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John Clement, not being knightly.... again.
Joshua Santana:
Sword wounds. The thing that will strike fear into an enthusiast.
Yep, sharp swords can cause significant damage to the body and increase the risk of death. The proof is the swords by their weight alone is enough to cut and puncture the flesh without using any power. You have to take into consideration that anything sharp will be used with inertia, power and direction, multiply those time the amount of power you throw into a cut, slice or thrust you will create significant damage. This is why unarmored longsword fighting focuses on the Four Openings because arm or leg wounds will be staggering or incapacitating wounds. Torso hits, heat cuts, and opened intestines are killing blows.
But people can be idiots by trying to get away bouting with sharps. They will need an ambulance on the spot.
John Clements to me is a good fighter (although I am a bit skeptical of his martial prowess) but one arrogant individual who thinks he ha sit all because he thinks like a fighter and a scholar at the same time. He can't even cite his resources as much as give physical proof as to why edge to edge contact must be avoided. I believe his credibility is already gone and he is desperate to get it back by using articles.
If you want to see actual drills using sharps in a safe but elegant manner, here it is:
Sir William:
Sir Joshua, if you strike another sword's edge with your own, depending on the strength of that strike, you can nick or even fold the edge if it is razor sharp. I don't think you need to cite resource or demonstrate it for it is widely known, or should be. As for his credibility, whether or not he can actually fight with a sword is one thing, but I do not consider his contributions or knowledge to be of little value, quite the contrary.
What I, and everyone else it seems take issue with is his attitude. Unfortunately, that is a personal shortcoming that he needs to work on, no one can alter that for him. FWIW, I can understand where he's coming from- let us assume for the nonce that this is in fact his life's work and he treats it with the honor and gravitas one should for his/her life's work - thinking about your own, or my own, how irritated would you get if, despite your best attempts, the world at-large remained ignorant of your contributions and intellect, opting instead to continue holding onto ill-conceived, even downright wrong notions about what it is you or I do? Not as in the hobby it is for most of us, but your life's work, the road less travelled, the one thing you do that sparks your creativity, your love of your craft- your very reason for being?
Now, I'm only playing devil's advocate, I'm not condoning his attitude or even suggesting he has the right of it (he has a right to feel however the hell he wants to, but he does not have a right to expect that all others must accept it w/out reserve), only suggesting there may be more to it than what we read in the article, or articles that he's written in the past.
Also, those drills you posted are not inherently safe. Safer than two unknowns fencing, yes, as these two seem to know one another and share a mutual trust- but the only safety equipment I see are their helmets, and the fact that they are moving very slowly- even so, one slip by either fencer and you're looking at a potential ER visit. Even with full armor and padding, injuries can occur with sharps. No, I would not advocate practicing in that manner. Let them armor up- then they're safer.
Sir James A:
--- Quote from: Sir William on 2012-06-22, 15:16:52 ---Also, those drills you posted are not inherently safe. Safer than two unknowns fencing, yes, as these two seem to know one another and share a mutual trust- but the only safety equipment I see are their helmets, and the fact that they are moving very slowly- even so, one slip by either fencer and you're looking at a potential ER visit. Even with full armor and padding, injuries can occur with sharps. No, I would not advocate practicing in that manner. Let them armor up- then they're safer.
--- End quote ---
Agreed. I'll go so far as to say there is *never* a "safe way" to practice with sharps with another person. There is "safeR", but the only time, IMO, sharps should ever be used, is for solo cutting (or zombie apocalypse...). There's no reason whatsoever to put life and limb at risk by using sharps when trainers are safer and available, regardless of skill or lack of skill, accidents can happen, and using sharps proves a lack of concern for yourself and others, rather than courage or bravery. I can go stand in traffic knowing that most people will swerve to avoid me, and bank my odds until I do get hit by someone not paying attention or who doesn't see me ... and in that case too, it's not bravery, it's hedging a bet until I lose, and with nothing to gain.
Sir William:
Agreed.
Joshua Santana:
--- Quote ---Sir Joshua, if you strike another sword's edge with your own, depending on the strength of that strike, you can nick or even fold the edge if it is razor sharp. I don't think you need to cite resource or demonstrate it for it is widely known, or should be. As for his credibility, whether or not he can actually fight with a sword is one thing, but I do not consider his contributions or knowledge to be of little value, quite the contrary.
What I, and everyone else it seems take issue with is his attitude. Unfortunately, that is a personal shortcoming that he needs to work on, no one can alter that for him. FWIW, I can understand where he's coming from- let us assume for the nonce that this is in fact his life's work and he treats it with the honor and gravitas one should for his/her life's work - thinking about your own, or my own, how irritated would you get if, despite your best attempts, the world at-large remained ignorant of your contributions and intellect, opting instead to continue holding onto ill-conceived, even downright wrong notions about what it is you or I do? Not as in the hobby it is for most of us, but your life's work, the road less travelled, the one thing you do that sparks your creativity, your love of your craft- your very reason for being?
Now, I'm only playing devil's advocate, I'm not condoning his attitude or even suggesting he has the right of it (he has a right to feel however the hell he wants to, but he does not have a right to expect that all others must accept it w/out reserve), only suggesting there may be more to it than what we read in the article, or articles that he's written in the past.
--- End quote ---
Point taken Sir William. Concerning the video, I would blame Guy Windsor for having the idea of drilling with sharps but I think that with what you and Sir James said, you are correct in that regard but also I think it is a nice idea to drill using sharps. It gives us a reality check and can be a bridge to reconstructing the Art used in real life. Mutual trust and severe caution are always taken into consideration.
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