During medieval times after the end of demonstrations: "Make sure to recommend us to other people, and tell us how we did after our performances later on. Support us by heading over to our squires and giving them some coin for our display, we'll be doing demonstrations every week so keep an eye out on our usual spot at the town square. Thank you for watching."
"Also, thanks go to the merchants who sponsored the fight. Do consider buying their wares, and if you mention our names you'll get a 10% discount. We do earn a small affiliate reward from the merchants as well for every purchase. And don't forget the free mead for the first 10 customers!"
We would also like to mention our provider which would be the new ale house at the south of town. If you mention us to them you'll get 5 shillings off your first mug and we get compensation for the mention.
And thanks to our patreons the archbishop of Oxford and the dukes of Aquitaine and Lorraine our armours wouldn't be so shiny without their contributions
Swords are popular and highly romanticized, but are poleaxes considered among the best weapons to carry if you're anticipating combat in heavy armor? Poleaxes are rarely mentioned or depicted in popular media
Not just reach, but superior leverage. Due to your ability to space your hands further and with a more assertive grip (compared to half swording a flexible steel blade), someone with a halberd or other polearm has a big advantage in a bind vs say, a longsword.
First of all: When in doubt, usually go with what gives longer reach (and thus leverage). Not always true, but a good general rule of thumb if you go to war in heavy armour and/or a tight formation. Anyways, the pollaxe is highly specialized for waging war on foot and in armour, and not really something you "carry", I suppose. Swords on the other hand, after spending century after century (after century) dangling on the hips of people in all kinds of civilian contexts AND war, got the sweeter deal exposure-wise. Not all men-at-arms on foot utilized pollaxes, but pretty much all of them would have had had have had some type of sword at their side. In my eyes a pollaxe or a halberd (or even a very pikey pike) is pretty easy on the eyes, but to most people I guess it does seem like a very utalitarian and clunky piece of hardware that no tender, veal-like gentleman would be caught dead with on a proper banquet or ball. Like a lean, black italian pistol compared to a vodka-reeking, splinter-giving Mosin-Nagant rifle that has been used at least once to dig a quick latrine pit during a dysentery outbreak. Or pretty much anything in the world compared to a modern "tacticool" monument to toxic gun culture (disclaimer: I like the USA). At the end of the day, a thin and sharpened bar of metal attached to some neat stuff and worn at the hip is indeed pretty symbolic. Put it in the hands of someone who knows how to use it properly and it basically looks like a midsummer night's dream. No category of weaponry can beat that. I think? Don't do (hard) drugs.
another way of looking at it is a major feature of a sword or mace is that you can carry it on your belt ready for use at any moment, so, until such point that you need to access it, might as well have much biggetr items that you CANT easily stow on your person in your hands with extra reach and power, be it a spear, a 2 handed axe, a bow, a arquebus etc
the poleaxe was very popular during the war of the roses in England.(English civil war) 1440s to 1480s approximately.... nobles and kings would fight with them dismounted, this was a period when plate was at its best, the method must have been effective as both sides had access to longbow men which they still used... but the battles usually ended this way ...a hard way to win a battle
@@TP123KING what the fuck are you talking about the Lawbringer spins around like a ballerina and when you do the correct combo he goes super sayian and does an unblockable swing.
@@richardreisenbuk2350 I'm not saying its perfectly realistic but at least he holds the pollaxe in a more believable manner, using the end that doesn't have the axe to stab and switching hands to to do cuts from the left. Most games you swing it around like a sword and never use the other end. Could definitely be better utilising more grappling and leverage with the pollaxe to get the opponent on the ground to deliver a finishing blow but it's not the worst I've seen.
The problem is real combat isn't fluid or pretty. The reality is far less spectacular and rather simple. A line of men facing a line of men, hacking and stabbing at range, trying not to get caught in between the two lines as mostly nothing happens. The odd man tripping or getting taken out by luck until one side has had enough and retreats. Assuming both sides are equal. The real reason the pole axe shines is that when combined with full plate armour, you have an advantage against everyone else.....at best and you're on equal ground at the worst. You literally have a weapon that's effective against everyone on the field of battle.
Fascinating. I always wondered exactly how the poleaxe was used and what its tactical advantages were. That was a very entertaining, informative and well-presented demonstration.
well most swords were reserved for nobility and knights due to the high cost of metal and craftsmanship, a spear or polearm could do the job with a tenth amount of metal and any footsoldier could be trained to use it.
actually knights on foot used poleaxes as main weapons in most countries while swords where more for civilian use i mean you can carry a poleaxe in a town
Civilians and soldiers did use halberds due they were cheap and effective, but designed to fight at range. Poleaxes and 2 handed war hammers, on the other side, were designed to fight in mele handled by armored knights. They were more expensive and specialized, but if you can afford the armor the polexe cost won't be a problem. Been said that, regular unarmored troops barely have a chance in 1 vs 1 against armored ones, no matter if they use swords, halbards or even poleaxes. Probably shield + mace or shield + 1 hand hammer would be the best choice if they lack comparable armor.
@@Aerostorm56 Most professional soldiery, including the non landed and non noble soldiers would have had a sword or sword;esque sidearm. In the 10th and 11th century it might be a bit more crude bladed weapon like a long seax, but talking about the period of the poleaxe, almost everyone on the battlefield had access to a sword, including the people wielding pikes, spears and poleaxes.
It's a shame that Poleaxes, and Polearms in general, are so overlooked in media. They were by far the most commonly used weapons on pre-gunpowder battlefields. They were the base of all armies throughout history and around the world, being invented multiple times by different cultures who had no contact with one another. They were superb formation weapons as well as a decent ranged option (throwing spears, javelins, etc.). They really deserve more recognition than they get in modern media.
Hell, even DURING the gunpowder revolution. When guns were starting to be used more and more, matchlocks and wheel locks particularly, guess what was still the weapon of choice? Pikes. Pikes were absolutely king and pike squares were the go to formation. It wasn't until we got more refined smoothbore flintlocks for cheaper production did you see the outright replacement. And even then we kept bayonets which, really, is a polearm with a bang switch.
Gunpowder was used in middle ages too. It s not the only thing that negated armour. Social system evolution was even more important reason. Also polearms were still used later on. Even till about nineteen century!
It can't be done full contact with realistic simulators. Some of us do it it with rubber-headed trainers, but that kind of defeats the purpose of learning how to use a deadly weapon.
oi, hold on there. "the purpose of deadly weapon"? A blunt sword is hardly a "deadly weapon" either, but they are used all the time. I'd guess blunt swords are less dangerous than a a rubber hammer, though... Kinetic energy does not care if it's rubber or steel that's been loaded with potential energy. The full potential is going right through the helmet and padding, straight into the skull....
Tomas Sab The "deadly weapon" I'm referring to would be the "live" version of a poleaxe, the one that we are using the trainers to learn. I wasn't trying to imply that the trainer is the weapon itself. A rubber pollaxe causes a concussion at worst, which is really good if you wanted to spar somebody, but you lose the proper balance of the weapon if you are not using blunt steel as well as all of the nuance that comes from the real thing, or at least what is the closest safe simulation. A blunt sword is really a lot more dangerous than a rubber hammer, especially if it still has a point or an edge, but I guess that would really depend on the sword. I will mention that with swords and sometimes even some variations of knives we do practice with completely sharpened and "live" blades, since a lot of important factors of edge contact are lost with a blunt. If the pollaxe was a weapon that required edge contact, I would be practicing it with a sharp trainer as well only with a LOT of control.
Why? so you can all die together? . . . . in a zombie apocalypse a Poleaxe would not be ideal, it is designed to used in plate armor (or at least some form of very protective heavy armor) and isn't that much off a defensive weapon (hence the armor), so running around with Zombies everywhere in plate armor with a pole axe will only get you killed i don't know about you but i would much rather prefer a shotgun or a pistol (or both) or if we are talking melee weapons a shield and axe would be far superior (you could use a sword instead but they require a lot more maintenance so i would go for an axe myself) because you wouldn't need to encumber yourself with all that heavy armor . . . . . . but in medieval context Poleaxes/Halberds were very effective as weapons of war
wouldn't it be easier for a zombie or zombies (un-dead beings that can only be stopped by removing the head or destroying the brain) to grab a poleaxe (especially if you try to shove with it, and you can defend yourself a lot better with a shield than with a pole axe and can just throw your axe if need be and/or just run away . . . . if i had a choice i would definitely choose my shield over my weapon (melee weapon that is) . . . . . and do not forget a pole axe is designed to be used primarily in heavy plate armor, so what do you do when you need to run? i can drop a shield and haul ass, you can't do that in plate armor pole axes and the like are very good weapons in the right context, but against zombies that are way down on the list of effective weapons
The Fractured But Whole Dear lord where do I begin? A full suit of plate historically weighed 50-70 lbs (less than a marine carries today) in addition to being tailored to the knight to allow maximum mobility. Pollaxes weighed 4-6lbs. Numerous skulls were excavated from medieval battlefields with rectangular indentations in them. If it can go through plate I’m pretty sure it’s going through an unarmored cranium like butter. There’s numerous accounts of knights being injured in friendly tournaments using pollaxes.
sucks how little poleaxes or any polearm are represented in popular media since they counter like everything and have great versatility yet the shitty katana is shown most of the time
Geoff Rey The way I see it, Leaders and important people used swords, mostly because they weren't fighting most of the time (if at all) and didn't have a need for field weapons as a result. People only care about important people, so their depictions became most relevant and popular, romancing the ever present sword. Popular depictions always focus on important people, not peasants: so swords are more important in focus while field weapons like Bows and Spears are like background scenery. And Swords are also more personable and immediate: many soldiers carried swords in addition to field arms so it is kind of like everyone had one and it was always close for scraps. So when a fictional character needs a weapon, the ever Romantic sword that important people always have and are good at using for up close personal fights makes the most sense. Kind of like how action heroes always use pistols instead of Rifles
You don't need to be a weapon hipster. Katanas being popular does not make them shitty. Polearms being unpopular does not make them the most amazing best weapon. It's all about the context of the battle. Katanas and polearms wouldn't exist if they didn't serve a specific purpose in the wars they were used in. Humans will use the most efficient tools for their jobs.
myth busters did a review of katana vs medieval longsword, the longsword couldnt even cut through armor while the katana did cut through armor like butter
Most combat systems rely on sequences of attack, parry, counter attack and so on. In games, this is formalised, and in sports like foil fencing it is built into the rules. In real combat, the point is you defend yourself then counter attack and so on. If both combatants simply attack, both will get hit. At real speed, the "turns" may last a split second.
It must've taken an entire army of squires and servants to get their armor that well polished. I'm not sure why I was surprised when they actually pulled out a dagger to go for the kill. Maybe I'm just used to people handwaving that bit.
actually thats parts pretty accurate, theres no need to skill someone with a sword if a dagger will do, and plus theyre almost wresting there on the floor, much easier to use a knife there than a long pole arm or sword
That's the thing, I'm used to people basically saying "Alright he's on the ground, now if I were actually trying to kill him this is when I'd get out my dagger" rather than, well, getting out their dagger.
I see what you're saying, most simply refer to the dagger as the demonstration ends. Actually pulling it out puts into perspective how quickly things would be over for the loser, it's a little shocking.
Amazing how much strategy is involved in swinging sticks at each other. You'd have to train for years and years and years to make all those decisions, all those nuances fluid and automatic. When someone is actually trying to kill you, there's no time to think about leverage and sequences. Everything you do should be so much a reflex that you can be thinking about what to have for dinner after you take this guys head off, as you are taking his head off.
I don't think it's the poleaxe as much as the plate that favors the wrestling, you see a good bit of wrestling in a lot of other manuals when really protective armors are involved.
@@SanD1721 Check out Medieval Combat: A Fifteenth-Century Manual of Swordfighting and Close-Quarter Combat by Hans Talhoffer which depicts sword, dagger and pole-arm techniques combined with grappling and throws performed by combatants wearing no armour.
@@robertharris6092 a full stave is like three meters maybe longer and there are medival accounts off peopel getting their arm hit of - as in the arm is no longer conected to the body - by a stave in full armor
@@ronglurak9892 staves are not 3 meters long. You cannot fight with a stave in that way. and what sources? A person having their head cleaved off by a halberd has happened. But not a staff.
I think this is a good representation of why melee medieval combat is so romanticized. it's not just two guys shooting at each other hiding behind a wall like modern combat. It's about two guys face to face, and the one who outplays the other wins. Who knows how to get into the other guys head, how to out maneuver him, and how to force him into a bad position is going to win. Melee combat in medieval days is very much a deadly game of wits, and strength.
I remember finding an old journal where a warrior recounted his story of combat and it was very cool. If you reply to this I can try and find it if you're interested.
blindoutlaw Yeah that would be good. It would even be a device to make characters stand out more, which was sort of an issue in the 1srseason when we didn't know the characters. I guess now we have baratheon's bastard with a world of Warcraft hammer, sort of pole axe, see what they do with it.
It would kinda defeat the whole "Game of Throne" thing if you had a character running around turning other characters into barely recognisable and heavily mutilated bodies after the first hit he delivers
It's a fantasy they're not exactly accurate to real history and often lack the societal and technological development most noticeable issue being in a continent the size of South America they all speak the same language despite having multiple ethnicities (even then there are only 5 or 6 in westeros meanwhile a comparable society and age would be medieval Europe which even in this day an age has close to 100 native ethnic groups and there's only so few because of ethnic groups merging over time.)
Impressive and well explained techniques, seeing this video I think to myself "some guys have lots of fun with real medieval weapons and armors, making reality my dream of be a knight just for amoment... but I just have videogames :(... that's not fair..." By the way, I was the like number 30.
Being a knight is great in all, until you get a sharp piece of metal shoved in your eyes, throat, chest, etc. and lie on the ground coughing in your own blood.
The pollaxe was the weapon of choice for people in plate armour fighting people in plate armour. It combines the impact of the hammer head, the penetration of the short spike on the back, the leverage of a long shaft, and the thrusting power of the long narrow spike on top. A sword will not cut through plate armour, or even chain mail. The sword was carried as a back up weapon. You would not want to use a pollaxe against a large group of unarmoured peasants; a cutting and thrusting sword would be faster and more nimble. When they used longswords against plate armour, they often reversed them and used them more like a pollaxe, hooking and striking with the guard rather than cutting and thrusting with the blade. It's all about context: your choice of weapon depends on what armour your opponent is likely to be wearing, and what you are likely to be wearing yourself. Fighting was what knights and men at arms were trained to do, and they learned and practised the skills just as any other professional has to learn and practise their skills. It was complex and subtle, and the stakes were high. Maybe you would die in your first encounter with an opponent, or maybe you would go through a whole war without ever coming face to face with the enemy, but just maybe you would end up in a melee with no choice but to fight until either you died or the enemy broke and ran.
Was expecting the fedora wielding gent in the front row there to pull out his katana and slice both of these two and the camera in half with a single slash of his nippon steel
Very very cool, and informative Video! The Sparring at the end looks so fine. You know your Hema guys. Also thanks for the link to your Website - Very interesting place to waste my afternoon :D
Also side note I thought it was strange that chainmail and plate armor in dnd has disadvantage on stealth cuz I thought if you moved slowly enough it wouldn't make *that* much noise....today I learned otherwise xD
What’s hilarious is that poleaxes aren’t popular in Hema because they are literally very dangerous. Even if all the edges and points are dull, hitting a human being with a 6lb axe hammer even slightly will do massive damage. This goes for most concussive or percussive weapons. Swords probably hurt when someone scores points, but this thing scores broken bones and concussions.
Nice demonstration but I would suggest a long shafted halberd as most armor is to the front and less to the back. The waist to the head is easier to defend than the waist down. Waist down has less armor and is less defensible. The halberd has back pointy things at the axe end so you can hook the crotch or behind the knee and pull with Gods strength to disable the opponent. Example: quick faint to the face transitioning to low guard with thrust between the legs. Turn axe horizontal and yank hard to make a serious gash at joints. Finish with spike through the eyeball. Individual fights to the death shouldn't last longer than 10 seconds at most. Five years of training for a 10 second fight. That's the life of a soldier.
The Goedendag is an inexpensive heavy wood war hammer that is highly effective. The neck is always open to a heavy vertical strike to the top of the head, crushing the cervical vertebrae. What-ever the heavy hammer hits will defeat the armor and crush what-ever is in the way. If the helmet deflects the blow, the shoulder will be seriously damaged allowing for a follow-up kill shot. Flails are also a good specialty weapon for it strikes the lightly armored back. In my opinion, in the shield wall or melee, swords are over rated. The most common open space for a swing is above the head or at ankle height. Swords are secondary weapons for individual combat where distant attacks are king. That being said, nothing is superior to a hand-gone (hand gun) or musket/rifle for they defeat armor at any point. The ball has been known to perforate several heavily armored knights. I guess it is about individual preference on how they will spend their 10 seconds of life in battle. My preference is hidden behind a stout bolder watching others battle to the death, then pick-off the winners for they will be winded and heavily injured. Actually the best place to be is in a firm bed with a very soft woman, but that is beside the point.
I had a heated debate with a friend. He was convinced that a late Medieval period knight in a poleaxe wouldn't be able to basically one shot a samurai from the same period and the samurai would win because....reasons. He didn't have very good reasons, he even believed the myth that katanas were these legendary swords that could cut through solid plate and that knights can't move quickly and dexterously in armor. This was by the way, after I told him that a 1000lb crossbow with a bodkin tip was unable to penetrate the breastplate front pointblank range. He even used deadliest warrior as his historical source....right.
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When you realise that poleaxe sparring is just:
"But you see, i have outsmarted your outsmartation"
You fool, I have outsmarted your out smarting of my outsmartation
Mr. Pickle so basically a anime?
That's not just poleaxe sparring, it's sparring....
"i was not expecting that... But I was expecting to not expect something so it doesn't count!"
During medieval times after the end of demonstrations:
"Make sure to recommend us to other people, and tell us how we did after our performances later on. Support us by heading over to our squires and giving them some coin for our display, we'll be doing demonstrations every week so keep an eye out on our usual spot at the town square. Thank you for watching."
"Also, thanks go to the merchants who sponsored the fight. Do consider buying their wares, and if you mention our names you'll get a 10% discount. We do earn a small affiliate reward from the merchants as well for every purchase. And don't forget the free mead for the first 10 customers!"
We would also like to mention our provider which would be the new ale house at the south of town. If you mention us to them you'll get 5 shillings off your first mug and we get compensation for the mention.
And thanks to our patreons the archbishop of Oxford and the dukes of Aquitaine and Lorraine our armours wouldn't be so shiny without their contributions
I love this comment chain so much.
Lmao these comments are golden
Swords are popular and highly romanticized, but are poleaxes considered among the best weapons to carry if you're anticipating combat in heavy armor? Poleaxes are rarely mentioned or depicted in popular media
Not just reach, but superior leverage. Due to your ability to space your hands further and with a more assertive grip (compared to half swording a flexible steel blade), someone with a halberd or other polearm has a big advantage in a bind vs say, a longsword.
First of all: When in doubt, usually go with what gives longer reach (and thus leverage). Not always true, but a good general rule of thumb if you go to war in heavy armour and/or a tight formation. Anyways, the pollaxe is highly specialized for waging war on foot and in armour, and not really something you "carry", I suppose. Swords on the other hand, after spending century after century (after century) dangling on the hips of people in all kinds of civilian contexts AND war, got the sweeter deal exposure-wise. Not all men-at-arms on foot utilized pollaxes, but pretty much all of them would have had had have had some type of sword at their side.
In my eyes a pollaxe or a halberd (or even a very pikey pike) is pretty easy on the eyes, but to most people I guess it does seem like a very utalitarian and clunky piece of hardware that no tender, veal-like gentleman would be caught dead with on a proper banquet or ball. Like a lean, black italian pistol compared to a vodka-reeking, splinter-giving Mosin-Nagant rifle that has been used at least once to dig a quick latrine pit during a dysentery outbreak. Or pretty much anything in the world compared to a modern "tacticool" monument to toxic gun culture (disclaimer: I like the USA).
At the end of the day, a thin and sharpened bar of metal attached to some neat stuff and worn at the hip is indeed pretty symbolic. Put it in the hands of someone who knows how to use it properly and it basically looks like a midsummer night's dream. No category of weaponry can beat that. I think?
Don't do (hard) drugs.
another way of looking at it is
a major feature of a sword or mace is that you can carry it on your belt ready for use at any moment, so, until such point that you need to access it, might as well have much biggetr items that you CANT easily stow on your person in your hands with extra reach and power, be it a spear, a 2 handed axe, a bow, a arquebus etc
the poleaxe was very popular during the war of the roses in England.(English civil war) 1440s to 1480s approximately.... nobles and kings would fight with them dismounted, this was a period when plate was at its best, the method must have been effective as both sides had access to longbow men which they still used... but the battles usually ended this way ...a hard way to win a battle
I friggin knew they were better but no one believed me
this new elder scrolls game looks great but they need to turn down the bloom lighting
Gives the video a very fantasy look
It's to hide their shitty graphics
The mods put it to shame
Ninjartist 36 damn you with that read more
Edit: I realised how late I am, but I don’t care
*trrrrrusting attacks*
More like the Witcher series.No TES have polearms in it.
"Ad mortem inimicus"
"Mors pro te vel"
"No supertes"
venator5 1:40 parry into light attack when he could do an unblockable shove and go for a top heavy what a noob
Translate?
@@Yarkoonian
Can't guarantee good translation, but they're like this:
"To death, (there is) enemy"
james young
To death, (my) enemy
Idk
No survivors
lawbringer forever my dude
For Honor Devs need to look for these guys so Lawbringer can get a decent Re-Rework
Yes, yes a thousand times yes
How do i find for honor comments in the weirdest of places?🤔
To be honest For Honor has to be the most realistic pollaxe combat I've seen in a video game, at least technique wise.
@@TP123KING what the fuck are you talking about the Lawbringer spins around like a ballerina and when you do the correct combo he goes super sayian and does an unblockable swing.
@@richardreisenbuk2350 I'm not saying its perfectly realistic but at least he holds the pollaxe in a more believable manner, using the end that doesn't have the axe to stab and switching hands to to do cuts from the left. Most games you swing it around like a sword and never use the other end. Could definitely be better utilising more grappling and leverage with the pollaxe to get the opponent on the ground to deliver a finishing blow but it's not the worst I've seen.
What an awesome demonstration. I wish movies had more fluid and realistic fighting, and didn't have so much reliance on swords.
Swale yep,swords are overrated
True words!
The problem is real combat isn't fluid or pretty. The reality is far less spectacular and rather simple. A line of men facing a line of men, hacking and stabbing at range, trying not to get caught in between the two lines as mostly nothing happens. The odd man tripping or getting taken out by luck until one side has had enough and retreats. Assuming both sides are equal. The real reason the pole axe shines is that when combined with full plate armour, you have an advantage against everyone else.....at best and you're on equal ground at the worst. You literally have a weapon that's effective against everyone on the field of battle.
I love swords. They're wonderful and very aesthetically pleasing weapons, even though they're not really effective on a battlefield.
#shaftweapongang
The sunlight reflecting off the armour is awesome makes it almost look like they’re wearing some sort of magical armour
Or regular polished armor
i really like this demonstration since theyre explaining it as they go.
Fascinating. I always wondered exactly how the poleaxe was used and what its tactical advantages were.
That was a very entertaining, informative and well-presented demonstration.
You stick the enemy with the point or you smash the enemy with the head.
That's how you use them.
well most swords were reserved for nobility and knights due to the high cost of metal and craftsmanship, a spear or polearm could do the job with a tenth amount of metal and any footsoldier could be trained to use it.
actually knights on foot used poleaxes as main weapons in most countries while swords where more for civilian use i mean you can carry a poleaxe in a town
Civilians and soldiers did use halberds due they were cheap and effective, but designed to fight at range. Poleaxes and 2 handed war hammers, on the other side, were designed to fight in mele handled by armored knights. They were more expensive and specialized, but if you can afford the armor the polexe cost won't be a problem. Been said that, regular unarmored troops barely have a chance in 1 vs 1 against armored ones, no matter if they use swords, halbards or even poleaxes. Probably shield + mace or shield + 1 hand hammer would be the best choice if they lack comparable armor.
@@Aerostorm56 Most professional soldiery, including the non landed and non noble soldiers would have had a sword or sword;esque sidearm.
In the 10th and 11th century it might be a bit more crude bladed weapon like a long seax, but talking about the period of the poleaxe, almost everyone on the battlefield had access to a sword, including the people wielding pikes, spears and poleaxes.
This dude sounds a lot like that one charismatic RPG npc you find in a training arena mid game
Imagine someone breaks into this guy’s house and he proceeds to pull out a medieval battle axe
*pole axe cus they’re way cooler than a long stick with a small axe at the end
@@Blueturtle1technically a pole axe is a battle axe
A battle axe is just an axe designed for combat
It's a shame that Poleaxes, and Polearms in general, are so overlooked in media.
They were by far the most commonly used weapons on pre-gunpowder battlefields. They were the base of all armies throughout history and around the world, being invented multiple times by different cultures who had no contact with one another. They were superb formation weapons as well as a decent ranged option (throwing spears, javelins, etc.).
They really deserve more recognition than they get in modern media.
Agreed, unfortunately it's dangerous for the actors because pole arms like these, even props, are very dangerous.
Hell, even DURING the gunpowder revolution. When guns were starting to be used more and more, matchlocks and wheel locks particularly, guess what was still the weapon of choice?
Pikes. Pikes were absolutely king and pike squares were the go to formation. It wasn't until we got more refined smoothbore flintlocks for cheaper production did you see the outright replacement. And even then we kept bayonets which, really, is a polearm with a bang switch.
In KCD youre pretty much fucked if you opponent is a simple peasant with a polearm.
Gunpowder was used in middle ages too. It s not the only thing that negated armour. Social system evolution was even more important reason. Also polearms were still used later on. Even till about nineteen century!
@@Banchoking so is everything, really, it is absolutly possible,
It would mean more work, but mainly dedikation, and going against mainstream
I saw these guys doing a longsword demo at Leeds a while back - great stuff, know their moves and are very entertaining with the commentary.
you don't see poleaxe sparing too often. Is it because it's more dangerous?
Any accident = broken bones or brain damage to the head
It can't be done full contact with realistic simulators. Some of us do it it with rubber-headed trainers, but that kind of defeats the purpose of learning how to use a deadly weapon.
oi, hold on there. "the purpose of deadly weapon"? A blunt sword is hardly a "deadly weapon" either, but they are used all the time. I'd guess blunt swords are less dangerous than a a rubber hammer, though...
Kinetic energy does not care if it's rubber or steel that's been loaded with potential energy. The full potential is going right through the helmet and padding, straight into the skull....
Tomas Sab The "deadly weapon" I'm referring to would be the "live" version of a poleaxe, the one that we are using the trainers to learn. I wasn't trying to imply that the trainer is the weapon itself. A rubber pollaxe causes a concussion at worst, which is really good if you wanted to spar somebody, but you lose the proper balance of the weapon if you are not using blunt steel as well as all of the nuance that comes from the real thing, or at least what is the closest safe simulation. A blunt sword is really a lot more dangerous than a rubber hammer, especially if it still has a point or an edge, but I guess that would really depend on the sword. I will mention that with swords and sometimes even some variations of knives we do practice with completely sharpened and "live" blades, since a lot of important factors of edge contact are lost with a blunt. If the pollaxe was a weapon that required edge contact, I would be practicing it with a sharp trainer as well only with a LOT of control.
Its hard to have safety equipment against an weapon designed to kill people in full armour.
When Zombie apocalypse hits I hope I am living next to one of these guys and they are friendly
Why? so you can all die together? . . . . in a zombie apocalypse a Poleaxe would not be ideal, it is designed to used in plate armor (or at least some form of very protective heavy armor) and isn't that much off a defensive weapon (hence the armor), so running around with Zombies everywhere in plate armor with a pole axe will only get you killed
i don't know about you but i would much rather prefer a shotgun or a pistol (or both) or if we are talking melee weapons a shield and axe would be far superior (you could use a sword instead but they require a lot more maintenance so i would go for an axe myself) because you wouldn't need to encumber yourself with all that heavy armor . . . . . . but in medieval context Poleaxes/Halberds were very effective as weapons of war
The Fractured But Whole don’t use armor or shield, the zombies would just grab it, use poleaxe to shove and hit at a distance
The Fractured But Whole they use armor because it makes it pretty much impossible to get cut
wouldn't it be easier for a zombie or zombies (un-dead beings that can only be stopped by removing the head or destroying the brain) to grab a poleaxe (especially if you try to shove with it, and you can defend yourself a lot better with a shield than with a pole axe and can just throw your axe if need be and/or just run away . . . . if i had a choice i would definitely choose my shield over my weapon (melee weapon that is) . . . . . and do not forget a pole axe is designed to be used primarily in heavy plate armor, so what do you do when you need to run? i can drop a shield and haul ass, you can't do that in plate armor
pole axes and the like are very good weapons in the right context, but against zombies that are way down on the list of effective weapons
The Fractured But Whole Dear lord where do I begin? A full suit of plate historically weighed 50-70 lbs (less than a marine carries today) in addition to being tailored to the knight to allow maximum mobility.
Pollaxes weighed 4-6lbs. Numerous skulls were excavated from medieval battlefields with rectangular indentations in them. If it can go through plate I’m pretty sure it’s going through an unarmored cranium like butter.
There’s numerous accounts of knights being injured in friendly tournaments using pollaxes.
sucks how little poleaxes or any polearm are represented in popular media since they counter like everything and have great versatility yet the shitty katana is shown most of the time
Geoff Rey The way I see it, Leaders and important people used swords, mostly because they weren't fighting most of the time (if at all) and didn't have a need for field weapons as a result. People only care about important people, so their depictions became most relevant and popular, romancing the ever present sword.
Popular depictions always focus on important people, not peasants: so swords are more important in focus while field weapons like Bows and Spears are like background scenery. And Swords are also more personable and immediate: many soldiers carried swords in addition to field arms so it is kind of like everyone had one and it was always close for scraps.
So when a fictional character needs a weapon, the ever Romantic sword that important people always have and are good at using for up close personal fights makes the most sense.
Kind of like how action heroes always use pistols instead of Rifles
You don't need to be a weapon hipster. Katanas being popular does not make them shitty. Polearms being unpopular does not make them the most amazing best weapon. It's all about the context of the battle. Katanas and polearms wouldn't exist if they didn't serve a specific purpose in the wars they were used in. Humans will use the most efficient tools for their jobs.
Geoff Rey Katanas are not shitty they are even sharper and better than medieval sword
Tea Tea Katanas were for samurai nobles to slaughter unarmed farmers I thought. They blow dick against any sort of metal armor.
myth busters did a review of katana vs medieval longsword, the longsword couldnt even cut through armor while the katana did cut through armor like butter
*AD MORTEM, INIMICUS*
when you try to outplay Daubeny
You were Daubeny's "second". These guy's were Daubeny's firsts.
I never knew that medieval combat was a turn based system.
The final fight at the end was just them turning on the Auto-play function.
Why else would RPGs be turn based. It's just historically accurate
Most combat systems rely on sequences of attack, parry, counter attack and so on. In games, this is formalised, and in sports like foil fencing it is built into the rules. In real combat, the point is you defend yourself then counter attack and so on. If both combatants simply attack, both will get hit. At real speed, the "turns" may last a split second.
@@mikefule So you are telling me that video games inspired medieval combat. Amazing.
@@terrysalava6981 LOL
"He turns around, thinking this just a demonstration. I land a sneaky attack and now await the coppers to take me to jail."
The dagger always comes in handy!
It must've taken an entire army of squires and servants to get their armor that well polished.
I'm not sure why I was surprised when they actually pulled out a dagger to go for the kill. Maybe I'm just used to people handwaving that bit.
actually thats parts pretty accurate, theres no need to skill someone with a sword if a dagger will do, and plus theyre almost wresting there on the floor, much easier to use a knife there than a long pole arm or sword
That's the thing, I'm used to people basically saying "Alright he's on the ground, now if I were actually trying to kill him this is when I'd get out my dagger" rather than, well, getting out their dagger.
Daggers are more versatile I'd say, specially if your intention is to jam it in joints to pierce into the flesh
I see what you're saying, most simply refer to the dagger as the demonstration ends. Actually pulling it out puts into perspective how quickly things would be over for the loser, it's a little shocking.
best poleaxe demo I have seen yet. very deadly weapon in the right hands. hell even in modest hands.
Amazing how much strategy is involved in swinging sticks at each other. You'd have to train for years and years and years to make all those decisions, all those nuances fluid and automatic. When someone is actually trying to kill you, there's no time to think about leverage and sequences. Everything you do should be so much a reflex that you can be thinking about what to have for dinner after you take this guys head off, as you are taking his head off.
Expertly done.
I never noticed it before, but the poleaxe seems to favor a wrestling kind of combat you don’t see elsewhere. Very interesting.
I don't think it's the poleaxe as much as the plate that favors the wrestling, you see a good bit of wrestling in a lot of other manuals when really protective armors are involved.
@@SanD1721 Check out Medieval Combat: A Fifteenth-Century Manual of Swordfighting and Close-Quarter Combat by Hans Talhoffer which depicts sword, dagger and pole-arm techniques combined with grappling and throws performed by combatants wearing no armour.
-lawbringer intensifies-
gnatflatt ad mortem iminicus
No suppresses
Vince of Astora Nor Supertites!!
gnatflatt LB uses a halberd as generally halberd are taller than their users, poleaxes are about the height of the user
That Musical Man I think it’s just an oversized poleaxe, everything is oversized in FO
The demo of the uses, (especially the entrys) of a Bec De Corbin was much appreciated. Hail from Clan MacGregor in the USA
Best Weapon ever....of all time.
Better than Nukes!!!
the poleaxe is just a rich mans stave. they both use the same basic moves. these two guys give a lovely demonstration of it
Except a stave alone is worthless against an armored opponent.
Not quite useless, blunt impact from a even a 6 foot quarter staff is a proper bone breaker
@@robertharris6092 a full stave is like three meters maybe longer and there are medival accounts off peopel getting their arm hit of - as in the arm is no longer conected to the body - by a stave in full armor
@@ronglurak9892 staves are not 3 meters long. You cannot fight with a stave in that way. and what sources? A person having their head cleaved off by a halberd has happened. But not a staff.
@@robertharris6092 look up the stave vs sword video from skallagrim they mention it
your right just two meters sorry for that
i said arm not head
I love how each fighter explains blow by blow, almost like boxing or MMA. Very technical and methodical.
We lost the art of fighting with weapons sadly since we use pussy firearms now
@@isaacrivera5452 Damn shame they're there most effective around, except when you're 3 inches from the opponent.
I think this is a good representation of why melee medieval combat is so romanticized. it's not just two guys shooting at each other hiding behind a wall like modern combat. It's about two guys face to face, and the one who outplays the other wins. Who knows how to get into the other guys head, how to out maneuver him, and how to force him into a bad position is going to win. Melee combat in medieval days is very much a deadly game of wits, and strength.
I remember finding an old journal where a warrior recounted his story of combat and it was very cool. If you reply to this I can try and find it if you're interested.
0:49 "Ima do it! I'll bash ye in tha 'ead, swear on me mum!"
Couldn't help but think that.
We need to see a poleaxe in game of thrones. Change it up from swords
blindoutlaw Yeah that would be good. It would even be a device to make characters stand out more, which was sort of an issue in the 1srseason when we didn't know the characters.
I guess now we have baratheon's bastard with a world of Warcraft hammer, sort of pole axe, see what they do with it.
It would kinda defeat the whole "Game of Throne" thing if you had a character running around turning other characters into barely recognisable and heavily mutilated bodies after the first hit he delivers
It's a fantasy they're not exactly accurate to real history and often lack the societal and technological development most noticeable issue being in a continent the size of South America they all speak the same language despite having multiple ethnicities (even then there are only 5 or 6 in westeros meanwhile a comparable society and age would be medieval Europe which even in this day an age has close to 100 native ethnic groups and there's only so few because of ethnic groups merging over time.)
We need to get rid of these videos before the white walkers find out about polearms!
*SWORDS ARE OVERRATED*
This entire fight felt like only counter attacks and i love it
DAUBENY !!!
Václav Kanda DAUBENY SHOW YOURSELF!
Trail by combat right now
These solders dont have to die
@Absolute Scum Then fight my second!
Simon Kulcsár you, you will be my second
I can’t believe 2015 was 5 years ago, man, time fly’s fast.
the explanation was cool and the real combat demonstration at the end was even cooler
legit knight in shining armors
Impressive and well explained techniques, seeing this video I think to myself "some guys have lots of fun with real medieval weapons and armors, making reality my dream of be a knight just for amoment... but I just have videogames :(... that's not fair..." By the way, I was the like number 30.
Being a knight is great in all, until you get a sharp piece of metal shoved in your eyes, throat, chest, etc. and lie on the ground coughing in your own blood.
@@gamechannel1271 Just don't get hit.
I like how the guy, in the end, started to kick him as a last stand thing
Hmm, indeed...
Lawbringer has some good parry punishes, as we can see.
The vIMC this year was nice, but obviously there was no display like this. Definitely miss it.
The way they each get an advantage and thoroughly explain how their next move will play out reminds me of a JoJo battle
Really good demonstration of basic poleaxe principles well broken down and explained
I can just imagine two skilled poleaxe users meaning each other looks like an anime fight. Just pure dodging.
This was very interesting.
I never knew there was so much to know about poleaxe combat, that would've changed my D&D games quite a lot!
The pollaxe was the weapon of choice for people in plate armour fighting people in plate armour. It combines the impact of the hammer head, the penetration of the short spike on the back, the leverage of a long shaft, and the thrusting power of the long narrow spike on top. A sword will not cut through plate armour, or even chain mail. The sword was carried as a back up weapon. You would not want to use a pollaxe against a large group of unarmoured peasants; a cutting and thrusting sword would be faster and more nimble. When they used longswords against plate armour, they often reversed them and used them more like a pollaxe, hooking and striking with the guard rather than cutting and thrusting with the blade. It's all about context: your choice of weapon depends on what armour your opponent is likely to be wearing, and what you are likely to be wearing yourself. Fighting was what knights and men at arms were trained to do, and they learned and practised the skills just as any other professional has to learn and practise their skills. It was complex and subtle, and the stakes were high. Maybe you would die in your first encounter with an opponent, or maybe you would go through a whole war without ever coming face to face with the enemy, but just maybe you would end up in a melee with no choice but to fight until either you died or the enemy broke and ran.
This video is underrated, hope that this video could get more views.
Great, I'll make sure to use this next time I fight someone with a poleaxe.
Would love to see more of these, with different weapons and matchups against different styles
all the people in the background watching mordhau on youtube
Very practical, and very pretty
its like an anime characters fighting while having a discussion
shiny chrome!
You can get your steel polished so bright that this seems like a muddy pond. Good armour in mint condition can be polished to "mirror" finish.
Polished steel, not chrome. Chrome plating didn't begin until 1924.
@@bobblehat6603 pretty sure it was a fury road reference.
Literally the perfect weapon.
And then He:
So then do I:
In reaction to that I:
And then ill:
Thank you for the excellent & delightful lessons.
I can't stop watching over and over the actual fight at the end
wow.. know this will be my favorite weapon in rpgs and mmorpg.
Good luck finding one in an RPG or MMO
Dark Souls, Elden Ring and Mordhau have ones. I think, I never found any in JRPGs.
damn, tutorial levels on games this days looks so real.
Was expecting the fedora wielding gent in the front row there to pull out his katana and slice both of these two and the camera in half with a single slash of his nippon steel
Very very cool, and informative Video! The Sparring at the end looks so fine. You know your Hema guys. Also thanks for the link to your Website - Very interesting place to waste my afternoon :D
Is this part of the Lawbringer rework they are working on?
I'm so glad this stuff wasn't lost to history
Now we need an intense quick paced action scene of two great masters of polearms battle each other out
Yo wtf I love this I wasn't looking for it but it found me and I am happy to be here-
Also side note I thought it was strange that chainmail and plate armor in dnd has disadvantage on stealth cuz I thought if you moved slowly enough it wouldn't make *that* much noise....today I learned otherwise xD
7:16 when did Lawbringer get Peacekeeper's dagger?
What if they're actually 2 rivals playing a verbal game of medieval chess
I like to imagine they are still doing this right now
Why does this feel like a D&D encounter with its pacing and how they explain it?
Age of Empires graphics are increasingly looking better
And the winner of todays tournament is Henry from Skalitz!
Very nice Reeanactor late 15th century armor and Weapons, i am Impressed
Great demonstration
I was hoping to see a full speed version of this. Choreographed of course but that would be awesome.
they did the full speed version at the end
nice tips but he forgot to mention to feint the unblockable into a guardbreak side heavy
Please turn off bloom in the graphics settings.
1:42
"deliver a probing, thrusting attack into his face"
"i'm gonna run away from that"
"very wise"
i love this it's so engaging
"Knight in shining armour" at their finest.
Seriously the shininess !
how do u train at a faster motion? considering that its a weapon designed to penetrate armor
After 5 years...3 am watch material...ty youtube
Demo ends and fight begins at 6:54
What’s hilarious is that poleaxes aren’t popular in Hema because they are literally very dangerous. Even if all the edges and points are dull, hitting a human being with a 6lb axe hammer even slightly will do massive damage. This goes for most concussive or percussive weapons. Swords probably hurt when someone scores points, but this thing scores broken bones and concussions.
They probably had so much fun teaching this shit to each other back in the day
Really great breakdown of a poleax fight!
The glint off their armor. I'm surprised they didn't invent some type of sunglasses. The Inuit managed to do it, so the Europeans could have.
Did mordhau get a new tutorial?
The for Honor developers need simply read the book of five rings and 1570 Joachim Meyer the flower of combat
Nice demonstration but I would suggest a long shafted halberd as most armor is to the front and less to the back. The waist to the head is easier to defend than the waist down. Waist down has less armor and is less defensible. The halberd has back pointy things at the axe end so you can hook the crotch or behind the knee and pull with Gods strength to disable the opponent. Example: quick faint to the face transitioning to low guard with thrust between the legs. Turn axe horizontal and yank hard to make a serious gash at joints. Finish with spike through the eyeball. Individual fights to the death shouldn't last longer than 10 seconds at most. Five years of training for a 10 second fight. That's the life of a soldier.
The Goedendag is an inexpensive heavy wood war hammer that is highly effective. The neck is always open to a heavy vertical strike to the top of the head, crushing the cervical vertebrae. What-ever the heavy hammer hits will defeat the armor and crush what-ever is in the way. If the helmet deflects the blow, the shoulder will be seriously damaged allowing for a follow-up kill shot. Flails are also a good specialty weapon for it strikes the lightly armored back. In my opinion, in the shield wall or melee, swords are over rated. The most common open space for a swing is above the head or at ankle height. Swords are secondary weapons for individual combat where distant attacks are king. That being said, nothing is superior to a hand-gone (hand gun) or musket/rifle for they defeat armor at any point. The ball has been known to perforate several heavily armored knights. I guess it is about individual preference on how they will spend their 10 seconds of life in battle. My preference is hidden behind a stout bolder watching others battle to the death, then pick-off the winners for they will be winded and heavily injured. Actually the best place to be is in a firm bed with a very soft woman, but that is beside the point.
But where are the pommels for ending opponents rightly?
You don't need a frickin' pommel if you have a pollaxe! The whole weapon is like one huge pommel what you don't even have to unscrew first.
Incredible weapon and skills
The fact that they are narrating everything just makes me feel like I'm watching JoJo.
Weeb
This Lawbringer tutorial looks great.
LEGEND HAS IT THEY ARE STILL FOIGHTING AND THRRRRRRRUUUUUSTING TO THIS DAY
“Then it just turns into a trial of strength”
Good thing I am S T R O N K
That was such a great demo.
has anyone ever used a globe of ballistics gell in a helmet then wacked it with one of these to actually see what sort of damage it really may do?
I've seen people hit ballistic gel heads, and helmets with a simulated material inside but never both
7 minutes to explain, 17 seconds to execute.
I had a heated debate with a friend. He was convinced that a late Medieval period knight in a poleaxe wouldn't be able to basically one shot a samurai from the same period and the samurai would win because....reasons. He didn't have very good reasons, he even believed the myth that katanas were these legendary swords that could cut through solid plate and that knights can't move quickly and dexterously in armor. This was by the way, after I told him that a 1000lb crossbow with a bodkin tip was unable to penetrate the breastplate front pointblank range. He even used deadliest warrior as his historical source....right.
The camera is having a fit trying to record the gloriously shiny plate armor