I see in a movie drama of oliver cromwell he was able to block sword strikes on foot with his gauntlet and fore arm armor till he found another horse and got on. could that work or would it fall victim to what you showed here and in the other vid of the same thing.
Trying to rhyme speedy with sweaty is like when you know you're jamming the wrong puzzle piece in, but you do it anyways because it looks close enough. No offense
I'm watching a viking pirate and his wife demonstrate that you can't catch a katana mid swing in 2021 by using a messer and that's exactly why I'm here, top tier content man, keep it up
@@hadrianwolf4730 A type of a sword (well it was a knife if we look at history) that he was using in this video. I mean Messer literally means a knife in german but when Germans had the rule of no swords allowed to carry back in the day they took a knife and made a gigantic version of it which was really a sword by the purpose but legally a knife, so they named it Messer and it stuck
@@justjoe5373 Sorry to butt in late but there was never a real prohibition of weapons (2 edge cases). Instead it was a legal dispute. In Germany there were "Zünfte" which organised craftmanship. Imagine them like crafting guilds. They regulated prices, quality but also you had to enter the "Zunft" to be allowed to sell your craft. So one day the Toolsmith-"Zunft" found out that you could not define a weapon by bladelength (daggers are shorter than kitchen knives) so as long as they used a knife handle and had only one side of the blade sharpened they could call it a knife and sell it as a tool. This allowed them to be cheaper than the weapon smiths and probably created a lot of bad blood but was also quite lucrative and resulted in some of the best swords to date.
It's kinda like when I studied Krav Maga. First form of defense is running faster than the assailant. If that can't be applied it's time use the other stuff we'd learn.
@@ORBITingAroundYou now I can’t help but imagine the two of them having an anime style fight over what to have for dinner. “Hmmm....what did you want for dinner?” “I’m in the mood for Taco Bell...” “Eh...I was kinda in the mood for Pizza Hut.” “Uh no, we’re having Taco Bell.” *shakes head* *unsheathes sword* *goes into high guard* “PIZZA HUUUUUUUT”
Ghirahim taught me that if you're gonna pull stunts like this, you gotta wear proper protection first. Like, you know, have hands literally made of metal all the way through. That helps. Also a bit of magnet-magic to make sure you don't miss. And most importantly, don't fight an opponent using motion controls. They will confuse you.
To be fair. The scene from The Crow was him showing off, at that point he was functionally immortal so he could have just ignored the knives but he was showing off.
Also not long after he gets shot through the hand and we can see the hole closing up. Throwing knives or even bullets are not helpful against the vengeful undead.
This is actually accepted wisdom. The self-defense community, at least those who know what they're talking about, says that the best defense is to just turn around and run if you can. On a related tangent, Metatron put out a video a couple years ago that was basically the same concept. He put forth that the best self defense weapon was a multi-LED flashlight, carried around inactive: it's entirely legal, it won't raise questions if you're seen carrying it around, you can use it to dazzle a potential attacker in a dark alley, giving you enough opportunity to run to someplace safe.
yeah I took a self defense class once and someone asked the instructor what the best defense would be against someone with a knife, and he said, "I have a special move for that, let me demonstrate" and had someone pretend to hold a knife, and then he acted like he was about to pull some cool move but instead he just turned around and ran. "don't try to fight someone with a knife, your best defense is to run away"
it is actually a tequnique in some Koryu. I think it was yagiu ryu there is this tequnique, but it was only supposed to be done if there is no other option
@@tjswc1458 No other option? Wouldn't just getting out of the way be alot easyer? And perhaps even achievable? Thats what I would have gone for, step out of the way then leg it.
@@pavolverescak1712 I'd use my forearm with a kind of "slap out of the way" motion hoping it will prevent the blade from biting into my arm and chopping it off.
She looks like a character out of those dystopian fantasy worlds where they run around with melee weapons in the modern era. Like the badlands, hunger games, etc.
The Mythbusters tackled this one years ago. They found that a full power vertical slash would likely cut through the flesh of your palms and dig into your head.
its too much of a risk cuz you kind of have to deflect it sideways so you dont get cut, but its best to have protection underneath the arms so you can simply block then grab the hand he's using to attack you
This was addressed many years ago, long before Mythbusters did their ' can't catch an arrow' thing, even if you're fast enough to catch an arrow or a blade, why would you? It's 100x easier to simply get out of the way.
Was going to say I was in a position on the flat of my back and was unable to run at that point but I did catch the weapon before it hit me fully my hands were a little messed up but not bad enough to lose the fight
I agree here , this video is fantastic nice. But interms of theory. All maritals are theory or less and concepts. Psychology, skill and experience, physicality what makes a warrior or athlete or solder. So of course there moves and techniques and some ceramictances where being faster or quicker or making the right decision is the answer. It is just what it is. That is why physicality is important as well as muscle memory and repting things. It is what it is.
@@AndreasSweden In the actual scene, he was supposed to engage him in a sword fight. But Harrison Ford had explosive diarrhea at the time and was just not feeling a sword fight, so he persuaded Spielberg to just have Indy shoot the bad guy
I mean to be fair if you did somehow do that, they'd have a hard time using it with the hilt falling off. I guess they could hold their blade by the tang?
There is a story I read about of a WWII veteran that 'caught' a sword in his hands. The blade was a family heirloom and was actually pretty dull. He didn't do a fancy clapping grab either, more of a instinctive reach up and grab it like it was a club as it was coming down. It cut into his palms pretty bad despite being dull but he was able to wrench it away from the Japanese soldier.
Pretty sure that WW2 was the last time actual swords were used in warfare, too. And that was by Japanese soldiers carrying katanas into combat, that were mostly (from my understanding) family heirlooms of the Japanese soldier who was wielding it.
That's so hilarious with these movies. A katana can apparently cut through space and time itself, but can't cut through a protagonist's bare hands as long as they've got plot armor!
@@Merilirem Especially those scenes where a hero will slash his sword lightly against some armor (worst of all is plate) and somehow that will slice through the armor, and instantly kill the person inside the armor. I like the term Shad came up with for that "lightsabering".
There is a mythbuster episode proving this isnt impossible. Not even with perfect edge alignment and a gripping robot with super speed and super strength.
Don't forget to be a mysteriously strong farmers son, whose father just died due to some strangely clad assassins three chapters back and two chapter back you meet a kindly old Kung-Fu Master/MagicSwordsman/TomboyPrincess.. (you name it) and one chapter back you trained in martial arts for your first time!
I remember the Mythbusters testing this very shenanigan, they used machines to swing the sword and catch it, even using ballistic gel on the fake hands. At slow speeds it was ok, but at full speed it ended up filleting the hands.
@@Kakaragi real warriors have their intestines trained in such a way they squeeze around the flat while moving away from the edge PS It's true trust me
Can you catch a Blade with your Hands? Yes you could. Should you try it? Hell no! - former German Hema Instructor that is a good friend of the family watching this Video with me haha
You "could" do it, ONCE! After that, you won't be using your hands for much at all for quite some time. After a lot of surgery to close the wounds and reattach tendons.
@@DeruwynArchmage Good point. But the girlish screaming is sort of a cultural part of being chased by swordfighters. It just wouldn't be the same without it.
Running is always the best answer, even when your opponent is only wielding a knife. Despite many "catch weapons" techniques existing in various martial arts, it is almost always a very bad plan to attempt it. Even if you catch the other's wrist/arm, there is a very likely chance he/she will just twist his/her wrist and cut your arm before you manage to do something else, possibly cutting your artery.
To be fair though, aren't shardblades wider and thicker than a normal sword, and much lighter? So it wont have as much momentum and there would be a larger area for your hands to catch.
@@FinalFantasyIXIIII weight is supposedly the same as a a really big sword, but since they are so enormous they feel too light. But yeah, obviously it's easier, and it's fantasy xD (Still, Dalinar said to never try it if there were any other option)
@@halfonsotercero1212 i feel like dalinar is one of the best examples of doing it in fantasy. He's already been made out as a god tier fighter, he absolutely says that it's only a thing for when there is literally no other option, and ***Spoiler*** I believe at that point he still feels and gets a somewhat buff from the thrill, so has some supernatural help.
@@halfonsotercero1212 I thought they said it was less than a normal, but people were surprised it wasn't almost weightless? Guess I'll have re-read the entirety of the Stormlight archive again to check myself.
I remember being shown this technique in a martial arts knife defence class. It was very much a if all else has failed and your getting stabbed you might as well try it last ditch thing. Against a plastic blade being trust at you it wasn’t terribly hard, but then keeping control of the blade would involve your hands getting cut up as you say (we used lipstick on the blade edges so you could see where contact was made afterwards) a sword being swung at you is much less predictable than a trust so would be so much harder.
Given how precise the alignment of your palms to the blade has to be, I'm wondering if this is even riskier (not that it wasn't already a move reserved for movie-humans) against someone who tends to botch their cuts. You might see the trajectory of the blade, but not the edge being off just enough to smack your palm into it anyway.
Now you mention it, it probably is. You need to be capable of ignoring the "swing alignment" in order to get the "edge alignment" right. And edge alignment that is a little bit of from the swing alignment does not lose that much cutting power that suddenly your hands are saved.
This is the case with so many martial arts and even full battle tactics. The worst opponent for the best general in the world, is not knowing you're fighting against the worst general in the world. You may see a silly formation of troops and think "Oh god, this must be a trap, reinforce the flanks and keep half our forces in reserve" And suddenly you're not using half of your forces expecting a surprise meanuver by the opponent. Little did you know, they're just a bad general, but now have a higher chance of winning because you overestimated them. If you train against professional swordfighters your whole life, when you face an opponent who is kind of "wild" with their technique, suddenly half of that training doesn't help you too much, since your muscle memory is accostomed to parrying away against perfect techniques. There's obviously better examples, even real life ones, but I assume I explained it well enough.
I heard the theory that "catching a blade with your hands" as a myth evolved from someone blocking a sword with a Shuko (japanese cat claws) or another metal hand weapon. And through the centuries it turned into the hand clap version. It's still stupid, it can cut your fingers off at best, as opposed as the palm clap that can never work. I don't know if that's a stupid theory, but it makes at least the slight bit more sense.
That reminds me of the mythbuster episode on swordcatching. Basically, they got a martial expert who explained that NO, he doesnt do this, he uses these claws, and he catches the balde at full arms length
I don't recall where, but I've heard that theory too. I know there's at least one old ninja movie where they do that with the claws, and at a practical level it's more likely to work without injury than totally bare handed since you have steel across part of your palms. I'd still go for the "Miyagi Defense" where he said "best defense, no be there".
I've caught knives. It's not as difficult as you'd think, but only do so after tons of practice, k? (I won't be responsible for you losing a finger) If the seordcatcher just waits for the attack, then he's going to have a bad time; but if he moves in the same direction as the cut, then he had more opportunities to: touch, feel, and grip the blade. You'd actually have to train yourself to follow the sword swing with your hands, and to be comfortable touching swinging blades. It'd still be better to just smack the blade away, and such training would make you a pro at this; and even then, it'd still be better to just run away till you can get: an advantageous postion, a weapon, or friends. The theory is sound though, as moving in the direction of an oncoming attack is how to: properly take a punch, get hit by a car, and catch a flying knife.
The trick to catching a sword with your hands is to have a friend catch your hands. And preferably have a cooler to pack them in ice on the way to the hospital
Might actually work for thrusts if hit in the palm and deflected. Cuts just made me think of someone being cut from middle finger to elbow trying to stop a cut
Learned a few of these kinds of grabs in kenjutsu. My sensei flat out admitted that the whole point was to get close enough that the cut probably wouldn't be fatal, but that you were still definitely getting cut unless you were ridiculously lucky
@@AliceLucindaBronte haha! well .. adrenaline sure boost your speed! but no. not over a longer strech ... but if you are in a forest you dont usually need to run that long to find a branch or some stones or something.
So basically no one could handblock my swordcuts because i never trained with a sword -> i will always have a bad sword alignment -> i will always cut their hands off. is this an advantage? :D
I would love to see a test to see how realistic (read "safe") it is to catch a sword with your forearm when wearing armor/gauntlets. Like are we talking bruises, broken bones or amputation? And what would the limitation to that be? would a single handed sword (like an arming sword for example) be causing bruises whereas a longsword with two hands causes fractures or breaks? sorry, but this inquiring mind is highly curious lol
Well, it depends of the type or armour, but suppose it is strong enough to withstand a powerful straight slice from cutting. Following, I believe the amount of padding comes into question, for cushioning the bludgeoning blow that is still left. I depends on the type of sword and the type of attack - is it really powerful blow, or just a quick swing? Mind that swords are not made for heavy blows, but quick and agile cutting... any trained swordsmen would not make a wide telegraphed vertical overhead swing. Maces, hammers, axes, ... they are the kind of weapons made for a heavy bludgeoning blow, with their weight at the end of the weapon and not in the front like with a sword. (Yes, an axe is ment to slash/hack more then just bludgeoning, from apart from that the principle is the same).
For a straight on baseball swing, with *_really_* good plate and padding you may get away with bruises; and may suffer amputation if the sword is particularly sharp and your armour is particularly shitty. All the armour really does is negate cutting edges and maybe a bit of energy distribution, padding is what absorbs impact. Straight up force coming in is going to be slightly less (because of the way swords are balanced) than the equivalent weight of rebar (or more in the case of tip-heavy weapons, like Fallen says); bones are *_not_* going to be having a good day, even if it's just chips from a particularly short/ small weapon's impact, though those may be at the edges of the armour instead of the impact site if the plate is solid enough. This is all assuming a powerful, all out swing of course. If you're not moving away from it or taking advantage of the massive opening that's leaving you you're already beat.
Yeah, you can absolutely get away with deflecting blows with your armor, but catching is another matter altogether. You see when deflecting, you're not absorbing the full impact, you're redirecting most of the force somewhere else. Armor, even light armor, excels at protecting you from partial blows like that. When you're trying to catch a blow, you're absorbing the full force of the blow, and that is much more punishing.
I still like that army demonstration of the optimal way to handle an attacker with a knife. He just immediately sprints away. If you want to use your "superior speed" to handle an opponent with a sword/armor, that's the way to use it lol.
remember Mythbusters covering this on their show in an episode. Whole thing started by ninja catching blades with their hand claws that were used to help them clime.
@@SWAT6809 The guess would be the hand-claw theory. It's not *_their_* guess and it's the most reasonable explanation out there, but like pretty much all of history it's not 100% proven.
@Fremen They are science but just not great academic science. That's not what they were trying to do though. They were trying to teach people basic scientific thinking which they did a great job at.
I remember this being pulled off in the stormlight archives by one of the protagonists. Another one then visits a swordmaster and asks them to teach him how to do it... and the swordmaster all but laughs at him, telling him that it's a last-ditch desperation move that he should never attempt if he has other options. The protagonist still pulls it off later, but at that point he is a superhuman fighting normal humans, so it's kiinda justified
To be totally fair, a Shard Blade is massively oversized, and all the art depicts them with absurdly wide blade's, so *easier* to catch in this way, but still borderline impossible, i love Stormlight Archive
Of course I love the movie, but even watching it as a kid I realized Lo Pan just kinda leisurely lobbed the knife at Jack. When he caught it he threw it back with full body weight.
@@pieisnice9 And because Shardbearers are used to their blades passing through solid matter effortlessly, they don't put as much strength into their swings
HAHA! Too true! I think the outcome was something like you'll either miss, or the angle of the blade will change and the force of it coming at you will cause the sword will bite into your palm, maybe sever some fingers, maybe cut down into your forearm sliding in between your radius and ulna, but you DEFINITELY won't be fit for fighting afterwards. :) I call that a "no" But in the spirit of "do or do not there is no try" you're absolutely right, you can "try" XD
@@BelleDividends Yeah I agree. If you're cornered and there's seriously no way out it seems to me the best course is just to go full offense and charge the attacker. Sure your odds are bad but if you're about to be murdered anyway.... Go for a straight kick maybe, it has the most range.
How to deal with a sword cut when you’re unarmed sounds like you deal with a train approaching something stuck on the tracks. Run at the train and stay close to the tracks so the debris thrown by the collision is heading away and outwards from you.
(spoiler free) When this happened in stormlight I was like "Goddamnit!!!" But then they came up with a genuinely good explanation for how this was pulled off with a shardblade
At least in Stormlight there's literally no other defense (without shards of your own) other than not getting hit. It also just makes much more sense when the expected result of failure and not making the attempt at all are both death.
can you catch a sword with your hands, yes, if you are fast enough, strong enough and have enough balls or not enough brains to go towards a sword instead of out of its way
This whole thing highlights the value of just wearing armor. Bracers could make arm-based deflections of sword strikes more viable and with less risk to your unprotected palms. Chest and torso armor can deflect thrusts at your center mass while you dodge. If you are expecting to fight someone and you aren't wearing some kind of armor then you have screwed up before the battle has even begun. The best counter to a sword is proper protection. They can't hurt you if they literally cannot hurt you.
I remember one supposed origin for the bare-handed sword block that seemed even remotely plausible, and it came from ninja armed with shuko, which they'd use to scale walls. Shuko are pretty unobtrusive, especially at night and when paired with clothing that hid the band that secured it to the hand, and the sturdy claws would probably stand up to a sword strike. Not a bare-handed block by any means, but of course they'd encourage the rumor to confuse and terrify their targets.
One of the forms in Tang Soo Do has a move that is basically that. Our instructors always make sure to tell us that we must never attempt to do so with an actual bladed object, and that there are better ways to grab a Stick.
I remember seeing a documentary about these climbing Claws that early ninja would use. But using it was the same idea. I think it was a last resort weapon doh.
I think I'm more amazed by this having any possibility at all even if it is slim. Cuz in fiction you can just say the hero has superhuman abilities. Or they're that good compared to the average mook (IE you or me). So basically possible, just plot-armor levels of improbable.
I know you're trying to be educational but after a year locked up I can't stop looking at your beautiful film location. Damn BC is beautiful in the summer.
I'm pretty sure Mythbusters had an episode where they tested this by having made robot hands (with silicon flesh) that tried to catch the blade. If I remember correctly it was impossible unless they had the hands 100% coordinated with the blade at the max of the hands speed. Can't find the clip in RU-vid though.
Are you sure? I know they were testing the myth that you can cut a machinegun with glorious 10 000 times folded Nipponese steel, forged in the fires of Mt Fuji, colloquially known as "katana". Maybe you are confusing it with that?
3:55 I felt more like I was _picking up on someone's patterns_ for the few I got right, which may be because I was guessing before the strike even begun. Any writers reading this may want to keep that in mind if they're going to stick this little clap block in.
in the worlds best case scenario of super humans and timing and skill: yes realisticly: nope Even if you could: why would you want to, when literally any other strat is better?
One thing that should be taken into account, though: in medieval warware, knights would use gauntlets with chainmail gloves. I think equipped like that, it MIGHT be plausible to catch a blade, although why would you, when you could just bat the blade to the side with the gauntlet instead. In a DUEL, though? Congratulations getting your hand sliced like you passed it through a deli saw.
Should have given Vigo an honorable mention at the end for deflecting the unexpected knife thrown at his head. Epic. He did have a sword though.. Great vid.
Best blade "catch" with bare hands is the scene from Rob Roy, and even then it's just a grab and hold while the blade is pretty static, and it also shows the leverage issue that the wielder has once the business end of the sword is trapped.
If you have gauntlet, don't try to catch it, just deflect it, it will be much easier than try a fancy move that will get you injured 99% of the time. But what about mail gloves?
I love this video actually I was gonna be writing how monks in my setting pull off all their martial arts, and basically, I was just gonna make it so the average monk is usually always wearing dense bracers and dense wraps on their hand's forearms and then metal covering their shins and wrapping on their feet so they can actually attempt to parry attacks.
