Polish federation of European martial arts (clip)

I like that. I have now stolen it. Yay me. I shall hug it and squeeze it and call it George.

One thing we added to tournaments is three double hits counts as a loss for both fighters regardless of current score. Worked quite nicely... the more cautious fencers ended up at the top of the heap for the most part.

Best regards,

-Mark

 

I like that double-hit rule too.

There is, of course, more depth to the Broadsword League rules. It's available on their website.

Peace favor your sword,
Kirk

 

The doubble hit-rule is standard in Norway.
I'm going to be a judge in harnisch-tournament fighting in two weeks, I'll try to get some video so you can see how it looks; I've been taking part in the design of the tournament-rules in that event.

 

These rules ideas are better. I don't tournament fight as I don't even get enough free time to train properly. So distracting from training to Tourney fight is something I just can't afford. If I could train every day then I would divert some fun time into it.

The Bear.

 

None of the ones taking part in "my" tournament trains for tournaments, we use it as one training-methology amongst many. It will be fun to se how people apply their HEMA skills in that tournament. As we're fighting harnich (full metal armor), hitting too soft shouldn't be an issue; We endorse thrust to weak spots (armpits, groin, throat) and pollaxe-blows to head + takedowns/throws.

We've made a "blossfechten" system as well, but because of the dilemmas highlightet here, we're not yet agreeing on how hard blows we're going to allow, how much protection we're going to demand, and what kind of weapon we're going to use.

Federschwerd are brilliant in that they allow full-contact, full speed thrusting. In addition, they're illustrated in late medieval manuals as beeing trainingswords/sports-swords from that time, that gives them that extra historical "swooosh" to them. On the downside, add all Polar Bear writes; too fast, too light, etc.

Nylon waisters are IMO better than feder (weight and thrust-friendly, at least the ones we use). The downside is that they look silly and bounce wrong.

Wooden waisters are worse than the nylons, as they have the same downsides + are dangerous to thrust full-force with.

Metal blunts have the right weight, the right bounce, but are even more dangerous to thrust with than wooden waisters.

Sharps are very faccinating to spar with, but due to the nature of sharpness, we haven't dared going full contact, full intent or full speed with them

 

Yeah and add in all the flex hits. We've had two sets of broken fingers with nylons. Our most damaging training weapon to date.

Yeah dangerous and expensive as they tend to explode after a couple of weeks use. However, they do bind which is nice for sparring and they hurt like Thor is hammering your ass.

Our worst blunt injury was from quillions. They didn't look sharp until they ended through someones forearm.

I use semi-sharp for steel sparring now. It's just another level. Techniques you can't pull off with a blunt you can easily with semi-sharp.

My observations.

The Bear.

 

What wood do you use?

Peace favor you sword,
Kirk

 

Have used ash and oak.

The Bear.

 

Our most dangerous trainer was a padded sword. People go WAY to hard with them. We've have one broken finger from a steel blunt. Nylon and wood are way too funky.

We are about to test a new feder in June. It seems very promising. It's the same weight as a sharp, but flexible as a feder should be. We'll let you know how it turns out. Right now we like the Albion Liechtenauer, but for full speed sparring it's not safe enough. For drilling it's damn nigh perfect, although I wish it was a bit longer.

Best regards,

-Mark

 

For what you want, Ash is better than Oak. Have we had the "Hickory Discussion" yet?

Peace favor your sword,
Kirk

 

Yeah Hickory is good but it's not exactly common in northern Europe. I had some nice hickory Aikido weapons back in the day. The problem was there was just too much force being generated with a longsword waster and no matter what wood being used it just couldn't take the force. On the other hand I have an 8 year old ash single stick.

The Bear.

 

Well, for what it's worth, I'd be willing to bet on the durability of Hickory. I understand about the problem of importing the wood though.

As another possibility, instead of "harder" have you considered something with more "spring" to it? Any of the woods which are good for bowyers might be an option. Yew there, I guess (or whatever), here Osage Orange ("Bodark," Bois d'Arc, Hedge Apple, etc.) is a good option.

Peace favor your sword,
Kirk

 

Hickory isn't a super material Kirk. I've seen Hickory get broken just like ash but the cost of importing from North America is bone crunchingly expensive these days so it makes it just not cost effective. I use the Knight Shop (Dave Rawlings) Nylons these days. They are super durable but not the most realistic of simulator.

The Bear.

 

You're right, it isn't. But my experience is that it is much more durable than either Oak or Ash.

Fair enough.

Peace favor your sword,
Kirk

 

Wood is simply not good enough for longsword. Proper power generation disintegrates wood in short order. Heck, people have broken Albion Meyer's at the schilt. I've seen shards of hickory go flying like a vampire stake. At least when steel breaks it drops on the spot. I only use wood when there is no other choice.

Best regards,

-Mark