Sword & Buckler vs Sabre - Three different opponents vs Nick
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- Опубликовано: 30 окт 2017
- This match up was requested recently, so here you go. We used three different opponents with sword and buckler to give a good range of technique and style.
The buckler users sword is a Regenyei, and the sabre by Swordsmithy (of British Napoleonic Infantry officer style). Both weapons and buckler are of realistic original weight, size and handling.
The military sabre did face sword and buckler plenty in the middle east, though of course the weapon and style would have been quite different, but nonetheless this was a fun pairing.
From the sabre perspective it can simply be described as tough! In sabre there is an expectation that we can threaten a target and that someone must protect that target with their sword, or suffer dead or serious injury, but with the sword and buckler, they can cover that with one and strike with the other.
Simply put, offhand weapons offer an excellent additional protection, whilst also freeing up the sword to do so much more.
We had to change camera after the first fight due to battery, and it seems a little sweat got on the lens so it is a little hazy, sorry about that! Nick is using the sabre. In order the Sword and buckler users are Esther, Gareth and Malcolm.
this style of fighting with much more emphasis on self preservation is REALLY nice to watch.
It's brilliant seeing how different people use the same weapon differently. Esther has a "push and pull" style, keeping this fluid, and using the buckler offensively as a distraction; notice how the buckler and the sword often move together. Gareth has a more grounded approach, keeping the buckler extended and defending laterally; it is used as a distancing tool. Malcolm has a wilder style, keeping the buckler close to the torso, relying on the sword as the primary distance and attack weapon, only using the buckler when necessary.
niceๆ sparring :) good match up too. thanks and keep coming more good vids like this.
The guy/girl? On the sword and buckler on thue first round is precise! Beautiful sword dancer if i ever seen one
Thank you! :)
Esther Gibson u make sword and buckler soo OP. Hope you make videos in the future :)
I'm not one for making videos, all about the sparring for me.
I was thinking the same thing. Super clean parries and blocks with the buckler, as well as good feints and attacks.
Esther Gibson Seriously. Some of those parries and blocks with the buckler were just beautiful, and they flowed so well with the clean and precise blade work. Kudos to you!
0:55 that exchange went on a fair while.
yes, the first two fighters makes some nice exchanges
The reason is that Esther cares far more about not being hit than the other two. When fighters really emphasize self preservation, fights tend to go on longer with more exchanges. Of course we know that historically every kind of fighter existed, from the incredibly cautious and defensive, to fanatic with no care for their own life, and everything in between.
We always work to encourage people to emphasize defence and survival, but also that they must train to fight those who do not do the same.
Of course the fact that we do this for fun in a relatively safe environment will always encourage people more towards a sportive attitude rather than defence and self preservation, which is why we always work to counter that.
Yes, that is 100% sound logic, glad to see how it reflects in your sparrings. Would love to have the opportunity to train in your school.
keep up the good work!
The first opponent had great form. Seemed to focus a bit too much on Nick's blade and was trying to swing at it instead of at Nick. That caused them to mess up their footing a couple times making it impossible to step back when Nick pushed back (3:21 both feet planted too close as the most obvious example). Hope to see more sparring practices with them. :)
Yeah! Exactly what I wanted to see! Does Nick ever runs out of breath? How many extra lungs does he hide? Very nice exchanges overall. The first fencer is precise and technical, and it makes for a very clean and dynamic sparring, fun to watch. The second one is daring, but the third one is a goddamn giant and he knows it, he's pushing as much as fencing. Facing him, even in a friendly context, is probably a bit stressful even for an experienced fencer. It seems the first one has a Bolognese culture and it shows in the sparring, but the two others seem to adopt a practical style not linked with any specific tradition, with hints of saber. But I see almost no I.33 influence. Is it taught in the club?
Okay now, Nick VS Roland Warzecha :-D
Sword and buckler isn't a main style at our club, but about half the members have bucklers and use them regularly. We have occasionally taught its use in small blocks, but largely the approach in sparring a mix of everything else that we do, primarily coming from sabre and rapier and dagger. We have recently completed a couple of months of Meyer rapier practice, which is obviously very much Bolognese in style, and will have started to take effect.
Certainly the first fighter, Esther, fights the cleanest fight. Primarily because she is emphasising defence and survival more than the other two. The third fighter, Malcolm, is by far the most aggressive. Gareth is in between.
Also, Roland and I have fought on a number of occasions, though there is only one video of it. It is a slightly strange bout as it was timed bouts without stoppage, continuous action, anyway, here it is -
ruclips.net/video/US4IYntpmEw/видео.html
Very enjoyable! A few questions:
-In terms of how the buckler was used, Esther seemed to combine holding the buckler near to midway from the body with some darting out blocks, Gareth held the buckler out the most and would try to stuff your sword and Malcolm held it close most of the time and darted it out to attack or defend. Does this accurately characterize their differing buckler usage? Which of their approaches did you find most difficult to adapt to?
-What advice would you give to the sword and buckler and sabre user to fight their opposite effectively?
-And lastly, do the single sabre's advantages, reach(maybe?) and unrestricted sword mobility, effectively counter the sword and buckler's defense and two lines of attack advantages, when used by equally skilled fighters, or would you pick the sword and buckler if engaging in such a match?
I know, lots of questions, but this match up is extremely interesting if one is interested in colonial conflicts in the Middle East and India.
Thanks for posting these mixed sparring videos.
Yo, Nick got scary good with the Sabre...
Does using a buckler "train" a swordsman into bad habits. Does their use of the sword defensively suffer when they don't have a buckler?
Training exclusively sword and buckler surely would, yes. In terms of whether training sword and buckler causes single sword to suffer when you study both, I'd say no, but it does slow the rate of progress with single sword. This only seems to be a major factor up to a certain, perhaps intermediate level. When muscle memory is well trained.
Academy of Historical Fencing . Thanks. Watching your videos, I wonder why buckler fell out of fashion. The defence seems do solid.
I'd say it depends on what style you train, I.33 uses the sword to defend far more than the shield, the buckler use is far more aggressive in taking the initiative for a final strike
Nice video! And two questions about fights like that - whats your opinion about spiked bucklers? I imagine they have advantage over regular ones since one weapon user must be careful not only about opponent's sword but also about his spike on buckler, or am I wrong? 2nd one - does saber and buckler have advantage over sword and buckler or they are similar in your opinion?
Also, seeing Burak's katana against sword and buckler/dagger one day would be very interesting to see
Spikes on bucklers are very good, but it isn't so much the offensive nature of those spikes which is their primary use. In fact they are one of many methods developed to increase the chances of catching and stopping an opponents blade, as well as stop thrusts slipping off and getting past. Yes they can be used offensively when closing as well, but simply put, any buckler can. What is essentially one kilo of solid steel is a great weapon, whether striking with the boss or the edge. It is why we have to be so careful when making buckler strikes in sparring. In this regard a buckler (whether spiked or not) is quite similar to the dagger in rapier. It's primary job is to engage the opponents sword, but it can occasionally be useful for striking.
Sabre and buckler vs sword and buckler, just the same. Straight and curved blades are mostly taught the same in most styles anyway. The Straight is better at thrusting, but the curved has sneakier thrusts for those that have practiced to use them. Same goes for certain cuts. Far easier to strike straight direct cuts to the head with a straight blade, that can be fast enough to strike before they can raise the buckler, but the curved blade can use the back edge to cut with and work around. They are really equal, and not that much difference.
Burak has moved again, but we do still see him occasionally, so that might be able to happen.
Awesome, thanks
Change of plans :D I would rather see two sabers (Nick) vs Burak's katana
In the beginning of the video the person with the buckler is fighting like they have a saber and forgetting to use the buckler more.
My only gripe with this is the extremely linear footwork of the s&b users, mostly with the right foot forward.
Because they mostly practice linear systems.
I suspected. I know you mostly experiment with these, but it wouldn't hurt to explore the full potential :) Otherwise great fencing from everyone involved.
We certainly do non-linear footwork too. But we spend most of our time on predominately linear styles, like Italian rapier, and British military sabre. We've come to that because we have found it to be the most efficient and effective, and so its no surprise that is the most common thing see in the club. Recently we've been working on Manciolino's paired swords for example, which is not linear at all, and that has been a fun variation. But I think that is an instance where non-linear works especially well, due to the fact that both swords can strike at equal distance.