dodge, they can just keep the blade infront of them and you are dead.
We kinda tried this in practice and most swords didn't care that much, and even the montante could perform ok in limited space. There might've been a view more points where we could get in, but nothing major. The spear had notable more openings though, although i am not sure if that was just because of the manuscripts we used to have a lot of backsteps or an actual fault of the weapon, although the spear is specialiced in long range so i asune the later.
@@ragegaze3482 ok yea I see exactly what your saying ,the only reason I thought this ,was say a hall way ,you could take an educated guess at where the stab would come from ( but I see your logic perfectly 🍻)
@@lefloidNemesis ok dude thanks for the reply I'm a bit new to this kind of combat ,damn I would have been dead in the hallway like a noob 😂🍻
Regarding the kendo scoring rules:
-They have to hit with the last third of the blade
-They have to make sure the alignment is right (there is a bit on the blade that signals whether the edge alignment is correct
-They have to hit with sufficient force / structure
-The shout doesn't have to call the target area, it just has to be done
-They have to hit and not be hit back / countered
-They have to be ready to continue fighting and defend themselves immediately after
So the incidental hits vs the boxer you see did not count due to not fitting all these criteria.
I remember one time I was sparring with someone, and felt like experimenting. So I decided to be passive and try to bait out an over-extension, particularly a downward one, and stomp on the dull part of the blade. I was able to effectively pin it and safely shove them back, forcing the blade from their grip.
So if you're really fast, flexible, and coordinated- and you have some robust shoes- I think you have a decent chance, depending on the blade. If you're willing to risk dislocations, that would help too, I suppose. Dislocated shoulder is better than a socially distanced skull.
I think the idea with that boxer may have been that their gloves worked like gauntlets, so they could block with them and it's why hits weren't counted. It made it a slightly more even playing field and allowed the boxer to use techniques as they were used to in boxing.
Weapons are invented for a reason. Can you win a fight if you are unarmed against sword? Yes, but chances are pretty slick... Can you win sword against pistol? Can you win pistol against assault rifle? Can you win with rifle against tank?
Yes in some very specific conditions you can win, but 99.9 times out of 100 you are going to lose in a blink of an eye.
You have been lookin pretty fit and war ready lately sir. GOOD WORK 👍👍👍👍
We use mismatched weapon drills such as dagger v sword or spear with a technique called “hunting tigers”. This involves giving ground and voiding back from attacks until we’re absolutely sure there’s an opening.
Id like to note most of the training provided for unarmed defense is framed in scenarios where you've been caught off guard and are dealing with a criminal, not meeting someone with martial dedication who you'd like to trade blows with. Plus the amount of people willing to dedicate the time to learn how to correctly assess situations in clutch situations and develop the muscle memory to perform under stress makes the amount of people who legitimately can pull this type of stuff off is way lower, it takes time, and the basic principles of engagement are counterintuitive and the need to build up the necessary skills is little to none with guns readily available. With that said the reason most people can't pull off unarmed combat against someone with a weapon is the same reason people get hit with big looping punches that on tape anyone can point out as completely telegraphed, the fear and suggestion of death causes people to pause when that's the key and possibly only time to win without sacrifice. It's hard to dive into the center of a storm though I will say, most people would think like outboxers in this situation but that doesn't work because we're arbitrarily imposing a limited space for the purpose of entertainment when in real life it'd prolly be a better idea to let the assailant chase you around with their extra weight until they become slower and sloppy enough to safely engage but since that's not an option your only truly viable path to victory is forward. This video and the HEMA community seems to assume someone truly proficient in defending themselves against someone with a weapon is going to remain reactive and avoid the person with a weapon remaining out of range instead of being proactive and changing the rules of the fight entirely. People take on disarming techniques with a spirit of passive defense as if they're ever going to be able to react to a form they're already unfamiliar with(fallacy) instead of aggressively removing their opponents ability to use their advantages, that's like playing a war of attrition in someone else's land while simultaneously agreeing not to take rations from your benefactors. IMO people get caught up in participating in the rules of engagement of their adversaries perceived threat instead of capitalizing on every situation. Plus historically capes, certain jackets, and gloves were made with the intention of giving the option for gentlemen, aristocrats, and nobility an option to realistically catch blades in situations where true weaponry may not have been permitted, seemed improper, or barbaric to carry around a shield and it's not like armor is famous for being comfy either(Arrogance of oligarchs?). Along with that in every encounter shown the sword is completely drawn which isn't how all situations would play out. You're literally starting in a position that gives the sword an advantage which puts the unarmed fighter in a defensive position from the jump. It'd be more indicative for a comparison of combat styles if the fighters had to shake hands/bow then assume whatever stance they dictate appropriate, then the glaring issues of the time it takes to unholster a weapon would be highlighted, while holistically involving both fighters unique styles so it'd be a equal competition instead of a sword fight where one person's unarmed. Regardless thanks for the many videos and education as no one style is perfect and we can all learn from each other and constantly improve the arts that have been passed down to us.
To be a little bit fair this looks like the stuff you teach to your students last as "use only if you cant run away and have no other choice". Cuz if it's life or death and pushing that sword away as you close in means you are losing some finger, but the alternative is death....I mean it would suck, but if its do or die. People can be willing to trade one hand for their lives.
As its pointed out many times, even after being badly wounded by a sword, your opponent can still fight.
Plus a pair of proper thick leather gloves and the applicability rises a bit. Small bit but still.
The main issue here is people who treat it as some kind of mystical technique that can defeat any blade.
Never bring fists to a sword fight, never bring a sword to a gunfight.
Have pulled off all of the stuff you demonstrated in sparring. The big thing is, in (nearly) all cases I also had a sword at the beginning. We would clash, grapple, and I would either lose my sword or just drop it and then do the technique. My favorite instance of this is when I dropped my sword and did the first disarm you show, my opponent quickly went to recover my sword but wasn't fast enough and I hit him on the head when he turned back.
just had to say Skall that I really enjoy that artwork on the background. especially that Ganondorf v Link
Watching you learn simplistic and kinda clunky boxing like footwork is frankly kinda charming
Be fit, run away. Works if the two first things are true. Works against any weapon if you are reeeeeeally fast.
The Korean on the window says 대한검도 (Daehan Geomdo), i.e., "Great Korea Sword Way," in which "Sword Way" (i.e., fencing) comes from the same two Chinese characters as used to signify Japanese kendo. Geomdo and kendo, however, are not exactly the same martial art despite having certain similarities, just as Korean hapkido and Japanese aikido use the same three Chinese characters but are not the same martial art. The golden Chinese characters visible inside the dojang also say 대한검도/Daehan Geomdo/大韓劍道.
While there is a separate Korean martial art called haidong gumdo, the Weaponism people do Japanese kendo.
Good video. So many good points made by you Skall.
If youre unable to escape, one thing you could do to try and regain some effectiveness while unarmed is to try and wrap an article of clothing around one of your arms as quickly as you can. that should at least help keep your skin from getting flayed by glancing blows and depending on the blade in question mitigate a more well aimed strike. Especially if the blade in question is something more like a machete with bad edge geometry.
Machete are specialized for cutting-chopping, they're thin and blade heavy, I don't see anyone tanking even a glancing blow from that, without at least some thick padded cloth armor. Their blade heavy, efficient force transfer with little flex makes them hit that much harder compared to other swords.
@@steelwasp9375 thats definately the case with well made machete, those would be like trying to tank a falchion, but there's plenty cheap ones out there that are really useless at cutting anything substantial. I read one case where a man defended himself against a machete with just his bare hands and managed to pull it out of the attackers hands and chase the attacker away. Got real chewed up but still made it to see another day. that being said i certainly would not want to just make the assumption that my opponent had a garbage walmart blade just in case.
Thank you for these lessons Skall
Hilarious! I love how movies depict characters dealing with knives and swords like a walk in the park. The average guy thinking he can go up against a person armed with a sword. Yeah you're at least gonna lose part of your hand.
Funny, I discovered Weaponism last night, and binged a bunch of their stuff. I dont know anything about Kendo but it seems like if they score, they just keep going if they are already in the starting position, or close enough. Instead of taking the time to reset, they just keep going. But in the boxer video, I got the feeling they just messed around and hit eachother.
The only chance is to grab his arm and make him drop the weapon, but if the other guy has the same skill, that would be almost impossible to pull off. In any case, as slim as the chances are, no doubt they are better with training.
Of course, your 1rst choice would be to avoid the fight at all costs. If you manage to run away, your're good. But if that's impossible, at least you have trained. It's better than nothing, but probably not a lot better than nothing.
I suppose that's why those techniques were trained: to use them as the last chance you have. If you are a knight, you better train for any possible situation, even if unlikely. Also, maybe you had armor, or at least sturdy gloves, then your chances could be better.
In an open field of battle picking up a stick or rock would open up your options dramatically but the second you introduce scenery your chances are a tiny bit better since you could put something between you and the sword like a tree forcing the sword wielder to either stay on the other side poking at you or get past the tree to strip you of the cover during which you would have a much better chance of closing the gap (TL;DR Use your environment)
Edit: Even better assuming you had a second you could remove your own shirt and use it to catch the blade
I'd like to see you revisit this topic/exercise but with a rapier or similar thrusting sword, rather than the generic longsword/katana prop.
Everyone is forgetting the real secret to defeating anyone, with any weapon, at any time.
The power of friendship. Like my friend Steve, who I pay to follow me around and carry a gun.
So nice of your clones to help you out with this, and die for a video
I think the boxer is supposed to have armored gloves, so he can at least block a little.
They call it Gauntlets.
Realistically, I think almost all the chance of actually pulling off any unarmed vs. weapon techniques successfully would tend to come in the brief window *before* they actually start attacking you, if you take the initiative while their guard is down because they don't expect you to do something as stupid as fight them without a weapon. If you manage to take them by surprise, you have a brief window of opportunity. Without the element of surprise, you have basically no window of opportunity whatsoever.
Run away.
Draw concealed carry pistol.
Start blasting.
I ain't going anywhere near a masked sword maniac.
"reality is often disapointing"😆 you had me!
13:19 ah yes the 'loving cradle', classic opener into the 'tuck 'em in' and 'a kiss goodnight'
Having been taught and practiced unarmed vs sword techniques...yeah, they're super hard to pull off, and terribly prone to failure. Like, sure, when you're drilling one specific technique it's nice and reliable--you get the cut you expect and already know what to do. But then, even in reduced speed free practice, where you have time to think about what you're doing and see what's coming--the person with the sword wins the vast majority of the time. And this includes going against people who are mostly trained in unarmed and have very little skill with a sword. Several feet of sharp metal is a heck of an advantage.
Knife defense often goes the same way. Techniques work in practice--but as soon as you go more freestyle? It gets extremely hard, even moving at "don't hurt your partner" speeds.
But, worst case scenario? I'd rather have something I can try rather than nothing. But I cannot emphasize enough how important I think the 'freestyle' (even moving at 75-80% speed) practice is to grounding people in how hard these are to pull off.
Let's Ask Shogo is amazing, huge recommend!
2:25 Aaah the bedroom fun. I see.
it is a great way of proving how bad someone is at sword fighting, stepping in and taking the sword. in short the skill gap matters more than the fact you know how to do this. if they are so bad you can do this, then it's merely making a point.
Damn you have a high ceiling...
What you missed was the boxer exclaiming “‘Tis but a scratch!”
Advice from an Ex-Wetwork class on Kukri:
"You're going to get cut, so get cut on your terms and DON'T GET STABBED"
From my Aikido instructor:
"Every maneuver is 2 parts: 1. dont get hit. 2. do a maneuver"
I’m only 46 seconds into the video… BUT! It made me think of a scene I saw where,
One opponent raises his sword to attack the unarmed opponent and the unarmed upon seeing the sword being raised, rushed in and basically put his shoulder in their stomach and lifted the back of the knees while driving forward (very aggressively) and tackled them to the ground to grapple
Was literally discussing this under that exact video! Unarmed vs. almost any weapon is always a bad time.
That boxer vs kendo "fight" looked like they brought a challenged kid to the dojo.
I'm glad this discovery has been made. It's bound to save lives and improve the world. The brilliance is truly blinding.
The biggest problem I see with even the more reasonable counters is getting close enough to attempt any of this at all. If it's any somewhat competent swordsman they wouldn't be standing that close anyway and would be keeping proper distance as soon as the opponent made any effort to get closer. Their opponent being unarmed wouldn't suddenly make them forget about their measure.
Make it two unarmed, then. Or three. Wolf pack tactics. How would that play out? Also, other types of weapons and armors, the environment, the tactical situation...
The point of this kind of techniques is basically that you are screwed and you are trying to save your life with a risky desesperate move. Now, I find it a bit strange the way these techniques are discussed in this video. I may have missed it, but there is no mention about timing, as it may be the most important point about this. A bad timing will definitely allow any attacker to change or correct his attack.
even by holding oit a sword in front or back is often enough to keep an unarmed person at bay, or have them run into it. literaly a few moves in tai chi jian. also the range iw so much more than some expect, with just 1 or two steps you can hit someone trying to flee.
best chance is to surrender or run fast, very fast
If people have a harder time with unarmed vs knife, then this is just a no brainer that bigger blade weapon like swords are even harder, 2-3 times harder. the lethality & the range of the attacks are simply the most deciding factors withing those milliseconds of counters.
Sorry for my poor English. in our club we tried some grapling from a clinch. And a pummel strike stops double leg takedown really poor, unless it was pressusly in to a spine. It's much more profit to defend with a grapling technic.
Super easy to test this out with sticks.
I think I discount how much I learned as a kid on a farm.
If all things are equal, basically any weapon is enough to COMPLETELY dominate the a single unarmed opponent.
Flight is basically the only option but it’s definitely the best option!
They show ball bat strikes in movies like they’re made of foam… they will one hit you if they land anywhere except your arms