Shad's epic LARP adventure (Live action Role-Playing) and first impressions 

Shad! It's Tristen, loved the video bud... thanks for making me look not too much of a chump haha. Been loving your vids. keep it up!

" Tell my children I didn't leave them any money." -Shad 2016

How to be op at LARP: Bring a Gambeson and a pommel (no need for an edge, just the pommel).

Shad, Lloyd, Matt, Skall, & Metatron should join these LARP events together. And when their teammates break rank, they should stay in formation and trample the enemies!

A chubby, screaming, shield and sword-wielding australian might be the most horrifying thing i've ever seen!

My God Shad went full on Berserker.

Tell my children...I didn't leave them any money! NOOOO!!! XD

You're pretty badass Shad, taking on about 5 blokes at once without taking many hits. The only reason you lost against that big fellow was that it wasn't a full-on duel, those other people were able to come behind you and chip off your health when you got distracted. It would be interesting if someone were to get a friend or two into the mix, then watch each other's backs to stop that sort of thing from going on

At 9:50 when you started screaming and spinning your sword I thought you got too into it and was going to get charged with mass homocide.

THAT FLOURISH AT 9:52 WAS THE ANSWER TO LIFE

Instructions unclear: got killed.

this points out the major differences between a trained and untrained person

Lol, you are a better swordman than you look XD

About making this more RP like I have a bit to say. Because actually the only kind of LARP I have done has been more character/story-based. In Sweden, where I live, it is the most common kind of larp. To make it more realistic experience, full costume is required, and it is done somewhere where there are no modern stuff visible. The LARP usually goes on for days and you are pretty much always in character. One downside of this might be that because everyone is playing a much more carefully made character, fighting will not be the main thing (because if you loose your character probably dies, obviously) but that can be a good thing in many ways. It makes it more like real life, and also it gives room for other parts of RP like mysteries, adventures, magic and an overall more interesting story. To summarize, it requires more recourses, but it is loads of fun, because it really feels like you're someone else in a different world.

*to a dead guy* You fought well mate

This day was based on the battle game of SwordCraft, we do that every Friday night. For the more immersive RP we have Quest, 5 to 6 days of actually being the character you play on Fridays. You only have to ask any SwordCrafter about the `post quest blues` to find out what coming down from that high is like. For a first local game it was good, everyone had fun, no one got hurt, things can only get better.

There's always that one daycare leader that goes all out when playing dodge ball with the kids, yeah... that's Shad.

LARP-ing is like Airsoft with swords, basically

"And there he was, the Mad Bear of Melbourne, holding four opponents single-handedly. Until at last he was struck down upon the field." - The Saga of Shad

Ah, yes. The cry of the average foot soldier on the medieval battlefield. _"Aw, I thought I was in a DUEL!?"_ LARP is awesome lol

nerds... I WANT IN!!!

This was extremely entertaining. Thanks Mr. Shad. I especially enjoyed the 10th minute battle betwixt you and at least 4 opponents who were each incapacitated a few times but never seemed to fall down. Well done!

I think this a great demonstration of the effectiveness of shields too.

Nerf Shadiversity, he's too op!!!

While larps like these may not have the full historical value. I tend to enjoy fighting 3-4 people at one time at these types of events. Yeah it's silly, but still a great time.

That leader/general dude with the maces did NOT like you 😂

Pride. That is all I felt when watching him fight, especially in the 4 v 1 and the solo fight at the end

If you ever come to germany, you gotta visit one of our LARPs here. It kind of broke my heart to see, what you call LARP in down under. :(

In the one LARP I've been to, there not so mutch fighting but rather interaction with other characters and there was no real plot but rather everyone chose the actions there character made and could impact the story. Of course, there were some predetermined things like for example there was a final battle, but you had to be in character and you had to be for the five days.

What a wholesome start to the video

9:44 the historic last stand of Shad

Sound effects makes the video more hilarious

15:03 shad has proved hes so addicted to medieval armor that when hes stumped on what hes trying to say he just has to say "armor" to get him back on track

11:46 just look at her rushing toward Shad, the cutest sneak attack I've ever seen XD

@3:55 when the guy says thats too hard! Im still laughing! but *HUGE GRAIN OF SALT* i come from a full contact LARP, where these kinds of hits happen every thirteen seconds. I do like that he has good control over his swings though, its always good to scale to your opponent.

i love how when shad gets swarmed he takes the moment to flourish( 9:50 ) and it should also be noted, if shad actually did get into that engagement, he probably would have won ( 11:59 ) I absolutly adore how we get to see shad actually fight someone else and how good he is. also, flourish( 12:05) and considering how much damage he did, a full 13 points, if shad is an unarmored foot solder, and that gentleman is in full plate... well... yeah i like to think shad won too. i also notice the sort of come down from an adrenaline high in shad's voice. 13:26

you did great! you almost wrecked 4 people!

Seeing Shad unleashed upon the masses was truly a glorious sight to behold. Couldn't stop grinning this whole video.

I've played a couple of different LARP style games and one thing they all had in common was the "Party" of main characters on a quest of some type with 3 to 4 times as many players that were the NPCs. What you were doing was pretty much just Dagorhir-ish skirmish fighting. When we were LARPing in Tennessee I always played an NPC because it gave me the opportunity to play many different roles, from Ranger who leads the party through the wilderness to Goblin swindler cheating the party on goods. We played on private land where the GM had cut paths and clearings in the undergrowth using an industrial lawn mower and as NPC guilds you would be told which paths to take to lead the party from Clearing to clearing. Other NPC players would be enemies they had to defeat. All this meant that the PCs interacted with each other, NPC guilds, merchants, and such, and fought a number of bad guys in an 8 hour session (with a break for lunch). P.S. Are you interested in the LARP rules I wrote?

Shad: sword spinning isn’t going to take you far in battle. Also Shad: 12:04

Damn, such an enormous difference between "just going to an event" versus "I practice HEMA and own a wall full of swords"

Im also confident that shad beat mr armormen due to insane dps (that dude cheats as much as he is bald)

I love how the moderators sound like the fucking staff at a local Chuck E. Cheese.

9:45 the most epic part, he just fought 4 people at the same time 😳

Back again to give a full watch, like, and comment for engagement.

"Oh no, my children! I didn't leave them any money!"

SHAD LOOKED SOLID. its the simple tactics n skills that actually work when it comes to weapons.

When shad surprises everyone with an unbelievable amount of stamina. Good shit bro, larping gets quite tiring from all of the running.

Sure it's not HEMA but it's much easier to get into than hema, and it's better than nothing.

Hold on, hold on. Hits receaved? RECEAVED?!

Excellent videos! So well done for so many of your videos. The historical accuracy mixed with your balanced personality and review are great!!!

... I don't get it. I know a fight looks a lot different from the outside, but it seems like you're hitting people and nothing is happening. Does it just look that way or were these folks ignoring your strikes? PS: This looks like you had a lot of fun and I hope you keep doing it and posting it for us. ^_^

Shad is intimidating as fuck lmao the action kicks off and instant battlecry. *points at someone fighting Shad* That guy knows what's up, he wore the brown trousers today :P

5:51 I love how you're just yelling and having so much fun. That flourish intimated them, I'm sure xD

More of this shad. This was really entertaining

The good thing about LARP is that it can be whatever you want it to be. High fantasy, battle focused, interactive, team sport, solo sport etc.

In fairness to your training opponent new players really should start with a shield! You are totally right that sword craft battle games are more about positioning and tactics then about individual swords men. The Melbourne Friday night battles even more so. Once you form up into shield walls its often a matter of who can make a hole in the enemy line first.

That looked so cool mate...loved the way you took your time to help a fellow comrade in arms. Your so humble and patient any wonder your channel has progressed the way it has over the years. Hope to see more great content in the years that follow!

9:47 When you and your three friends are hanging up on this one guy and then he starts spinning his sword like General Grievous.

This made me smile, just wanted to say that

I like the thing he said about new sword fighters, on how they strike the sword, but not the guys holding it. Thanks for pointing that out.

Watching this makes me miss my larping days. I'd love to join a group like this.... And suddenly I remember my deep hatred of shields.

You got to appreciate the rp/game style duel at 12:03. It's SOO badass. My god. I wanna be in Shad's team, pls!

I loved how you were teaching. It's the best way to learn sword play. *whack* "Alright now this is how I got you."

You need to do way more of this! It was too awesome!

I can see how having Shad as a mentor there would have been beneficial. Breaking the habit of going for the sword and all.

That looked alot more fun than the beginners LARP i did at comic con. All that was was a bunch of people in a tiny room waling on each other shouting "4 normal! 4 normal! 4 normal!!" while you had to mentally try to keep track of your 38 health and the healing you received, and damage reduction, and people shouted phrases to use their 4 spells (each with an arbitrary number of charges) and threw colored bean bags as the spells (the green ones healed and the red ones hurt, but the room was pretty dark). also i think maybe 2 people in the group had LARPed before? I swore off LARP after that.

Shad, should you ever have the opportunity to go to one of the major European LARP events, you should take the opportunity. I think you would be blown away! 😊

It's amazing how you won there Shad, I am very impressed!!

Shad the absolute madman not even hesitating to take on half the participants by himself

I know a LARP place in the UK that happens every so often but they actually make camps and build buildings for the role play side that lasts for about 4 days. It also has a story that continues with every event.

this has to be the most silliest thing I have ever seen

Sometimes I get reminded of how spoiled Germany is in terms of Larp. But I'm am glad it's expanding and growing in places with less medieval history (Australia has a lot fewer genuine castles, after all)

Man. I wish you could come out to an american Boffer Combat group. Like belegarth or dagorhir. We have actual battle lines and and you do have to watch your back, but its part of the strategy to keep people from breaking the line and getting behind your forces. On top of that we use more heavily padded (if less realistic looking) weapons and go full contact. We don't do much RPing either, but its much more realistic combat then "tap" fight larping.

I'm a HEMA guy also but have never done larp. good to see what it's like

Shad just over there getting teamed up on and still kicking ass

Caught a few of your videos here and there. Liked & subscribed on this one for the way you taught Tristen. You broke it down well, taught him patiently. Didn't pander & didn't seem to discourage him (more than would be normal in that situation ;) ). Was really cool to see!

In regards to wanting someone to just have one on one fights with, this is why I'm glad I have brothers.

i feel confident in my swordsmanship to face and defeat both Tristan and Shad. This is a challenge to you Shad.

You said that strapped shields on foot is "incorrect". I don't know how much you thought that line through, but I think you were wrong. Yes, a center grip shield gives more options, but in a skirmish where you fight in line (which is of course not what these guys did but what you should do) a strapped shield might be at the very least equal to a center grip. It does not rotate, which will keep you safe (and in groups you won't need to rotate anyways). When running around by your self a center grip could be superior as long as you know what you're doing. But if you are not very skilled (like most of these guys) the mechanics of a center grip may actually help your opponent create openings while you don't know how to deal with it. A strapped shield you just hold in front of you, much simpler. To summarize, the fighting styles are simply different. Overall it is not so much about being or foot, I think, but rather about if you fight alone or in groups. Thank you.

chadiversity just taking on an entire squad.

Hey Shad! I had my first larp exposure at a Renaissance Fair recently where I got to use their props and try their style of combat. I wasn't the best at it for a number of reasons including: my home made armour is cut a little wide so I can't use the full motion of my shoulders, the restrictions on how to use staff/pole arm style weapons, my inability to dual wield, the lack of shields, my non standard (and rather basic) weapons training, and my general lack of exercise in that regard. I still had a lot of fun with it and I'm sort of interested in doing LARPing but just like you I prefer more of a 1 on 1 dual or a partner or small group where we can test and practice our own fighting styles and techniques. One of my biggest problems with it (besides the pole arm usage restrictions) was how chaotic and crazy it got in the bigger battles. There wasn't really a spot where you could draw someone out and battle just them and constantly having people come from behind and off to the side got really annoying because you can't be fighting with someone and keep an eye on the rest of the battle at the same time. Video games and 3rd person views make it so much easier to see someone coming over to attack you or how your teammates are doing. I struggle to do combat where I have to have my head on a swivel, nobody to watch my back/side, and I'm limited on how many hits I can take. I can't keep tabs on everything and people slip a hit in where I can't see. Another issue I had was the lack of stabs. It's so much easier to land a killing or even an effective or registered hit if you can trust past a defense rather than the build up of a swing. But even more annoying than that is a lot of the "new" people who were trying it out don't have a sense of self preservation and attack aggressively and recklessly making it even harder to focus on a single opponent.

IVE ALWAYS WANTED TO DO THIS!!!!! YOU'RE SO LUCKY!!!!!!!!!

The problem with fighting that many at once is you usually run out of breath before you run out of anything else... Cool video.

Shad you are quite the knowledgable sword enthusiast and I actually learn a lot from you. However it'd be nice if we could meet up and we can teach each other a but about sword fighting

Someone give that Tristan guy a medal. Damn good sport there. Also, "Who's not on my team? RAAAAWR!" My new freaking battlecry.

"Tell my children, I didn't leave them any money" I belly laughed on that one.

one time my buddy went larping at a comic con and he kicked a dudes shield and it broke 😂

there are plenty of other larps that are more roleplay centric. hope you try this more often

As a larper who tryed to use historical martial sword technique, i can say that its difrent but with a little bit of adaptation, it still work. And by the way, as i can see in your sparring moments, you're a pretty good swordman! And you talked abouth L.A.R.P. With more rolaplaying and story and plot with mysteries, I live in Quebec Canada and in my region, theire is a lot, but A LOTS of this kind of L.A.R.P. Or ''GN'' Abreviation for ''Grandeurs nature'' Yes, i'm a french Canadian from Quebec who like pretty your videos. They ares instructives and funny! So yeah... I bet you should be able to find thease kinds of L.A.R.P. in your region too. I whish you good luck Shad!

Well, then, this is amazing.. I love this stuff. Your reasons for loving hema are why I have spent my life practicing ballet! Damn, I would love to battle!

do more larp videos it was pretty fun watching specially with the funny sound effects

I did not know the Pennsylvania state flower would be in such full bloom wherever Shad is. (It's the safety cones, Penn State's State Flower.)

you kick ass Shad!!! I would be right out there with you my friend! your a pretty damn good swordsman! I'm not too bad myself =) too bad your down under and I'm in the states, id love to give ya a go! keep rocking on bud!! love your channel btw!!!

This is like watching the blind leading the drunk!

Good job Shad! I enjoyed this video. It was great to get another look at your fighting style and techniques- pretty good stuff. Looks like a lot of fun but I would probably agree that something more historical would be more enjoyable.

THIS IS AWESOME!! this actually happens a lot in my country... u can see how citizens play with the cops this...

i used to do a larping thing when i was younger had a blast it was more like the thing shad talked about where u had characters and what not 12 year old's dream remember one character i had was literally cicero from skyrim also totally agree with the back hit things very frustrating but the events and what not were directed by the camp super visors who were adults and everyone else were kids so it was much more orderly and had a "cinematic" aspect

Seven years later, you should go to The Reckoning in Indiana. Kramer, Kit, and Madi from Living Anachronism and Skill Tree have made awesome videos describing it; it’s very role play-heavy and they said the fighting was fantastic as well.

Very entertaining. Laughed out loud several times. ^^