Because 500 people have already asked about it... No, this does not work with a katana. You can't grip a curved blade securely, and a katana does not have a pommel or crossguard to effectively strike with. Not to mention the fact that this technique is from *European* fighting manuals design to use *European* straight swords against *European* plate armor. :p
People crying about grabbing a blade with their bare hands forget that if you had a sword in the middle ages, odds are you could afford some decent gloves - leather or otherwise.
@@MsJavaWolf Peasants serving under a knight would be taught combat to help train the knights, travelling peasants also used swords, daggars and farm equipment
Because people imagine themselves to be experts on every subject, and often the reality of their situation sets in only after something catastrophic happens.
Swordsmen were masters of poise, skill, and precision... And when that eventually failed they beaned each other in the head and hoped like hell it worked.
@@TheUberKevlar Cured and tanned leather would be stiff as plate mail and highly ineffective as glove material. Because fingers. Leather armor was not prevalent in the time period.
Skallagrim: demonstrates it is safe to do repeated hard strokes or thrusts bare handed, half swording with a sword that he has shown to be sharp enough to cut paper. Supports this with illustrations from historical manuals, some of which show people not wearing gauntlets. Half the comments: "That's crazy. I bet you'd have to wear gauntlets or you'd cut yourself."
@@fettmaneiii4439 I find this comical. Touching a blade doesn't hurt you, only when you slide a finger along a very sharp blade does it cut you. Apply that science here.
@@gamer-tc6pf ya then its your finger strength vs someones grip strength or any contact force.the blade will slip if you dont have enough finger strength. Gloves for atracking. No gloves for defensive moves only really
It’s the year 4018. Mankind destroyed themselves in warfare - as is cliché - two thousand years ago, and few survivors were able to rebuild. Barely any technology of the old world was able to be recovered. Almost all the ruins of the old world were repurposed for materials or housing. Technology is now equivalent to that of the 11th century. People now live in monarchial city-states and kingdoms that constantly wage war against one another for land, armed with weapons such as swords and longbows.
"So hey guys, Joffre Mondfroy here and today we're going to assault this big ass castle with the mates. So, I'm with the armies of Ser Georges and- OH SHIT, ARROWS ! It's raining arrows ! You goddamn fucking englishmen ! Shit, SHIT SHIT SHIT ! RUNAWAY !" Well, that could go even badlier: "Hey there, I'm a simple peasant with a pike and today we're going to hold the line against heavy shock cavalry supported by crossbowmen. We aren't supposed to win, actually, just buy time so the king can run away like the coward he is. Enjoy, guys !"
Tutorials would have been crazy. Random knight in the middle of a battle: And here we have a great opportunity to test half swording in real life situations...
"hello fellow spectators, this day I will present to you how to kill the filthy crusader with halfswording. You want to grab the sword by the blade [...], you come up to this scum and beat the God out of it. I hope you enjoyed this video, goodbye"
I feel hollywood has given us this misconception that Knightly warfare was all Gentlemen like but watching Skall on his channel makes you realize how brutal it must have been to look at your enemies in their eyes while you cut them or beat them into a bloody mess.
Also, because armors were a pain to put on and take off, knights would just piss in it. The squires had to clean it up. They would also help the knights take on/off the armor.
@@arminius504 Samurai in movies: "I must fight and die with honor!" Samurai in reality: "I'll show up late so the sunlight is in the perfect position to blind the fecker." "HAZA, HEAD BONK!"
Yep, it's nothing but high noon shootouts and sword fights down here. We'd invite everybody to come join the fun, but somebody might be stupid and/or crazy enough to think we're being serious.
Dorian The Dumbass Thankfully, we aren't half as stupid or irresponsible as people seem to think we are. Makes you wonder how many people honestly believe we still live like it's 1890.
DudeistPriest oh believe me... It was so cringey when a tourist went to e and said "Howdy I'm a cowboy!" Trust me... It's hard to believe people even think we are stuck in the "Wild West" timeline.
christopher Christos well you would be wearing that if you used this in an actual battle. Not to mention the calluses that you would have from workmanship that you normally did as a fighter back then
@@clonkex What? HOW? No one is saying "you know what my axe needs, a blade for a handle, and to have no sharp/pointed end to kill people with" This isn't a "viable way" to use a sword, it's a viable way to look like some nerd ass weaboo loser who doesn't know shit about combat.
@@KjngRaptor Just because it's not _ideal_, doesn't make it not _viable_. No one's saying it's better than a tool designed specifically for the purpose; they're just saying it's quite usable. It's like using a screwdriver as a hammer. Obviously it's not ideal, and there's much better tools designed available for that job, but it actually can work pretty well in a pinch. Imagine you're on a battlefield. You've got a sword, and you come across a knight in full plate armour. What do you do? You can't use the sword as it was designed because it simply won't work. So you have to improvise.
@@KjngRaptor "who doesn't know shit about combat" oh the irony. There are Germanic drawings of knights holding their swords like such. Congrats, on becoming a "nerd ass weaboo loser who doesn't know shit about combat." Hope your video games can help with that, but imma press X to doubt.
Interesting, but even if this move did cut the hands I'm sure soldiers in Medieval battles wouldn't care. I'm sure if they were given the choice they'd take cut hands over being dead any day.
+AdolChangThe3rd Not all actually, its only for use when you can't penetrate their armor. It has no relation to even being at a disadvantage as the enemy could be in the same situation.
Cman your the idiot because he did. He stabbed the tire multiple times in a row and even in the little montage at the end But he never slashed it if that helps making you sound a little smarter
are you tired of slashing at your enemies tires ? TRY HALF-SWORDING! yes ladies and gentlemen with half-swording you can bash those tires into submission or even thrust with greater control and accuracy ! why slash when you can bash ?
I have no idea why I'm watching this video... but I left a like cuz it's really well made. Also, we're all living in 2017 and this guy's already in 1017
So beacuse someone is practicing a sport, it means they are intending to doing that for a match? People dont learn any type of martial arts, to defend themselfs if they get into a fight, they do it to get better at a certain sport, and have a community. Just like people from HEMA (Historical European Martial Arts) practice to get better at their sport
The fact that half-swording exists as a technique means that someone in history was actually crazy enough to try grabbing a sword by the blade. That takes some huge balls and deserves respect.
That was in a time where people had much easier access to swords, knew these were essentially tools, and were often desperate in a fight. I betcha that they had this technique in mind when designing swords with pommels, and that most people training with swords knew about this age-old trick. The average stablehand possibly not, and as Skal says, not every blade is suited for it.
@@balthazarblazingflame834 wait, you're a decades-long swordsman claiming half-swording is stupid?? Sorry, but when it comes to random experts on the internet, I will rather believe Skallagrim and Matt Thiesen who show their work.
Even despite knowing he's a professional, watching really puts you on edge. Couldn't help but wince when he said "You do not allow it to slide in your hand"
Crowmaster - It wasn’t only whites who engaged in warfare. Basically everyone liked to kill each other in the Medieval age. Hell, the Mongols conquered an empire that spanned from Korea to Crimea.
What is with some people and their 'opinions' on techniques? This is absolutely NOT a matter of your opinion!! People who lived and died by the sword hundreds of years ago used and taught these techniques. It DOES NOT MATTER what you think. This is fact, confirmed by dozens of documents from a span of several centuries from many masters across many countries. I do not care if you feel like this technique is dangerous, that does not change the absolute, indisputable facts that this was used. (I'm specifically referring to comments, not Skall)
+BloodLibel10 Most of them are acting as if he's suggesting the viewers are currently preparing to fight an armored knight.......The bulk of what i've seen is: "Why not just use a gun?" And by far my favorite so far (and this is fucking gold) " Don't call me a idiot..." A IDIOT.....It's funny how stupid people sort themselves out most of the time.
No, and even if one of my friends had a suit of plate armor, this would be way too dangerous. The whole point of the murder stroke is to seriously injure or kill the armor wearer, so how do you think that would go down?
So I guess that’s what swords are particularly good for; you could use it like a short spear or like a mace if you had to. Versatility seems to be the sword’s main strength in comparison to other weapons.
Don't you just love how whenever someone uploads an informational video on any subject, commenters automatically become trained experts who apparently know more than the people who actually have degrees in what they teach?
Not just that but also people who have probably never heard of medieval fighting in general. It's always so easy to disbelieve something.... But hey, even in the age of 2016 people still think that earth is flat so fuck everything anyways.
+S Trust me, there are people who will tell you earth is flat and they are fully serious about it, or mayby they are just pretending to be serious to get everyone triggerd. You never know
I assume half-swording would be easier with gauntlets/gloves (which I assume most soilders used) as it would eliminate any possibility of getting cut so you could swing as hard as you want without dear of getting cut.
I... just got back in time. I'm sending this in a hurry. The world got destroyed the moment you made your comment. And we are all a figment of your imagination, stuck in a time paradox in a loop until it all collapses in on itself.
+SpecialJ11 You might never find a super realistic sword fighting game. I can't imagine there are enough buttons on the keyboard for all the moves you'd have to do. For Honor is suppose to be the Battlefield of sword fighting games. Not too crazy and over the top, but a lot more realistic than all the others. Chivalry may be as close as you can get.
Carlo Derwig Yes. I've been following that one as well. It looks great, but I'm not sure it's going to master the swordplay as detailed as he wants it. It looks to be more about the overall lifestyle. Even if it has WORSE sword fighting than For Honor, it still looks great.
For those who thinks this is stupid.... If you're fighting enemies with full body armour, wouldn't you be in one too? And that means you'd have either Metal or Leather gloves that cover all the way up to your wrist. It would be more effective
xiLe 4 gauntlets are physically incapable of covering your Palm and still letting you move Leather or gambeson gloves might help or they’d make the thing slippery and you wouldn’t grip it as well
@@imanafdar Swing a katana at plate armour and you'll bend it irreparably, lol. This technique was only for when you didn't have an axe or a mace anyways.
Also, for the viewers, that rubber tyre is very flexible with plenty of rebound. Whilst the demonstration clearly shows the ability to apply strong force, imagine this in actual practice, whereby the 'tyre' would be a hard unyielding suit of metal armour, with soft vulnerable flesh and brittle bone inside, which will crumple if hit square into by the pommel or more likely the hilt ends. nice!
the gloves arent plate on the bottom, that would make holding sword pretty hard .. they are leather on the bottom and plate on the top.. you dont need them to be plated there, because your hand is always in "fist" wrapped areound something
BadVelocityGT gloves might actually make it harder to grip though it depends on the sword, also many gauntlets either had liners or could be worn without gloves
Comments here suggest looking it up, but sometimes I think it's nice to just ask real people and see what answers you get. I'm quite old, and remember when a part of a fun conversation was asking a question and enjoying the answers, right or wrong. Google killed that. Thanks, not.
"Why not use *insert weapon here* to deal with the heavy armor" Guys having heavy armor and sword is already the limit. Besides because of this some soldiers won't have enough time to switch weapons. Half Swording is a technique to bludgeon armor.
+RedWall Skirmisher More practically, swords were also the literal *sidearms* par excellence - what with being suspended on a belt in a scabbard, they were kind of one of the easiest serious melee weapons to actually carry around nevermind now if you needed your hands for something else. (Like now a polearm, or a lance and reins.) Although the length could get a little inconvenient in some designs. Also kind of the "universal" go-anywhere do-anything melee weapon hard to beat in sheer versatility and in trained hands at least acceptably effective in virtually any circumstances.
+broadbandislife If you would bring to battle 2 pistols, 2-hanede sword, crossbow, mace, pike, halaberd and porcpine you would probably not make a move. It's not XXI centaury where you can easily bring 3 knfes 2 small pistols and M16.
No that reverse hold + strike. Half swording is grabbing the blade using (gauntlets ) that you Would be wearing and guiding or pummeling to find an entry under into his carapise.
@@megacynical37 naive ! You havent seen real katanas can stab through inferior knight armor. And hey the inferior knight armor has weak spots like any other armor..samurai's aint dumb like knights who have no proper martial training .
@@proximacentauri8185 katanas can't even go through a peace of wood without hurting the blade , let alone a piece of metal , even the sharpest blade ever can't go through metal , so stop with your anime nonsense
@@dartz9867 no one did this without gloves. The only pic that showed bare hands was in a dueling ring, which featred dulled swords. Much like the sword he is using. The paper test is useless.
@@sadisticcargo9389 you realise that this is in a battle. not hitting a tiger. if you had to attack someone they would just knock the sword and SLASH. there the go
@@sadisticcargo9389 if you can cut someones fingers off with a knife you can easily cut them off with a sword thats like saying that oranges are bulletproof. youd immediatley lose your fingers so grow a brain
"mordhau" is actually a word for this technique and is used to refer to unconventional/unexpected ways to wield a weapon, or using a tool as a weapon (both of which you can do in Mordhau the game). Mordhau can also refer to certain German manuals of arms from the medieval era.
of course they are lmfao. Literally every nerd with an interest in historical fighting has seen those, of fucking course the devs of Mordhau watch sword videos on youtube. you're not special
For Honor is not accurate at all, but I suppose it's much more accurate than almost every fantasy game. The murder stroke is real tho and his executions are totally plausible (aside from when he cuts through plate armor like nothing)
