Can it be Done? - Defeating the "King of Weapons"... 

RESULTS: My 12 years of fencing experience against my classmate who 3 years fencing and 2 years focusing on spear: he beat me about 7/10 times. A skilled spearman who is not overcommitting, just sniping you, is extremely hard to beat.

We tried bringing in staff and spear vs longsword and arming sword & buckler. The longsword was, for all of us, the weapon that struggled the most vs the others. One take away we had was that armor would play a huge roll in reversing the results. We didn't have a good way to test that out, but a man at arms or knight in 15th century plate with a longsword could probably engage several conscripts with padded jacks, kettle helms and spears.

I've often heard the spear referred to as "king of the battlefield" but never "king of weapons" until now.

The Gurkhas with their kukris.. the Filipinos and indonesians with their assortment of bladed weapons did quite well against the japanese rifle and bayonet .. which was essentially a spear.. lateral movements.. and grab when the thrust misses.. linear movements back and forth.. are susceptible to thrust attacks..

To improve your chances against the spear use spear guards and techniques with long sword to improve your offense and defense and use speed to get around opponents defense or get inside his guard to grapple his weapon to stab him with dagger by or cut his groin

Holy shit, your "narration voice" sounds EXACTLY like NativLang. XD

14:34 A lot of fights had to have ended that way in real life. No theatricality, just simple and effective.

i have a feeling the extra guard on the zweihander would be very usefull to bind spears, deflect and get close.

Epic music.

Cool video. But now I want to see great sword like zweihander against the spear.

Another excellent one, thanks!

With a short sword you could parry quick while you grab the spear with your other hand close and with the sword cut off his spear arm in quick succession as you pull the spear violently towards you with his hand still attached to it!!

Not only are pointy sticks super efficient, but a horrible way to die. I’d take a sword swing any day before I take getting stabbed.

Nice, I really like this video. Cheers! 💚

I'm really digging the other guys armor can someone tell me what it is like the softer part under the mail

Wonderful video!

Very entertaining video! Keep up the great content! I would like to see you try Dual Wield against Spear 😁 Wasn't the Chinese Hook Sword meant to counter Spears?

It is almost impossible to defeat the king of weapons, but we can defeat its wielder.

That's interesting how Medieval Europe dealt with spears, but I wonder what the Medieval Chinese martial arts way to deal with spears is, and how it would fit into the equation.

Use spears like boxers who are taller you there longer arms. Move laterally and jab while counter attacking.

How to defeat the mighty spear: -you can't, spear always wins

He has become more than just an average peasant Warrior. He is now the Legendary Super Peasant Warrior!

My brother and I used to spar with sticks outside like this. He made himself a shield and a spear and I had a hard time beating him with my fencing saber style... Until I found out that running at a full speed and baseball sliding to cut his ankles is way too crazy of maneuver for anyone to actually predict lmao

" and draw his sidearm" I love the image of a knight getting his spear caught and drawing his Sig popping the swordsman and picking the spear back up again.

Having the cut ins of the manuscripts was great for clarification purposes and really distills the video into a neat and concise format. Great work as always, fascinating stuff.

Skall's cheeky jabs at the hands had me rolling because they look funny but are so accurate from a a tactical stand point. If your opponent can't hold his weapon, he's done for.

Swordsman: hah that was a bit tricky but I beat the spearman! *pikeman appears behind him*

Important to note - in this sparring session, that's only a 7ft spear. Typically a spear is going to be 8ft long, and sometimes almost all of that extra 1ft is extra blade (which complicates grabbing attempts and creates a bigger drawcut/slashing threat with the spear). Having to cross an extra 1ft of ground to counterattack significantly complicates matters when trying to take on a spear with a sword. Even cuts to the spear-man's hand become difficult to land if you stay flatfooted and do not AGGRESSIVELY come forward (usually 2 steps or a half step into a lunge). I have had this sparring fight hundreds of times over the course of my life. While the techniques shown do work, they are more like "quick advice that might give you a chance" more than how you actually need to go about things. The way I've learned to fight with a sword is actually pretty specifically expecting to be out-ranged every time, as the sword excels at winning fights whenever it has superior range. To fight a spear with a longsword with some real chance of success, this is what to do: 1) The best, and in a way ONLY guard that works consistently is a modified peasant guard. Your pommel should rest just above your crotch, with your arms bent at about 60 degrees so that you can make fine adjustments to your blade position merely by bending or straightening your arms. Your blade point should be above your head, but otherwise pointed as forward as possible. Square your shoulders and do not put one foot too far in front of the other. 2) Defensive movements should be small ones, done at the very last second. You do not move to defend as soon as the spear attack comes, but when it is halfway there. Keeping your defensive movements small is critical - this is how you avoid falling for feints and can beat the incredible speed of the spear tip. I will describe the movements that you use: - to block any attack higher than your elbows - Bend your elbows slightly. Turn slightly to one side, at the hip. Make sure to contact the spear with your blade as if your blade is only 1ft or 2ft long. Do NOT push your elbows or hands forward when defending the attack, as this leaves you vulnerable to a follow-up attack and also prevents you from immediately counterattacking. If the attack goes for the face (and it generally will), if you cannot deflect the blow to one side... block as if going into a king's guard as you repeatedly step forward as aggressively as possible. Do not stop coming forward if you have to commit to a king's guard to defend. If you are able to merely deflect the attack to the side, the typical follow-up is a 2-step advance (or half step into lunge) downward angled slash of some variety. However, some middle thrusts from the spear will set you up more naturally for a horizontal or undercutting angled slash instead. Go with whatever feels most natural, as it will be fastest. - to block at/below your elbows (option A) - This method is most useful to deal with thrusts/slashes targeting your hands, arms, and lower torso. Straighten your elbows all the way. Turn slightly to one side, at the hip. Bend your knees slightly to drop your torso a few inches. Dip the point of your sword forward until it aligns with the attacker's face. These are all extremely small movements that can be done together to drastically adjust your guard at the last second, framing out the enemy attack. As with the high block, deflect the attack left/right as if your weapon is only 1ft or 2ft long. After deflecting the thrust, step in aggressively as previously described. Extend your arms to attempt a thrusting attack, then return to your defensive stance - modified peasant guard, ready to defend. If your thrust landed great. If it didn't, you need to be ready. - to block at/below your elbows (option B) - This method is most useful to deal with thrusts/slashes targeting your legs, and to deal with a high/low feint into a low thrust. It is the most committal block of the three methods and should only be used when the other two methods will fail to make contact with the spear shaft. However, if you land this block the fight is over pretty much for sure. Extend your blade point forward without straightening your arms. Step backward with your lead foot as you drop your blade onto the shaft of the spear from above. As you are about to make contact with the spear, straighten your arms and drop your weight downward slightly - this will bat the spear tip harshly toward the ground. Rush forward aggressively as you thrust at the now defenseless target, and run them through. If the target gets away from this attack somehow, just return to peasant guard after your thrusting attack. You need to anyway... odds are this is a battlefield scenario, and there will be a new attacker on you immediately. 3) Be "mechanical" in your movements. You aren't looking to feel graceful and swing your blade around in arcs. You do a movement (offensively or defensively) as a sudden snapping motion and then return to modified peasant guard with a second snapping motion. You want speed, not fluidity. Nothing you do, at any point, varies from this pattern of returning to modified peasant guard between actions - because when you aren't in that guard, you are highly vulnerable to being hit by the spear. Your attacks and steps are like this too. A thrust is something like... shufflestep > lunge + thrust > guard. If you miss, you miss. Doesn't matter. What is most important is to be in that defensive posture as often as possible, where those small movements are enough to counter the faster longer weapon. 4) Only frame out attacks the minimum amount needed. Your body is a vertical line. Treat your blade as a second vertical line that you merely push slightly left/right to impede an attack. Your skeletal structure, with proper stance and a block that is low on your blade (toward your grip), is enough to completely block a blow from much heavier weapons than a spear. You can trust the block - you don't need to try to push your hands into the block, and you don't need to extend your arms toward the enemy weapon. Important to being able to frame left OR right as needed is to square up. Do not stand at an angle with one foot severely forward. If your body cannot twist at the hip to block to your forward side, you will not be fast enough on that side to defend against the spear there. Your blade will end up wildly out of position. And you will also struggle to make quick counterattacks, as you'll either lose reach or have to make a lunge out of a reverse stance. (All kinds of footwork complications arise that you can't afford vs a weapon as fast as a spear.) ...That's about it. The short version anyway.

The editing on this video was honestly really good! I've been watching for a few years now, and it's been an awesome journey! Keep it up!

"Just split his damn skull and hope for the best" is just good martial art advice in general.

I feel that its often forgotten that 7 foot spears and shorter are also staffs. Their ability to deliver hard blunt force strikes with either end can be devastating.

Dude, this is one of your best videos in recent times. A great partner for testing and demonstration, two different cameras to show the actions from different sides and heights. Good source material showing the original and then the annotations or translations.

“A quick in and out, you know how it is.” - Skallagrim

Loving this sparring series, Skall. The camera setup on top of the shed was a nice choice. Gave a clear view on some of the movements and hits. That Nutcracker hit at 15:16. Even I flinched a little. Cheers.

Kudos to your sparring mate. He seems right combination of calm but with great level of humor and having fun. Really helps you both do your videos AND keep them entertaining. Enjoyed watching this video (like i have enjoyed your other videos) ^^

Honestly this brings back one specific memory. I was training with my Hema group, The Schola St George, and we were doing spear basics as a group. Near the end of class, I decided to switch back to my longsword. I lasted three fights. The first I cleanly deflected the spear and stabbed my opponent in the neck on the next beat. The second opponent attempted to win with grappling and so came in closer, but failed to restrain my blade, and I managed to wrest it free and point it at his head. My third opponent was the assistant instructor at the time, and with his Keen eyes he noticed I was falling into a pattern. And so he took advantage, traversing out of my sight and whacking me in the side of the head. That was an exhilarating two-ish minutes of time.

I think the weight of the tip is an important factor in this, I would be curious to see the speed difference between plastic and metal since in my experience even a plastic halberd becomes surprisingly easy to catch due to its heft

Back in college there was a history professor that practiced HEMA in his spare time, and the 9ft spear was his preferred weapon. He said that as long as he had adequate room to maneuver there was no other weapon that could ever touch him. However if the opponent had the same spear or the ring was smaller, he'd lose more often because there were more opportunities for his opponent to get inside his guard.

I must admit that I was surprised that the longsword performed so well against the spear most of the time in the earlier simulated unarmoured combat trials in the video. I expected a much more one sided advantage for the spearman, much as seen later on - maybe a product of more familiarity with the infamous pointy stick over time?

When Matt Easton talked about his experience in the reenactment battle, he said his armor took care of the spears (didn't even hurt) and he was able to rush in.

Hi, in Chinese martial art, for spears in this kind of length, the sliding thrust and the rear hand thrust are the only two types of thrust one uses. Only spears a lot longer and heavier (or blunt staff) will one use the "simple" thrust. The disadvantage of the "simple" thrust is too huge. And we usually use the right hand as the rear hand for these short spears, because most people are right handed and both 2nd and 3rd kind of thrusts are powered by the rear hand. We usually slide till the rear hand about touching the front hand for a firm thrust. The range of such thrust is longer and so a spearman can strike when the swordsman is still further away, and less need to step forward. Less step forward means easier to retreat when the thrust fail to hit.

This was a really interesting video. At first it seemed it was very clear that both of you were better swordsmen than spearmen. But as the rounds progressed, it became clear you both got comfortable with the spear and made it very difficult for the swordsman. I imagine for a swordsman to really win they would just have to have a superior footwork to set up the right strikes.

I think the real lesson with those spars is don't over commit. It looked like most of the hits came from one person or the other tunnel visioning just a little bit especially with the Dane axe. Then again I really only know the theory, haven't done hardly any sparring

Seems like a lot of this goes out the window if it's a bladed spear, as the spear head sides frequently made contact.

I’d like to see how shields change the dynamics, especially since spear and shield was so common.

Shad on the Shadiversity made a video about cutting spear shafts recently. And while you certainly won't do it in one swing, I was actually surprised at how deep he was able to chop into hardwood with a sword. I expected the hardwood to be much more durable due to it's natural density.

Love this. I think one important point in the sparring in this video is the relatively short length of the spear being used, which affects the outcomes significantly. EDIT: also, starting at contact distance affects things a lot too, rather than engaging from farther away and seeing how a spearman might snipe at an engaging swordsman.

With enough skill, a sword user could win. But, let's consider two equally skilled opponents, the spear will win way more often. Also, these scam bots are out of control.

I noticed that the longer the sparring went on, the more sword like the spear attacks became. At one point both people were using the exact same movements to attack and defend, despite having different weapon types.

question out of genuine interest, would a single edged blade with a curve (saber-like I know its vague) of around the same size be possibly better? my two thoughts on this was 1: I've seen examples of very pronounced hooked tips on blades been used to hook a weapon when reverse binding, could it limit the options the spearman has to retract ? I'm not sure how relevant this is or if it is just be over thinking it 2: even though the blade would be a similar size to control space parry and such, slashing blades typically get more value in the cut which is closer range than the tip. it looked like a number of the strategies used is to disarm the long pokey threat in some manner of being relevant then advance in to strike, I thought maybe being able to stay more firmly inside that range the spear is cumbersome and be in lethal range might be a more solid solution. thanks for the cool sparing was fun to watch :)

Hey, I was wondering if Skall could help me out with a protagonist that will use a spear. Thanks for the vid, bro!

Great video! I think the key takeaways here are, to defeat a spear with a sword, you must either 1. Close distance on the spear user, preferably in closer than they can realistically withdraw the weapon for a counterattack; 2. Gain control of the spear, either with a freehand or a bind; 3. Resist the urge to withdraw in defense, and instead advance in defense. 4. Some combination of the above. And people wonder why my preferred weapon is a halberd...

Great video. I've find the best thing against spear is a shield. Even a viking shield or heater shield where you can't protect your legs with is still very effective. Though stabbing the legs is possible with a spear it take a lot of point control to do it and if your opponent is expecting it its really easy to side step or leg void. And they'll expect leg strikes because much of the rest of your body is behind the shield. Now I've done Sparth axe (basically a 6ft dane axe) against spear (between 6-10ft) and what I find more reliable is I'll hold my hands far apart and hold it almost vertically and off to the side of my body. This creates a wall to one side and when they attack I move it over to the opposite side which wipes every thing away. If I get a bind then I move in to near grappling range and swing the axe choked up on. For power I use the same mechanics as if I'm throwing a boxing hook or uppercut depending where I have the head at.

man the dane axe sparring looked so cool! we need more of that

I would love it if there was a counter on screen, counting spear hits vs sword hits!

One tactic is to start sucking on the end of your opponents spear until they drop it in a mixture of confusion and horror. Then you have a whole, free spear to eat!

It shows how even a simple breastplate eliminates the majority of the dangers from standard spear attacks. Unarmored, the risk is extreme due to how easy it is to do a center mass stab. The spearman loses very little in terms of balance or positioning when he attacks the abdomen, and it shows. Armor would change the dynamic and require more precision from a weapon that’s more difficult to be precise with compared to an arming sword.

Didn't expect a Dane axe to pop in, that was a pleasant surprise!

So I keep hearing and reading about how two handers directly counter polearms/pikes. Most of the time the description for how exactly they do so is... extremely lacking to say the least. I'd love a video about it.

Looks like flexibility of the spear has a huge effect on control and speed

I was expecting Skallagrim to just go in the frame and say : You don't and then the video ends. Lmfao

the spearman is a perfect rpg character, we can do a token based on him

Keep in mind that most spears are not just tips they are blades, assuming unarmored, things at places like 12:26 would still tear you open pretty bad and would count as a real wound or hit. Also generally as a spearman I find starting in binding range is generally a disadvantage for me. The idea being that I have to whirl around my spear at much greater degrees the closer he is where as my swordsman opponent can continue straight attacks. This gives the swordsman an advantage at closer range and I find that binding range is in favor of the swordsman not the spearman. I mean at 17:58 this kind of makes the point, at binding range it's a lot easier for the swordsman to just force the bind, then grab and move in. One other trick you can do as a spearman when you're lightly armored is circle your opponent at a constant pace, so long you have a reach advantage of course. What this does is requires them to offset their feet to move towards you. They can't always keep their toes pointed towards you if you circle, you can run faster then they can pivot, if they back peddle a bit to try, just press in a bit and force the issue, they won't be to keep their toes pointed towards you. What this means is that when they eventually move to close the distance it will inevitably not be with their feet pointed directly towards you, they themselves will have to circle a bit to get to you. This overall increases the distance they have to move to get you, which is a nice little compounding factor for your range advantage. Also if I'm already circling them when they try and bind, my already moving direction makes it a lot easier for me to unbind and redirect my attack. It's dumb, but it works.

2:44 It’s good that Skall pointed this out. Many people think that a hard strike to the side wouldn’t do much to the blade as it would spring back but in reality swords were not springy anywhere near what we imagine and could take a permanent set

Practitioner of TCMA here. Very interesting video. Thank you. I practise with the spear, although I have never sparred with it. For me, weapons training is just a supplement to my "empty-hand" training as a form of power-generation exercise. Still, I noticed some key differences between Chinese spear-wielding and medieval European, not just in this video but in other HEMA videos and pictures from manuscripts. I'm writing this as much to clarify thoughts in my head, as a comment on this particular video. My impressions about HEMA: 1. Often does not hold the weapon right at the tail end, rather it often seems to allow as much as a quarter of the shaft to protrude out the back (I mean when in a guard position, rather than when in very close-range combat where the tail is being used as a striking end). This reduces the distance between the spearman and the point of the sword, which reduces the advantage of the spear. 2. Often thrusts the lead hand forward when thrusting with the point. Again reduces the range advantage of the spear by pushing the lead hand into striking range of the sword. Combined with point #1, this would bring the spearman way to close to the sword when delivering a thrust. 3. Often leaves a short gap between the hands when blocking strikes to the head. Reduces the amount of shaft available for blocking and increases the risk that one of the hands will be hit. 4. Often withdraws the spear before thrusting or even merely while guarding. Again, reduces the range advantage of the spear by giving ground. Also telegraphs that a strike may be coming. Of course, this is all just theory to me, since, unlike you HEMA chaps, I do not spar with weapons. I have a video on those basic point in TCMA on my channel, if you are interested. Kind regards. Declan Chellar

Seriously, polearms and staffs became my #1 favourite weapon type. 💪 Its so relateable. Since swords and maces are expensive and require fine Skill to make, a staff, lance or spear can be made from material that is around everywhere in your local woods outside town ❤️🙏

Through this I can really see why the extra bits where added to the spear end/ pikes grew longer. With a halberd the swing does greater damage. Adding greater threat to the spear swing. With the longer pike it's stay farther away please. + I have friends..

Now we need versions with arming sword & buckler, & side-sword & parrying dagger. Also time to review the latest in modern protective gear. Some of the stuff you are wearing looks interesting. By the way, I start Olympic Fencing class on Wednesday. I know ... I'm a loser ... but that is all that is available nearby. Thank you, Skallagrim.

6:00 When using your shaft, remember a quick in and out is best.

Hey Skall, I now saw you fighting you with a reach disadvantage twice. I think I can give you some tips. Please try to build up pressure by moving in, even without an obvious opening. His attack shouldn't surprise you, since you know that he pretty much has to attack to ward you of. You block it while moving in. After that you end him rightly. Sorry for the unasked for armchair coaching. But I think it can help, because it worked for me. EDIT: Typo

This a great representation, although it is starting to show that you two are familiar with each others fighting method/type. :D I honestly thought the spear would fare better, but I suppose since you are both experienced, you also knew what to expect and let creativity get some work in.

I feel like fighting a spear with a sword would be very difficult, unless you can somehow grab it from them, but thats also dangerous.

I love that you have a reliable sparring partner again!! It's been so much fun to watch and I'm sure it has brought a ton of enjoyment back into video making for you! I know how much you love being able to practice the techniques before you teach them!

I wonder if a sword and ax combo would be good, I remember reading about the Granada campaign in the late 1400s and when the Spanish Alliance were taking Gibraltar off Granada one thing it described were how the Tericos broke a line of "Moorish Pikes" by first charging in head on so they could use their axes to "make the pikes unwieldy" so they could get between them and "strike the Moors down with their swords while within half the pike's measure" although this apparently relied on their "Iron Discipline" "Unrelenting Christian Fervour" and "plate strong enough to withstand all but the fullest blow of a Moorish Pike" and so I wondered if this was an elite shock trooper tactic only, although not all historians agree this actually happened, with some arguing that the accounts given perhaps embellished the Tericos (with some saying how they may have left out the fact that said Moors had been peppered with arquebus and cannon fire from other Tericos and Spanish forces before the charge). Also I heard another from the New World, how the Inca would supposedly face down Conquistador pikes by letting the point of the pike break into their shield allowing it to be pulled to one side and then close within measure of the pike and use a close range sling shot attack, although this one even more than the Tericos this claim is disputed by historians. But it does lead me to wonder, would pre-gunpowder ranged weapons be good against spears and could a shield be useful as well?

Would love to see a follow up to show how much difference a kite shield or round shield in the hands of the swordsman would make!

something else about thrusts is that when they are sharp they will dig into flesh much easier, turning many misses where the point slid off into deadly strikes. Its similar to how sharper blades bite into tatami much easier.

honestly, my instintct was always on feint effectively, making him doubts his entrances, play defensively (assuming an open space, lateral movement so to not play on the reach of the spear), maybe do an invitation (if i feel i'm faster than the dude with the spear), make the opponent expose himself/overcommit, close the distance, keep the pressure and then grapple/grab the spear if i don't feel like i can strike, cause grappling is safer; that's the way i dealt with spears in sparring

One thing often overlooked is that a spear whose lost its head has become a staff. A weapon good at breaking hands, knees and giving concussions.

Love these sparring sessions. Really goes to show how much fighting can get hammed up with grandiose swings and twirls. While admittedly some game genres would greatly suffer visually by trying to adhere to realism, there is something very cool about swift wrist movements and deflecting/attacking in one fluid movement. Ideally we’d have balance and moderation with stuff like live action movies/shows utilizing more realistic fights, while letting video games like Final Fantasy and Monster Hunter use their crazy and over the top (but very fun) weapons and armor designs.

I herd Vikings mainly used spears in conjunction with their shield. And they were pretty effective, from my limited knowledge and going off what someone has said to me their spears were a bit longer than the one in the video (from what I herd from a gentleman standing next to me watching this with me) Lol Now it’s easy to just say something that I have herd. But I would like to know how true that statement is. If you wouldn’t mind I’d like to know for sure Lol I’m just getting into history and I’m just in the beginning stages of researching. We were talking and came to the conclusion that If a collapse of the world ever happened using weapons that I’m seeing on your channel would be the thing that separates you from life or death, I mean like, It would only be a matter of time before the bullets ran out, and once that happened a gun would be nothing more than a useless hunk of metal especially against a spear. Lol what I’m seeing somone will also need to be trained, it’s not something that you can pick up and use. But im off topic lol. What your thoughts on using using a spear in conjunction with a shield against a sword and shield.

Tips for the spearman: if you have a longer weapon, there is *no good reason* to go into a bind. A bind in symmetrical weapons fight ensures you can enter their measure with some safety, something you don't need when you don't have to enter their measure to attack. All you do when you bind their posta longa with a spear is give them your weapon to manipulate, so don't give the the bind, give them an attackk and make binding *their* problem. Second tip, attack the hands and arms if your opponent keeps staying in posta longa. Even the threat of it will make him draw his hands back and diminish his range further, and actual smack there will decrease his ability to use a weapon, although that is hard to simulate. Third tip, retreat well and retreat often. Don't do long series of attacks where you advance, make your opponent either come to you - if he refuses, attack him, but *do not* press him aggressively and be prepared to immediately reverse if he starts to advance. The place where your opponent is in your measure and you aren't in his is your greatest advantage, so make sure it's damn hard to make you loose it. This was probably the greatest contributing factor to spearman getting wrecked - stepping in too deep when he didn't need to. Fourth tip, never stop feinting. Your feints as a spearman are perfectly safe, because you are (or you should be, see third tip) outside of your opponent's measure. What I like to do is throw in two or three fake thrusts just outside of my measure, either making the swordsman sweat to work out where the real one will land, or make him retreat and waste a lot of energy. Fifth tip, against daneaxe, don't try to be fancy. Stick spear in front of you in the usual way and thrust home, you still have reach advantage against them. One handed thrust is your friend, because if they commit to a strike, they need more time to recover, making it work better. Still, simple "avoid the initial strike they use to displace and stab" routine will serve you much better than trying some weird positions. Sixth tip, and this one may be personal preference - the guard I use to engage someone is this: sand in ochs, but with spear instead of a sword (and therefore a wider), and the lower the tip of the spear so that it almost touches the ground. Or alternatively, stand in spear posta longa , let the tip dip almost to the ground and rise the back hand to shoulder level. This position means your tip is in front of you and very hard to bind with anything, and all you have to do to block an attack is to bring your rear hand downward (kinda like a porta di ferro to posta frontale parry in spirit).

I would like to teach you how to actually use a sword in combat. I should be teaching HEMA since most of them don't understand proper sword techniques in combat! I bet $1,000 I can best you in a sword fight!!!!!

Horse archers is a good option for peasant spearmen

So, it would appear that from watching this sparring, that the ways to 'not die' as a peasant spearman are : +Keep longer distance. +DO NOT engage in bind. +A longer spear could help. +Use the spear like a spear, not a longsword. +Do not enter the swordsmans distance, ever. +Never take the point off the target (no silly spinning sword type movements trying to cut with a thrust weapon...)

me and a couple friends practice, or spar, what ever you wanna call it, every weekend, we always include spear, the best way around it i find is to duel wield one handed sword and either a small axe or a long knife, i use an 18inch kukri in my off hand. i find i win 6/10 with better footwork and as the stronger opponent, but damn you gotta be on your game mobility wise. Edit: you absolutely have to engage in a bind and hook/catch the spear shaft with your guard, and then close quickly. i usually initiate this by giving ground while parrying until theyre moving forward quickly, then plant and let their next step forward encourage the spear head past you so youre inside. then bind with sword and strike with kukri or visa versa. you can also win straight out of the bind from this position.

Amazing progres in sparing for Skall...compared to couple of years ago... Music sucks btw xD

One or both fighters carrying a knife/dagger in the belt opens up a world of possibilities...Got any sparring vids with such a combination? Would love to see

If Chivalry 2 has taught me anything... Just throw your sidearm at him then follow up with someone's decorative potted plant. In fact, you don't need your main weapon at all. Just run away and throw things at him until three or four of your bros give him the good ol' "wrong neighborhood" treatment.

How? Bind the spear, and close in. Spear is over-riated in the modern hema poking contests. If spear was so strong, the sword would not have become the symbol of the knighthood.

"If you're unable to defend against it, you might as well cut the spearman to death." That's not very sportsmanlike.

one of the things I hate most is when people talk about weapons like everyone in the medieval world spawns into a battle with a random loadout of their choice, rather than being given weapons that specifically compliment their role in the combat. in terms of a completely unstructured fight where one person is perhaps being chased by another, the context of if they're in a city, in a mountain range, in a forest or a cave, all these things affect what weapons would be most advantageous. A person who is at the top of a ladder would love to have a spear to poke someone as they try to climb up, but if THEY were the one climbing they'd probably wish they didn't have something so big and clunky when they need to use both hands to climb, and potentially need to defend themselves one-handed against the person at the top. Many movies are very inaccurate, but the conversation is so overblown that people seem to think swords should literally never be depicted being useful, when there were plenty of contexts where they obviously were.

The length of the spear isn't as simple a calculation as "the longer the better"; most of the effective attacks or defenses against a spear are all based around getting past the tip and while a long spear certainly is advantageous while being able to maintain distance, once the opponent manages to get closer it's very difficult to recover, while with a short spear it may well be possible to retract it and regain control. This is why the really long spears and actual pikes were extremely powerful for organized infantry formations, but a would be a horrible dueling weapon. while a short spear really shines in the latter situation. One point I think would be interesting to explore further is the relative lethality of the weapons; my feeling is that even unarmored you need a pretty solid stab to cause someone to be out of action with a spear, whereas a sword against no armor can cause catastrophic damage on even fairly poor or low powered cuts. To run someone throw in the stomach area would take a solid stab with quite some force, and even if a less powerful stab in the guts might well be lethal, stabs and even gunshots to this area leaves the victim alive for hours if no major arteries are hit. In the chest, the ribs offers protection that also makes it take power and precision to cause an incapacitating hit. Best scenario for a less solid stab is likely either a leg, taking away mobility, or an arm, taking away offensive and defensive capability. But as Skal described, even if properly skewered, there may still be an opportunity for the swordsman to kill the spearman. In general I think the lethality or capacity to inflict incapacitating damage is an aspect that would be interesting to understand more about; I mean, yes, many of these weapons would cause injuries that would lead to long term, or permanent issues even on a lighter hit on a hand or a leg and would count as a "loss" in modern terms. But in a battlefield situation you can't just stop fighting because of an injury if it doesn't immediately prevent you from doing so, because then you'd just get killed anyways. So, to get people to stop fighting would take outright killing them or causing enough damage that they are physically incapable of continuing to fight Just theorycrafting, like I said, it would be interesting to find out more.

6:59 Yeah no! single handed is faster, which gives you the advantage actually, get a buckler and you don't have to worry about the spear too much. Now its he who has to worry. He needs to deal with two weapons. its a rare spearman who can deal with sword and buckler. You have to train specifically for it, which makes you less well trained against other weapons. Always a balancing act. only so many hours in the day, only so much you can devote to training.. choices choices.

As much as I love these videos I can't help but wonder how much of these manuscripts is the equivalent of the modern day fake martial arts masters. Surely, some of them must be false. Such as the end him rightly pommel throw. However, that one I think may be parody making fun of the other manuscripts that try to pass off their nonsense as useful.

Spear has huge advantage due to its reach but this is not absolute advantage. The King can be killed. You'll need extra efforts & steps.

The spear head went flying, and then was suddenly back on in the next shot? Man, this fight is so unrealistic. Needs a better 2nd unit director...

"Guns defeated pike formations in the age of pike and shot" *King Charles XII of Sweden has entered the chat

You guys are great but i think you guys should check into few things like your really stretched out stances thats not how they did it back then its not like competitive sparring they kept there back foot under them and would squat while leaning to keep balance and there was no run around it was all head on and your spear is barely half the thickness it should be it should be closer to a soda can around and it should also be made of hard wood like oak, mahogany, purple heart or walnut what you got is white pine I'm pretty sure and that stuff is great for throwing pikes and arrows cuz its like fast to mill out by hand and as added bonus since it was soft would it was guaranteed to splinter oh an they also fire wetted there spears and pulled them straight and then let them soak in a bath of salted water with crushed limestone to petrify the wood and then they would put metal sleeves on like the first three feet of them and usually a metal cap of some sort at the end, to be a spear welder was of high respect for a reason that being most people they killed by a soft toss from ten feet away because they pull put and keep going and a lot of people died in battle from be stabbed in the hip or from behind when we already ingage in combat and from getting there heads cut off from yes spears its crazy i know but what they display in most tv shows and in history books is literally from the end of the era when people were starting to use bombs and cannon the further back you find out that they were vikings in castles before they became knights because they are same four tribes Irish English Scottish and Welsh and that last on covers everything from german to Norwegian but it don't matter back then we're all considered barbarians lol wich is i think Saxon but it means bearded men either way oh and you dont were leg armor unless you road a horse and fought atop of it too, unless your lucky and they decide to come to your castle for the fight so either way love the channel amd it all just food for thought and um yeah please make more lol

Best defense against a spear is full plate armor. A quaterstaff + dagger is problably a better combo than a spear against an opponent with plate armor. Hit hard with the staff to the head or to the legs to make him fall and the close in and stab with the dagger between the joints. I'm quite sure that plate armor was the reason people prefered heavier polearms over spears. Against lightly armored or unarmored opponents the spear is unbeatable thanks to it's reach and speed.

Anyone else getting major Transformers vibes from the fight music? Just me?