Research and Discussion Forums

Is your chap holding the shield flat to his body in a duel? If so, thrust straight through it into his body, step back, and watch him die. Shields can deflect cuts and thrusts well when used properly. Face on, a thin piece of shield wood has no chance against a diamond section pointed longsword thru...

Hi David, If the right foot is forward and the left is back when you launch an attack that involves a step forward with the right foot then this constitutes a lunge whether or not you were moving at the time. Is this the type of attack you are talking about? I disagree about the elbow movement. Movi...

Hi David, What leads you to believe that all attacks are done on a pass? I'd say that attacks are mostly done on a lunge. The best way to bring thy feete to a sure standing, both for defence and offence, is when thou dost practise with thy friend or companion; at first get thy backe to the wall, and...

Great post Casper, The cross block isn't a bad technique it is just done poorly by most people. If you don't simultaneously move to the outside line then you get a force on force block that allows the type of lower arm cuts Gareth suggests. A cross blox is not best done with both arms extended to th...

Hi Gareth, Nice to hear from you. I really enjoyed Geoff's seminar. As you say it is not "authentic" medieval unarmed combat, but is rather adapted from it. It is improved even. His knife disarms are much safer (you get the hell out of the way of the sharp thing) as are his blunt instrumen...

Umm Wow guys, well done indeed. That's real quality work there.

You could have showed off a little more and showed us a little more by showing some sequential technique pictures though.....
Cheers,
Stu.

Hi Casper, The name of our group is the Stoccata School of Defence. We are pretty much the only game in town if you want authentic Western sword arts. ARMA Gold coast is 10 hours drive from here..... Anyway, the author is my very good friend Paul Wagner although there are papers in the book from Ste...

Hi Guys, To turn this thread to a more practical direction: I think that the best form of exercise for all around conditioning for swordplay is wrestling. It works on your functional strength, both types of endurance, and your agility all at once. I find the best wrestling form for conditioning to b...

Hi Casper,

And some later manuals taught against it.

This is news to me. I would be very interested to read these references if they are on line or if you could quote for me if they aren't. I'm surprised you haven't mentioned this before.
Cheers,
Stu.

Hi Darren, If we are talking about a purely offensive use of the blade I would have to say the duelling epee as even with the epee, the edge is often used to oppose the other blade as you thrust. I have read of smallsword masters who advise to use the edges of their triangular section weapon to stri...

Hi Rabbe, Great choice of manual. Wyld is a favourite of mine, I believe that English manuals are the best of all nationalities and backsword is a good area of study as the manuals are well written compared to most and there are rather alot of them to compare and contrast. I believe the medium guard...

Hi Jeff,

The Elephant carrying the tower represents stability.
Cheers,
Stu.

Parries that move the offending blade to your right are outside, and safer! In general, Yes they are. Unfortunately, the carte guard you lie in to make a simple tierce parry is nowhere near as secure on it's own as a tierce guard due to the necessity for a bent elbow in carte. This bent elbow bring...

Hi Stacy, You are dead on that the method just gets better as the practitioner does, but I use this even on rank beginners. With rank beginners, the drills normally involve weaponless drills that eventually have them trying to either avoid shots through footwork or to touch another person who is try...

Hi Guys, If all your drills are going out the window when you spar then IMHO you aren't drilling properly. When drilling a technique you should start out slowly and with a rhythm and not use faking. As you get more and more comfortable with it during the session you should start increasing the diffi...