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
Facing a master swordsman is terrifying, as is facing someone with a spear when you only have a shortsword. But there’s a danger you might come across that you underestimate, someone who trades you blow for blow or, worse, hits you without being hit in return—and it’s the first time they’ve ever picked up a … Continue reading Fighting the stabby newb
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
Last week it might have seemed that I thought very little of the guard Long Point. Not true! It's incredibly useful so long as you understand its strengths and weaknesses (like all guards) and use it effectively. So if running into battle in Long Point isn't the best way to use it, what is? To … Continue reading The Benefits of Long Point
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
No. Well that was easy. The answer's still no but I'd like to explore why that's the case. I'd also like to explore why, if you're so unlikely to succeed, we have sections on this in historical manuals. If you are so likely to fail, what's the point in trying at all? So let's back … Continue reading Knife vs sword—do you have a hope?
What does the Kalevala have to do with longsword fighting? It's Finnish, longsword sources are in German and Italian, what's up? When reading about the Kalevala I realised a number of things about magic in pre-industrial societies. I think I've realised what, in a very real sense, it was for. Or at least one part … Continue reading Poetry, swords and the Finnish National Epic—the mystical roots of HEMA
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
You can't expect to wield supreme executive power just 'cause some watery tart threw an axe at you! It doesn't quite have the same ring, does it? Axes seem like the older, less understood cousins of the sword that don't get talked about much. Sure they might have a movie appearance once in a while … Continue reading Why axes are underrated
Being a longsworder myself, you'll probably scream bias here and maybe that's true. I'm looking at this primarily from the longsworder's perspective but I hope, as with all things, to give a balanced opinion by the end. Enough about me though, let's get into it. What are the key differences between the weapons? We'll let's … Continue reading Longsword vs Rapier—who would win?
Daniel Agnew 