Sword fencing is a spectacular art that arose in ancient times and continues to develop to this day. Since 1900, this discipline has been an Olympic discipline along with foil and saber fencing. It never loses its entertainment and fascination for people of all ages and gives unforgettable impressions to both athletes and fans.
A sword master can hold a weapon any way he likes.
Still from Game of Thrones / HBO There are several ways to hold a sword, and some of them differ from the usual "slash with the sharp end."
However, characters in films and TV series often use their weapons too freely. For example, in The Witcher series, Henry Cavill grabs the sword by the blade in front of the guard, striking. With this grip, you deprive your hand of protection and reduce the distance at which the strike is effective.
Of course, it looks unusual and impressive, but a sword master would not do that.
Just look at how the guy on the right is holding a weapon in the video and you’ll understand what we’re talking about.
Or Arya Stark, who holds her Needle incorrectly in many scenes. The ring on the hilt of the Needle is supposed to protect her fingers, but she keeps turning it the wrong way.
Syrio Forel should have paid attention to this while he was alive. The girl's hand will be mutilated as soon as she tries to parry the blow of an opponent who really knows how to fence.
Where to buy high-quality swords and knightly armor?
Many simply do not understand where to buy a sword and armor; some are sure that modern knights make their own weapons and armor. In fact, in Russia there are enough professional craftsmen who will make for you both standard historical weapons and armor, and something unusual, to order.
For example, our online store of medieval goods and historical fencing in Moscow is able to satisfy the needs of the most demanding customers. The site presents the widest selection of weapons and armor for both historical fencing and HEMA and Modern Sword Combat.
Our website presents a wide selection of medieval costumes and all kinds of accessories from medieval times. Historical reenactors will definitely appreciate it, especially since there is always the opportunity to order something special, according to your sketches or drawings.
For fans of role-playing games, our website has several sections dedicated to weapons and costumes of this genre. The choice is simply huge, for every taste and budget.
When choosing weapons and armor for historical fencing, you need to be confident in their quality. Our craftsmen are true professionals who are in love with their work; every sword and piece of armor is made with a huge margin of safety. Unlike most competitors, we have a full-fledged sales floor in Moscow on Volgogradsky Prospekt, building 32, building 8. In the hall you can inspect weapons and armor, touch them, and try them on.
Historical fencing is an interesting hobby and sport where everyone can feel like a real warrior of the past. You just have to try, and you will be drawn into the colorful medieval atmosphere, like into a stormy whirlpool!
The sword is very cool to carry on your back
Cover of the series “The Witcher” / Netflix
Fantasy authors stubbornly continue to hang two-handed swords on their heroes’ backs. The problem is that a person is physically unable to remove the sword from its sheath behind his shoulders: even a tall man simply does not have enough arm length.
The blade was kept in a sheath on the thigh, from where it was easily accessible. And such long swords as the Zweihander were not sheathed at all. They were carried on the shoulder, and on long trips they were carried on a horse or in a wagon.
Hans Burgkmair, the Elder / Achenbach Foundation, Germany
This 15th-century engraving shows Landsknechts holding two-handed swords. Surely, if it would be more convenient to carry a sword on the back, they would do so.
Historical reference
The first sword battles took place in Ancient Egypt. The weapons and equipment of fencers of that time are very similar to modern ones, as evidenced by the images on the frescoes. Similar fights were also popular in Japan, Greece, India and China. Sword fencing was considered an activity for the nobility. And the poor fought on ordinary sticks, sometimes covered with iron.
The basic techniques of wielding a sword were formed in Spain in the 15th century. It was at this time that the sword was replaced by narrower bladed weapons that would penetrate into crevices. In 1913, the International Federation began its work, and in 1914, uniform rules were approved. In 1981, the European Championship was held for the first time. And since 1972, the World Cup has been held on a regular basis.
In our country, sword fencing began to develop in the 17th century. and especially under Peter I. Initially, it was exclusively a military art. It was mandatory taught to all nobles.
Owning a sword took shape as a sport in 1778. And in 1816, the first school opened in St. Petersburg to train fencing coaches. And from the middle of the 19th century. Sections began to open everywhere, including commercial ones.
The sword makes a grinding sound when drawn
In films and TV series, swords are drawn from their sheaths with a characteristic sound that cannot be confused with anything else: it is the grinding of steel on steel.
Making a steel sheath is not only expensive, but also harmful to the sword, because it will soon become unusable. The blade will rub against the sheath every time you take it out or put it back in and will quickly lose its edge.
In reality, the scabbard was most often made of wood covered with leather, fabric or fur. And if you take a sword out of such a sheath, there will be no grinding noise.
Cool guys use two swords at once
Still from Game of Thrones / HBO
Dual swords are a common feature in films and video games, but in real battles it is very awkward to use two swords. Even an experienced fighter will find it too difficult to control two long blades at once.
Therefore, in fights, La Scherma (Francesco Fernando Alfieri) took daggers, bucklers (small round shields), cloaks (to confuse the enemy’s blade), sticks or even sheaths in the second hand. Anything except the second sword.
The sword is for attack, the auxiliary item is for defense.
Even if you're fighting multiple opponents, like Ser Arthur Dayne at the Tower of Joy in Game of Thrones, it makes more sense to use one two-handed sword rather than two one-handed swords.
Role fencing
The very first direction that appeared in Russia and the CIS countries. Role-playing games based on Tolkien's novels, such as "The Lord of the Rings", based on the popular computer game "Warcraft", based on various novels of the "Might and Magic" genre.
Role players cannot be called real fighters, and their weapons are often very far from historical prototypes. Role-players usually fight at their games not at full strength, the rules are agreed upon in advance, and the force of blows is limited.
But many fighters of Historical Medieval Combat and Dueling Fencing grew out of the role-playing movement; these are the people who wanted to develop combat with edged weapons, and not organize costumed performances.
Sometimes even at role-playing games you can meet a good swordsman; they are few, but they do exist. Although role-playing movement is more like a game, fencing is also present here as a mandatory element of the game.
Roleplayers usually fight with duralumin, textolite and rubber weapons; I don’t know combat techniques well, but they love to fight, which ultimately gives them some skill in wielding a blade or other weapons.
Armor is useless
Still from the series “The Witcher” / Netflix
Judging by “The Lord of the Rings”, “Game of Thrones” and “The Witcher”, the most effective armor is plot armor. The main characters are practically invincible, and the extras, even those clad in armor, die from one poke in the steel plate on the chest.
In fact, a person in armor is well protected from a sword. Therefore, it is better to fight against a warrior in armor with a war hammer or a sword, and save the sword for another occasion.
Even a simple jacket, if it consists of several layers of fabric, is not easy to cut with a sword.
Those who did not have metal armor wore gambesons (quilts), and they already provided good protection. Try cutting your blanket with a knife and you will understand what we are talking about. The same Russian overcoat completely stopped Cut And Thrust: European Swords and Swordsmanship the blows of a British cavalry saber.
Still from the series “The Witcher” / Netflix
So the guy who in The Witcher could not stand on his feet after being slashed in the cuirass with a sword looks simply ridiculous.
Historical Medieval Battle
This trend in Russia and the CIS countries appeared in the early 1990s, and it is HMB (Historical Medieval Battle) that always attracts enthusiastic spectators. This is where you can see real knights in armor who fight until one of the opponents gives up or is unable to continue the fight.
The fighting technique of adherents of Historical Medieval Combat is lame, which is a consequence of the presence of steel armor. It is difficult to somehow harm an opponent in steel defense with beautiful and spectacular blows, he simply does not feel them. So they hit as necessary. If the opponent is 20 kilograms or more heavier, it is very difficult to win against him according to the HMB rules.
Victory in a Historical Medieval Battle usually goes to the strongest, toughest and most resilient fighter, who was also able to protect himself to the maximum with steel armor.
A fight according to the rules of HMB is more similar to an MMA fight, except that it is forbidden to finish off a fallen opponent. Beautiful and spectacular battles are rare here, and it’s hard to jump in heavy armor, at least without proper training. But the buhurts are always spectacular, you can’t take that away from them!
Historical Medieval Battle will give everyone enormous physical activity, help develop endurance, courage, and teach not to be afraid of pain. And group battles, or buhurts, will allow you to learn how to work in a team, where your personal result is not the main thing, the main thing is a team victory, otherwise you will still be killed en masse.
HMB fighters joke: “In our section, you can hit people with pieces of iron as hard as you can, and no one will complain about you!”
Blocking someone else's sword with your own blade is a great idea.
Still from the series “The Witcher” / Netflix
Despite the fact that this is the only way they do it in Hollywood, taking hits from an enemy sword on your blade is a sure way to damage the blade and render it useless. But a sword is an expensive thing and should be taken care of.
The blade of a sword is divided into a strong side (wider, closer to the guard), a weak side (tapered, located further from the guard) and a point (the end with which to poke the enemy). And the enemy’s blows were parried by The Myth of Edge-On-Edge Parrying in Medieval Swordplay only with the guard and the strong side of the blade, which was often not even sharpened.
Epee fencing and its rules
The site where the competition is held is called the “Battlefield”. It must be strictly horizontal and perfectly level. The width is 1.5-2 m, and the length is 14 m. The field is marked with five lines: the rear border of the field (on each side), the center line and 2 lines for the start of the battle. The posterior border is usually highlighted in a different color so that it is clearly visible to athletes.
According to international regulations, championships are held in a round-robin or direct elimination system. In the first case, the fight lasts 6 minutes. or up to 5 injections with a sword. The direct elimination system implies the presence of 16-32 participants, the battle lasts 12 minutes. (up to 10 injections) for men and 10 minutes (up to 8 injections) for women. If the required number of hits is delivered before the set time has expired, the match is considered completed early. If, at the end of the fight, none of the athletes has inflicted the required number of injections on the opponent, then the battle continues until this number. If a draw is found, the loss is counted to both sides.
Epee fencing is different in that only thrusts made with the tip of the blade are counted. Both blows and injections can only be applied to the affected surface of the body, i.e. covered with a special conductive jacket. All other injections do not count.
The rules of combat stipulate that for every attack a defense must be made. Only in this case does the athlete have the right to attack himself. A counterattack is allowed only if the enemy’s blade has been intercepted or stopped by thrusts (strikes) at the same pace. The pace in this case is the time interval required by the athlete for one movement. When the parties inflict simultaneous defeats, the chief judge decides which party was right. Unlike other disciplines, epee fencing allows simultaneous thrusts from each side to be counted if they were delivered with an interval of less than 1/25 sec.
During the battle, each side has the right to hold the sword in a way that suits it and change hands. But throwing weapons at an opponent is unacceptable. The opponents go to the start at the judge’s command: “En guard” and stand motionless until the judge commands: “Begin.” Until this moment, all blows and injections made are not counted.
Special electrical equipment is used to register injections. It is triggered when the tip of the tip touches the affected surface. When fighting with swords, when a shot is counted, a colored signal lights up. If the injection lands on an unaffected surface of the opponent’s body or on the floor, a white signal lights up. The simultaneous inclusion of both a white and a colored lamp indicates that the injection will be cancelled.
The rules of engagement establish 3 types of sanctions for athletes violating the rules and unsportsmanlike behavior:
- Warning (yellow card). Precedes a penalty kick and is used when there is a slight deviation from the regulations.
- Free kick (red card). This means that the opponent is awarded an additional point, which can play a decisive role in the outcome of the battle.
- Disqualification (black card) involves the removal of a participant from the competition.
Violations of rules that entail penalties include:
- Violent actions carried out with a sword, hands, feet or other means, as well as intentional physical contact with an opponent.
- Violation of the boundaries of the site, including side ones.
- Insults towards the opponent, the referee or other persons.
- Failure to comply with the established requirements of equipment or weapons.
- Turn your back to your opponent.
- Unauthorized leaving the field.
- Using your free hand when fighting, as well as touching electrical equipment with it.
If the rules are violated, the judge can stop the battle with the command “Stop” and apply the punishment prescribed by the regulations to the culprit. After which the athletes retreat an equal distance to maintain the required distance, and the battle resumes.
During competitions, the use of doping by athletes is mandatory. The authority to carry out doping control lies with the FIE. All tournament participants are issued certificates of the established form.
Fencing clothing and equipment
The athlete's suit is made of dense white material and consists of a jacket and trousers with fasteners below the knees. Mandatory components are also gaiters, gloves, special rubber shoes and a mesh mask secured with belts. Under the jacket, fencers have a long sleeve cap. And representatives of the fair sex are required to wear a protective bra under their clothes.
Epee fencing requires the presence of a personal cord used for electronic registration of hits. It is connected at one end to the weapon, and at the other to the electric locking coil and passes under the athlete’s jacket through the sleeve and glove of the working hand.
The sword must have a length of 110 cm and a weight of 770 g. It is made of steel and has a ratified tip ending in a “brush”. In the groove of the sword there are wires that connect to the electrical clamp. The handle cannot be covered with any material and no advertising is allowed on the guard.
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Epee fencing is considered technically challenging due to its speed and high accuracy. The fencer performs all movements in precise relation to the situation that has arisen on the battlefield (distance, enemy behavior, etc.). Therefore, he must have excellent coordination of movements, the ability to quickly change tactics and excellent dexterity, which underlies the accuracy of all movements. In order to develop all the necessary qualities and master technical techniques, fencers need 6-10 years of systematic training.
Interesting facts about sword fencing
- In this discipline, the judge gives commands only in French.
- An important component of success in fencing is the logical thinking of an athlete.
- The fencer's legs take on 70% of the load.
- The blade of a sword is considered the fastest after a bullet.
- In fencing, there is no division of athletes into weight categories.
- Before the advent of the electric injection recorder, the tip of the sword was dipped in ink - its imprint was clearly visible on white clothes. Thanks to this, the white uniform became firmly established in this discipline.
- Ballet owes many of its movements to fencing. This trend emerged in France in the 17th century. Men were willingly accepted into ballet because they believed that it was easier for them to master the movements that were so often used in duels.
You can't hold a sword by the blade
Hans Talhoffer, Michel Rotwyler / Wikipedia
On the Internet you can often find pictures in which medieval warriors take their sword not by the hilt, but by the blade. They are usually accompanied by mocking comments like: “You should have read the instructions.”
However, the sword can be taken by the blade! This technique is called Half-sword half-sword, “half-sword”. If the enemy is wearing armor against you, instead of bending and dulling the blade against his armor, it is easier to grab the sword from the other end and hit him on the head with the guard. Even if he is wearing a steel helmet, such a blow will at least be unpleasant. And it can even lead to a concussion.
The sword was also taken by the blade with the left hand, leaving the right hand on the hilt to enhance the stabbing blow. This technique was suitable, however, only against a stunned and defenseless enemy.
Historical reconstruction
Historical fencing also includes historical reconstruction. People who belong to historical re-enactment clubs call themselves re-enactors, and they periodically stage battles in armor using blunted bladed weapons.
If you don’t delve into the nuances, it seems that there is no difference between reenactors and fighters engaged in Historical Medieval Combat, but it only seems so. The main task of a reenactor is to recreate as accurately as possible the appearance from the era he is reconstructing. Here you will not see a knight wearing pieces of armor from different centuries; if he is a crusader, then his appearance will be verified down to the smallest details of his costume, weapons and armor.
Fighting on the lists is secondary for reenactors, although it all depends on the person; some devote most of their time to historical fencing. But most often, reenactors can be found at historical festivals, city holidays and other events with demonstration performances. Knight fights at such festivals are more staged.
Roundhouse kicks are great.
Still from the series “Game of Thrones” / HBO
Jon Snow and Geralt spin around their axis in battle like ballerinas, but real swordsmen would never do that. You cannot turn your back on a person who intends to attack you.
Turning 360 degrees in a sword fight is useless. Firstly, this exposes you to attack. Secondly, you let the enemy out of sight for a moment. Thirdly, it is pointless to try to hit an enemy with a sword from a roundhouse: such a movement is easy to evade, and the blow is only slightly enhanced.
The swords were very heavy
Dragon Slayer Sword.
Illustration: manga “Berserk” Sometimes even seemingly educated people say this. For example, one academic on The History Channel said What did Historical Swords Weigh? , that the swords of the 14th century weighed 40 pounds, that is, 18 kg. You probably need to be a real hero to swing such a barbell?
Not really. Most of the longswords and bastard swords in the Wallace Collection in London weigh What did Historical Swords Weigh? less than 1.5 kg. The average weight of swords in the period from the 10th to the 15th centuries was 1.3 kg; in the 16th century it decreased to 0.9 kg. Even huge two-handed swords, for example zweihänders as long as a man, weighed no more than 3 kg.
Sword device
The sword, like other bladed weapons, consisted of two main parts: the blade and the hilt. The blade is straight and flat with a double-sided sharpening with a fuller or two, smoothly tapering to the tip. The length of the blade was about 1 meter, but later it decreased to 700-800 mm.
The blade itself, in addition to its flat shape in cross-section, could be square, rhombic or oval; in this case, the cutting edges remained only at the tip.
A rapier is a piercing weapon with a long, faceted blade with ribs.
The weight of the sword was about 1.2-1.6 kg. Sometimes the question arises, how much did a musketeer’s sword weigh? The answer to this question is in the museums of France. The sword of those times weighed about 1.5 kg.
The sword hilt consists of the following parts:
- the sword handle is usually made of wood and metal and is braided or grooved for comfortable grip;
- crosshair, a protective device at the transition between the blade and the hilt, straight or inclined;
- bow, a protective device that protects the fingers, in the form of a strip of metal from the cross to the pommel of the handle;
- the pommel, a metal apple that completes the handle and serves for balancing, was made in the form of a metal ball or cap;
- the guard, the protection of the hand, consisted of protective rings with fastening to the crosshairs, and shields or a developed basket made in the form of a solid or patterned metal strip that completely covered the hand.
The hilt of the early samples was a regular crosspiece with a bow, sometimes supplemented with a protective ring. A balancing apple was attached to the top of the handle.
Later hilts received a basket guard on top of a developed crosshair, and the number of arms increased to 2-3, or a solid strip of a figured shape covering the hand.
The handle could have a round, round or rectangular cross-section; it was mounted on the shank of the blade and firmly fixed. The material for covering it was code or fabric. Often the sword handle was braided with metal wire in several rows.
Blade guards largely depended on the fencing school, so Spanish fencing masters preferred completely closed guards, while in fencing they worked with the hand from the forearm, the French school preferred light guards, since the wrist technique was more developed.
According to the modern Oakcott classification, guards are divided according to the degree of closure of the hand into fractional quarter numbers. Depending on the type of guard, swords are divided into types that have pronounced properties characteristic only of this type of weapon:
- “Spanish” bowl, a deep bowl in front of the crosshair with a pair of rings inside it, in battle the sword is held by them, or by the hilt itself;
- Bilbo, a more secure variety of the “Spanish bowl”, with an additional arch and a larger bowl;
- Papenheimer, a developed guard with a cup and hand protection in the form of a complex weave of arches;
- Flemish guard, in the form of a crosshair with rings or shields, without an arch;
- cavalry, development of the Flemish, but with the presence of one or more arches covering the hand.
Later, when the combat sword became a court decoration and ceremonial weapon, the hilts began to be decorated with precious stones; their weaving was a work of art. While the crosshair has almost completely disappeared.
The combat swords of this time were simplified designs with a small crosshair, a bow and two shields to the right and left of the blade. Various types of decorations or awards could be placed on the apple. The overall length of the sword depended on the craftsman who forged it and on the fencing school of the owner.
