@@samuraijackoff5354 I used to fence foil and the guy I was fencing was wearing a helmet that was too big. It fell off and rolled forward, and the idiot lunged after it. I caught him on the temple, and thought for an awful moment I’d got his eye 😬
The rapier fencer just has so much control over the situation. You can tell he knows that he can afford to take his time because he’s so far out of measure to his opponent yet can still strike him. Rapier is the king of unarmored dueling in my opinion.
U can ez the weapon using good strength and a really sharp blade, in fact using those things u can cut the blade as it is little thick, but obviously it only works if the other has s lot of strength and or skill to cut through steel, 2cm of steel is still harder than 10 of wood.
@@xxepicsniperpro8087 Take a break from anime. Go outside and meet some real people. Learn about the real world first, then come back to the anime with an understanding that it is just make believe.
I've run this experiment several times against kendo and katana guys that I am friends with. The reach and speed of the rapier is difficult to overcome, especially if a dagger is added. It obviously won't work in a strong block vs a heavy blade, and the katana can be pretty quick in the hands of a skilled user, but unless that katana wielder is willing to be patient (as was the case here) then he is in for a bad night of it. Great video.
@@markus1351 I really don't know how you are figuring that. My 34" swept-hilt rapier weighs about 2.5 pounds, compared to my 28" longsword at 4.75 pounds and my 31" Harlequin longsword at an even 5 pounds. All of these are one-handed weapons designed for stage combat, and are handled roughly. When you go out East, the 29.5" Katana I use weighs about 3.75 pounds, which is half again as much the weight of the rapier. Take it from a guy that has broken his wrist twice (not performing) and REALLY understands what the weight of a blade means. The rapier is MUCH lighter!
@@seannovack3834 5 pound longsword? oO they should be around 2 pounds if we're talking proper longsword also a rapier does have cutting edges,... it's not a shortsword
For those who don't notice the guy with the katana is really good you have to be very skilled to defend against the rapier like that with anything other than another rapier
I agree, the katana-wielder has it extra hard. But the rapier-guy has one significant trouble : he cannot control the opponant weapon, that's why he get's double hits when he attacks. Rapier Vs rapier, he would use his strong against the opponant weak and thrust. But the heavier and double handed katana has no weak. IMO, that's why rapier-guy dictates the fight (the opponant is always on retreat) but cannot actually make proper points.
Perdón por usar mi idioma, mi inglés es malísimo. El hombre de la katana parece ser un maestro, y ser consciente de que su oponente no está a la altura. Aunque sí es consciente de la ventaja de la otra arma. El de la ropera no parece estar entrenado para este arma. Deja pasar muchas oportunidades y no tira a fondo. Con Vulgar Destreza hubiera vencido, sin duda. Con Verdadera Destreza (y seguramente con entrenamiento en otras escuelas europeas) creo sinceramente que hubiera vencido con mucha facilidad.
@@Manimoren si lo que hablo de tipo de inglés tampoco se confunde mucho De hecho yo he visto experto de ropera contra experto japonés y de hecho el de la ropera también tuvo bastantes problemas contra luchar contra el maestro de katana Así que decidí no te equivocas tanto en lo que dices pero ganar con facilidad tampoco no porque así no es tanto hace un duelo
But i think he lack resolution. You cant win a battle like this with just arm movement. He should do some kind of body turn movement with slice to specific part.
the rapier has two advantages: reach, and a linear attack. i studied kendo fifty years ago and often thought how difficult it was to defend against a straight thrust from a weapon with greater reach.
Ariel Lucas true but it still would translate in real combat; maybe not for everyone but with a bit More specialized training for combat, especially against someone with little to no training, even a nick would be enough to shock someone long enough to deliver a killing blow. And I mean in a battle with armor and various other weapons it would be pretty useless weapon, but it’s still one of the most effective styles for melee dueling with plain clothesz
Kind of reminded me of a cat just poking at the katana user almost like he was playing with him , but neither really wanted to commit to offense for fear of exposing themselves so they had their little back and forth. I am by no means a expert though I do enjoy watching this type of video often I figured the rapier would strike a killing blow first because he has more mobility compared to the style of sword he was faced with and how I have seen that they were trained (discipline, decisive blows, tight form, excellent balance and control) but that was not the case in this duel. All in all this was well worth the time to watch both men put on a fantastic show of good conduct, sportsmanship, and skill.
The "rapier' sword comes from the Spanish. The name comes from "ropera" ("ropa" in Spanish means "clothes"). It's a sword that hangs on a belt attached to the clothes as part of one's attire (no other fancy meaning). I see in this video the one holding the rapier has his arm holding the sword most of the time flexed or not entirety straight, but the idea is to take advantage of the length of the arm and the length of the rapier straight together as much as you can and wait for the adversary to make the mistake of approaching and attack and get pierced in trying (it was not frequent that the other way around happened, at least between two rapierists of the same religion, Catholic). The one with the rapier controlled this combat for the most part but did not take full advantage of the length of arm and sword. Also, the katana requires more strength and the two arms to maneuver, which grants a harder hit but limits the length and range of action of your sword. The rapier not only requires just one hand, but you maneuver it with your fingers (the design of how the holding cabinet was made almost by where it reaches where the blade starts out was made precisely for that) and one sole arm stretched out can literally allow your rapier to be all the way out to the left and to the right of your body. On top of this, I see the rapier guy fights like in the esgrima sport: you need to go to attack to get the point. In real life (centuries ago) the rapierist would normally have extended his arm holding the rapier straight and waited for the opponent to attack and get pierced. Since the rapier sword comes from Spain and Catholicism was their religion, it was thought if you purposely caused someone's death (like attacking with a sword) then you committed a "mortal" sin, but let's say you held your sword up and your opponent approached to attack you and "finds" your sword in the way and gets pierced, then it would have not been a mortal sin. This is why waiting for the opponent to attack was always encouraged for Spanish unless you fight someone of different religion. Finally, the Spanish did not stand on the ground when esgriming randomly, they did it forming circles and "dancing" within, around and through them. Dancing on a circle properly and staying within these circles to fight and only stepping out of them to give the final and fatal pierce on the opponent would have made extremely difficult for a katanist to win over (the katanist didn't have that evolved knowledge of a relationship between how to hold your sword and how to hold your ground, not as much as the Spanish did for sure, and he would have been more prone to attack not knowing that was precisely what a rapierist would have wanted). In many cases, just by holding your rapier up straight and stepping on the right point of the circumference of a circle your were properly "dancing" within would have ended a fight in your favor if your opponent would have taken a step out and attack you. A pierce of a rapier of only 2 or 3 centimeters but in the wrong place was usually fatal. With all of these, I see not impossible, but unlikely for a katanist to win over a rapierist (specially a Spanish one) in a duel and as if fought for life centuries ago, not as in a sport.
@@ZDavidH thank you for your kind comment. I haven't watched this video again, but I remember this rapierist was not taking full advantage of the lenght of arm and sword or the way he was standing his ground. That gave the katanist more chances to win the duel.
If it's a sin to attack another catholic in Catholicism, even in spain, why were there so many wars between Catholics? The Italian wars come to mind, as well as the hundred years war and the conflicts between castile, aragon, navarra, and portugal. There's plenty of wars that Spain was involved in too against other Catholics. Doesn't this seem contradictory? Genuine question.
One of the main reasons for Japanese sword-fighting being respected so much is not because of the swords, but because the line of training from master to student was never broken. European swordsmanship declined when gunpowder was introduced to the battles, so current fighting is done by people whose training was mostly resurrected from books and maybe small number of enthusiast keeping an obsolete form of fighting alive.
Aristocracy still used it, even French people till the 60s were allowed to have duels to the death. Rapiers for us europeans is quite "instinctive". It felt just right.
@@wertyuiopasd6281 Not for all Europeans. The English have commented on how chopping with a broadsword or saber makes more sense for them :D . If you have to assign a people to it, the Italians, French and Spanish quite like the pokey swords; Germans like cut and thrust, and the English and Poles trend cutters. For the English/Scottish side, see everything from Highland broadsword to singlestick.
@@wertyuiopasd6281 "Aristocracy still used it, even French people till the 60s were allowed to have duels to the death." Killing someone in a duel was murder. Not just the duelist, but also some of the non-fighting participants could be charged. Duels were legal, but killing was not. "Rapiers for us europeans is quite "instinctive". It felt just right." Feeling natural with a sophisticated weapon like that is the product of training, not instinct. Rapiers as we know them weren't even around until guns made armor obsolete, and lack of armor made heavier swords impractical.
The man with the katana did a fantastic job considering the disadvantages he had to overcome. The rapier is a menacing weapon, perhaps the apex of unarmored dueling swords. It’s like watching a scorpion taunting it’s prey, waiting to deliver a single lethal strike when it detects a sign of weakness. Despite its deadly intentions there is a sort of gracefulness to the movements of the swordsman with this weapon. The unexpected positioning of the feet and the leaning of the body were amazing to watch.
Experiment is flawed. There are different lengths of Rapiers, Ape and Foils as there are Katana: like O Katan, O Wakasashi, O Chiza...etc., which are ALL copies of the Chinese Han, Tang, Ming Dao Swords that were invented before or around the 15th Century in Ancient China and were imported into Japan/Nippon when the Song and Tang Dynasties merged Commercially, Socially, and Economically with Japan. I am not sure if this experiment is taking into account of equal skill sets and equal blade length for this experiment?. Espada Y'Dagga (Sword and Dagger) would not fit this experiment as that would change the outcome and would be like giving someone a Gun and a sword? This needs more control and a range of skill sets required the measure of the ability of the Asian Japanese blades to accomplish the task to neutralize the opponent with the least amount of skill. This set up is not going to do that? Makes a good video for revenue though. I think a long Blade like the Tachi or O Tachi is more suitable to the Rapier as their lengths are about the same? I have a French Calvary Musketier Rapier and the shorter First Golden Regement French Musketeer Rapier Sword used in the palace of the French Kings? This experiment is flawed. They need to redo this experimenmt with clear and defined matched swords lengths and practitioners who know both sword skills to make this a real experiment.
Well they were never built for war that's what the longsword and arming swords job was for plus longswords have so much force behind the blade I have broken so many people's katana with my longsword in tournaments just because the tryed to block but nothing was stoping a heavy strike from a longsword
No expert, and could be wrong, but this could be because one of them has no mask on, and so they maybe didn’t wish to fully commit incase someone got hurt.
@@frololal6142 Not what I would have done if I had the shorter blade. With a rapier's reach, the opponent has inches of opportunity to hit your arm before you reach them. Rather, I prefer to take the initiative in the bind and maintain control of the blade.
The man with the katana should be wearing a mask! He could lose an eye! Keeping both fighters safe also means both fighters can go all out. Don't you want to see them fight without restraint?
They made an excuse for that at the begining. Raipier guy needed to bring two masks but he forgot so they just did it under no face attack rule on raipier
Mask and armor arenin the background left side... Why? Am I the only one thinking this fencer is super chill? Fencers are nightmarish creatures, seems to me they're needing to exert 40% less effort to maintain control and distance, while the kendoka has to get way more tired to get close... I love japanese swordfighting but this is freaky. Good video!
That is exactly what I thought the mask is on the wrong head. How's he going to lose a eye from a katana. One handed sword will usually beat a two handed sword. Plus I thought rapier fought Espada daga sword an dagger
What an awesome match :) the restraint as well as the readiness are evident in both of them. They have clear skill and I believe decent foot work. Their styles are so completely different that one might fall into a trap if he went all out
And even then, he was kinda garbage. Everything he did was at like 20% speed. I fence, and if you fenced like the rapier guy you'd never score a hit (touche).
@@matteoteo9521 это немного не так. Появление, пусть даже примитивного, огнестрельного оружия сделало бессмысленным ношение тяжелой брони. Это дало жизнь быстрым и легким рапирам и шпагам.
The fencer is definitely more skilled, the gaps is pretty clear. The katana guy should have been taking advantage of the heavier weight of the katana to knock that dinky rapier thing way off course.
I love the fact that this was more of a shy dance than a fierce battle. This was probably on the account of fighting a different kind of opponent. If you use a weapon that your opponent uses you know what to expect and how to react, but with two completely different fighting styles it's a lot of feeling and trying to see what works.
younger guy is decked out in way more protective gear and has a weapon thats literally made for this exact purpose its not like hes gonna go full speed at the old dudes hands and wrists and put him in the hospital just to prove a rapier really is the best dueling sword. its a fun little show they put on but the rapier is timid cause they gear is so incredibly mismatched
when I did the competitive martial arts scene I enjoyed sometimes fucking with confident opponents by fighting left handed I wasn't left handed, but I was a lot better at fighting someone who was fighting right handed than my opponent was at fighting left handed so it can really even the playing field if you have playing field in need of evening -- and if it isn't working you can just stop & switch, which also, funnily enough, fucks with them
@@tabula_rosa i think most competitive combat sports require some level of switching stance at higher levels. different stance is gonna give you different looks and it gives your opponent more to think about. boxers and mma fighters switch a lot. since you jab with your weaker hand a lot of boxers have a switch stance jab thats almost as good as their preferred stance and mma fighters will do it a lot to avoid a leg kick that keeps landing or when it lands enough their lead leg needs to recover.
Varios puntos a cuestionar, la ausencia de proteccion facial obviamente cohibe al contrincante, segundo el artista marcial de kenjutsu notoriamente sólo está habituado a katas de corte, y tambien está cohibido al no contar con proteccion facial, y por no tener punta roma en tu iaito tambien evita las estocadas al contar con kisaki (aunque no esté afilado igual punza) las esgrimas niponas masificadas en la actualidad no son realmente reproducciones historicas, sino sólo disciplinas deportivas, historicamente gran parte de los combates a sable nipon se usa en igual o más la estocada que el corte, sobretodo en combate a pié. Luego tenemos el rapier quw utilizan es de aprox 1.2kg, lo mismo que pesa la katana, y utilizado con una mano, en velocidad y fuerza la katana posee superioridad, rapier solo aventajaría en recorrido (longitud), lo cual es para un esgrimista nipon no dificil de controlar ya que su arma tendrá mayor control en cualquiera de los tercios de la hoja con sus 900g-1.2kg si fuese un rapier de 500-700grs obviamente el rapier superaría sin mucho lio a la katana. Eso sería en un duelo preparado, si fuese pelea callejera de nobles o en el campo de batalla de forma historica, cambia totalmente la configuracion, rapier llevaría su puñal en la otra mano y el nipón a pié usaria wakizashi + tanto, los tachis y katanas eran armas de caballería pesada y que una vez desmontado por peso y dimensiones se debian usar a 2 manos. En la actualidad es muy raro ver artistas marciales nipones adiestrados en uso correcto de wakizashi, tanto, se observa más en ninjutsu (donde usan jna variante de chokuto con largo similar a wakizashi llamada ninjato). Sabemos que la katana ha sido romantizada y propagandeada de formas esteticas y no practicas, si ojeamos la historia nipona con cuidado notarán que la mayor parte del tiempo utilizaban chokutos, doble filo (muy similares a las espadas vikingas en puño y hoja cómo espada larga o bastarda) así como filo por un solo lado, de una mano a mano y media, luego en gran cantidad tachis, y por último aparecen las katanas casi al fin del shogunato. Ya despues tenemos las armas ceremoniales representstivas de mando gunto. No puedo darle credito al video por que falto veracidad, y srguridad para los participantes.
Watching this brings to mind a cat fighting a viper. The rapid swiping of the Katana user's blade like cat's claws, and the sinuous, unhurried yet violently fast lunges. Its honestly entrancing.
The term Ropera sword (currently also known as rapier) arises in the Renaissance in Spain to designate a certain kind of sword with a long straight blade, wielded with one hand. The original Spanish name of the rapier sword is tizona. It is called rapier because it was carried as an accessory to clothing, generally used for fashion and as a personal defense weapon. His name is of Spanish origin and appears registered for the first time in the Coplas de la panadera, by Juan de Mena, written between approximately 1445 and 1450. It is the best sword in the world and with it the Spanish Empire spread across almost the entire planet.
I appreciate the 'spirit' and fun of this sort of activity. However, this is a very dangerous game to play. The Kendoka not wearing protective head gear is not sensible. This means the fencer could not initiate anything meaningful for risk of sticking the Kendoka in the face. If anyone doubts the danger of blunted western swords I refer you to the tragic death of the Olympic fencer who died in the 1980 Olympic games, when a foil (one of the lightest swords you can find) pierced Vladimir Smirnov's mask. Tragic! What do you think a Rapier will do to a face with no protective gear on at all...
Edit request: Vladimir Smirnov won Gold at the 1980 Olympics but he died two years later at the 1982 world championships. Back then the foils were made of carbon steel and, as such, could fatigue and become brittle after repeated bending. His opponent's foil tip broke off and the remainder of the foil is, without getting too graphic, what killed him. Though he didn't die until nine days later. May he rest in peace.
I agree its not safe, but if both have good control of the sword and their adrenaline, 90% of times it passes without problems, specially if they stop before contact and they dont hit with force.
I have practiced both kendo and fencing (foil). I must say that I enjoyed kendo significantly more. That said, the rapier in this match-up, and I would expect most of the time, is completely out maneuvering the katana. To add insult to injury (literally), the rapier wielder is not able to fully use attacks at his disposal because of the lack of protective gear on his opponent. Is the rapier superior, maybe however the two rarely faced off with each other. Both weapons evolved from their respective environments.
Man, get an anatomical epee, bait to your arm and pull from sixth to one walking inside (bringing your body closer while you move the opponents blade outside with prime guard), that should leave your opponent blade hanging out there in the open and your tip pointing right at his belly in a distance that he wont be able to disengage. It is one of the best moves to catch someone unaware.
I mean... in a real duel if measuring my opponent for a LONG time makes the difference from keeping my guts inside my gut, then yeah down to the fucking millimeter xD
It's two swords that couldn't be more different. The "Katana" is made to slash and cut off, the "Rapier" is made to pierce and deflect. From what I read there is up to 500 years difference in the development of these 2 weapons. While Katanas were probably used already between 1000-1XXX (design root trace as far back as 700s) the Rapier was designed around 1500
@@dustf1nger118 nope, gran error, los rapier/ropera eran utilizados por los tercios españoles con su respectivo puñal y arma de avancarga asignada, cabe senalar que el rapier procede de la espada ropera de cruceta española que al migrar a francia evoluciono con gavilanes y decorativos e incluyendo cazoletas llamandoles rapier. En españa ropera de cazoleta o cazoleta a secas.
No. The Katana and Rapier are pretty much from the same time and saw pretty much the same kind of fights. Civil clothing dress weapon for self defence.
Really puts into perspective how hard the katana fighter has to assert his control over space. The amount of calculation that goes into each attack he makes is extreme, whereas the rapier fighter is essentially just biding his time, waiting for an opportunity for a clean shot.
I am not sure if rapier was a final form for white arms duelling, but the fact it replaced heavier swords/ sabres in Europe for that purpose speak for itself how elegant and effective that weapon is.
Samurai swordsmanship is very simple, but it was evolved to fight other people who use same swords + more or less same styles. Europe was in constant international wars so their swords, strategies, and techniques were constantly evolving to fight different cultures.
There's some old combat manual from Europe where the illustration shows a straight up kick to the dick after parrying an overhead attack. I remember the caption was something along the lines of, "if his most vulnerable part is exposed why wouldn't I attack it?" Kind of showing that they were not messing around back then lol.
The katana however is a stronger weapon, if they ever clash and go hard it would out powered the rapier also, the katana is way sharper, instead of going for the body, the katana practitioner could have went for his wrist, arm since the rapier practitioner is over reaching it all the time, in a real fight, the katana practitioner would have chop off his opponent arm
@@adrianjh9481 not sure about that. I sparred agaisnt wooden katana using wooden long sword, and it was pretty easy to dominate it. I was always going for legs xD
@@adrianjh9481 They are designed for different things. Katana is a properly "medieval" war sword: long enough to distance the enemy and shape enough to clash the middle-heavy armor. Rapier was designed for a Super-Heavy-Armored Infantry and Chavalry and than, with the rise of Muskets, it becames a "Spadino" principally designet for sparring, duels and to efforts light armored enemy and not fully-armored enemy. It was quite useless in europe use a Katana against the kind of enemy they were use to have in these times. Otherwise the Rapiere could have a chance during the Sengoku period. If you mean a Historical fight like Samurai Vs Musketeers, the samurai would be shot before to start. If you mean a duel between a Samurai and a Spadino-Musketeers the Samurai can sure have a initial advantage but we have never to forget that Spadino was designed exactly to kill this kind of warriors.
Воин с катаной очень смел, без защиты головы и кистей рук. На моём кавалерийском ятагане тоже не было гарды ,приходилось надевать руковицу. Воин с рапирой пользовался настоящим оружием, у него уставала рука и он перекладывал рапиру в другую руку. Молодцы!
Amazing comparison of two great weapons. Although from different cultures and realities, this gives some idea how to use each of them. Their advantages and disadvantages. Both superior weapons from earlier centuries.
I have also sparred a rapier fencer. However, I wasn't as knowledgeable of kendo then, as I am now. I wasn't even a Rokyu at the time and I lost horribly. My take away from that sparring session, was the fact that a proficient rapier fighter is very patient, has good endurance, and is extremely precise with his/her attacks. After putting some time in the dojo, I have noticed a rudimentary rule of thumb can go a long way, when it come to the mechanics of a rapier fencer. Basically, when the fencer has fully committed to the full extension of the lunge, their front leg tends to bear more weight to maintain balance. This is the narrow window of time, which we kenoka can be using that moment, if we are agile and quick enough, to force their blade aside just enough to possibly move in to take a point. This can't happen unless you are able to get them to fully commit to the lunge, of which that is entirely a different discussion.
It sounds to me like reckless stupidity. You and 90% of the people watching this video have come to the wrong conclusion. You think the kendo fighter scored a point when he hit the fencer around the wrist. Great job you managed to slash at a dude's gloved hand too bad you're dead.... Watch the tip of the rapier on the slow-mo starting at 6:29. The kendo fighter takes a solid hit to the liver at the same time he makes contact with the wrist. Irl the fencer might need stitches the samurai is dead.
@@marcuspacheco3815 even if you are right, your tone and condescendence take away all the possible truths you said. Why do you asume what others think? Have you talked to them? Would you like your tone if somebody answered like you did? Have you read ALL the comments to come with the 90% metric? Have you got any sources to prove what you state? otherwise, your commnet is reckless stupidity, even though you might be right. I don't even care if you are
@@marcuspacheco3815 the katana is like half the length! This is so unfair. Use a Japanese longsword variant in the katana's family, preferably straight since that curve is actually a defect turned cultural symbol anyways. Then let's compare.
An interesting video but there are some things that bother me: 1. Rapier guy switching hands very often -- was he tired? 2. Not a single energetic lunge with the rapier. 3. And of course lack of the mask for the katana guy that made it harder for a rapier fighter to go all in hard and fast. It would be nice to see another sparring in more even conditions.
Re #1. Probably tired. Holding a rapier out on point like that is very tiring. You have to consider the leverage weight. His arm is out stretched and the rapier is a much longer weapon. The rapier looks light, but the method of holding it and keeping it on point causes all of that lighter weight to be multiplied due to leverage.
@@johnlin3959 , I do rapier myself and know pretty well that it's not light (my saber is 1,5 times lighter than may rapier :)) and tiring. That's why we do a lot of training for the arm and fingers. My point is that if rapier guy was already heavily tired this fight is not a good showcase of swordsmanship and weapon use :(.
@@wladff I think you are probably correct that this person has not trained much with rapier to become tired like that. I would note that the kendo practitioner executes a lot of heavy beats to the blade. That might be an additional strain that he's not used to.
Actually once you’re practised with a rapier you can go for an hour or more. There is very little sword to sword contact in these fights and yet he gets tired. I can only conclude the rapierist is a beginner. It’s common when you start out for your arms to get tired quickly but once you develop your muscle fibres you can go on for hours like this
I don't know lot for the rapier but i just want to say that they both agreed to only use 70% of their speed. Which is why i personaly think, may be a reason for the rapierist didn't lunged energetically. It's only my guess~^^;;
@@mochi4387 true but rapiers were designed in a time were armor was obsolete and no longer worn. Its also designed to defeat the standard European medieval swords.
I think it's a lot less about the weapons and more about the skill of the wielders. That being said, if the katana fanatics are correct, the katana should've cut the rapier apart like a toothpick in 0.02 seconds, right?
the fact to think one needs to figure how to pass the point is where you mistook everything. You don't even need to pass it. You can just hit the rapier over and over again. There's no competing in that. That's why, the only choice for one who use rapier to fight a katana is to avoid any attack. They can't just randomly blocking any attack, because that rapier can't be used for blocking katana. You don't even realize even if it occurs so many time in the video. The katana dude try hitting it so many time, while the rapier guy don't want it's rapier to be touched by his katana. He has to avoid it being hit by that katana as best as he could. Or else, the katana could easily throw it over the place and create an open space for his enemy. That's why, the rapier guy need to evade it as best as he could. and you still come up with that underestimating comment like that even after watching how the rapier guys lose it. not once, but twice. and about rapier for sport fencing, it only has one point to attack. it's variety for attacking are lesser than any saber or sword type. It's only aim is to puncture the enemy. it has advantage and disadvantage. Just look at how the katana guy evade one thrust and aim to slash the hand. With rapier, it's long pointing tip is dangerous, but that's the only thing you should afraid of. It won't slash, it won't cut. It would be different with the type of real rapier with edge (unlike the one he uses in this video which only for fencing in sport) and with this kind of rapier, you can't just use it head on to block any stroke from bigger sword. Either you evade it, or to lead the stroke to other way. You can't just use it for blocking. To be honest, the guy who uses katana is a bit considerate. He is considering the rapier he use is only rapier for sport so he just fight him only with mindset to play cleanly like a sport. If he fight just the way how he should use katana, it won't take him that long. He could just hit the rapier and throw it away to open the space for attack. But he chose to play it soft, and aim the slash after avoiding the thrust. He uses katana as if he is in fencing sport.
@@seniorcell8816 aside the fact that it's not impossible to parry a katana with a rapier (Altough it's true it's not made to block continuous long blows), the "hitting the rapier and throwing it away" wouldn't probably work exactly because the rapier guy wouldn't have just let his blade be thrown aside, and that kind of fencing is very equipped with counterattacks and moves to face similar eveniences... MMMmmm to be honest, I agree with ogghhz0r's comment above here... the really considerate one is the rapier guy: with that kind of weapon and the fight type it uses, in other conditions he would probably have gone way more to thrust to the head or upper body, but you can't with a person without protective headgear... heck, it's dangerous even with rubber weapons xD That not to say that the guy or the weapon are surely to be the winners cause "they are better", but the fact is that a katana, or actually even a western longsword, has quite hard time to fight a weapon that has so long range but so agile moves.
I'd say both of them are forced to hold back in different ways. I think it's also important to note that for the guy with the Katana, he also has to hold back during offense. If he gets too aggressive and makes a single mistake, he could die or get seriously hurt, and there's no way he doesn't know this.
Před rokem+7
El de Katana debio usar mejores protecciones, eso permitiria al que usa Rapier entrar y salir ams rapido con mas confianza, igual es cierto que si el de katana la usa con velocidad pese a als proteciones le corta el brazo o se lo quiebra de una golpe. Pero me parece que en un combate real siempre ganaria el rapier al menos que el que lo usa sea muy malo en ello.
Если бы они стояли близко и начали бой,то катана бесспорно победила,так как она достаётся из ножен быстрее за счёт своей формы.Рапиру даже не успели бы достать,и бой закончился менее чем за секунду всего одним ударом.
Great demonstration, feeling each other out, experimenting with trust, playing with two opposing sword styles. Everything about that session was positive.
Yeah, you could definitely see him struggle with the distancing a few seconds in. He was doing okay with pace control when he was starting to footsie with the blade side to side with the rapier. He *really struggled* when rapier was moving in circular motion. It was a really cool demonstration of the two different techniques and blades. It also looked like the katana wielder wasn't used to sparring with the actual blade, whereas with Rapiers I know they do that on a fairly regular basis, but maybe I'm wrong. They looked like they were having a blast though!
@@ryanshannon7703 you would be right if he is a practitioner of Kendo which I imagine he is they practice with Shinai which are Bamboo practice swords, he also didn’t have on any of the protective gear usually used in kendo.
@@bobbybowles568 I noticed lack of protective equipment on the kendo (assumedly) practitioner as well. Fencer was nice enough to cork the tip, not sure if the edges are dulled though. I would think the dynamics would be much different if they were both armored up, but still really cool that they did this.
No se si es oportuno decir que las roperas solían emplearse junto a una daga, como muestran las ilustraciones iniciales. No usarla, evidentemente reduce la eficacia y además solían ponerse de perfil al oponente de de frente.
A japanese katana expert said that dueling a rapier expert is quite scaring cause the rapier point is alway directed at yours vital body part from the beginning to the end.
I could feel the frustration coming off the katana fighter. The rapier's reach is not just an offensive threat it's a defense. The katana fighter needed to go with all-in beat attacks.
It is. He could only counterattack. There's no way for him to get into range himself. Rapier is too long and fast. Katana is too limited with mostly slashing techniques. It was made to be a battlefield weapon. The rapier is a dueling weapon. It has the advantage.
@@Ninjaananas Rapier is significantly lighter. Katana has a slashing consideration in its design. Rapier is generally thick enough for party purposes, but long enough to maintain thrust advantage. I genuinely think if both were able to go all out the rapier would have been the superior weapon in this duel. Total hypothesis here, but im betting the katana wielder would end up with multiple stab wounds and loses arm functionality while fencer maintains distance behind the needle, slowly bleeding his opponent out. I think Kendo is a far more reasonable combat method than most other Asian swordplay, but the rapier and fencing was mostly created and nurtured for specifically this kind of fight. Another way to out this is: Samurai on the battlefield. Fencer in the duel.
The rapier is possibly the best dueling weapon - great reach, great hand protection, very nimble and has a thrust attack that is difficult to defend against. If paired with a dagger it's even better
I am a fan of the japanese culture, so i am NOT a katana hater. However, i am also objective enough to understand that as cool as the katana is, when 1 vs 1 with rapier it does not have a chance. A lot of europian weapons are just more anvanced than the katana, because they are made to be used against a lot of different cultures and nations. So they are just more effective at combat. The katana is a really specialised weapon designed for fighting a very specific style of swordsmanship. that is because in those centuries the japanese nation was not so open to the world and was pretty isolated. It is like jenes, the more you mix them the better and more adaptive they get. Again i do not hate the katana i am just practical and aknowledge that there are better weapons that it when it comes to just killing someone in the most practical way. Katana is a cool weapon, but it is far from unbeatable.
Precisely. The katana was used almost exclusively against 'other' katana users - the repeated Japanese civil wars. The Rapier, on the hand, was used against all manner of weapons from different cultures, including against the scimitars of the Ottoman Empire, which is itself not entirely dissimilar to the katana, being a curved sword designed primarily for weighty cuts.
I wouldn't say "doese not have a chance" though. What makes melee fights so interesting that sometimes u can in fact win against someone who has a better weapon. Saw a video where some guy with a knife won against a spear user few times. Most of the times he lost though
I thought Katana swords were much longer and that these smaller shorter swords were named differently. If someone can educate me on that, that would be great.
Quite beautiful to watch two very different sword fighting styles going head to head. Both styles are absolutely beautiful and each has its own unique attacks and blocks. Wild!
I just wanted to point this for weebs that Katana was samurais secondary weapon their main weapons were bows and spear's. Edit: Yes I am talking about specific era and wars
I kind of love the awkwardness of this lol I know nothing about sword fighting but it seems like they’re both trying to figure out each other’s stances and moves and how to best adjust. This is a super cool idea 🤩
It's mostly beacos they have to hold back since the katana guy dosnt have a helmet on the rapier guy especially if he hits him in the eye that whould be pretty bad
"weapon focus" If this is a sword fight, fine. However, if this is a fight, a free arm and two legs. My approach here is to either use the katana to destroy the rapier, or use the katana to close the distance within the rapier's tip and fight by hand. Kudos to both. Patience is a virtue.
Very interesting! Fascinating to see how they were both controlling the distance between them and covering their own target areas; I got the impression rapier was trying to make blade contact while katana was trying to avoid it (And I wish katana had a mask, I was feeling nervous on rapier's behalf!)
Those are good impressions. Rapier fights by staing in contact witch tip of oponents rapier to feel the atack, while in Kenjutsu it is imperative to minimaze that contact so the blade ain't damaged. And it is doubly funny, that any sword can roll over rapier if you use Rapier own rulles against it.
@@Carpatouille not really tho. Tsuba and crosguard have both very limited protection, yes. Hovewer that does not mean that thei're defenceless. Bind will do all the work if used in standard way.
@@Carpatouille Arguable, yes, but only if you did not train agaist it at all. It still is the only thing that it's decent at, in the first place. Specialised til retarded. And i'd always chose good sabre over any rapier. And I know both well.
THe eternal question: Which sword art is better? The difference is not the weapon or the age, it is the fighter's talent, training, experience and will to win. In all parts of the world there were people who knew how to wield their weapons masterfully, and others who used their weapons as a means to an end. Great video, it shows the great respect both fencers have for each other.
Rapier user vs katana user in a nutshell: "My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die." "MY NAME! IS GYOUBU MASATAKA ONIWA! AS I BREATHE, YOU WILL NOT PASS THE CASTLE GATE!"
Thank you, to fully appreciate this demonstration, the two periods and cultures these weapons were used couldn't be further apart. If we break down the length, style, and purpose of each weapon, both have advantages and weaknesses. When pitted against each other, these differences were clearly identified. Without stating specifics, it was fascinating to watch thoroughly enjoyable.
No, but a rapier weighs about the same as a two-handed sword, is as long as a two-handed sword and is pretty straining to fight with for an extended period of time. Switching hands allows the fencer to recover his arms endurance. I'd say he switches too much, but I don't know how long they were fencing before they started the recording. And I don't know the specific rapier, there can be huge differences in what it weighs (just like a two-handed sword) and how heavy it feels.
A Rapier in general will ALWAYS have the advantage over many many weapons of historical times, minus the Spear/Sword + Shield. It's not that it has long reach in general. An Average Katana's length is that of a Single-Handed Medieval Sword, and since the handle is much longer, holding it Two-Hands makes the range THAT much shorter, but with the Rapier you can hold it with 1 hand which gives you even more range than you can imagine. Along with it being easier to control the tip with a single hand, Rapier in general will ALWAYS have the advantage. Also saw a handful of comment saying "This isn't accurate cause a Proper situation the Katana-wielder will swing hard at the Rapier to break it/Knock it out of the way and rush in." 3 things people always FORGETS to consider, or simply doesn't know. 1) A Rapier is NOT fragile by any means. It still uses strengthened, tempered steel that you can literally have someone hold the rapier on the side and even using a 2-Handed sword the BEST you can do is either put a dent in the rapier blade or if you're lucky, a small bend. The rapier is a VERY flexible tempered steel. A human-strength cannot break nor bend tempered-steel with their arm strength alone even holding a weapon. THIS IS FACT, try it out yourself (IF you can get tempered spring steel). Along with that, trying to bend/break a piece of steel someone is simply holding? Impossible, all you can do is knock it off of center alittle. 2) As mentioned, a Rapier is a weapon you can easily control teh blade with your hand/wrist/arm movement alone. Even if someone knocks your blade off to the side, you can EASILY twist your wrist under and back and have the point back on the opponent. THIS is why it's frigging difficult to fight against experience rapier users. 3) Even if you manage to knock the blade and rush into close? A experienced fighter can easily back off just as quick as someone trying to rush in at short distance. You'll be surprised how easily someone can back-away from and keep good distance long enough to counter your rush. Not saying it's "Impossible" to beat a rapier. Just saying there's no "Just do this!" or "Just do that!" in HEMA sword fighting.
Most importantly the Rapier is flexible. Anyone with a passing knowledge of physics knows how much more robust flexible materials are since they can give.
@@user-gi6hd5ol6f Well Rapier has a ridiculous range naturally. Easiest to see is, trying to punch something with both arms at teh same time with your hands close to each other, and then punching with only 1 arm. You'll notice that with 1 arm, you can tilt your upper body and put in your shoulder as well for more range, while punching with both arms out together, hands close (as if holding a sword), you can't push your shoulder out as much nor tilt your upper-body as much for that extra range. And historical rapier blade is much longer than a Katana. Might not too feel like much, but in fencing/weapon sparring this makes alot of difference.
Рапиристы проиграют мечнику или саблесту в том случае есле на них будут доспехи. Был в истории случай когда рапириста убили но тот противник был в латах.
The rapier seems longer. With a one handed sword you can position yourself to get a longer reach, than with a two handed katana. I would say the rapier had the upper hand, almost the entire time.
In fact, the ropera is being used french Style. It makes the range shorter. Spanish style is with the body aside, making harder for the opponent to hit. Katanas are used with both hands, with makes the body exposed. Besides that, the ropera is only using the tip, while correct roperas’ fencing uses tip and edge.
A strong firm grip on a katana can really dictate the ken-sen (sword lines) in a battle. Where the blade is pointed at is where the blade can attack, so if a kendoka starts knocking and parry striking at the rapier the rapier gets deflected easily. Now the counter to this is the fact that the rapier is well weighted to easily return to centre to ready up again and parry and deflect on time, but do not underestimate just how much power and leverage two hands on a blade can dictate in this situation. A good twirling deflection attack on that rapier by a strong kendoka can make a sword go flying. I’ve seen some monstrous maneuvers in tournaments where a kendoka can make the opponent’s shinai go flying across the court.
@@manuelgi1371 Interesting, as i only studied spanish destreza, i thought to myself ''bad stance, he is not profiled enough'' but i didn't know the french did it that way!
The rapier is longer, and that's part of the purpose of a rapier. And one-handed, like you said. The katana is also a little bit short for a two-handed duelling sword. Not to mention, the katana is made for slicing, not thrusting. Not that you can't thrust with it, but it's not as good because it's curved and only sharp on one side. The rapier is the far better weapon in this matchup, and you can see it in how the rapier controls the entire match and is only susceptible to really low-percentage (ironically, rapier/epee style) counter-thrusts that involve some jumping and a little luck.
The rapier is one of my favorite types of swords. Served a similar use to the katana. A civilian defense weapon and side arm in the military. Today it would've been a fun self defense weapon to learn and practice. Carry in a cane like the british did or some slim leg pocket.
2:25 Man in Black: Then why are you smiling? Inigo Montoya: Because I know something you don't know. Man in Black: And what is that? Inigo Montoya: I am not left-handed!
Ha ha. I'm so glad I read through the rest of the comments, because I was just about to post this same thing! He switches hands initially at 1:57 from right to left, and then back at 2:25.
Rapier is longer than katana. Solution: longer katanas Katanas are now longer than rapiers Solition: spears Spears are longer than katana Solution: longer spears. Spears are too poweful Solution: guns
I have watched several of these comparison vids. Really enjoy seeing the different styles and how they play out. This vid is different in that each artist is stalking the other to get a feel of things rather than just going on the offensive like in other vids. Good work!
@@holycrusader7649 Rather depends on the specific rapier design. Some had serviceable cutting edges, many didn't, and there were even eccentric outliers with "spatulate" tips meant for tip-slashing techniques - Shakespeare (who, lest we forget, lived and worked during the heyday of the rapier) references the last one at one point in _Romeo & Juliet_ apparently. Contrariwise as Japanese fencers and swordsmiths were just as fond of eclectic experimentation as anyone else there are also surviving examples of thrust-optimized katanas so yeah.
Many thanks. I feel that, especially at the katana warrior was very much at unease with the situation. I also guess that the rapier fencer was homding back in order not to put in danger the warriors face and eyes especially. Would have been interesting if both wore head protection. Well done anyways.
Rapier is a piercing sword that functions similar to a spear or pikes, but the flexibility of a short sword with reach. Katana is a slashing weapon that can deliver devastating damage but held in 2 hands which gives more power but less reach, so its basically a 2 handed short sword but just longer. For duel rapier will always have advantage. But with armor depending on the armor can change it a lot.
Katana are shorter than longsword and often heavier. Rapiers look about longsword length but lighter and well balanced toward the hand. It looks to me like a perfect 1 hand sword.
@Franz Ibano I agree and if tanjiro did see his stand, polnareff had longer experience. he is still faster and precise plus tanjiro can’t exactly touch silver chariot as it would be defending him..but that water breathing style might hit polnareff
@Franz Ibano if Nezuko was there, then Polnerff would be on full defense mode. He might do the head twist thing with his rapier or last still day to try and get an advantage.
It is a magnificent Spanish sword. next time I want to see a fight against the "verdadera destreza" of Spain, that style was the terror of centuries ago
Потрясающе, рапирист заслуживает уважения, фехтовать двумя руками, это высокое мастерство. Второй боец проявил образцовую выдержку и расчёт, нанес точный удар противнику в руку. Но главное, что победила дружба.
Да, какое там фехтование? Поединок должен был закончиться на первых же секундах победой рапириста. Рапира гораздо быстрее двуручного меча, каким является катана, да и длиннее. Она создана для быстрого и точного укола, а катана - для рубящего удара.
I love this weapon vs weapon arguments, it usually ends with "the guy that stabs you first no matter the weapon" as a winner I mean we are just made of flesh
@@thebeanqueen1669 i does not matter much if you hit someone first, if the opponent is still able to strike, and does it harder. That is why HEMA has rulesets that takes that into Account.
Bravo to these two swordsmen. Aside from katana's legend and fame, rapier is indeed built for duel and it is the ultimate form of 1on 1 fighting sword. It did a great job.
The katana wielder has to remain so wary and defensive throughout this fight that it is honestly hilarious. For most attacks with the blade they will have to wind up to swing, while the rapier just has to lunge forward, possibly while the opponent is winding up.
Does anyone else think that the rapier guy was holding back because the katana guy has no head protection?
Imagine if the rapier guy full reached and accidentally aimed at the guy’s eye. Ouch.
@@samuraijackoff5354 I used to fence foil and the guy I was fencing was wearing a helmet that was too big. It fell off and rolled forward, and the idiot lunged after it. I caught him on the temple, and thought for an awful moment I’d got his eye 😬
Fucking seriously. Where's the face protection? The fencer doesn't even need stab protection like the other guy does.
@@blu-fox Yeah doesn't seems like such a great idea
@@blu-fox
I believe the katana is a nanbu (if I have the name right)
It is designed for thrusting
It's all fun and fencing until the historian with a whip pulls his pistol.
Mmm, maybe you are talking about Indiana Jones but not very sure.
@@elpirataretro8734 yes, he is
Parry this you filthy casual!
Now waiy a minute, holdup, chotomate........ 😂😂😂
And a swell looking hat! :D
The rapier fencer just has so much control over the situation. You can tell he knows that he can afford to take his time because he’s so far out of measure to his opponent yet can still strike him. Rapier is the king of unarmored dueling in my opinion.
wait till he finds out about spears
U can ez the weapon using good strength and a really sharp blade, in fact using those things u can cut the blade as it is little thick, but obviously it only works if the other has s lot of strength and or skill to cut through steel, 2cm of steel is still harder than 10 of wood.
@@xxepicsniperpro8087 my brother in christ you have been watching too much anime
@@xxepicsniperpro8087
Take a break from anime. Go outside and meet some real people. Learn about the real world first, then come back to the anime with an understanding that it is just make believe.
@@xxepicsniperpro8087 this is factually incorrect, unless the rapier is overhardened to the point where it is extremely brittle.
The katana guy not wearing face protection makes his opponent over cautious with his strikes in fear of hitting his face.
Normal people: Japanese vs Italian.
Me:Sushi vs spaghetti
Cooked by A Korean chef
Lol 🤣🤣
@@RapierDuello lmao
More like
sushi vs pizza
ramen vs spaghetti
ramen vs spaghetti
Italian Rapier, Japanese Katana, Hungarian Rhapsody.
And Korean fencers
@@RapierDuello Welcome to globalization
Hotel : Trivago
And German musician. :-)
United we stand
@@NotUnymous Franz Liszt was hungarian
I've run this experiment several times against kendo and katana guys that I am friends with. The reach and speed of the rapier is difficult to overcome, especially if a dagger is added. It obviously won't work in a strong block vs a heavy blade, and the katana can be pretty quick in the hands of a skilled user, but unless that katana wielder is willing to be patient (as was the case here) then he is in for a bad night of it. Great video.
100% agree
What ppl forget about the Rapier... It's really heavy compared to a longsword and a katana
@@markus1351 I really don't know how you are figuring that. My 34" swept-hilt rapier weighs about 2.5 pounds, compared to my 28" longsword at 4.75 pounds and my 31" Harlequin longsword at an even 5 pounds. All of these are one-handed weapons designed for stage combat, and are handled roughly. When you go out East, the 29.5" Katana I use weighs about 3.75 pounds, which is half again as much the weight of the rapier. Take it from a guy that has broken his wrist twice (not performing) and REALLY understands what the weight of a blade means. The rapier is MUCH lighter!
@@seannovack3834 5 pound longsword? oO they should be around 2 pounds if we're talking proper longsword
also a rapier does have cutting edges,... it's not a shortsword
Katanas were the weapon of heavily armoured samurai. They are a sub-par weapon for unarmoured dueling. Next time, bring your armour. ;)
For those who don't notice the guy with the katana is really good you have to be very skilled to defend against the rapier like that with anything other than another rapier
I agree, the katana-wielder has it extra hard. But the rapier-guy has one significant trouble : he cannot control the opponant weapon, that's why he get's double hits when he attacks. Rapier Vs rapier, he would use his strong against the opponant weak and thrust. But the heavier and double handed katana has no weak. IMO, that's why rapier-guy dictates the fight (the opponant is always on retreat) but cannot actually make proper points.
Perdón por usar mi idioma, mi inglés es malísimo.
El hombre de la katana parece ser un maestro, y ser consciente de que su oponente no está a la altura. Aunque sí es consciente de la ventaja de la otra arma.
El de la ropera no parece estar entrenado para este arma. Deja pasar muchas oportunidades y no tira a fondo. Con Vulgar Destreza hubiera vencido, sin duda. Con Verdadera Destreza (y seguramente con entrenamiento en otras escuelas europeas) creo sinceramente que hubiera vencido con mucha facilidad.
@@Manimoren si lo que hablo de tipo de inglés tampoco se confunde mucho De hecho yo he visto experto de ropera contra experto japonés y de hecho el de la ropera también tuvo bastantes problemas contra luchar contra el maestro de katana Así que decidí no te equivocas tanto en lo que dices pero ganar con facilidad tampoco no porque así no es tanto hace un duelo
But i think he lack resolution.
You cant win a battle like this with just arm movement.
He should do some kind of body turn movement with slice to specific part.
@@kzero9714 bold assumption because the rapier just waits for closing in, since it's a piercing weapon and uses your own momentum against you.
the rapier has two advantages: reach, and a linear attack. i studied kendo fifty years ago and often thought how difficult it was to defend against a straight thrust from a weapon with greater reach.
And this is why the spear was the king of the battlefield for ages. Combined with the reasons "ease of use" and "low cost".
Really
Just grab it
@@shazuzrqt7985 just grab
A gun.
@@johnnysinsjr4879great idea
No sword can defeat gun
Normal people: Rapier vs Katana
Me: Mitsurugi vs Raphael
Super underrated comment
Can i prefer Cervantes
I just made a comment about this too 🤣 hell yeah
A man of culture
Raffaele
This genuinely feels like watching some sort of elegant sword ballet in a theatre, especially with the music. Very well done!
La espada ropera es española, un arma de bloqueo, y contraataque a corta distancia muy efectiva, año 1550
Los espanoles desmostraron la superioridad de la Espada ropera en Asia mas presiso en filipinas contra corsarios japoneses y chinos!
@@moisesgarcia1495 y si no estoy equivocado también participaron guerreros Tlaxcaltecas
@@oscarpalacios7828eso dicen
Espada y puñal, insuperable en duelos.
Why the f*** am i watching this? It's 4am and i need to sleep rn
Quarantine is fucking me up for sure
You're doing quarantine perfectly mate....🤣
What a coincidence
Lmao its 4:19 and I find myself in the same shoes
Sameeee dude
I’m watching this on 5:30am lmao
Fencing is all like:"I'm gonna get ya, I'm gonna get ya.hehe".
Pokey pokey
It’s pretty terrifying how defenseless it feels against someone who is trained, so fast
@@timelineenjoyer fencers arent real fighters, they're sportsmans, they're trained to win in fencing rules, not to kill someone with a sword.
Ariel Lucas true but it still would translate in real combat; maybe not for everyone but with a bit More specialized training for combat, especially against someone with little to no training, even a nick would be enough to shock someone long enough to deliver a killing blow. And I mean in a battle with armor and various other weapons it would be pretty useless weapon, but it’s still one of the most effective styles for melee dueling with plain clothesz
Kind of reminded me of a cat just poking at the katana user almost like he was playing with him , but neither really wanted to commit to offense for fear of exposing themselves so they had their little back and forth. I am by no means a expert though I do enjoy watching this type of video often I figured the rapier would strike a killing blow first because he has more mobility compared to the style of sword he was faced with and how I have seen that they were trained (discipline, decisive blows, tight form, excellent balance and control) but that was not the case in this duel. All in all this was well worth the time to watch both men put on a fantastic show of good conduct, sportsmanship, and skill.
The "rapier' sword comes from the Spanish. The name comes from "ropera" ("ropa" in Spanish means "clothes"). It's a sword that hangs on a belt attached to the clothes as part of one's attire (no other fancy meaning). I see in this video the one holding the rapier has his arm holding the sword most of the time flexed or not entirety straight, but the idea is to take advantage of the length of the arm and the length of the rapier straight together as much as you can and wait for the adversary to make the mistake of approaching and attack and get pierced in trying (it was not frequent that the other way around happened, at least between two rapierists of the same religion, Catholic). The one with the rapier controlled this combat for the most part but did not take full advantage of the length of arm and sword. Also, the katana requires more strength and the two arms to maneuver, which grants a harder hit but limits the length and range of action of your sword. The rapier not only requires just one hand, but you maneuver it with your fingers (the design of how the holding cabinet was made almost by where it reaches where the blade starts out was made precisely for that) and one sole arm stretched out can literally allow your rapier to be all the way out to the left and to the right of your body. On top of this, I see the rapier guy fights like in the esgrima sport: you need to go to attack to get the point. In real life (centuries ago) the rapierist would normally have extended his arm holding the rapier straight and waited for the opponent to attack and get pierced. Since the rapier sword comes from Spain and Catholicism was their religion, it was thought if you purposely caused someone's death (like attacking with a sword) then you committed a "mortal" sin, but let's say you held your sword up and your opponent approached to attack you and "finds" your sword in the way and gets pierced, then it would have not been a mortal sin. This is why waiting for the opponent to attack was always encouraged for Spanish unless you fight someone of different religion. Finally, the Spanish did not stand on the ground when esgriming randomly, they did it forming circles and "dancing" within, around and through them. Dancing on a circle properly and staying within these circles to fight and only stepping out of them to give the final and fatal pierce on the opponent would have made extremely difficult for a katanist to win over (the katanist didn't have that evolved knowledge of a relationship between how to hold your sword and how to hold your ground, not as much as the Spanish did for sure, and he would have been more prone to attack not knowing that was precisely what a rapierist would have wanted). In many cases, just by holding your rapier up straight and stepping on the right point of the circumference of a circle your were properly "dancing" within would have ended a fight in your favor if your opponent would have taken a step out and attack you. A pierce of a rapier of only 2 or 3 centimeters but in the wrong place was usually fatal. With all of these, I see not impossible, but unlikely for a katanist to win over a rapierist (specially a Spanish one) in a duel and as if fought for life centuries ago, not as in a sport.
True! What a masterclass of comment, and I thought the same, why no straight arm?
@@ZDavidH thank you for your kind comment. I haven't watched this video again, but I remember this rapierist was not taking full advantage of the lenght of arm and sword or the way he was standing his ground. That gave the katanist more chances to win the duel.
@@carlos25021977 de nada amigo!
Bro went to yap university
If it's a sin to attack another catholic in Catholicism, even in spain, why were there so many wars between Catholics? The Italian wars come to mind, as well as the hundred years war and the conflicts between castile, aragon, navarra, and portugal. There's plenty of wars that Spain was involved in too against other Catholics. Doesn't this seem contradictory? Genuine question.
One of the main reasons for Japanese sword-fighting being respected so much is not because of the swords, but because the line of training from master to student was never broken.
European swordsmanship declined when gunpowder was introduced to the battles, so current fighting is done by people whose training was mostly resurrected from books and maybe small number of enthusiast keeping an obsolete form of fighting alive.
Aristocracy still used it, even French people till the 60s were allowed to have duels to the death.
Rapiers for us europeans is quite "instinctive". It felt just right.
@@wertyuiopasd6281 Not for all Europeans. The English have commented on how chopping with a broadsword or saber makes more sense for them :D . If you have to assign a people to it, the Italians, French and Spanish quite like the pokey swords; Germans like cut and thrust, and the English and Poles trend cutters. For the English/Scottish side, see everything from Highland broadsword to singlestick.
The same can be said about both. The firearm replaced both
@@wertyuiopasd6281 "Aristocracy still used it, even French people till the 60s were allowed to have duels to the death."
Killing someone in a duel was murder. Not just the duelist, but also some of the non-fighting participants could be charged. Duels were legal, but killing was not.
"Rapiers for us europeans is quite "instinctive". It felt just right."
Feeling natural with a sophisticated weapon like that is the product of training, not instinct. Rapiers as we know them weren't even around until guns made armor obsolete, and lack of armor made heavier swords impractical.
czcams.com/video/D1DSVtLe9wE/video.html
Italian rapier vs a Japanese katana in a Korean dojo to Russian music. The two guys fighting in the background seemed to have same score too.
Man of culture
Actually that was not a russian song. That was Hungarian Rapsody in C Sharp minor from Franz Liszt, also know as Woodpecker's Cartoon song.
Vash The Stampede whatever lol
@@vashthestampede4716 Good to know. We need not classify them based merely on sounds, but know of it's origins
Sounds like a street figther match
"My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die."
HaHaHa I was thinking the same think when I seen that rapier! Princess bride....what a great movie huh.
Iñigo not Inigo
Hahaha I thought the same
Well,,my name is inigo,,inigo ayom bawono
Bryan Lahog what ?
The man with the katana did a fantastic job considering the disadvantages he had to overcome.
The rapier is a menacing weapon, perhaps the apex of unarmored dueling swords. It’s like watching a scorpion taunting it’s prey, waiting to deliver a single lethal strike when it detects a sign of weakness.
Despite its deadly intentions there is a sort of gracefulness to the movements of the swordsman with this weapon. The unexpected positioning of the feet and the leaning of the body were amazing to watch.
The Scorpion analogy is perfect.
En un duelo real el estoque fuera absoluto
Experiment is flawed. There are different lengths of Rapiers, Ape and Foils as there are Katana: like O Katan, O Wakasashi, O Chiza...etc., which are ALL copies of the Chinese Han, Tang, Ming Dao Swords that were invented before or around the 15th Century in Ancient China and were imported into Japan/Nippon when the Song and Tang Dynasties merged Commercially, Socially, and Economically with Japan. I am not sure if this experiment is taking into account of equal skill sets and equal blade length for this experiment?. Espada Y'Dagga (Sword and Dagger) would not fit this experiment as that would change the outcome and would be like giving someone a Gun and a sword? This needs more control and a range of skill sets required the measure of the ability of the Asian Japanese blades to accomplish the task to neutralize the opponent with the least amount of skill. This set up is not going to do that? Makes a good video for revenue though. I think a long Blade like the Tachi or O Tachi is more suitable to the Rapier as their lengths are about the same? I have a French Calvary Musketier Rapier and the shorter First Golden Regement French Musketeer Rapier Sword used in the palace of the French Kings? This experiment is flawed. They need to redo this experimenmt with clear and defined matched swords lengths and practitioners who know both sword skills to make this a real experiment.
Why ? This is clearly also a experiment - Rapier vs Katana.
Rapiers in war: 💀
Rapiers in duel: 💪💪
Rapiers with a parryng Dagger: 💪💪💪💪💪💪💪💪
Well they were never built for war that's what the longsword and arming swords job was for plus longswords have so much force behind the blade I have broken so many people's katana with my longsword in tournaments just because the tryed to block but nothing was stoping a heavy strike from a longsword
I feel like there were a lot of times the katana wielder left himself vulnerable and the rapier wielder didn't take advantage.
i also feel the katana wielder could’ve potentially move in to close the gap bu like parrying the rapier to the side
No expert, and could be wrong, but this could be because one of them has no mask on, and so they maybe didn’t wish to fully commit incase someone got hurt.
The otherguy didnt have a helmet
He was baiting the rapier to go in as u see the katana was lowered he was trynna slash the rapier blade
@@frololal6142 Not what I would have done if I had the shorter blade. With a rapier's reach, the opponent has inches of opportunity to hit your arm before you reach them. Rather, I prefer to take the initiative in the bind and maintain control of the blade.
The man with the katana should be wearing a mask! He could lose an eye!
Keeping both fighters safe also means both fighters can go all out. Don't you want to see them fight without restraint?
Peter Stuurman yes i agree!
They made an excuse for that at the begining. Raipier guy needed to bring two masks but he forgot so they just did it under no face attack rule on raipier
@@JP-yk3vh thx for the translation.
Je clearly restraint himself though compared to competition, even without attack to the face.
Mask and armor arenin the background left side... Why? Am I the only one thinking this fencer is super chill? Fencers are nightmarish creatures, seems to me they're needing to exert 40% less effort to maintain control and distance, while the kendoka has to get way more tired to get close... I love japanese swordfighting but this is freaky. Good video!
That is exactly what I thought the mask is on the wrong head. How's he going to lose a eye from a katana. One handed sword will usually beat a two handed sword. Plus I thought rapier fought Espada daga sword an dagger
What an awesome match :) the restraint as well as the readiness are evident in both of them. They have clear skill and I believe decent foot work. Their styles are so completely different that one might fall into a trap if he went all out
That's why a best weapon for a foot soldier back in those days was a universal spear 220-250 cm long 35-40 mm in diameter and 1.5 kg in weight
As much as I love katana's more than rapiers, the rapier guy completely and utterly dictated that duel. No ifs or buts about it.
По истории, шпаги и рапиры вытеснили все мечи и катаны во всех войнах
And even then, he was kinda garbage. Everything he did was at like 20% speed. I fence, and if you fenced like the rapier guy you'd never score a hit (touche).
@@RandomGreenDude Finally, someone who has a clue.
@@matteoteo9521 это немного не так. Появление, пусть даже примитивного, огнестрельного оружия сделало бессмысленным ношение тяжелой брони. Это дало жизнь быстрым и легким рапирам и шпагам.
The fencer is definitely more skilled, the gaps is pretty clear. The katana guy should have been taking advantage of the heavier weight of the katana to knock that dinky rapier thing way off course.
I love the fact that this was more of a shy dance than a fierce battle. This was probably on the account of fighting a different kind of opponent. If you use a weapon that your opponent uses you know what to expect and how to react, but with two completely different fighting styles it's a lot of feeling and trying to see what works.
Plus if the duel was for real. Facing possible death, One can't easily make a move.
younger guy is decked out in way more protective gear and has a weapon thats literally made for this exact purpose its not like hes gonna go full speed at the old dudes hands and wrists and put him in the hospital just to prove a rapier really is the best dueling sword. its a fun little show they put on but the rapier is timid cause they gear is so incredibly mismatched
when I did the competitive martial arts scene I enjoyed sometimes fucking with confident opponents by fighting left handed
I wasn't left handed, but I was a lot better at fighting someone who was fighting right handed than my opponent was at fighting left handed so it can really even the playing field if you have playing field in need of evening -- and if it isn't working you can just stop & switch, which also, funnily enough, fucks with them
@@tabula_rosa i think most competitive combat sports require some level of switching stance at higher levels. different stance is gonna give you different looks and it gives your opponent more to think about. boxers and mma fighters switch a lot. since you jab with your weaker hand a lot of boxers have a switch stance jab thats almost as good as their preferred stance and mma fighters will do it a lot to avoid a leg kick that keeps landing or when it lands enough their lead leg needs to recover.
Rapier is superior.
Varios puntos a cuestionar, la ausencia de proteccion facial obviamente cohibe al contrincante, segundo el artista marcial de kenjutsu notoriamente sólo está habituado a katas de corte, y tambien está cohibido al no contar con proteccion facial, y por no tener punta roma en tu iaito tambien evita las estocadas al contar con kisaki (aunque no esté afilado igual punza) las esgrimas niponas masificadas en la actualidad no son realmente reproducciones historicas, sino sólo disciplinas deportivas, historicamente gran parte de los combates a sable nipon se usa en igual o más la estocada que el corte, sobretodo en combate a pié. Luego tenemos el rapier quw utilizan es de aprox 1.2kg, lo mismo que pesa la katana, y utilizado con una mano, en velocidad y fuerza la katana posee superioridad, rapier solo aventajaría en recorrido (longitud), lo cual es para un esgrimista nipon no dificil de controlar ya que su arma tendrá mayor control en cualquiera de los tercios de la hoja con sus 900g-1.2kg si fuese un rapier de 500-700grs obviamente el rapier superaría sin mucho lio a la katana.
Eso sería en un duelo preparado, si fuese pelea callejera de nobles o en el campo de batalla de forma historica, cambia totalmente la configuracion, rapier llevaría su puñal en la otra mano y el nipón a pié usaria wakizashi + tanto, los tachis y katanas eran armas de caballería pesada y que una vez desmontado por peso y dimensiones se debian usar a 2 manos. En la actualidad es muy raro ver artistas marciales nipones adiestrados en uso correcto de wakizashi, tanto, se observa más en ninjutsu (donde usan jna variante de chokuto con largo similar a wakizashi llamada ninjato).
Sabemos que la katana ha sido romantizada y propagandeada de formas esteticas y no practicas, si ojeamos la historia nipona con cuidado notarán que la mayor parte del tiempo utilizaban chokutos, doble filo (muy similares a las espadas vikingas en puño y hoja cómo espada larga o bastarda) así como filo por un solo lado, de una mano a mano y media, luego en gran cantidad tachis, y por último aparecen las katanas casi al fin del shogunato.
Ya despues tenemos las armas ceremoniales representstivas de mando gunto.
No puedo darle credito al video por que falto veracidad, y srguridad para los participantes.
Watching this brings to mind a cat fighting a viper. The rapid swiping of the Katana user's blade like cat's claws, and the sinuous, unhurried yet violently fast lunges. Its honestly entrancing.
4:17 he's unscrewing the pommel in preparation of throwing it.
Of course. I mean, in a duel you want to end your opponent rightly.
@@janm3781 Skall would be so proud.
@@ANTSEMUT1 I’m so happy the reference is understood.
**No Honor intensifies**
The term Ropera sword (currently also known as rapier) arises in the Renaissance in Spain to designate a certain kind of sword with a long straight blade, wielded with one hand. The original Spanish name of the rapier sword is tizona. It is called rapier because it was carried as an accessory to clothing, generally used for fashion and as a personal defense weapon. His name is of Spanish origin and appears registered for the first time in the Coplas de la panadera, by Juan de Mena, written between approximately 1445 and 1450. It is the best sword in the world and with it the Spanish Empire spread across almost the entire planet.
I appreciate the 'spirit' and fun of this sort of activity. However, this is a very dangerous game to play. The Kendoka not wearing protective head gear is not sensible. This means the fencer could not initiate anything meaningful for risk of sticking the Kendoka in the face. If anyone doubts the danger of blunted western swords I refer you to the tragic death of the Olympic fencer who died in the 1980 Olympic games, when a foil (one of the lightest swords you can find) pierced Vladimir Smirnov's mask. Tragic! What do you think a Rapier will do to a face with no protective gear on at all...
At least it had a plastic tip.
Edit request: Vladimir Smirnov won Gold at the 1980 Olympics but he died two years later at the 1982 world championships. Back then the foils were made of carbon steel and, as such, could fatigue and become brittle after repeated bending. His opponent's foil tip broke off and the remainder of the foil is, without getting too graphic, what killed him. Though he didn't die until nine days later.
May he rest in peace.
I agree its not safe, but if both have good control of the sword and their adrenaline, 90% of times it passes without problems, specially if they stop before contact and they dont hit with force.
@@johndododoe1411 SO?!
@@someweeb6782 That tip is protective gear to not penetrate skin or clothes (unless it fails or hits somewhere soft like an eye).
I have practiced both kendo and fencing (foil). I must say that I enjoyed kendo significantly more. That said, the rapier in this match-up, and I would expect most of the time, is completely out maneuvering the katana. To add insult to injury (literally), the rapier wielder is not able to fully use attacks at his disposal because of the lack of protective gear on his opponent. Is the rapier superior, maybe however the two rarely faced off with each other. Both weapons evolved from their respective environments.
Its fantastic to see the epee fencer go into gaurd one. Ive rarely used it but now i see it has a VERY practical purpose against a slahing weapon
Man, get an anatomical epee, bait to your arm and pull from sixth to one walking inside (bringing your body closer while you move the opponents blade outside with prime guard), that should leave your opponent blade hanging out there in the open and your tip pointing right at his belly in a distance that he wont be able to disengage. It is one of the best moves to catch someone unaware.
Legends say they are still measuring each other for the first hit
LoL
I mean... in a real duel if measuring my opponent for a LONG time makes the difference from keeping my guts inside my gut, then yeah down to the fucking millimeter xD
@@Rulytasho i was just teasing :)
XD
héhé ... very true, even the fights whose stake was death went faster.
2:25 he pulled the "I am not left handed."
Hhah nice catch. I am practicing my left hand as well
Oh, right! Nice catch! (Also, enjoy the pun. ;) )
"And you know what ? I am not left handed either" 😂
@@RapierDuello yeah i guess a skilled swordsman should have no Problem in fighting with both hands.
Love to see a saber fencer against the rapier. The fact it has a hand guard, is used on handed and uses a similar stance would make it interesting.
It's two swords that couldn't be more different. The "Katana" is made to slash and cut off, the "Rapier" is made to pierce and deflect.
From what I read there is up to 500 years difference in the development of these 2 weapons. While Katanas were probably used already between 1000-1XXX (design root trace as far back as 700s) the Rapier was designed around 1500
Not only that, one was made as a battlefield side arm whereas the other one is mostly a dueling weapon.
You want mean tachi and chokutos, katana is a young sword
@@dustf1nger118 nope, gran error, los rapier/ropera eran utilizados por los tercios españoles con su respectivo puñal y arma de avancarga asignada, cabe senalar que el rapier procede de la espada ropera de cruceta española que al migrar a francia evoluciono con gavilanes y decorativos e incluyendo cazoletas llamandoles rapier. En españa ropera de cazoleta o cazoleta a secas.
No. The Katana and Rapier are pretty much from the same time and saw pretty much the same kind of fights. Civil clothing dress weapon for self defence.
Really puts into perspective how hard the katana fighter has to assert his control over space. The amount of calculation that goes into each attack he makes is extreme, whereas the rapier fighter is essentially just biding his time, waiting for an opportunity for a clean shot.
And trying to not poke an eye out of the kendoka. They should have been both wear a mask.
@@neutronalchemist3241 doesnt his sword has a cover on the tip?
@@jatinkm Provided it doesn't fall, it would be like having your eye stabbed with a finger. Not a pleasant experience.
@@jatinkm That doesn’t matter. You’ll still get your eye poked out if you’re unlucky.
I am not sure if rapier was a final form for white arms duelling, but the fact it replaced heavier swords/ sabres in Europe for that purpose speak for itself how elegant and effective that weapon is.
Samurai swordsmanship is very simple, but it was evolved to fight other people who use same swords + more or less same styles. Europe was in constant international wars so their swords, strategies, and techniques were constantly evolving to fight different cultures.
There's some old combat manual from Europe where the illustration shows a straight up kick to the dick after parrying an overhead attack. I remember the caption was something along the lines of, "if his most vulnerable part is exposed why wouldn't I attack it?" Kind of showing that they were not messing around back then lol.
The katana however is a stronger weapon, if they ever clash and go hard it would out powered the rapier also, the katana is way sharper, instead of going for the body, the katana practitioner could have went for his wrist, arm since the rapier practitioner is over reaching it all the time, in a real fight, the katana practitioner would have chop off his opponent arm
@@adrianjh9481 not sure about that. I sparred agaisnt wooden katana using wooden long sword, and it was pretty easy to dominate it. I was always going for legs xD
@@adrianjh9481 They are designed for different things. Katana is a properly "medieval" war sword: long enough to distance the enemy and shape enough to clash the middle-heavy armor. Rapier was designed for a Super-Heavy-Armored Infantry and Chavalry and than, with the rise of Muskets, it becames a "Spadino" principally designet for sparring, duels and to efforts light armored enemy and not fully-armored enemy. It was quite useless in europe use a Katana against the kind of enemy they were use to have in these times. Otherwise the Rapiere could have a chance during the Sengoku period.
If you mean a Historical fight like Samurai Vs Musketeers, the samurai would be shot before to start. If you mean a duel between a Samurai and a Spadino-Musketeers the Samurai can sure have a initial advantage but we have never to forget that Spadino was designed exactly to kill this kind of warriors.
@midén A precious point
Воин с катаной очень смел, без защиты головы и кистей рук. На моём кавалерийском ятагане тоже не было гарды ,приходилось надевать руковицу. Воин с рапирой пользовался настоящим оружием, у него уставала рука и он перекладывал рапиру в другую руку. Молодцы!
Amazing comparison of two great weapons. Although from different cultures and realities, this gives some idea how to use each of them. Their advantages and disadvantages. Both superior weapons from earlier centuries.
0:56 that honoring tho
manners maketh man
That bow should be in dark souls lol
I have also sparred a rapier fencer. However, I wasn't as knowledgeable of kendo then, as I am now. I wasn't even a Rokyu at the time and I lost horribly. My take away from that sparring session, was the fact that a proficient rapier fighter is very patient, has good endurance, and is extremely precise with his/her attacks.
After putting some time in the dojo, I have noticed a rudimentary rule of thumb can go a long way, when it come to the mechanics of a rapier fencer.
Basically, when the fencer has fully committed to the full extension of the lunge, their front leg tends to bear more weight to maintain balance.
This is the narrow window of time, which we kenoka can be using that moment, if we are agile and quick enough, to force their blade aside just enough to possibly move in to take a point.
This can't happen unless you are able to get them to fully commit to the lunge, of which that is entirely a different discussion.
It sounds to me like reckless stupidity. You and 90% of the people watching this video have come to the wrong conclusion. You think the kendo fighter scored a point when he hit the fencer around the wrist. Great job you managed to slash at a dude's gloved hand too bad you're dead.... Watch the tip of the rapier on the slow-mo starting at 6:29. The kendo fighter takes a solid hit to the liver at the same time he makes contact with the wrist. Irl the fencer might need stitches the samurai is dead.
@@marcuspacheco3815 even if you are right, your tone and condescendence take away all the possible truths you said. Why do you asume what others think? Have you talked to them? Would you like your tone if somebody answered like you did? Have you read ALL the comments to come with the 90% metric? Have you got any sources to prove what you state? otherwise, your commnet is reckless stupidity, even though you might be right. I don't even care if you are
@@kerolokerokerolo Well, it's not exactly hard to read the comments for 10 minutes or so...
@@kerolokerokerolo I agree with what you said about his tone, but correct information should still be a priority...
@@marcuspacheco3815 the katana is like half the length! This is so unfair. Use a Japanese longsword variant in the katana's family, preferably straight since that curve is actually a defect turned cultural symbol anyways. Then let's compare.
I love at the 30 second mark how the guy sheaths his katana without looking. So natural.
Rapier is the ultimate duel sword, period
An interesting video but there are some things that bother me:
1. Rapier guy switching hands very often -- was he tired?
2. Not a single energetic lunge with the rapier.
3. And of course lack of the mask for the katana guy that made it harder for a rapier fighter to go all in hard and fast.
It would be nice to see another sparring in more even conditions.
Re #1. Probably tired. Holding a rapier out on point like that is very tiring. You have to consider the leverage weight. His arm is out stretched and the rapier is a much longer weapon. The rapier looks light, but the method of holding it and keeping it on point causes all of that lighter weight to be multiplied due to leverage.
@@johnlin3959 , I do rapier myself and know pretty well that it's not light (my saber is 1,5 times lighter than may rapier :)) and tiring. That's why we do a lot of training for the arm and fingers. My point is that if rapier guy was already heavily tired this fight is not a good showcase of swordsmanship and weapon use :(.
@@wladff I think you are probably correct that this person has not trained much with rapier to become tired like that. I would note that the kendo practitioner executes a lot of heavy beats to the blade. That might be an additional strain that he's not used to.
Actually once you’re practised with a rapier you can go for an hour or more. There is very little sword to sword contact in these fights and yet he gets tired. I can only conclude the rapierist is a beginner. It’s common when you start out for your arms to get tired quickly but once you develop your muscle fibres you can go on for hours like this
I don't know lot for the rapier but i just want to say that they both agreed to only use 70% of their speed. Which is why i personaly think, may be a reason for the rapierist didn't lunged energetically. It's only my guess~^^;;
*Lesson:*
Range is a SIGNIFICANT factor in the Art of Armed Combat
Thats true, but in real weapon combat you just have one chace to win
That's why the guns were invented.
Also lesson: if your weapon cant penatrate the armor you lose
Rapier were design to be a dueling weapon, while Katana is more for the B
Battlefield
@@mochi4387 true but rapiers were designed in a time were armor was obsolete and no longer worn. Its also designed to defeat the standard European medieval swords.
Parece fácil assistindo filmes e seriados, mas uma luta real é difícil e esse vídeo é um excelente exemplo.
I think it's a lot less about the weapons and more about the skill of the wielders. That being said, if the katana fanatics are correct, the katana should've cut the rapier apart like a toothpick in 0.02 seconds, right?
He should have used stone stance, very effective with sword wielders.
So is wind stance.
Naw... Ghost Stance lol
Oh no it’s the Ghost!!! Lol
I was referencing The Stormlight Archive. And, completely for got about Ghost of Tsushima. Lol
But poop stance would've gave him a big advantage.
That rapier is controlling all the space.
It has longer reach.
The katana can't figure out how to pass the point of that rapier.
he was getting it as time went on
And is 2x faster then katana.
most intelligent comment ive read thus far
the fact to think one needs to figure how to pass the point is where you mistook everything. You don't even need to pass it. You can just hit the rapier over and over again. There's no competing in that. That's why, the only choice for one who use rapier to fight a katana is to avoid any attack. They can't just randomly blocking any attack, because that rapier can't be used for blocking katana.
You don't even realize even if it occurs so many time in the video. The katana dude try hitting it so many time, while the rapier guy don't want it's rapier to be touched by his katana. He has to avoid it being hit by that katana as best as he could. Or else, the katana could easily throw it over the place and create an open space for his enemy. That's why, the rapier guy need to evade it as best as he could.
and you still come up with that underestimating comment like that even after watching how the rapier guys lose it. not once, but twice.
and about rapier for sport fencing, it only has one point to attack. it's variety for attacking are lesser than any saber or sword type. It's only aim is to puncture the enemy. it has advantage and disadvantage. Just look at how the katana guy evade one thrust and aim to slash the hand. With rapier, it's long pointing tip is dangerous, but that's the only thing you should afraid of. It won't slash, it won't cut. It would be different with the type of real rapier with edge (unlike the one he uses in this video which only for fencing in sport)
and with this kind of rapier, you can't just use it head on to block any stroke from bigger sword. Either you evade it, or to lead the stroke to other way. You can't just use it for blocking.
To be honest, the guy who uses katana is a bit considerate. He is considering the rapier he use is only rapier for sport so he just fight him only with mindset to play cleanly like a sport. If he fight just the way how he should use katana, it won't take him that long. He could just hit the rapier and throw it away to open the space for attack. But he chose to play it soft, and aim the slash after avoiding the thrust. He uses katana as if he is in fencing sport.
@@seniorcell8816 aside the fact that it's not impossible to parry a katana with a rapier (Altough it's true it's not made to block continuous long blows), the "hitting the rapier and throwing it away" wouldn't probably work exactly because the rapier guy wouldn't have just let his blade be thrown aside, and that kind of fencing is very equipped with counterattacks and moves to face similar eveniences... MMMmmm to be honest, I agree with ogghhz0r's comment above here... the really considerate one is the rapier guy: with that kind of weapon and the fight type it uses, in other conditions he would probably have gone way more to thrust to the head or upper body, but you can't with a person without protective headgear... heck, it's dangerous even with rubber weapons xD
That not to say that the guy or the weapon are surely to be the winners cause "they are better", but the fact is that a katana, or actually even a western longsword, has quite hard time to fight a weapon that has so long range but so agile moves.
I'd say both of them are forced to hold back in different ways. I think it's also important to note that for the guy with the Katana, he also has to hold back during offense. If he gets too aggressive and makes a single mistake, he could die or get seriously hurt, and there's no way he doesn't know this.
El de Katana debio usar mejores protecciones, eso permitiria al que usa Rapier entrar y salir ams rapido con mas confianza, igual es cierto que si el de katana la usa con velocidad pese a als proteciones le corta el brazo o se lo quiebra de una golpe. Pero me parece que en un combate real siempre ganaria el rapier al menos que el que lo usa sea muy malo en ello.
Если бы они стояли близко и начали бой,то катана бесспорно победила,так как она достаётся из ножен быстрее за счёт своей формы.Рапиру даже не успели бы достать,и бой закончился менее чем за секунду всего одним ударом.
@@marinamaltseva1104alucin
Great demonstration, feeling each other out, experimenting with trust, playing with two opposing sword styles. Everything about that session was positive.
It never looks like it does in the movies.
I love that the katana weirder realizes his disadvantages right away length and speed
Yeah, you could definitely see him struggle with the distancing a few seconds in. He was doing okay with pace control when he was starting to footsie with the blade side to side with the rapier. He *really struggled* when rapier was moving in circular motion. It was a really cool demonstration of the two different techniques and blades. It also looked like the katana wielder wasn't used to sparring with the actual blade, whereas with Rapiers I know they do that on a fairly regular basis, but maybe I'm wrong. They looked like they were having a blast though!
@@ryanshannon7703 you would be right if he is a practitioner of Kendo which I imagine he is they practice with Shinai which are Bamboo practice swords, he also didn’t have on any of the protective gear usually used in kendo.
@@bobbybowles568 I noticed lack of protective equipment on the kendo (assumedly) practitioner as well. Fencer was nice enough to cork the tip, not sure if the edges are dulled though. I would think the dynamics would be much different if they were both armored up, but still really cool that they did this.
and arm protection... that hilt basket is quite an advantage... rapier guy could just cut fingers and it would be over for katana guy...
Timing beats that fencing is unidirectional a timed parry counter would end it
No se si es oportuno decir que las roperas solían emplearse junto a una daga, como muestran las ilustraciones iniciales. No usarla, evidentemente reduce la eficacia y además solían ponerse de perfil al oponente de de frente.
A japanese katana expert said that dueling a rapier expert is quite scaring cause the rapier point is alway directed at yours vital body part from the beginning to the end.
This seems like some scene where the traditionalist protagonist fights the westernized antagonist
Both are traditional in their own sense
That depends who is the protagonist, Steven Seagal or Henry Cavill.
Is this a vic2 referemce???
@@JuanFierroChico idk man, it happens in a lot of movies and animes
Schneider vs battousai
I could feel the frustration coming off the katana fighter. The rapier's reach is not just an offensive threat it's a defense. The katana fighter needed to go with all-in beat attacks.
It is. He could only counterattack. There's no way for him to get into range himself. Rapier is too long and fast. Katana is too limited with mostly slashing techniques. It was made to be a battlefield weapon. The rapier is a dueling weapon. It has the advantage.
@@monkeywage
The samurai usually used naginatas for the battle field and the katanas point can also be used for thrusting.
Right. Different purpose. Different design
@@Ninjaananas Rapier is significantly lighter. Katana has a slashing consideration in its design. Rapier is generally thick enough for party purposes, but long enough to maintain thrust advantage.
I genuinely think if both were able to go all out the rapier would have been the superior weapon in this duel.
Total hypothesis here, but im betting the katana wielder would end up with multiple stab wounds and loses arm functionality while fencer maintains distance behind the needle, slowly bleeding his opponent out.
I think Kendo is a far more reasonable combat method than most other Asian swordplay, but the rapier and fencing was mostly created and nurtured for specifically this kind of fight.
Another way to out this is:
Samurai on the battlefield.
Fencer in the duel.
@@ralphellis4569
Rapiers are not much lighter. They just have a different center of gravity.
This was awesome, the skill of the Rapier fencer is so clear to me…being able to switch hands and have great footwork at the same time. So cool!
The rapier is possibly the best dueling weapon - great reach, great hand protection, very nimble and has a thrust attack that is difficult to defend against. If paired with a dagger it's even better
Being so light while having a good range
Nice sportsmanship from both sides, I love how they immediately get to discussing strategy after the duel.
I am a fan of the japanese culture, so i am NOT a katana hater. However, i am also objective enough to understand that as cool as the katana is, when 1 vs 1 with rapier it does not have a chance. A lot of europian weapons are just more anvanced than the katana, because they are made to be used against a lot of different cultures and nations. So they are just more effective at combat. The katana is a really specialised weapon designed for fighting a very specific style of swordsmanship. that is because in those centuries the japanese nation was not so open to the world and was pretty isolated. It is like jenes, the more you mix them the better and more adaptive they get. Again i do not hate the katana i am just practical and aknowledge that there are better weapons that it when it comes to just killing someone in the most practical way. Katana is a cool weapon, but it is far from unbeatable.
Katana user's just needs more.... MOTIVATION
Precisely. The katana was used almost exclusively against 'other' katana users - the repeated Japanese civil wars. The Rapier, on the hand, was used against all manner of weapons from different cultures, including against the scimitars of the Ottoman Empire, which is itself not entirely dissimilar to the katana, being a curved sword designed primarily for weighty cuts.
I compare a katana is like a marine and a rapier is like a mma fighter, and a mma fighter will kick the ass of a marine in the octagon!
I wouldn't say "doese not have a chance" though. What makes melee fights so interesting that sometimes u can in fact win against someone who has a better weapon. Saw a video where some guy with a knife won against a spear user few times. Most of the times he lost though
Awesomely displayed! I'm a follower of this channel now! Keep it coming, please!
I thought Katana swords were much longer and that these smaller shorter swords were named differently. If someone can educate me on that, that would be great.
Quite beautiful to watch two very different sword fighting styles going head to head. Both styles are absolutely beautiful and each has its own unique attacks and blocks. Wild!
Возможно красиво, но боец кендоку без шлема, зная это он не защищает свою голову, так как соперник не может в неё бить
@@user-tq3bw9tq8l I wondered about that, having that off limits gives him a distinct advantage doesn’t it?
@@davidgill3356 Это очевидно, жаль, что мало кто воспринимает информацию критически. Мне честно говоря было забавно смотреть это видео
I just wanted to point this for weebs that Katana was samurais secondary weapon their main weapons were bows and spear's.
Edit: Yes I am talking about specific era and wars
Wasn't it spears?
Yes bows if you weren't skilled enough it was the yari or naginata
@@rigniton7889 for melee, yeah, but not for bowmen on horses.
@@AnonYmous-ob7py not all bow man were on horses
Kendo is the most common in Japan but I like naginata the best, it’s very amusing watching Japanese high school clubs
I know nothing of fencing.
But even I can feel the amount of threat a slight change in the tilt of the rapier can generate.
Fascinating
WOW! 두 분 다 정말 정말 대단하신 분들이시네요!!
I kind of love the awkwardness of this lol I know nothing about sword fighting but it seems like they’re both trying to figure out each other’s stances and moves and how to best adjust. This is a super cool idea 🤩
It's mostly beacos they have to hold back since the katana guy dosnt have a helmet on the rapier guy especially if he hits him in the eye that whould be pretty bad
I don't like this fight, one was a guy trained for another sport and the other has almost no protection
I mean they are trying to make the other person make a mistake, which would in a normal sword fight be brutal.
@@luisapaza317 Hema means historical european martial arts in short that guy you see isn't trained for fencing but actual rapiel combat.
The katana guy not having a mask is giving me a lot of second-hand anxiety. Edit: no hand protection either? What are you trying to prove?
It also gives him an advantage as the other fighter cant go for a head blow
@@johncollins8070 If so, they might as well strip naked and have 0 target area at all.
To be fair you usually don't need heavy gloves to fence against rapier, unless your opponent does shit rapier and uses it like a Sidesword
@@hschan5976 Don't underestimate a thrust to the fingers.
@@SwordTune Fingers are mostly covered by complex hilt.
No mask means you can't target the head, which is an extremely significant target in rapier. This is a huge disadvantage.
"weapon focus" If this is a sword fight, fine. However, if this is a fight, a free arm and two legs. My approach here is to either use the katana to destroy the rapier, or use the katana to close the distance within the rapier's tip and fight by hand. Kudos to both. Patience is a virtue.
Very interesting! Fascinating to see how they were both controlling the distance between them and covering their own target areas; I got the impression rapier was trying to make blade contact while katana was trying to avoid it
(And I wish katana had a mask, I was feeling nervous on rapier's behalf!)
Those are good impressions. Rapier fights by staing in contact witch tip of oponents rapier to feel the atack, while in Kenjutsu it is imperative to minimaze that contact so the blade ain't damaged. And it is doubly funny, that any sword can roll over rapier if you use Rapier own rulles against it.
Since there's no guard on the blade, a Katana will lose to a Rapier if he tries to make blade contact
@@Carpatouille not really tho. Tsuba and crosguard have both very limited protection, yes. Hovewer that does not mean that thei're defenceless. Bind will do all the work if used in standard way.
@@jozefkozon4520 It's still a rather big disadvantage, especially in a duel.
@@Carpatouille Arguable, yes, but only if you did not train agaist it at all. It still is the only thing that it's decent at, in the first place. Specialised til retarded. And i'd always chose good sabre over any rapier. And I know both well.
I like the beginnning how they both bowed in their own styles
THe eternal question: Which sword art is better?
The difference is not the weapon or the age, it is the fighter's talent, training, experience and will to win. In all parts of the world there were people who knew how to wield their weapons masterfully, and others who used their weapons as a means to an end.
Great video, it shows the great respect both fencers have for each other.
the rapier is an excellent dueling sword. Now I think it will always be difficult to know which was the better sword in combat.
무슨 일이 있든간에 무조건 보호구를 착용하고 특히 마스크 착용은.....정말 필수 아닌 필수죠....너무 위험합니다.....
맞습니다. 다음에는 착용하겠습니다
Rapier user vs katana user in a nutshell:
"My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die."
"MY NAME! IS GYOUBU MASATAKA ONIWA! AS I BREATHE, YOU WILL NOT PASS THE CASTLE GATE!"
Just bring firecrackers
Thank you,
to fully appreciate this demonstration, the two periods and cultures these weapons were used couldn't be further apart.
If we break down the length, style, and purpose of each weapon, both have advantages and weaknesses.
When pitted against each other, these differences were clearly identified.
Without stating specifics, it was fascinating to watch thoroughly enjoyable.
The periods were the same. The purpose was the same - civil clothing dress weapon for self defence.
Do you really need to switch hands that often when you use rapier?
No, but a rapier weighs about the same as a two-handed sword, is as long as a two-handed sword and is pretty straining to fight with for an extended period of time. Switching hands allows the fencer to recover his arms endurance. I'd say he switches too much, but I don't know how long they were fencing before they started the recording. And I don't know the specific rapier, there can be huge differences in what it weighs (just like a two-handed sword) and how heavy it feels.
A Rapier in general will ALWAYS have the advantage over many many weapons of historical times, minus the Spear/Sword + Shield.
It's not that it has long reach in general. An Average Katana's length is that of a Single-Handed Medieval Sword, and since the handle is much longer, holding it Two-Hands makes the range THAT much shorter, but with the Rapier you can hold it with 1 hand which gives you even more range than you can imagine. Along with it being easier to control the tip with a single hand, Rapier in general will ALWAYS have the advantage.
Also saw a handful of comment saying "This isn't accurate cause a Proper situation the Katana-wielder will swing hard at the Rapier to break it/Knock it out of the way and rush in."
3 things people always FORGETS to consider, or simply doesn't know.
1) A Rapier is NOT fragile by any means. It still uses strengthened, tempered steel that you can literally have someone hold the rapier on the side and even using a 2-Handed sword the BEST you can do is either put a dent in the rapier blade or if you're lucky, a small bend. The rapier is a VERY flexible tempered steel. A human-strength cannot break nor bend tempered-steel with their arm strength alone even holding a weapon. THIS IS FACT, try it out yourself (IF you can get tempered spring steel). Along with that, trying to bend/break a piece of steel someone is simply holding? Impossible, all you can do is knock it off of center alittle.
2) As mentioned, a Rapier is a weapon you can easily control teh blade with your hand/wrist/arm movement alone. Even if someone knocks your blade off to the side, you can EASILY twist your wrist under and back and have the point back on the opponent. THIS is why it's frigging difficult to fight against experience rapier users.
3) Even if you manage to knock the blade and rush into close? A experienced fighter can easily back off just as quick as someone trying to rush in at short distance. You'll be surprised how easily someone can back-away from and keep good distance long enough to counter your rush.
Not saying it's "Impossible" to beat a rapier. Just saying there's no "Just do this!" or "Just do that!" in HEMA sword fighting.
This was Kendo anyway. If we get kenjutsu the rapier might still do better but Kenjustsu is just better than kendo
Most importantly the Rapier is flexible. Anyone with a passing knowledge of physics knows how much more robust flexible materials are since they can give.
Hyper extension?
@@user-gi6hd5ol6f Well Rapier has a ridiculous range naturally. Easiest to see is, trying to punch something with both arms at teh same time with your hands close to each other, and then punching with only 1 arm. You'll notice that with 1 arm, you can tilt your upper body and put in your shoulder as well for more range, while punching with both arms out together, hands close (as if holding a sword), you can't push your shoulder out as much nor tilt your upper-body as much for that extra range. And historical rapier blade is much longer than a Katana. Might not too feel like much, but in fencing/weapon sparring this makes alot of difference.
Рапиристы проиграют мечнику или саблесту в том случае есле на них будут доспехи. Был в истории случай когда рапириста убили но тот противник был в латах.
The rapier seems longer. With a one handed sword you can position yourself to get a longer reach, than with a two handed katana.
I would say the rapier had the upper hand, almost the entire time.
In fact, the ropera is being used french Style. It makes the range shorter. Spanish style is with the body aside, making harder for the opponent to hit. Katanas are used with both hands, with makes the body exposed. Besides that, the ropera is only using the tip, while correct roperas’ fencing uses tip and edge.
A strong firm grip on a katana can really dictate the ken-sen (sword lines) in a battle. Where the blade is pointed at is where the blade can attack, so if a kendoka starts knocking and parry striking at the rapier the rapier gets deflected easily.
Now the counter to this is the fact that the rapier is well weighted to easily return to centre to ready up again and parry and deflect on time, but do not underestimate just how much power and leverage two hands on a blade can dictate in this situation.
A good twirling deflection attack on that rapier by a strong kendoka can make a sword go flying. I’ve seen some monstrous maneuvers in tournaments where a kendoka can make the opponent’s shinai go flying across the court.
@@manuelgi1371 Interesting, as i only studied spanish destreza, i thought to myself ''bad stance, he is not profiled enough'' but i didn't know the french did it that way!
The rapier is longer, and that's part of the purpose of a rapier. And one-handed, like you said. The katana is also a little bit short for a two-handed duelling sword. Not to mention, the katana is made for slicing, not thrusting. Not that you can't thrust with it, but it's not as good because it's curved and only sharp on one side. The rapier is the far better weapon in this matchup, and you can see it in how the rapier controls the entire match and is only susceptible to really low-percentage (ironically, rapier/epee style) counter-thrusts that involve some jumping and a little luck.
yet they lost
The rapier is one of my favorite types of swords.
Served a similar use to the katana. A civilian defense weapon and side arm in the military.
Today it would've been a fun self defense weapon to learn and practice.
Carry in a cane like the british did or some slim leg pocket.
I like to imagine this is exactly what sword fights looked like back in the day
2:25
Man in Black: Then why are you smiling?
Inigo Montoya: Because I know something you don't know.
Man in Black: And what is that?
Inigo Montoya: I am not left-handed!
I love you
Ha ha. I'm so glad I read through the rest of the comments, because I was just about to post this same thing! He switches hands initially at 1:57 from right to left, and then back at 2:25.
“My name is Inigo Montoya, you kill my father, prepare to die!!!”
The “For Honor” live action behind the scenes looking pretty fire-
Rapier is longer than katana. Solution: longer katanas
Katanas are now longer than rapiers
Solition: spears
Spears are longer than katana
Solution: longer spears.
Spears are too poweful
Solution: guns
I think it's pretty clear that the rapier guy has an enormous advantage
I have watched several of these comparison vids. Really enjoy seeing the different styles and how they play out. This vid is different in that each artist is stalking the other to get a feel of things rather than just going on the offensive like in other vids. Good work!
How I see it is this: One's meant for thrusting, while another is meant for slashing rather than piercing.
Both are still awesome to me.
in the end they all work the same: pointy end goes into the other man.
Actually both can be used to slash and thrust the difference is one is better at doing something than the other one
@@holycrusader7649 Rather depends on the specific rapier design. Some had serviceable cutting edges, many didn't, and there were even eccentric outliers with "spatulate" tips meant for tip-slashing techniques - Shakespeare (who, lest we forget, lived and worked during the heyday of the rapier) references the last one at one point in _Romeo & Juliet_ apparently.
Contrariwise as Japanese fencers and swordsmiths were just as fond of eclectic experimentation as anyone else there are also surviving examples of thrust-optimized katanas so yeah.
Katana guy should have worn a helmet. Rapier guy had to have caution the whole time not to injure him accidently.
Many thanks. I feel that, especially at the katana warrior was very much at unease with the situation. I also guess that the rapier fencer was homding back in order not to put in danger the warriors face and eyes especially.
Would have been interesting if both wore head protection.
Well done anyways.
Thanks for visiting my channel. Pls, feel free to watch other videos. You will find interesting matches with a full 100% speed.
Rapier is a piercing sword that functions similar to a spear or pikes, but the flexibility of a short sword with reach. Katana is a slashing weapon that can deliver devastating damage but held in 2 hands which gives more power but less reach, so its basically a 2 handed short sword but just longer. For duel rapier will always have advantage. But with armor depending on the armor can change it a lot.
Rapiers can cut and a katana can thrust.
@@epicwoad8999 they can but it isnt their forte
@@epicwoad8999 a butter knife can also cut and thrust.
@@epicwoad8999 that’s true, but each weapon is designed for a certain type of damage. Rapiers are better at thrusting, katanas are better at cutting
Katana are shorter than longsword and often heavier. Rapiers look about longsword length but lighter and well balanced toward the hand. It looks to me like a perfect 1 hand sword.
I was expecting Tanjiro VS Polnareff but this one's ok too
@Franz Ibano I agree and if tanjiro did see his stand, polnareff had longer experience. he is still faster and precise plus tanjiro can’t exactly touch silver chariot as it would be defending him..but that water breathing style might hit polnareff
@Franz Ibano plus it had 7 clones when it does
@Franz Ibano yeah he’s got that god dance too
X'D
@Franz Ibano if Nezuko was there, then Polnerff would be on full defense mode. He might do the head twist thing with his rapier or last still day to try and get an advantage.
It is a magnificent Spanish sword. next time I want to see a fight against the "verdadera destreza" of Spain, that style was the terror of centuries ago
Потрясающе, рапирист заслуживает уважения, фехтовать двумя руками, это высокое мастерство.
Второй боец проявил образцовую выдержку и расчёт, нанес точный удар противнику в руку.
Но главное, что победила дружба.
Да, какое там фехтование?
Поединок должен был закончиться на первых же секундах победой рапириста.
Рапира гораздо быстрее двуручного меча, каким является катана, да и длиннее. Она создана для быстрого и точного укола, а катана - для рубящего удара.
I love this weapon vs weapon arguments, it usually ends with "the guy that stabs you first no matter the weapon" as a winner
I mean we are just made of flesh
Yes
Yeah in those cases it is just a matter of the wielder. rather then the actual weapon.
Depends, usually it is, who incapacitates the other first.
Well no duh it ends with a guy getting stabbed that’s the point! It’s just trying to figure out which weapon makes getting to that goal easier
@@thebeanqueen1669 i does not matter much if you hit someone first, if the opponent is still able to strike, and does it harder.
That is why HEMA has rulesets that takes that into Account.
Bravo to these two swordsmen. Aside from katana's legend and fame, rapier is indeed built for duel and it is the ultimate form of 1on 1 fighting sword. It did a great job.
Thank you enjoyed the video.
Like how rapier guy would swap hands so he wouldn't get tried
The katana wielder has to remain so wary and defensive throughout this fight that it is honestly hilarious. For most attacks with the blade they will have to wind up to swing, while the rapier just has to lunge forward, possibly while the opponent is winding up.