Hand and a half sword techniques?

[Hadrian]

Hey everybody! I usually fight sword and board, but recently finished a hand and a half sword project of mine! Fighting with a hand and a half sword is leagues different than a sword and kiteshiled, and I wanted to know if anybody had any pointers regarding footwork, stances, guards or anything of the like with a hand and a half sword.

Like I said, I'm a total noob with a hand and a half sword, but I want to expand my knowledge of weapon use beyond my usual sword and shield, and if anybody can give me some tips I'd greatly appreciate it!

[Magpie Saegar]

That's my main weapon, and I've developed something of my own style with it.

Find me at an event sometime, and I'll teach you what I know.

General tips: swipe legs, stay very mobile, break shields only when your opponent is kneeling or you've got shieldsmen on your own team to hide near. Also, make it stabby. Do anything you can to keep it so you can hit them but they're just out of range of hitting you.

Quite a bit of the time I start each swing with both hands, but then I release my upper hand so that I have more range. I use this to swipe opponents' legs most of the time, at which point I outrange them and can easily finish them.

That said, my biggest weakness is aggressive opponents who don't let me hit their legs and don't mind taking the first hit to their shield.

And that's my minute of rambling on the topic. Do you have any more specific questions?

[bo1]

a few things i have noticed the last year of glaive fighting, it is different but relevent enough i feel.

magpie is correct on all points i think, but i will add a few points that he glossed over. he is very unique in his approach and he prefers not to stiffle people into a "do this or suck" type attitude.

keeping hands apart as far as the handle lets you adds shot power and shorter time between shots, but suffers range. hands close gives range but power(perhaps torque is a better word) and shot time suffer.

using a cross check on a charging opponent from time to time will upset their timing. just be carefull that the weapon stays below the chest line or you are going to hit them in the throat or face. think of it as a bench press and you will do fine. you can do the same with a shoulder block, just make sure you hit thier shield.

try and keep your swings and movents in a circular fashion. learn to kepp the weapon moving and learn what turns into a shot from the previous shot. using the natural motion of the weapon is wonderful for power and speed.

a book at the library can help a bunch with basic stances and blocks and shots. they are never written with our focus in mind, but as a " stand like this" type of resource they are usefull. remember when reading, that any strike they say goes to the head, can go to the shoulder just as easy. legs shots can be hips shots, and so forth.

never swing without a target, that is how people get hurt. more often than not when people swing if they dont have a target, they just hit you in the head. not sure why but when you have a target you usually are really close to it, and you get better faster. so always have a target.

never move in a straight line, ever, never......... not even then, nope not then either,,,..... never. it lets people predict where you are going and kick your butt. circling away from the weapon is a tried and true method, i have had some succes going towards the weapon as well. but circle towards them and circle away from them. never go stright back, never. it makes their life easy and we dont want that.

make sure you check you weapon out as you fight throughout the day, between battles just give it a tip squeeze and little wiggle, see if it is loose or pulped out. if it is loose, stop using it and repair it. sure it sucks not to be able to use your favorite sword, but bust your friends body up with a failing weapon is just a bad move.

several of these are for the opponents saftey, several for your skill. take what you like and leave the rest.

[Forkbeard]

My biggest trick for fighting s&b guys with a red sword(I likes 'em about 50") is keeping my elbows in.
If you're fairly strong and pretty fast, you can hammer blows onto peoples shields and block their return shots if you keep your elbows in and keep your strikes short. I keep my hands very far apart and I try to keep my sword vertical about a foot from my chest. You need to ride the bounce from striking the shield and hammer it back down.
When your fighting this way, you are right up in the range of your oppnent. You loose nearly all reach advatage of your longer sword. You have to take their shield or get the **** out of there.
Along with what these other cats said, thats what I do. Your mileage may vary.
FB

[Titan G]

i find the best way to fight red is to let forkbeard do it whilst i hold a piece of pvc attached to his armor.

[Hadrian]

Wow, thanks for all the great responses! All of this is going to help me out quite a bit. I appreciate it guys.