Footwork for Sword Fighting, and How to Practice it
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- Опубликовано: 11 июл 2024
- This is an introduction to the fundamentals of stance and movement in HEMA (historical European Martial Arts). It's directed mainly at beginners, but some advanced students might find it helpful too.
Not as exciting as swinging swords, but crucial. If the foundation is weak, everything else falls apart.
0:00 Intro
0:55 Basic stance
2:25 Passing step
3:02 Foot position
4:25 Advancing / retreating step
5:24 Gathering step
6:40 Triangle step (lateral movement)
7:23 Crossing step
8:17 Practice drills
9:51 Core engagement
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** Music **
Intro song:
"Illuminate" by Vindsvept
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Outro:
"Highland Storm" by The Slanted Room Records
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#HEMA #footwork #swordfighting Развлечения
An alternative title would be: "The dance moves of the Crab people"
Best Celer that so random.
But funny.
@@dannynukes7294 Crab people, crab people, taste like crab, talk like people.
You made me laugh, thanks for that!
Re
@@prathia8699 I present 5:18. 😅
“Alright today we shall talk about feet”
- Skall 2020
Also Skall 2020
"Not like that, you perv...🤨"
@@krishnakantbhatt9947 like any good guru and journalist, quotes are meant to be misquoted.
Skall feet best feet
Skall creates an OnlyFans page for his feet.
3D idle lumberjack is using skallagrims footage for their ads!!!
This is EXACTLY what I needed right now!! I’ve been teaching myself long sword, saber, and montante, I had a 6 week beginners class about 4 years ago and that’s it and I think I’ve been doing pretty well, but my footwork is real weak. You explained everything I had forgotten and it’s very easy to understand. Thanks man!
Glad to know. If you keep working on it you'll make plenty of progress.
@@Skallagrim 3D idle lumberjack is using skallagrims footage for their ads!!!
@@anthonyp3452 saw the add, then came straight to skall to commet this
@bird bones I agree, I was looking for a good and concise overview of footwork for swordfighting. This scratched the itch.
Im gonna send this to my friend.
Everytime we wanted to swordfigth with sticks, he walks like a fookin crippled goblin.
Goblin Slayer: *Heavy metal intensifies.*
hmmm a goblin you say
Should be nice to have friends to play with sticks 😔😔👌
@@yopoxikeweapescai9066 Yeah
i mean, does it work well for him?
Even pirates of the Caribbean, for all of its silliness, pointed out the importance of footwork in the duel between jack and will.
Former olympic fencer Bob Anderson trained Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley. I guess they heard a lot about footwork before they could even start filming. He also trained Viggo Mortensen for LotR and was the choreographer for Zorro, The Princess Bride, Highlander and the original three Star wars-movies. He was also Darth Vader in the fighting scenes because David Prowse had a tendency to wreck the lightsabers :D
@@reptiloidmitglied2930 One thing I am curious about is whether or not the "cross steps" footwork is realistic. In Curse of the black pearl, in the closeup shot of their feet, jack and will would cross their feet as they sidestep. Considering that sword martial arts vary between periods and styles, is there a real life basis for this?
Of course, I know that the fights are not meant to be fully realistic and are meant for drama and/or spectacle, but fiction can be a fun way to learn truths, they they in the works or finding out how reality is different (one reason why I find tv tropes to be a fun way to learn about life and fiction).
@@reptiloidmitglied2930 That guy sounds like the most badass person behind the camera of all time. Like „Yeah, I am the mentor for all the great fighters, watch me beat 200 opponents with a stick“
@@torysaccount5753 Sounds a bit like Syrio Forel. :D
Glad to see the leg healed. This stepping is similar to what I teach at judo.
The base stance and weight distribution is also very similar to what I learned in taekwondo.
I noticed that it's curiously different from Kendo though.
Not a fighting style, but I'm a trained massage therapist and that's the stance we use to protect the body from damage over time to the therapist
This stance is similar to what I teach in (insert martial art or sport here)
@@Solais1019 Same, when we did fencing for school I dominated everyone, and now I realise that it was because I _automatically used Taekwondo footwork without thinking._
Unfortunately because i just slaughtered everyone the class voted not to do fencing, partially because it was no fun competing against me, but mostly cause I was the weird kid everyone hated (which is why I did Taekwondo six nights a week) and they didn't want to do something I would enjoy.
When I was begginer in sword fight training, we spend about 10 hours just walking in stance. My thighs were in fire :D Now its complete natural and I dont think about it.
Walk the walk. . .Keep on walkin
How the hell'd you walk in a stance for 10 hours? Guessing, that would make most people visit the emergency room with sprained ankle's and inflamed knees :P Alternatively, you could say you practiced moving in a fencing stance for some 4, 5 training sessions... Just sayin' =3
@@dude4real9455 Ofcourse it was spread over couple of training days.
Walking for 10 hrs is rough can you imagine actually doing 10 in stance lol
My old master had us practice nothing but walking for 7 months. There is a lot of finesse, technique and control in it to master. (I also suspect he had no patience for those who don't take the whole thing seriously) It took three months before I even got a sword in my hands and another four before I could swing it XD Just 4 months of walking in guard to perfect the control.
Good to see that your sun burn healed...
Yea I was thinking the same
It also gave him a tiny tan!
Was just going to write this.
With the Demon Souls Remake and the upcoming Elden Ring, seeing the footwork will be quite amazing.
Dude how in the hell did you see this so quick
You must have like 100 eyes.
Now where ever I am going I a seeing you, you are doing it more than ever.
Justin y
Ah, Why was I expecting you
Especially the footwork of the Maiden in Black...
Good to see you again, mister Y...
Good thing those stances seem to have large parallels to my Karate experience. Won't have to learn that when I have my first lesson at Monday.
Well I mean we are all humans with legs. Not a lot of things you can do with those crazy meat sticks aye?
@@effigytormented Well, the myriad of kicks aside, not many practical things, aye
Good to see a fellow karate/sword person.
Skall: "Alright, you can stop looking at my crotch now."
Me staring at crotch: "I've made my mind."
He can't tell us what to do or not do. :p
@@bobbobber4810 But he can tell us what we can stop doing. : >
This is the way
I feel like you're one of the best people to talk about this, cause you went from "pretty bad footwork" to "very solid, functional technical footwork" before our very eyes. Love it, Skal!
I wanna see a 100m race in fencing stance.
to make it more it justified, the race should require hitting targets as the participants move forward and receive random blows in return. you know, to make use of all that stability the stance provides
Foot work is the foundation to any martial art! Thank you for sharing this informative vid!
This was so useful it's hard to describe. On the one hand, it's inspiring. On the other hand, it's also very practical and straightforward.
Thank you, Skall! It was great
Glad to know. :)
"walking on your toes, that can also be a good exercise"
... which is something I sometimes just subconciously do. That's interesting news.
Achilles?
asbergers moment
I found funny how some of these things I do in my free time, but for me it was just being goofy and fun, I wasn't trying to work on footwork or anything. Then again, they aren't quite like how skall is showing (much more goofy and clumsy), but they are eerily similar.
9:41 I’ve been doing this a lot lately just for the heck of it. I didn’t know it was an exercise, I just thought it was fun lol
@@micahrobbins8353 same here... and like calf raises when waiting in the lone of the bank hahaha
When you ask for feet pics but you get 11 minutes of feet and knees
I call that a bargain
So many different toe articulations. Honestly, 11 minutes of close up legs is a great way to study the biomechanics! Look at those hips go!
Yay Skall, you do that funky deadly dance, now all you need is the right kind of combat music with shifting Tempo to practice along with.
Thank you so much. This is the first time im actually exersising whilst watching a video. This feels like the video that will get me in to doing hema. It feels good, like i just might be able to learn how to swordfight. Im gonna get a stick and learn som basic german longsword stances and moves. Thank you Skaal for getting me off the couch.
Glad to see someone else having the canadian leg tan
AWESOME VIDEO SKALL!!! Really glad to have you explain these details. Your martial arts technique videos and weapon review videos are my favourites.
Always extremely informative, accurate, concise and you speak humbly which is refreshing. Overall been watching for a while and this really made me realise how much i appreciate your vids. Thank you!
Im so happy you made this video, Thank you Grim.
A good rule of thumb from a safety standpoint is never extend your knee past your toes. (this also applies to normal exercises, especially lunges). Doing so puts enormous stress on your knee and compromises your balance. In a fight it also applies, unless your opponent gives you a very good reason to make an extended lunge.
Right, I mentioned that in the first recording (which I had to discard because of crappy audio) but forgot in the second take. Definitely good to point out.
That is completely untrue, and I wish people would stop spreading that misinformation.
Look at the starting positions of football. Look at how a sprinter starts running. Look at how an Olympic weightlifter catches weight in the clean and jerk or snatch. Look at a wrestler shooting for a double leg. ALL of those require knees over toes.
If you have WEAK knees, then going knees over toes is dangerous yes, but if you are healthy and athletic, it should not be a concern at all. In fact, it's a requirement to function at a high level in most sports.
The reason you don't do it in fencing is not cuz of injury risk, it is because it over commits your weight in one direction.
Good and solid instructions. Applies well to all sorts of fencing and some other martial arts too. Nice work Skall!
Genuinely thank you for this video!!!
Love the videos Skall!!!
This is actually so very helpful. Thanks for the info.
Thank you so much for covering different footwork styles! When I'm sparring with friends not in an Épeé/Foil fencing setting, i like to combine the gathering and fencing advance together, typically by always getting out of line, You also made a very good point, I didn't know about alot the different types of footwork that's out there, simply because mamuscripts about it, is quite rare!
Thank you for this video, Skal! I think it's very useful!
Much needed training! Glad you covered this as many do not.
Hello skallagrim! I'd like to inform you that a game called Idle Lumberjack use footage from your videos that i am 90%sure that you have not given permission to use for their ads
You cannot make this shit up
What are they even using it for lol
@@AAArnold its the video where he cuts those bamboo thingies. They basically just say Hey, you can cut! Like this guy except its on the phone now
Bruh
Nicely explained and neatly organized video
Thank you Skallagrim
The most important part of any martial art is foundation, excellent video! TY Skall
I love how Informative and fun your videos are! Watching you and some others like Shad from shaddiversity is making me think about opening a HEMA Club in my city to start practicing again. And thanks for this video that I can show to people when they don't get my explanations at first. :V
Great video, thank you.
that is maybe one of the best fast overhal tutorails for Footwok i have ever found.
thx for that nice litte basic infos. maybe my frends can learn easyer with the video. keep doing you nice stuff thx it^^
Thanks for this, I used to think that gathering step was just another name for advancing/retreating step. Now I see the difference.
Just saying, I love these types of videos from you Skall!
another great educational vid again
Good stuff man keep it coming :)
Great video! I’ve been in various martial arts over the years and staying on the balls of your feet is key to mobility and give you a faster reaction time which is crucial.
Also, nice calves!
this is exactly what I was trying to teach a friend the other day thank you.
Very interesting and I learned a lot, but I can't help but think of how many people are going to have a heyday making hilarious GIFs of this.
Very useful. It does remind me a lot of both marching band and martial arts footwork.
Always wanted to learn this
Nice Video Man!
Good video! Thanks
Just good fun. Nice job.
Alot of this very simular to boxing and MMA thanks heaps
It's pretty cool how almost every physical sport, dance, and martial art requires knowledge of solid footwork. I didn't even do anything remotely similar to swordfighting in my youth, for I played ping pong and some tennis. And yet when I got into HEMA, all the basic body mechanics clicked because I learned those previously, with regard to arm extension, shoulder-width-apart feet, and hip rotation.
The various footworks are very similar to Muay thai, Kali and kenjustsu footwork i teach. I guess there's only so many ways to efficiently use your feet in combat. Great vid.
And here goes monetization! ;) Joke appart, thanks a lot Skallagrim! I want to get into HEMA, but at the moment it's difficult because the courses schedule is in the evening and I often work at that time. So, I would probably have to start by myself and I'm a terrible dancer, so I expect to terrible at footwork. Your video is a lot clearer than some other teaching videos on footwork I've seen, so I will try to practice it at home to at least have a base. I can't wait to have my own equipment and start learning HEMA for real!
I never knew there was a term for basic step I was taught for basic cut practice. Learn something new everyday.
Thanks a bunch
Nice...something to practice around the warehouse!!
A Karate Sens-ii taught us to kick up a little bit of dust, flick your foot to use it to help move more explosively. However, hard to grip with your toes when you're wearing shoes/boots.
Cheers Skall!
Thanks for sharing! I think footwork is probably the single most least looked at aspect of fighting in HEMA.
Good one.
Skal you are a funny guy lol made me laugh twice this morning opening statement an closing statement both made me laugh. As for foot work very informative for people who wish to know the sword but do not practice martial Arts of any kind. Thank you. Have a wonderful day
Added this to my saved
Nice video. I'd recommend landing heel/toe when advancing as you land more comfortably and it cushions the landing (esp for your knee)
Very nice video, footwork is a pillar in any martial art, but arguably, it's even the more important in armed combat where usually a single mistake can cost you the fight.
I practice Kung Fu and I'm happy and impressed to see crossing and gathering steps in HEMA. Outsiders (including myself when I started) usually think these steps look and feel weird and impractical, especially since in Kung Fu and other traditional martial arts these steps are taught as stances.
This was actually much more interesting than i thought looking at the thumbnail
,,Today we talk about feet
Not in that way you perv''
Too funny🤣
"If you don't keep your feet, there's no knowing where you'll be swept off to."
I knoe that's a reference!
But for the life of me, i cannot remember to what.
@@DH-xw6jp bilbo baggins. Lord of the rings. Its the scene after sam and frodo leave the shire.
Im too much of a nerd for lotr... :P
@@TheMHB199 Same here 😄
@@TheMHB199 thanks, i should have known that one honestly.
@@TheMHB199wow!!! You don't say???
Has anyone else been getting those RUclips ads about some cheap mobile wood cutting game?
I've noticed they took some tatami matt cutting test clips from skallagrim and I think he should know !
Oh, wow. I just now noticed your video timelines are getting segmented by topic. That's useful! :)
It takes some extra time because I have to write down the time stamps and topic in the description, but it sure is helpful.
I know this doesnt have many views comparatively, but ill have you know im at least 6 of them; this has helped so much for my home practice
Good vid. The same steps of traditional martial arts (Shaolin king fu) but just a more simplistic version. I do use the cross step alot. And the "triangle " step. Its great for quickly getting out of the way and or getting to the side or even behind the opponent. Thsts why the Japanese Bushido wore the wide pants to not telegraph their footwork. Also of worthy note; boxing has the same type of footwork. Great content
It's a very special day for a particular subset of Skall's fans. Get a load of those gams! 😁
These are good all around footwork advice. They only really conflict with stances that require both feet facing forward, minimizing your profile and focusing entirely ahead.
Very cool background!
I can imagine animators using this for reference when animating walking movements in fighting games.
Man, can’t wait to see the footwork in the Demon’s Souls Remake. It seems with the improved animations, it may make the martial arts a bit easier to replicate.
Lol I don't think they will go for a realistic movement system for deamon souls
ludovico riglietti we will find out
I needed to adjust brightness on my screen - 'cause those legs are blindingly white!
I remember from my brief time in martial arts ( Wado-Ryu ) when I was a teenager, this wide stance is known as “Kibadachi “, meaning “ horse stance “.
Filipino martial arts such as Arnis, escrima, and kali contain footwork from the old Spanish fencing systems. That might be a good resource to look into to elaborate on your footwork training.
I do full contact Buhurt/HMB and squatting with your footwork really helps as it automatically tenses your upper leg muscles (which is one of the most common places to be hit during fights) so because they are already tensed you tend to not get injured or knocked off balance as easily
The toes are my favorite.
It’s heart warming and immensely honorable that we have not forgotten our European heritage. Greetings from Denmark. Oh and I bet skallagrim won’t reply to this comment.
Hope you don't mind me saying this, but it looks like you developed a Genu valgum ( medial deviation of one or both knees from their physiological axis, causing harmful load on a knees lateral 'bearing surface'). You might want to have a Physician have a look at your knees in the near future, especially if you already notice stress or pain during/after straining activities. All the best!
I think he sustained an injury to at least one while sparring years ago. Not sure which video it us but he mentions it somewhere.
It's Genu vaginum
Watching this reminds me a lot of the footwork you learn playing racket sports (badminton particularly). Makes sense as that's also about getting in position to wield a handheld object. Maybe a good reference point to look for footwork drills?
I'm Thai. I train Thai sword also the foot work quite similar. It might because the body mechanical. Thanks for the clip.
In martial arts training they told us never cross your legs moving, but if you watch old films of Bruce Lee he did it constantly. Good video, thanks.
Bruce Lee fights to look impressive. His fighting style is ment to be fun to look at not realistic. And he absolutely nailed it
I'm actually surprised how similar footwork can be in very unrelated styles. In my lineage of wing chun kung fu, we have all of these steps -- slightly differently, but basically the same step. Instead of "passing step" we call it a "through step", instead of "advancing" and "retreating" step, we have "half step" because we move half of our stance distance, instead of "gathering step" we have "full step", instead of "triangle step" we have "close step" (as in the opposite of open). The "half gather" you did at 8:50 is how we do our through step/passing step, because in wing chun we like to move diagonally instead of straight forwards. It's fascinating how two very different unrelated styles move so similarly.
I've been aspiring to make 2D animation for quite a while now. This video will definitely help me when it comes to animating sword fights.
Imagine doing it in 3D with a physics engine that actually calculates the details of falling over.
as a fencer (Olympic) I couldn't stress how important foot work is so thank you for showing us H.E.M.A. foot work Skall!
Pretty much all Martial Artists say the same thing.
Can't build a decent house without a solid foundation after all.
9:31 Skall squats correctly, with both heels on the ground. Life of Boris would approve.
Im start next week lessons
of sword fighting with longsword so this video is very good for me :) Footwork is really important
Yay, a new sword brother (or sister, or person).
Don't worry about making mistakes. Nobody is expecting you to get it first try.
Bring lots of water.
Have fun. We're all a bunch of nerds down here.
@@scottmacgregor3444 im not worried at all its my Dream and i wanna be really good in sword fighting :)
Interesting. I've done a bit of unarmed martial arts, so footwork in learning swordplay has been a big question mark for me. I'd hate to develop a bad habit through bad practice.
Thanks for the video. I'll have to keep an eye out for more.
This entire video reminded me of my fencing coach Mr. Nagy. He stressed footwork as much as hand control.
Ayyy new vid
This actually came out at a good time I just bought my first sword and want to (over time) get a full set of armor, and with the bastard sword I just got start to practice the beginning steps of hema.
Any club near your area? You should get a sparring partner at least once a week. What treatises are you looking at? Fiore seems to be more applicable to shorter bastard swords, while Lichtenauer/Meyer is more longer proper longswords.
Although Fiore also shows fighting in armor and halfswording, I think most Harnischfechters (Armoured Fencers) are mostly using KdF treatises but I am not so certain...
@@irfannurhadisatria2540 I am planing on getting a mace, warhammer, axe, arming, sword, halberd, flamberge, dagger. So I don't know this is my first real look into everything. I got a bastard sword so I can get the basics of at least one handed and two handed swords down. But I have not idea what style is used for what I figured I should get the very basics first.
I think it was a good introduction, personally, I haven't given my footwork much thought, to me it was just "well there are places you can put your feet, and there are places you can't", and you'll learn those places by heart with training - and you'll learn to use your stance to lure your opponent into doing something he shouldn't have. But I've never really trained my footwork intentionally, I think it just came sort of naturally to me, but then again, stance is also dependent on the weapon you're using and whether or not you have a shield, and the size and shape of your shield and so on and so forth, no two fights are ever the same, and the rules might differ depending on who you're training with. Stay safe and have fun.:-)
I feel like every time Skal introduces a video, he has to tell people to get their minds out of the gutter.
He knows his audience.
As someone who used to practice karate and is now gettining into sworfighting I find my footwork is one of the few things I'm decent at
I'm glad to see you talk about footwork since it does often seem overlooked. I was wondering what you think of the idea, especially with sword and buckler, of putting most of the weight on the back leg while keeping the hip behind the lead foot. Supposedly the idea is to be able to move the lead foot out of the way of an attack more quickly but what are your thoughts?
The crossing lateral step is very similar to the sidestep in Rugby/US Football, one advantage is not moving your centre of mass until the last moment and thus deceiving your opponent. There is, of course, a disadvantage that goes along with the sidestep, eventually it's hard on the knees, I'm still feeling it thirty years later.
It's like being back in my fencing class.
Well, I just stared at a man's legs for ten minutes... And liked it.
Thanks Skall.