Historical European Martial Arts (HEMA) and Random Swordfighting fun. . .

[Raven]

So, anyone who knows me well at all probably knows I like swords. . .
Growing up, I loved swordfighting with wooden swords, tree branches, or anything I could get my hands on that served. . .

Now, being an adult it is not generally smiled upon to run around trying to get people to swordfight you with wooden swords. But some adults have found ways to make this happen. And I'm not talking about LARP. I'm not necessarily dissing LARP although I do think it can get pretty strange pretty quickly. I'm sure it can also be fun (and I can't help but enjoy the German LARP group Talsker Woelfe's videos): https://youtu.be/ssofePxJg_g

But I'm talking about a bit more of a serious look at medieval weapons fighting.

Medieval Combat

There is "Medieval Combat" which is not entirely my favorite ( https://youtu.be/FPbTWDeqQf0 ). Though it is taken as a very serious sport by many it seems, the rules don't appear fun. It is like medieval combat for football players. Basically,  people dress up in full plate armor and whack at each other with dull weapons, and when you fall over you're "out." Any sense of actual medieval combat skill seems to be non-relevant. It tends to look like a glorified wrestling match.
Now, a nay-sayer might argue that in full plate armor, you basically had to get someone to the ground. I'd reply, well, maybe in some cases, with armor from as late a period as this seems to be modeled after (at the battle of Agincourt, English longbows had no problem busting up the chivalry). But in the case of armour of this kind the odds of people carrying around swords and bladed weapons would be lower, too, with maces and other high-impact weapons being favored and used in ways to deal damage to a man inside armor regardless of cutting ability. At least that is my understanding. In addition, I don't think they're allowed to thrust. Just whack. And thrusting was the primary way to kill an armored knight, I believe. Of course, you may need to knock them down to finish them with a thrust, but. This sport does reveal how well a man really can move in full plate. It also seems to devolve into something that seems somehow unrealistic. No doubt some of it is applicable and some not.

HEMA (Historical European Martial Arts)

And then there's HEMA. People during the medieval period wrote treatises and manuals on weapons fighting and combat. Partly as a result, people are relying on them, as well as basic martial principles, archaeological studies, etc., to recreate and train in what is called Historical European Martial Arts.
This is probably the most interesting thing to me.
They practice with a variety of weapons and it really helps to illustrate medieval combat tactics and weapon evolution. But here are some examples.
Longsword vs. spear: https://youtu.be/cK32P7qnDuE
And a viking-esque sword and shield match: https://youtu.be/966ulgwEcyc

I would definitely like to pursue this kind of thing if there were people I knew who were into it.

Viking Festival Combat

So, to kind of mix HEMA and the other, there is the viking festival circuit and the variety of combat rules in that. The Wolin festival is one of the big ones. It's a pretty crazy sight. Though there are refs, I believe, the combat system is largely the honor system. Also, some only allow hits from knee and elbow up, no head. I've read that some are going full contact/no face, now. The no-leg rule definitely means the fights are not historically accurate because archaeological evidence of battlefield remains indicates the leg was a common target in battle, which makes total sense.

An overview of a battle at Wolin. Wait for it, the battle joines a little while into the video after initial skirmishes: https://youtu.be/VM-afOXLBdM
And a first person video: https://youtu.be/78509ehnnnM


Anything I've missed?

[Coír Draoi Ceítien]

I like how they do things like this. I would definitely like to be involved in it, but it's a matter of time, place and money. Whether I have a particular preference is uncertain - though I'm not a fan of sports, something like this organized along similar lines would probably peak my interest, but the more personal combat situations might be more valuable. All in all, I like it.

[Raven]

I'm resurrecting this topic because I just watched a good video from Joerg Sprave's Slingshot Channel where he interviewed some HEMA practitioners about the viking sword and shield combo. It's a good intro video.

https://youtu.be/Kq9-wmUaFW0