Medieval Combat

[sensei8]

Bushido_man96/Brian,

You might have written an article or made a thread/topic about Medieval Combat, but...

Could you tell us/me about Medieval Combat?

Thank you sir!!

[bushido_man96]

Boy, I can try! Its been a while since I've done some reading, although I have some books I need to get through, for sure!

Aside from what I can offer, the user called Zoodles who was here a while back could probably offer lots of good stuff, as he actually gets to practice it.

One of the major things I've seen with Medieval Combat, are the misconceptions people have, compared to like, the Samurai of Japan. There are those who would be inclined to believe that the Japanese Samurai were such superior warriors that they would have been able to easily conquer Medieval Europe's fighting knights, but that's just not the case. The standard Medieval longsword was fairly light, not likely more than 4 lbs. The blades were well balanced and were sharp. Medieval Combat was made up of very concise systems, with renowned masters of the time doing the teaching and drilling. Empty hand tactics were a part of it, as well.

Another thing not readily known by those who don't practice it or research it is that the systems usually transitioned very well across to other weapons. Quarterstaff work transitioned very well into sword work, as well as pole arm tactics. Grappling was always a popular system for hand-to-hand, and many techniques not unlike those found in Aiki-jujutsu can be found in Medieval manuals.

There was a big thread that floated around a long time ago about Medieval Knights vs Japanese Samurai, and reading through it you can see how the romanticization of both the Samurai (which got the better) and the Knight (which got the worse, in my opinion) affect the answer people would give, based on story books and movies and not actual research and application. I'll try to find it and post the link here.

I hope that helps sate your thirst for now. I would always recommend checking out https://www.thearma.org for any other questions. That site is a treasure trove. I look forward to the input of others! Thanks for asking, Bob!

[AdamKralic]

I'd take the fighter with the better armor in 99/100 fights. The samurai blade was not a great piercing weapon...certainly would be difficult to pierce breastplate with it.

[JusticeZero]

People like to gush over the metallurgy of the katana. The katana's metallurgy was pretty impressive, but it was focused on minimizing the need for metal and working with the poor metal available to them. Europe also had some very impressive metallurgy, and they had a much wider selection of metal sources to work with.

They only recently discovered just how interesting and effective the design of the traditional sword really was - the pommel turned out to be very important, using the tang as a spring to add the pommel's mass to the power behind the blade.

Also discovered only in the past couple of years was the metallurgy of the best old european swords - there was a lot of discussion of alloying with Vanadium, and with slow cooking processes with peculiar additives to get hydrogen atoms to bond to things and whatnot - it was pretty complex and to be honest, the chemistry of it went completely over my head.

[DWx]

If anyone ever gets the chance, I 100% recommend visiting the Royal Armouries: https://www.royalarmouries.org

I went to the Leeds collection a few years ago and the just have so much stuff going from like 2000 years ago right up to the present day. Apparently they also have a collection in Kentucky too.

[sensei8]

You're more than welcome Brian. And I thank you for your informative post.

I've been really interested in Medieval Combat ever since I became a member here at KF; it being on your list of styles that you practice. Before that, I was only curious about it from seeing the many, many Medieval movies that I've seen throughout my life.

I think that both the Samurai as well as the Knights were something to be reckoned with across the board. How they trained, how they fashioned their swords as well as their many other weapon, how their mindset is on the field, how they treated their enemies, how they were received by those who came in contact with them in passing, how they lived, and how they died.

To know your opponent; their times are something that MA of today need to study across the board.

I will study the link you've provided as well.

Thanks Brian!!

[sensei8]

If anyone ever gets the chance, I 100% recommend visiting the Royal Armouries: https://www.royalarmouries.org

I went to the Leeds collection a few years ago and the just have so much stuff going from like 2000 years ago right up to the present day. Apparently they also have a collection in Kentucky too.

Thanks for the link Danielle. And they have a Royal Armouries in the USA; Kentucky. It will be worth the time it'll take to go through the entire website.

That's got to be on my bucket list!!

[Zoodles]

Here are a few videos

1) Unarmoured Longsword (two handed weapon, weighed between 2.5 to 3.5 pounds. This style is German Longsword)

2) Armoured Longsword. Swords are lousy weapons to use when fighting another armoured man, so you have to use it in a completely different way.

3) Dagger: This dagger is known as a rondel. It was a long spikelike weapon designed to be used in armoured combat with an icepick grip to punch through the link of mail armour and into the gaps of plate

4) Abrazare/Kampfringen: Medieval combat grappling. JuJutsu for knights

[sensei8]

Thank you so much for the links Zoodles; a treasure chest full of valuable information on the subject.

THANKS!!

[bushido_man96]

I've been really interested in Medieval Combat ever since I became a member here at KF; it being on your list of styles that you practice. Before that, I was only curious about it from seeing the many, many Medieval movies that I've seen throughout my life.

Being OK based, Bob, you might have some luck in finding some ARMA study groups near you. I'd do a search and look around; universities tend to be a place to check, but there are others, as well.

I think that both the Samurai as well as the Knights were something to be reckoned with across the board. How they trained, how they fashioned their swords as well as their many other weapon, how their mindset is on the field, how they treated their enemies, how they were received by those who came in contact with them in passing, how they lived, and how they died.

Right. They were both well trained in great combative systems, and both types of weapons were well made. The two were more equal than most people realize.