You’ve heard of overreaching but have you heard of overswinging? It seems straightforward right, if you swing you can overswing. Anything you can do, you can overdo. The principle is rather straightforward but, as with many things in sword fighting, it’s easier to understand in theory than apply to your own fights. Maybe you need … Continue reading Those who overswing
I’ve been meaning to talk about rebattas for a while. Like years. Still, you’ve survived without them. And that’s the thing—rebattas aren’t necessary in swordsmanship, but they’re certainly lots of fun, and they’re something everyone should learn. What is a rebatta? What is it to rebat another’s blade? Essentially, it’s a form of counter cut … Continue reading Why I love rebattas
So, over the last few months I’ve been getting into Irish Bataireacht—that’s shillelagh stick-fighting for the non-initiated. It’s like no martial art I’ve seen before. Trust my ancestors to come up with something so profoundly strange. That’s the Irish for you, aisteach ach alainn mar sin fein! What’s it all about then? Basically, it’s about … Continue reading Shillelagh Bataireacht—some thoughts
A medieval sandbox RPG, Skyrim without the magic, the first HEMA inspired game combat system, it sounded too good to be true. I knew I had to give it a shot. Was it worth it? Hell, yes! It was all I hoped and more. You don’t need me to tell you how good the graphics … Continue reading Our prayers have been answered—Kingdom Come
Get a longer weapon. That’s for starters. I’ll explain more in a second but, seriously, if you could pick one thing before going into a fight like this, that’d be it. If you’re fighting solo against more than one opponent, you need every little trick and twist to get the odds even slightly back in … Continue reading How to fight multiple opponents
This might not be something you think of immediately when you start any kind of historical fencing. Most sparring takes place in duels between two people. You start off at a nice, safe distance from each other and then step into measure when you're ready. Group combat is fundamentally different. If you don't reach the … Continue reading Charge!—The best guards for running into battle
There's a lot of similarity between Western and Eastern sword arts. Anyone who trains with or spars against both will tell you that. But what about where they're different? Is there anything fundamentally different about them, so different it can change the course of the fight? Let's find out. I'm talking here about using two-handed … Continue reading Longsword vs Katana—a fight changing technique
It sounds like the coolest guard of all, right? Fool's guard: your sword is pointing down at the ground in a seemingly useless fashion but when they strike, you quickly parry, rebat or give a strike of your own. What's not to like? My point here isn't that Fool's guard doesn't work, merely that there's … Continue reading Why Fool’s guard is actually foolish
I've been looking over Liechtenauer's longsword system again and I realised a few things I missed the last time I studied it in depth. This is one reason I like studying multiple systems, you end up seeing the same techniques from new perspectives. Over the next few weeks I'll be sharing some of my observations … Continue reading The Zornhau Ort—it’s simpler than you think
Daniel Agnew 