Big, heavy, slow flourintine

[Drifter]

Everyone who has said anything about flourintine always talks about speed. I see this as accuracy + quick "pop" shots to get in a flurry of strikes and hopefully not die.

I like flourintining heavy, long reds. As a result, I think there are some skills that just don't translate well. I'm basically trading speed for power.

In the experience of those who have tried this, what are some tips that you could give me that would not apply to flourintined blue weapons? You can assume that:

A) I can handle both weapons with moderate accuracy and control.
B) Both weapons have a length of about 50".
C) At least one weapon has the size and weight to effectively parry a two-handed swing red weapon and "strike through" blue weapons.
D) At least one weapon has a stabbing tip.


I imagine sweeping blows that embrace the size and weight of a weapon but still moving them in tandem with one another. The result not being a quick flurry of strikes, but rather shots that put people off balance to get past their defenses.

[Atari]

It seems more like you are trading speed, power, and ease of use for novelty...

[Dacian]

One thing I was told when I started fighting 11 years ago was that because you have no shield (ie: defense), flourentine is most strongly an offensive style. With an offensive style, you generally want to make it so that no matter what they do, you can get a shot in. That is why quick "rapid-fire" shots work. This is also why "technical" flourentine can work (ie: drawing your opponent in with "false" shots, only to open them up somewhere else). With these descriptions, heavy flourentine doesn't always work as well as you would hope. I'm not saying it's a bad idea, or that it will fail. Take it more as, "there are those that can make it work, but most people can't get it to work". It's a different beast than "light" flourentine.

[Thomas MacFinn]

In the experience of those who have tried this, what are some tips that you could give me that would not apply to flourintined blue weapons?

Figure out how you are going to block the guy who doesn't wait for your sweeping blow and rushes in to try and kill you before your blow can land with a very fast weapon (and possibly a shield).

I believe that defense will be your biggest obstacle.

[aids_factory]

Feed the bears.

[Thomas MacFinn]

If you figure out a way to pull this off, let us know.

I'm certain there are a lot of single red sword fighters out there that would love having a few tricks they can use when they lose an arm.

[Magpie Saegar]

I've fought with something similar to this style: a red my right hand and a javelin (for stabbing, not throwing) in my left hand.

I haven't done this much, but I have some advice:

1) be mobile. Your best defense is going to be in your mobility. Be able to get your legs out of the way of shots, and be able to outrun opponents who have shields when they charge.

2) circles. There's a better name for this... moulinettes, or something... but basically, you're going to need to take big sweeping swings to get the power you desire. Here's how I do it: when your opponent attacks, your swords will probably be heavy/have enough momentum that they will not move much when you block. When this happens, though, turn most parries/blocks into the start of a swing... using whatever momentum you can.

I'm not explaining it well, but ... momentum is key. I could show you better than I could write it out.

3) legs. You will have a distinct advantage in legging people. If they have a shield, that's going to be one of the easiest places to get them.

4) actually using both weapons. Fight with both weapons at the same time. Don't use one to attack always and one to block always. Also, don't simply always alternate your attacks. change it up. attack different body parts with different rhythms. Try to open them up with a wide attack to their shield side and then stab/swing the other weapon in behind their shield, or at the leg on the other side.

yeah... the few times I've fought like this, these strategies seemed to work decently. I was actually pretty successful with this method... though I feel that the addition of a javelin was important.... people aren't used to the combination of stabby and swung that both outrange them, plus the possibility of me throwing the jav at their face (or elsewhere. I would very rarely throw it, but they didn't know that. And when I did throw it, then I was able to fight single red, which was still effective).

It isn't a great fighting style, but it wasn't bad. I wouldn't recommend it for most people ever, and I wouldn't recommend it for anyone all the time. But it IS fun.

just my thoughts.

[Big King Jimmy]

Don't be afraid to drop the single red if the situation deems it appropriate. I've seen people facing red flourintiners lock up when he suddenly drops one and starts wailing loud and hard on their shield.

[Sir_Mel]

Don't be afraid to drop the single red if the situation deems it appropriate. I've seen people facing red flourintiners lock up when he suddenly drops one and starts wailing loud and hard on their shield.

Yeah, when Grease was cool he used to do that...


See about counterweighting your weapons. With enough weight, it'll make them a lot easier to wield one-handed while still giving you the 'oomph' you're looking for.

[Big King Jimmy]

Don't be afraid to drop the single red if the situation deems it appropriate. I've seen people facing red flourintiners lock up when he suddenly drops one and starts wailing loud and hard on their shield.

Yeah, when Grease was cool he used to do that...

I call shinanigans, this period of time has never existed.

[Arrakis]

Magpie wrote:

2) circles. There's a better name for this... moulinettes, or something... but basically, you're going to need to take big sweeping swings to get the power you desire. Here's how I do it: when your opponent attacks, your swords will probably be heavy/have enough momentum that they will not move much when you block. When this happens, though, turn most parries/blocks into the start of a swing... using whatever momentum you can.

Drift, think about what Sleeper does when he blocks a shot and uses the direction the shot pushes his sword tip to start his next shot. That sort of thing, I believe, is what Mag here is talkin' about.

Maybe using a light-ish greentipped red in your left hand and a Red in your right for sing/stab combos would work well?

[Sir_Mel]

Don't be afraid to drop the single red if the situation deems it appropriate. I've seen people facing red flourintiners lock up when he suddenly drops one and starts wailing loud and hard on their shield.

Yeah, when Grease was cool he used to do that...

I call shinanigans, this period of time has never existed.

Yeah, what was I thinking?

[Kageshiro]

I've recently discovered that fourentine is a fantastic style for someone who is into counterswinging. Important for this style is accuracy (not always an option with a single handed red), but surprisingly speed isn't all that important.

The way I see it, a counterswinger must wait for the movement of an opponent's strike to open a target that was previously covered. Most counterswingers accomplish this by perfecting shield blocking, punch blocking, and the riposte - but almost always using a shield as a way to defend against the attack that provokes the counterswing.

Flourentine counterswinging is different. Instead of having to wait for the initial strike (to bock with shield etc.) the counterswinger throws a shot that exposes a target on the flourentiner's body and provokes an attack. Assuming that the fourentiner has range and knows when the resulting attack will occur, it is relatively easy to take advantage the portion of the attacker that is exposed during the attack (usually the high portion of the attacking arm, which has a tendency to drop when attacking). Very little speed required.

Of course, this technique doesn't work very well against an armored opponent who can take the initial hit and close ground. . .

[Mekoot Rowan]

Offense

I would generally agree with Dacian's statement that florentine is a mostly light weapon technique. My personal theory when using two swords is to attack so much that the opponent can do nothing but defend.

This, unfortunately, requires alot of energy and may not be possible with two minimum reds.

The best advice I can think of for a novice is to make sure you're using your left hand (assuming you're right handed). I've seen too many new florentine fighters attacking with only their right. When your opponent figures this out, he/she now knows where the attack is coming from which sort of defeats the purpose of having two weapons.

Use your range. Obviously, with longer weapons you can hit from further away. Don't give away your range by swinging when your opponent is too far away to hit. Learn exactly how far your weapons go and then wait until someone is in your threatened area. Hold your swords close to your body to help give the illusion that they are shorter than they actually are.

Defense

You'll need to get good at the defensive twist and possibly the punch block. With heavy swords trying to bat a blow away is going to leave you exposed. Use your core muscles to twist your blades into an intersecting position rather than trying to swing them.

If a shield man prepares for a rush, try turning your off hand sword blade down for better defense. It will help alot to protect your legs and buy you time to backpedal and reposition.[/b]

[sugona]

We have a heavy set guy in our realm who florentines,Spelling?, two * swords.
he focuses on strong acurate swings
hes fun to fight, he can best many people at practice, but he does lack the speed.

use this info if you can

peace

[Sleeper]

Zawulf does this to great effect, able to weld both my six footer and my five footer redswords flourentine. One technique that works wonders is he swings both weapons at once, his right arm swinging the sword toward his left, the left arm swinging right, ending in a crossed arm stance. While swinging, one sword is directed at the torso, the other directed at the feet, it almost always gets em in the end. If they block high, they lose a leg, if the block low, they lose an arm, either way, you're easy pickings after that. Only a towershield, I believe, can stop this attack.

The only downside to the ole flourentine redsword style is that you have limited control of the weapons and you have to be quite strong to pull it off.

[Arrakis]

Yeah, Zawulf pwnt the hell out of me the other day with that very style. Of course, as I was using a single redsword at the time, I just froze up, trying to decide which shot to block or how to block both and got hit by both of them...

[Soo Ma Tai]

when I started foam fighting there were almost no shields, most fighters were red swordsmen or flourentiners. I did both. The easiest way to defeat a red fighter is to block out their weapon before they attack.

1. both fighters face off, just outside of max range for the red.
2. flourentine fighter pushes hard off of his back foot, bringing both weapons up and toward the red fighters sword. (I do this by holding both swords normally, hold out your left hand, plam down, sword going toward the right, place your right hand on top of your left, plam down, sword to the left. Now your "umbrella" can be shifted to the right or left as need be.)
3. Check the opponents weapon and press it. If the attack is on your left side (common for a charge def.) Keep your left sword on the red pressing downward.
4.Move up the red sword toward your opponent and hack him with your right.
5. if your opponent is able to draw his red sword in to defend continue to press, if you think your red opponent can wiggle out of your press, drop your left sword and grab his sword hilt, toward his rear hand by the pommel and use your forearm to press the rest of the handle, this helps to limit his striking power.

I would be happy to help anyone become a more capable flourentiner or fighter in general, pls feel free to find me at CW or any other event and ask for advice.

[Sleeper]

Reminds me of Zepharis's (not sure of how his name is spelled) red killer move, gets me every time.