A clip from the Swordfish sword & buckler competition [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=US4IYntpmEw"]Swordfish S&B Roland vs Nick Thomas - YouTube[/ame] Louie
Nylon... constructed to flex in the last 1/3 towards the tip. The blade/tang joint is reinforced by a steel rod running along the full length of the handle. Nowhere as good as a blunt steel for 'realism' but a safe option for beginners or outdoor practice. http://www.theknightshop.co.uk/catalog/synthetic-sparring-longsword-p-2472.html [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2knwdZYXotY"]Knights Shop Rawlings Synthetic Sparring Range Review - YouTube[/ame] Louie
Nice videos Louie. I noticed in the first video that most of the blocks were on the sword rather than the shield. Is this something you find comes out a lot when sparring? Is it similar to the riposte in fencing (parry and strike) or would blocking with the shield then striking be as fast?
Hi Simon Haven't sparred with the dinner-plate sized buckler, though have tried out the larger targe shield. Usually my sword parries the attacks while the targe is used to beat or trap the opponents arm (bit like wing chun!) Louie
The sword is never used to make a "block" but it should be used to displace cuts and to establish binds against the other blade. The problem I see is that Nick Thomas (black legs) is doing very poor Sword & Bucker in that he is barely using his buckler to protect himself. Nick appears to be quick and skillful but he is basically fighting with just his sword. I'm guessing that Nick's focus of study is not Sword & Buckler. What really stands out to me is how Roland (red legs) is fighting, or I should say, not fighting. Roland does a lot of I.33 yet in that video I do not see him making very very little use of the I.33 techiques.
I agree Ran, that is a fair assessment. You see alot of the same stuff in longsword also. People blocking blows instead of using displacing counter attacks. The displacing counter attack is probably one of the singlarly missed features in HEMA. It is why alot of the fights are chopy and break up after one attack. The Bear.
