Chuck the scabbard at them is my preference as I prefer an open hand & a lucky opening is enough to turn the odds in your favour. Mind preference & what occurs is 2 different matters. Best to keep options open.
The Japanese sword Arts also love using the scabbard as a weapon to stab at the throat or the crotch. The scabbard might be flat and dull, but rest assured you'll feel the impact.
Great explorationg of the available options! Personally I'd still rather avoid using the scabbard defensively, just because of how much more can go wrong (compared to defending with the sword). An observant opponent with good footwork and reaction time can adjust to defenses that heavily rely on lateral movement. To be fair, sword parries can also be circumvented, but at least there is a lot more mass and physical protection behind the defense. I like the version you showed at 07:48 though, it seems much safer. And Fiore's defense against a surprise attack with a sheathed sword is solid, no doubt.
Some Japanese martial arts teach fighting with cane swords where the cane that the sword is in can also be used as a hollow weapon for strikes in tandem with the sword inside it. And many of the techniques start with an initial block or strike with the cane itself before ejecting the sword, to represent the hectic nature of being surprised and not being able to draw the sword fast enough to save your life. But the Japanese martial arts mostly never really use the scabbards of regular swords for this (and when media, like anime, shows it being done, they're mixing it up with the cane swords, the name of which I forget because I don't speak Japanese) as the real scabbards are very soft wood and they wouldn't necessarily even deflect a sword, as they're not designed for that, unlike the canes.
Brilliant stuff! Anyone else remember that Dogtanian episode when Dogtanian can't get his sword out of his scabbard, and is dueling with his sheathed sword?
Yet another great discussion. There are so many topics to cover you will never run out of things to talk about. Keep up the great work. Your unflagging enthusiasm you express, no matter the topic, is one of the best thing about your work. Thank you and thanks to Lucy too for helping out. Cheers!
I suspect that if you use the X block, that the attacking blade bites into the scabbard deeply and sword edge a little bit - making it very difficult to unsheath your sword while controlling / binding 14:57 the attacking blade with the scabbard. Looking forward to the tests :)
Great video! The batch 2 of the RAC swords have some gorgeous scabbards! I'm gonna add some of these maneuvers into my video game with motion capture. Love the demonstration with Lucy, I never realized how tall she is. On camera, she doesn't look any shorter than you are even.
Matt, I know that mention was briefly made in the other video by Skal regarding Chinese and Japanese scabbards being more robust and having actual techniques that involve the scabbard as an offhand parrying device, but is there any insight that you might have as to why scabbards in Western European swordsmanship were rarely reinforced to be utilized in such a fashion?
Spring steel. Katana are edge quenched in water. The spine is relatively untempered so it will take a set if you fell on it in a bendy sheath. So, they developed sheaths that are stiffer. Meanwhile, Europeans had no need to protect their blades from bending so they used lighter built sheaths.
Yes it is also done inthe Philippines, especially in cabatuan iloilo, in the festival every decmber 30, show casing native martial art , al so xdone in actual fights, i still had a scabbard from around 1920s covered with carabao horn locks with cut marks from other blades, they called the technique " pamayong" or umbrella ,
In a lot of choreography in Chinese media, since Chinese swords are typically carried in a wooden scabbard, a swordsman could be shown using the scabbard as a defensive parrying tool as well as a secondary bludgeoning weapon.
That sword is... absolutely gorgeous. What is it? Edit: Looks like a prototype for the upcoming Windlass x Royal Armouries x Matt Easton "15th Century Arming Sword" Absolutely beauteous
Matt, I don't think youtube liked that you took a sponsor for this, bc YT gave me an Ad for that scam better help of all things, right in the middle of your sponsor read lol. Just thought you should know.Cheers 👍👍
Fair. Also, doesn't necessarily matter that the sword cuts mostly through. We're using the scabbard to buy time. Not the end all be all of defense. ETA: Good stuff. Well thought through. Edit to add to add: "The scabbard might get bitten into." Better the scabbard than me :)
I'd like to see the test of the block with sword in scabbard. I suspect it might either not be so easy to unsheath your own sword after, or that the attack may bounce more instead of binding into your damaged scabbard.
I wonder if a steel exoskeleton (I'm imaging it like a couple of pipes running the length of the scabbard, or maybe something like a cage, or half a cage for one side...so not a solid piece like an entirely metal scabbard) for a sheath could be made strong enough to parry without adding too much weight? Obviously, it's a compromise idea, but now I'm thinking about it.
I'm interested in this kind of thing regarding sword-canes. If you're fighting with a sword-cane, is it better to keep the cane half in the offhand or to drop it and concentrate on the sword half?
The Japanese sword Arts also love using the scabbard as a weapon to stab at the throat or the crotch. The scabbard might be flat and dull, but rest assured you'll feel the impact.
this vid has me thinking, is there any record of the metal ends of scabbards being put into a sharp enough of a point where a good jab with it could draw blood (not like a blade but more like a shank or spike)? Or given more weight so as to be more effective to use in a strike (not unlike a mace or hammer)?
how useful would it be to toss the scabbard outward straight forward as an extended thrust? whether they move away and let you unsheathe or they get hit by the thrust.
I would think that if you blocked with your sword and wacked your opponent's knuckles with the scabbard, that would distract them or possibly cause some loss of control of their weapon.
Perhaps not based in history, but I think it would be cool if the modern HEMA community can work together to log some quick drawing techniques for European swords just like in Asian martial arts.
Historical scabbards were weaker than modern reproductions. Would they even be sturdy enough for the ways you describe? We need some full contact testing.
Could it be that the modern scabbards are wrongly constructed? like not considering grain direction, not proper thickness and material chosen? From what i've seen from Skall's clip it got clean cut like a log hewn with an axe
Really, how surprising NOT. Should be obvious to anyone, you can not block BUT deflect with a scabbard. As said below, there are also ways to use it for distraction. End of.
Not a fan of Skal maybe he has matured but my experience speaking with him have been really negative. A lot of name calling not a lot of actually talking tactics. He’s really nice til you disagree. A lot of medevil experts are quite certain that the peasants haven’t earned the right to claim any expertise at all unless you yourself are a RUclipsr. Note I said RUclipsr not fighter I am actually a fighter specifically in college I started the Japanese Sword fighting club at my school and fought in multiple fights including being blinded in one eye. We were not doing kata sparring and matches only. But since this was the nineties I don’t have a bunch of phone videos and because I am very very sick I don’t have much energy for anything but comments. I am also an amateur fighter but again this was before backyard fights were publicized. Of course, I don’t expect any acceptance or adulation even though I am damn good with a katana and have invited RUclipsrs to years earlier. All I expect is the credit of maybe being possibly correct. As in maybe it’s true I don’t believe you but I can’t prove you wrong without seeing you use your technique. Just reasonable doubt, instead of just saying you’re wrong you don’t understand what you’re talking about. .. then insert insults to intelligence. RUclipsrs are way way too certain that nobody could possibly know something they don’t. I also heavily criticized another RUclipsr for their poor demos of chucks as a self defense weapon and since it is actually a weapon I have actually trained and fought humans with. For instance the lie that they will just comeback and hit you I disproved and helped turn a single video into a number of videos because again RUclipsrs don’t like being told they don’t know something. The difference is a lot of these videographers are not actually fighting with the weapons they give commentary on they are critics. So they don’t try to learn how to be effective they learn how to point out the flaws of something. Anyways, it’s been years but martial arts RUclips is filled to the brim with people who will say x or y doesn’t work period and not let there be a shadow of a doubt which to me is blind pride. Thinking there is no way you could be wrong. Who knows maybe my name looked like the name of another user who was rude to skal and that’s why he was so insulting. Allowing for the benefit of the doubt is the only way to learn what you don’t know. I guess that’s my real moral. I generally find absolute certainty of “influencers” to be really unpleasant. Matt Easton is probably one of the only users who consistently uses the phrase “maybe, I don’t know” and that is why he is probably one of the only general hema channels I still follow.
@@cecilsmith2061I don’t understand the question? Please be specific. The speed at which this question emerged is kinda bizarre. My own comment had just posted on my screen and already there is a comment and one which seems to just be meant to generate a random response. It seems generated is what I am saying. Even if you’re a human you don’t seem to have read my comment in its entirety. I don’t think many questions are left unanswered I usually give examples. As I did with Matt and him saying “I don’t know, Maybe” as a way of pointing out how he is open to being wrong and so open to learning from anyone.
@@dorjedriftwood2731 I got a notification for this video and simply decided to read the comments while it was playing, and yours was initially very small instead of a large series of paragraphs you have now edited it to be. Of course it's going to seem like nonsense now, it is no longer an appropriate reply, and I don't have the memory to remind you of what specifically I was questioning. I'll just assume your elaborations are answer enough before I read them now.
Because it's a follow up to the video He did with Skallagrim. Where they test how sturdy a scabbard is. And really? Clickbait? The title is "how to use", not "can SCABBARD actually BLOCK SWORDS????"
It depends on the scabbard material. The last video pointed out that a standard wood core, leather-bound scabbard is not gonna do that well compared to a full-metal scabbard (or if it existed, a metal core, leather-bound scabbard).
You can get 20% off clothing at www.sheathunderwear.com with discount code SCHOLA
Chuck the scabbard at them is my preference as I prefer an open hand & a lucky opening is enough to turn the odds in your favour.
Mind preference & what occurs is 2 different matters.
Best to keep options open.
just letting you know the skall video hasn't been linked in the description box yet
Now that's the kind of sponsorship I like to see. Hilarious. On brand. Relevant to HEMAists.
Ludwig's Holy Blade from Bloodborne has an enormous Scabbard
Can it be used as a Kite Shield ?
The Japanese sword Arts also love using the scabbard as a weapon to stab at the throat or the crotch. The scabbard might be flat and dull, but rest assured you'll feel the impact.
Over the years, I've realised that Matt is right about everything, and fantasy movies are wrong about everything.
Context
Thats the thing about experimental archeology.... its pretty hard to argue with objective reality when you see it for yourself.
Fantasy movies are still mostly right about people wanting an escape. But about combat, nah, they're totally wrong.
😂😂😂 Pretty much.
You could also throw the scabbard at the other guy's face while moving in to attack with your sword
I thought such techniques were reserved for the pommel. 🤯
Not a bad idea at all!
pirate style
Is that before you throw your pommel? 😆
@eldorados_lost_searcher 1st the scabbard then the pommel.
This video was a Lucy enhanced production .... and so is at least 100% better ...
Great explorationg of the available options!
Personally I'd still rather avoid using the scabbard defensively, just because of how much more can go wrong (compared to defending with the sword). An observant opponent with good footwork and reaction time can adjust to defenses that heavily rely on lateral movement. To be fair, sword parries can also be circumvented, but at least there is a lot more mass and physical protection behind the defense.
I like the version you showed at 07:48 though, it seems much safer.
And Fiore's defense against a surprise attack with a sheathed sword is solid, no doubt.
Just got done watching you on Tod's channel! This is a good evening! 😃
Seki sensei has talked about the last point before
Some Japanese martial arts teach fighting with cane swords where the cane that the sword is in can also be used as a hollow weapon for strikes in tandem with the sword inside it. And many of the techniques start with an initial block or strike with the cane itself before ejecting the sword, to represent the hectic nature of being surprised and not being able to draw the sword fast enough to save your life.
But the Japanese martial arts mostly never really use the scabbards of regular swords for this (and when media, like anime, shows it being done, they're mixing it up with the cane swords, the name of which I forget because I don't speak Japanese) as the real scabbards are very soft wood and they wouldn't necessarily even deflect a sword, as they're not designed for that, unlike the canes.
Lucy videos are the best videos.
Great video. Metal scabbards looks like a viable offensive weapon too.
Brilliant stuff!
Anyone else remember that Dogtanian episode when Dogtanian can't get his sword out of his scabbard, and is dueling with his sheathed sword?
Yet another great discussion. There are so many topics to cover you will never run out of things to talk about. Keep up the great work. Your unflagging enthusiasm you express, no matter the topic, is one of the best thing about your work. Thank you and thanks to Lucy too for helping out. Cheers!
I suspect that if you use the X block, that the attacking blade bites into the scabbard deeply and sword edge a little bit - making it very difficult to unsheath your sword while controlling / binding 14:57 the attacking blade with the scabbard. Looking forward to the tests :)
Love these discussions.
Great video! The batch 2 of the RAC swords have some gorgeous scabbards! I'm gonna add some of these maneuvers into my video game with motion capture. Love the demonstration with Lucy, I never realized how tall she is. On camera, she doesn't look any shorter than you are even.
Matt, you found the 15th century Portuguese painting I was telling you about with all of the ear daggers!👂🏻😃
Matt, I know that mention was briefly made in the other video by Skal regarding Chinese and Japanese scabbards being more robust and having actual techniques that involve the scabbard as an offhand parrying device, but is there any insight that you might have as to why scabbards in Western European swordsmanship were rarely reinforced to be utilized in such a fashion?
Bucklers
Spring steel. Katana are edge quenched in water. The spine is relatively untempered so it will take a set if you fell on it in a bendy sheath. So, they developed sheaths that are stiffer. Meanwhile, Europeans had no need to protect their blades from bending so they used lighter built sheaths.
Yes it is also done inthe Philippines, especially in cabatuan iloilo, in the festival every decmber 30, show casing native martial art , al
so xdone in actual fights, i still had a scabbard from around 1920s covered with carabao horn locks with cut marks from other blades, they called the technique " pamayong" or umbrella ,
Very interesting ! Will you do a second part with steel scabbards ?
very intresting video! I would love to see if a sword would get stuck in the scabbard too some extent.
Matt, informative as always. Lucy in DM's, perfection.
Boy he's really changing that thumbnail and title fast and furiously. It's hard to satisfy the youtube promotion algorithm.
Thanks for the video if the scabbard is strong then it's good to use it as a defense weapon
waiting for cat easton to join the outdoor sparring as well
In a lot of choreography in Chinese media, since Chinese swords are typically carried in a wooden scabbard, a swordsman could be shown using the scabbard as a defensive parrying tool as well as a secondary bludgeoning weapon.
Unrelated to scabbards at all, but where is that sword from? It looks magnificent.
Albion I bet.
Its from his collab with windlass and the royal armories
I'm waiting for Matt to suggest launching the scabbard by swinging the sword at the opponent
Super great!
Chain mail underwear breathes and is cut proof 😂 for those critical swords duels
Matt has been watching history squad ya
😉
Wow I’m shocked that you have less than a third of the subscribers of Skall, because you are far more famous than he is. In my experience.
That sword is... absolutely gorgeous. What is it?
Edit: Looks like a prototype for the upcoming Windlass x Royal Armouries x Matt Easton "15th Century Arming Sword"
Absolutely beauteous
Matt, I don't think youtube liked that you took a sponsor for this, bc YT gave me an Ad for that scam better help of all things, right in the middle of your sponsor read lol. Just thought you should know.Cheers 👍👍
Fair. Also, doesn't necessarily matter that the sword cuts mostly through. We're using the scabbard to buy time. Not the end all be all of defense.
ETA: Good stuff. Well thought through.
Edit to add to add: "The scabbard might get bitten into." Better the scabbard than me :)
I'd like to see the test of the block with sword in scabbard. I suspect it might either not be so easy to unsheath your own sword after, or that the attack may bounce more instead of binding into your damaged scabbard.
I wonder if a steel exoskeleton (I'm imaging it like a couple of pipes running the length of the scabbard, or maybe something like a cage, or half a cage for one side...so not a solid piece like an entirely metal scabbard) for a sheath could be made strong enough to parry without adding too much weight? Obviously, it's a compromise idea, but now I'm thinking about it.
Everyone who has studied Iai knows exactly how useful a scabbard (saya) can be.
I'm interested in this kind of thing regarding sword-canes. If you're fighting with a sword-cane, is it better to keep the cane half in the offhand or to drop it and concentrate on the sword half?
06:20, you look really cool there with that jacket. Where did you get it?
Underwear that looms like the carpet from The Shining? One place you definitely don’t want haunted. Unless you’re dan akroyd i ghostbusters
The Japanese sword Arts also love using the scabbard as a weapon to stab at the throat or the crotch. The scabbard might be flat and dull, but rest assured you'll feel the impact.
There are a lot of similar techniques to this in battonutsu/iaido as well.
this vid has me thinking, is there any record of the metal ends of scabbards being put into a sharp enough of a point where a good jab with it could draw blood (not like a blade but more like a shank or spike)? Or given more weight so as to be more effective to use in a strike (not unlike a mace or hammer)?
Just put your opponent’s blade in your own scabbard and problem solved. Matt and Todd might know about that 😂
how useful would it be to toss the scabbard outward straight forward as an extended thrust? whether they move away and let you unsheathe or they get hit by the thrust.
what is the sword in the thumbnail ?
I would think that if you blocked with your sword and wacked your opponent's knuckles with the scabbard, that would distract them or possibly cause some loss of control of their weapon.
Didn't some scabbards have metallic sides? Could that be to use it as a blocking tool, to make the thin side more stable and cut resistant?
Good to see you and your lovely wife are settling your marital disputes in a civilized manner.
Perhaps not based in history, but I think it would be cool if the modern HEMA community can work together to log some quick drawing techniques for European swords just like in Asian martial arts.
Quick drawing techniques are used by Fiore dei Liberi and Angelo Viggiani.
Good t shirt😊
What is your opinion scabbard vs Saya ?
Two things 1 would a rapier and a hammer be a good weapon set 2 would a rapier be good for "monster slaying" just for fun
Tell Lucy her boots are killer for me please.
Cool shirt, the door are alright i reckon
Is there any record of cavalry using their scabbards? Say, they lost their sword, could they just use their scabbard as a mace or a blunt “sword?”
Meat and veg lol. We used to say twig and berries here
More unusual stuff
Weren't Chinese Jian kept in metal scabbards? If this trope is used in Western movies it is probably actually borrowed from Chinese cinema
Any reason why scabbards in Europe were flexible while scabbards in Japan were solid?
I’m guessing a metal saber scabbard would work ok
Yeah, that was one of the conclusions near the end of the Skall video.
they can be easily replicated with the sword cane
Matt and Skall taught me that the role of a wife is to help her man swordfight.
Came for the swords, stayed for the underpants
To block no but parrying a thrust yes.
They can easily block...
Unless you wind up a big swing
No modelling for the sponsor? Quite disappointed.
Given current day Britain, there should definitely be a defense against machete attack, as informed by HEMA video.
I actually don't wear underwear...
Historical scabbards were weaker than modern reproductions. Would they even be sturdy enough for the ways you describe? We need some full contact testing.
Could it be that the modern scabbards are wrongly constructed? like not considering grain direction, not proper thickness and material chosen? From what i've seen from Skall's clip it got clean cut like a log hewn with an axe
When you are an adult man playing with out-dated weapons for pure fun, no topic is ever too extrange to cover! 😂
I wonder if matt's "sheath"could stop a sword attack? 😂🤔
Ask Lucy? With those children, the success rate sure seems low, though...
Wouldn’t you’re sword possibly get stuck in the scabbard after being struck
clearly it was not a katana scabbard used with the proper announcement of the defensive technique
Really, how surprising NOT. Should be obvious to anyone, you can not block BUT deflect with a scabbard. As said below, there are also ways to use it for distraction. End of.
Not a fan of Skal maybe he has matured but my experience speaking with him have been really negative. A lot of name calling not a lot of actually talking tactics. He’s really nice til you disagree. A lot of medevil experts are quite certain that the peasants haven’t earned the right to claim any expertise at all unless you yourself are a RUclipsr. Note I said RUclipsr not fighter I am actually a fighter specifically in college I started the Japanese Sword fighting club at my school and fought in multiple fights including being blinded in one eye. We were not doing kata sparring and matches only. But since this was the nineties I don’t have a bunch of phone videos and because I am very very sick I don’t have much energy for anything but comments.
I am also an amateur fighter but again this was before backyard fights were publicized. Of course, I don’t expect any acceptance or adulation even though I am damn good with a katana and have invited RUclipsrs to years earlier. All I expect is the credit of maybe being possibly correct. As in maybe it’s true I don’t believe you but I can’t prove you wrong without seeing you use your technique. Just reasonable doubt, instead of just saying you’re wrong you don’t understand what you’re talking about. .. then insert insults to intelligence. RUclipsrs are way way too certain that nobody could possibly know something they don’t.
I also heavily criticized another RUclipsr for their poor demos of chucks as a self defense weapon and since it is actually a weapon I have actually trained and fought humans with. For instance the lie that they will just comeback and hit you I disproved and helped turn a single video into a number of videos because again RUclipsrs don’t like being told they don’t know something. The difference is a lot of these videographers are not actually fighting with the weapons they give commentary on they are critics. So they don’t try to learn how to be effective they learn how to point out the flaws of something. Anyways, it’s been years but martial arts RUclips is filled to the brim with people who will say x or y doesn’t work period and not let there be a shadow of a doubt which to me is blind pride. Thinking there is no way you could be wrong. Who knows maybe my name looked like the name of another user who was rude to skal and that’s why he was so insulting. Allowing for the benefit of the doubt is the only way to learn what you don’t know. I guess that’s my real moral. I generally find absolute certainty of “influencers” to be really unpleasant.
Matt Easton is probably one of the only users who consistently uses the phrase “maybe, I don’t know” and that is why he is probably one of the only general hema channels I still follow.
How so?
@@cecilsmith2061I don’t understand the question? Please be specific. The speed at which this question emerged is kinda bizarre. My own comment had just posted on my screen and already there is a comment and one which seems to just be meant to generate a random response. It seems generated is what I am saying.
Even if you’re a human you don’t seem to have read my comment in its entirety. I don’t think many questions are left unanswered I usually give examples. As I did with Matt and him saying “I don’t know, Maybe” as a way of pointing out how he is open to being wrong and so open to learning from anyone.
@@dorjedriftwood2731 I got a notification for this video and simply decided to read the comments while it was playing, and yours was initially very small instead of a large series of paragraphs you have now edited it to be. Of course it's going to seem like nonsense now, it is no longer an appropriate reply, and I don't have the memory to remind you of what specifically I was questioning. I'll just assume your elaborations are answer enough before I read them now.
Of course scabbards can block. Why ask a question that any 6 year old could answer correctly, unless it's clickbait.
Because it's a follow up to the video He did with Skallagrim. Where they test how sturdy a scabbard is. And really? Clickbait? The title is "how to use", not "can SCABBARD actually BLOCK SWORDS????"
It depends on the scabbard material. The last video pointed out that a standard wood core, leather-bound scabbard is not gonna do that well compared to a full-metal scabbard (or if it existed, a metal core, leather-bound scabbard).
@@bl4cksp1d3r Oh you mean floppy leather scabbards. How about steel saber scabbards? Yes, Y/N question titles are all lazy clickbait.
@@dashcammer4322 Matt talks about that. His title is not a Y/N question. Thanks for proving my point.
@@bl4cksp1d3r Nope, he changed his thumbnail image after I posted the rebuke.
Every time I am convinced that your channel is one of the best! Thank you for the quality content and interesting videos.🫦🍊🛖