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Practicing with sharps
Joshua Santana:
I saw the video and it is good one. Makes a good point.
Practicing with sharps is high level and must be done with an instructor always.
I have held a sharp longsword before and after trying a few cuts and thrusts I feel the differences between it and a blunt.
Sir William:
I'll be honest, I never saw the point of training with sharps- it adds a level of danger and excitement but there's no real way you can practice- even without the intent to do harm, the chances are a good deal higher that an injury can be sustained. Just my $0.02.
Thorsteinn:
I've done slow work with sharp spears. It was enlightening.
Lord Dane:
I train with sharps but with excessively due care & caution for surroundings (and my limbs) when thrusting or cutting. But mostly with blunted steel, and rattan. :o
Sir James A:
--- Quote from: Sir William on 2016-05-19, 19:21:27 ---I'll be honest, I never saw the point of training with sharps- it adds a level of danger and excitement but there's no real way you can practice- even without the intent to do harm, the chances are a good deal higher that an injury can be sustained. Just my $0.02.
--- End quote ---
There are some legitimate reasons for it.
The bind - sharp swords BITE. Steel blunts don't. Things like the windings are infinitely more interesting with a sharp sword. With a blunt, oops, I got stabbed. With a sharp sword, there is that split second transition from "hey look a bind" in which you evacuate your bowels because you can actually feel the oppononts sword release from the bind and start moving towards you.
Blade presence - weight and length on blunts are pretty close to historical style, but there is a difference in blade presence with two sharp swords. I can't put it into technical terms, but there is a completely different level of fear and respect when dealing with a sharp sword. Safety gear and blunts are a big artifact in fencing where we aren't nearly as worried to have "double kills" or to get hit repeatedly. Granted that's the nature of training, but without the "real life" fight with a true sharp sword looming anywhere in the future, we train under a different mentality than our predecessors did.
But I would NEVER advocate anyone ever doing it without the guidance - and probably participation - of a very knowledgeable, experienced, and safe instructor.
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