Post: #176

(10-31-2017 10:30 AM)sterling_archer Wrote:  Interesting. I started to research recently heraldry as I want to design my own coat of arms. Currently I am learning how to construct blazon, which is a french-english sentence that in shortest amount of words describes design. What you just said is very similar to blazon.

Dalaran, stupid of me, I don't know why I didn't put link. Its a LARP site, which I find a bit gay, but their weapons are ideal cheapest solution for someone that just wants to have fun sparring and doing serious techniques such as those from HEMA.
http://www.calimacil.com/

I've found this site useful in designing a coat of arms, and the tools they suggest have actually helped me make company logos before.
https://www.reddit.com/r/heraldry/
I'm not sure how it is in Croatia, but I know many European countries have strict rules and regulations on what you can and can't have in your coat of arms.

That larp site looks pretty cool.

Post: #177

Coat of arms for myself to put on shields or on logo of my future bow company (haha). I am not talking about registering my family as having a coat of arms, even though some families in Croatia have their heraldry if they were in past feudal lords or landed knights.

I saw that reddit page and its good. They recommend DrawShield which I also use.

Post: #178

(10-31-2017 12:08 PM)sterling_archer Wrote:  Coat of arms for myself to put on shields or on logo of my future bow company (haha). I am not talking about registering my family as having a coat of arms, even though some families in Croatia have their heraldry if they were in past feudal lords or landed knights.

I saw that reddit page and its good. They recommend DrawShield which I also use.

Ah, I'll have to check that one out, I mainly use InkScape.

Post: #179

NSFW video of a duel with sharps my buddy sent me


https://www.reddit.com/r/Whatcouldgowron...ords_wcgw/

Post: #180

(10-31-2017 04:47 PM)YoungBlade Wrote:  NSFW video of a duel with sharps my buddy sent me


https://www.reddit.com/r/Whatcouldgowron...ords_wcgw/

Nice one, where can I find more like this?

I'm not sure if these guys are tough, foolhardy or craze stupid. Probably all of that. They sure dont look like pussy city folk.

And remember those deep gashes are from "snap" cuts, i.e light cut that you wouldnt even notice while sparring. If it was a reasonably well delivered strike your limb would get shorn off.

Yeah, kinda royally suck if you are in a medieval battle and dont have full plate or at least chainplate.... Even if you survive you would probably die of infection.

@archer: those are nice foam stuff, but I cant justify spending money on anything less than steel. Sure it's fun but that's about it. Good for those lazy day where you dont wanna carry your gear around.
The thing with foam is that is 100% unrealistic and might build bad habits because there's no weight and no blade feeling.

Steel sparring for me is just as fun, and you get to learn something technical. And its exhausting, so you get a good workout.

Post: #181

^^^

No clue where to find more. Maybe some gore sites, but I wouldn't want that on my computer.

Post: #182

I know its not the real thing. I saw that website when Metatron posted video how he will do sparring videos with his friends and use that foam equipment. I would rather have federschwerts but they are costly, together with protection equipment.

Post: #183

Recruits got to spar today. Some were more timid than expected, but the expectedly timid ones were brave, so I am not disappointed.

Post: #184

Yesterday were team combat and the happiest day of my life.

First round we got beaten bad, like 3-10 because we have no tactics and were basically just a bunch of guys with weapons doing their thing. Most of my team are raw recruits.

So after the 1st round I gather up a new blood. He's a tall guy with longsword, so I tell him to stick close to me (I have sword and shield). I distract the enemy while he attacks at the first opening. We were massacring the enemy. Later another sword and board guy joins us, I put the longsword in the middle and we hold the entire left flank. We were basically invincible. Won 10-3 and 10-4. The only few times we lose are when the longsword guy gets over excited and goes on the attack. Or when the right flank (without me to lead them ) crumble and we got surrounded.

They even put their best fighters on their flank to counter us. I literally had to drag the newbies back and tell them to let me engage their best fighter first to distract and create an opening, while they hammer on him. We drop their aces on the first few seconds every fucking time.

It just exhilirating to be the one to lead people to victory, even though I personally dont kill much. Especially the new guy was elated to be scoring so many kills, he is sold on the hobby now.

Inspiration and leadership, that's what all men need and what all men should strive to give.

Post: #185

This would be cool to visit and participate.





Interesting video.

Post: #186

(11-03-2017 03:44 AM)Dalaran1991 Wrote:  Yesterday were team combat and the happiest day of my life.

First round we got beaten bad, like 3-10 because we have no tactics and were basically just a bunch of guys with weapons doing their thing. Most of my team are raw recruits.

So after the 1st round I gather up a new blood. He's a tall guy with longsword, so I tell him to stick close to me (I have sword and shield). I distract the enemy while he attacks at the first opening. We were massacring the enemy. Later another sword and board guy joins us, I put the longsword in the middle and we hold the entire left flank. We were basically invincible. Won 10-3 and 10-4. The only few times we lose are when the longsword guy gets over excited and goes on the attack. Or when the right flank (without me to lead them ) crumble and we got surrounded.

They even put their best fighters on their flank to counter us. I literally had to drag the newbies back and tell them to let me engage their best fighter first to distract and create an opening, while they hammer on him. We drop their aces on the first few seconds every fucking time.

It just exhilirating to be the one to lead people to victory, even though I personally dont kill much. Especially the new guy was elated to be scoring so many kills, he is sold on the hobby now.

Inspiration and leadership, that's what all men need and what all men should strive to give.

This is a great story man, I can't wait for my club to grow large enough for this!

Post: #187

Studied Italian style longswording yesterday. Two observations.

1. Italians are overly specific.

2. They fucking love wrath guard.

Post: #188

Sparred the recruits today. Extremely proud of two of them who were busy goofing off all semester. Ended up being the most aggressive, and scoring at least double hits. One of them picked up on the "hands are most vulnerable" knowledge and struck my hands almost as well as a vet.

Feels good to know I helped in that.

Post: #189

When I see one of my bros struggling:

Post: #190

Post: #191

Haha in my case it would always be me the guy struggling, then the newbies in my team would go all medieval on the opponent's ass with longsword, then ground stomp.

I explicitly forbid any longsword newbie to engage in combat before me. They are the damage dealer. Sometimes I have to drag the green horn back by the collar lest he charges headlong into a bristling wall of steel.

Basic formation of 1 longsword sandwhiched between two sword and shield, deployed on the far flank, is so utterly effective to the point that there's no counter to it except a similar formation, which then becomes a grind. The fun times are when they deploy all their two-handers on one flank to try to get us down. I went down first but between the 3 of us we took out all their 3 heavy-hitters. The rest is mob up duty.

For your club I strongly recommend getting some foam-padded plastic swords for mock battle. You can either do 1-hit rules or hit-until-your-hand-bleed rule. It's incredibly fun and buil comradeship.

Post: #192

We absolutely will when we have the money! For now we’re trying to organize a tournament with as many colleges as possible. Should be fun!

Post: #193

Is that fight from page 5 or 6 still happening? What's the pot up to? If not, what do you think it would take to get George Takei in as a sub?



He's probably going to be hurting for money soon.

I'll put $19 on Sulu.

Post: #194

(11-15-2017 03:17 PM)JohnKreese Wrote:  Is that fight from page 5 or 6 still happening? What's the pot up to? If not, what do you think it would take to get George Takei in as a sub?



He's probably going to be hurting for money soon.

I'll put $19 on Sulu.

Unfortunately no:

(10-19-2017 10:51 AM)YoungBlade Wrote:  Update: Sorry to all betters, but redbeard has backed out. Unwilling to fight. Scrammed. So keep your cash.

His new avatar:

I'll take on Takei in vengeance for all the boys he raped though.

Post: #195

Sparred tonight, did decently. Got some sexy scars to show off to the womenfolk.

Post: #196

^I really do hope you mean bruises and not scars else:



Have sparring tonight, luckily it's gonna be sabre, because my left wrist is still injured. No two-hander for me for a while.

I dont know how you practice, but in my club fighting with steel takes a heavy toll on the left wrist, which takes the most shock from parrying a strike, or from delivering a suffciently strong attack. Coupled that with a few joints break from Aikido and my left hand is done.

I'm incorporating wrist strengthening exercises into my daily routine now. Recommend you guys do the same, together with grip strength routines.

Post: #197

They’re only scratches haha, they’ll heal quickly.

I’m not sure why your left wrist takes a whole lot of shock from using longsword. My right wrist take a bit of stress if I try to strike high, like with a scheitelhau. I’d have to see what you’re doing to figure out why that’s occurring.

Post: #198

Sparring with steel changes the game entirely. If you are still using plastic/polypoprene then you are still playing with toy swords

On a more serious note, the plastic hits much ligher, and most of the shock from contact/parry is absorbed and then dissolve by the soft plastic. BY the time it travel down the hilt it's almost entirely dissolve.

Steel on steel however is an entirely different story. First it's heavier, and the shock is much more pronounced. Now it's nothing drastic, kinda like a recoil from firing a pistol one-handed, but it's still there.

Also since I'm smaller I mostly block high, imagine the Ox guard but the blade horizontal to protect the head. A proper block usually slides down the length of the sword and thus push it down like a lever. As a consequent the left wrist got "yanked" up since it's at the other end of the pommel. I use this momentum to whip out a riposte, which involves twisting the left wrist up and forward to bring the blade around. So that's two shock in a window of 0.5-1 sec. I do this a lot. Might need to change tactic.

Lastly I believe it's because I sit 8 hour in front of a desk, so with the wrist constantly resting on the keyboard it has grown weak and pussified. Damn it we men are made to run around swinging sword, not to sit immobile 8h/day!

Post: #199

That'd fuckin' do it!

The only thing I can think to fix it do the 1,000 cuts a day on a pell thing. It'll shock the shit out of your arms until you can't feel them, then you'll be fine. My buddy did this for a whole summer, and he's the fastest swordsman we have. I'm more and more imagining you and he have the same fighting style, to be honest.

Post: #200

Yeah I was seriously thinking about making my own rotating pell for training. Unfortunately I dont have a yard yet and whacking sword around in a shared yard in a French apartment complex isn't exactly conducive to your legal record.

Rotating pell is the simplest yet most efficient exercise you can have for attack, evasion, reflexes.

You should consider making one. I imagine it wouldn't be too hard. Just need a rotating pole on a firm base. Put a shield on one end and a sword on another and bam you have a training "partner" who actually strikes back

The thing is that in my club the coach is not much into slashing (which is what pell is for). For him is always about thrust, thrust, thrust. And after taking a thrust to the armpit I can easily understand why. It's lightning quick, easy to transfer a gigantic amount of concentrated force, and inflict great wounds while limiting your own exposure.

From thearma site:

Vegetius was careful to point out that a deficiency in cutting with the sword was that the fighter exposed his right flank to the enemy more so than he did with a straight stabbing action. This would make great sense given the Roman army’s method of fighting in close formation with large shields and short stabbing swords while wearing heavy armor and carrying a spear. That the Medieval swordsman, fighting in maile and plate armor, with or without a shield or buckler, and using a much longer and better quality steel blade than his Roman forebears, would still find it relevant is intriguing. It arguably establishes further continuity in the legacy between classical and Renaissance martial arts. In the twelfth-century Metalogicon, John of Salisbury, student of the great Abelard, had already showed familiarity with Vegetius, as well as recognition of the Roman use of both cut and thrust. Salisbury wrote: “In the ancient Roman military system, men were trained…in the use of weapons, and learned ahead of time, at home…to strike with the edge or thrust with the point of his sword.” (McGarry, p. 198-199). In chapter 13 of his manual on the art of war, De regimine principum, from c. 1295, Italian nobleman and archbishop Aegidius Romanus Colonna wrote how the thrusting sword was “the most useful form of sword, because it gives deeper and more mortal wounds and is less strenuous in use.” (Hoffmeyer, p. 21).

However, as Dr. Sydney Anglo has pointed out, the Romans did cut very effectively as well as thrust with the gladius at the post and in 436 BC the author Dionysius of Halicarnassus even wrote of a Roman battle against the Gauls where the legionnaires “would cut the tendons of their knees and topple then to the ground.” (Anglo, The Martial Arts of Renaissance Europe, p. 108). Sword expert Hank Reinhardt is fond of stressing that the Roman gladius, being a wide flat blade, is also a fine cutting implement in addition to its superb thrusting capacity. His experiments with reproduction swords of this type confirm its utility in this manner. The myth of just how thrusting came to be seen as having been “rediscovered” in the 16th century is best left to another topic entirely.