One circumstantial advantage of the axe that I've heard a lot of axe wielding reenactors in Norway point out, is that you can't necessarily fence against an axe, using a sword, in the same way you would fence against another sword. When we've met reenactors from the Netherlands and such, who are great with swords, and spears etc. but have little experience with axes, experienced practitioners make the rookie mistake of parrying the axe as if it was a sword. I.e. by conserving movement and only shifting the sword a couple of cm away from the center body alignment. Against an axe, this means you may still have a significant amount of metal burried into your sholder, head or torso.
Thanks very much. Axes have always interested me, and I also think it's a shame we don't know more about them. I suppose part of the problem is that (short-handled) battleaxes were slowly falling out of use by the time you started getting large numbers of treatises published. The axe was also an almost purely martial weapon, unlike the sword, which was far more frequently carried in a civilian context, for reasons you explained very well.
+Braden Vande Plasse I don't think that's the reason. For reasons Matt explains in the video, there would gave been key differences between axe and sword combat.The fact of the matter is, though, that fighting manuals simply didn't exist during the early and high middle ages, at least as far as we know. Skills were transmitted orally from master to student, and people didn't see any need to write them down. By the time that manuals did emerge from the 14th century onwards, axes were no longer being used by their target audience as much as they had before. Anyone wanting to learn how to use an axe would just have to get someone to teach it to them.
Cost and status are probably significant issues. Books where expensive, swords where expensive, axes where cheap. You could make an axe manual and try to sell it to peasents, or a sword manual and sell it to nobels who could afford it.
While I agree with basically everything you've said, including the sword having an advantage over the axe when used as a single weapon, what I find and you didn't mention is that the force of an axe blow that it has because of the tip-heavy balance actually makes it quite a bit more difficult to parry than a sword blow.
I think he meant that it's harder for the swordsman to parry the axe should you strike first or get an opening - as all that force, compared to a sword, is harder to simply deflect
I've done a bit of sparring and experimental testing over the years with larger "war" axes (as opposed to the poll-axe or lighter hatchets) in a HEMA context -- a couple points I've found while working with them. • As you note, the two-handed stick-parry is about the only way to defend yourself against an opponent with a thrusting or impact weapon. It does more poorly against cuts, at least in my experience, because they're easier to re-direct onto the hands. • On the other hand, the "beard" on an axe makes for an acceptable finger-guard if you don't have another option. Likewise, you can take cuts across the top of the axe-head, which is a remarkably solid block of iron. A spike on the head even allows you to trap blades and pummel with the base of the axe-shaft as well as thrust. • You can rapidly shift from a defensive to offensive posture with an axe in both hands by pushing off with the off-hand near the head and rapidly sliding it down towards the primary hand to gain leverage. It also allows you to make potent undercuts (which is otherwise pretty hard with an axe) and close off thrusting lines rapidly by side-stepping and "pulling" the axe rapidly back into a defensive posture with your primary hand. Unfortunately, this can telegraph quite loudly and tends not to work with an experienced opponent (who will be shutting off your head's striking lines as much as possible).
Mind if I give a suggestion, Matt? When you say names of very specific weapons, such as the langobard axe, it would be nice if you displayed the word on screen, just so we know how it's spelled. It would help a lot for for words with lots of homophones, and for people who speak english as their second language. That said, that smooth high quality camera is so awesome!
I can never play a warrior-type in a role playing game again (and have any enjoyment). I know too much now. This video was the tipping point. Great video.
I like your ideas for axe fighting. It's a neat way to deal with fast thrusting attacks with such a top-heavy weapon. When it comes to axes, everyone either uses a big shield or a poleaxe, so I haven't seen anyone trying out techniques for one-handed axes alone. It's an important thing to learn though, because while you wouldn't want to go to battle with only the axe, you can't expect to always have a shield. Shields can break, and horses can run off with your supplies.
Would you ever consider doing a sparing demo with axes vs other weapons, as you did with spears verses swords, and try to compile some ideas on how the axe would have been used with and without a shield?
I agree completely. What a great video. I'm a big fan of the single handed axe and I have been waiting for this one. Using a short axe with both hands defensively makes perfect sense and is intuitive. I'm glad you pointed out that only with a shield the advantages of the axe begin to shine. It's axe and shield combo when the magic happens.Thanks Matt. Your videos rock!
Hey Matt, I've been watching your videos for quite some time, I hugely enjoy them. Just wanted to thank you for this very thoughtful extrapolation on the use of axes. I always enjoy characters in fiction who use axes as their main weapon. Excellent food for thought. Thanks again.
Hi Matt, great vdeo! I have a question about gambesons and/or clothes and unarmoured combat: would it be best to wear loose fitting clothing that could ruck up or fold when a blow is struck on you compared to tight clothing with no give at all? Seems like a stupid question but thought you might have a view.
Hello Matt, Can you talk about murder strike(longsword skill)? Is murder strike powerful as warhammer? And How many weapon a solider can carry in battlefield? Can they take one primary weapon and more than one secondary weapon? (for example, carry one spear, one warhammer and one sword)
Wang Ralph I suppose all that depends on the strength of the individual. I could carry a spear a sword and a hand axe. But that's just me and I wouldn't expect others to do it unless they chose to do so.
4:00 I think it can be said that a warhammer and an axe work very similarly against plate armor, they have mass concentrated at the end for high percussive force and enough edge or protrusion on the head to bite or adhere to the armor at the point of contact, as opposed to deflecting, thus very effectively transferring their kinetic energy. I will go out on a limb and say that the primary striking side of a war hammer was the hammer end, I think, as I believe has been forwarded by Shad, that the spike end was, due to its typically quite short length, used chiefly for going for the head and penetrating helmets, given this I think it makes axe and war hammers even more analogous in function as mainly (against armor) percussive weapons.
I salute your channel on the educational value. More power to your elbow and thanks for showing my Norse loving brother that axes are as good as a Uzi .Thanks .😎
Always great insight. You conjecture on axe defense without a shield is spot on IMO. Something you didn't mention is the ability of the ax to reach around a shield to hit the other guy. What I mean is because the blade is several inches away from the haft the blade could potentially hit before the haft contacts the shield. A sword, being linear, can't do this. The angled reach of a sword essentially makes the other guy's shield smaller and makes him pay more attention to his blocks. My opinion, but I think the ax is an anti-shield weapon and went out of favor when shields started to go away. Certainly the ax is going to do the most damage to a shield out of the available hand weapons. Dane axes were there to break up shield walls (IMO).
It is a very discussed topic, the use the axe in combat, and I think it would be great to have a live demonstration of combat, even if is speculating on the technique.
One thing I noticed in your parrying techniques that seemed interesting to me was the fact you have essentially a bladed d-guard protecting the hand that isn't through your retaining strap and if necessary you could punch with quite some force utilizing not just your presumably dominant hand but the force of your offhand to propel the blade into the opponent in a blow easily from that position. Assuming you were able to close of course.
Hey Matt, unrelated question here. Would it be possible to fight with spears in each hand? Sounds stupid I know, I certainly don't mean in a battle scenario, but in a duel for example. Obviously there are better choices of weapon yet I'm curious if it would be viable at all? Maybe one middle length and one short? Like dancing around the opponent while keeping him at a distance with the longer weapons so he wouldn't be able to reach the spearman but eventually one of the spears would hit a leg/arm and decide the outcome. I obviously overlook something because I've never heard about a fighting style like that but it looks cool in my mind. I had to ask.
You are goddamn right. Are you sure he's ready to be overwhelmed by the power of memes? ... It is too late though, pandora's box have been opened, nothing can stop the memes now, nothing! Our alliance will crush him like a thrown pommel crushes a confused travolta
Kind of surprised you didn't discuss the various ax heads in more detail. My amateur knowledge is that axes made for war weren't all cresent axes or at least had a much smaller crescent. Either way excellent video as always, cheers!
The axe in this video is more a tool axe than a war axe (the beard gives it away). The purpose of the beard is to increase the length of the edge with a minimal increase in mass, and war axes tend not to have too long an edge. They also tend to be pointy in both ends, because a wide and long beard makes hooking more difficult. If you attempt to hook a shield with your axe, the longer the beard the smaller the angle between the face of the shield and the shaft - and it would start to be difficult to get your axe back. I would not want to hook a shield with Matt's axe, here. You don't need - indeed, you wouldn't want - the hook of your weapon to be much smaller than 90 degrees.
Very nice video and I tend to agree with just about everything you say. The only minor things I would add: If you have two combatants with shields and armored in mail, I think the axe is at an advantage. Cutting through mail with a sword should prove difficult and your shield prevents you from halfswording and the enemies makes piercing it with the point a risky thing. You have said something along those lines when you talked about armor in the beginning but it didnt make it to the conclusion. Secondly, I would add that if you have closed the distance enough to grapple, you can use the axe sort of as a bladed brass-knuckles (especially if it is a bearded axe)- not really effective against armor but against an unprotected face it should be devestating. Awesome video filling the gaps left by the treatises with some rather sound guesswork :)
Matt, your opinion on axe use reflects closely to my experience using the CS 'hawk trainers. Against just about any weapon, using it like a short staff was the best method of defense. I've also found that a good means of offense is in using the axe head basically as a set of knucks - choke up with your strong hand near the head, weak hand near the end of the shaft. Defend as you said there, offend either by stepping into grappling range and pummeling them with your edge set of iron knuckles, or if you can't establish a grapple, by casting the weapon out at regular fighting distance again. Also when choked up like that, I notice the shaft makes a nice parrying bar even in one hand, along the forearm, like we see with daggers.
With a longer handle, you choke up on it midway, essentially giving it the same effective length as shown here. The excess handle is run down the forearm, and fixed to it by a supporting hand or shield manipulation. High guard, attacks swoop down. The body movement is to the opposite direction, like pivoting on an axis. Shield moves around a lot. Try it.
That was a a very well done video. Several of my friends and I practice with small axes and tomahawks while using pekiti or kuntao respectively as a basis for our movements, and we came to similar conclusions. I will certainly try the half handle grip, as it does seem like a good method for closing the distance against certain ranged weapons.
Hello Matt. One question. Around the 7:07 mark you mention that an axe is a relatively slow moving weapon compared to a sword because it is tip heavy. I was wondering, doesn't the weight concentrated at the end actually increase the speed, as soon inertia has been overcome? Or is the inertia simply too great to let the momentum make a difference in such a small time frame? Of course it flows into your statement about its nimbleness around 7:12 but I assume that swing speed and ability to change direction are two different things. Cheers in advance, Glenn
You are probably right about two-handed parries with axes and maces; but additionally, in my own usage, I figure blocking with a shield or parrying with the weapon once while closing distance against a swordsman to get past his guard, and also negate his reach advantage, then either striking with a thrust to the face or swing to the temple is a viable option when coupled with a quick retreat. (Wow, that's quite the run-on sentence.) A risky maneuver? Perhaps; that's why you want to be quick. Furthermore, I find if you keep the mace moving, it's quicker than you'd guess. Handing my mace, axe or war hammer in two hands, I use them somewhat like a shortsword and can do similar parries. But, parrying with my war hammer in the fashion you showed with the axe is practically second nature; as a matter of fact, I have a photo from a couple of years ago where I am holding in that manner, as if parrying a downward strike.
there is one type of battle axe that was used through several millennia but there is not much talk about. Of course it is not a Western European weapon. I am talking about what is now called Shepard's axe (good, valaska) however it originally it was a cavalry weapon. used by the Scythians, xiongnu, and other steppe people. it was last used in war as an issued weapon in the first world war. it has a very light head. usually around a pound or less a long handle. On the backside of the head there is either a hammer or a spike. It can be wielded relatively fast thanks to the light head, one or two handed. because of the long handle it is capable of delivering a huge blow still relatively easy to handle.
very light head = thin. Thin vs cloth & fabric does not end well if there's more than one opponent, no matter how far they hold the handle, because the padding creates some resistance and so does the bones of the enemy, so it sticks in really well and cant be retrieved without what sounds like considerable effort. it sounds quite effective maybe a millenia ago, but i reckon that there's a reason why they stopped issuing them after ww1
Azhag the Faggot A pound of sharp metal on a meter long stick could kill pretty much anything that moves. It would penetrate plate armor. Bulls, bears had been killed with these things. Now I do think that in an unarmored fight it is inferior to swords, by large, But still it is a decent weapon and a good and versatile tool in the same time.
Adam Koncz im talking about in a battle, so likely more than one opponent, so while im sure its great against *single* opponents as you get shit tonnes of leverage from that meter, what i was saying was that it wouldn't have been used in battle, so its less of a battle axe and more of a self defensive axe.
Azhag the Faggot As a weapon it was used in battle by Chinese, steppe people from Xiongnu, Huns Avars, Magyars, Khazars. It was used thorough the Turkish wars in Eastern Europe, it was used in wars of the 18th and 19th century. It was the symbol of power and the chosen sidearm for a number of military leaders in the 17th 18th century. It is a weapon that stayed in use for several thousands of years from 1000BC to the 19th century. Against an armored enemy I would pick it instead of a sword or a mace. It is light enough to be a companion weapon next to your sword, bow or musket also a useful tool in your daily life. Now I am not saying that a Shepard's axe is a superior weapon but if I would gear up for a military campaign I would pack my sword and bow or musket pike or whatever. Then I would definitely add grab this in addition. Hang it next to the saddle or use it as a walking stick. And if the time comes depending on *context* it may be my chosen weapon.
+Adam Koncz Thanks for the info. Never heard of this weapon. It seems like cross between a "pole axe" and a "war pick", in that it sacrifices cutting edge to make it pierce better. I can imagine that it would be much cheaper/easier to make axes with smaller, narrower heads like that, because the shaft would likely face less force (so less likely to break). But, like Azhag said, I think it would get stuck inside people more easily than other weapons.
Having played around with axes, a bit, I believe they are a pretty good defensive weapon, once you do not treat them like a clumsy sword and can overcome your fear of being hit and be agressive. Instead of parrying, you should execute your parries as perpendicular draw-cuts against the opponent's weapon (e.g. going from prim to quint against an attack to your left side.), and if possible, step into measure at the same time. This way, you hook and displace the attack, and can immediately follow with a kick, punch, or any weapon in your off hand while having control of the weapon. You can then release the bind with a twist of your hand, and follow up with the axe. Putting a more emphasized twist into the axe can very well result in disarmament of the opponent, as well (a few times out of a few dozen tries, it happened acidentally) as we found out, but you'd need a lot of training to do it on purpose, I'd guess. Now with a second axe in the off hand, and using a "scissor block", disarming worked 9 times out of 10, though. Worked even better against a spear-wielder. I'm pretty sure the draw cut parry technique also reduces wear on the haft, as the perpendicular motion twists the blade on impact, deflecting a bit of the power and preventing it from bite in too deep. At least it looked like it.
I noticed that in one video you had brought out an Indian axe with the "mustache" blade. Are there any manuals or treatises for using that type of axe back in the (I'm assuming) 18th and 19th centuries?
Hey Matt, since you talked about a low Quality sword being likely to break and i was wondering, are there any records of swords actually breaking in a battle. And also, could you fight with the then left piece of the sword? (Of course, not effectively, but as a makeshift weapon so that you have SOMETHING?)
Hey Matt, I don't know for certain, but I _suspect_ that if you were to run the microphone's cables up the _inside_ of your jumper (or maybe even shirt), that might reduce the amount of noise we get when you're moving around a lot.
Some points: It depends a lot on how specifically the axe is made. If you have an axe with a heavy head then yeah it will hit a lot harder but be slower than a sword, but if you make an axe with a long handle and a really small, light head then you have a weapon which is lighter than a sword overall but hits just as hard. Also, something that's probably been brought up before is that the Bayeux tapestry actually seems to show the great daneaxe being used as sort of a secondary weapon. When then Normans first charge the saxon huscarls are shown initially holding a spear and shield with the daneaxe being held in the shield hand. After the initial charge the shield and spear are discarded and the huscarls are shown as only using their daneaxe. Last point, in the late 1500s English mercenary Humfrey Barwick made a statement along the lines of "the English love their bows the way the Danish love their axes/hatchets" so evidently the axe did still see use in some capacity into the 16th century. Although it was considered an antiquated weapon.
For what few actual weapon strikes it features, I found Valhalla Rising displayed some interesting points. One such instance was when One-eye dove headlong, almost torpedo like, to strike as he landed on his side, taking out a mans ankle. The short axe will do massive damage if it's momentum goes unchecked.. Of course, in a battlefield scenario, one does not often have the opportunity to launch such risky 'all-or-nothing' attacks.. Just thought I'd plug that (rather odd) film, as one where small, short axes can be seen delivering blows. Great vid Matt!
Impressed did not think many had seen that movie or atleast not many that seen the whole movie. its one of those movies i dont know if i hate or love. if it is great or crap :)
I think it's important to identify 'from who's perspective is a story told'. Valhalla Rising is pretty...vague, on this point. It doesn't offer our own perspective a ready made anchor point. The imagery is often skewed by the characters perception's.. At other times, the imagery is quite clinical.. In any case; One-eye is very efficient with a short axe. :)
The "hook" arguments is one of the things I like about the Kopesh, the curved blade would often be made in such a way that the back end of the tip had a hook (although this point seem lost on modern versions. And I guess some ancient versions didn't have it as well)
Plus, if you get a bunch of your Viking mates together you can breach a castle by throwing a bunch of axes at the draw bridge and climb over the top. :).
So I only have that ax and someone attacks me with a sword, and I turn the ax upside down, grab it just below (now above) the head, and parry with the lighter shaft while closing in to axhead-punch my attacker. Is this a good plan?
This is a very specific question but how do axeheads and hammers compare on the end of a pollaxe against armour? Is there a reason to pick the axe-hammer version over the axe-spike version or the hammer-spike version?
I have a question Matt, I've been reading a historical novel about Agincourt and the author keeps mentioning lead weighted maces, mallets, and pollaxes. Is there any historical truth to this or is it just an author's flight of fancy?
They are mentioned by various later historians, but I don't believe there are any period mentions of them. English archers were mostly equipped with swords and bucklers as hand to hand weapons, and there is also mention of hatchets being used.
shurely not a good source (they are more or less the "medieval Hollywood"), however, they are the only source we've got if we want to understand (armed) combat in the early middle-ages... i suppose some of them might be in parts relatively accurate, but sadly, we have no idea wich ones are the complete opposite, so i think we should be suspicious and trust none of them. However, as i said, they are literaly the only thing we've got (artistic depictions of warriors on runestones etc are, as a source, even worse)... if we want do depict norse warriors of this period in games or movies or something like that it might be a good idea to depict them according to the sagas, but i think that trying to learn to use an axe by watching this representations might be as successfull as trying to learn martial arts from "Kill Bill"... the sagas exaggerated theyr action scenes for dramatic purposes, just like modern action movies do (Sorry for my bad english, as you might suspect at this point, i'm not a native speaker and i've got a very rich taylor :))
Love the way you use the axe. I would add when the axe is being used 2 handed the axe head can be used as a punch daggar. Stabbing your opponent repeatedly will cause them to stagger thus allowing for the killing blow.
I would love to see a discussion of the use of 2-handed axes as well - admittedly the only one I know of though is the Dane Axe and the polearm "axes."
Would a single handed axe like the one shown be useful in the field for chopping small trees and the like for firewood or other purposes? If its just a backup weapon it might be worth having over the sword simply because you would have to carry an axe anyway.
In some previous videos you've talked about the social implications of carrying battlefield weapons in a civil context (i.e. its just not acceptable to carry out your daily life carry a halberd), is there any evidence about how swords and axes where treated in this context? Would it have been acceptable to carry an axe in the same kinds of social contexts where a sword was worn?
Mr. Easton, Huge fan of your work. You are one of my favorite martial arts youtubers ever. We go on and on about how axes/spears are cheaper than swords because its less metal and simpler to build. But how much cheaper? How about shields? [Historical context here blah blah blah]. Also I couldn't help but notice how the shield you are using has a strap that positions your arm like a boxer. As you probably know from kung fu the arm position its used to shield the head. Coincidence?
This is a very basic question, but how much training did the typical foot soldier have during, say, the Hundred Year's War? It's all well and good to say that various fencing manuals existed, but the average soldier would not have access to them; would he at least have been trained in similar techniques? I ask because the advantages of the sword over the axe are probably greatly diminished if the wielder lacks the training to exploit those advantages.
By the highpoints of the Hundred Years War soldiers would be very well trained; not through a fencing manual, but by someone, who could likely read the fencing manual, teaching them.
Matt, taking your approach to to defensive use of an axe alone. There's an interesting (to me at least) study there in the length of handle, and by extension head proportions. For parrying etc with two hands it seems to me as if handle length would be an advantage, as a longer 'staff' in effect. Yet that would trade off against an even tippier balance one handed (if using all the length) and more encumbrance once you'd gotten in close. Trading out weight in the head, would be compensated by the increased leverage given a full blow, but in close, getting a full blow seems less likely the longer the handle. Mind you, I dare say the historical range is about right for that context :)
Is there any momentum in HEMA toward reconstructing short ax technique? I get that the lack of treatises makes it near impossible . . . but that's never stopped y'all before.
Notice that the beard of the axe protects the left hand which provides some protection against a sword in the right hand of the opponent. If you close and punch with the left, allowing the axe blade to lead the blow ...
I recall having read the claim that an advantage of Axe+shield vs sword+shield is that it uses up less space in a formation situation. So that if the axemen close ranks as much as is practical, for each 10 men of their 'frontage', opposing swordmen might only practicaly oppose them with 8 or 9. Not sure if there is any valididty to this claim, but it is an interesting question.
This is why I like khukris, you have a little less power than the handaxe but you get all the versatility of a sword, and if you make it with enough weight towards the end you can have enough power to get through plate
Hi Matt, it´s an interesting view and a good point in the use of axe alone. I want to know more about sword and shield, axe and shield, i mean, I´d like know about the art of the battlefield shield (let me put this generic label) its almost non existent in the treatises. Would be good to know your opinion and where to look for in the hema literature. I love the movie fight reviews. Good luck.
Some of my ancestors were scotts and one of them made a lord by Robert the Bruce fought a duel to settle an border dispute and killed his opponent with an axe
He also (if memory serves) did a guy while still his rounsey. (travel horse as opposed to war horse for those who don't know) One guy tried to spit him with a lance and Robert hacked him out of the saddle by zapping him in the back of the neck with his ax as the guy went by.
It wasn't a border dispute, it was the day before the Battle of Bannockburn. Bruce and his companions were scouting out the English army as it took up positions, they encountered a vanguard of English Cavalry under Sir Henry de Bohun, a member of one of England 's most powerful families. Against orders de Bohun challenged Bruce. De Bohun was fully armed and armoured with his lance and destrier, de Brus was mounted on a light palfrey, lightly armoured and with a battle axe. Now the Scottish king could have easily retreated, he was lighter and mounted on a faster, lighter horse. This would have been the tactic he may have used a month before as his strategy was to wage a guerrilla war. However, he knew that the issue was to be contested in a pitched battle, one he never wanted to fight, he was winning the war through the guerrilla campaign. His brother, Edward had forced the issue by giving the English govenor of Stirling Castle a deadline to either surrender or be relieved. When Edward II of England was informed of the challenge, he was forced politically to act to relive the castle. Robert was furious with Edward Bruce for forcing a pitched battle against the most powerful army in Northern Europe. But, the issue has been forced. De Brus knew that to decline the challenge in full sight of the two armies who were deploying. So he accepted the challenge. De Bohun couched his lance and charged towards Bruce, who remained stationary, hefting his small axe and shield. At the last minute he caused his horse to junk to the side, avoiding the lance strike and, as de Bohun passed him, he struck him across the head, presumably back handed and killed him. It was a calculated risk, De Brus was a highly trained combat soldier, De Bohun was a younger member of the family, keen to display his prowess on the field, well trained, superbly equipped and mounted and with proven skill at tournament. When you consider the odds, to a veteran soldier on either side, the contest was not as uneven as it might appear to the common men who made up the army. The morale boost the Scots army received was immense, by the same token, the common English soldiers were appalled, in a foreign land, a hostile country where scorched earth had been practiced by the Scots, this would have been a severe blow. By all accounts, the English commanders, including Edward II were furious with de Bohun, many of them knew De Brus well, had fought alongside him, were related to him and knew his prowess as a war leader and Knight. Incidentally, I'm descended directly from De Bohun and also a direct descendent of both Kings, Robert de Brus and Edward II as are many other of today's Britons
Ok, but if you used the axe as a parrying stick vs. a sword wouldn't the sword just cut through the axe handle? If that happened it wouldn't be useful at all. Your thoughts? Thanks.
Would you think it possible that long 'beards' on axes have a second function next to shield/other object hooks, namely providing some protection to the secondary hand in a double handed parry situation? (Conjecture, I know, but your hand looked quite safe behind that edge there..)
Do you have any thoughts on using bearded axes to hook and bind an opponents weapon? It's something I've found useful against thrusts. if their sword is locked in your axes beard they can't quickly thrust in and out.
What about a possible advantage in throwing a one handed axe (provided this doesn't entirely disarm you)? Were some of the longer one handed axes too unwieldy for throwing? Is this possibility too remote to reasonably consider when comparing axe to sword? Also, what about axe and parrying dagger, or two axes and a focus on hooking against your opponent? Or axes with long points at the top or back (against armor or defensively)? I know it would all be an educated guess, given the lack of resources, but I would still be interested in any response.
I wonder how effective it would be the use the the spine of an axe head (between the eye and the toe) like a cross guard. Like choke up on the shoulder holding it out like a buckler. use the shaft to protect the arm (as much as is possible). That might draw the person with the reach advantage in more. And if you could over extend them and put them off footing, than maybe you could give it a wind letting the grip looser to allow the hand to slide to the butt of the shaft for one good blow.
Hm looking at this now I honestly have no clue about medival weapon fighting but couldn't you also use the head of the axe like a guard to parry incoming slashing motions?
How often do we see unarmored individuals with a shield, though? I would assume rather low, since having a shield on hand would indicate that you were much more 'battle ready'- thus more likely to be armored (whether it was a gambeson, etc.) Or is there evidence to the contrary?
A question only tangentially related to the video: how do shield-wielding combatants, with either axes/swords/maces, measure up against those with polearms? Of course, the polearm/sidearm choice would depend on the armour of the fighters, so lets assume in one scenario both fighters are unarmoured and in the other they have a gambeson, hauberk and helm. Is the advantage of reach and additional striking power matched by the shields protection?
interesting video Matt, thanks :) I wonder how a long axe would handle against a sword, alone or with a shield. it still wouldn't be as nimble as a sword, but the longer shaft I suppose could give you more leverage and greater reach. I've always loved Sparr axes that you find in Western Highland and Islands of Scotland and Ireland; Gallowglasses in Ireland used them from the 13th to mid 16th centuries, and its interesting that in response the English administration in Ireland chose to hire other Gallowlasses to fight them, rather than relying on more conventional men at arms, responding to axemen with axemen as it were.
wouldn't the use of "half-axing" could cause a risk since you get both unprotected hands on the shaft of your weapon? How could someone reduce that risk?
Metal-backed gauntlets. Possibly some rings at key points of the axe haft to partially catch or slow incoming sword blades, but still small enough for the axe wielder to slide his hands over them as needed.
I'd like to know more about the offensive use of shields. I would assume that some shield designs are better for striking and or pushing, but I'm not sure which would be most effective. Also, it seems like hitting someone with your shield or just knocking him off balance would be a great way to create openings for your sword/spear/ax/mace/war hammer/etc.
Besides raiding/attacking a civilian town or city, how common was fighting an unarmored opponent? Or WAS that when one fought unarmored opponents, because I know attacking towns and stuff is a big part of war.
One circumstantial advantage of the axe that I've heard a lot of axe wielding reenactors in Norway point out, is that you can't necessarily fence against an axe, using a sword, in the same way you would fence against another sword.
When we've met reenactors from the Netherlands and such, who are great with swords, and spears etc. but have little experience with axes, experienced practitioners make the rookie mistake of parrying the axe as if it was a sword. I.e. by conserving movement and only shifting the sword a couple of cm away from the center body alignment. Against an axe, this means you may still have a significant amount of metal burried into your sholder, head or torso.
Sir, I found your comment both fascinating and helpful in my own research. Thank you very much, and I hope this finds you well!
13:10 Yes, the battle-cello was indeed a fearsome instrument of war.
lmao
Lol
Mainly used by thugs given to mindless violins.
Thanks very much. Axes have always interested me, and I also think it's a shame we don't know more about them. I suppose part of the problem is that (short-handled) battleaxes were slowly falling out of use by the time you started getting large numbers of treatises published. The axe was also an almost purely martial weapon, unlike the sword, which was far more frequently carried in a civilian context, for reasons you explained very well.
Yes I think these are the key reasons we don't see them in treatises.
Maybe you were expected use an axe like a sword when in combination with a shield and that's why there aren't any manuals?
+Braden Vande Plasse I don't think that's the reason. For reasons Matt explains in the video, there would gave been key differences between axe and sword combat.The fact of the matter is, though, that fighting manuals simply didn't exist during the early and high middle ages, at least as far as we know. Skills were transmitted orally from master to student, and people didn't see any need to write them down. By the time that manuals did emerge from the 14th century onwards, axes were no longer being used by their target audience as much as they had before. Anyone wanting to learn how to use an axe would just have to get someone to teach it to them.
+Braden Vande Plasse Plus, of course, we don't have any treatises on sword and shield either (unless you count bucklers as shields).
Cost and status are probably significant issues. Books where expensive, swords where expensive, axes where cheap. You could make an axe manual and try to sell it to peasents, or a sword manual and sell it to nobels who could afford it.
You missed the chance to make the opening line I've been axed a lot of questions :(
that would be cheesy as fuck but still great
Racist
13:53 looked super cool, I would love to see that included in movie, sadly Hollywood doesn't like realistic fighting.
Agreed
look at the Patriot.
jeremy stewert Do you have a link to the scene?
No but you might be able to RUclips, Patriot tomahawk. They're some pretty bloody scenes, Mel Gibson goes crazy with that thing.
Intertaining scene but I didn't see that technique.
While I agree with basically everything you've said, including the sword having an advantage over the axe when used as a single weapon, what I find and you didn't mention is that the force of an axe blow that it has because of the tip-heavy balance actually makes it quite a bit more difficult to parry than a sword blow.
I think he meant that it's harder for the swordsman to parry the axe should you strike first or get an opening - as all that force, compared to a sword, is harder to simply deflect
I've done a bit of sparring and experimental testing over the years with larger "war" axes (as opposed to the poll-axe or lighter hatchets) in a HEMA context -- a couple points I've found while working with them.
• As you note, the two-handed stick-parry is about the only way to defend yourself against an opponent with a thrusting or impact weapon. It does more poorly against cuts, at least in my experience, because they're easier to re-direct onto the hands.
• On the other hand, the "beard" on an axe makes for an acceptable finger-guard if you don't have another option. Likewise, you can take cuts across the top of the axe-head, which is a remarkably solid block of iron. A spike on the head even allows you to trap blades and pummel with the base of the axe-shaft as well as thrust.
• You can rapidly shift from a defensive to offensive posture with an axe in both hands by pushing off with the off-hand near the head and rapidly sliding it down towards the primary hand to gain leverage. It also allows you to make potent undercuts (which is otherwise pretty hard with an axe) and close off thrusting lines rapidly by side-stepping and "pulling" the axe rapidly back into a defensive posture with your primary hand. Unfortunately, this can telegraph quite loudly and tends not to work with an experienced opponent (who will be shutting off your head's striking lines as much as possible).
Mind if I give a suggestion, Matt?
When you say names of very specific weapons, such as the langobard axe, it would be nice if you displayed the word on screen, just so we know how it's spelled. It would help a lot for for words with lots of homophones, and for people who speak english as their second language.
That said, that smooth high quality camera is so awesome!
I love it when you make videos on weapons other than swords. I find them especially educational and enlightening.
I can never play a warrior-type in a role playing game again (and have any enjoyment). I know too much now. This video was the tipping point. Great video.
Same here, I can never watch Game Of Thrones again!
"You can now release that head, and you have a huge amount of impact potential from that head" - Great quote, and life lesson.
I like your ideas for axe fighting. It's a neat way to deal with fast thrusting attacks with such a top-heavy weapon. When it comes to axes, everyone either uses a big shield or a poleaxe, so I haven't seen anyone trying out techniques for one-handed axes alone. It's an important thing to learn though, because while you wouldn't want to go to battle with only the axe, you can't expect to always have a shield. Shields can break, and horses can run off with your supplies.
Would you ever consider doing a sparing demo with axes vs other weapons, as you did with spears verses swords, and try to compile some ideas on how the axe would have been used with and without a shield?
I agree completely. What a great video. I'm a big fan of the single handed axe and I have been waiting for this one. Using a short axe with both hands defensively makes perfect sense and is intuitive. I'm glad you pointed out that only with a shield the advantages of the axe begin to shine. It's axe and shield combo when the magic happens.Thanks Matt. Your videos rock!
THE WALLHAMMER RETURNS!!!!
Once he ups the video quality it will be a 40k Wallhammer
Excellent Video, thanks a lot for discussing the pros and cons. Best wishes, Erik
Thanx for the info. Especially the how to guard with it, which seems to be a great weakness.
Hey Matt, I've been watching your videos for quite some time, I hugely enjoy them. Just wanted to thank you for this very thoughtful extrapolation on the use of axes. I always enjoy characters in fiction who use axes as their main weapon. Excellent food for thought. Thanks again.
Thank you for brightening my day again good sir.
Hi Matt, great vdeo! I have a question about gambesons and/or clothes and unarmoured combat: would it be best to wear loose fitting clothing that could ruck up or fold when a blow is struck on you compared to tight clothing with no give at all? Seems like a stupid question but thought you might have a view.
Hello Matt,
Can you talk about murder strike(longsword skill)? Is murder strike powerful as warhammer?
And How many weapon a solider can carry in battlefield? Can they take one primary weapon and more than one secondary weapon? (for example, carry one spear, one warhammer and one sword)
Wang Ralph I suppose all that depends on the strength of the individual. I could carry a spear a sword and a hand axe. But that's just me and I wouldn't expect others to do it unless they chose to do so.
4:00 I think it can be said that a warhammer and an axe work very similarly against plate armor, they have mass concentrated at the end for high percussive force and enough edge or protrusion on the head to bite or adhere to the armor at the point of contact, as opposed to deflecting, thus very effectively transferring their kinetic energy. I will go out on a limb and say that the primary striking side of a war hammer was the hammer end, I think, as I believe has been forwarded by Shad, that the spike end was, due to its typically quite short length, used chiefly for going for the head and penetrating helmets, given this I think it makes axe and war hammers even more analogous in function as mainly (against armor) percussive weapons.
I salute your channel on the educational value. More power to your elbow and thanks for showing my Norse loving brother that axes are as good as a Uzi .Thanks .😎
Always great insight. You conjecture on axe defense without a shield is spot on IMO.
Something you didn't mention is the ability of the ax to reach around a shield to hit the other guy. What I mean is because the blade is several inches away from the haft the blade could potentially hit before the haft contacts the shield. A sword, being linear, can't do this. The angled reach of a sword essentially makes the other guy's shield smaller and makes him pay more attention to his blocks.
My opinion, but I think the ax is an anti-shield weapon and went out of favor when shields started to go away. Certainly the ax is going to do the most damage to a shield out of the available hand weapons. Dane axes were there to break up shield walls (IMO).
It is a very discussed topic, the use the axe in combat, and I think it would be great to have a live demonstration of combat, even if is speculating on the technique.
One thing I noticed in your parrying techniques that seemed interesting to me was the fact you have essentially a bladed d-guard protecting the hand that isn't through your retaining strap and if necessary you could punch with quite some force utilizing not just your presumably dominant hand but the force of your offhand to propel the blade into the opponent in a blow easily from that position. Assuming you were able to close of course.
Thanks, Matt. I've been hoping for more information on fighting with the axe.
Hey Matt, unrelated question here. Would it be possible to fight with spears in each hand? Sounds stupid I know, I certainly don't mean in a battle scenario, but in a duel for example. Obviously there are better choices of weapon yet I'm curious if it would be viable at all? Maybe one middle length and one short? Like dancing around the opponent while keeping him at a distance with the longer weapons so he wouldn't be able to reach the spearman but eventually one of the spears would hit a leg/arm and decide the outcome. I obviously overlook something because I've never heard about a fighting style like that but it looks cool in my mind. I had to ask.
Yes it would be possible, but I don't really see the purpose.
you know it ( ͡o ͜ʖ ͡o)
ready to meme up his channel? ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
You are goddamn right. Are you sure he's ready to be overwhelmed by the power of memes? ... It is too late though, pandora's box have been opened, nothing can stop the memes now, nothing! Our alliance will crush him like a thrown pommel crushes a confused travolta
I think they did that in some african martial arts.
Brilliant! Totally agree with your interpretation of single-handed, no-shield usage. Now to try in sparring one day!
Kind of surprised you didn't discuss the various ax heads in more detail. My amateur knowledge is that axes made for war weren't all cresent axes or at least had a much smaller crescent. Either way excellent video as always, cheers!
The axe in this video is more a tool axe than a war axe (the beard gives it away). The purpose of the beard is to increase the length of the edge with a minimal increase in mass, and war axes tend not to have too long an edge. They also tend to be pointy in both ends, because a wide and long beard makes hooking more difficult. If you attempt to hook a shield with your axe, the longer the beard the smaller the angle between the face of the shield and the shaft - and it would start to be difficult to get your axe back. I would not want to hook a shield with Matt's axe, here. You don't need - indeed, you wouldn't want - the hook of your weapon to be much smaller than 90 degrees.
Good stuff Matt, and of course the axe is very powerful on horseback at speed for added percussive power.
Very nice video and I tend to agree with just about everything you say.
The only minor things I would add:
If you have two combatants with shields and armored in mail, I think the axe is at an advantage. Cutting through mail with a sword should prove difficult and your shield prevents you from halfswording and the enemies makes piercing it with the point a risky thing. You have said something along those lines when you talked about armor in the beginning but it didnt make it to the conclusion.
Secondly, I would add that if you have closed the distance enough to grapple, you can use the axe sort of as a bladed brass-knuckles (especially if it is a bearded axe)- not really effective against armor but against an unprotected face it should be devestating.
Awesome video filling the gaps left by the treatises with some rather sound guesswork :)
Matt, your opinion on axe use reflects closely to my experience using the CS 'hawk trainers. Against just about any weapon, using it like a short staff was the best method of defense. I've also found that a good means of offense is in using the axe head basically as a set of knucks - choke up with your strong hand near the head, weak hand near the end of the shaft. Defend as you said there, offend either by stepping into grappling range and pummeling them with your edge set of iron knuckles, or if you can't establish a grapple, by casting the weapon out at regular fighting distance again.
Also when choked up like that, I notice the shaft makes a nice parrying bar even in one hand, along the forearm, like we see with daggers.
With a longer handle, you choke up on it midway, essentially giving it the same effective length as shown here. The excess handle is run down the forearm, and fixed to it by a supporting hand or shield manipulation. High guard, attacks swoop down. The body movement is to the opposite direction, like pivoting on an axis. Shield moves around a lot. Try it.
That was a a very well done video. Several of my friends and I practice with small axes and tomahawks while using pekiti or kuntao respectively as a basis for our movements, and we came to similar conclusions. I will certainly try the half handle grip, as it does seem like a good method for closing the distance against certain ranged weapons.
Hey Matt, love the channel.
What do you think of two-handed axes, like the Dane axe for example?
Did you make the shield from this video yourself or can you tell me where you bought it
From Shields Plus.
Thanks Matt
I love Mett Euston!
k
Don't we all, that said I'm a fan of Lednybeeg as well.
William Stark Trayter
I prefer shkallygrum
Have you found the Holy Spadrune?
Who made that shield in the video? Are they available? Or are their some good plans to construct one like that?
In tomahawk training I do use the two handed method but also reverse grip for lack of a better term works well also.
Would you generally use the lanyard around your wrist (to keep hold of the axe) or not (to allow versatility in switching grips/hands) in a fight?
Hello Matt. One question. Around the 7:07 mark you mention that an axe is a relatively slow moving weapon compared to a sword because it is tip heavy. I was wondering, doesn't the weight concentrated at the end actually increase the speed, as soon inertia has been overcome? Or is the inertia simply too great to let the momentum make a difference in such a small time frame?
Of course it flows into your statement about its nimbleness around 7:12 but I assume that swing speed and ability to change direction are two different things.
Cheers in advance,
Glenn
I'm not Matt, but I'm gonna answer all the same: Yes, inertia.
Great point about not being able to block a sword swing with an axe because the axe is tip-heavy. I had never considered that.
You are probably right about two-handed parries with axes and maces; but additionally, in my own usage, I figure blocking with a shield or parrying with the weapon once while closing distance against a swordsman to get past his guard, and also negate his reach advantage, then either striking with a thrust to the face or swing to the temple is a viable option when coupled with a quick retreat. (Wow, that's quite the run-on sentence.) A risky maneuver? Perhaps; that's why you want to be quick. Furthermore, I find if you keep the mace moving, it's quicker than you'd guess. Handing my mace, axe or war hammer in two hands, I use them somewhat like a shortsword and can do similar parries. But, parrying with my war hammer in the fashion you showed with the axe is practically second nature; as a matter of fact, I have a photo from a couple of years ago where I am holding in that manner, as if parrying a downward strike.
there is one type of battle axe that was used through several millennia but there is not much talk about. Of course it is not a Western European weapon. I am talking about what is now called Shepard's axe (good, valaska) however it originally it was a cavalry weapon. used by the Scythians, xiongnu, and other steppe people. it was last used in war as an issued weapon in the first world war. it has a very light head. usually around a pound or less a long handle. On the backside of the head there is either a hammer or a spike. It can be wielded relatively fast thanks to the light head, one or two handed. because of the long handle it is capable of delivering a huge blow still relatively easy to handle.
very light head = thin. Thin vs cloth & fabric does not end well if there's more than one opponent, no matter how far they hold the handle, because the padding creates some resistance and so does the bones of the enemy, so it sticks in really well and cant be retrieved without what sounds like considerable effort. it sounds quite effective maybe a millenia ago, but i reckon that there's a reason why they stopped issuing them after ww1
Azhag the Faggot A pound of sharp metal on a meter long stick could kill pretty much anything that moves. It would penetrate plate armor. Bulls, bears had been killed with these things.
Now I do think that in an unarmored fight it is inferior to swords, by large, But still it is a decent weapon and a good and versatile tool in the same time.
Adam Koncz im talking about in a battle, so likely more than one opponent, so while im sure its great against *single* opponents as you get shit tonnes of leverage from that meter, what i was saying was that it wouldn't have been used in battle, so its less of a battle axe and more of a self defensive axe.
Azhag the Faggot As a weapon it was used in battle by Chinese, steppe people from Xiongnu, Huns Avars, Magyars, Khazars. It was used thorough the Turkish wars in Eastern Europe, it was used in wars of the 18th and 19th century. It was the symbol of power and the chosen sidearm for a number of military leaders in the 17th 18th century. It is a weapon that stayed in use for several thousands of years from 1000BC to the 19th century. Against an armored enemy I would pick it instead of a sword or a mace.
It is light enough to be a companion weapon next to your sword, bow or musket also a useful tool in your daily life.
Now I am not saying that a Shepard's axe is a superior weapon but if I would gear up for a military campaign I would pack my sword and bow or musket pike or whatever. Then I would definitely add grab this in addition. Hang it next to the saddle or use it as a walking stick. And if the time comes depending on *context* it may be my chosen weapon.
+Adam Koncz
Thanks for the info. Never heard of this weapon.
It seems like cross between a "pole axe" and a "war pick", in that it sacrifices cutting edge to make it pierce better. I can imagine that it would be much cheaper/easier to make axes with smaller, narrower heads like that, because the shaft would likely face less force (so less likely to break).
But, like Azhag said, I think it would get stuck inside people more easily than other weapons.
Having played around with axes, a bit, I believe they are a pretty good defensive weapon, once you do not treat them like a clumsy sword and can overcome your fear of being hit and be agressive.
Instead of parrying, you should execute your parries as perpendicular draw-cuts against the opponent's weapon (e.g. going from prim to quint against an attack to your left side.), and if possible, step into measure at the same time. This way, you hook and displace the attack, and can immediately follow with a kick, punch, or any weapon in your off hand while having control of the weapon. You can then release the bind with a twist of your hand, and follow up with the axe. Putting a more emphasized twist into the axe can very well result in disarmament of the opponent, as well (a few times out of a few dozen tries, it happened acidentally) as we found out, but you'd need a lot of training to do it on purpose, I'd guess. Now with a second axe in the off hand, and using a "scissor block", disarming worked 9 times out of 10, though.
Worked even better against a spear-wielder.
I'm pretty sure the draw cut parry technique also reduces wear on the haft, as the perpendicular motion twists the blade on impact, deflecting a bit of the power and preventing it from bite in too deep. At least it looked like it.
I noticed that in one video you had brought out an Indian axe with the "mustache" blade. Are there any manuals or treatises for using that type of axe back in the (I'm assuming) 18th and 19th centuries?
Sorry if I missed you say in the video, but where did you get your axe from?
Hey Matt, since you talked about a low Quality sword being likely to break and i was wondering, are there any records of swords actually breaking in a battle. And also, could you fight with the then left piece of the sword? (Of course, not effectively, but as a makeshift weapon so that you have SOMETHING?)
Yes - search on YT for 'swords broke' and 'swords breaking'
Thanks for the detailed video! Maybe you could try out some thrust parrying with a "half-axed" axe sometime and show the results?
Hey Matt, I don't know for certain, but I _suspect_ that if you were to run the microphone's cables up the _inside_ of your jumper (or maybe even shirt), that might reduce the amount of noise we get when you're moving around a lot.
would it be viable to use a one handed axe alongside a buckler to aid in the lack of hand protection?
Some points:
It depends a lot on how specifically the axe is made. If you have an axe with a heavy head then yeah it will hit a lot harder but be slower than a sword, but if you make an axe with a long handle and a really small, light head then you have a weapon which is lighter than a sword overall but hits just as hard.
Also, something that's probably been brought up before is that the Bayeux tapestry actually seems to show the great daneaxe being used as sort of a secondary weapon. When then Normans first charge the saxon huscarls are shown initially holding a spear and shield with the daneaxe being held in the shield hand. After the initial charge the shield and spear are discarded and the huscarls are shown as only using their daneaxe.
Last point, in the late 1500s English mercenary Humfrey Barwick made a statement along the lines of "the English love their bows the way the Danish love their axes/hatchets" so evidently the axe did still see use in some capacity into the 16th century. Although it was considered an antiquated weapon.
For what few actual weapon strikes it features, I found Valhalla Rising displayed some interesting points. One such instance was when One-eye dove headlong, almost torpedo like, to strike as he landed on his side, taking out a mans ankle. The short axe will do massive damage if it's momentum goes unchecked.. Of course, in a battlefield scenario, one does not often have the opportunity to launch such risky 'all-or-nothing' attacks.. Just thought I'd plug that (rather odd) film, as one where small, short axes can be seen delivering blows. Great vid Matt!
Impressed did not think many had seen that movie or atleast not many that seen the whole movie.
its one of those movies i dont know if i hate or love. if it is great or crap :)
I think it's important to identify 'from who's perspective is a story told'. Valhalla Rising is pretty...vague, on this point. It doesn't offer our own perspective a ready made anchor point. The imagery is often skewed by the characters perception's.. At other times, the imagery is quite clinical.. In any case; One-eye is very efficient with a short axe. :)
EgaoKage True. might be one of the reasons i just can't make up my mind about that movie
And yeah but he is pretty efficient without weapons to :)
The "hook" arguments is one of the things I like about the Kopesh, the curved blade would often be made in such a way that the back end of the tip had a hook (although this point seem lost on modern versions. And I guess some ancient versions didn't have it as well)
Plus, if you get a bunch of your Viking mates together you can breach a castle by throwing a bunch of axes at the draw bridge and climb over the top. :).
"The Long Ships" :D
really like the axe you are using for demonstration. is that a modern axe that might be available from a maker or is it a re-hafted antique?
Another very informative and interesting video!
So I only have that ax and someone attacks me with a sword, and I turn the ax upside down, grab it just below (now above) the head, and parry with the lighter shaft while closing in to axhead-punch my attacker. Is this a good plan?
This is a very specific question but how do axeheads and hammers compare on the end of a pollaxe against armour? Is there a reason to pick the axe-hammer version over the axe-spike version or the hammer-spike version?
I would love to see a proper comparison video!
I have a question Matt, I've been reading a historical novel about Agincourt and the author keeps mentioning lead weighted maces, mallets, and pollaxes. Is there any historical truth to this or is it just an author's flight of fancy?
They are mentioned by various later historians, but I don't believe there are any period mentions of them. English archers were mostly equipped with swords and bucklers as hand to hand weapons, and there is also mention of hatchets being used.
Thank you, that was an incredibly fast reply.
Dear Matt, would the norse sagas be a good source on the different axe techniques?
ahahahah
shurely not a good source (they are more or less the "medieval Hollywood"), however, they are the only source we've got if we want to understand (armed) combat in the early middle-ages... i suppose some of them might be in parts relatively accurate, but sadly, we have no idea wich ones are the complete opposite, so i think we should be suspicious and trust none of them. However, as i said, they are literaly the only thing we've got (artistic depictions of warriors on runestones etc are, as a source, even worse)... if we want do depict norse warriors of this period in games or movies or something like that it might be a good idea to depict them according to the sagas, but i think that trying to learn to use an axe by watching this representations might be as successfull as trying to learn martial arts from "Kill Bill"... the sagas exaggerated theyr action scenes for dramatic purposes, just like modern action movies do
(Sorry for my bad english, as you might suspect at this point, i'm not a native speaker and i've got a very rich taylor :))
Who makes the hand axe in the video?? Not that I Need A fifth or sixth Viking style axe but that one is particularly nice.
I tried googling Longobard Axe. Didn't really get anything. Am I spelling it wrong?
very in formative and fascinating!
Love the way you use the axe. I would add when the axe is being used 2 handed the axe head can be used as a punch daggar. Stabbing your opponent repeatedly will cause them to stagger thus allowing for the killing blow.
I would love to see a discussion of the use of 2-handed axes as well - admittedly the only one I know of though is the Dane Axe and the polearm "axes."
Would a single handed axe like the one shown be useful in the field for chopping small trees and the like for firewood or
other purposes? If its just a backup weapon it might be worth having over the sword simply because you would have to carry an axe anyway.
In some previous videos you've talked about the social implications of carrying battlefield weapons in a civil context (i.e. its just not acceptable to carry out your daily life carry a halberd), is there any evidence about how swords and axes where treated in this context? Would it have been acceptable to carry an axe in the same kinds of social contexts where a sword was worn?
Mr. Easton,
Huge fan of your work. You are one of my favorite martial arts youtubers ever. We go on and on about how axes/spears are cheaper than swords because its less metal and simpler to build. But how much cheaper? How about shields? [Historical context here blah blah blah].
Also I couldn't help but notice how the shield you are using has a strap that positions your arm like a boxer. As you probably know from kung fu the arm position its used to shield the head. Coincidence?
This is a very basic question, but how much training did the typical foot soldier have during, say, the Hundred Year's War? It's all well and good to say that various fencing manuals existed, but the average soldier would not have access to them; would he at least have been trained in similar techniques? I ask because the advantages of the sword over the axe are probably greatly diminished if the wielder lacks the training to exploit those advantages.
By the highpoints of the Hundred Years War soldiers would be very well trained; not through a fencing manual, but by someone, who could likely read the fencing manual, teaching them.
Matt, taking your approach to to defensive use of an axe alone. There's an interesting (to me at least) study there in the length of handle, and by extension head proportions. For parrying etc with two hands it seems to me as if handle length would be an advantage, as a longer 'staff' in effect. Yet that would trade off against an even tippier balance one handed (if using all the length) and more encumbrance once you'd gotten in close. Trading out weight in the head, would be compensated by the increased leverage given a full blow, but in close, getting a full blow seems less likely the longer the handle. Mind you, I dare say the historical range is about right for that context :)
I wonder how many cameras have died bringing footage like this to us...
Is there any momentum in HEMA toward reconstructing short ax technique? I get that the lack of treatises makes it near impossible . . . but that's never stopped y'all before.
Notice that the beard of the axe protects the left hand which provides some protection against a sword in the right hand of the opponent. If you close and punch with the left, allowing the axe blade to lead the blow ...
I recall having read the claim that an advantage of Axe+shield vs sword+shield is that it uses up less space in a formation situation. So that if the axemen close ranks as much as is practical, for each 10 men of their 'frontage', opposing swordmen might only practicaly oppose them with 8 or 9.
Not sure if there is any valididty to this claim, but it is an interesting question.
Great video. Love those axe video's.
This is why I like khukris, you have a little less power than the handaxe but you get all the versatility of a sword, and if you make it with enough weight towards the end you can have enough power to get through plate
Hi Matt, it´s an interesting view and a good point in the use of axe alone. I want to know more about sword and shield, axe and shield, i mean, I´d like know about the art of the battlefield shield (let me put this generic label) its almost non existent in the treatises. Would be good to know your opinion and where to look for in the hema literature. I love the movie fight reviews. Good luck.
Some of my ancestors were scotts and one of them made a lord by Robert the Bruce fought a duel to settle an border dispute and killed his opponent with an axe
komreed00 your ancestor was awesome.
He also (if memory serves) did a guy while still his rounsey. (travel horse as opposed to war horse for those who don't know) One guy tried to spit him with a lance and Robert hacked him out of the saddle by zapping him in the back of the neck with his ax as the guy went by.
It wasn't a border dispute, it was the day before the Battle of Bannockburn. Bruce and his companions were scouting out the English army as it took up positions, they encountered a vanguard of English Cavalry under Sir Henry de Bohun, a member of one of England 's most powerful families. Against orders de Bohun challenged Bruce. De Bohun was fully armed and armoured with his lance and destrier, de Brus was mounted on a light palfrey, lightly armoured and with a battle axe.
Now the Scottish king could have easily retreated, he was lighter and mounted on a faster, lighter horse. This would have been the tactic he may have used a month before as his strategy was to wage a guerrilla war. However, he knew that the issue was to be contested in a pitched battle, one he never wanted to fight, he was winning the war through the guerrilla campaign. His brother, Edward had forced the issue by giving the English govenor of Stirling Castle a deadline to either surrender or be relieved. When Edward II of England was informed of the challenge, he was forced politically to act to relive the castle. Robert was furious with Edward Bruce for forcing a pitched battle against the most powerful army in Northern Europe.
But, the issue has been forced.
De Brus knew that to decline the challenge in full sight of the two armies who were deploying.
So he accepted the challenge.
De Bohun couched his lance and charged towards Bruce, who remained stationary, hefting his small axe and shield. At the last minute he caused his horse to junk to the side, avoiding the lance strike and, as de Bohun passed him, he struck him across the head, presumably back handed and killed him.
It was a calculated risk, De Brus was a highly trained combat soldier, De Bohun was a younger member of the family, keen to display his prowess on the field, well trained, superbly equipped and mounted and with proven skill at tournament. When you consider the odds, to a veteran soldier on either side, the contest was not as uneven as it might appear to the common men who made up the army.
The morale boost the Scots army received was immense, by the same token, the common English soldiers were appalled, in a foreign land, a hostile country where scorched earth had been practiced by the Scots, this would have been a severe blow.
By all accounts, the English commanders, including Edward II were furious with de Bohun, many of them knew De Brus well, had fought alongside him, were related to him and knew his prowess as a war leader and Knight.
Incidentally, I'm descended directly from De Bohun and also a direct descendent of both Kings, Robert de Brus and Edward II as are many other of today's Britons
Ok, but if you used the axe as a parrying stick vs. a sword wouldn't the sword just cut through the axe handle? If that happened it wouldn't be useful at all. Your thoughts? Thanks.
I was going to ask about axe and knife combo versus sword, but I just watched your review on the end duel in "The Patriot" instead.
Hi Matt, if you paint that shield, you should emblazon it with the schola gladiatoria logo!
Would you think it possible that long 'beards' on axes have a second function next to shield/other object hooks, namely providing some protection to the secondary hand in a double handed parry situation? (Conjecture, I know, but your hand looked quite safe behind that edge there..)
Do you have any thoughts on using bearded axes to hook and bind an opponents weapon? It's something I've found useful against thrusts. if their sword is locked in your axes beard they can't quickly thrust in and out.
it is incredibly effective, duel wield axes vs sword is game over.
What about a possible advantage in throwing a one handed axe (provided this doesn't entirely disarm you)? Were some of the longer one handed axes too unwieldy for throwing? Is this possibility too remote to reasonably consider when comparing axe to sword? Also, what about axe and parrying dagger, or two axes and a focus on hooking against your opponent? Or axes with long points at the top or back (against armor or defensively)? I know it would all be an educated guess, given the lack of resources, but I would still be interested in any response.
special effects by Matt Easton at 13;26 hahaha#Doemp ruclips.net/video/-LM-kBOw920/видео.htmlm26s
I wonder how effective it would be the use the the spine of an axe head (between the eye and the toe) like a cross guard. Like choke up on the shoulder holding it out like a buckler. use the shaft to protect the arm (as much as is possible). That might draw the person with the reach advantage in more. And if you could over extend them and put them off footing, than maybe you could give it a wind letting the grip looser to allow the hand to slide to the butt of the shaft for one good blow.
Hm looking at this now I honestly have no clue about medival weapon fighting but couldn't you also use the head of the axe like a guard to parry incoming slashing motions?
How often do we see unarmored individuals with a shield, though? I would assume rather low, since having a shield on hand would indicate that you were much more 'battle ready'- thus more likely to be armored (whether it was a gambeson, etc.) Or is there evidence to the contrary?
Holy Crap I learned so much about Axes in this video I never knew! This is really cool thank you for these vids and keep up the great work!
A question only tangentially related to the video: how do shield-wielding combatants, with either axes/swords/maces, measure up against those with polearms? Of course, the polearm/sidearm choice would depend on the armour of the fighters, so lets assume in one scenario both fighters are unarmoured and in the other they have a gambeson, hauberk and helm.
Is the advantage of reach and additional striking power matched by the shields protection?
interesting video Matt, thanks :) I wonder how a long axe would handle against a sword, alone or with a shield. it still wouldn't be as nimble as a sword, but the longer shaft I suppose could give you more leverage and greater reach. I've always loved Sparr axes that you find in Western Highland and Islands of Scotland and Ireland; Gallowglasses in Ireland used them from the 13th to mid 16th centuries, and its interesting that in response the English administration in Ireland chose to hire other Gallowlasses to fight them, rather than relying on more conventional men at arms, responding to axemen with axemen as it were.
wouldn't the use of "half-axing" could cause a risk since you get both unprotected hands on the shaft of your weapon?
How could someone reduce that risk?
Metal-backed gauntlets.
Possibly some rings at key points of the axe haft to partially catch or slow incoming sword blades, but still small enough for the axe wielder to slide his hands over them as needed.
Could you please do some videos on bastoncello use? Looks interesting, and applicable with many weapons/objects.
I'd like to know more about the offensive use of shields. I would assume that some shield designs are better for striking and or pushing, but I'm not sure which would be most effective. Also, it seems like hitting someone with your shield or just knocking him off balance would be a great way to create openings for your sword/spear/ax/mace/war hammer/etc.
Wonder how many cameras matt has messed up xD
None.
download.manycam.com/effects/get?f=l&i=34390&v=2.00
Quick, pour some cold water onto those burns! XD
Thats what you want us to belive we are not fooled
there's always that one guy who ruins an otherwise great comment thread.
ironically i am now one of those.
Besides raiding/attacking a civilian town or city, how common was fighting an unarmored opponent? Or WAS that when one fought unarmored opponents, because I know attacking towns and stuff is a big part of war.
***** I just always imagined they still wore SOME armor, like even just heavy padding. But I guess an axe could probably still cut through that.
Could you make a video on what kind of strikes should come after a "half-sword " parry when using an axe?
So using the axe like Fiore's baton during parries? Nice.