The FORGOTTEN & SECRET Advantages of CURVED SWORDS?
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- čas přidán 26. 05. 2024
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What are the top 5 forgotten, or overlooked, advantages of curved swords?
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Best comment ever
What about thrusting upwards then slashing downwards? The thrust prepares the slash given that they are in the same alignment but coming from opposite direction.
Supporting big globe to cover up the true shape of the glorious flat earth. Matt is a NASA plant confirmed. /s
NOt any fault of yours, but MOVA seem to have an Amazon store that they link to and I didn't see any discount option. Maybe just feed back to them.
How cool would it be for an future culture to sift through the remnants of our world and find one of these globes
The only advantage I thought of was getting around shields. The cavalry "thrust" was especially interesting.
push cut?
And against a group you can hold the curve toward the outside and let the blade skip across the crowd like a finger dragging across keys on a piano. But you couldn't use that secondary cut until the end of the crowd.
@@aaftiyoDkcdicurak Well, such thing was depicted in one movie about Genghis Khan ;)
Your thinking of the Khopesh
@@GreaterAfghanistanMovementwrong time wrong place wrong culture and even shape. The khopesh was used in the bronze age when people rode chariots. Not to mention that hooked shape which is begging to get stuck and ripped out of your hand.
That "thrust" from horseback is so logical when its explained, i dont think i would have figured that out myself.
Agreed but don't think it's possible to have a cut at the same target coming out. Unless you're in a slow trot. But luckily in war there are always more opponents.
@@maartenvanderzwan8281 yeah I guess it's for fast light cavalry charge to immediately engage the next line after going through.
Would be awkward if your sword or lance is stuck while another guy is coming at you.
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Yeah, honestly, I felt dumb at first, didn't really see how they could be used by cavalry, then he stated explaining it. And its like well of course it's perfect for rapid cuts and follow ups. As for power and difficulty holding, not likely to be a huge problem for little cavalry, most likely facing similar unarmed units.
Also with a very curved blade you can twist your blade while binding and have a much wider, circular range of where you can maneuver your point to (i hope that made sense)🦊
It does, and it's wrong.
9:23 As an experienced hiker, I think the weight and wearability of weapons are criminally underrated. The vast majority of swords and guns are never used in war but some of the clunky heavy designs definitely killed their users on training marches. Hiking teaches you ounces matter. Unwieldy weight costs lives.
While I agree with you, I see that's a case more pronounced in firearms than with swords.
A large sword is less comfortable to carry, but in the large scheme of things, it won't make that much of a difference in terms of weight only, but mostly for encumbrance (due to size, shape, etc...).
Firearms on the other hand, are much a case of you have to carry concealed or not at all, so it ends up being taking the best-performance-possible firearm you can carry even if it does leave a lot to be desired.
The paleontologist Blaire Van Valkenburgh came to the same conclusion many years ago about the teeth of Smilodon fatalis, the "sabre tooth" cats of the Pleistocene. The curvature of the teeth made them less likely to get stuck in their prey, since a curved surface hitting bone will push away.
We’ll there was a lot of big game back then, very cool
They also tear out easier, point first, creating rather profound wounds. Allowing for blunter edge and stronger teeff..
I’m somewhat surprised! Seriously, though, would be interested to know if there are surprising advantages to reverse-curved swords? I know that (for example) the Dacian falx allows the user to reach over shields. Are there other advantages (that may somewhat surprise me)?
There's an Ethiopian sword called a Shotel that has a very strong curve and is sharpened on both sides so it can be wielded like a saber or like a sickle. It was commonly used like the falx to reach over shields, but was also used to hook an opponent's weapon. Because of the very curved form, a strike with the tip is effectively more like a thrust to the target while still being delivering a cut for the user. There's a CZcamsr called Da'Mon Stith who specializes in African martial arts that has explored how to use the Shotel.
A reverse-curve blade like the falx is also much better at piercing armour than a regular sword. The Romans had to reinforce their helmets because the falx was cutting through them. *Their helmets* . Reproduction falxes in tests have cut through a shield, mail, and into the person behind them (good luck getting it back though). This is because it functions more like an axe than a sword where a massive amount of power can be put into downward hacking at the curved point to pierce through even steel. The disadvantage is obviously blade damage here, but it's actually easier to resharpen a dull point than a dull edge. Reverse-curved blades also make it very easy to deflect the opponent's sword by 'flicking' it out of the line of a thrust or a cut without risking your own hand, then you can stab them with a 'flick-thrust' motion. Admittedly I'm thinking of something more like a kopis for that one. Hooking or winding is also much easier by default.
@@TheWhiteDragon3есть знаменитая картина Репина ,,запорожцы пишут письмо турецкому султану,там есть такое оружие. Есть ещё шоу ,, запорожская сечь,, там делают фланкировку такими саблями
Ahh, you brought out the scutum as the example for reaching around the shield! Yes! I was hoping you’d do that! I hadn’t thought about the sica in that context though, I was more drawn to the falx to illustrate the concept. I was once watching a demonstration of curved versus straight blade as they were applied in combat against one another (the episode of the show in question was focusing on the Ottoman conquest of the isle of Rhodes I believe) and they were demonstrating that a popular tactic against both sword and shield at the time for curved swords was to reach high around and target the soft spots of an opponent (usually an opponent’s more lightly armored neck) in an off-angled stab at the point (tip), like a meat hook into the neck.
Yeah I was thinking about it's armor penetration capability, a less-lethal but just as disabling tactic is going for the armpit and with a blade this curved you could half sword it and get a strong mechanical advantage to break the chainmail where a straight blade would have a harder time getting the angle right or put as much force into it
Utter nonsense
@@jacobwalsh1888 How do you mean that exactly?
9:00 Perhaps that is why among the Polish nobility, sabers were first worn among participants of elegant court games and dances. This weapon was less disruptive in such circumstances ("occupies less horizontal space" - as you called it nicely). Initially, sabers were criticized as a gadget of elegant men. But I also see other advantages. At such an event, there are usually very close fights, so here the saber has the advantages you mentioned. Besides, you use it to slash, so you may hurt your opponent, but you won't kill him like you would with a stab, which is also better during a party ;)
wouldn't a club be more gentlemanly if your trying to reduce lethal damage?
@@MusMasi And something like this was also used. A type of long gentleman's walking stick with a metal hammer at the end. However, the saber is probably more elegant, you know, associated with the Middle East, rich palaces of sultans, etc. Sure, you can slash someone with a saber, cut off someone's fingers. But maybe you won't kill it (if you use typical cuts). And against the poor guy with the club, you have the advantage. Some compromise solution. What Matt is talking about is probably also important, i.e. dancing with such a saber is more comfortable.
@@MusMasi The nadziak/obuch/czekan, a type of Polish warhammer/cane that was often carried as a self defense weapon by polish gentlemen of the period was considered so lethal, it was banned to be carried in the Sejm(parliament) despite sabers being perfectly legal to carry. So, in that case, a "club" wasn't considered less lethal.
"It was a terrible instrument in the hands of a Pole, and particularly so when he was in the mood for quarrels and scuffles. With the sabre one could cut of somebody's hand, cut the face, injure the head, and the running blood of the adversary would calm the rancour. But with the obuch one could cause a deadly wound without even seeing blood, and, not seeing it, he would not calm down instantly, but would strike several times without cutting the skin, breaking ribs and bones at the same time"
"The nobleman walking with an obuch often injured his serfs and sometimes even killed them. Because of the danger it represented it was forbidden to come armed with a nadziak at the time of big meetings, sessions of parliament..... "
"And indeed it was a brigandish instrument for if someone should hit somebody else with the nadziak's sharp end behind the ear he would kill him instantly, pushing though his temple a fatal iron."
-Rev. A Kitowicz
Wonderful discussion! There are all sorts of fun points when comparing curved and straight blades.
Your 3rd point should not be overlooked, as the ability to wear a sword and potentially maneuver with it is very important. To expand on it slightly, there is a point that I believe you've touched on with similarly curved Georgian era sabers that is often overlooked which is how this curvature potentially assist with defense. To paraphrase Russ Mitchell, a heavy curve allows you to 'cheat a long blade into a shorter area'. I'll love to see as you play with this shamshir if you find that going through guards it affords you better protection than a similar 'length' straight blade.
I would mention one more advantage in the cavalry use - you can easily deliver a nice thrust to an opponent fighting on foot simply by passing by him and holding the sword with its back (and thus with the point) forward - plus when you deliver such a thrust with the point of the blade, it is much easier to draw the sword out of your oponent's body when you continue riding in the same direction.
True 🏆 this is one of the reasons light cavalry, that were more likely to engage an opponent in individual combat, used a curved Sabre. It is easier to swing than thrust as you are going round on a horse and a curved blade is both better at cutting and reduces the distance required to make an effective blow.
6:44 I would want one of those In case I was in a scenario like "I am Legend" movie....where the "zombies" are pretty fast and violent.
Kinda hard for people to grab you or touch you while your are doing those movements.
What you showed at no. 2 and called half swording reminded me very much of what we do in FMA as an assisted block (against heavy attacks). The type of weapon is not that important in FMA, but if the same thing is everywhere it seems like there's only so much you can come up with for two hands and a lengthy object. ;-)
lol
What's FMA?
@@Mikebumpful filipino martial arts, a roof term for Kali, Arnis, Eskrima and Dumog (filipino "wrestling"/ground combat), Panantukan (filipino boxing) and other related arts/fighting styles.
@@dereinzigwahreRichi Thanks, that always throws me off. That the demonym is “Filipino” while the country is spelled with 'Ph'(in English). Also, isn't Filipino pop music export called “P-Pop”?
I really like the way you explain the pros and cons of different sword designs. I come from an aikido/katana background and though I love both I don't think they are they are the end all be all of all martial as arts. Your program has really peaked my interest in hema and other ma disciplines. Thank you
It is always fun to read your comment section when you introduce ideas to people who aren’t familiar.
Another thing extremely curved swords are good for, at least in the style that I teach (which would be translated as bird style or some other) is with pinning actions it allows the thrust at extremely close range where a straight or straighter blade could not achieve this.
About the the way of wearing such swords there is something interesting I would like to point at, which is that at least in later periods some cultures such as arabs some kurds and in parts of the ottoman empire would wear those with edg up even through the attachment rings on the scabbard is on the other side, and that is by tieing them with a cord in a particular way that makes it hang with the edg up, and that way they will have the sword hanging in line with their body and it isn't sticking much out, kind of similar to a shahska
From my limited experience long time ago, I found extreme curve to be amazing in quick parrying, especially against the straight blades, with a very quick a simple twist of the wrist. Similarly to what you were showing for the wrist cuts/stubs at the end, but straight along the blade axis. Which, similarly to the close-to-the-body manoeuvring, allows to very fast moulinette transition after such parry.
One of the best informational sword videos I've seen in a long time. Thanks so much.
Achievement unlocked
Hi Matt, loved this video, it was a super fun watch! And watching it, which centered around a Persian sword, combined with the mention of kenjutsu scrolls in your video comparing hema and living lineage arts, brought a question to my mind. I assume this might be a little outside your area of expertise, but I wonder if you'd consider doing a video giving an overview of what you know about sword martial arts outside of Europe that also have fencing treatises or manuals or other equivalents?
Also, I remember the first point being mentioned in an old video lol, and totally called the first point because of it! Obviously I can't attribute that to any special insight or creativity on my part lol, I just watched the other vid, but it did make me feel like a veteran viewer of the channel haha, so that was fun. :P
I always wondered how halfswording would work out with these, you could do pretty nice pointwork with natural circular motions versus armor weakpoints
There is another advantage which I experienced. Parrying to the off side immediately after parrying on the sword side. Especially if you're pretending to be on horseback (in horseriding stance and can't pass the blade in front of your left hand held in front of your bellybutton with the left elbow against your ribs).
With a straight blade, you turn the sword to a hanging guard and push out, it is easy to put the point of a straight sword outside yourself and pull the opponent's sword into yourself.
With a curved sabre blade, you can make the same motion and often get more contact and the point never sticks out.
Or you can sort of trust in the direction of the attack if you are caught behind time and still parry because the belly of the curve pushes the attack off line.
Great video as always. With lots of info, I cant help but wonder about that hema longsword tho! would love if you did a video review about it!
You make very good points as usual. Some of the stuff I have thought of myself, but some of it is quite unique that I’m hearing for the first time. Thank you for that. As a martial artist I’ve used the Kama before for sparring and see some similarities to the curbed swords.
Yeah, seen some reconstructed gladiator fights where the curve of the sica came in handy.
Really interesting! Never thought of how you could use them closer in like that. Cool style of "thrusting" too!
Another advantage was to be able to reverse the grip to hold over the shoulder while you shot an arrow from the turkish bow using the thumbring draw , horseback or standing then in a jiffy flip it back into your grip after the arrow is released ..you could quickly flip betwen the bow and sword without losing the grip of either because by thumb drawing the bow you can hold the sword at the same time if grip is reversed and it is ready again for close quarters action with no delay.This was drilled relentlessly ..
Great discussion. I am getting more interested in curved blades. I am curious about the tendency of straight blades to get stuck in the target. Somewhere I came across the notion of "thrust, twist, withdraw" regarding bayonets. Would the "twist" be a good strategy to employ using straight swords? Thank you for your work. Cheers!
Those are fine practical blades, always been used in Eastern Europe.
I love short, choppy swords, but I do wonder if a curved blade might give me more to work with while still being a shorter straight line length. Right now I really love a Wakizashi or Gladius, but seems a very curved blade could give me similar reach and use it in confined spaces with a much longer cutting edge. Also cool angles of attack over parries.
Ty! I've been begging you to speak about drawing cuts forever. It's my fav type of cut. Chopping cuts as so crude and make me want an axe over a sword. If you ask me, swords are for thrusting and slicing. =)
Cool insights. I hadn't considered most of those. Usually all you think about with a curved blade is the longer cutting surface and being able to get around shields.
When on horseback, the point of the curved sword points straight horizontally at the infantry. You can thrust without lowering your shoulder. This maintains balance and ease.
Also in the retracting motion, some curved blades can be used as a sickle.
Well done, thanks. Could there be a companion piece on the less obvious advantages of a straight blade?
Perhaps its point is more effective/dangerous, perhaps it provides other defensive options against a sword or spear, perhaps it provides other ways around a shield, is it better for certain targets on the opponent (knee, lower leg/mobility, others)?
Just got one of those as well from them to fix a warp from the Factory. Great piece! Handle was a bit long but overall really nice.
"Obviously there will be a review of it coming soon".
Still waiting on the one on the Kvetun Montante...
I've always been fond of sabres, so I think I've previously learned all these points from you over the years, especially the horseback technique.
If I remember well, kilidj has also big curvature, but kilidj is an outstanding saber. Kilidj has an edge of a special form, and I think that is what makes it good for classic stabbing, but maintains the advantages of a sabre with high curvature : kilidj is very good for fighting in small areas
Strange how the 'best' designed close quarters fighting sword would be designed in countries that are known to be hugely comprised of deserts! LOL. And the reverse with long swords that are from countries with compact cities/towns and forests.. a generalisation I know but just a thought. Shamshirs and Kilidj have always been my favourite style of swords, bought my first very curved blade when I was 11 on a school trip to Meteora in Greece, an antique type of shamshir with a talwar like hilt, I also found a bichaq around the same time in Monastiraki. I have lovely Cretan dagger too, it has built in 'tweezers' for holding an ember to light tobacco or remove lead shot, no one is quite sure, you might want to do a video on these Cretan weapons.
Except that at various times in the late medieval and early modern era Cairo, Damascus, Baghdad, Istanbul, Isfahan and Delhi were big, densely populated cities. In 15th century Cairo street battles between rival Mamluk factions were pretty common and presumably made the lives of the citizens an absolute misery.
It was very interesting to hear some of the advantages. The thrust of horseback was one I had never heard before. I would like to hear the disadvantages as well.
you did good research on this one ! thank you for the effort and for more information i didnt know myself ! the ethiopian shotel has similar properties !
What a great slice of education here. kudos!👍
Id love to see a video of the disadvantages of heavily curved blades. so far you make them look awesome lol. Im planning on starting hema soon, once I can get enough money for gear, because tuition at my local school is quite affordable. This makes me want to start out with a Shamshir rather than longsword or other straight blade.
Id love to see the other side of the coin before i saddle myself up with something silly or difficult for me to learn to use :)
I was pretty well aware of the latter 4 advantages; being a huge fan of curved blades (though blades that curve to a tip aligned with the hand, not so steep as to curve beyond that imaginary line).
But that first one with the strange side thrust is super interesting (and valuable for me to know as a worldbuilder). Excellent.
Thanks for sharing such invaluable info !
Off topic question :
Why was Firanghi shown in one of your last video so flexible and any idea on how was it used ?
I have just been looking at shamshirs as an option for me in HEMA this week. So this video is quite well timed for me!
If anyone could recommend shamshir or similar shaped sword feders I'd appreciate it!
Well with a Shamshir atleast it wouldn't be HEMA anymore unless if you take the "E" to mean "Eastern"
@@dawggydawgtown The Emirates of Iberia, Ottomans and Crimean Tatars occupied territory within Europe and many Europeans adopted Arabic, Persian, and Turkish sword types during the late-medieval period all the way to the 19th century. The most popular painting of Napoleon Bonaparte shows a Mamluke saber on his belt, and he is by no means an exception.
@@colbunkmust They'd still be wearing Eastern swords, inspired by Eastern styles. Of course the ancient world is a lot more cosmopolitan than pop history has most people believe, but that doesn't mean we can call Middle Eastern or South Asian sword styles predominantly European and vice versa.
@@dawggydawgtown "but that doesn't mean we can call Middle Eastern or South Asian sword styles predominantly European and vice versa."
That was not my claim, my statement was that those curved swords *are* part of HEMA even if they exist in other systems in addition. HEMA is a physical geographic designation denoting a specific part of the globe. Much of that European region was part of the Islamic world at one point or another. And those influences did diffuse into other parts of Europe during those time periods, ergo, it isn't necessary to use another term other than HEMA to discuss the use of those swords if an individual chooses to do so.
great job on the edge thrust
Very interesting. I had been expecting that the horseback thrust would put the blade in the plane you show, but turned 180 degrees with the blade edge outward and the distant portion of the blade and tip oriented parallel to the motion of the horse. The edge thrust make immense sense.
A fantastic briefing, really interesting ⭐⭐⭐
Thanks for the insights.
Very informative and interesting these are swords I know very little about so this was really entertaining!
I enjoyed the Polish style heavy cavalry sabre they added in Chivalry 2. Even on foot it is great at getting around / over larger shields.
What I'm gathering is that curved swords let you do the battlefield equivalent to "I'm not touching you, I'm not touching you!"
9:55 it's always a great concern when you have a great big tip swinging behind you
Great video
I suggest you to study razmafzar or contact with master khorasani to uniquely understand art of Persian Safavid martial arts and sword art
I hate when my great big tip goes swinging behind me. But I love how Matt never makes it through a video without an unintentional double entendre. And usually a few of them.
Looking fprward to the cutting 😊
Omg..I was just looking up what those things are... I love them..
Nice sponsorship
Very instructive indeed.🙏
LK Chen really seems to up his game for money the swords look so good
No kidding. I just got my hands on his Tinker Great Sword of War (second hand for CAN$150) it is amazing. Great blade, thin and sharp, great distal taper and, IMHO, handles well once you get to know it. I have my eye on his Rapier, the Ribaldo and his 1860 US cavalry sword of which all have obtained great reviews. Cheers!
Thanks for the video ⚔️
Ive always wondered if curved swords like this would actually work with being worn on your back. The curve of the sword would curve around the contours of your body and could be drawn out without overextanding your arm like you would with a longsword on your back.
they do work, but it's still going to be less convenient than just having the sword on the hip; generally there is going to be very few situations where you'd want to wear the sword on your back even when it's curved but it's many times better than with any straight sword.
Playing Ghost of Tsushima and seeing Mongol soldiers draw them from the back, i can say it works pretty well lol.
That makes a lot of sense and it removes the issue drawing from the back straight swords have, you can do the full draw motion without needing the scabbard to move or making your arm and wrist twist uncomfortably
Push cuts, like what you described on horseback, can also be done on foot and gives the user a werid advantage when fighting against a more liner centric fighter. If that made no sense please let me know I will attempt to find a visual source for what Im trying to articulate 😅
The cavalry thrust appears to guard against incoming cuts all the way through the motion...would be nice to know how effective such a defense would have been while simultaneously being lethal
Interesting points - and not obvious - good job !!!
Don't ever stop being Matt Easton
Love that Shamshir!
Great stuff, but here's four more:
1. Easier to draw. This is especially useful on horseback when you can't use your other hand to help because you're holding the reins.
2. The blade covers you better. Easy to see when Matt was showing the close in fighting. Because it curves around your body, it protects better than a straight equivalent.
3. The tip is refused. Beating the sword is much harder. Beats tend to bounce off as opposed to knocking the sword.
4. Can hook. In close this can attack the backside of the body which is likely less or not armored. Also a missed thrust can still wound as the sword is retrieved. (EDIT I looked and shamshirs that Matt showed don't have a false edge that would allow this. False edges are not uncommon on other curved swords.)
I was so used to writing off extreme-curve blades. This is the first instance of "Snipe someone's hand" I have found legitimately cool. Let alone the other given options (that horseback thrust low-grade blew my mind).
What a good video.
It also surprised me because those swords gave me the impression they were designed with simplicity in mind so the layman can git gud with it faster than a straight sword and certainly a rapier, however that move for disarming an opponent is even more difficult than a full reaching and crouching lunge with a rapier as you not only have to get the vertical and horizontal axis correct but also the z axis going from you to the opponent, as hitting just above the hand on the blade does nothing and hitting the arm might be ineffectual based on their armor or it might not hit a vital area so the opponent is only partially disabled in that hand
Ditto.. 😁
Most importantly even if the blade is dull you can cut through anything because it slices like a hacksaw depending on an impact cut. This provides extensive ruggedness in the battle field. Try slicing anything with it and you will get an idea. Thanks
I noticed the strong curved blades can give you more material to protect yourself towards the end of the cut.
Unlike with a straight sword you only have the point towards your opponent but a curved one allows the blade to curve back up and have extra protection with your arm out
I wouldn't have guessed most of the advantages had to do with thrusting, as I'd have expected that to be the area a really curved sword would be the worst at. I also really liked the point about wearability, Japanese swords I feel like were made shorter and worn the way they were for ease of everyday carry as much as anything else. They also liked to "thrust cut" with their swords when possible.
I wonder how many times users managed to slash their own horse or even parts of themselves on the back swing? Obviously they trained for this , but even so. Sounds like you’re describing the rhomphaia in regard to the Thracians. This would be an interesting weapon to review.
Great video! 👍🏻
Draw cuts in the melee clinche
Cuts or stabs into the groin, inner thigh, armpit, back of the knee, side of the neck
Partying spear thrusts to close the distance
Draw from shoulder carry or over shoulder carry
The close fight from horse back when mounts are side on often leaving the shield inoperable
Which was the sword you'd talked about in one of your much older videos where, I think it was, the french actually complained about it being too devastating. Overly severe injuries and such.
I kind of want one of those...
Some real insight there! makes sense and i have a new respect for curved blades!!
Matt, you can use your shamshir with that Indian shield you have in background. Sorry I forgot the shield’s name!
I don't do as well with a highly curved sword but the flipping to stab is familiar enough to flips to cut with the false edge that I find I do them a lot.
this makes crystal clear sense considering turkish kilij has a dorsal edge at the tip of the sword.
There is a scene from Genghis Khan in which one of his fighters rides past the enemies on horseback with two curved swords and quickly slashes several enemies. look at this.
Depending on the direction of the curve, it does make it easier to hit the g-spot.
Hey Matt
If you were in square at the battle of the
Embaheh and knew you would have been sent into town to fight the mamluke etc etc . What sword would you have been your preference saying you were given a choice of picking one up off the field etc etc ???
Thanks Matt.
Great video, now it makes sense why i would notice shoulder guards on the left side on armor, sometimes both. but if you had one it was the left. Why......you answered it, its because these curved weapons were getting around the shields!!!!
In defense I have tried parrying thrusts and fast cuts with a curved blade by a quick snapping action to right or left, basically gives you a pretty large elliptical zone that's hard to penetrate with things like a lance.
Are there any sword trapping techniques that are easier with a curved sword? I seem to recall shogi sensei in his video with the longsword mentioning that the katana was easier to perform some particular kind of deflection or binding maneuver, and that despite a katana obviously being only mildly curved in most cases. A shamshir in comparison would be a veritable hook.
are there strikes that go straight tip up into neck groin armpit with a quick lift of the tip or a pushing thrust when the curve runs up a.. breast plate/ chain mail into a jaw / pallet etc?
You can also cut grass with it like a sickle. I imagine main advantage being that while against an opponent with normal sword things you can predict what goes where, with curved blade which angle can be changed it can be very unpredictable.
You can flip a Scimitar around in your hand so that its pointing down and use it like a Falx for extremely powerful tip shots!
Idk if it's historically accurate, but it works.
To me it seems that one main advantage would be that during a cavalry charge, with the blade held horizontally but at an angle away from the body so the point is forward (basically the inverse of the first position shown) you would still get good penetration, but because of the curve of the blade it would extract it as you passed without getting stuck through the opponent's body as with a straight blade ?
Would there be a 6th advantage? Perhaps when blocking/parrying incoming cuts, the curved blade covers you more than a straight blade?
...Much like a domed umbrella covers you from the rain from more angles than a flat board.
Those globes are cool!
Does that move where you angle the blade around your head have a term? Very interested.
5:40 I have doubts... I get the impression that this tip / point might somehow get stuck or entangled in the opponent's clothing or body. If this tip were completely rounded (blunt), then this would be impossible. But such a skewer, even a crooked one...
You shoud see how balkan slavs Ottoman Deli calvary (precursor for polish hussars (some delilers have wings)...from slavic word Gusar = pirate or bandit) and janissery use them.
You forgot the sixth and seventh benefit from early descriptions; the upwards thrust; the shoulder being the point of rotation start with your arm down ande back, the tip of the sword is obviously upward, now swing forward with your arm and the curved blade stabs in line with the circle of your arm and the similar curve of the blade giving a good upwards force intended to stab in the abdomen upwards in direction of the heart, incapacitating the enemy with a devastating rather deadly wound, the same from behind in a tight formation battling or crowd.
Seventh is high on horseback gives the same benefit by holding your arm down the tip points forward in the direction of your movement on horseback towards the enemy, stabbing straight while the false edge aids in passing by, enlarging the stabwound with a due to motion drawcut and making the curved sword easier to leave the richly enlarged wound in your enemies body.
There's also that aero thing that makes it easier to do all these sudden reverse cuts.
What about thrusting upwards then slashing downwards? The thrust prepares the slash given that they are in the same alignment but coming from opposite direction.
Sir. Could you expound on why European and English sabre slings were so long please?
Tangential question: Regarding katanas, weren't they only worn edge up without armor? In every old painting they are shown being worn edge down, and old scabbards you see from museums have attachments to hang it edge down. (However, the wakizashi is shown edge up because it was still put through a sash)
I got the impression that swords were worn edge up when unarmored because that way you can place the sword in your belt/sash (obi?) without the handle awkwardly interfering with your arm.
I thought edge-up was to prevent damage to the hand and saya during the draw.
The edge down swords you're seeing might be tachi, which opposite to katana were traditionally supposed to be worn edge down. I'm not sure about what effect the armor has though, as I've noticed every time I come across a picture specifying that the sword in question is a tachi, it's always a samurai wearing armor.
Of course, this could mean that tachi were more carried on the battlefield and katanas more in daily life just like the different tendencies in european swords of being war vs civilian weapons, but I also think I've read that it was the case that the commonly used sword shifted from the tachi to the katana over time. Although those explanations aren't necessarily mutually exclusive, as perhaps that shift was happening during times of relative peace when the samurai were becoming less of a warrior and more of a social class who were the only ones allowed to carry swords in daily life?
I'm not super familiar with the historical details so I can't really speculate on any of this with certainty, but they're definitely interesting questions to think about!
Rather than armoured vs unarmoured, I think the difference is cavalry vs infantry. For a horse archer, a sword which is suspended horizontally with the edge down would be out of the way whey you're shooting, but easy to draw when you need it. On the other hand, when you're on foot a sword worn edge up through the obi would be more secure when you're running around, and can be tucked up next to the body so it doesn't stick out too much.
@@heraclius4077 I don't know about that, I've seen lots of pictures of dismounted armored samurai with their sword worn edge down.
@@rylie8989 afaik katana were more of a self defense than war sword, shorter than odachi and so on and intended for unarmored use. i'd imagine they were worn edge up to more easily accomodate iaijutsu/iaido, which becomes more important when the weapon is for self defense use. just guessing.
Dear Scholagladiatoria
I would humbly ask that you might consider a sixth possible benefit to the curved blade. And that is that in a close quarters melee it is much easier to stab opponents who are positioned directly behind you with an extremely curved blade than with a straight blade.
Sincerely: The Silverdragon07