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Mace Fighting
Lord Dane:
Like Thorsteinn said Nathan ... Sword technique and one-handed blunt instruments have different uses so goes to assume they would have different techniques as well. Swords meant to thrust and slice vary in size (one-handed; two-handed; blade length & type, etc) and will have different target areas to strike as opposed to weapons like maces that will be typically one-handed weapons that hit in different fashions. You learn as you master each new toy you play with. Body motion in conjunction with gripping/handling, striking technique, offensive/defensive posture all come into play when learning what works best and what is proper by the fighting style you study.
When you combine your weapon with shield use, it becomes something different all together. Then you learn how to coordinate both in unison and practice proper balance when striking and moving.
Sir Edward:
Unfortunately, as far as I'm aware, most of the combat manuscripts don't mention one-handed maces much, if at all. Shields are also underrepresented.
However, part of how those manuscripts is designed, is to give you a broad set of fundamental principles to work with. Ideally, you should be able to extrapolate from them, to apply to different situations and different weapons.
I would say that most of the footwork and body mechanics would be pretty much the same, since you're still going to be using your hips to drive the power, and use the right footwork to stay balanced relative to the direction of your opponent. Where it really differs though, is that the mace may have a much shorter reach (unless you're fighting with a particularly large one), there's no "edge alignment" to worry about, and it's very front-heavy. A lot of the sword techniques may not apply directly, since they're designed around edge alignment and using the crossguard, but a lot of the general principles (particularly body motion) will still apply.
Vincent:
--- Quote from: Thorsteinn on 2014-06-20, 21:50:58 ---I've got a lovely bit of experience with one, and it's my favorite war weapon to use with a shield. You do have to let it find the openings & not force the issue. You tend to fight more in circles than straight lines & like axes and great weapons it counts as a Mass Weapon thus allowing hip & shoulder kills. The two best one handed mace heads easily found for SCA use are the ones sold by Icefalcon and a Kong Medium Hexagonal dog toy.
Do you have any specific questions?
--- End quote ---
Well, let's see...
-You mention specifically for war, but would you personally in your experience use it in a specific one on one situation, or would you use it exclusively for mass combat? Or are you using 'war' as a general term for SCA events?
-I believe I've seen the IceFalcon heads you mentioned, they basically end up looking somewhat similar to a flanged mace, correct? Not sure about the Kong dog toy, is this it? (http://www.amazon.com/KONG-Stuff-A-Ball-Dog-Toy-Medium/dp/B0002DHO1I/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1403368153&sr=8-6&keywords=kong+dog+toys+medium)
General impression of technique is always appreciated. I'm jumping into Heavy Fighting from having done foam weapon fighting (Dagorhir/Belegarth), so I've had to adjust both in regards to targeting areas that are legal (head is off limits, everything except 'foot on ground' counts as a hit to SCA's helmet shots and not striking below the knee). Thankfully, I met one of the local knights through all that, and he's helped me along through the learning process. I feel like I could likely pull off a wider range of shots with a mace, but again, have yet to get my hands on one to try things out.
--- Quote from: Sir Edward on 2014-06-21, 12:47:30 ---
Unfortunately, as far as I'm aware, most of the combat manuscripts don't mention one-handed maces much, if at all. Shields are also underrepresented.
However, part of how those manuscripts is designed, is to give you a broad set of fundamental principles to work with. Ideally, you should be able to extrapolate from them, to apply to different situations and different weapons.
I would say that most of the footwork and body mechanics would be pretty much the same, since you're still going to be using your hips to drive the power, and use the right footwork to stay balanced relative to the direction of your opponent. Where it really differs though, is that the mace may have a much shorter reach (unless you're fighting with a particularly large one), there's no "edge alignment" to worry about, and it's very front-heavy. A lot of the sword techniques may not apply directly, since they're designed around edge alignment and using the crossguard, but a lot of the general principles (particularly body motion) will still apply.
--- End quote ---
Ah, unfortunate that there isn't a lot of information on specifically mace-work techniques. Most suggestions for maces are to shorten it from where you would typically be using an SCA sword, but I figured I would play around with that a bit and see how much I wanted to take off.
Many thanks for the insight thus far!
Thorsteinn:
--- Quote ---You mention specifically for war, but would you personally in your experience use it in a specific one on one situation, or would you use it exclusively for mass combat? Or are you using 'war' as a general term for SCA events?
--- End quote ---
I've found that it works best for me for War's & Melee but I've used it in Tourney's too and I've not got the right mindset for it most of the time, however it is really fun. :)
We do have a Duke who's quite good with one and has won a royal Tourney with it.
As for the mace heads you are correct about both kinds linked to.
Sir Nate:
--- Quote from: Sir Edward on 2014-06-21, 12:47:30 ---
Unfortunately, as far as I'm aware, most of the combat manuscripts don't mention one-handed maces much, if at all. Shields are also underrepresented.
However, part of how those manuscripts is designed, is to give you a broad set of fundamental principles to work with. Ideally, you should be able to extrapolate from them, to apply to different situations and different weapons.
I would say that most of the footwork and body mechanics would be pretty much the same, since you're still going to be using your hips to drive the power, and use the right footwork to stay balanced relative to the direction of your opponent. Where it really differs though, is that the mace may have a much shorter reach (unless you're fighting with a particularly large one), there's no "edge alignment" to worry about, and it's very front-heavy. A lot of the sword techniques may not apply directly, since they're designed around edge alignment and using the crossguard, but a lot of the general principles (particularly body motion) will still apply.
--- End quote ---
My book goes over some War axe techniques, but it doesn't mention Mace.
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