Embrace Halberd Superiority. (Even a Kenjutsu Master Did)
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- Опубликовано: 6 сен 2024
- People have asked for this video response, and I can see why. Seki Sensei experimenting with a halberd from a Kenjutsu perspective is fun and interesting to watch. Quite impressive too, to see how quickly he adapts to this weapon based on prior skill in the use of a staff (and I'm guessing Japanese polearms like naginata and yari too).
The video by @letsasksekisensei that I'm commenting on here:
• How Would a Katana Swo...
Where to find medieval and renaissance manuscripts:
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My take on the difference between a pollaxe and a halberd:
• Polearms! Knightly Pol...
Sword vs spear
• Can it be Done? - Defe...
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#skallagrim #polearm #weapon #history #kenjutsu #hema
How do you hold a halberd?
Skall: Yes
The key point to remember is you want to be the one holding it.
@@adamwebster1666 just dont hold the pointy part
@@SnailKingGY Still holds true.
When jamming the headspike through the eyeslit of a downed knight, feel free to hold the "pointy bits" to stabilize your strike. Just make sure you are the one holding the halberd.
@@adamwebster1666 a truer point has never been said
So I guess the answer is also 'No'
Seki Sensei: "Like Naginata... but with a hook!"
Hm...I suspect there are similar asiatic weapons
@@W4iteFlame Asian, yes. Japan, not quite.
In China you have 戟(The wikipedia page is Ji (polearm)) and various similar weapons with different names.
Japanese weapon the closes is the Naginata with a cross (Elden ring has that and called it cross naginata, but it is pretty rare) like a wing spear, but this does have that much of a hooking function.
@@W4iteFlame There are yari (Japanese spears) with horizontal protrusions (e.g. jumonji yari, kama yari, kagi yari) that could be used as a hook. And the naginata has hooking techniques, though the shape isn't as effective.
Thanks, guys, always good to learn some more about things
Yari sometimes had a billhook on it. They were for cops/bounty hunters who needed a nonlethal option of capturing people alive.
Do you need a spear or a battle axe?
Halberd: why not both?
Por que no los dos?
Actual Halberd: " Best I can do is three extra feet of reach, both of those plus a hook, and another, smaller spearpoint on the butt."
@@Ivaneus27 "And the hook can double as a pick to punch into armor."
If I'm not mistaken, they've been seen with a hook/pick or a maul/hammer on certain variants depending on the intended purpose.
I just love how Seki Sensei looks absolutely joyful when he says "I want one".
He demonstrated the hand switching on a naginata video. He can just switch grips back and forth fluidly without the polearm moving anywhere.
Ah, I hadn't seen that but was guessing he has experience with the naginata too.
@@Skallagrimyou can see a training one hanging on the top of the rear wall in this video. From the viewer’s POV.
Yah, that's a common drill in bo/staff arts as well. Get some amazing tip acceleration from that. Splintered a couple staves that way myself (ouch, wood shrapnell still stings!).
@@animistchannel can’t even use magnets to pull them out. 😬
@@Skallagrim Word of cautioun/warning about "Seki Sensei", to those more in the know, he is known as an extremely racist and xenophobic individual in Japanese martial arts sphere. Even publicly stating that "foreigners" shouldn't learn Japanese martial arts as they (the foreigners) are inferior and the martial arts are only for Japanese people.
He also caused a lot of controversy when a dojo connected to him (in the UK, I believe) chose a new head who was non-Japanese (Kent Sorensen), and his response was to go against the former master's will to the extent of forging documents to have the rightful new master replaced by someone who was totally unqualified and incompetent. He did this purely so the new "proper" master would be Japanese and more connected to him. Looking up "Toda-ha Buko-ryu" will help you find more info but to dig deeper will need some ability to read Japanese in a few cases (though plenty of discussion exists in English). It caused a major split and reveals a major issue of corruption in Seki's dealings and organization.
Lastly, his qualifications are suspect as the organizations that granted him his qualifications are rampant with corruption and nepotism. People far better read on the subject and with a far better grasp of the language, have told me that its very likely his "mastery" was given due to "favors" and not real ability. This one I can't confidently speak on, only relay what I have found and been told by others who profess knowledge in the area. But his virtual McDojo/scammy lessons give credence to it, in my opinion. Him teaming up with Sogo to spread misinformation just further dilutes their legitimacy as martial artists.
My personal distaste for him and his student in this video are from the fact they desperately peddle Japanese historical revisionism (among other things), and Seki "Sensei" scams people with fake lessons online (people he has openly admitted in interviews to despising, foreigners). The blatant racism is so obvious of a reason that I shouldn't need to state it but I will for redundancy.
It does you and others no good to give this fraudulent, racist scumbag more coverage and popularity. Hopefully this helps you make a good choice regarding his content going forward, a choice that hopefully doesn't involve sticking fingers in your ears and pretending like it doesn't actively harm others, and historical martial arts as a legitmate institution, to funnel traffic towards him and give him a spotlight.
0:54 seki senseis main weapon is actually a bo staff. he says in one video that its the weapon that he trained with the most and is also his vote for the best/most versatile weapon. he has a LOT of experience lol
Sticc supremacy
@@Ithirahad But wait man, hear me out.... just listen to this bro....
what if we put a sharp point on one side?
@@planescapedbut then it stops becoming a weapon of self defense and becomes a tool of war, now it’s lamer because it’s no longer to protect
@@planescaped im not even sure about that. because he uses a small stick as a secondary for it i think called a Jo? maybe the not worrying about blade angle makes it easier/faster
@@planescaped I suppose one problem with that is now you can't spin it 360 because you don't want that point pointing back at you.
Superiority? Nay, *SUPREMACY*
Here here!!
*gets impaled by longsword
Amen
This word is banned on RUclips, thats why he used another one
@@naysayerck5971 He who lives by the sword dies by the clothyard shaft.
Advantages:
-cheapish to make
-more reach than a sword
-more control and way harder to grab or disarm than a pike
-can stab (with both ends!)
-can hook/drag someone off a horse
-enough punch to get through armor weakpoints
Disadvantages:
-kind of bulky/annoying to carry
-can't be thrown as well as a spear
I imagine it's a touch more expensive than a spear as well (but frankly comparing any weapon to the cost-effectiveness of a spear is cheating)
@@webbowser8834
Sure, but the steel quality and level of craftsmanship required to make a Halberd 95% as good as a perfect one is WAY lower than with a sword (or even late stage plate armour). Like, it's basically a speartip, cheap axeblade and spike welded together.
@@Alias_Anybody IIRC plate armor is one of the most expensive things you could reasonably give a soldier, especially compared to virtually any personal weapon.
Point well taken on how easy it is to make an effective halberd though.
@@webbowser8834yea a shitty halberd is still pretty effective lol
I mean the English bill is basically a halberd and that was considered the poor man’s weapon from the 14-16th centuries because of its cheapness
Though it was considered an effective weapon to fight armour with look up descriptions of Scottish knights getting mangled at flodden for proof of that
@@Alias_Anybody the mechanical constraints are not the same.
The assembly you describe would not survive long if the manufacturing was not of quality.
The only thing better than a new Seki Sensei video is a new video from Skall adding more context and nuance to it.
This is cult-like behaviour.
@@ErdrickHero I was religious and in the US Army homie. Enjoying an exchange of knowledge between cultures based on facts isn't even close to a cult. But please do elucidate and educate. Engagement works.
@@ErdrickHero found the bot
Yeah, this dialog is very enjoyable to watch
@@shinomori69He has a minecraft pfp, I don't think you can expect much of a dialogue from him.
I found it very interesting when he first went against the halberd. They took a long cut on editing there showing him moving around pocking at it a bit, working out what he could do with it. Took him a few tries before he figured out he could use the leverage when it is gripped all th way at one end. Really shows how his mind is working out the problem. It also shows just how experienced he is with weapons.
These analyses prove a point you made in an older video about how weapon techniques from different parts of the world are not as wildly different as some people assume because if it works, it works, and thus that if a hypothetical trained person faced or tried to use an unfamiliar weapon they wouldn't be that clueless about what to do. ❤
A stick is a stick is a stick. Whether an axe, spear, halberd, naginata, or ji, it's still a stick and you operate it as such.
great minds think alike, and if you give them a similar tool to solve similar problems theyre gonna come up with similar solutions
In this and the previous two vids they did with trying out Western weapons, it’s always a pleasure seeing the genuine, pure joy Seki-sensei has at getting to play around with what is to him a new weapon and figure out how to use them by applying his knowledge/experience with Japanese weapons. I also think that it’s a sign that he’s a true master that he’s not a snob when it comes to weapon origins; it would be all too easy for him to dismiss other weapons as inferior/lesser to Japanese ones, but he doesn’t, he evaluates them on their own merits.
Sensei appears to be using some naginata-do basics with the halberd. Many kenjutsu practitioners have practiced against a nagninata weilder. It is humbling.
It would be, for sure. A naginata is not much heavier than a spear but can cut well too.
There are enough similarities between Halberd and Naginatas that techniques for one would reasonably work with the other.
@@GritimoTheOddsharp stick rules the world
@@silviuvisan505 Even today, we just made the sticks much smaller and out of metal and throw them a hell of a lot faster 😅
@@Hurricayne92 nah, we attach iron blade on metal ball thrower and use it as a sharp stick.
I like these Skallagrim, Seiki Sensei crossovers, please keep doing them
Skallseki
we need to get the two of them together sometime.
@@keithharper32 It would be awesome if Seki sensei and Shogo could come over to Canada to meet Skall and play with real steel versions of the various weapons that he can't get a hold of in Japan. Or, maybe the 3 of them all meet up in the UK and visit Matt Eeaston where they can play with even more weapons.
12:00 You're not hooking me... I'm hooking you
Skall's new video series: Hooked On Halberds LOL
@9:50 : Skall: "Hey Fans that happen to be bladesmiths... WINK WINK!!"
I love watching this old weapon master useing weapons from around the world for the first time.
Watching the way someone like Seki-Sensei experiments with the weapon compared with how HEMA tends to learn from things like manuscripts means you get some interesting alternate technical details. Of course, the big difference between his experience is that he comes from an active lineage of teachers, while HEMA is still in the process of almost "re-learning" techniques from the past. But there are principles that will always apply, like we see here with polearms. Japan, of course, has an extensive history of their own polearms, although not quite the same as the halberd.
The Papal Guard might disagree with you there... 🤷♂️
There are similar polearms to halberd in Japan
@positroll7870 the papal guard started as beautiful boys
@@positroll7870if push comes to shove papal guard gonna drop their halberds and produce mp-7s hidden in their specially tailored puffy pants. Guess, they shoot way better than fight with halberds.
@@Cormano980 The Swiss made themselves a rather respectable reputation as mercenaries in the 14th and 15th centuries, which is when the pope decided that keeping a bunch on a permanent retainer might not be a horrible decision for a financially capable (clerical) ruler. Now, I am willing to believe that the mercs were in good health, well-fed,well-groomed and fit, so likely to be handsome (Save for some gruesome scars from skirmishes), but they were hired for being the trendiest mercenaries European money could possibly buy. Staffing for other, less violent purposes would've usually been locally sourced.
If your comment's subtext would go along the line of untoward amorous advances on pre-teen choir boys, that's not historically relevant to the Swiss guard. Their origin equivalent in modern context would be Academi or Patriot, companies that don't often find their contractors in pageant shows.
Awwww yeah, more Seki Sensei reactions!
And more pausing and comenting!
@@erurainon6842 thats the reason we come here
I think both of these videos show the value of a good partner for these demonstrations.
I'm glad you preemptively said that in the video, I get tired of commenters commenting how they want to watch the video when they come to a commentator/educator channel on YT.
Good video!
I hate that so much. I get the feeling that they're from the audience of someone like xQc
It is always fascinating to watch an expert of one discipline handle a weapon of a similar but foreign discipline. just shows that whole thing about humans across cultures being fairly similar regardless, the techniques of one culture will work with another cultures weapons, not designed for it but will work.
I always look forward to your commentary on Seki-sensei's videos as much as I look forward to those videos themselves! Thanks for your insight!
These exchanges are such a joy to watch, as you mentioned they truly highlight the common limits and strength of human motion and how they transfer into a "global" understanding of combat.
These videos have the same impact on me than stumbling on a simple, everyday piece at the history museum and connecting instantly with how it was used though shared humanity.
Great stuff !
This was one of my favorite video from Sensei as well and the halberd is one of my two favorite Western weapons as well, the second is the Ball and Chain Mace.
you mean the flail?
@@jurtheorc8117 yes
0:15 people are seriously complaining about that?
I respect the prefatory commentary respecting his content. Love to see it.
I watched this one yesterday, so impeccable timing! ;-)
Wow, I somehow never realized until now that you have over 1.5 million subs. Congrats dude!
Warhammer Fantasy vibes whenever I see a halberd.
FOR KARL!
@@marekverescak2493 Rock and stone!
Just yes.
It's the Space Marine of any historical or fantasy weapon and i absolutely LOVE that my favourite warhammer (fantasy battles) has such a huge distinctive units with HALBERDS.
Form the ring of steel!
*phoenix guard noises*
...wait a minute..
I knew this was coming, what I'd do for a collab between Skall and Seki sensei!
I love seeing the smile on your face when he just does the things you know he is going to do.
I have trained Iaido and one thing we always tried to do is to always point the weapon directly to the face to make it harder to judge the distance for the opponent. If you look at the blade from the point side it's really hard to use depth perception.
That is what the Sensei did when he thrust towards the face. It's all about hiding intent, when you realize it's coming toward you you already have the tip a couple of inches closer to you than what you would have if you could se the weapon at an angle.
Edit: ..And you said that literally in the next sentence. Oh well, I'll let it remain as a curiosity.
caution: spear tips are closer than they appear
Skall, I love that you're perfecting your "Signature look of superiority" look!
Well I couldn't be bothered i watch both of you channels! Keep up the good work Skal!
My therapist: "The Skallberd isn't real, it can't hurt you."
This thumbnail:
Thanks for the great vid!
You're welcome. :)
Honestly I watched the video first on Seki Sensei's channel when it came out, it was really charming just how much he liked trying this one out. I always appreciate the extra bit of nuance you give with these observations and analysis. Also I agree, get the man a halberd somehow.
Nice I just watched this video too lol, they pop up in my feed frequently.
Same happened to me
Screw anyone saying your commentary is too much. That's why we watch you! Much love Skall
The slide method is how you swing a splitting maul when chopping wood. I've never seen anyone switching hands. Especially with 8-12lbs of steel over your head. 😂
Yeah, I thought log splitting too when I saw that 🙂
I've done some naginata training in my time when I did Iaido, a lot of the techniques Sekisensei uses in the video draw quite heavily from that; it's really fun to see both angles on the techniques like that, always a joy when one of these videos comes out
I loved that video, and now I live this one
You're one of the few people who knows how to do a proper reaction: Not showing the whole video but showing what you can comment on + meaningful commentary. Thank you.
To your point about techniques being universal across cultures... Years ago I saw an interview with an MMA guy - I don't remember for sure who it was, I THINK maybe Bas Rutten? - and during the interview he was asked about having to fight under a certain ruleset, was it harder, was it limiting, etc. And his response was "If you know how to fight, you know how to fight."
I like those videos. Its nice to see your review of this. Thanks.
As a new convert, a fledgling polearm believer, this is another welcome video.
I was patiently waiting on this from someone like Skall or one of the other peeps. Worth the wait. Love these videos, Saki Sensei was having fun with the halberd. I love the constructive conversations that happen around these videos!
1:51 Compared to a spear or halberd a thrust with a staff is non-lethal, but if it hits the face, hands or gut it can seriously injure a person. Likely takes them out of the fight for a time and they are going to feel it later too.
Absolutely. "Non-lethal" does not necessarily mean "non-disabling".
Love these reactions, and the original works.
A Skallagrim - Seki Sensei collab would be legendary...
We need a standalone Halberd video from you!
But halberdiers are usually standing in formation. :P
But can you spam jump attacks while wielding 2 of them 🤔
Two double sided halberds for 4x the efficiency
@@gabrieldias3479 spin to win~ til you die~ til the fire that's in your eeyyyyeees
Its a long shot but I'd love to see you and Seki Sensei spar or simply show each other your different styles of combat
I studied bo kata a long time ago when I was practicing karate. That first block and counter you discuss looks very much like application of bo techniques to the halberd. Seki Sensei may never have formally practiced with a European-style polearm, but I imagine he is familiar with a range of Japanese weapon techniques. Apologies - I'm only four minutes into the video!
My friends and I did the combat part of LARPing in high school and once I discovered the naginata/halberd I was nearly undefeatable from then on. Only thing I had trouble against were shields or dual wields where they could use a hand to deflect or pin down my blade, but I avoided it most of the time
Amazing thumbnail, lol
Great commentary on an excellent video. Seki Sensei rarely disappoints.
Ask the Swiss Guard, maybe they will give you one of their old Halberds. 😄
It was a very enjoyable blabber, Skal. Takes my mind off of fibromyalgia wrecking my stomach at 3AM. You seemed to enjoy doing the video. And that's a positive thing. Watched the original video and came back to leave a comment. They sure had fun filming it.
Cheers.
they call him a "Sword Master" deliberately, he's actually a master of all the basic traditional Japanese weapons: including Naginata and Yari.
Absolutely love halberds, would love to get my hands on one at some point
Suddenly Im getting stabbed lol 😆
Thanks for bringing your signature polearm of superiority.
Distance is always an advantage
Watching Seki Sensei is a great way to see new ways to use old tools!!! His unfamiliarity combined with his ability and knowledge will take you beyond the Medieval Treatises
I like the comparison of halberd vs sword with rifle vs handgun. Perfect comparison. Weapons of war beat personal defense/civilian weapons.
Polearms ruled the battlefield.
Halberds are great, polearms in general are awesome, the Bec de Corbin though, now that has got to be my favourite
Poleaxe is better. Change my mind.
Having a hammer head on þe back, giving þe option for blunt force, is better þan anoþer point.
"Change my mind."
Nah, you're good.
Polaxes are usually quite shorter than halberds if i recall correctly
I'd argue it's only better in full plate armor for dueling. The spike and hammer act very similar where the spike does better against mail but the hammer doesn't glance off plate armor. Transitions from poleaxes like the falcons beak to the knightly poleaxe mark where the spike to punch through mail is replaced by the axe head when there is less mail for more ability to hook and grapple.
@@knightslayers27 That's true. The hook is more useful for yanking away shields and other weapons or pulling riders off of horseback. You can't exactly do that with a hammer. Plus, some halberds have reinforced spear points so they can punch clean through armor, making the hammer redundant.
A halberd with a hammer... In Italy we call it "mazzapicchio", if the hammer is in place of the axe, or "bardola" if it is in place of the back spike. The first, I believe, in English is called a lucern hammer.
Both have a longer reach than their poleaxe equivalent.
Always love a good weapon breakdown!
I would love to see someone do a polearm comparison from a practical use perspective. For example, how do the various halberd-esque weapons compare to each other when it comes to cutting, piercing, hooking, fighting at different measures, and the like? What cuts through tatami and/or flesh analogs better, an Italian bill, a French glaive, or a Swiss halberd?
Thanks for pointing out the correct halberd design. I like the video Lindybeinge did on them, and why they are mostly spear, with a canted axehead.
It's cool to see how Seki-sensei approach a weapon he's never used before.
I guess this is how an actual master would do when he picks it up look it over and go "hmm, okay I can use this for that, and this for that" and just go on to show it.
While an apprentice level swordsman, who may be competent with one weapon looks like a fish out of water with a different weapon, flailing it around without purpose
It was watching Skall's reactions that made me implement a "proxy" mechanic in my TTRPG system, where every weapon has a list of other weapons that you can use this one as. For instance, you can use a longsword as a javelin, warhammer or shortsword (always 2-handed), and thus use techniques from these weapon types. This rewards making a character that is skilled with many different weapons, even if you don't have golf bag full of different stuff.
For instance, with just a longsword and a halberd you can use techniques from: Longsword, halberd, warhammer, glaive, partisan, spear, greataxe, staff, shortsword and javelin, so you're encouraged to spend XP to buy proficiency (or even mastery) into all this variety.
i think when he said “comes from below, making it harder to avoid” what he meant is that the blow is aimed lower, closer to center mass, which is the hardest part of your body to move
I... don't get it. Complaining about pausing and commentary kind of... defeats the purpose of reviewing a video.
Some people really need a brain in their heads.
Wonderful presentation Skall. Thanks for sharing with us!
I love your breakdown of this video.
Yes I was waiting for this
You've got to do videos with those two.
The sharing of knowledge, the creation of new techniques...
It'd be amazing and educational.
Please try
NICE! I was waiting for that
The effortlessness with which the master wields the weapon is very nice to watch.
I can't express enough how skal deserves a lot more success. He's been doing this for so many years, with so much quality and so ethically.
You're awesome, skal.
13:01 The moment I heard Skall pronounce this name I knew I had to turn on captions.
I was not disappointed.
Looking forward to the day ,if it ever comes of you and Seki Sensei going through each cultures together.
Really great video and I really like the positive attitude you have towards these reactions! I'm gonna check out their full video, it looks interesting :)
This was cool. Thank you for the commentary. #forthealgorithm
Interesting to say the least, great video Skall!
Two of my favorite swordsmen in one video. Awesome.
I watched Seki Sensei's video some time ago...I asked Matt Eastern to discuss it & tell him where to get some Halberds...glad to see you doing it now though!
This was nice!
Great analysis. Especially since I saw the original video first.
Keep up the good work Skal!
1:55 in the video with the naginata he talks about this changing hands, it's to keep moving with the weapon's momentum. changing hands like that, if he misses, he could continue the movement to attack again, not stop and go back.
Yes. Only so many things you can do with an arm, sword, or polearm. And bodies don't change.. Regardless of where or when you come from
Or AS shad say get sticked everything IS the History of the mighty girthy stick
I love the hand placement change on the spin. He's nice with it
I wanna see him do this with a pollaxe as well, imagine how much fun it would be!
What a perfect thumbnail.
the medieval polearm animation made me laugh "ouch" 😵💫
So yeah, we train with yari and kusarigama ( that are kind of pullarm) in kenjutsu.
And it's really cool 😎
My favorite weapon in the dojo is not Katana or nodachi. it's actually war three head yari . It's way cooler .
This is such a good video! ❤