Thanks again for another excellent sabre video! In my opinion you guys do the best sabre tutorial vids in the RU-vid HEMA sphere. Please keep up the excellent contributions :)
I just recently read "The Secret History of the Sword" by J. Christoph Amberger, in which he devotes an entire chapter to the subject of this video. Seeing this really clarifies and brings to life what he was writing about.
As usual, a nice and illustrative video. I have to wonder, however, at the start you mentioned that if I had a buckler or a dagger, I might close the inside line of attack towards my head. It occurs to me that I've read of sabre being used in conjunction with a pistol as an off-hand weapon (specifically, a flintlock pistol after it had been fired). How would one use that? Roworth and Taylor don't seem to mention anything of the sort, does one of the later manuals perhaps?
In my opinion, according to an example in 3:50 - each time you fake a cut like that, you are provoking a strike under your forearm. It is a really fast and light undercut with simultaneous step back, but it still makes you bleed.
+KorfantCadron Indeed, but every single feint provokes a strike. That is the weakness of feints, that in the moment of the feint you are not threating the opponent. It all comes down to whether you can sell the feint to the opponent. Same as when feinting like that, you are vulnerable to a simple cut 1 to the head if the opponent perceives the feint. Feint well enough, and the opponent would be foolish to not protect their head. I also find against those who strike under like that, you can counter well by just cutting straight onto their wrist/inside of forearm. It either hits them, or beats their cut away, or both.
+Academy of Historical Fencing I agree. Each feint should be enough suggestive if we want it to work. In this particular situation, reacting with a cut to the head would be too dangerous for me, too short distance. Anyway, if you show an example I would be glad to see that every hand, weapon move is correct and optimal ("safe"), same with footwork. Otherwise it is very confusing for me. I am looking forward to see more videos:)
+KorfantCadron The one thing we can guarantee you is more videos :-) Sabre is a comparatively simple system compared to many other sword forms, and yet there are so many lessons, articles and discussions on the topic. It will probably be two years before I am happy that we have covered everything that we can on sabre alone, and we have a lot more to do. Then of course we will likely go back and improve old lessons, as we are all forever students of the art.
You mention that going for the legs without an off hand weapon/tool is dangerous, so I'm wondering what you feel would be the best combos to use with a sabre?
Sabreurs. For the period we are working from no, armour of all kinds had all but vanished from European warfare by the late 18th century, except for steel cuirass for a small amount of heavy cavalry, and simple helmets (usually hardened leather). This is infantry sabre training, where no armour of any kind was used. Of course the sabre was in use for about a thousand years, so it did see plenty of use by those in various forms of armour.
Nylon or a form of plastic. They are made by Black Fencer in Spain, who also make steel bladed versions. We use a mix of the two, and have helped them to make both handle like the originals they are based on.
Pfft... practicing to fight. Why not do something peaceful and productive, like join Amnesty International or the Red Cross and do something that promotes peace instead of violence.
