I've learned a bit about Chinese swordsmanship but I've never seen a school practicing European swords (besides the rapier, I guess, but I mean longswords and stuff). Is there some sort of secret club where this is practiced, or is it lost?
I am going out on a limb here, but I think our "resident expert" on this maybe Mitlov. ...waiting for a response
There are many clubs now teaching European swordarts or HEMA (Historical European Martial Arts). For the most part they are recreations from historical texts, but there are some classical fencing styles that have living traditions. Langenswert (that may be spelt totally wrong) and Polar Bear are two people on here studying these arts. If you search on the web for HEMA you will find tonnes of websites describing what they do.
Yes, it was lost as far as living lineages go. However, the masters of the day wrote manuals on their arts. Those with previous martial arts experience (and to be honest, those without) are reconstructing them. Look for the HEMA Alliance practice partner map to find groups near you. It's not secret, and any good sized city will have multiple groups. If you're in Calgary, you can come to our club! Best regards, -Mark
Langenschwert is the resident expert on Historical European Martial Arts. I know me some Olympic fencing, but I don't know which is the business end of a historical longsword (though if I recall correctly, according to Langenschwert, both ends are the business end).
I'm certainly no expert, though after a decade of training I know a few things, or at least suck less than I used to. Medieval swordsmanship should look like this: [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mjT4JepA-Vc"]Zornhau training - Lichtenauers longsword techniques - YouTube[/ame] [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ln94E9AGYTc"]Zwerchhau, absetzen, nachreissen - longsword techniques training - YouTube[/ame] [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mdVpccWbU5g"]sword and buckler at WMAW - YouTube[/ame] [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1S_Q3CGqZmg"]Gladiatoria : Part 1/6 : Swordfight in Armour : Hammaborg - YouTube[/ame] And definitely NOT like this, which is all complete and utter crap: [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C4UQcN_vJbs"]Medieval Knights Sword Fighting in Conwy Castle, Wales, UK - YouTube[/ame] [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c67kRMp48JY"]Sword & Buckler - Adventon 2010 - YouTube[/ame] [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IuzbZAIZY_g"]Medieval re-enactment of Longsword fight at Conwy Castle, Wales, UK - YouTube[/ame] -Mark
This was strange. It almost looked like a combination of military saber and FMA stick, which is totally inappropriate for full harness. I kept seeing high guards, hanging guards, and abinco, witic strikes, and Sabre angle 7 (straight down) slashes. And they didn't know what to do with the buckler. Kept trying to use it like a super-miniature shield. Everything about it was discordant. The armour was discordant with the "sword style" being "used," which was discordant with the (lack of) use of the buckler, which itself was discordant with the harness. It reminded me of the Futurama episode where Fry finds his fossilized dog while an untrained museum tour guide gives out wrong guess-work as fact about 20th C. pizza making tools and procedures. The difference is that Fururama is deliberately funny. Peace favor your sword, Kirk
