Forkbeard wrote:I have been watching your video's.
It's true that you cannot do proper winding with foam sword, and our combat doesn't lend itself to that style anyway. I wish it did.
However, you are pulling your hits. Saying you can hit a weapon full force, but you need to pull you hits against a person, and on all stabs, but you are fighting full streght and speed, is a deal breaker for me. You can not possible be fighting full force AND pulling your hits at the same time. You can beb trained to compete in a stylized system, though. Look at any kendo class.Sword work, yes, sword FIGHTING no.
I'm interested in learning more about what some guys in germany thought about sword fighting, and how they trained, but learning forms and katas and stuff only goes so far.
FB
By your definition, you aren't sword fighting either. You don't hit to the head, right? One of the most optimal targets for ending a real sword fight is a strike to the head. I'll stop short of saying it's the best because the arm/hand is an easier target to hit, and it can render a huge disadvantage if the part that was holding the sword is now on the ground. But, even still, the head is a primary target.
I'm not trying to call you out, but every system you fight in other than actually fighting someone has flaws to varying degrees. I fight in the one I think has the most advantages and the least disadvantages for what I think is the best fight simulation and so do you. No biggie.
I still think you're idea of our 'pulling hits' is far removed from reality. Every tournament I've been to has had someone break a part of their hand. Whether it's a finger, thumb, or metacarpal bone...
Anyway, my username on youtube is 'thekriegschool'. It only has video of the most recent tournament videos of me and my students (which was a small regional tournament). There's some other videos on my personal channel which the username is 'blossfechter'. It has some older stuff from other tournaments.
As far as the European groups, I've fought a few of their top fighters (who have won multiple pan-European tournaments) in American tournaments. Though, I don't think I've fought any Germans yet though.
I agree though, forms and katas will only take you so far. Thankfully, my group has a balance of training with structured drills (a small amount mainly for new people/new material), competitive drills (more or less sparring with certain goals/restrictions to isolate particular skills), sparring, and bouting. Sparring and bouting are a bit different, but both are free fights without restrictions including grappling/kicks/pommel strikes/etc. Certain things are always restricted due to the damaging nature of the techniques. An example is the mortschlag. A mortschlag is where you're holding the blade and using the hilt as a short polearm (more or less). Getting hit with the cross like that is just too dangerous for the gear we use.