Skallagrim, I love your work, but you seem to be neglecting the obvious. Correct me, if I'm wrong (though mostly I'm not). Those used in the show, are more like Short Spears (whose metal top haft were used for slicing/stabbing), not full Spears. Their length and shape is an obvious giveaway. Meaning they were not meant for just quick stabs or throws as Javelins are, they are meant to be used in up close fighting as a kind of short sword, with the added benefit of being tossed as a short range throwing spear when it is ideal.
@@Drakengard-cb5ot I noticed that, which is why I mentioned shorter spears and used moderately sized staves as substitutes. Still not great to use without a shield.
Yeah, I wasn't very happy with this scene. I could be wrong but I don't remember the aiel EVER dual weilding spears. They carry multiple spears in case they need to throw one, they are disarmed, or the spear is damaged. They use one spear at a time, and a buckler. The amount of unnecessary changes this show had made make it so much worse and it hurts because I wanted to like the show and I just cant.
The more enemy's there are, the more likely they are to be relying on overwhelming numbers. The less warriors there are, the more likely they are to be competent enough to handle a group of the aforementioned enemys
Knowing nothing else but this clip I can only imagine the lady is thinking to herself "why aren't these random encounters dropping sheilds? It would make the quest so much easier".
Canonically the Aiel were masters of spear combat, and they definitely trained dual wielding spears - for about three seconds, just to see how stupid it was.
@@emmasnow29 maybe it does because while i haven't seen the show its fair to say that they produced a fighting style specifically for dual wielding spears that he may have overlooked looking into
Aye it would have been more realistic if she had people with her. Granted that would have required someone who could actually choreograph a fight scene.
According to the books, she should have a buckler and hold the extra spears in her off hand. She can then choose to throw the extra spears before closing and fighting with spear and buckler. Sometimes she might stick the extra spears through the straps holding her cased horn bow to her back. Their whole fighting culture was based on Native American and Zulu styles (with a dash of Mongolian bowmaking). Also, she should have her face covered when fighting. An Aiel would die before killing with their face uncovered. Don't get me started on this show and its aggressively offensive deviations from the lore of the books.
that's not entirely accurate. They preferred to cover their faces according to tradition but it wasn't unheard of for them to fight without it. Circumstance would dictate this.
Yeah. If you’ve watched any of this show it’s clear the writers/producers don’t give a shit about the books. They just want to remake the story in a manner that pleases their own sentiments while making a bunch of money in the process.
@@StickandRuddur No, technically they were making the show to please a wide audience most of whom have never read and never will read the books. Not the same thing. That being said they seem to train writers to instantly change everything for some reason. I feel like a best selling book set will please just as many non fans as fans because that's how it became a best seller in the first place! That's what schooling gets you I suppose. An endless herd of carbon copiers.
@@MrBottlecapBill The first seasons of GoT stuck pretty closely to the books and that attracted a HUMONGOUS audience. The "wider audience" is just an excuse shitty politically-motivated writers with a much inflated opinion of themselves use to justify them screwing with the source material.
i don't like at all how she's repeatedly "threatening" the other guys with her arms fully extended and kneeling there in an incredibly unstable pose. They could do whatever they wanted and she has ZERO options on how to react. And meanwhile the guys just stand there like a gun is pointed at them lol
The whole thing actually looks like it was choreographed for or at least inspired by the choreography from classic 90s action movies where protagonist(s) would be holding exactly that - pistols >
She's a strong action gurrll in a western TV show. The production company's political sensitivity consultation-advisory committee mandated that the female lead show how badass she is by effortlessly dominating multiple abnormally large men at the same time. They also put in an obligatory formal request that the male lead should give her a questioning look which she responds to by saying that she "had 6 brothers at home and picked up a few tricks"
If they are not terribly experienced it would make sense that they pause at being threatened with the spear point, at least for a moment. I've seen it happen in sparring.
@@Skallagrim That wouldn't happen to me... I seem to have some degrees of ADHD, so I'd just forget or miss the attention I should give to the other guy's spear and stab myself against the spear only to notice what happened afterwards! XD
The dude was already going to die from the spear to the gut. They could have just had the dagger ping off the back plate and it would have still been a cool move AND not stupid. But no, film makers always go for stupid.
Do they show if the dagger is actually in the armor? I guess from the angles that Skallagrim shows you could at least argue that it went into the guy's upper shoulder/shoulder joint (although that doesn't seem to affect his left arm much...)
Also, what's the rotation rate per linear foot on that dagger throw again? Caught the guy in the back -full point on- (nope) pointing about 20 degrees downward (!) after she _pivots in place_ to drag him into the path. Without her impromptu shield, she would have been hit with the blade pointing significantly downward, if not fully downward or pommel first. Not a _good_ thing to happen, but more survivable than getting the blade end. From what I can figure from a quick googling, a full-spin knife throw takes 12-15 feet... or a quarter turn every 3-4 feet... and gutstabbed guy's back is _clearly_ held more than 3 feet from the body of the intended target. If it was intended to strike _her_ blade first, that knife should have impacted _him_ with the blade pointing to the sky and bounced off. Conspiracy theory: Knife-thrower intentionally killed his own ally.
The other big bit of why spear & shield was so popular on the battlefield is that it was a battlefield, with an army. Shields are effective, and they're even more effective when you've got people to both sides of you who also have shields! But that guy to your right means you can't easily swing a sword around, so a thrusting weapon is more effective. Spears are very good at poking people, so they pair well with a "shield wall". I'm pretty sure you've mentioned this in other videos.
The other reason they carried spears is because they acted like a shield against arrows. Spears used for this purpose were usually exceptionally long (10-12ft long) and not really practical for attack purposes. But hundreds of longspears held vertically could provide an effective defensive canopy to protect against arrows.
@Oscar of Hokuto Shinken There are literally hundreds of illustrations both on the internet and in history books, depicting the very thing I am describing. Pretty sure I know what I'm talking about.
Duel wielding spears feels like duel wielding two lewis machine guns. They cancel each other out and you'd be more accurate and stable to just focus on one.
I don't understand "cancel each other out" If anything the lewis gun is way too heavy and unwieldy and has too much recoil impulse to be fired accurately shouldered or from the hip. I think your analogy would work better with 2 bolt rifles rather than HMGs.
@@dodymmawsjx Yeah dual wielding is pretty pointless in general. You're more stable and accurate using two hands to control your weapon, even if it is a pistol or a revolver.
The aiel fight with a short spear and buckler. They have extra spears for throwing or as backups in case of a broken spear. The dual wielding by tigraine was ultra facepalm.
Aiel In the books carried multiple short spears for throwing/wielding, but they always had Bucklers! They were mentioned a lot because Aiel would rattle their spear on the buckler to acknowledge when someone had outwitted someone verbally.
They also had a cultural stigma against useing or even touching swords. They had a very effective hand to hand combat marial art, a hard case they kept horn bows in, a quiver that could hold spears and arrows, their clothing was not armor but did have a some what camo theme to the colors. Their spears were also extremely short, only slightly longer than a standard sword in that world. They also carried a belt knife at all times. Plus they were from a desert so they were automatically super soldiers. They would also never fight with their face exposed that also being a cultural stigma.
@@swimmingmide What desert material do the Aiel use to make their spear shafts and arrows? I wouldn't have thought the desert being somewhere full of trees to make extra throwing spears for each fighter.
@@MrRJPE They never explicity say where their wood comes from. There are trees in the wastes and the Aiel did trade with wetlanders and the people to the east as well as pedlers and the like. They also made raides in the boarderlands and the blight. It wasn't pleantiful but they did have multiple ways of getting it and prioritized using it for weapons rather than things like chairs and tables.
The fact that there's more spinning in the choreography than weapon twirling would back up the point of how cumbersome the spears are to dual wield. You can't do any flashy moves with the spears, so you compensate with flashy body movements
@@paulpolito2001 I do like that spears are prominently displayed as they ought to be. And they do make the spear combat pretty exciting if a bit over the top
Yeah honestly that's why I dismiss a lot of "why isn't this guy wearing armor" complaints, because armor in movies never seems to do anything. lol. Every fantasy series always seems to go the route of having armored men get hacked down without problem.
My suspension of disbelief ended when the two guys without helmets or even a warm hat joined in. As someone who was born in Russia, let me tell you, you do NOT walk around without headgear during wintertime, unless you have a masochistic deathwish.
Even worse, the pregnant lady is from a hot, arid climate. Yeah, it gets cold at night in the desert and Aiel will run naked at night, but she wouldn't last long in the southern, frozen mountains.
There are green trees below in the background. I think snow may be due to elevation, so it can be close to 0c. Hat would be useful but not absolutely necessary.
The things is, suspension of disbelief works best with just a couple things to ignore. But this is a PREGNANT woman fighting, in the freezing cold, against three men, while dueling wielding spears, with no shield or armor. And there is very impractical fighting and tinfoil armor with an impractical design and an overpowered throwing dagger. A couple of these alone, particularly the latter ones, could be okay, but all of these together combine and multiply so that it completely obliterates my suspension of disbelief.
Yeah... I have to agree with you. I'm starting to think I've become too numb to all the ridiculous nonsense that I barely even notice most of it anymore.
Having read the books, I think what Jordan intended the Aiel fighting style to resemble is something like Kali or Escrima . The spears in the TV show seem longer than what is described in the books, they did bring extra spears for throwing and I'm fairly certain they used shields as well.
Yeah, as usual, the real issue is Amazon's lack of regard for their source material. As mentioned by others, the fighting style she should be using involves a spear shortened for use in one hand, paired with a buckler. Excess spears are for throwing/emergencies. But you know Amazon. They just don't give a fuck.
@@keaganhicks5467 yeah, I could see something like that. My mind always went to something like a Diablo 2 Javelin. (Edit) Maybe with a crossbar or something, sense they seem to parry with em a lot.
If you paid closer attention, youd know that the Aiel fight using two forms of spears, and that tigrain was a literal prophetic demigod reknowned for being one of the most skilled warriors of the aiel. Not saying its not gratuitous, but gratuity is kind of the point *according to the source material*. I mean, just think about the context
@@bytheburnside7539 that's fair, but I'm not really sure how it applies to my original statement. Pretty sure that the dual-wielding, spinny play fighting she's doing in this clip isn't representative of some incredible second form of Aiel spear fighting. And that's ignoring the more obvious issues, like the shit costume design and the magically stronk throwing knife. I'd love to hear more about this second form of spear fighting though, and how it applies to this scene, if you care to expand on that point.
@@tylerfitts8194 man, condescension and self importance really are your first and second languages arent they? My point was that them taking some artistic liberties in terms of fight scene coreography with a mythical figure in a setting like WoT isnt really that out there or straying from the source material
Most producers underestimate how impactful and immersive truly studied close to reality melee combat can be, fantasy is fun and flashy, but reality is cool too, there's few things more impressive as an experienced weaponmaster dispatching several opponents in quick succession with precise and controlled movements, strikes, footwork, still in a fantasy setting of course but the action is more thrilling. This fight scene would've been orders of magnitude better if the choreography was focused on a single spear and it would look just as cool if not better, but that's what happens when you put some random nobody, with 0 combat knowledge or studies in charge of your action scenes.
There's nothing more depressing or awful than seeing a fight scene with precise controled movements... John Wick, Witcher, Daniel Craig James Bond ,etc type fights are just awful. This is bad too of course, but real fights are not presice or controlled or neat and clinical.
She could have been holding two spears: one in her right hand, with the other hand holding both the center-gripped shield and other spear. We see the Zulu holding extra spears in the shield hand historically. That offhand spear could also be used to bind and stab from the plane of the shield.
@@ctrlaltdebug but that's the thing bro, you add a shield, I find kinda off just the two spears, like your example with the Zulus, that's a practical solution for a real combat necessity, not just playing stick fight with two poorly handled polearms.
I think an assegai and iklwa wielded simultaneously would be an interesting combo. You have a longer spear that can both be used as a throwing weapon and to hold an opponent farther away, but also a far shorter spear (almost a short sword really) that can be used up close, and is small enough that you could have both hands on the assegai when the occasion calls for it.
This video showed up in my feed, no idea where it came from, but it was SUPER interesting to watch, Il def check out more, I had 0 idea how interesting breaking this down would be. Thanks bro, great video
Not just heavily pregnant, it's Woman in Labour fights like a Slayer, taking down half a regiment single-handed. Able to throw a knife through steel plate and having her agility stat maxed out.
I wonder what the deal is with TV shows and their obsession with pregnancy. To me it's such a cheap plot element to try to raise the stakes. We've seen it before in The Walking Dead, Breaking Bad and other shows.
Yeah… looks awkward and brutal; but you’re gonna have a better chance of being the one NOT bleeding out on the ground. Fair trade. They can be hard to carry, but a sheathed spear makes for a good walking stave - even heavier designs can (usually) be thrown in a pinch. I try to normalize the everyday use of spears, tbqh.
@@spearsage eh even a layman can tell when it isn't at all realistic. Like seriously pregnant women fights off three soldiers in full battle gear? Using two spears? Even someone with even the most cursory knowledge of fighting would know that using two spears is a little odd.
@@jorgejustin461 I'm not specifically talking about the scene in the video, but movie action scenes in general. The thing is, most adult is aware that it's just a film. But having no knowledge or experience of the actual thing, they won't know for sure whether an action scene is actually realistic/possible or not. They will always float between 'impossible' to 'maybe, if you train for it'. Now, can you optimistically claim that more than 30% of people in the entire world actually have the cursory knowledge about swordsfighting--no, using weapon properly in general? And no, having the most cursory knowledge in fighting does not let you know if dual wielding *short spears* is an oddity or not. You only find it odd because you're not familiar with the notion.
Yeah this goes along the line I gathered from my gaming experience that is applicable to almost anything: "If You are good enough to handle a difficult tool, then you will be even better with an easy one." The easier the operation, the more room for error/unexpected situation (and counter) and the more you can use/abuse the finesse. The ratio of difficulty in use to maximum potential rarely favour the tools/weapons on the far difficult side of the spectrum.
Isn't that normally the case though? Books will almost always beat out a screen adaptation simply because a book doesn't have to worry about how long it's chapters are.
Depend what you are looking for. From a narrative and tropes point of view, I got pissed by the books very quickly. The serie does worst with the main characters (they are not likeable at all), but apart from that, I quite enjoyed the serie.
@@MythicMagus Sure, but this isn't even CLOSE to the source material in what it DOES show. It bears almost no resemblance deeper than surface level. Sure, the LOTR movies couldn't show nearly the entirety of the books, but what was there was still faithful to the original. This is just... dishonoring a dead man's legacy. Sad really.
Hey Skal, as a fan of the book. The aiel in the wheel of time use a small round shield (targe) with 3 to 4 short spears. They're meant to be thrown. There's a passage where 2 aiel who were ambushed fought off 20 mounted soldiers killing 16 of them . They're god tier warriors in the story.
I'm sure the book was pretty good, but I've only seen the first season of the show and I think that just the show by itself was terrible. I thought the plot was way too predictable, I mean it's pretty easy to guess who The Dragon is supposed to be, Rand. And the acting was mediocre at best, everyone was depressed and sad, there was no joy.
@@Skeezik1998 to be fair to the book I believe we find out Rand is 'the chosen one' in like the first 50 pages. otherwise there was no reason for him to leave the farm at all in the first place.
I’m not going to lie I felt that way about the book too. After reading the first book and part of the second I already feel like I know how it’s generally going to end. I was also extremely unimpressed with how the character rand was first introduced to the trollocs. That impression didn’t really change throughout the first book.
The books are why better than the show. Just look at Shadiversity’s take on each episode over at Knights Watch. The Maidens of the Spear are meant to carry a small leather buckler to deflect blows. That’s probably what the display ‘thing’ was meant to be.
The Maidens of the Spear carried short spears because historically the first Maiden wasn't strong enough to handle the full length spear. The Maidens are lighter armed and used as scouts because they can run faster than the main spear bearers.
@@ctrlaltdebug you're partially right. Originally the first maiden, Morin, wasn't strong enough so Joerdam shortened it for her and noted how light and quick the shorter spears were and how they could be a match for any sword. They're later adopted by the rest of what would become the Aiel.
Even without paying too much attention to the choreography, the secene look like all the dudes got told to let her kill them, but don't make it too obvious.
People can overlook a lot of stuff but the real probs comes in when the show resembles the source material in name only. Which considering the whole point of paying for the rights to an IP is to buy access to the audience who already love it, pulling a bait & switch like that is going to mean the project will be DOA. Not to mention any good faith & willingness to "suspend disbelief" will be significantly deminished.
I neither read, nor watched Wheel of Time. But what you said reminds me of the Witcher netflix show. 1st season starts 95% accurate, ends 90% accurate. All important things happened, anything extra is stuff that may have happened, just been ommited from the books. 2nd season starts 85% accurate, ends 10% accurate. Characters are there, but the story as it was in the books not only didn't happen, it now can't happen.
With the frequency that IP destruction happens, it almost seems like they are doing it on purpose. (Halo, lotr, cowboy bebop, wheel of time, resident evil)
@@DH-xw6jp The producer of WoT openly bragged about it on twitter, threatening to turn even more characters inappropriately gay if the audience complained too much about his abuse of the source material.
@@frantisekvrana3902 From what I'm hearing (and see in this fight and from stills), WoT starts at 50% accurate and goes down from there. The producer didn't want to protagonist to be the protagonist and the sex-differentiated magic system has been done away with.
@@Lttlemoi just like the showrunners of Halo bragged about never playing the games or reading the graphic novels. Or how the screen writers for the LOTR bragged about writing a world "that Tolkien would have never wrote". Or how they claimed they were fixing the wrongs and "doing it right this time" when they made cowboy bebop. Like i said, it's almost like they are doing it on purpose.
Spears are excellent slashing weapons. When she's got her spears pointed outwards she's in a position of completely expended potential energy. She's got no leverage. Not the worst thing in the world--but you throw those things. You wield them with two hands. You combine them with a shield.
Short spears (30% blade and 70% handle were a favourite among the Indian warriors in ancient times). They strapped them to their wrists within loose ropes around their arms and grabbed them by the upper side as a sword. Independently as a 2 handed short bladed sword/dagger or as a throwing spear. They best thing about it was they could easily tighten or loose the arm ropes depending on how they wanted to use the weapon. The reason for it was it's practical use in close quarters of the battle and as a ranged weapon at the same time. They worked very effectively as repetitive thrusting daggers as well. Gave a lot of room for quick moves. They katar and patah is said to be it's descendent.
Bad spear fighting is the least of Amazons problems. Allowing for the possibility of a female dragon in the first 90 seconds broke so many plot points it’s impossible to logically reassemble the story so that all factions have reasonable motivations.
Did they actually follow through on that? Or is Rand still the Dragon Reborn? I mean, I wouldn't care so much about them opening up the Dragon's cycle to include women or men, but the entire plot of this book centered around the Dragon Reborn being a man who could channel and doomed to go insane, so this particular cycle would still have had to have been a dude.
@@wizardtim8573 Rand discovers he’s the Dragon because the Dark One tests his.. weird, hiccuping love for Egwene? I kid you not, that’s how the finale resolves. They even threw in a split-second love triangle with Perrin for good measure. Perrin was having none of it, thanks to dead wife no one cares about
@@wizardtim8573 The thing is that there IS a female "dragon", but it's the female champion of light. The Dragon and Dragon reborn are always males and are the male champion of light spirit. We actually know one of the female champion of light's names, Amaresu (clearly an allusion to the Japanese goddess Amaterasu). The point being, Dragon is a title only for the male one, we simply don't know if there's a female equivalent for the other spirit because it's been lost to time. As you say, the entire plot of the books and the cultural fear of the dragon reborn is due to the intrinsic relationship between Lews Therrin and Rand Al'Thor being men linked in a rebirth cycle. They can only ever be male to have the story work correctly where Saidin is tainted and everyone fears male channelers later. In the TV show, there is currently a MASSIVE incentive for the White Tower to raise their own false dragon now because people will want to believe a female dragon is real, over a male one because it gives them false hope that they won't go insane.
@@danielbroome5690 If I understand correctly, there *was* a female equivalent to the Dragon, namely the female champion of light. Who would not have been represented by the dragon but a different, unknown creature. Thus, there still IS no female "dragon", and there never was. Did I understand correctly?
I read through a few of the Wheel of Time books a long time ago and the spears they gave her for that scene look way longer than the impression I got from the books. I always imagined they were about half blade and half shaft roughly 2-3 feet in total length. They should have cut the shaft on what they gave her in half.
They look good to me. A full spear should be about 8 foot long, and in the history of the Aiel the Maidens are described as breaking the spears in half to use more easily, so they should be about 4 feet long.
@@arronjerden915 Does that include or exclude the foot or so of steel point? I imagined 3 foot shafts with another foot of steel making them 4 foot in length.
Just mentioning a "Bow staff", similar way to gain swinging momentum/control to the "clutching under the arm" but behind the back left to right or visa versa. It stops abruptly but it is very strong.
I did some LARP fighting with (albeit foam and therefore lightweight) spear in my main hand, sword in my off-hand. Where I found great success was by having a butt spike on the other end of the spear- then if they try to wipe it aside, you just allow it to rotate and stab with the butt spike.
I started off with plastic baseball bats then broom sticks, .. household family fights sometimes involved dining room chairs. Some of his slow-motion weapon techniques are just bull crap with his partners. If your wrist or elbow or both are hit at the same time your nerve endings go numb and hit with broom sticks you pop wrist bones out of place and have some painful hand swelling. As for the foam weapon fighting, cheap shots with hitting the flat of the blade on the calf or forearm produces interesting levels of pain. So does having the shield kicked up into your face. We had a couple of wonderful young women that would just pull your shield arm as the tackle you to the ground with an ankle trip then slap your neck/ back of your head with a short sword.
Interesting topic on the "suspension of disbelief". My suspension of disbelief was completly shattered for the Walking Dead show, after watching .50 caliber and 7.62×39 rounds bouncing harmlessly of the tailbeds of trucks and corrugated sheet metal, in a running gun fight. Along with the apparent infinite round magazines for rifles and pistols.
I completely lost my suspension of disbelief when Neegan kept not dying. There were so many good moments and good reasons to kill him, it was obviously only plot armour keeping him alive.
my suspension of disbelief is ruined because clearly i'm watching a 2 dimensional screen. there's no depth. what i'm seeing is not actually happening because i'm in my living room, not in zombie-apocalypse georgia
I'm with you on everything in this video. i absolutely love wot, but the tv adaptation took so much freedom almost nothing of the original left. the tv decided to ignore all of the world building. in the books, a. this specific woman is almost useless as a fighter, and she didn't die because of an injury, just because of the birth. b, those warriors use a shield and a three spears, with bow sometimes. perfectly normal, unlike whatever amazon did. same can be told for anything of Amazon, they ignored all the realism of the original books for... whatever it is they did. it's sad that amazon decided to ignore all common sense, I would've loved to see you analyze the battlefields from the books
I'm blissfully ignorant of how much they may have butchered the source material, as I haven't read the books. Sounds like I'd be pretty irritated if I had.
@@Skallagrim To be fair that's what Hollyweird does with most if not all Fantasy book adaptations. Sword of Truth series comes to mind(Legend of the Seeker) 🤮
@@Skallagrim basically they took the idea of WOT, and virtually made their own story... Badly. The only way I could watch the season was to call it an alternate universe to WOT. Even then it was more hoping it would improve over time, which it did not. It (being charitable) loosely followed the first book but the main characters were treated more like supporting cast
@@Skallagrim It's actually not bad. Hollywoodisms aside the biggest issue is that they tried to stuff almost a thousand pages into one season. As someone that holds WoT as a fundamental part of my being I dont hate this adaptation.
@@Skallagrim in episode 7, the trollocs come. in the tv, they are all cought by a surprise, because of course a large city near the borderlands wouldn't have any scouts. they then continue to be slaughtered by the trollocs, until the wild channelers aave the day. now, in the books, this was a battlefield. they obviously knew an army was approaching, and rode to meet them at a suitable place. makes way more sense, that a borderlands country would have scouts and an army. just a small change out of many, but really shows the spirit of the changes
No other option would still have the better alternative of just throw one of them and be proficient wielding the other, hoping the thrown one did anything in your favor.
the AOTHER bad trope for knives at 5:30 is that it is straight up and down, not horizontal on the blade, meaning it also had to punch through the victims ribs, not slide between them. Also, Jill Bearup has a good analysis of the fight, and how the pattern steps in to protect her
I've always somewhat regarded the 'needs to go between the ribs' as a trope in and of itself, despite the names behind it (Applegate, Fairbairne, so forth). The truth is a knife with an edge suitable for fighting in general (MUCH sharper than people expect) will clip through ribs as if they aren't there unless you bury the point in one on the way in, in which case the blade being sideways won't help you any either. I've always been baffled as to how something so clear to anyone who has used a knife on living bone (hunting or fighting) got laid down in history as something nearly a law, by guys who DEFINITELY know better. I feel like it was a situation where the guy who knows decided it was easier to train to this standard than to try getting the nuance of the situation across.
@@jonathanwessner3456 Not any more likely really, unless you are operating from the assumption that since it was thrown he could not deliberately aim between the ribs. Throwing it doesn't make more ribs or less space between them, so it can't really increase the odds of hitting a rib. That might not make any sense because I did a piss-poor job of explaining but you seem pretty sharp (pun intended) so I think you probably get what I'm saying. Definitely more likely to screw it up in general, with throwing as opposed to stabbing, so you are right on it there
Fun video! Just a little information on the use of multiple spears, typically three, by Aiel warriors. Aiel carry a buckler, short bow, arrows, and average of three spears for combat. A warrior, male or female, would carry one spear in their main hand with the buckler on the off hand. The buckler would allow for the other two spears to be held in the off hand alongside the buckler so if the short spear is stuck in a corpse or thrown for any reason, they still had a weapon. Side Note: These spears in the show are way too long. Take a foot or two off the shaft and you would be a little closer to the normal spear an Aiel would carry. I'd imagine the shaft is a little too wide as well as holding two to three in one hand when not in combat would be difficult if they were that large. They also didn't carry a plate on the back to hold spears. Back to the explanation: It is a quick combat weapon system meant to devastate the enemy. speed and dexterity to surprise their opponent. They are the best fighters outside of magic fighting, and even then their Wise Ones can hold their own very well in the magic department. Their clothes is designed to blend into whatever surroundings they are near, and they will adapt to the terrain and foliage. Hiding is one of their best tools in catching an enemy by surprise and defeating them quickly. They are extremely fast warriors that boast top speeds equal to or greater to that of horses, with extended durability and long windedness that allowed them to pursue or retreat as needed but still fight. A devastating foe to have. The Aiel have a stigma against touching swords, so they adopted the spear to be deadly with instead of swords. Again, wonderful video!! Excellently done!
I wonder how dual wielding spears would go with rather short staffed spears like the Zulu used. I would imagine you could use techniques similar to a gladius.
And in the books that’s exactly what they are - the Aiel kept one thing from The Way of the Leaf - they didn’t use swords. But they chopped down spears to short lengths to have similar maneuverability. And we know that dual wielding long blades was a thing, it’s in the manuals.
@@N2theBlue1 The Aiel had short spears, which were short spears; they also had a heavy-bladed knife which was their chopper. The spears in the clip were pretty close to what I imagined them having, but they certainly never dual-wielded them. They used a buckler in the off hand, and had a couple more spears held in that off hand as well when engaged in melee.
@@N2theBlue1 And would probably resort to their heavy bladed knife for their off hand, or wield their spear two handed. Point being they were super skilled highly trained warriors. This depiction went for "epic" but fell flat because of the absurdity.
NGL, since I saw diarmuid and scathach from fate I wanted your opinion on twin spears. My opinion was it was simply a cool, if silly, idea. Even assuming they had enough strength and skill, there was A chance the spear's would tangle and there were just better weapon combinations. That'sy thoughts at least.
Diarmiud's spears were different sizes, and he adjusted his hand placement regularly during the fight with Arturia. It's a silly idea, but since the animators knew what they were doing, they made it look cool and believable for that setting and character
@@codyfowler1356 He also literally put one of his spears down at a point in the fight. Then there's a servants inhuman speed and strength to consider, wouldn't have to worry about no guards for your hands if every clash has enough force to send you flying back several metres right?
@@HaloForgeUltra He used that same spear as a trap, while having Arturia focused on the other. Imo that was one of the best fights in the Fate series. It had more of a grounded feel and displayed measure of cunning between the fighters. The newer fights feel more like Dragon Ball
Those two are heroes from Celtic history/myth diarmuid of the love spot did own gae buidhe and gae dearg and did use both in combat. But diarmuid is by his legend a demi god and scathach is a mage god slaying goddess connected with the Norse goddess skadi.
While it's not a Huge thing, there is something to be said about an often overlooked advantage of using an odd fighting style; No one knows what to expect from you. This is a reasonably good example, as we often see instances where the men seem off guard and aren't working well together. A good explanation for this could well be that they don't have any practice dealing with someone using two spears, and because they're allies, they don't want to be too risky and end up launching an attack that hits their allies. It's a stretch, I admit, but it is an issue that would have to be dealt with on the battle field. If you don't know how skilled your opponent is when engaging, you have to be cautious or risk giving the advantage to them. If you're unfamiliar with their weapons, or how they're using them, then you can either assume they're morons that don't know what they're doing-very risky-or assume that you're about to see a whole lot of knew things you'll have to immediately come up with an answer to. If you're smart, you'll end up being much less aggressive, because it will be hard to tell when best to strike and opt to instead favor defending. This is, of course, assuming you have reason to suspect your enemy is competent and not just putting on a show. The skill the MC here seems to be showing off, with even just the cape flip, would likely give away some amount of skill as a combatant and lead a smart fighter to assume she's skilled enough to be careful when she does something unexpected.
One of the few things the show actually mentions about aiel is they always fight with their faces covered. And yet the first time we see one fight, her face isn't covered. Great job, people!
@@Lightning_Lance Looks at Darth Vader, Jason, V from Vendetta, Skinsaw, Batman, almost every super hero, etc. Yeah the face covering thing has nothing to do with hollywood but bad writers. Like all the other problems with this show.
@@Temperans It actually has to do with actors wanting their faces to be seen. It's why Steve Rogers keeps removing his helmet and Tony and Peter keep removing their masks. If you don't believe this, look at the stink Pedro Pascal made about taking his helm off in The Mandalorian.
There are characters like Darth Vader were the helmet is THE point of recognition in an mostly helmetless environment. In a fantasy / medievil context where every goon and stablehand is wearing a helmet, wearing non is the point of recognition for the "hero". Dumb, but here we are (at Hollywood...)
@@Temperans those are exceptions where the helmet is essential to the character. People in movies don't wear helmets because they're actors. They get paid to act. If they wore a helmet, it could just as well be a stunt double and no one would notice.
My friend, Jill Beanup did a pretty good walk through on this earlier, and as Matt Easton might say this is a good fight for a movie. As Ms Beanup has actually been in labor her comments on that part of the scene were well educated. Great video, thanks.
Dual spears would be cool af if it worked lmao, it was a viable build in Tyranny (I think one of companions had it by default in fact) The only way I can picture it working is fiore's staff+dagger defence thing except instead of a dagger you have a short spear
See that i can see is viable, but like skall mentioned itd be easier with a shield. The only other consideration is maybe shield slows down her cool action run stuff
Pretty sure the Aiel spears are supposed to be very short, with a long blade, they're inspired by the Zulu spears(In particular Shaka Zulu's invention, the Iklwa), and could be used sort of similar to a sword(the balance is much more forward, and the cutting edge only the last foot, but similar-ish).
In SCA wars I did used to dual wield a 9’ long spear with a short mace. It worked but only with a very specific technique. The mace was strapped very tight to the wrist. I wore plate armor with full coverage plate gloves. Start by stabbing normally with the spear. Only when someone cleared the point was the mace used. Drop the back of the spear and let it fall till vertical. Plant the end of the spear into the ground and use it to block their slash/stab. Rear hand is dropped backwards to grasp the handle of the mace. Finally counter their slash by rushing forward keeping the length of shaft near your hand pressed against their sword to control it long enough to swing the mace around and hit them in the head. Odds were my opponent would win, but I nailed quite a few people with that mace, including a Duke. Using the ground as a third hand is what made it work.
Speaking from 17 years of personal experience in polearms, it works if they're javelins or short spears, like pointy escrima sticks. Though there really isn't much 'point' other than for fun.
This scene would’ve been a LOT LOT LOT more realistic, if instead of duel spears it was duel sword spears, like a Zulu Iklwa. You’d get a lot more leverage and power as opposed to one handing a spear. Then again though, you wouldn’t duel wield Iklwas but would have a shield, so, yeah, but if you had to duel wield, one hand a smaller sturdier and more leverage capable weapon, and if you want that spear aesthetic, then do a sword spear. Like just think about it. A spear is a long lanky easily controlled awkward thing as Skal so readily showed. Its like a less extreme case of trying to use a sledge hammer by holding the bottom part of the hammer one handed, compared to a sword with a longer handle and guard, so you can thrust, but also with hand protection and the ability to hold it up near the guard for better leverage as aforementioned.
In the books the aiel actually fights with a short spear in one hand and a leather buckler in the other, while holding more spears. Their fighting techniques are definitely inspired by the Zulus.
weird idea time: Dual wielding spears while also holding a Talhoffer-style buckler in each hand. Kind of like how the Zulu held their spears and the handles of their shields in the same hand. Might be a lot more protective than just a spear by itself. Granted I hear the Talhoffer buckler is pretty hefty. And if you had to hold one in each hand, that might be an issue.
But the Zulu don't fight with the hand that holds a spear AND a shield. It os an additionally spear for throwing or backup, not an actual dual wielding spear.
That's actually how the Aiel (the race the woman in the video is part of) fight in the books. They fight with spear and buckler, while holding spare spears in their off-hand. The spare spears are there to replace the main-hand spear if they throw it, it breaks or gets lodged in an enemy. I vaguely remember them stabbing with the off-hand spears but only if a particular opportunity presents itself. For the most part the extra spears are only in the off-hand to quickly replace a spear in the main-hand. Also the spears are shortened and function somewhat similar to a sword (which the Aiel can't use for lore reasons).
I've always liked the the odd ways battles might go down if people was insane enough to try it. like disregarding protection for mobility. I mean I can see two spears with two strap shields which limits discarding the shields at needed points. however then I can see maybe bladed shields limiting a person from grappling the shield. I mean I got crazy ideas, just that this isn't what the focus here is. could it be done? yes... should it be done?... no. people thats makes these fight scenes seem conflicted or controlled by director, actor, stunt person, choreographer (they might actually know how to fight a bit which makes it look kinda good.), and may other things. which in the final cut get mashed together. I'm betting the choreographer is like (I tried my best to make it real. I told them a throwing dagger in armor didn't look right)
Multiple spears: They're meant to be thrown before engaging. Dual spears: Yea, you got me there. She's supposed to have a buckler and her extra spears in her off-hand. I can't think of any situation dual spears came up in the books. Standing still against pointed spears: Yes, these are seasoned warriors. BUT, they're also absolutely terrified of Aiel. In the books (until much later on), they're basically mythical creatures that are spoken of as boogeymen or Reavers from Firefly.
She should have dispatched the first two men with thrown spears, then had a spear/bucker fight against the remaining two, a slightly more credible match.
@@ctrlaltdebug Starting an uneven fight by evening it out is always a good idea. Though then a plothole becomes glaringly obvious: Why aren't the three attackers throwing their own spears?
Perhaps with shorter spears with blade like points in a similar style to the Zulu Iklwa it might be possible do some kind of dual wielding type nonsense for rule of cool But it would be more effective and sensible to just use an ordinary spear and shield properly.
@@joelhall3820 So do the Aiel in the books. They have a buckler which has 2 short spears held in it for backups, and 1 short spear held in the main hand to attack.
Yes, logic works. Especially in combination with a super special trick men can use to get a better understanding of woman's conditions, it's called TALKING TO WOMAN. I hate it when people act as if it is unethical for men to have opinions about woman, except the most positive and superficial of opinions of course. I recently talked to a girl who showed a detailed and original understanding of men's problems and I was not a bit offended, but instead delighted. In fact I might be falling for her...
What would you think of a hypothetical "couched spear paired with axe/sword" dual wield style? Does that make up for even some of the limitations of two spears, or would it just cause more problems than it solves?
Short sword or dagger would be pretty decent. The main thing about 2 weapon fighting is having 2 weapons for different ranges that don't limit the others too much.
You'd probably still be better either fighting with the spear in two hands, or just treating the spear as a blocking stick while you do the actual fighting with your sword, rather than trying to treat it as dual wielding.
@@Lightning_Lance I'm sure that's a thing in setting, but we're talking about a fighting style in general, not necessarily in a given cultural context.
My wife is currently 8 months pregnant. Seeing the way this lady moved in the Wheel of Time hurts me. Clearly written by people who have never been nor have they ever shared the same space as someone who has been pregnant.
The people who wrote the script for this show are probably the same people pushing to call women "birthing people" They're dumb. Show is dumb. I'll stick to the books.
That's one thing you _can_ blame on the source material, since she joined the Aiel invasion knowing full well she was pregnant. In the book it's made quite a bit more clear that this was fated to happen (part of 'The Pattern') so improbability is more a feature than a bug. But even then Jordan didn't try to actually *_describe_* the battle in which a woman in labor fights off enemy soldiers; the only witness came to find the bodies and newborn there on the field after the fact.
The thing that makes this scene completely unbelievable is the fact that she's pregnant, not only does her pregnancy not affect her movement, but god forbid somebody hits her unamoured stomach which is the most forward extending part of her body
So apparently, the author of the books said the Aiel spears were heavily influenced by Zulu spears, and so would have a 2 foot log haft and 1 foot long blade. Additionally, he said they would have used a buckler in their off-hand.
I'm sure people have pointed these factors out, but: Plot armor is an explicit magical element in Wheel of Time - being ta'veren means the pattern of reality literally weaves itself around you to a greater or lesser extent, and the baby she's giving birth to is the most powerful ta'veren in history. And: Maidens of the Spear actually triple-wield spears, though I don't recall if there are examples of them using more than one at a time in the books.
in fairness in the actual novels that the show is based on, the aiel tend to use buckler like shields with their short-spears (which based on the description in the novels always felt more like the Zulu assegai to me), from everything I've heard they've taken huge liberties with the show from the source material which is why I haven't watch the show
I remember asking about your thoughts on duel wielding spears during one of your live streams a while back. It kinda feels like you are making a whole video to answer my question now. Funny how life works out sometimes.
I've read the books and i couldnt get passed episode 3, so yes I agree. The show sucked the sweat off of a dead man's balls - i've just finished watching the clip, she wasnt even veiled :(
from someone whose an absolute menace with a ""medium"" spear(5-6ft), I'd say as long as you know what you're doing you could use one small spear better then two small spears. maybe if both were just really short javelins... like to the point they are just kali sticks with a blade at the tip I could see it. 3 part spear would be intense. another note to add would be dependent on what your opponent has you could either have an advantage or an absolute disadvantage with dual spear. on your trying to catch two spears with one sword I don't think I've ever seen someone swing them both in tandem or in the same direction for that exact reason.
I’d love to see Skal critique something like this dual bo staff stuff. Obviously it’s pure flash. Performance art, that admittedly takes a degree of real skill, but I can’t help but find it kind of hilarious 😂
True, although it makes sense for the Aiel not to be prepared for cold environments. Most of them would not have known what snow is prior to this battle.
i think the Duel Wielding Spears was done best in Fate/Zero in the first servant fight with Saber vs Lancer aka King Arthur vs Diarmuid Ua Duibhne due to them both being long dead heroes and the magics in play you cant bring forth the ENTIRE legend of a hero back instead you can easily focus it down into a class in this case Lancer Diarmuid is known to in legend have 2 sets of weapons, 2 sets of Spear and Sword but due to the class he is forced to use twin spears Diarmuid here is outclassed in almost every stat except Agility and equals Arthur in Strength, his only option is to be more aggressive and thats exactly what he dose and he only blocks with both spears other wise hes making her block and retreating when Arthurs sword gets too close to his hands due to being legends though the weapons both use are magical in nature but both dont know the identity of the other so they also must be cautious of them Diarmuids spears happen to be particularly nasty in this universe compared to ours, one spear inflicts wounds that dont heal (iirc IRL Diarmuid also had this spear) and the other is an anti-magic spear, pretty useful when your main opponents are all magical constructs
I know it's been in place for quite a few videos, but I LOVE the 'like, comment, subscribe' little animation Monthy Python style - Slay the youtubeast ! x)
Eh He said mostly plausible and from how it looks, there might be a argument that if she had enough momentum, she would be able to pull the man off his feet. However it’s overly fancy and will never beat my favorite moment of when Achilles one tapped a dude in the neck for momentum based attacks.
How much she weight? She just ran around the knight, grabed his cloak and... tossed him some three metres back? She had bigger momentum, bud he has bigger mass, so how was she capable to toss him around that easily? Is she made from lead?
@@bramvanduijn8086 Oh, Dragon Reborn is not a god, he is just a regular guy who happens to have access to memories to ancient superwizard and can controll all existing types of magic, and also know some three or four ways how to teleport/portal/warp to any place in the world, and use that as a weapon. Heal whole countries just by will, remove ancient curses, ... Normal stuff.
Meanwhile, the baby is getting high of all the adrenaline fed via the umbilical chord and getting a spinning mom rollercoaster ride. Well, ok, the cortisol and nauseating movement probably isn't that fun actually.
This is honestly one of those incredibly rare things that'd make me walk out of the room through the power of pure, condensed cringe ^^ And Skall, I know it's current year, but you can point out the obvious even if you are unfortunate enough to have a penis. An incredibly martially skilled women doesn't require some kind of wacky suspense of disbelief at all - but the pregnant factor in this scene is so overtly ludicrous, I don't know how anyone has the self control to not at least raise their eyebrows
I think the combat was fine. The throwing spears were being used as swords, so I imagine they work as emergency makeshift alternatives. Granted, a shortsword would more likely than not be far more efficient with that fighting style. The two advantages a spear has is reach and thrust(by two handling a single spear). Dual-wielding 2 spears, you could still have the range advantage, but obviously, then you give up finesse, and with short spears, you obviously don't have reach either. One more technical advantage spears would have over swords, would be that you could leverage out some force by using your body as a fulcrum, something much harder to accomplish with a sword.
Quad-wielding Spears vs Dual-wielding spiked shields. Two spears in the armpits, two in the hands. :) Perfectly balanced, you become the spear wall knights fought in the middle ages :)
Here's a quick follow-up video: ruclips.net/user/shortstvSsbeEYEPc
i seem to remember an old filipino man demonstrating the last technique in this video years ago, ill try to find and link the video
ruclips.net/video/1HQdPyUMpXY/видео.html
Skallagrim, I love your work, but you seem to be neglecting the obvious. Correct me, if I'm wrong (though mostly I'm not). Those used in the show, are more like Short Spears (whose metal top haft were used for slicing/stabbing), not full Spears. Their length and shape is an obvious giveaway. Meaning they were not meant for just quick stabs or throws as Javelins are, they are meant to be used in up close fighting as a kind of short sword, with the added benefit of being tossed as a short range throwing spear when it is ideal.
@@Drakengard-cb5ot I noticed that, which is why I mentioned shorter spears and used moderately sized staves as substitutes. Still not great to use without a shield.
Yeah, I wasn't very happy with this scene. I could be wrong but I don't remember the aiel EVER dual weilding spears. They carry multiple spears in case they need to throw one, they are disarmed, or the spear is damaged. They use one spear at a time, and a buckler. The amount of unnecessary changes this show had made make it so much worse and it hurts because I wanted to like the show and I just cant.
Actually, to dual wield spears all you need is 12 strength and 15 dexterity
What is your game?
I understood that reference
DS2 Powerstancing I assume?
That is a good stat reference, thank-you, I agree.
Love this comment so much
Rule of Cool 101: the more enemies there are, the easier to defeat they are.
Obviously the dungeon master picked weaker enemies because there is so many of them
Actually that's The Conservation of Ninjutsu, but it heavily overlaps with the Rule of Cool.
Thank you TvTropes.
The more enemy's there are, the more likely they are to be relying on overwhelming numbers. The less warriors there are, the more likely they are to be competent enough to handle a group of the aforementioned enemys
Don't make me think of Naruto's Kagebunshin.
Sooooo much cringe how they all get utterly annihilated by a gentle breeze.
Helps when they take turns to attack you too.
Knowing nothing else but this clip I can only imagine the lady is thinking to herself "why aren't these random encounters dropping sheilds? It would make the quest so much easier".
this is underrated
Sounds like Dark Souls logic, enemy has shield, defeat enemy, can't take shield.
@@devin5201 the only difference: this is a Show, Video game mechanics don't apply :/
@@bl4cksp1d3r I knowww!
"I've picked up THREE high-level spears but not one shield, thanks desire sensor"
Canonically the Aiel were masters of spear combat, and they definitely trained dual wielding spears - for about three seconds, just to see how stupid it was.
Canonically it doesn't matter.
@@emmasnow29 maybe it does because while i haven't seen the show its fair to say that they produced a fighting style specifically for dual wielding spears that he may have overlooked looking into
@@almontemcclendon661 Emma is actually not wrong here. The show f^cked up the canon so bad, it doesn't matter anyways.
@@emmasnow29 Didnt know you were a writer working on Amazons WoT series
What about short spears would that work better for duel wielding
The pregnant woman being able to maneuver like that is what did it for me. I didn't recognize she had two spears until a bit into it.
Aye it would have been more realistic if she had people with her. Granted that would have required someone who could actually choreograph a fight scene.
Feels more like the writers barely disguised fetish, honestly.
According to the books, she should have a buckler and hold the extra spears in her off hand. She can then choose to throw the extra spears before closing and fighting with spear and buckler. Sometimes she might stick the extra spears through the straps holding her cased horn bow to her back. Their whole fighting culture was based on Native American and Zulu styles (with a dash of Mongolian bowmaking). Also, she should have her face covered when fighting. An Aiel would die before killing with their face uncovered. Don't get me started on this show and its aggressively offensive deviations from the lore of the books.
No, that's Shad's job.
that's not entirely accurate. They preferred to cover their faces according to tradition but it wasn't unheard of for them to fight without it. Circumstance would dictate this.
Yeah. If you’ve watched any of this show it’s clear the writers/producers don’t give a shit about the books. They just want to remake the story in a manner that pleases their own sentiments while making a bunch of money in the process.
@@StickandRuddur No, technically they were making the show to please a wide audience most of whom have never read and never will read the books. Not the same thing. That being said they seem to train writers to instantly change everything for some reason. I feel like a best selling book set will please just as many non fans as fans because that's how it became a best seller in the first place! That's what schooling gets you I suppose. An endless herd of carbon copiers.
@@MrBottlecapBill The first seasons of GoT stuck pretty closely to the books and that attracted a HUMONGOUS audience. The "wider audience" is just an excuse shitty politically-motivated writers with a much inflated opinion of themselves use to justify them screwing with the source material.
i don't like at all how she's repeatedly "threatening" the other guys with her arms fully extended and kneeling there in an incredibly unstable pose. They could do whatever they wanted and she has ZERO options on how to react. And meanwhile the guys just stand there like a gun is pointed at them lol
yeah they could literally take her off her feet or simply swipe down and take both her owns off.
The whole thing actually looks like it was choreographed for or at least inspired by the choreography from classic 90s action movies where protagonist(s) would be holding exactly that - pistols >
She's a strong action gurrll in a western TV show. The production company's political sensitivity consultation-advisory committee mandated that the female lead show how badass she is by effortlessly dominating multiple abnormally large men at the same time.
They also put in an obligatory formal request that the male lead should give her a questioning look which she responds to by saying that she "had 6 brothers at home and picked up a few tricks"
If they are not terribly experienced it would make sense that they pause at being threatened with the spear point, at least for a moment. I've seen it happen in sparring.
@@Skallagrim That wouldn't happen to me... I seem to have some degrees of ADHD, so I'd just forget or miss the attention I should give to the other guy's spear and stab myself against the spear only to notice what happened afterwards! XD
The dude was already going to die from the spear to the gut. They could have just had the dagger ping off the back plate and it would have still been a cool move AND not stupid. But no, film makers always go for stupid.
this is pretty much how i sum up the show in general
Do they show if the dagger is actually in the armor? I guess from the angles that Skallagrim shows you could at least argue that it went into the guy's upper shoulder/shoulder joint (although that doesn't seem to affect his left arm much...)
Also, what's the rotation rate per linear foot on that dagger throw again? Caught the guy in the back -full point on- (nope) pointing about 20 degrees downward (!) after she _pivots in place_ to drag him into the path. Without her impromptu shield, she would have been hit with the blade pointing significantly downward, if not fully downward or pommel first. Not a _good_ thing to happen, but more survivable than getting the blade end.
From what I can figure from a quick googling, a full-spin knife throw takes 12-15 feet... or a quarter turn every 3-4 feet... and gutstabbed guy's back is _clearly_ held more than 3 feet from the body of the intended target. If it was intended to strike _her_ blade first, that knife should have impacted _him_ with the blade pointing to the sky and bounced off.
Conspiracy theory: Knife-thrower intentionally killed his own ally.
There is another way to use twin spears: tuck both on the body for leverage, point them to the opposite sides of your body, and then just spin2win.
SPIN TO WIN! TIL YA DIE(cuz you will) TILL THE LIGHT DIES IN YOUR EEEEYEES
Ah yes, the beyblade technique
You sir are going places 😂
The other big bit of why spear & shield was so popular on the battlefield is that it was a battlefield, with an army. Shields are effective, and they're even more effective when you've got people to both sides of you who also have shields! But that guy to your right means you can't easily swing a sword around, so a thrusting weapon is more effective. Spears are very good at poking people, so they pair well with a "shield wall". I'm pretty sure you've mentioned this in other videos.
The other reason they carried spears is because they acted like a shield against arrows. Spears used for this purpose were usually exceptionally long (10-12ft long) and not really practical for attack purposes. But hundreds of longspears held vertically could provide an effective defensive canopy to protect against arrows.
@Oscar of Hokuto Shinken There are literally hundreds of illustrations both on the internet and in history books, depicting the very thing I am describing. Pretty sure I know what I'm talking about.
@@misterkaos.357 Thats really interesting, thanks
Don't forget it hurts a lot to be hit with a shield. A shield is not only defensive but offensive too. Even more so if a buckler.
@@vx8431 Anyone who has played Skyrim knows this to be true. Shield-bashing is a favorite pastime of mine
Duel wielding spears feels like duel wielding two lewis machine guns. They cancel each other out and you'd be more accurate and stable to just focus on one.
yea
And almost any other firearm for that matter.
It’s not even practical to dual wield two pistols
I don't understand "cancel each other out"
If anything the lewis gun is way too heavy and unwieldy and has too much recoil impulse to be fired accurately shouldered or from the hip. I think your analogy would work better with 2 bolt rifles rather than HMGs.
@@dodymmawsjx Yeah dual wielding is pretty pointless in general. You're more stable and accurate using two hands to control your weapon, even if it is a pistol or a revolver.
The aiel fight with a short spear and buckler. They have extra spears for throwing or as backups in case of a broken spear. The dual wielding by tigraine was ultra facepalm.
@Belle ♪ wut
@@Blargedy it's just a spambot, ignore it
@@Blargedy "Belle" there might be a bot. Random links with no explanation scream "bot" to me.
@@bl4cksp1d3r gotcha. I removed the comment.
@@MythicMagus ye, makes sense.
It's a viable build in DS2.
Yo, I found the right answer.
Gotta run 2 Grand Lances and call yourself Beedrill
In elden ring its nasty
Eldenring as well
Can confirm
Aiel In the books carried multiple short spears for throwing/wielding, but they always had Bucklers! They were mentioned a lot because Aiel would rattle their spear on the buckler to acknowledge when someone had outwitted someone verbally.
They also had a cultural stigma against useing or even touching swords. They had a very effective hand to hand combat marial art, a hard case they kept horn bows in, a quiver that could hold spears and arrows, their clothing was not armor but did have a some what camo theme to the colors. Their spears were also extremely short, only slightly longer than a standard sword in that world. They also carried a belt knife at all times. Plus they were from a desert so they were automatically super soldiers. They would also never fight with their face exposed that also being a cultural stigma.
@@swimmingmide
What desert material do the Aiel use to make their spear shafts and arrows? I wouldn't have thought the desert being somewhere full of trees to make extra throwing spears for each fighter.
@@MrRJPE They never explicity say where their wood comes from. There are trees in the wastes and the Aiel did trade with wetlanders and the people to the east as well as pedlers and the like. They also made raides in the boarderlands and the blight. It wasn't pleantiful but they did have multiple ways of getting it and prioritized using it for weapons rather than things like chairs and tables.
We should do that in this world and age. I'd love to hear some spear rattles when someone gets owned.
The fact that there's more spinning in the choreography than weapon twirling would back up the point of how cumbersome the spears are to dual wield. You can't do any flashy moves with the spears, so you compensate with flashy body movements
Wong Fei-Hung has entered the chat! 😆
I think the spear combat in Troy manages a decent balance of Flash vs Realism. I mean, for a large budget movie, anyways
@@paulpolito2001 Oh yeah I forgot about that! 👍
@@paulpolito2001 I do like that spears are prominently displayed as they ought to be. And they do make the spear combat pretty exciting if a bit over the top
I think at this point armour in movies acts more like a penetration enhancement device. It actively makes weapons penetrate deeper.
Magnetic foil armor. The worst kind.
@@krikeydial3430 xD yeah, and the only good armour is plot armour.
Yeah honestly that's why I dismiss a lot of "why isn't this guy wearing armor" complaints, because armor in movies never seems to do anything. lol. Every fantasy series always seems to go the route of having armored men get hacked down without problem.
In The Simpsons:
"My eyes!! The goggles do nothing!"
In The Wheels of Time:
"My back! The armors do nothing!"
That sounds pretty kinky
My suspension of disbelief ended when the two guys without helmets or even a warm hat joined in. As someone who was born in Russia, let me tell you, you do NOT walk around without headgear during wintertime, unless you have a masochistic deathwish.
Even worse, the pregnant lady is from a hot, arid climate. Yeah, it gets cold at night in the desert and Aiel will run naked at night, but she wouldn't last long in the southern, frozen mountains.
There are green trees below in the background. I think snow may be due to elevation, so it can be close to 0c. Hat would be useful but not absolutely necessary.
It is a mountain (extinct volcano technically), so still cold, but not wintertime. Still would want a head covering for the cold though.
Frost burns be real
👍👍 Canadians can attest to that too. No headgear in the prairies leeads to no ears pretty quick.
The things is, suspension of disbelief works best with just a couple things to ignore. But this is a PREGNANT woman fighting, in the freezing cold, against three men, while dueling wielding spears, with no shield or armor. And there is very impractical fighting and tinfoil armor with an impractical design and an overpowered throwing dagger. A couple of these alone, particularly the latter ones, could be okay, but all of these together combine and multiply so that it completely obliterates my suspension of disbelief.
Yeah... I have to agree with you. I'm starting to think I've become too numb to all the ridiculous nonsense that I barely even notice most of it anymore.
Did we forget that she's also in labor?
@@WyattStrange, she comes from a desert culture of swiftly athletic warriors, hence the rags.
@@WyattStrange she's basically meant to be a highly trained guerilla warrior (like, commando training) vs slightly better than regular soldiers.
Not just in labor but at the end of labor and about to give birth.
Depends on how low your equip load is.
You really need those i-frames on your roll if you're not using a shield.
Having read the books, I think what Jordan intended the Aiel fighting style to resemble is something like Kali or Escrima . The spears in the TV show seem longer than what is described in the books, they did bring extra spears for throwing and I'm fairly certain they used shields as well.
RJ had said Zulu plus Native American with Mongolian short bows.
Yeah, as usual, the real issue is Amazon's lack of regard for their source material. As mentioned by others, the fighting style she should be using involves a spear shortened for use in one hand, paired with a buckler. Excess spears are for throwing/emergencies. But you know Amazon. They just don't give a fuck.
I always imagined Zulu style Spears short handles with a longer blade
@@keaganhicks5467 yeah, I could see something like that. My mind always went to something like a Diablo 2 Javelin.
(Edit) Maybe with a crossbar or something, sense they seem to parry with em a lot.
If you paid closer attention, youd know that the Aiel fight using two forms of spears, and that tigrain was a literal prophetic demigod reknowned for being one of the most skilled warriors of the aiel. Not saying its not gratuitous, but gratuity is kind of the point *according to the source material*. I mean, just think about the context
@@bytheburnside7539 that's fair, but I'm not really sure how it applies to my original statement. Pretty sure that the dual-wielding, spinny play fighting she's doing in this clip isn't representative of some incredible second form of Aiel spear fighting. And that's ignoring the more obvious issues, like the shit costume design and the magically stronk throwing knife. I'd love to hear more about this second form of spear fighting though, and how it applies to this scene, if you care to expand on that point.
@@tylerfitts8194 man, condescension and self importance really are your first and second languages arent they? My point was that them taking some artistic liberties in terms of fight scene coreography with a mythical figure in a setting like WoT isnt really that out there or straying from the source material
Most producers underestimate how impactful and immersive truly studied close to reality melee combat can be, fantasy is fun and flashy, but reality is cool too, there's few things more impressive as an experienced weaponmaster dispatching several opponents in quick succession with precise and controlled movements, strikes, footwork, still in a fantasy setting of course but the action is more thrilling.
This fight scene would've been orders of magnitude better if the choreography was focused on a single spear and it would look just as cool if not better, but that's what happens when you put some random nobody, with 0 combat knowledge or studies in charge of your action scenes.
There's nothing more depressing or awful than seeing a fight scene with precise controled movements... John Wick, Witcher, Daniel Craig James Bond ,etc type fights are just awful. This is bad too of course, but real fights are not presice or controlled or neat and clinical.
@@Theduckwebcomics in the realm of fantasy, smartass, pay attention to the comment.
She could have been holding two spears: one in her right hand, with the other hand holding both the center-gripped shield and other spear. We see the Zulu holding extra spears in the shield hand historically. That offhand spear could also be used to bind and stab from the plane of the shield.
@@ctrlaltdebug but that's the thing bro, you add a shield, I find kinda off just the two spears, like your example with the Zulus, that's a practical solution for a real combat necessity, not just playing stick fight with two poorly handled polearms.
No they don't. Not even 1% of the audience would even recognize the difference. The end.
I think an assegai and iklwa wielded simultaneously would be an interesting combo. You have a longer spear that can both be used as a throwing weapon and to hold an opponent farther away, but also a far shorter spear (almost a short sword really) that can be used up close, and is small enough that you could have both hands on the assegai when the occasion calls for it.
His lesson is interesting but your correct. Those are just iklwa, and he actually has one I think so it's weird that he's going through all this.
A bit long for ilklwa imho. Maby a foot shorter in the haft.
This video showed up in my feed, no idea where it came from, but it was SUPER interesting to watch, Il def check out more, I had 0 idea how interesting breaking this down would be. Thanks bro, great video
Not just heavily pregnant, it's Woman in Labour fights like a Slayer, taking down half a regiment single-handed. Able to throw a knife through steel plate and having her agility stat maxed out.
That's not fair, Buffy actually got hit.
When she has that kid he won't get away with anything: "Don't make me turn this oxcart around!"
I wonder what the deal is with TV shows and their obsession with pregnancy. To me it's such a cheap plot element to try to raise the stakes. We've seen it before in The Walking Dead, Breaking Bad and other shows.
@@LUR1FAX because anything that adds in kids is drama just how think of the kids is such a big thing In politics.
@@davidwilson6577 she meant to get hit! Do you not think women can be stronger than men?!? REEEEEEEEEEEEEE
Spears man, they pretty stronk. They've let me fight 4 people at once, and also made me look dumb as heck.
Its uncool but very effective
Yeah… looks awkward and brutal; but you’re gonna have a better chance of being the one NOT bleeding out on the ground.
Fair trade. They can be hard to carry, but a sheathed spear makes for a good walking stave - even heavier designs can (usually) be thrown in a pinch. I try to normalize the everyday use of spears, tbqh.
One thing that people really don't think about is that sure the unrealistic combat is flashy but if it's realistic it tends to looks so much better
I guess the thing is more than 70% of people on the world doesn't know what is 'realistic' and what is 'unrealistic when it comes to combat.
@@spearsage eh even a layman can tell when it isn't at all realistic. Like seriously pregnant women fights off three soldiers in full battle gear? Using two spears? Even someone with even the most cursory knowledge of fighting would know that using two spears is a little odd.
@@jorgejustin461 I'm not specifically talking about the scene in the video, but movie action scenes in general.
The thing is, most adult is aware that it's just a film. But having no knowledge or experience of the actual thing, they won't know for sure whether an action scene is actually realistic/possible or not. They will always float between 'impossible' to 'maybe, if you train for it'. Now, can you optimistically claim that more than 30% of people in the entire world actually have the cursory knowledge about swordsfighting--no, using weapon properly in general?
And no, having the most cursory knowledge in fighting does not let you know if dual wielding *short spears* is an oddity or not. You only find it odd because you're not familiar with the notion.
Yeah this goes along the line I gathered from my gaming experience that is applicable to almost anything: "If You are good enough to handle a difficult tool, then you will be even better with an easy one." The easier the operation, the more room for error/unexpected situation (and counter) and the more you can use/abuse the finesse. The ratio of difficulty in use to maximum potential rarely favour the tools/weapons on the far difficult side of the spectrum.
I still can't get over her being in labor during this fight no way she is taking on that many dudes like that even one is hard for me to believe
The books did literally everything better.
Fans of Witcher, Picnic on the roadside, Lem's books: hi, first time?
Isn't that normally the case though? Books will almost always beat out a screen adaptation simply because a book doesn't have to worry about how long it's chapters are.
Depend what you are looking for. From a narrative and tropes point of view, I got pissed by the books very quickly. The serie does worst with the main characters (they are not likeable at all), but apart from that, I quite enjoyed the serie.
They made a complete mess of the show
@@MythicMagus Sure, but this isn't even CLOSE to the source material in what it DOES show. It bears almost no resemblance deeper than surface level.
Sure, the LOTR movies couldn't show nearly the entirety of the books, but what was there was still faithful to the original. This is just... dishonoring a dead man's legacy. Sad really.
Hey Skal, as a fan of the book. The aiel in the wheel of time use a small round shield (targe) with 3 to 4 short spears. They're meant to be thrown.
There's a passage where 2 aiel who were ambushed fought off 20 mounted soldiers killing 16 of them . They're god tier warriors in the story.
When you can run as fast as horses but way more training and dexterity? The Aiel are absolute units.
I'm sure the book was pretty good, but I've only seen the first season of the show and I think that just the show by itself was terrible. I thought the plot was way too predictable, I mean it's pretty easy to guess who The Dragon is supposed to be, Rand. And the acting was mediocre at best, everyone was depressed and sad, there was no joy.
@@Skeezik1998 which is why I refuse to watch this abomination. I wanted this show since GoT came out, and then this is the garbage we got
@@Skeezik1998 to be fair to the book I believe we find out Rand is 'the chosen one' in like the first 50 pages. otherwise there was no reason for him to leave the farm at all in the first place.
I’m not going to lie I felt that way about the book too. After reading the first book and part of the second I already feel like I know how it’s generally going to end. I was also extremely unimpressed with how the character rand was first introduced to the trollocs. That impression didn’t really change throughout the first book.
The books are why better than the show. Just look at Shadiversity’s take on each episode over at Knights Watch.
The Maidens of the Spear are meant to carry a small leather buckler to deflect blows. That’s probably what the display ‘thing’ was meant to be.
They didn't have shield sisters, they had spear maidens and bucklers were typically carried by everyone.
The Maidens of the Spear carried short spears because historically the first Maiden wasn't strong enough to handle the full length spear. The Maidens are lighter armed and used as scouts because they can run faster than the main spear bearers.
@@ctrlaltdebug you're partially right. Originally the first maiden, Morin, wasn't strong enough so Joerdam shortened it for her and noted how light and quick the shorter spears were and how they could be a match for any sword. They're later adopted by the rest of what would become the Aiel.
@@peterm1925 Keep spittin' facts
Books are doorstopper rubbish.
Hey Skall! I decided to try out my RUclips start-page, and low and behold: You were on it with this video in the first row! 😃
I love the ad for body armor that popped up right after he was cringing about the dagger going through the plate armor
You don't need shields if you have plot armor
Good point. Can confirm from current experience.
In 99% of cases, but tbh the Aiel are probably that good in the story.
Even without paying too much attention to the choreography, the secene look like all the dudes got told to let her kill them, but don't make it too obvious.
People can overlook a lot of stuff but the real probs comes in when the show resembles the source material in name only. Which considering the whole point of paying for the rights to an IP is to buy access to the audience who already love it, pulling a bait & switch like that is going to mean the project will be DOA. Not to mention any good faith & willingness to "suspend disbelief" will be significantly deminished.
I neither read, nor watched Wheel of Time.
But what you said reminds me of the Witcher netflix show.
1st season starts 95% accurate, ends 90% accurate. All important things happened, anything extra is stuff that may have happened, just been ommited from the books.
2nd season starts 85% accurate, ends 10% accurate. Characters are there, but the story as it was in the books not only didn't happen, it now can't happen.
With the frequency that IP destruction happens, it almost seems like they are doing it on purpose. (Halo, lotr, cowboy bebop, wheel of time, resident evil)
@@DH-xw6jp The producer of WoT openly bragged about it on twitter, threatening to turn even more characters inappropriately gay if the audience complained too much about his abuse of the source material.
@@frantisekvrana3902 From what I'm hearing (and see in this fight and from stills), WoT starts at 50% accurate and goes down from there. The producer didn't want to protagonist to be the protagonist and the sex-differentiated magic system has been done away with.
@@Lttlemoi just like the showrunners of Halo bragged about never playing the games or reading the graphic novels.
Or how the screen writers for the LOTR bragged about writing a world "that Tolkien would have never wrote".
Or how they claimed they were fixing the wrongs and "doing it right this time" when they made cowboy bebop.
Like i said, it's almost like they are doing it on purpose.
Spears are excellent slashing weapons. When she's got her spears pointed outwards she's in a position of completely expended potential energy. She's got no leverage. Not the worst thing in the world--but you throw those things. You wield them with two hands. You combine them with a shield.
Short spears (30% blade and 70% handle were a favourite among the Indian warriors in ancient times). They strapped them to their wrists within loose ropes around their arms and grabbed them by the upper side as a sword. Independently as a 2 handed short bladed sword/dagger or as a throwing spear. They best thing about it was they could easily tighten or loose the arm ropes depending on how they wanted to use the weapon. The reason for it was it's practical use in close quarters of the battle and as a ranged weapon at the same time. They worked very effectively as repetitive thrusting daggers as well. Gave a lot of room for quick moves. They katar and patah is said to be it's descendent.
Bad spear fighting is the least of Amazons problems. Allowing for the possibility of a female dragon in the first 90 seconds broke so many plot points it’s impossible to logically reassemble the story so that all factions have reasonable motivations.
Did they actually follow through on that? Or is Rand still the Dragon Reborn?
I mean, I wouldn't care so much about them opening up the Dragon's cycle to include women or men, but the entire plot of this book centered around the Dragon Reborn being a man who could channel and doomed to go insane, so this particular cycle would still have had to have been a dude.
@@wizardtim8573 Rand discovers he’s the Dragon because the Dark One tests his.. weird, hiccuping love for Egwene?
I kid you not, that’s how the finale resolves.
They even threw in a split-second love triangle with Perrin for good measure. Perrin was having none of it, thanks to dead wife no one cares about
@@shoeberrypie Ugh, glad I stopped watching before the poison had time to take hold.
Now I'm not at all tempted to watch anymore! Thanks! 😀
@@wizardtim8573 The thing is that there IS a female "dragon", but it's the female champion of light. The Dragon and Dragon reborn are always males and are the male champion of light spirit. We actually know one of the female champion of light's names, Amaresu (clearly an allusion to the Japanese goddess Amaterasu). The point being, Dragon is a title only for the male one, we simply don't know if there's a female equivalent for the other spirit because it's been lost to time.
As you say, the entire plot of the books and the cultural fear of the dragon reborn is due to the intrinsic relationship between Lews Therrin and Rand Al'Thor being men linked in a rebirth cycle. They can only ever be male to have the story work correctly where Saidin is tainted and everyone fears male channelers later.
In the TV show, there is currently a MASSIVE incentive for the White Tower to raise their own false dragon now because people will want to believe a female dragon is real, over a male one because it gives them false hope that they won't go insane.
@@danielbroome5690 If I understand correctly, there *was* a female equivalent to the Dragon, namely the female champion of light. Who would not have been represented by the dragon but a different, unknown creature. Thus, there still IS no female "dragon", and there never was. Did I understand correctly?
I read through a few of the Wheel of Time books a long time ago and the spears they gave her for that scene look way longer than the impression I got from the books. I always imagined they were about half blade and half shaft roughly 2-3 feet in total length. They should have cut the shaft on what they gave her in half.
They look good to me. A full spear should be about 8 foot long, and in the history of the Aiel the Maidens are described as breaking the spears in half to use more easily, so they should be about 4 feet long.
@@ctrlaltdebug I believe in the books they are described to be a pace in length. That would put them at about 30 inches.
@@arronjerden915 Does that include or exclude the foot or so of steel point? I imagined 3 foot shafts with another foot of steel making them 4 foot in length.
@@wizardtim8573 look up the zulu iklwa spear that the inspiration for the aiel spear
@@aaronhackney9652 Is that your opinion or a statement by Robert Jordan or someone close enough to the actual work to make a valid case?
Just mentioning a "Bow staff", similar way to gain swinging momentum/control to the "clutching under the arm" but behind the back left to right or visa versa. It stops abruptly but it is very strong.
*bo (I think?)
I did some LARP fighting with (albeit foam and therefore lightweight) spear in my main hand, sword in my off-hand. Where I found great success was by having a butt spike on the other end of the spear- then if they try to wipe it aside, you just allow it to rotate and stab with the butt spike.
I started off with plastic baseball bats then broom sticks, .. household family fights sometimes involved dining room chairs.
Some of his slow-motion weapon techniques are just bull crap with his partners. If your wrist or elbow or both are hit at the same time your nerve endings go numb and hit with broom sticks you pop wrist bones out of place and have some painful hand swelling.
As for the foam weapon fighting, cheap shots with hitting the flat of the blade on the calf or forearm produces interesting levels of pain. So does having the shield kicked up into your face. We had a couple of wonderful young women that would just pull your shield arm as the tackle you to the ground with an ankle trip then slap your neck/ back of your head with a short sword.
Interesting topic on the "suspension of disbelief". My suspension of disbelief was completly shattered for the Walking Dead show, after watching .50 caliber and 7.62×39 rounds bouncing harmlessly of the tailbeds of trucks and corrugated sheet metal, in a running gun fight. Along with the apparent infinite round magazines for rifles and pistols.
I completely lost my suspension of disbelief when Neegan kept not dying. There were so many good moments and good reasons to kill him, it was obviously only plot armour keeping him alive.
my suspension of disbelief is ruined because clearly i'm watching a 2 dimensional screen. there's no depth. what i'm seeing is not actually happening because i'm in my living room, not in zombie-apocalypse georgia
I'm with you on everything in this video. i absolutely love wot, but the tv adaptation took so much freedom almost nothing of the original left. the tv decided to ignore all of the world building. in the books, a. this specific woman is almost useless as a fighter, and she didn't die because of an injury, just because of the birth. b, those warriors use a shield and a three spears, with bow sometimes. perfectly normal, unlike whatever amazon did. same can be told for anything of Amazon, they ignored all the realism of the original books for... whatever it is they did.
it's sad that amazon decided to ignore all common sense, I would've loved to see you analyze the battlefields from the books
I'm blissfully ignorant of how much they may have butchered the source material, as I haven't read the books. Sounds like I'd be pretty irritated if I had.
@@Skallagrim To be fair that's what Hollyweird does with most if not all Fantasy book adaptations. Sword of Truth series comes to mind(Legend of the Seeker) 🤮
@@Skallagrim basically they took the idea of WOT, and virtually made their own story... Badly. The only way I could watch the season was to call it an alternate universe to WOT. Even then it was more hoping it would improve over time, which it did not. It (being charitable) loosely followed the first book but the main characters were treated more like supporting cast
@@Skallagrim It's actually not bad. Hollywoodisms aside the biggest issue is that they tried to stuff almost a thousand pages into one season. As someone that holds WoT as a fundamental part of my being I dont hate this adaptation.
@@Skallagrim in episode 7, the trollocs come. in the tv, they are all cought by a surprise, because of course a large city near the borderlands wouldn't have any scouts. they then continue to be slaughtered by the trollocs, until the wild channelers aave the day.
now, in the books, this was a battlefield. they obviously knew an army was approaching, and rode to meet them at a suitable place. makes way more sense, that a borderlands country would have scouts and an army.
just a small change out of many, but really shows the spirit of the changes
2 scenarios:
- no other option
- wielder is extremely op and it's a fantasy setting, he or she does a whirlwind. +10 coolness.
with 2 spears there is always the option to use only one 💪
@@ArniesTech throw one, use second for close combat.... if you have no shield better to grip with both hands
Spoilers: It's the second one.
Maybe the charisma bonus of actually showing up to a battle dual wielding spears offsets the battle disadvantage
No other option would still have the better alternative of just throw one of them and be proficient wielding the other, hoping the thrown one did anything in your favor.
the AOTHER bad trope for knives at 5:30 is that it is straight up and down, not horizontal on the blade, meaning it also had to punch through the victims ribs, not slide between them.
Also, Jill Bearup has a good analysis of the fight, and how the pattern steps in to protect her
I've always somewhat regarded the 'needs to go between the ribs' as a trope in and of itself, despite the names behind it (Applegate, Fairbairne, so forth). The truth is a knife with an edge suitable for fighting in general (MUCH sharper than people expect) will clip through ribs as if they aren't there unless you bury the point in one on the way in, in which case the blade being sideways won't help you any either. I've always been baffled as to how something so clear to anyone who has used a knife on living bone (hunting or fighting) got laid down in history as something nearly a law, by guys who DEFINITELY know better. I feel like it was a situation where the guy who knows decided it was easier to train to this standard than to try getting the nuance of the situation across.
@@stillenacht8518 But, thrown from a distance? Seems more likely to hit the rib point first
@@jonathanwessner3456 Not any more likely really, unless you are operating from the assumption that since it was thrown he could not deliberately aim between the ribs. Throwing it doesn't make more ribs or less space between them, so it can't really increase the odds of hitting a rib. That might not make any sense because I did a piss-poor job of explaining but you seem pretty sharp (pun intended) so I think you probably get what I'm saying. Definitely more likely to screw it up in general, with throwing as opposed to stabbing, so you are right on it there
Fun video! Just a little information on the use of multiple spears, typically three, by Aiel warriors.
Aiel carry a buckler, short bow, arrows, and average of three spears for combat. A warrior, male or female, would carry one spear in their main hand with the buckler on the off hand. The buckler would allow for the other two spears to be held in the off hand alongside the buckler so if the short spear is stuck in a corpse or thrown for any reason, they still had a weapon.
Side Note: These spears in the show are way too long. Take a foot or two off the shaft and you would be a little closer to the normal spear an Aiel would carry. I'd imagine the shaft is a little too wide as well as holding two to three in one hand when not in combat would be difficult if they were that large. They also didn't carry a plate on the back to hold spears.
Back to the explanation: It is a quick combat weapon system meant to devastate the enemy. speed and dexterity to surprise their opponent. They are the best fighters outside of magic fighting, and even then their Wise Ones can hold their own very well in the magic department. Their clothes is designed to blend into whatever surroundings they are near, and they will adapt to the terrain and foliage. Hiding is one of their best tools in catching an enemy by surprise and defeating them quickly. They are extremely fast warriors that boast top speeds equal to or greater to that of horses, with extended durability and long windedness that allowed them to pursue or retreat as needed but still fight. A devastating foe to have.
The Aiel have a stigma against touching swords, so they adopted the spear to be deadly with instead of swords.
Again, wonderful video!! Excellently done!
Love your reasoning and logic comments!
I wonder how dual wielding spears would go with rather short staffed spears like the Zulu used. I would imagine you could use techniques similar to a gladius.
And in the books that’s exactly what they are - the Aiel kept one thing from The Way of the Leaf - they didn’t use swords. But they chopped down spears to short lengths to have similar maneuverability. And we know that dual wielding long blades was a thing, it’s in the manuals.
@@N2theBlue1 The Aiel had short spears, which were short spears; they also had a heavy-bladed knife which was their chopper. The spears in the clip were pretty close to what I imagined them having, but they certainly never dual-wielded them. They used a buckler in the off hand, and had a couple more spears held in that off hand as well when engaged in melee.
@@wizardtim8573 correct, but not hard to imagine losing a buckler or having it broken in battle at some point
@@N2theBlue1 And would probably resort to their heavy bladed knife for their off hand, or wield their spear two handed.
Point being they were super skilled highly trained warriors. This depiction went for "epic" but fell flat because of the absurdity.
Short spears? Like the ones she is wielding?
Three bad guys.
Three shortish, javelin-like spears.
One pregnant woman.
Do you too see how this scene could end?
Much faster, and with potential cost.
“I win again Lews Therin.” Flickr
Bloody hell
*javelin-like*
1…
2…
3!
I know! Throw those motherfuckers!
It would end the same way as:
One bad guy.
One shortish, javelin-like spear.
Six pregnant women.
NGL, since I saw diarmuid and scathach from fate I wanted your opinion on twin spears.
My opinion was it was simply a cool, if silly, idea. Even assuming they had enough strength and skill, there was A chance the spear's would tangle and there were just better weapon combinations.
That'sy thoughts at least.
Diarmiud's spears were different sizes, and he adjusted his hand placement regularly during the fight with Arturia.
It's a silly idea, but since the animators knew what they were doing, they made it look cool and believable for that setting and character
Not only the sizes but having complimentary curses on each spear made it more belivable.
@@codyfowler1356
He also literally put one of his spears down at a point in the fight. Then there's a servants inhuman speed and strength to consider, wouldn't have to worry about no guards for your hands if every clash has enough force to send you flying back several metres right?
@@HaloForgeUltra He used that same spear as a trap, while having Arturia focused on the other.
Imo that was one of the best fights in the Fate series. It had more of a grounded feel and displayed measure of cunning between the fighters. The newer fights feel more like Dragon Ball
Those two are heroes from Celtic history/myth diarmuid of the love spot did own gae buidhe and gae dearg and did use both in combat. But diarmuid is by his legend a demi god and scathach is a mage god slaying goddess connected with the Norse goddess skadi.
While it's not a Huge thing, there is something to be said about an often overlooked advantage of using an odd fighting style; No one knows what to expect from you.
This is a reasonably good example, as we often see instances where the men seem off guard and aren't working well together. A good explanation for this could well be that they don't have any practice dealing with someone using two spears, and because they're allies, they don't want to be too risky and end up launching an attack that hits their allies.
It's a stretch, I admit, but it is an issue that would have to be dealt with on the battle field. If you don't know how skilled your opponent is when engaging, you have to be cautious or risk giving the advantage to them. If you're unfamiliar with their weapons, or how they're using them, then you can either assume they're morons that don't know what they're doing-very risky-or assume that you're about to see a whole lot of knew things you'll have to immediately come up with an answer to. If you're smart, you'll end up being much less aggressive, because it will be hard to tell when best to strike and opt to instead favor defending.
This is, of course, assuming you have reason to suspect your enemy is competent and not just putting on a show. The skill the MC here seems to be showing off, with even just the cape flip, would likely give away some amount of skill as a combatant and lead a smart fighter to assume she's skilled enough to be careful when she does something unexpected.
Discussion was useful for thinking through some action scenes I'm gonna write.
One of the few things the show actually mentions about aiel is they always fight with their faces covered. And yet the first time we see one fight, her face isn't covered. Great job, people!
and I don't expect them to do it in the future either. No one ever wears helmets or face-covering in Hollywood.
@@Lightning_Lance Looks at Darth Vader, Jason, V from Vendetta, Skinsaw, Batman, almost every super hero, etc.
Yeah the face covering thing has nothing to do with hollywood but bad writers. Like all the other problems with this show.
@@Temperans It actually has to do with actors wanting their faces to be seen. It's why Steve Rogers keeps removing his helmet and Tony and Peter keep removing their masks. If you don't believe this, look at the stink Pedro Pascal made about taking his helm off in The Mandalorian.
There are characters like Darth Vader were the helmet is THE point of recognition in an mostly helmetless environment.
In a fantasy / medievil context where every goon and stablehand is wearing a helmet, wearing non is the point of recognition for the "hero". Dumb, but here we are (at Hollywood...)
@@Temperans those are exceptions where the helmet is essential to the character. People in movies don't wear helmets because they're actors. They get paid to act. If they wore a helmet, it could just as well be a stunt double and no one would notice.
My friend, Jill Beanup did a pretty good walk through on this earlier, and as Matt Easton might say this is a good fight for a movie. As Ms Beanup has actually been in labor her comments on that part of the scene were well educated. Great video, thanks.
Jill's review of the same scene is here (spoilers!) ruclips.net/video/fT2TOeXyIRc/видео.html
Dual spears would be cool af if it worked lmao, it was a viable build in Tyranny (I think one of companions had it by default in fact)
The only way I can picture it working is fiore's staff+dagger defence thing except instead of a dagger you have a short spear
See that i can see is viable, but like skall mentioned itd be easier with a shield. The only other consideration is maybe shield slows down her cool action run stuff
Pretty sure the Aiel spears are supposed to be very short, with a long blade, they're inspired by the Zulu spears(In particular Shaka Zulu's invention, the Iklwa), and could be used sort of similar to a sword(the balance is much more forward, and the cutting edge only the last foot, but similar-ish).
You can in fact effectively wield two Persian djerids, which is roughly the same. Just because it's not in a HEMA manual, doesn't mean it wasn't done.
In SCA wars I did used to dual wield a 9’ long spear with a short mace. It worked but only with a very specific technique. The mace was strapped very tight to the wrist. I wore plate armor with full coverage plate gloves. Start by stabbing normally with the spear. Only when someone cleared the point was the mace used. Drop the back of the spear and let it fall till vertical. Plant the end of the spear into the ground and use it to block their slash/stab. Rear hand is dropped backwards to grasp the handle of the mace. Finally counter their slash by rushing forward keeping the length of shaft near your hand pressed against their sword to control it long enough to swing the mace around and hit them in the head. Odds were my opponent would win, but I nailed quite a few people with that mace, including a Duke. Using the ground as a third hand is what made it work.
Speaking from 17 years of personal experience in polearms, it works if they're javelins or short spears, like pointy escrima sticks.
Though there really isn't much 'point' other than for fun.
This scene would’ve been a LOT LOT LOT more realistic, if instead of duel spears it was duel sword spears, like a Zulu Iklwa. You’d get a lot more leverage and power as opposed to one handing a spear. Then again though, you wouldn’t duel wield Iklwas but would have a shield, so, yeah, but if you had to duel wield, one hand a smaller sturdier and more leverage capable weapon, and if you want that spear aesthetic, then do a sword spear.
Like just think about it. A spear is a long lanky easily controlled awkward thing as Skal so readily showed. Its like a less extreme case of trying to use a sledge hammer by holding the bottom part of the hammer one handed, compared to a sword with a longer handle and guard, so you can thrust, but also with hand protection and the ability to hold it up near the guard for better leverage as aforementioned.
In the books the aiel actually fights with a short spear in one hand and a leather buckler in the other, while holding more spears. Their fighting techniques are definitely inspired by the Zulus.
India seems to have had "parrying spears" that came with a small guard for the hand, but idk much about their use personally
You can extrapolate when seeing the maduvu being used. It's almost the same in length and is also held midway on the "shaft"
weird idea time: Dual wielding spears while also holding a Talhoffer-style buckler in each hand. Kind of like how the Zulu held their spears and the handles of their shields in the same hand. Might be a lot more protective than just a spear by itself.
Granted I hear the Talhoffer buckler is pretty hefty. And if you had to hold one in each hand, that might be an issue.
But the Zulu don't fight with the hand that holds a spear AND a shield. It os an additionally spear for throwing or backup, not an actual dual wielding spear.
That's actually how the Aiel (the race the woman in the video is part of) fight in the books. They fight with spear and buckler, while holding spare spears in their off-hand. The spare spears are there to replace the main-hand spear if they throw it, it breaks or gets lodged in an enemy. I vaguely remember them stabbing with the off-hand spears but only if a particular opportunity presents itself. For the most part the extra spears are only in the off-hand to quickly replace a spear in the main-hand. Also the spears are shortened and function somewhat similar to a sword (which the Aiel can't use for lore reasons).
I've always liked the the odd ways battles might go down if people was insane enough to try it. like disregarding protection for mobility. I mean I can see two spears with two strap shields which limits discarding the shields at needed points. however then I can see maybe bladed shields limiting a person from grappling the shield. I mean I got crazy ideas, just that this isn't what the focus here is. could it be done? yes... should it be done?... no.
people thats makes these fight scenes seem conflicted or controlled by director, actor, stunt person, choreographer (they might actually know how to fight a bit which makes it look kinda good.), and may other things. which in the final cut get mashed together. I'm betting the choreographer is like (I tried my best to make it real. I told them a throwing dagger in armor didn't look right)
I really like the RUclips algorithm monster intro 😂
The throwing knife killed me xD
Multiple spears: They're meant to be thrown before engaging.
Dual spears: Yea, you got me there. She's supposed to have a buckler and her extra spears in her off-hand. I can't think of any situation dual spears came up in the books.
Standing still against pointed spears: Yes, these are seasoned warriors. BUT, they're also absolutely terrified of Aiel. In the books (until much later on), they're basically mythical creatures that are spoken of as boogeymen or Reavers from Firefly.
She should have dispatched the first two men with thrown spears, then had a spear/bucker fight against the remaining two, a slightly more credible match.
@@ctrlaltdebug Starting an uneven fight by evening it out is always a good idea. Though then a plothole becomes glaringly obvious: Why aren't the three attackers throwing their own spears?
Perhaps with shorter spears with blade like points in a similar style to the Zulu Iklwa it might be possible do some kind of dual wielding type nonsense for rule of cool
But it would be more effective and sensible to just use an ordinary spear and shield properly.
Even the Zulu used a shield with their Iklwa
@@joelhall3820 So do the Aiel in the books. They have a buckler which has 2 short spears held in it for backups, and 1 short spear held in the main hand to attack.
It also should be pointed out that there is a very significant reason that the Aiel in WoT use spears instead of other weapons.
The books are phenomenal, this is bunk
They conically carry short javelins BEHIND their shields, IN-hand
This show is bunk.
Just want to say I love the editing in this video!
You don't need to be a women to surmise what heavy combat with a child would be like, logic can get you their my dude.
What's a woman? 👁️👄👁️
Yes, logic works. Especially in combination with a super special trick men can use to get a better understanding of woman's conditions, it's called TALKING TO WOMAN.
I hate it when people act as if it is unethical for men to have opinions about woman, except the most positive and superficial of opinions of course.
I recently talked to a girl who showed a detailed and original understanding of men's problems and I was not a bit offended, but instead delighted. In fact I might be falling for her...
What would you think of a hypothetical "couched spear paired with axe/sword" dual wield style? Does that make up for even some of the limitations of two spears, or would it just cause more problems than it solves?
Short sword or dagger would be pretty decent. The main thing about 2 weapon fighting is having 2 weapons for different ranges that don't limit the others too much.
You'd probably still be better either fighting with the spear in two hands, or just treating the spear as a blocking stick while you do the actual fighting with your sword, rather than trying to treat it as dual wielding.
Aiel don't use swords. Ever.
@@Lightning_Lance I'm sure that's a thing in setting, but we're talking about a fighting style in general, not necessarily in a given cultural context.
@@AGrumpyPanda I'm just saying that it wouldn't make sense in this scene.
My wife is currently 8 months pregnant.
Seeing the way this lady moved in the Wheel of Time hurts me.
Clearly written by people who have never been nor have they ever shared the same space as someone who has been pregnant.
The people who wrote the script for this show are probably the same people pushing to call women "birthing people"
They're dumb. Show is dumb.
I'll stick to the books.
Ah, My wife was the opposite, and some of her climbing associates are still climbing heavily pregnant despite the lose ligaments.
That are highly trained very badass warriors that just seem build different and its fiction.
Yes but remember there are people that didnt even know they were pregnant until they shat out a baby. It's the other extreme but it exists.
That's one thing you _can_ blame on the source material, since she joined the Aiel invasion knowing full well she was pregnant.
In the book it's made quite a bit more clear that this was fated to happen (part of 'The Pattern') so improbability is more a feature than a bug. But even then Jordan didn't try to actually *_describe_* the battle in which a woman in labor fights off enemy soldiers; the only witness came to find the bodies and newborn there on the field after the fact.
"How much plot armor do you need to dual wield spears?"
Cu Chulainn: "yes."
...Well lets not show this man killer bee and him 7 wielding swords
The thing that makes this scene completely unbelievable is the fact that she's pregnant, not only does her pregnancy not affect her movement, but god forbid somebody hits her unamoured stomach which is the most forward extending part of her body
Yes, that is why that was one of the first examples of possible reasons for loss of suspension of disbelief mentioned at the start of the video.
So apparently, the author of the books said the Aiel spears were heavily influenced by Zulu spears, and so would have a 2 foot log haft and 1 foot long blade. Additionally, he said they would have used a buckler in their off-hand.
I'm sure people have pointed these factors out, but: Plot armor is an explicit magical element in Wheel of Time - being ta'veren means the pattern of reality literally weaves itself around you to a greater or lesser extent, and the baby she's giving birth to is the most powerful ta'veren in history. And: Maidens of the Spear actually triple-wield spears, though I don't recall if there are examples of them using more than one at a time in the books.
So the author literally wove Deus Ex Machina into the story. Why is he so well respected again?
@@sebastianb.3978 nothing wrong with a trope, besides they probably have more going for them than that
The good news is Wheel of Time comes with an inbuilt worldbuilding plot armour mechanism 🥳🥳🥳
Ya I definitely thought they where javelins at first. Never seen the show but was 100% expecting her to throw them
in fairness in the actual novels that the show is based on, the aiel tend to use buckler like shields with their short-spears (which based on the description in the novels always felt more like the Zulu assegai to me), from everything I've heard they've taken huge liberties with the show from the source material which is why I haven't watch the show
I remember asking about your thoughts on duel wielding spears during one of your live streams a while back. It kinda feels like you are making a whole video to answer my question now.
Funny how life works out sometimes.
Pregnant and duel wielding spears.....I have yet to hear one person who's read WOT say they like this show.
I've read the books and i couldnt get passed episode 3, so yes I agree. The show sucked the sweat off of a dead man's balls - i've just finished watching the clip, she wasnt even veiled :(
The books are amazing. The movie is a dumpster fire.
Normies need to get over their addiction and go from watching and then complaining to... not watching at all.
@@357Dejavu currently on the 5th one myself, the books got their own mess of pros and cons, but the world building is top notch stuff
from someone whose an absolute menace with a ""medium"" spear(5-6ft), I'd say as long as you know what you're doing you could use one small spear better then two small spears. maybe if both were just really short javelins... like to the point they are just kali sticks with a blade at the tip I could see it. 3 part spear would be intense. another note to add would be dependent on what your opponent has you could either have an advantage or an absolute disadvantage with dual spear. on your trying to catch two spears with one sword I don't think I've ever seen someone swing them both in tandem or in the same direction for that exact reason.
I’d love to see Skal critique something like this dual bo staff stuff. Obviously it’s pure flash. Performance art, that admittedly takes a degree of real skill, but I can’t help but find it kind of hilarious
😂
Forgot the link
m.ruclips.net/video/Go5_CKD4h9M/видео.html
The spears have secret spikes that appear only when in contact with the adversary. That's why she can throw the dudes and do all the weird stuff xD
Funny they're not even wearing gloves in a cold environment.
True, although it makes sense for the Aiel not to be prepared for cold environments. Most of them would not have known what snow is prior to this battle.
@@Lightning_Lance What about protection?
i think the Duel Wielding Spears was done best in Fate/Zero in the first servant fight with Saber vs Lancer aka King Arthur vs Diarmuid Ua Duibhne
due to them both being long dead heroes and the magics in play you cant bring forth the ENTIRE legend of a hero back instead you can easily focus it down into a class in this case Lancer
Diarmuid is known to in legend have 2 sets of weapons, 2 sets of Spear and Sword but due to the class he is forced to use twin spears
Diarmuid here is outclassed in almost every stat except Agility and equals Arthur in Strength, his only option is to be more aggressive and thats exactly what he dose and he only blocks with both spears other wise hes making her block and retreating when Arthurs sword gets too close to his hands
due to being legends though the weapons both use are magical in nature but both dont know the identity of the other so they also must be cautious of them
Diarmuids spears happen to be particularly nasty in this universe compared to ours, one spear inflicts wounds that dont heal (iirc IRL Diarmuid also had this spear) and the other is an anti-magic spear, pretty useful when your main opponents are all magical constructs
I know it's been in place for quite a few videos, but I LOVE the 'like, comment, subscribe' little animation Monthy Python style - Slay the youtubeast ! x)
Oh levitating explanatory sword, tell us your wisdom!
3:45 That's not plausible. It looks like a scene from some high budget bollywood flick
Eh
He said mostly plausible and from how it looks, there might be a argument that if she had enough momentum, she would be able to pull the man off his feet.
However it’s overly fancy and will never beat my favorite moment of when Achilles one tapped a dude in the neck for momentum based attacks.
How much she weight? She just ran around the knight, grabed his cloak and... tossed him some three metres back? She had bigger momentum, bud he has bigger mass, so how was she capable to toss him around that easily? Is she made from lead?
She is going downhill, so she definitely has gravity on her side.
@@100nitrog2 So she would put him on his ass. Not catapulted him like this.
From what I hear her uterus contains a god, I imagine gods are exactly as heavy as they want to be, so she might have had much greater mass.
@@bramvanduijn8086 Oh, Dragon Reborn is not a god, he is just a regular guy who happens to have access to memories to ancient superwizard and can controll all existing types of magic, and also know some three or four ways how to teleport/portal/warp to any place in the world, and use that as a weapon. Heal whole countries just by will, remove ancient curses, ... Normal stuff.
stronk independant whaman who does not need no man, the fantasy show.
I quadruple wield spears with a backup pair of spear-chucks tucked into my bag of endless spear holding.
Ah, to at least once get to see a big budget fantasy tv-series and/or movie keep the heroics but ”keep it real”.
Well done Skall.
Meanwhile, the baby is getting high of all the adrenaline fed via the umbilical chord and getting a spinning mom rollercoaster ride. Well, ok, the cortisol and nauseating movement probably isn't that fun actually.
Nah the baby is the brains of the operation. It's like ratatouille. It's how she takes them on all 3 at once.
The baby is surely going to have hallucinations of a previous life after this...
This is honestly one of those incredibly rare things that'd make me walk out of the room through the power of pure, condensed cringe ^^
And Skall, I know it's current year, but you can point out the obvious even if you are unfortunate enough to have a penis. An incredibly martially skilled women doesn't require some kind of wacky suspense of disbelief at all - but the pregnant factor in this scene is so overtly ludicrous, I don't know how anyone has the self control to not at least raise their eyebrows
I think the combat was fine. The throwing spears were being used as swords, so I imagine they work as emergency makeshift alternatives. Granted, a shortsword would more likely than not be far more efficient with that fighting style. The two advantages a spear has is reach and thrust(by two handling a single spear). Dual-wielding 2 spears, you could still have the range advantage, but obviously, then you give up finesse, and with short spears, you obviously don't have reach either.
One more technical advantage spears would have over swords, would be that you could leverage out some force by using your body as a fulcrum, something much harder to accomplish with a sword.
Quad-wielding Spears vs Dual-wielding spiked shields. Two spears in the armpits, two in the hands. :) Perfectly balanced, you become the spear wall knights fought in the middle ages :)
glad to see more spear content