What are
/r/wma's
favorite Products & Services?
From 3.5 billion Reddit comments
The most popular Products mentioned in /r/wma:
The most popular Services mentioned in /r/wma:
Academia.edu
AbeBooks
Patreon
Dropbox
MEGA
Microsoft OneDrive
Microsoft Bing
Encyclopædia Britannica
Google Arts & Culture
Lightworks
TinyPic
Shutterstock
Project Gutenberg
Google Play Books
Open Culture
The most popular reviews in /r/wma:
Yes. It won't be easy, but while Meyer's 1568 is a relatively complete text in terms of teaching his approach to fencing; his rapier book in particular is written with the assumption of having learned and practiced both his longsword and dussack books prior to working with the rapier.
Be prepared to cross reference other texts, though, because it's very obviously a draft for his 1570 text so it's pretty poorly organized, and there's things Meyer says he's going to cover that he never references again in the text. Put simply, it's not the text I'd recommend starting with for someone with no HEMA background at all.
An author like Giganti would be much easier to approach as a beginner, with a system designed specifically around rapier and written from the perspective of teaching more basic elements of fencing with the weapon directly rather than assuming you've learned them from other parts of his text like Meyer will.
> And please don't only say it's not practical without an instructor to help you. When people started doing these martial arts again for the first time they would have had to go only off of these manuscripts, so it's evidently possible.
Almost every one of those people:
- has some sort of martial art or combat sport background
and
- will openly tell you that it took them years to learn what they can now teach in months.
So yes, it can be done; and it's entirely possible for someone to teach themselves and become effective. It will be slower, though, and it will be harder. If you don't have a background in something like boxing, wrestling, or the like, I'd strongly recommend training in that alongside teaching yourself and your partner.
Okay, in all serious that looks like a replica of Altair’s sword that I’ve seen before somewhere. The white stripes on the handle especially. Which honestly was not a bad sword design at all. The guard was a little thick, but for what he needed it for the thing was solid. Light and not too long for how mobile he needed to be, and a good strong straight blade for minor slashing but mostly thrusting through the light armor a lot of the guards wore. Man, I miss when those games actually cared about historical accuracy. :/
Edit for the link for those who are curious:
PS Assassins Creed Altair Majestic Sword https://www.amazon.com/dp/B009G8C30C/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glc_fabc_4iY.FbG6E5T4R
I've been using wrestling shoes and I highly reccommend it. Whatever you go for, avoid running shoes or anything that's not flat soled. I know lots of people like converse shoes, and I've heard good things about fencing shoes as well.
I also highly recommend Kaja's book, Fear is the Mind Killer, which is not only being applied to martial arts training spaces, but even corporate environments:
Jon Clement's ideas are currently widely considered to be rather outdated understandings of medieval swordsmanship by the HEMA community, whether or not you like the man as a person. I'd recommend this this book by Richard Marsden as a good starting point for an aspiring HEMAist.
Get a belt. Stick it in your belt.
The ones with the D-ring shackles work well. Buy it a few sizes bigger to account for your padded jacket. You can always tuck in the end if it's too long.
https://www.amazon.com/Canvas-Double-D-Ring-Buckle-Metal/dp/B00EVB8AHY
In short, no.
Cutting mechanics deserves way more space than I care to take. For a solid baseline, Mike Edelson's book is a solid foundation. The main takeaway is that you don't need significant hand motion (e.g., pulling with the bottom hand) to power a cut.
In general, each hand on the sword corresponds to a pivot point - where you apply force causes the sword to rotate around a corresponding spot on the blade based on the positioning of the hand you are using to apply force and the distribution of the sword's mass.
VERY BROADLY SPEAKING, the dominant (top) hand has a pivot point very close to or on the tip, the off-hand (bottom) has a pivot point just above the center of mass near the middle of the blade. If you drive the sword with your off-hand, the sword rotates in the middle and the point goes way offline, which is generally not what you want in a thrust (unless it is). The top hand allows you to move the sword around without taking the point offline, which is generally what you want when your point is already directed at the target and you're just trying to launch it across space.
First of all, which book exactly do you mean? Guy Windsor has two books the titles of which include "Medieval Longsword":
1) The Swordman's Companion: Medieval Longsword https://www.amazon.com/Swordsmans-Companion-Guy-Windsor/dp/9526793404
2) Mastering the Art of Arms volume 2: The Medieval Longsword https://www.amazon.com/Mastering-Art-Arms-Vol-Longsword/dp/9526819322
It just so happens that both books describe several different kinds of footwork and different footwork drills on their pages 64-65 -- or at least they do in the editions I have. So you're going to have to be far more specific.
There is no good option for athletic masks that I've found. Only some that are less terrible than others. Once you start really sweating and breathing hard, any mask is going to feel like you are being waterboarded. If you don't sweat easily then I envy you.
That being said, the under armour athletic mask usually gives me the longest before I start wanting to rip it off. You can also get those standard blue mask and use a silicone face cage to keep it from sticking to your face. https://www.amazon.com/Silicone-Bracket-Support-Breathing-Accessories/dp/B08CDTYZMY/
It also turns getting your fencing mask on without screwing up your other mask into a fun little game.
Oh.
Are you not familiar with De Re Militari and 'The Art of War' and 'The Prince' by Machiavelli?
We also have Carl von Clausewitz's 'On War' and Jomini's Art of War (which I think is better).
It's an old publication, but I think that Arms and Armor of the Medieval Knight by Edge and Paddock is an excellent reference book.
The only I've encountered is this. There's not a lot in it, but it's a short translation of an old Chinese manual detailing 10 different strikes with a straight sword. From the looks of the amazon page, the author has done a number of other translations ranging from archery to long saber.
Please note that I've not been trained in these arts and can't vouch for their authenticity.
Yep, this exactly. Myself and most of my students wear some form of field hockey shins. I prefer the ones with straps, that way it doesn’t matter which pair of pants I end up wearing - I don’t have to be wearing tall socks. If you wear hi-top shoes, get a smaller size. Generally they are sized on length as they open up to support a larger calf. I‘m 5‘9“ with decent sized calves and I use a Medium of those linked below. I do wear hitop wrestling shoes.
If you are looking for actual diagrams showing the relationship between the zettel and its various manuscript versions, here is a simple one and here is a more detailed one.
Probably the most known people to use single stick as broadsword/sabre simulators are the Scottish in the 17th century to at least the 19th century where it sort of branched off to it's own sport . I think it's even still big in thier culture but I don't really know for sure.
There is a good book on Single stick by Keith Farrell.
https://www.keithfarrell.net/shop/scottish-broadsword-british-singlestick/
https://www.amazon.com/Scottish-Broadsword-British-Singlestick-Farrell/dp/0992673518
Donald Mcbane is absolutely worth reading if only for his life story. I haven’t really put a lot of effort into studying his fencing lessons so I can’t judge that portion of the book but his account of his life story is amazingly entertaining and completely worth the read. How honest he was is up for debate but it’s certainly a good read. THE Expert Sword-Man's Companion: Or the True Art of SELF-DEFENCE. WITH An ACCOUNT of the Authors LIFE, and his Transactions during the Wars with France.: To which is Annexed, The ART of GUNNERIE https://www.amazon.com/dp/1542618320/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glc_fabc_jEEaGbYBPZYNW
>Hmm that would be a fascinating read for me if you wanted to elaborate. I do a great deal of worldbuilding for my company. It would do well for me to know more of medieval book culture if you cared to share.
The Medieval Manuscript Book: Cultural Approaches is a very good introduction to this sort of thing.
The Medieval Craft of Memory is another interesting work that is related, because medieval people learned and remembered information differently compared to how we do so today. Therefore, books would be used different in terms of helping people learn and remember things.
These are the two main books on the subject that I have worked through myself. I have some other on my to-read pile though, so hopefully I'll have some time over the next few weeks to dig into them a little!
I got recommended one of these for a gear bag and have had a lot of success with it. Fits my jacket, mask, knees, gloves, shoes, shins, couple of swords, and a couple of pockets for soft stuff like a under gloves and head bands.
I can't speak to longevity, only used it about a month so far, but it's been fine over this short span.
This are for the independent study group workbooks I mentioned earlier.
There is also a new version of the German Longsword book.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/secdy4x9ptipmv2/German%20Longsword%20Workbook%20-%20Level%201.pdf
And Bolognese Sword and Buckler
As always, criticism is encourage.
Thanks for sharing a revised version of this action. How easy it is to recover from this position of the upper body and arm dramatically reaching over the hips and knee versus the lunge that evolved from this action that we see used in the 18-20th century Italian masters as demonstrated here by Barbesetti?
It would seem that lengething the lunge in the legs and keeping the torso more upright would reduce risk to the target as it is further away while still maximizing the measure and having your weight more centered would allow for a quicker recovery into a defensive option if the attack fails by measure or defensive blade.
Could you possibly demonstrate, in real time, defensive options from this quasi-lunge position and / or while making recovery? ie, counter parry-riposte on the lunge and counter-parry and riposte on recovery?
I use a strap wrench, they’re pretty much ideal for it. Any hardware or auto parts store should have them. Here’s one on Amazon
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00TU3UNW8/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_KGTZYWM338K17XRWMP3B
As MeyerATL says, lots of historical documents from the period.
Urban citizenship in one of the free cities of the Holy Roman Empire during this period involved a greater level of involvement and commitment to social life than what we tend to associate with "citizenship" now, which is largely about paying taxes to a government and enjoying certain legal rights under the law like the right to vote, the right to a trial, etc. etc.
Citizenship in most free cities at this time involved that, but also participation in the community in the form of things like involvement with trade guilds (if you were a tradesperson), charitable organizations, and also doing shifts in the town watch, which handled things like keeping order in the streets, firefighting, and (if the town was attacked) defense of the town.
It's a full-on academic history book, and rather a deep dive into the topic of urban citizenship (which is only tangentially about swords) but if you're looking for a more accessibly-priced introduction to the urban cultural context of the Late Medieval and Early Modern era, I recommend https://www.amazon.com/Citizens-without-Nations-Citizenship-c-1000-1789/dp/1107504155.
Give me a solid tabletop game. Something like 17th Century Minimalist crossed with World Wide Wrestling. I'd never successfully convince anyone to play it, but I'd read the shit out of it and display it prominently on my bookshelf.
Isolating parts of the skill of cutting makes it easier to learn them and to diagnose failures. I recommend you get Mike Edelson's Cutting with the Medieval Sword: Theory and Application as an excellent introduction to mechanics and coaching for cutting.
Thorgrim Nightwolf has a duel (holmgang) in this manner (in book 5, I think) in The Norsemen Saga by James L. Nelson. I have no idea if it is at all historically accurate.
Hey, mate. I transport my gear on my motorcycle ala Witcher; I strap my swords on my back with a baldric and then a big backpack for protective gear
A mate of mine also uses a big backpack for protective gear but straps his swords on the side of his motorcycle. He has some sort of leather harness-bag thing more or less like this idea: https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSiSSoDdMAFXBieY3bxg5yStHRz2QBmrkkdxw&usqp=CAU
Other option would be a standard sword bag https://www.amazon.com/Sword-Bag-Carrying-Case/dp/B00ECKHB1A
Good luck, mate!
--Mathew O'Rourke's 1872 "A New System of Sword Exercise".
--Thomas Stephens' 1843 "A New System of Broad and Small Sword Exercise"
IIRC, both of these "new" systems were cribbed from Angelo.
My first recommendation would be to come down to Phoenix to learn first hand from Richard Marsden, otherwise, you can check: https://www.hemaalliance.com/ for close HEMA club affiliates.
You can also get a hardback, english translated treatise for $40 on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Flower-Battle-MS-Ludwig-XV13/dp/0984771689/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1523987594&sr=8-1&keywords=flower+of+battle
Aside from that, I'm not sure if there are any YouTubers for it but I really like Fiore's system.
it's a military drill book for pike, musket, and arquebus, and it's wonderfully illustrated. It's great context for some military theory and drill for the early 17th century, but you should know it's not at all about fencing. Still, if you're interested in the military context that's a good reference. I'd also point you to Elizabethan Military Science by Henry Webb, which will give a wider perspective on the ideas that influenced military theory of the time.
There is an in-print translation. I believe Wiktenaeuer also has at least a partial translation (it may be full, not sure) but reading that much on computer would be maddening for me at least. He tends to be pretty...longwinded as well.
https://www.amazon.com/Academy-Sword-Gerard-Thibault/dp/1904658849
Definitely get the print version rather than Kindle, trying to cross reference plates and text would be maddening as he has big plates that he repeatedly references (similar to Meyer).
He is not as "be the lion" as Meyer. An overly broad take would be that he thinks that as long as you've got better geometry than your opponent you'll be fine, and the whole game is incrementally improving your position (with punishment if your opponent tries something weird).
That said, be warned that he uses an odd grip that rules out some hilt styles, and also there aren't a lot of people practicing his art.
Never trained with Guy Windsor but his book is solid. Kieth Farrel and Roger Norling also have some interesting info on thier blogs regarding pedagogy and starting new clubs.
https://www.amazon.com/Theory-Practice-Historical-Martial-Arts-ebook/dp/B07B2Z5YCF
In the mean time perhaps you could use a cheap Olympic fencing jacket. https://www.amazon.com/Fencing-Cotton-Jacket-FEMALE-Small/dp/B00A2WM0H2/ref=sr_1_16?ie=UTF8&qid=1475963741&sr=8-16&keywords=fencing%2Bjacket&th=1
There are quite a few smallsword texts around. L'Abbat and Angelo are names that come up a lot and I believe their texts are available. Also check out Highland Swordsmanship. McBain should have a movie made about him. You might check out Matt Easton's FB page for input on military saber and the like. I think he's done a lot with that. And there's considerable interest in Polish saber, though I'm not sure what texts exist.
Invest in some Merrell Trail Glove 3s. Great brand, long lasting so you're not buying a new pair every year. Great grip for fencing.
If you don't care about learning to thrust; buy some 3/8's to 1/2 inch rattan, pool noodles, and 33 tape.
Or you could buy these: http://www.amazon.com/MASHOONGA-Warrior-Lime-green-black-2/dp/B004CZ2NXQ
Or, like Th1rowaway said, don't spend good money on a bad product. Get masks and good training weapons.
These two books are probably going to be your best bet for self training. Both are geared towards Capo Ferro.
I have no idea of the maker, or exact model, there's no marks on it whatsoever. I can't check the weight atm, but it isn't light. The grip is 13,5cm long, too big for me for one hand, slightly too small for two hands (second hand will grip a part of the metal of the pommel).
Total length of the sword is 88cm. The balance point lies at 29cm from the pommel, which is about 9cm away from the part where the crossguard meets the handle.
Snapped a quick picture it's really uncomfortable holding it with a stretched out arm in order to get the full blade on the picture btw... (You can see the balance point tbh, it's right where the blade isn't "flat" anymore, I don't know how to call it. But the light catches on it.)
I use these Byte Club Field Hockey SHINGUARDS...
<https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01DME2UXA?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share>
They're not available anymore on Amazon but they are really just the cheapest of that style that I can find.
I also where compression socks underneath them and then soccer socks over top them. This system greatly increases the comfort. The compression socks help to wick away any moisture too.
The compression socks I use are pretty low in compression. I'm not really after that anyway I'm wearing them more for the base layer effect.
This book by Robert Rutherfoord is one of the best modern modern HEMA books out there. It covers Meyer's rapier fencing in depth, but conceptually it's extremely similar to Meyer's longsword and much of the content you can overlap. Bind diagrams like these work for 1 handed as well as 2, and you'll be hard pressed to find other books that have as extensive a collection of similar illustrations.
Also Meyer rapier is great and will teach you tons!
Guy Windsor wrote a book specifically for this sort of situation:
https://www.amazon.com/Swordfighting-Writers-Designers-Martial-Artists/dp/952679348X
Don’t skimp on protection. Good gear is significantly less expensive than hospital bills. You are in luck though, there’s a lot of really good, affordable options on the market now.
Check out purpleheart armory for their dragon slayer 2.0 gloves. Those will work well for sidesword and are plenty protective. Could even do longsword work in em, albeit it at controlled speeds.
The AP Light or Scholar jackets are both budget ish and great. That leaves you only with hard knees (you don’t need thigh protection unless you’re just really adverse to bruises) which the link is amazing for.
Get all that and voila, you have a full sparring kit for a little less than $400.
I use a set of motocross shin & knee protectors on my arms as forearm & elbow guards. They work great. Plenty of protection, far better than my SPES elbow cups + forearm.
I can move just as well with or without them on, and they are lighter than the SPES combo.
One issue is that the clasps broke. I fixed that with an elastic strap and some Velcro. At the time I noticed it it was an emergency and I just taped them to my arms.
Not sure about the rest but you can solve the lack of padding issue with 20$ motorcycle pads from Amazon. Put these in my shoulders and I haven't gotten a bad bruise since https://www.amazon.com/Level2-Approved-Motorcycle-Protective-Shoulder/dp/B08N8GRJ19/ref=mp_s_a_1_1_sspa?crid=LXQQK3LIZRHW&keywords=motorcycle+shoulder+pads&qid=1666129128&qu=eyJxc2MiOiI1LjI4IiwicXNhIjoiNC4zOCIsInFzcCI6IjMuMzQifQ%3D%3D&...
Since you mentioned getting a sharp and cutting, are you using a cutting optimized grip ala https://www.amazon.com/Cutting-Medieval-Sword-Theory-Application-ebook/dp/B07847WX9S/ref=sr_1_1?crid=25475E3IZK8MH&keywords=cutting+with+the+medieval+sword&qid=1665593863&qu=eyJxc2MiOiIxLjA3IiwicXNhIjoiMC43NiIsInFzcCI6IjAuOTMifQ%3D%3D&... ?
It’s similar yeah. So the Flower of Battle by Fiore Dei Liberi has four surviving manuscripts, each with varying degrees of differences. That is “The Latin” manuscript, also sometimes called “The Paris” due to being located in a museum in Paris. It’s also the worst of the four copies in almost every conceivable way lol. Greg Mele thinks it’s a copy of a copy that was only produced as a status symbol for a bastard child of Nicole d’Este, and I honestly see where he’s coming from.
Mallow and Marsden do a good job of making it usable in this edition though.
This is “The Getty”, colloquially named for the museum in which it is housed. It’s actually designation is MS Ludwig something or other. https://www.amazon.com/Flower-Battle-MS-Ludwig-XV13/dp/0984771697
Want to checkout an actual "military sabre" source than checkout Joseph Feldmann
https://www.amazon.com/Fencing-Theresian-Academy-Austro-Hungarian-Military/dp/B0BF2TNH2N
This was a sare method taught at one of the most prestigious military academies in Europe. Feldmann has content on Sabre, foil, staff, and bayonet as both general fencingand forbear combat including stuff on Fighting Cavalry.
This is what I use: Mares Cruise Mesh Duffle Bag https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001P4FNCU?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share
I don't think it would fit a feder though. I try not to put them in bags with my sweaty clothing to help protect against rust and keep my other gear from getting oil on it.
This is great. I want to read more accounts like this.
Is it this book you're referring to? https://www.amazon.ca/History-William-Marshal-Nigel-Bryant/dp/1783271310/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?crid=24CI6TXPBSZS5&keywords=william+marshal+history&qid=1663249616&sprefix=william+marshal+history+%2Caps%2C73&sr=8-1
I've tried it, it's a bit awkward at times, but it can be done. If you're sparring full-speed, there's an additional injury risk from the cross.
I'd recommend just ordering a couple of these bad-boys, though. Dirt cheap and effective. (Even cheaper if you have Prime.) You'll never find more affordable HEMA gear.
I've had these for years, before I even started practicing.
They're obviously not perfect for recreation of "real swords" per se, but they can handle some level of hits outside of massive strikes. And they've held up a long long time. Though the oldest has some duct tape repairs lol.
I got these last year and they might fit what you're looking for. My little one and the neighbor kids play around with them and the worst that's happened is one of them winded themselves by accidentally jabbing it into their one belly (the inner reinforcement rod is pretty sturdy, it feels similar to a pvc pipe in there).
I guess what I'm thinking about would be something like a jacket with no padding in the body, only the arms, plus a plastron, and something like this: https://www.amazon.co.uk/CHAMPRO-7-Series-Football-Shoulder-Pad/dp/B07R95YWBR . Could even consider cutting the arm flaps off that, and reducing the jacket arm padding to use something like https://www.supfen.com/product/hema-protector/hfg5297.html (kvetun have something similar which is even more protective). But at that point you're getting closer and closer to harness...
There are three "Assaultos", which are just Bolognese sword and buckler "katas". There is a pretty extensive online community specializing in this as well. Have fun!
Here's the one I've read and enjoyed, but haven't practiced. I think Hutton pulls from French?(My memory is fuzzy). This is Italian and relatively well put together.
https://www.amazon.com/Trattato-teorico-pratico-bastone-difendersi-multilingue/dp/8884744555
Hutton's book "The Swordsman" contains both foil and bayonet, as well as sabre and singlestick:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Swordsman-Manual-Defence-Against-Uncivilised/dp/1845743652/ref
The foil lessons in here are my favourites.
RDL are more complete and have more internal overlap than MS3227a. The Pol Hausbuch *might* be earlier, but it is difficult to identify the exact time of it, and the 1389 date is likely not the year it was written (but that is a whole other thread topic). Normally, MS3227a is seen as a bit of an outlier which has some approaches and advice that are not shared in the other sources, and so it is often considered to stand on its own.
If you want to really get into all three of RDL, I recommend https://www.amazon.com/Ringeck-Danzig-Lew-Long-Sword/dp/B08B325G1Q Steve Cheney's translation covers all three glossa at once, so you can compare and contrast as you go.
>even Japanese swordsmanship in general
This isn't koryu of course, but Japan did create a handful of "general" forms of swordsmanship in the Meiji to Showa eras, and the Japanese military made fencing manuals of these (same idea as military fencing manuals in the west) to help teach them.
If you're interested, this book contains three manuals, the third of which contains two-handed kenjutsu. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09MJJC7KZ
These: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Layout-Lite-Ultimate-Gloves-Seamless/dp/B07KSK6GFN?th=1&psc=1 Basically just thin dipped gardening gloves, most of the coat's worn off. I got some rig lizard thin lizzies but the SGs fit even worse when I try to use them.
Some late 19th century foil is discussed in Hutton's book:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Swordsman-Manual-Defence-Against-Uncivilised/dp/1845743652
His blindfold exercises are certainly worth a look.
Yea I have this snowboard bag. It fits everything, has wheels, and has rigidity but only at the very bottom. So when I roll it (holding at top), it bends in the middle thereby bending my sword. So shoulder cary is the only option but it all gets too heavy and clumsy for me.
Demon Phantom Fully Padded Travel Snowboard Bag with Wheels https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00NO4PFAE/ref=cm_sw_r_apan_i_WF9G4B7W92P4YA4C8EM2?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1
It's a bit off from your specs but I use this one from Amazon. I can carry my feder, saber, and messer. I strap them to the top using the compression straps. The bag itself is large enough for all my gear. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B078HQ3G5K/ref=cm_sw_r_apan_i_BV4YYBTNDVJRJ9BF2Y00?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1
Cebuano Eskrima is arguably the best book on the topic to date. Eskrima definitely has WMA influences, and this book discusses some of them. Destreza is often mentioned as a progenitor system from the Spanish, which follows your reasoning of the Conquistadors bringing their arts over.
However, there's no obvious lineage from Roman/Greek systems. The Indigenous tribes of the Philippines already used short blades, and trained with sticks, and these "old" methods ultimately fused with what the Europeans brought over. One anecdote I recall reading was that roughly 40% of modern eskrima tracks one-to-one with HEMA sources.
German messer is another somewhat similar system to eskrima, based on the lengths of weapons used and the necessary closer range that requires. There's no obvious connection between the two in terms of influence though. However, the systems are generally compatible from a sparring perspective, and events like the Short Blade Symposium have included folks from both eskrima and HEMA camps.
If you're interested in eskrima, head over to r/eskrima and inquire about groups in your area. Even if there's no Balintawak group near you, there may be another eskrima variant available, which would be much closer than attempting to learn Roman/Greek material that is speculative and experimental.
If you're willing to experiment and lose a degree of fine control/dexterity, I'd suggest padding the hilt with something like this - https://www.amazon.com/Tourna-Cushion-Tennis-Replacement-Grip/dp/B01N2TATXB/ref=asc_df_B01N2TATXB/ - using as little as you find you can get away with. It doesn't take much to significantly reduce vibration and gel pads are highly absorbent, so hopefully you'll find a sweet spot where the impacts don't hurt your hands and you still have adequate grip/control.
Hey man! I just wanted to tell you some additional sword and buckler stuff. I’ve heard sword and buckler can be pretty rough for beginners, but I recently got the complete renaissance swordsman by Antoniono Manciolino, translated by Tom leoni. I love his translations, I have his Giganti work as well. There’s nothing wrong with what others have posted, but I just wanted to share another option
Yeah not much you can do for a cracked rib. I've had them before (only ones from HEMA) and they suck .
With every breath You take think about how much pain you could have saved yourself by wearing a $25 plasteron / chest guard.
They make feminine versions also.
Do these look better?
I have been using this style of motorcross knee guard. Can slip down, but easy enough to tie on SPES/LP pants
Is that the same artist who did the Chinese LOTR covers? If not, it might have been the inspiration.
You are meaning something like this?
They are told me fine for doing solo work. We have two at our club and that's kind of what we use them for, if we have a huge intro class.
Something like this
Is appropriate for sparing, but there are other slightly more expensive but higher quality options too.
There's a full translation of Thibault available for purchase: https://www.amazon.com/-/Gerard-Thibault/dp/1904658849/
Sadly from the comments it seems the newest edition is smaller than it used to be,and even the old one wasn't as big as the original book, which might be important at times with the detailed and dense pictures.
The new info is in the preface of Jared Kirbys publication
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Expert-Sword-Mans-Companion-SELF-DEFENCE-Transactions/dp/1542618320
where Ben Miller draws out third party sources that actually verify many facets of McBanes life, and in his words "Historical record is on the side of the old highlander" having scoured sources from early English Newspapers such as The Daily Courant, Weekly Journal with fresh advices Foreign and Domestik, Daily post, Caledonian Mercury, Mist's Weekley Journal, all 18th century publications.
McBane's military career and Prize fighting exploits were kind of confirmed before, but ever since then thanks to digital, it's pretty much sown up. Infact if anything what is unusual that his manual, he very much downplays his Prizefighting days.
Davy Crockett's autobiography might be of interest: https://www.gutenberg.org/files/37925/37925-h/37925-h.htm
He grew up poor. The first time he got a bit of money for himself he bought a rifle. He was a young teen at the time and "I had never been to school but four days, ... and did not yet know a letter." He wrote about his various rifles a lot, and that first one seemed pretty special to him.
Also, he writes in detail about being in the Tennessee militia during the Creek War theater of the War of 1812, under Andrew Jackson, but never says a word about swords or fencing as far as I can tell. I don't think he was ever in a duel.
The only time he writes about using a knife is in the context of hunting bears—although he usually kills them with a gun and uses a knife to butcher them. However one time a mortally wounded bear apparently hid in a way he couldn't shoot, so he snuck up and:
>I made a lounge with my long knife, and fortunately stuck him right through the heart
That's the only thing I can find that sounds even remotely like fencing, though really he was just "sticking it" to cowering bear.
Anyway, anyone wanting to learn about Crockett's life in his own words ought to check out his autobiography.
thanks for the link. I don't mean to be overly critical, but I honestly think that you're shooting yourself in the foot with a business model that makes (at least some) people overly cautious and skeptical. I also just think you're setting your price much, much too high.
Please don't think I'm saying that you lack knowledge, or that your knowledge isn't valuable. However, it's hard for me to imagine how any set of videos, no matter how high quality, could justify an outlay of $37/month- a few months of that, and I could have bought myself a new piece of training equipment.
If you really want to have regular monthly income from your videos, why not set up a Patreon account? I think you might find a much better reception that way.
Another alternative would be formatting your content into a book and self-publishing on Amazon. Formatting an ebook isn't much more difficult than making a webpage, and there are probably many more people that would gladly give you $10 for an ebook than would give you $37/month.
Just some things to consider. Obviously, it's your content, and you're free to do whatever you want with it, and you're certainly free to ignore me. But I hope you'll take my comment in the spirit it was intended- as (hopefully) constructive criticism in the interest of helping you reach more people.
Here are some links, in case the OP fancies doing that reading:
https://sirwilliamhope.org/Library/Hope/
A Newer, Shorter and Easier Method of Fencing https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0956487165/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_95AMQY71ZX58D2CDW9E5
Depending on how big your arm is, you might be able to use a kneepro. I've seen them repurposed as elbow protectors with minimal issues.
https://www.amazon.com/K-P-Industries-KneePro-Tactical-Paintball/dp/B00J0G7OYA
I use a rifle bag when traveling with any of mine. It’s affectionately referred to as my “danger burrito” among my re-enactment group. Plenty of padding, and i can travel with around 8 swords without breaking a sweat. Also it has backpack straps.
AFAIK, not officially. You might be able to get them to give you a quote for a replacement, or you could look a their reenactment glove they used as the baseline for it. When I've had to do similar repairs, I was able to use old failed SupFen jackets cut down to replace/reinforce the fabric, you could probably do similar with leather or whatever other sturdy fabric of your choice.
For repairing the rivets tearing out of the underlayer, it's a bit more complicated. Best I've found is:
drill out the old rivets
take another piece of nylon webbing and run it perpendicular through the pair of rivets in need of repair
replace the rivets I had to pull out with some of these
I just checked on amazon and the one I bought just two months ago is now unavailable... anyone know what happened?
If you aim for an about 70-80% success rate for someone who you are trying to teach, it is optimal for learning. You can adjust the skill as they progress. if they are improving, go harder, and if they are failing too much, ease off. In any case, the intent is that they can succeed with effort. YMMV
A comment on footwork. According to the illustration, the right fencer should be well to the right of the left fencer so that left's sword is pushed further off-line.
I don't know how important this is in longsword, but with rapier the step across makes for a stronger constraint.
> > The buckler in the first alta is to be held like a mirror, which from Marozzo seems to mean face inwards.
Ugh, you're still subscribing to that old nonsense?
Have you ever actually seen someone holding a hand mirror? They do it at arms length so that they can full see their face.
https://www.bing.com/images/search?q=hand+mirror&FORM=HDRSC2
Same here. The link for the survey is currently:
Looks like either a link from a completed survey, or a single ID generated as opposed to the survey itself.
I went with these and have been very happy: LI-NING Men Saga Lightweight Badminton Shoes Breathable Professional Sport Shoes AYTR041 https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B0914V1WH1/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_APXC5G45WZ0W2W2K1V9H?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1
I coupled them with the orange Superfeet insoles and have had no problems.
As others have said, scotchbrite pads work for removing rust, I personally prefer the purple, and like the matte finish it leaves.
I like to use Ballistol for oiling the steel to prevent rust and corrosion. https://www.amazon.com/Ballistol-BO120106-3-Multi-Purpose-Wipes-30-Count/dp/B00TOBWKP4
> Fencing breeches
Just googled fencing breeches... and well...
Looks like they have an overlay and some other odds and ends but the descriptions seem copied and don't always match the item.
If you are looking for a step by step intro I recommend this book: Sword Fighting 2: An Introduction to the Single-Handed Sword and Buckler https://www.amazon.com/dp/0764348264/ref=cm_sw_r_apan_glt_fabc_RSZE3VAW0K5AGVTENYY1
It's not perfect but should get you started
https://www.amazon.com/Medieval-Art-Swordsmanship-Royal-Armouries/dp/0948092858
This one?
FYI direct links are better than burying information in text that we then have to copy/paste and edit in Google.
Hi! I'm fairly new to HEMA, and I've been practicing in my running shoes (which have not helped with my balance at all!). I've seen in some other threads that flatter shoes work better. I've seen a couple interesting options suggested, but I wanted to ask before I buy a new pair: could nonslip ballet socks work? Thanks!
If you want something which is balanced, durable, and not as heavy (2/3) weight, I'd recommend a Knightshop aka Red Dragon Synthetic Sword. The newer ones give a little less and aren't as whippy as the other ones. That being said, if they are fighting/sparring with it and haven't learned control yet, they'll also need a mask.
Here's the product on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Dragon-Armoury-Synthetic-Sparring-Longsword/dp/B09DBSH2BG
And if you have prime shipping, you can probably get it in 2-4 days.
It's a fairly accurate sword if they do want to learn HEMA someday and not just LARP.
Quick review on it (as well as the Pentii, a heavier synthetic)
And if you want to see the GoFoam in action, here you go: https://youtu.be/G9XmEPXJCKQ
Awesome film, wholehearted recommendation from me also. You might want to check https://youtu.be/Di2osyN4Vf4
And this book of course: https://www.amazon.com/Polish-Saber-Richard-Marsden/dp/0984771654
In addition to YT, I found a Cliffnotes-style study book to tie all things together was very helpful without me having to get too bogged down in detail that's just not relevant to a complete beginner. I recommend this:
https://www.amazon.ca/German-Longsword-Study-Guide-Farrell/dp/099267350X/ref=sr\_1\_1?dchild=1&keywords=longsword+keith+farrell&qid=1631460371&sr=8-1
https://www.amazon.com/Samsonite-Golf-Sided-Travel-Cover/dp/B003UR0NSY?th=1
This one has become very popular among my club
Thanks for the link.
If anyone prefers secondary sources to the original text:
A Newer, Shorter and Easier Method of Fencing https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0956487165/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_JKYWKRKX4ADYM40CT7RN
If you are at all interested in this subject, Monte (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07QDBDZ7D/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?\_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1) in the early 1500's is probably the best source for a sort of broad overview of what wrestling in that period actually consisted of. The fightbooks all focus almost exclusively on self defense grappling, and don't go into much for what we might call sportive play, whereas Monte actually covers both, including with regional variations which he has observed, and some rule structures as well. The short answer is Judo, because of its upright approach to posture and emphasis on throws, but judo also heavily relies on its specific jacket, so there are a ton of stuff that is different.
Thanks for that link, much appreciated.
I guess I meant that it's a great system descriptively, but prescriptively things get a bit wonky (e.g quarte/quinte, as you note). I suspect in part this is the just the breaks of being really well-defined/good for description, though.
WRT competitive French and Italian - sounds about right, the Barbasetti I've been referring to is this guy https://www.amazon.com/art-foil-Luigi-Barbasetti/dp/0760709432, and his guard system seems to me to follow the same conventions as Agrippa et. al plus a couple of in-betweens (which rapier guys actually had too, they usually called them "bastards", e.g. "seconda-terza" is true edge pointing 45 degrees down and outside).
Sidenote: he is (I guess as you would expect from someone writing in 1932) heavy on the nationalism.
I studied in fencing Italy briefly. I was taught the french system in England first, and despite speaking fluent Italian struggled with the Italian nomenclature because the pedagogy and approach was so different from the french system. The first two months was frustrating. So in the early days of amazon I bought this Gaugler book:
Which cleared up the Italian pedagogy for me at least. To some extent the italian system isn't as monolithic as Gaugler claims...I dare you to find quarta-falsa in any italian manual! For years I thought I was taught some BS hand position until I discovered it was some weird Veneto naming convention,