Did all y'all complainers in the comments notice how the two martial artists respected each other and had a good time sparring instead of whining about which weapon is objectively best?
Except that Kendo armour wouldnt really help that much since its designed for protecting areas where one has to strike to gain a point in an actual match, besides trusting ur opponent notto break ur fingers or ribs is a pretty huge way of showing respect.
@@TaoistSwordsman Long sword guy with carotid artery is certainly going to die Bokken guy with a cut at around L4 L5 level would likely open up the common iliac artery and descending aorta. Plus the momentum to the upper arm which could damage axillary artery and brachial artery would still be fatal but would last a bit longer than his enemy. In the field they would both die without a doubt. Zero chance of surviving unless they are duelling in the operating room.
i love this coment, and, as a HEMA practitioner, doubles arent that rare, mainly becouse if you are definitely getting hit, hitting back is a good way to avoid your adversary making points (doubles dont count basically you are taught to have absolute control of your enemies sword, you have to be able to hit while also making imposible to be hit, tho i guess thats a bit obvious)
While we were enjoying this display of sportsmanship and a demo into a curiosity I’m sure many of us have had at one point, the rest were studying the blade.
Despite the fanboys in the comments this spar seems pretty equal. These types of videos should really be labelled, "Man with Bokken vs. Man with Longsword". If you swapped out either one with a different fighter the result could be vastly different. Maybe a different guy with a Bokken would be faster and land twice as more hits or maybe a different Longsword guy would wipe out this Bokken guy. It's about the fighter not the style. There are simply too many factors to conclusively say "This style will always win over another style"
I couldn't have agreed more. Each and every sword, be it Japanese, Chinese, Roman, Greek, Indo-persian, Caucasian, European, turkic, of the Renaissance, etc. has it's negatives and positives, what matters quite a lot is the mind of the swordsman. Techniques, styles, sword types, and a select few other factors that some of these armchair warriors talk about, do not play a big role as compared to the mind of a human. Everything one may learn has to be applied to certain situations and advantages.
I completely agree. Also at about 1:22 or so the Long sword man pulls what would of been a blow to the head on his opponent, about 4-6 seconds latter the boken guy does the same thing. I just love this video because it shows both of these guys being sportsmen and enjoying the competition.
I wouldn't say style, but swords do matter. The thrust at 1:48, although ultimately defendable, shows just how much of an advantage in range the longsword has. Add to that no handguard on the bokken and I would be sliding down that blade for his hands and forarms, while staying out of reach all day. They had 3 or 4 double-kills, which is what the guy with the shorter blade almost has to expose himself to, in order to get close enough to hit. Of course, it is not the sword that wins the fight, but these factors just make longsword more forgiving in a one-on-one like this one.
What I appreciate the most is how their opponent respects the strike. More often than not in sparring one person will pull their strike, showing that they could have hit them but did not. My pet peeve is when my sparring partner ignores this courtesy completely and whacks me as I reset for a new round. (Hand to hand)
+Dwight Schrute Yeah, right... Bokken practice is part of a Martial Art. Learning the form is one of the essential parts of Kendo and Kendo is one of the most respected Sports in Japan and Korea. Handling a Bokken basically equals handling a Katana, which is why higher ranked kendoka often use Katanas for public demonstrations.
+Matei Tudor I've been hit in the head with a red oak bokken. It hurt, left a scar, and I learned a valuable lesson. Most of the time, if people are serious about the art, and they have a partner who is also serious, they can tell when a blow is about to go wrong, and they pull back. Kinda like at the end of this video, the guy with the bokken could have delivered a bad blow to the head when the buzzer sounded. But he pulled back. The guy I was sparring with didn't have quite his reflexes. Neither did I. Hence the scar and the lesson. If you don't want to get hurt, play chess. If you don't trust your partner not to hit you badly, don't spar with them. Problem solved.
Why does this video have so many dislikes? It's just a fencing bout between two martial artists. It's not making any idiotic claims about the weapons. I thought it was pretty fun to watch.
+Noah Weisbrod It's because the guy with the longsword is trash
Před 8 lety+40
+Noah Weisbrod The thing is that the guy with LS does not fight by all known "Fechtbuch" art. He just swings it all around playing braveheart stuff. If we want to make such competition let's have two swordmasters from different cultures (or at least fighting according different cultures rules) duel. I do not see "ox" or "plought" stance here, no basic hits, nothing. That's why I geve it dislike.
+Noah Weisbrod It's amusing but the guy with the bokken is missing so many openings that it's distracting. Against a better fencer, the guy with the longsword would have lost each and every time he starting waving it about like he's in a pirate movie. At the least, the bokken could have stopped into his wrists on virtually every 'attack' the longsword guy made.
Nice to see two different styles testing each others skills. IMHO, considering the use of training weapons and lacking protection it was a fairly even duel. I train with bokken without protection too. The objective is not to actually hit your opponent but to have enough control to end the strike just short of the intented target. I think the comments referring to videogames are quite amusing. Every once in a while we get a gamer in the dojo. They usually don't last very long after they find out that a two hour training session is hard work.. 😂
That’s why I love sword better than guns although guns come in different sizes range accuracy and bullets unlike swords there is just not that cultural clash of them clashing together to make a new launguage to see which one is truly better
Michiel M. I’m quite a rare person, I’m a gamer and a weeb and yet I’m still a brown belt, I never gave up, (most of my friends who were gamers gave up) and now I’m soon going to be learning to use a bokken. Moral of the story: even if your a gamer, you can still be a martial artist.
@@josejoaquinbenitez6485 yea he should have because if you use a real sword, then not using one will lead to failure, because real Japanese sword are the sharpest swords ever
@@heartsofgoldd7388 Not really, the technique used is what makes it the sharpest in practice, fumikomi, using the body instead of the arms and all, but in design there are a lot better weapons to actually cut, the longsword would be an example, not for design, but instead quality in makeshift, if I'm talking about the design then the cimitar. Don't get me wrong, I'm a Jendo apprentice and I think the katana is a wonderful cutting weapon and I love it, but it ain't the best, I might put this as an opinion, because this is actually subjective Also, a friendly bow to a fellow martial artist gamer weeb whatever non quitter
I love how they fence and no matter how it goes, they honor and respect each other. I don’t know if I’m right or it’s just me, but the kendo practitioner seems more experienced, with how he doesn’t fall for the fake attacks and taunts the other attempts. However, the guy with the longsword adapted quickly, which made it pretty equal, even if either had more experience by their techniques. A lot of people will look at this video as a friendly and honorable sparring session, but others will try to make the katana or longsword seem superior and degrade the skill of the opposite side of the argument. If there’s something I learned all this time being a sword fan and have practiced at least once kendo and a bit of longsword, is that no sword is better than the other, but the techniques and the wielded are who truly make even the most useless piece of junk work the best.
How will you make some time if you're already at a disadvantage using a naturally inferior weapon? There's nothing more simple to understand than that.
I admit it is a formidable weapon, but it is nothing when faced with a true warrior with the spirit of the great dragon by his side and a katana to cut down his enemy!
@@Paracelsus00 lol. Which idiot try to pierce through a plate armor with a sword? Western sword style and easter sword style are very different. U dont use katana with western style.
As someone from a Western fencing background, the kenjutsu guy in this video was the better swordsman. He did receive a few touches, but his form was rock solid the whole time and he didn't seem to concerned by anything the longsword guy threw at him. The sequence from 0:38 to 0:45 was particularly beautiful to watch.
I agree. I would honestly love to see this kind of match between two people on a more even skill level. It was clear that the longsword fighter was super nervous and unsure of his tactics, while the katana fighter was absolutely focused and one with his weapon. Mad respect to both fighters for their performance, but it’s clear which one had more experience
Each style has its own advantages. Its all about the fighter. I personally favor the longsword for its versatility, also for the culture it represents (im european). One of the best sword styles ever, created as a martial science by the german, italian, spanish masters etc. Yet, as a general idea, its an advantage for a longsword disciple to learn/practice degree of kendo, kenjutsu, and/or chinese/korean styles etc, just to have a wider point of view, helps building up versatility. I practiced kendo up to a professional level, and some iaido. LS suits me better, but i dont disregard other styles, no matter their point of origin. Also i think, at least in Europe, longsword discipline should expand more, its a cultural thing. We embrace the japanese martial arts, chinese, korean, thai etc, but what about our own?
Combining the two would be great. Kenjutsu is more refined and taken to a higher level then the western sword methods, most due to westerners not maintaining the practice. The resurrection of the skills will take a long time to make up the difference
@Jon Jones this depends on the rules, all of the "hits" your referencing had as much force as a love tap, and wouldn't have hurt even an unarmored foe. If they were playing first to poke the other dude lightly and do nothing, sure he won. But I believe they are playing, first to land an actual strike that they have to slow down to not hurt their friend.
One thing that I see regularly in "Katana vs Longsword" videos is that katana wielders (no matter if Aikido, Kendo or Iaido) seem to act more reserved. While the longsword wielder more often jumps around, tries to faint and break his opponents guard physically. I'm no expert whatsoever, yet I would say that I know my way with a katana. During my training the Sensei advised us to stay focused and calm. Like the surface of a lake during a windless night. But also to be ready to break loose like a wave that forces its way through the opponent. My point is, Kendo is pretty intense for your mind. I'd even say that many matches are decided by mental work in Kendo. Of course you need to be fit in shape and form, but it seems to me like HEMA focusses more on actual physical work than mental (may call it mindgames at this point as well.) I'd love to have some of you actual HEMA practicioners thought on this.
The mindset of the aikido person here is pretty ideal. Generally any movement creates attacking opportunities if caught before its completion. As you get a better understanding why and when to move or react, the less reason you have to move and flinch and feignt, most of the time. This is something that becomes really pronounced between two people fencing, where one is much more experienced/competent. And moving less, you have more time to react to any oportunities your opponent presents. Think about it this way. When you are not moving you are observing, the more confident you are in knowing when you Have to move and react, the more time you have to observe and wait for a good time to land a hit or create a good opportunity to seize the initiative. The person more reserved towards executing more commited actions, observing and judging from the right distance can see better where and when to strike, though it takes a pretty good fencer to stay in good distance, baiting the opponents strikes, without easily get hit in the process. In this ideal case the unfortunate one trying to move, feignt attack and observe at the same time, has more to work with and as a rule has a worse approach to the fight. Ideally everything you do, either restricts your opponent from immediately hitting you, or severely threatens them, forcing them to go on the defensive. Everything else is fluff, though being only human, working against hesitation and failiure in critical decission making. How we preform is rarely ever up to par with the ideal, though with a capability to demonstrate absolutely impressive skill at times. Ps: most of the time, I'm the hoppity fencer =3
I don’t know if they teach half swording with a katana but it’s a very effective technique with a long sword that requires patience to set up but is super effective
@@dude4real9455 I do totally agree with you on this one. Though I should add that I'm used to be a quite reserved Kendoka, taking a good time to observe and measure, yet I fail at acting quick enough. So even a calm mind can cost you a point or even the match when your body just can't react the way you want and need it to. That being said, I'm aware that this is nothing I can't work on. Still I need to bring mind and body to one level...
@@pepsifrog420 I had a bit of sparring by now with a Longsword fencer. And well it was pretty much like in this video most of the time. Not to blow my own horn here, but in our particular setup, I was simply more experienced. I think you have a valid point with the tricks up the sleeve. It came across my mind that Kendo is a pretty straight forward fencing style. After I watched some longsowrd instructions, there is just more to it. By all means. But the fencer needs to be able to put that to use. If the opponent is rather unsure on how to handle you, you really have the upper hand.
+0hn0haha maybe in a duel but with plate armor there is no really need to hesitate. Besides when an actual battle occurred there was no time for slow ass comat. I always imagine it like a game of american football but woth swords xD anyway, not like a samurai and knight would meet but aby bit of protective gear would let them actually to try out cuts. Look up on youtube videos of hema masters fencing or 2 guys with zveinhander techniques :) they all show quite direct hits
+Seraphim HaanS That is basically how European war was fought. Like American football. You tried to get the best positions (Knowing the battlefield, strategy), then both forces just ran right into each other, the first to falter(Hole in the line) was literally fucked because as soon as you turned around and ran the knights came riding you down. Then you regrouped and do battle again.
I find these types of fights fantastic. The two swird styles clash in a fight of experience instead of "which is better" the wielder of the weapon is what's important regardless of the style they use. In this vid you can see the contrast of both fighters and the styles they use. One speratic and constantly moving to keep variation, while the other is cool and collected trying to anticipate the next attack. The anticipated defense is a very high risk high reward style.
It's pretty fun to watch both sides analyzing how to apply their skills and weapons against something completely different from what they are used to face, because both sides probably train most of time with people that uses the same style. One mistake and the bokken can slash several times or one mistake and the langschwert can land a pretty heavy blow.
I applaud both gentlemen for this effort to try and exchange knowledge and experience. This is how we should treat eachother. With mutual respect and desire to learn. Well done. Ps samurai get your heads out of your ass: the katana is a sword. Not a magical item. Period.. And HEMA get of your high horse: the katana is a sword. Not an inferior slab of steel. Period. .See what i did there? Good luck to you all. Train hard and prosper.
You don't get it? I just pointed out that this guy failed at making a smart-ass remark, when he himself didn't have a much of a clue. I know that they both mean the same thing, but the term "bokken" is hardly ever used by Japanese native speakers.
At the time of viewing this 14 years has passed since the creation of the content. The revival of historical European martial arts was in it infancy. Since then more people have made interpretation of the texts and put it to practice. The skill of swordsmanship pertaing to welding the long sword has grown exponentially.
This was an awesome spar, great skill on both sides and I like the shoulder bump the two made after they finished, the respect these two have makes this spar very wholesome
Daric Soldar True, but practicing with protections only will not give you an idea of what it is to fear the blows. I'd say that both training should be done, of course only with trained practicioner.
Daric Soldar They could have put on eye protection or head gear. But they both looked like they knew how to control their strikes and not go full force or strike anywhere dangerous. Beginners wouldnt have the same control and would get seriously hurt
+Railriderchris I never quite agreed with this mindset. The people I train with are my friends, so when they aren't wearing appropriate protection, I run the risk of injuring them, and therefore don't attack with full intent. And as you'd expect, my friends/sparring partners feel the same way, so neither of us are attacking at maximum force.
***** I can understand this. But whether you find this a good idea or not is probably depending on the goal you want to achieve when training with the sword. 1) if you want to do sport, scoring points, being in little danger of being injured, this allowing to strike with full force rather than controlling the weapon, then training without protections will indeed be of little interest to you. 2) But if you want to recreate something more real, like the real swordfight where people are aware that any movement might be the last which makes them being much more cautious, creating a tense situation where striking with full force is less important than doing controlled disabling of the opponent, then you might have a great deal of insight when doing restrained sparring without protections. Understand that I'm not criticising those who only want to score, or do full contact like in battle of the nations. It is surely a lot of fun, and there's nothing wrong with it. But when I see HEMA tournaments with a lot of suicidal attacks and double hits, it seems to me that there is a problem with being too protected. If you have good control over your blade, and if you know your sparring partner well, I encourage you to try it out. If you're not sure about your safety (which nevertheless remains first priority), then begin with fencing masks and maybe gloves as only protections, nylon or wooden swords, slow movements and more intention of doing techniques than sparring. Then, with time going on, you might remove your gloves and replace the fencing mask with safety glasses. However, I'm not a huge fan of steel swords in this context, because of the potentially abrasive steel edges after edge blows, and the fact that there is a tendency of doing a lot more cutting like Hendtrucken.
As someone who's spent most of his teenage & adult life practicing various martial arts to see these two guys fencing without the protection of masks &/or gloves was quite astonishing. Very impressive, gents!
It's funny how the guy with the bokken pretends to not care about getting hit and shit like he knows wether it's gonna hit him or not and then.. he gets hit
No it's just part of training. Like learning not to flinch when someone jabs. Plus if you gauge your range right (called maai in Japanese martial arts) you learn to relax when not in distance. You see this in MMA with karate fighters like machida and Thomson. Just part of their training.
@DarkEternal6 half swording only works against armor, and a sword or weapon as big or bigger than a standard longsword, since you can't do grabs like that against a katana. it would be like trying to bear hug someone who has a knife. yes you could, but you'd get stabby stabbed about a thousand times in the mean time
Randy Oh correct, what he should have done is stay at distance and use his greater reach and hand protection to keep the fight as much about trying to hit his opponent's hands as possible....of course, lack of protective gear makes that kind of sparring problematic
Cool video, but the hypothetical "Euro-Knight vs Samurai" flamewar comments kinda makes it... unfun to stick around... Don't give a shit about which sword is better, Warhammers FTW.
Battle axe and shield for me! Though I would be willing to use a warhammer instead. ^^^And yes indeed, a lot of people just want to prove their own superiority that THEIR weapon/martial art is the best unmatched by anything.
it's not easy to compare this two beautiful techniques, the real difference was given by fighters. Anyway, in european battlefield was not usual to see sword armed fighters. The longsword was considered a noble weapon and it's mainly used in dueling or skirmish. In normal battles was more common to see maces, morning stars, pikes, two-handed hammers, axes, poleaxes and shields.
Timbo X, if you think there is such thing as a superior art, you are mistaken. There are people with more skill, people with more dedication, smarter people, but before the fight, equally trained warriors, such as a Samurai or a Medieval Knight, either of them could win... the one who trained longer, the faster one, the stronger one, the smarter one, the luckier one... it is all up to the single person incarnating the warrior on that precise moment... But specially understand, that nothing that you or me can say will change anything. Just train on whatever you practice and find happines, stop trying to win. God bless you and all Martial Arts Practitioners.
in actual combat to the death, the medieval knight would probably have it due simply to the superiority of the fitted plate, vs the samurais lamellar armor. if both were unarmored, it would probably be a coin flip.
Minh Phan proper, well fit plate is both lighter and restrictes moment less than a modern soldiers gear. Well fit plate weighs around 40Lb. Compare that to the Ō-yoroi (pinnacle of samuri armor) that weight 65+ Lb
rattslayer Not to mention that by the 14th Century at the height of European plate armor the Spanish, Germans, and Italians were making plate armor that could withstand the strongest crossbows of the day, and were reasonably bullet proof into the 16th century. Thus necessitating the shift in sword making among the nobility to ever stronger and narrower straight blades (for stabbing between armor plates).
Given all things equal, a traditional japanese warrior with a katana would probably lose against a european warrior. Not based on the sword they used or anything, but the mere fact that in europe they were much more adapted to fighting people from other cultures, with different weapons and techniques. The Japanese generally only fought one another, where as europeans battled against many different foes.
"but the mere fact that in europe they were much more adapted to fighting people from other cultures, with different weapons and techniques." no just no. The muslims and their empire along with the turks had no trouble what so ever keeping the crusaders out of the middle east for many many hundreds of years. also the middle eastern swords and techniques were so highly sought after by European nation some spent huge chunks of their wealth on imports of these weapons and armor. The Japanese havent fought anyone else aside from the mongols due to the fact japan is an island and as such has no reason to wage war outside its borders. And yeah the samurai defiantly fought other armies specfically korea and the mongols as well in the later periods taking on modern armies and the katana was still present. Samurai adapt to their enviroment the same way the europeans did. When firearms were used during the sengoku jidai the Oda army had more guns than spears.
GoldenFly Yes, you're correct. The Isolation of Japan was one of their greatest weakness and the reason for their lack of Evolution. And contrary to masterdude's strange ideas, the Crusaders did pretty well agaisnt the muslims. Just because they eventually failed to reclaim the holy land isn't an evidence that the Muslims had ''no trouble''. It is like saying that the Koreans had ''no trouble''to Keep the Samurai out of their land, forgetting about the early Japanese successes (funny enough, masterdude only mentions that the Samurai ''fought defiantly'' and not that in the end they were kicked out like the Crusaders... biased much, huh?) However, in the end, the Japanese have proved quite adaptive People. For example, they adopted western guns quite rapidly, and once they adopted western warfare in the 19th century, they quickly became a strong Nation and colonial empire. This is why I think that yes, the traditional Samurai army wouldn't do well in the beginning against European warfare. But the Japanese would quickly evolve and become worthy adversairies to the Westerners.
Railriderchris They were not "Kicked out" nice revisionist history. the samurai left korea after instilling basically their entire culture into the korean system hence why the korean folk have their very own katana. funny fact Korea was not a very good economical war you could almost call korea the vietnam of the 16th century
***** Yeah, sure, the Samurai brought the light of hope to the Koreans, and once they were sure that Korea would be a better place for those people they left honourably... Seriously, who is Revisionist here? Anti-Japanese Feelings can still be traced back to the Imjin-wars, so why would the Koreans have kept the Japanese influence after them being kicked out of Korea?
Railriderchris They did not leave honorably they lost the place economically that much is obvious as there was nothing there worth staying for besides basic resources. Hidiyoshi left because even he knew it was not worth his time to persure a nation about the size of a couple of prefectures. simple really, the koreans kept samurai weapons and martial arts training because they were vastly surperior to their own or the imjin war would have been won by the koreans to which it sure as hell was not.
You score one point for arm or leg, two points for chest, three points for head, and 100 points for rapping the guy in the knuckles, plus an extra 5 points if he yelps.
Two different weapons for two different kinds of warfare. An interesting crossover, but to say one style of swordsmanship is superior over an another is simply crass.
Why are they saying "Longsword vs Bokken" that's like a boxing match saying "---- gloves vs ---- gloves" it comes down to skill of the fighter in sword duels not the type swords they use.
marios matzoros this isn’t a video game, the difference between the weapons is not which is better, it’s their style. Put two skilled swordsman in a duel, one with a rapier, the other a long sword, they both have the same chance of winning. The same goes for a long sword vs zweihander, it’s the skill and style that separates the weapons
Nice sparring...with no safety gear. They both have good technique and are very cautious. It shows they have mutual respect for each other. You learn a lot from a sparring like this. Slow is smooth, smooth is fast. Respect!
arthurw13 Protective gear makes people being careless and suicidal, hardly authentic. Sometimes, a more restrained sparring without protections can teach you a lot of things.
Sylorinnis I respect your opinion, but I'd like to disagree. However, I think we might both be correct, as it depends of what do you want to achieve. In a purely sportive context like modern sport fencing, Kendo or (more and more) HEMA tournaments, yes, you're quite correct. However, when trying to represent a real fight, there are several big problems with the modern protective equipment: 1) mobility: it is impressive how little you can move with the full sparring gear, my medieval armour offers a lot more freedom of movement! Honestly, have you ever managed to place a succesful Zwerchhau when with fencing mask, heavy sparring gloves and HEMA gambeson? Or even only to go into the guard Ochs or Posta di Donna? Is it easy for you to use the thumb grip? 2) As I already said, protections make people fight only to score a point instead of also protecting their lives. This is a main reason why many historical techniques don't work in tournaments because they weren't meant to be used against suicidal persons. Many HEMA fighters who act like crazy Battle of the Nations participants would be completely shocked and passive it they had to fight against a person with a sharp sword. 3) You can do light unprotected sparring without the people ''co-operating''. It depends of course on the amount of skill and training involved, but Daniel Jaquet of GAGschola has made an impressive demonstration with sparring partners only equiped with protective gloves. It looked much better than the silly bashing often involved in tournaments with protections, especially as the mobility without gear allows much more techniques. Conclusion: in a sportive context, to learn how to strike with full force, protective gear is absolutely necessary. And I would say that anyone has to do at least some amount of protected full force sparring. However, to understand our ancestors who did train without protections too, I strongly believe that it is of great use to also do light sparring without protective gear.
Noah Weisbrod 'dex weapons' aren't more realistic. You probably meant swords (katanas, straight swords and scimatars), spears and halberts. Scythes are dex weapons and... Well... They are as usefull as a human-sized hammer in a battle.
A Katana does not stand a chance facing a long sword in any real duel or group combat, assuming both holders are in the same level of their own practice.
Look, I basically favor the Longsword and I do agree to you that it has some great advantages. But there's no thing like ''no chance'' in a real fight, and despite being exaggerated, the Katana remains a very good weapon.
Chen Alex Basically yes, but let's not forget that there weren't a standard Katana or Longsword back then. Often, a Katana will be thicker and heavier than a similar sized European sword. But this isn't always true, depending of the owner's preferences, there were heavier and lighter swords both in Europe and Japan. But as a conclusion, yes, the myth of the super light and agile Katana is just this, a myth.
***** What makes you think the average soldier in Europe wouldn't have a blade of similar quality than the average Ashigaru in Japan? Europe crafted swords like Japan long before the Katana, so there's not really a reason why a low quality sword would be better in Japan than in Europe. The same is true for high quality swords, especially since in the late middle ages the level in metallurgy was more evolved in Europe.
***** Why would you compare an European footsoldier with a Samurai? This is like comparing an Ashigaru to a Knight... I haven't seen any indication of the proportion of Samurai/Knight vs footsoldiers, but I think that for one it depended on the circumstances and for the other that it wasn't probably that different between Europe and Japan. Well, the metallurgy in late medieval Europe allowed to make purer steel (highly regarded by the Japanese once they met Europeans in the mid-16th century) and more flexible blades. This doesn't mean the sword in itself is better in the fight, because the Katana compensates for its impure blade with a higher thickness and weight. However, since it was easier to craft good swords, this means that the mass produced swords in Japan were probably of lesser quality than their European counterparts. Japan barely had cannons, the few they had were made out of Bronze or wood (!) or taken over from the Europeans, because they hadn't the metallurgy to cast iron cannons by themselves. Yes, I think that a Japanese heavy armour wasn't that bad compared to what they had in Europe, but it was never made out of wood but iron and steel, sometimes partly hardened leather.
primary targets in a duel are arms/hands, legs/feeet, trying to hit the head or trunk without first injuring/weakening/disarming your opponent, will get you KILLED.
I have to disagree with you about the legs and absolutley about feets. Feets are really difficult to hit because they are so low and your shoulder are so high. With a longword you have to get about half a meter closer to be able to hit a foot than if you where aming for the torso.
the legs are really easy to hit the feet is an interesting topic, this came about when we were looking at possibilities when dueling with sword and dagger, while it may be possible, I think it highly unlikely anyone would go down that road. nuh uh dont really contribute to the conversation.
TheGabesnell Upper legs are a target, but I wouldn't call it a main one. And the upper legs are more of a target than the lower legs, but I still wouldn't call it the main target. Codex Döbringer (MS 3227a) does for example state that you should attack "to the head or to the body" many times so I think that at least the head would be considered a main target. And nearly every strike I've seen is aimed towards the head or torso. For the armpits. That is absolutley true if we are talking about armored fighting (if we are, then I'm sorry for the misunderstanding). But in unarmored fighting I'm not that sure. What kind of attack would you use with a longsword to attack the armpit in an unarmored fight? I can see that you may hit the armpit when striking, say, a zwerchau from a high bind. But even then I would say that the strike is aimed towards the upper body in general rather than the armpit specifically. What sources are you refering to when you say that the upper legs and armpits are the main targets?
You know I ponder how many martial artist are actually Watching this video. This is a good sign of control of the space between the two, and they both a have a good balance of Techinque. None from what i can see seem to be in the expert level, but that is fine. I'm honestly not there either. I''ve been at it for five years. The idea of there techinque with out making content is nice to see. Because it does take great control and precission with each cut and strike. I give them props for the style and fineesse. Its not that easy to do what they did with good control, and specially since they move very in sync it leads me to believe they have crossed paths more then once in terms of sparring.
1.Dan Kendoka here with Naginata experience. The Kendoka (Bokken) fighter is top notch level. Very high skill with lots of tricks in his bag. You can grasp his expertise from his calm outer demeanor (while always being ready to strike/counter). His precision counters and almost disarm (of a two handed weapon no less) at 0:40 speak for themselves. But the longsword fighter is no slouch either! I assume he is not used to fight without armor though because many of his strikes are clearly aimed at "taking less" damage then his enemy (while in Kendo "one strike kills" and therefore every hit must be prevented. It is clear that both fighters are coming from their distinct field (where they are very competent and know how to handle enemies with similar weapons) but both are struggling with the reach of their enemy. You can see that clearly at 1:49 when the Kendoka did not expect to be in reach of a piercing hit while defending himself with outstretched arms (I pierce you, you pierce me). Most hits from the Kendoka are counters or have to push the longsword out of the way first.
+MrVlonk he's not a kendoka mate, using waki gamae and gedan no kamae in a sparring situation? I'm 2dan and I have never seen a kendoka of any level do that. Probably aikido, though I can't be sure.
Derpy Dashie Learned all of that doing Kendo to. We have a very elaborate Kata system that is connected to Kendo (here in Germany). All those gamae are part of it and techniques seem similar. His behaviour is exactly as a kendoka would conduct himself in a sparring match, the gamae are unusual that is true. Considering he has the range disadvantage I can understand why he does not want to connect to the enemy sword. Waki is kinda pointless in this situation though... He could be a Iaidoka but only hint for that would be the white keigoki which is unusual in Kendo.
Torc Handsomeson So what you're saying is basically that, if the longsword guy HAD followed through, the boken guy would be dead, but the boken guy was psychic and knew he wouldn't.
Both these dudes seem very skilled and there's no sloppy wasted movement. I don't understand sword fighting but you can see how composed and focused they both are.
long sword man is gentle and kind. His intention is not to harm his opponent. while the bokken man cannot see his fingers and arms were cut already only if the long sword man would haved intended to. as individual long sword man is much greater , deeper and skilled
That depends on who's the best martial artist and perspective. As I practice a Japanese martial art built over Japanese kenjutsu, I see the bokken opponent too much tolerant and gentle towards his opponent, and even losing some opportunities to strike.
No shit......... What he's saying is, if this was a real fight with real fucking metal then the bokken dude would have lost cause his fingers would have gotten sliced off due to lack of skill.
If you ever tried something like this you know how hard it actually is to fight sword vs sword. One fuck up and you are dead. But i think they both look like they arent just show offs, you can see they have skills. Good Job!
They used wooden swords at tournaments and people still got killed. Ninjas used wooden swords because steel wasnt afordable for them, they still killed silently. u dont need real swords to practice. besides getting yourself MORE hurt and staying out of practice isnt smart. also if you have experience you know how to keep your distance and wait for the perfect timing and dont charge in like crazy, because both guys end up dead. sword fighting is a lot like anderson silvas counter striking style, thats whats gonna keep you alive in a real combat situation.
The guy in the white robe knows what he's doing- he has a perfect sense of spacial awareness and the range of his opponent- at 0:53 he didn't even flinch when the guy with the longsword faked a thrust- he knew exactly how far the reach of his opponent was, and he knew that the sword posed him no threat- great swordplay.
He didn't flinch because its SPARRING. They aren't aiming to hit the opponents and most of the hits were aimed at opponent weapon. It looks cool and all but it was as real as WWE.
On could ponder whether a real broadsword could be handled with the agility of that wooden one, or whether a lighter bokken would be able to parry a heavier broadsword as shown in this video.
Watching the guy with the longsword is almost painful- though I can understand it's hard not to have a static stance. In the art of the longsword wards are meant to be windups and not static positions, your sword is meant to be in constant motion and not in a consistent position that can be read.
Why must every argument over Katana vs Longsword must end in one dedicated style. Whomever was more experienced with that blade would be the victor. Both combatants in this video show that both are pretty equally skilled. Also, both combatants seemed to have landed similar hits. While Knights were more armored, it's not like other Japanese warriors were any less armored. The average foot soldier was lightly armored. Both swords are excellence but also can be over hyped. Both have jobs they are good at and their own fighting styles.
Because there is a lot of pride and belief in this dick-waving contest. There has to be a winner. In this day and age, people will settle for nothing less.
but I actually heard that good-quality iron was rare in Japan, but common in Europe, that means more armour for the European and their half-swording style.
realenew While that comment is not wrong, iron was scarce in Japan, the sword makers figured out a way to forge two types of steel into one blade, allowing for the sharpness of each sword. Both swords are fantastic in my opinion, and have their advantages and disadvantages
Me and my best friend in 3rd grade when we find two rulers:
nah,we did it in 2nd grade
And then the ruler broke...
We use to do this in everygrade
@@humanyter7214
The real highlight of everyone’s school experience was when you graduated from rulers to yard sticks.
@@zildiun2327 lol
Did all y'all complainers in the comments notice how the two martial artists respected each other and had a good time sparring instead of whining about which weapon is objectively best?
No safety equipment for your opponent does not show respect.
Except that Kendo armour wouldnt really help that much since its designed for protecting areas where one has to strike to gain a point in an actual match, besides trusting ur opponent notto break ur fingers or ribs is a pretty huge way of showing respect.
who wins has more to do with the skills of the individual and less with the weapon they're using
Thank you for your positive comment.
@@tiemekoenders2853 well in this scenario yes but in a real life battle between a Knight and a samurai I think weapon choice does count for something
1:48 when you remember you're using a *long* sword
*poke*
_r e a c h_
Dude straight up forgot how to poke
Longsword dude actually won.
S T R E M C H
1:52 The rare double-knockout, otherwise known as "free stuff" to observers when this happened in a real duel.
One of thems murdered, the other one got his elbow cut up some. And maybe his thigh poked into depending on some variables
yeah, bokken guy was faster in beheading the dude
@@TaoistSwordsman Long sword guy with carotid artery is certainly going to die
Bokken guy with a cut at around L4 L5 level would likely open up the common iliac artery and descending aorta. Plus the momentum to the upper arm which could damage axillary artery and brachial artery would still be fatal but would last a bit longer than his enemy.
In the field they would both die without a doubt. Zero chance of surviving unless they are duelling in the operating room.
@@BasedApricot exactly haha
i love this coment, and, as a HEMA practitioner, doubles arent that rare, mainly becouse if you are definitely getting hit, hitting back is a good way to avoid your adversary making points (doubles dont count basically you are taught to have absolute control of your enemies sword, you have to be able to hit while also making imposible to be hit, tho i guess thats a bit obvious)
the amount of fucking sword experts under these videos never cease to amaze me lol
To be fair, half the people here stumble on this video by accident, while the other half is part of the HEMA community so they know more than most.
im here on youtube rec.....☕
@@evgenybelilovskiy1205 and kendo too. Like me.
While we were enjoying this display of sportsmanship and a demo into a curiosity I’m sure many of us have had at one point, the rest were studying the blade.
@@Michael-ll6px hahaha nice one
Despite the fanboys in the comments this spar seems pretty equal. These types of videos should really be labelled, "Man with Bokken vs. Man with Longsword". If you swapped out either one with a different fighter the result could be vastly different. Maybe a different guy with a Bokken would be faster and land twice as more hits or maybe a different Longsword guy would wipe out this Bokken guy. It's about the fighter not the style. There are simply too many factors to conclusively say "This style will always win over another style"
I couldn't have agreed more. Each and every sword, be it Japanese, Chinese, Roman, Greek, Indo-persian, Caucasian, European, turkic, of the Renaissance, etc. has it's negatives and positives, what matters quite a lot is the mind of the swordsman. Techniques, styles, sword types, and a select few other factors that some of these armchair warriors talk about, do not play a big role as compared to the mind of a human. Everything one may learn has to be applied to certain situations and advantages.
it'd be a safe bet to say; it's the swordsman that wins not the sword.
I completely agree. Also at about 1:22 or so the Long sword man pulls what would of been a blow to the head on his opponent, about 4-6 seconds latter the boken guy does the same thing. I just love this video because it shows both of these guys being sportsmen and enjoying the competition.
though that's why there is different style's to counter the other one :/
I wouldn't say style, but swords do matter. The thrust at 1:48, although ultimately defendable, shows just how much of an advantage in range the longsword has. Add to that no handguard on the bokken and I would be sliding down that blade for his hands and forarms, while staying out of reach all day. They had 3 or 4 double-kills, which is what the guy with the shorter blade almost has to expose himself to, in order to get close enough to hit.
Of course, it is not the sword that wins the fight, but these factors just make longsword more forgiving in a one-on-one like this one.
Both look like they know what they are doing. Holding back on the last half a second to prevent injury.
What I appreciate the most is how their opponent respects the strike. More often than not in sparring one person will pull their strike, showing that they could have hit them but did not. My pet peeve is when my sparring partner ignores this courtesy completely and whacks me as I reset for a new round. (Hand to hand)
For honor.
Knight did it wrong, I saw no vortex spam
LOL
dAUbeNy
orochi wins
warden was to slow😝
Looool!hahaha
no helmets. no helmets. NO FUCKING HELMETS
Matei Tudor no need. no need. NO FUCKING NEED
+Trin Panapan Helmets are for people who want to do it more than once.
***** Yeah, you'd rather have them fighting with real katana? This belongs on youtube, not hiddenlol
+Dwight Schrute Yeah, right... Bokken practice is part of a Martial Art. Learning the form is one of the essential parts of Kendo and Kendo is one of the most respected Sports in Japan and Korea. Handling a Bokken basically equals handling a Katana, which is why higher ranked kendoka often use Katanas for public demonstrations.
+Matei Tudor I've been hit in the head with a red oak bokken. It hurt, left a scar, and I learned a valuable lesson.
Most of the time, if people are serious about the art, and they have a partner who is also serious, they can tell when a blow is about to go wrong, and they pull back. Kinda like at the end of this video, the guy with the bokken could have delivered a bad blow to the head when the buzzer sounded. But he pulled back.
The guy I was sparring with didn't have quite his reflexes. Neither did I.
Hence the scar and the lesson.
If you don't want to get hurt, play chess. If you don't trust your partner not to hit you badly, don't spar with them.
Problem solved.
Why does this video have so many dislikes? It's just a fencing bout between two martial artists. It's not making any idiotic claims about the weapons.
I thought it was pretty fun to watch.
+Noah Weisbrod It's because the guy with the longsword is trash
+Noah Weisbrod The thing is that the guy with LS does not fight by all known "Fechtbuch" art. He just swings it all around playing braveheart stuff. If we want to make such competition let's have two swordmasters from different cultures (or at least fighting according different cultures rules) duel. I do not see "ox" or "plought" stance here, no basic hits, nothing. That's why I geve it dislike.
+Urban Kępa Okay, he does stay somewhere between poste breve and longa most of the time.
+Noah Weisbrod They have excellent control with their weapons.
+Noah Weisbrod It's amusing but the guy with the bokken is missing so many openings that it's distracting. Against a better fencer, the guy with the longsword would have lost each and every time he starting waving it about like he's in a pirate movie. At the least, the bokken could have stopped into his wrists on virtually every 'attack' the longsword guy made.
Nice to see two different styles testing each others skills. IMHO, considering the use of training weapons and lacking protection it was a fairly even duel.
I train with bokken without protection too. The objective is not to actually hit your opponent but to have enough control to end the strike just short of the intented target.
I think the comments referring to videogames are quite amusing. Every once in a while we get a gamer in the dojo. They usually don't last very long after they find out that a two hour training session is hard work.. 😂
That’s why I love sword better than guns although guns come in different sizes range accuracy and bullets unlike swords there is just not that cultural clash of them clashing together to make a new launguage to see which one is truly better
Wasn't he supposed to have a tsuka in his bokken to protect his hands?
Michiel M.
I’m quite a rare person, I’m a gamer and a weeb and yet I’m still a brown belt, I never gave up, (most of my friends who were gamers gave up) and now I’m soon going to be learning to use a bokken.
Moral of the story: even if your a gamer, you can still be a martial artist.
@@josejoaquinbenitez6485 yea he should have because if you use a real sword, then not using one will lead to failure, because real Japanese sword are the sharpest swords ever
@@heartsofgoldd7388 Not really, the technique used is what makes it the sharpest in practice, fumikomi, using the body instead of the arms and all, but in design there are a lot better weapons to actually cut, the longsword would be an example, not for design, but instead quality in makeshift, if I'm talking about the design then the cimitar.
Don't get me wrong, I'm a Jendo apprentice and I think the katana is a wonderful cutting weapon and I love it, but it ain't the best, I might put this as an opinion, because this is actually subjective
Also, a friendly bow to a fellow martial artist gamer weeb whatever non quitter
I love how they fence and no matter how it goes, they honor and respect each other. I don’t know if I’m right or it’s just me, but the kendo practitioner seems more experienced, with how he doesn’t fall for the fake attacks and taunts the other attempts. However, the guy with the longsword adapted quickly, which made it pretty equal, even if either had more experience by their techniques. A lot of people will look at this video as a friendly and honorable sparring session, but others will try to make the katana or longsword seem superior and degrade the skill of the opposite side of the argument. If there’s something I learned all this time being a sword fan and have practiced at least once kendo and a bit of longsword, is that no sword is better than the other, but the techniques and the wielded are who truly make even the most useless piece of junk work the best.
Katana users will lose 100% of the time in a real fight because they cannot unscrew their pommel and end their opponents rightly.
Yama Yami look up "end him rightly" meme.
How will you make some time if you're already at a disadvantage using a naturally inferior weapon? There's nothing more simple to understand than that.
lol correct!
I admit it is a formidable weapon, but it is nothing when faced with a true warrior with the spirit of the great dragon by his side and a katana to cut down his enemy!
elmohead why is this a meme lmao
I like this fight. considerable skill on both sides, and both fight with respect towards their opponent.
Yes, all to often one of the fighters is much more experienced, or skilled. And respect is also important.
Respect is important
jk
Hao Chao Tsi Minh Those who live without respect die without honor.
Aye, a man without respect is a man without honor
Hail respectmanship!
They are obviously good friends, look at the bromance nudge at the end.
0:39 real use of japanese sword technique, but there's no finishing move afterwards
Nice parry tho
The longsword guy was really visibly off balance too lol watch his feet
Hahahahaha oh the comments section! Everyone is an expert hahahahaha
Agree. Keyboard warrior everywhere.
You dont have to be expert to say that medieval knight would easy win against Samurai just because katana cannot pierce his armor yikes
@@Paracelsus00 lol. Which idiot try to pierce through a plate armor with a sword?
Western sword style and easter sword style are very different.
U dont use katana with western style.
Gotta love the comment section.
@@Paracelsus00 we got another expert here...
1:48
Warden OP
Orochi tries deflecting ... still dies
My exact life story
For Honor
You know they're crazy skilled when neither of them needs to be taken to the hospital after this.
Me and my friends after the first time of playing For Honor
As someone from a Western fencing background, the kenjutsu guy in this video was the better swordsman. He did receive a few touches, but his form was rock solid the whole time and he didn't seem to concerned by anything the longsword guy threw at him. The sequence from 0:38 to 0:45 was particularly beautiful to watch.
Yes! As a practitioner I agree! He is very very good! Much better than the longswords man. It was not an even fight on skill level.
I agree. I would honestly love to see this kind of match between two people on a more even skill level. It was clear that the longsword fighter was super nervous and unsure of his tactics, while the katana fighter was absolutely focused and one with his weapon. Mad respect to both fighters for their performance, but it’s clear which one had more experience
Each style has its own advantages. Its all about the fighter. I personally favor the longsword for its versatility, also for the culture it represents (im european). One of the best sword styles ever, created as a martial science by the german, italian, spanish masters etc. Yet, as a general idea, its an advantage for a longsword disciple to learn/practice degree of kendo, kenjutsu, and/or chinese/korean styles etc, just to have a wider point of view, helps building up versatility. I practiced kendo up to a professional level, and some iaido. LS suits me better, but i dont disregard other styles, no matter their point of origin. Also i think, at least in Europe, longsword discipline should expand more, its a cultural thing. We embrace the japanese martial arts, chinese, korean, thai etc, but what about our own?
Combining the two would be great. Kenjutsu is more refined and taken to a higher level then the western sword methods, most due to westerners not maintaining the practice. The resurrection of the skills will take a long time to make up the difference
1:48... EASY!
hahaha
Hahahahaha
then 3 seconds later 1:51
@@MrFiddleedee 1:51 is a draw
@Jon Jones this depends on the rules, all of the "hits" your referencing had as much force as a love tap, and wouldn't have hurt even an unarmored foe. If they were playing first to poke the other dude lightly and do nothing, sure he won. But I believe they are playing, first to land an actual strike that they have to slow down to not hurt their friend.
One thing that I see regularly in "Katana vs Longsword" videos is that katana wielders (no matter if Aikido, Kendo or Iaido) seem to act more reserved. While the longsword wielder more often jumps around, tries to faint and break his opponents guard physically.
I'm no expert whatsoever, yet I would say that I know my way with a katana. During my training the Sensei advised us to stay focused and calm. Like the surface of a lake during a windless night. But also to be ready to break loose like a wave that forces its way through the opponent.
My point is, Kendo is pretty intense for your mind. I'd even say that many matches are decided by mental work in Kendo. Of course you need to be fit in shape and form, but it seems to me like HEMA focusses more on actual physical work than mental (may call it mindgames at this point as well.)
I'd love to have some of you actual HEMA practicioners thought on this.
The mindset of the aikido person here is pretty ideal. Generally any movement creates attacking opportunities if caught before its completion. As you get a better understanding why and when to move or react, the less reason you have to move and flinch and feignt, most of the time. This is something that becomes really pronounced between two people fencing, where one is much more experienced/competent.
And moving less, you have more time to react to any oportunities your opponent presents.
Think about it this way. When you are not moving you are observing, the more confident you are in knowing when you Have to move and react, the more time you have to observe and wait for a good time to land a hit or create a good opportunity to seize the initiative.
The person more reserved towards executing more commited actions, observing and judging from the right distance can see better where and when to strike, though it takes a pretty good fencer to stay in good distance, baiting the opponents strikes, without easily get hit in the process.
In this ideal case the unfortunate one trying to move, feignt attack and observe at the same time, has more to work with and as a rule has a worse approach to the fight.
Ideally everything you do, either restricts your opponent from immediately hitting you, or severely threatens them, forcing them to go on the defensive. Everything else is fluff, though being only human, working against hesitation and failiure in critical decission making. How we preform is rarely ever up to par with the ideal, though with a capability to demonstrate absolutely impressive skill at times.
Ps: most of the time, I'm the hoppity fencer =3
I don’t know if they teach half swording with a katana but it’s a very effective technique with a long sword that requires patience to set up but is super effective
@@dude4real9455 I do totally agree with you on this one. Though I should add that I'm used to be a quite reserved Kendoka, taking a good time to observe and measure, yet I fail at acting quick enough. So even a calm mind can cost you a point or even the match when your body just can't react the way you want and need it to. That being said, I'm aware that this is nothing I can't work on. Still I need to bring mind and body to one level...
@@pepsifrog420 I had a bit of sparring by now with a Longsword fencer. And well it was pretty much like in this video most of the time. Not to blow my own horn here, but in our particular setup, I was simply more experienced. I think you have a valid point with the tricks up the sleeve. It came across my mind that Kendo is a pretty straight forward fencing style. After I watched some longsowrd instructions, there is just more to it. By all means.
But the fencer needs to be able to put that to use. If the opponent is rather unsure on how to handle you, you really have the upper hand.
@@Trapsarentgay133 I would love to see that.
It's not about the weapon but the person wielding it
A very good statement.
@@natep2809 so let's fight, you take knife and i take halberd, who do you think will win most of the time?
@@SwordWieldingDuck skilled knife user wins on close combat
@@zulwawi Sorry man but that aint true
@@sorrenzz3610 yes it is true have u seen russian combat knife and asian kerambit play like on john wick 3
If they had protective gear and could go all out would be better :/
Cuz of safety both hesitated quite a lot
+Seraphim HaanS Though, in a life or death fight, you might be hesitant as well.
+0hn0haha maybe in a duel but with plate armor there is no really need to hesitate. Besides when an actual battle occurred there was no time for slow ass comat. I always imagine it like a game of american football but woth swords xD anyway, not like a samurai and knight would meet but aby bit of protective gear would let them actually to try out cuts. Look up on youtube videos of hema masters fencing or 2 guys with zveinhander techniques :) they all show quite direct hits
Seraphim HaanS Ah, I see, you want it to replicate war. I was thinking more of a duel context. I'm a Hema person btw.
+Seraphim HaanS That is basically how European war was fought. Like American football. You tried to get the best positions (Knowing the battlefield, strategy), then both forces just ran right into each other, the first to falter(Hole in the line) was literally fucked because as soon as you turned around and ran the knights came riding you down.
Then you regrouped and do battle again.
Riveted chainmail vs samurai iron&leather armour.
This seems an unwise sparring session. They should have more protection. Wooden weapons are still potentially hazardous.
***** What the fuck even are you? Get off the internet.
Do you think the European knights and the Japanese samurai wore fucking protection?
Зиновий Варенников Training not really, Fighting Yes...because its someones life behind that sword...
Зиновий Варенников Actually yes.. yes they did
Зиновий Варенников Yes, all the time.
I find these types of fights fantastic. The two swird styles clash in a fight of experience instead of "which is better" the wielder of the weapon is what's important regardless of the style they use. In this vid you can see the contrast of both fighters and the styles they use. One speratic and constantly moving to keep variation, while the other is cool and collected trying to anticipate the next attack. The anticipated defense is a very high risk high reward style.
0:40 damn good reaction
Esbro parry
u coulda unscrewed the pommel and thrown it at him XDDD
would've ended him rightly...
+Ruben Gerritsen indeed. Skall has taught us well friend
yeah but they were just sparring so I don't think there's a need to kill your opponent and cause collateral damage
+Snoop Azlan collateral damage is always needed when someone challenges the mighty pommel
InstaWin! xD
0:30 dark souls 3 duels.
It's pretty fun to watch both sides analyzing how to apply their skills and weapons against something completely different from what they are used to face, because both sides probably train most of time with people that uses the same style.
One mistake and the bokken can slash several times or one mistake and the langschwert can land a pretty heavy blow.
“Just another day with the bros...”
I applaud both gentlemen for this effort to try and exchange knowledge and experience. This is how we should treat eachother. With mutual respect and desire to learn. Well done. Ps samurai get your heads out of your ass: the katana is a sword. Not a magical item. Period.. And HEMA get of your high horse: the katana is a sword. Not an inferior slab of steel. Period. .See what i did there? Good luck to you all. Train hard and prosper.
Rim Andries you made me lol there
Rim Andries i wish you said katana cultist cause you would given me the chance to say im a hema cultist (see what i did there)
i see it and i like it
See my video "A conquistador refutes the Metatorn on Samurais VS Spaniards."
Guy with the katana got cut in like 10 different places.
*bokken
+aldipeanutz *bokutô (never heard any Japanese person use the term bokken)
+kaizoebara well sometimes its called a bokken and sometimes its called a bokuto. They both means the same thing
You don't get it? I just pointed out that this guy failed at making a smart-ass remark, when he himself didn't have a much of a clue. I know that they both mean the same thing, but the term "bokken" is hardly ever used by Japanese native speakers.
kaizoebara im just stating a fact, I dont want to get in any trouble.
At the time of viewing this 14 years has passed since the creation of the content. The revival of historical European martial arts was in it infancy. Since then more people have made interpretation of the texts and put it to practice. The skill of swordsmanship pertaing to welding the long sword has grown exponentially.
This was an awesome spar, great skill on both sides and I like the shoulder bump the two made after they finished, the respect these two have makes this spar very wholesome
And then one guy take his gun and shot the opponent.
Goodwill does not sell guns.
Ahah I was kidding guys.
Look up 21 foot rule, in close range, you will be cut to pieces even if you manage to draw the gun in time.
you must be fun at parties
I think it was a reference to Indiana Jones
For Honor leaked gameplay footage.
0:31..when he press L2.
Lol I can fucking see it happening
Hahahaha!
I love how you can SEE how much energy is pent up in the guy with a bokken, just look at how he excitedly hops around after landing a hit
0:40 - Counter Standing
2:04 - Counter Kill
U R A G A N beautiful.
Let’s be honest when we have a sword in our hand where gonna swing it like Kirito.
Yeah I did that once in a spar I got the hit but I have been attacked three or two times already lol
I tried serious tecniques once against my brother, he responded with wild swinging and stabbing to which i didnt really know how to respond.
Those guys are pretty evenly matched. I love seeing different art forms pinned against eachother.
This is one of the best showcases I've seen so far. Just look at their vastly different footwork! Great video!
I was thinking the same.
Practicing with no PPE whatsoever is a bad idea. Although wooden, those swords can still gouge eyes, cause concussions, etc.
Daric Soldar True, but practicing with protections only will not give you an idea of what it is to fear the blows. I'd say that both training should be done, of course only with trained practicioner.
Daric Soldar They could have put on eye protection or head gear. But they both looked like they knew how to control their strikes and not go full force or strike anywhere dangerous. Beginners wouldnt have the same control and would get seriously hurt
Daric Soldar live by the sword poked by the sword
+Railriderchris I never quite agreed with this mindset. The people I train with are my friends, so when they aren't wearing appropriate protection, I run the risk of injuring them, and therefore don't attack with full intent.
And as you'd expect, my friends/sparring partners feel the same way, so neither of us are attacking at maximum force.
*****
I can understand this. But whether you find this a good idea or not is probably depending on the goal you want to achieve when training with the sword.
1) if you want to do sport, scoring points, being in little danger of being injured, this allowing to strike with full force rather than controlling the weapon, then training without protections will indeed be of little interest to you.
2) But if you want to recreate something more real, like the real swordfight where people are aware that any movement might be the last which makes them being much more cautious, creating a tense situation where striking with full force is less important than doing controlled disabling of the opponent, then you might have a great deal of insight when doing restrained sparring without protections.
Understand that I'm not criticising those who only want to score, or do full contact like in battle of the nations. It is surely a lot of fun, and there's nothing wrong with it.
But when I see HEMA tournaments with a lot of suicidal attacks and double hits, it seems to me that there is a problem with being too protected.
If you have good control over your blade, and if you know your sparring partner well, I encourage you to try it out. If you're not sure about your safety (which nevertheless remains first priority), then begin with fencing masks and maybe gloves as only protections, nylon or wooden swords, slow movements and more intention of doing techniques than sparring.
Then, with time going on, you might remove your gloves and replace the fencing mask with safety glasses.
However, I'm not a huge fan of steel swords in this context, because of the potentially abrasive steel edges after edge blows, and the fact that there is a tendency of doing a lot more cutting like Hendtrucken.
Two wooden sticks wielded by guys from different disciplines get together to fight. Who wins?
...
The guy who trained harder.
As someone who's spent most of his teenage & adult life practicing various martial arts to see these two guys fencing without the protection of masks &/or gloves was quite astonishing. Very impressive, gents!
1:02 *Dramatic anime pause*
*huff, huff, huff...*
It's funny how the guy with the bokken pretends to not care about getting hit and shit like he knows wether it's gonna hit him or not and then.. he gets hit
+Joel Parkour i laugh so hard
No it's just part of training. Like learning not to flinch when someone jabs. Plus if you gauge your range right (called maai in Japanese martial arts) you learn to relax when not in distance. You see this in MMA with karate fighters like machida and Thomson. Just part of their training.
It's no jab it's a fucking sword he died a thousand deaths
@DarkEternal6 half swording only works against armor, and a sword or weapon as big or bigger than a standard longsword, since you can't do grabs like that against a katana. it would be like trying to bear hug someone who has a knife. yes you could, but you'd get stabby stabbed about a thousand times in the mean time
Randy Oh correct, what he should have done is stay at distance and use his greater reach and hand protection to keep the fight as much about trying to hit his opponent's hands as possible....of course, lack of protective gear makes that kind of sparring problematic
Cool video, but the hypothetical "Euro-Knight vs Samurai" flamewar comments kinda makes it... unfun to stick around...
Don't give a shit about which sword is better, Warhammers FTW.
Battle axe and shield for me! Though I would be willing to use a warhammer instead. ^^^And yes indeed, a lot of people just want to prove their own superiority that THEIR weapon/martial art is the best unmatched by anything.
it's not easy to compare this two beautiful techniques, the real difference was given by fighters.
Anyway, in european battlefield was not usual to see sword armed fighters. The longsword was considered a noble weapon and it's mainly used in dueling or skirmish.
In normal battles was more common to see maces, morning stars, pikes, two-handed hammers, axes, poleaxes and shields.
Im just sitting here stroking my guns and knives and improvised weapons.
-Ðёмøи Ḻøяḓ Ðylaи - edgy
Ivan Caprioli To much heavy weapons to fight the agility of a samurai i think
This was a more interesting fight to watch than most of what is excreted onto the screen by Hollywood.
I'm glad to see equally skilled fighters of different styles testing it out
Thank you for this sparring both of you! 😄
Timbo X, if you think there is such thing as a superior art, you are mistaken. There are people with more skill, people with more dedication, smarter people, but before the fight, equally trained warriors, such as a Samurai or a Medieval Knight, either of them could win... the one who trained longer, the faster one, the stronger one, the smarter one, the luckier one... it is all up to the single person incarnating the warrior on that precise moment... But specially understand, that nothing that you or me can say will change anything. Just train on whatever you practice and find happines, stop trying to win. God bless you and all Martial Arts Practitioners.
in actual combat to the death, the medieval knight would probably have it due simply to the superiority of the fitted plate, vs the samurais lamellar armor. if both were unarmored, it would probably be a coin flip.
Those armors are heavy as @#$%. Endurance is gonna be an issue.
Minh Phan proper, well fit plate is both lighter and restrictes moment less than a modern soldiers gear. Well fit plate weighs around 40Lb. Compare that to the Ō-yoroi (pinnacle of samuri armor) that weight 65+ Lb
rattslayer Not to mention that by the 14th Century at the height of European plate armor the Spanish, Germans, and Italians were making plate armor that could withstand the strongest crossbows of the day, and were reasonably bullet proof into the 16th century. Thus necessitating the shift in sword making among the nobility to ever stronger and narrower straight blades (for stabbing between armor plates).
Given all things equal, a traditional japanese warrior with a katana would probably lose against a european warrior.
Not based on the sword they used or anything, but the mere fact that in europe they were much more adapted to fighting people from other cultures, with different weapons and techniques. The Japanese generally only fought one another, where as europeans battled against many different foes.
"but the mere fact that in europe they were much more adapted to fighting people from other cultures, with different weapons and techniques."
no just no. The muslims and their empire along with the turks had no trouble what so ever keeping the crusaders out of the middle east for many many hundreds of years. also the middle eastern swords and techniques were so highly sought after by European nation some spent huge chunks of their wealth on imports of these weapons and armor.
The Japanese havent fought anyone else aside from the mongols due to the fact japan is an island and as such has no reason to wage war outside its borders. And yeah the samurai defiantly fought other armies specfically korea and the mongols as well in the later periods taking on modern armies and the katana was still present. Samurai adapt to their enviroment the same way the europeans did. When firearms were used during the sengoku jidai the Oda army had more guns than spears.
GoldenFly Yes, you're correct. The Isolation of Japan was one of their greatest weakness and the reason for their lack of Evolution.
And contrary to masterdude's strange ideas, the Crusaders did pretty well agaisnt the muslims. Just because they eventually failed to reclaim the holy land isn't an evidence that the Muslims had ''no trouble''. It is like saying that the Koreans had ''no trouble''to Keep the Samurai out of their land, forgetting about the early Japanese successes (funny enough, masterdude only mentions that the Samurai ''fought defiantly'' and not that in the end they were kicked out like the Crusaders... biased much, huh?)
However, in the end, the Japanese have proved quite adaptive People. For example, they adopted western guns quite rapidly, and once they adopted western warfare in the 19th century, they quickly became a strong Nation and colonial empire.
This is why I think that yes, the traditional Samurai army wouldn't do well in the beginning against European warfare. But the Japanese would quickly evolve and become worthy adversairies to the Westerners.
Railriderchris
They were not "Kicked out" nice revisionist history. the samurai left korea after instilling basically their entire culture into the korean system hence why the korean folk have their very own katana.
funny fact Korea was not a very good economical war you could almost call korea the vietnam of the 16th century
***** Yeah, sure, the Samurai brought the light of hope to the Koreans, and once they were sure that Korea would be a better place for those people they left honourably...
Seriously, who is Revisionist here? Anti-Japanese Feelings can still be traced back to the Imjin-wars, so why would the Koreans have kept the Japanese influence after them being kicked out of Korea?
Railriderchris
They did not leave honorably they lost the place economically that much is obvious as there was nothing there worth staying for besides basic resources.
Hidiyoshi left because even he knew it was not worth his time to persure a nation about the size of a couple of prefectures.
simple really, the koreans kept samurai weapons and martial arts training because they were vastly surperior to their own or the imjin war would have been won by the koreans to which it sure as hell was not.
You score one point for arm or leg, two points for chest, three points for head, and 100 points for rapping the guy in the knuckles, plus an extra 5 points if he yelps.
Those two were really evenly matched... that was really impressive to watch, thanks ^.^
Two different weapons for two different kinds of warfare. An interesting crossover, but to say one style of swordsmanship is superior over an another is simply crass.
Why are they saying "Longsword vs Bokken" that's like a boxing match saying "---- gloves vs ---- gloves" it comes down to skill of the fighter in sword duels not the type swords they use.
Snythes no not at all.
Snythes there are some swords that are simply better than others.For instance,in a 1vs1 duel a rapiers is considered to be the best weapon.
marios matzoros this isn’t a video game, the difference between the weapons is not which is better, it’s their style. Put two skilled swordsman in a duel, one with a rapier, the other a long sword, they both have the same chance of winning. The same goes for a long sword vs zweihander, it’s the skill and style that separates the weapons
These guys are amazing. Never losing their control for a second, never endangering each other, even though they don't wear any protection
Nice sparring...with no safety gear. They both have good technique and are very cautious. It shows they have mutual respect for each other. You learn a lot from a sparring like this. Slow is smooth, smooth is fast. Respect!
They should wear some protective gear and go full out
arthurw13 Protective gear makes people being careless and suicidal, hardly authentic. Sometimes, a more restrained sparring without protections can teach you a lot of things.
Sylorinnis
I respect your opinion, but I'd like to disagree. However, I think we might both be correct, as it depends of what do you want to achieve.
In a purely sportive context like modern sport fencing, Kendo or (more and more) HEMA tournaments, yes, you're quite correct.
However, when trying to represent a real fight, there are several big problems with the modern protective equipment:
1) mobility: it is impressive how little you can move with the full sparring gear, my medieval armour offers a lot more freedom of movement!
Honestly, have you ever managed to place a succesful Zwerchhau when with fencing mask, heavy sparring gloves and HEMA gambeson? Or even only to go into the guard Ochs or Posta di Donna? Is it easy for you to use the thumb grip?
2) As I already said, protections make people fight only to score a point instead of also protecting their lives. This is a main reason why many historical techniques don't work in tournaments because they weren't meant to be used against suicidal persons.
Many HEMA fighters who act like crazy Battle of the Nations participants would be completely shocked and passive it they had to fight against a person with a sharp sword.
3) You can do light unprotected sparring without the people ''co-operating''. It depends of course on the amount of skill and training involved, but Daniel Jaquet of GAGschola has made an impressive demonstration with sparring partners only equiped with protective gloves. It looked much better than the silly bashing often involved in tournaments with protections, especially as the mobility without gear allows much more techniques.
Conclusion: in a sportive context, to learn how to strike with full force, protective gear is absolutely necessary. And I would say that anyone has to do at least some amount of protected full force sparring.
However, to understand our ancestors who did train without protections too, I strongly believe that it is of great use to also do light sparring without protective gear.
Sylorinnis
I'm happy that we found an honorable agreement, dear Sir. :-)
All the best to you and your training!
Welcome back to the stage of history!
0:38 Has to be the most beautiful parry I've ever fucking seen
Too bad he didn't follow up ughh
Ok I just got this video on my recommendation after this was uploaded 11 years ago.
This is like watching dark souls. Dexterity build vs Strength build.
+Ridalia like watching GOOD dark souls. No spaming brats and no backstab fishers
+Ridalia which fighter is which build?
Nah. Only Dark Souls dex weapons have realistic movement. Strength weapons are crazy shit like hammers the size of cars.
Noah Weisbrod 'dex weapons' aren't more realistic. You probably meant swords (katanas, straight swords and scimatars), spears and halberts. Scythes are dex weapons and... Well... They are as usefull as a human-sized hammer in a battle.
The Great Scythe is an exception, but the uchi, balder sword, falchion, scimitar, painting sword, Ricard's etc. all move semi-reasonably.
For Honor Devs after watching this video:
We're makin a game about this
Even with all the new HEMA stuff that's come out over the past several years, this is still one of my favorite videos to come back to and watch.
Wouldn't be a more even a match if it was a contest between the long sword and a Nodachi sword ?
A Katana does not stand a chance facing a long sword in any real duel or group combat, assuming both holders are in the same level of their own practice.
Look, I basically favor the Longsword and I do agree to you that it has some great advantages. But there's no thing like ''no chance'' in a real fight, and despite being exaggerated, the Katana remains a very good weapon.
Railriderchris Katana is considerably heavier and less agile than a long sword in real fight.
Chen Alex
Basically yes, but let's not forget that there weren't a standard Katana or Longsword back then. Often, a Katana will be thicker and heavier than a similar sized European sword. But this isn't always true, depending of the owner's preferences, there were heavier and lighter swords both in Europe and Japan.
But as a conclusion, yes, the myth of the super light and agile Katana is just this, a myth.
***** What makes you think the average soldier in Europe wouldn't have a blade of similar quality than the average Ashigaru in Japan? Europe crafted swords like Japan long before the Katana, so there's not really a reason why a low quality sword would be better in Japan than in Europe. The same is true for high quality swords, especially since in the late middle ages the level in metallurgy was more evolved in Europe.
*****
Why would you compare an European footsoldier with a Samurai? This is like comparing an Ashigaru to a Knight...
I haven't seen any indication of the proportion of Samurai/Knight vs footsoldiers, but I think that for one it depended on the circumstances and for the other that it wasn't probably that different between Europe and Japan.
Well, the metallurgy in late medieval Europe allowed to make purer steel (highly regarded by the Japanese once they met Europeans in the mid-16th century) and more flexible blades. This doesn't mean the sword in itself is better in the fight, because the Katana compensates for its impure blade with a higher thickness and weight. However, since it was easier to craft good swords, this means that the mass produced swords in Japan were probably of lesser quality than their European counterparts.
Japan barely had cannons, the few they had were made out of Bronze or wood (!) or taken over from the Europeans, because they hadn't the metallurgy to cast iron cannons by themselves.
Yes, I think that a Japanese heavy armour wasn't that bad compared to what they had in Europe, but it was never made out of wood but iron and steel, sometimes partly hardened leather.
primary targets in a duel are arms/hands, legs/feeet, trying to hit the head or trunk without first injuring/weakening/disarming your opponent, will get you KILLED.
I have to disagree with you about the legs and absolutley about feets. Feets are really difficult to hit because they are so low and your shoulder are so high. With a longword you have to get about half a meter closer to be able to hit a foot than if you where aming for the torso.
nuh-uh
the legs are really easy to hit the feet is an interesting topic, this came about when we were looking at possibilities when dueling with sword and dagger, while it may be possible, I think it highly unlikely anyone would go down that road.
nuh uh dont really contribute to the conversation.
gurkfisk89
upper legs and armpits were the main targets for longswords and broadswords... look it up...
TheGabesnell Upper legs are a target, but I wouldn't call it a main one. And the upper legs are more of a target than the lower legs, but I still wouldn't call it the main target.
Codex Döbringer (MS 3227a) does for example state that you should attack "to the head or to the body" many times so I think that at least the head would be considered a main target. And nearly every strike I've seen is aimed towards the head or torso.
For the armpits. That is absolutley true if we are talking about armored fighting (if we are, then I'm sorry for the misunderstanding). But in unarmored fighting I'm not that sure. What kind of attack would you use with a longsword to attack the armpit in an unarmored fight?
I can see that you may hit the armpit when striking, say, a zwerchau from a high bind. But even then I would say that the strike is aimed towards the upper body in general rather than the armpit specifically.
What sources are you refering to when you say that the upper legs and armpits are the main targets?
Warden vs Orochi real footage
Huge difference in footwork there. Aikido guy is super smooth.
That last parry/blow was awesome.
Lovely exchange. Respect shown. Good video.
Man. 2007 is such a distant memory
I clicked on this video because I knew the comments section was going to be full of "experts" and it did not disappoint.
Am I the only one who thought of darksouls 3 @ 0:31
>Stance!!
This was literally me starting with knight class and fighting the sword master on my first play through
lol you're not alone. me too xD
awwww shieettt soo tru hahaha
And then again at 0:43 R1 R1 R1 R1 R1
You know I ponder how many martial artist are actually Watching this video. This is a good sign of control of the space between the two, and they both a have a good balance of Techinque. None from what i can see seem to be in the expert level, but that is fine. I'm honestly not there either. I''ve been at it for five years. The idea of there techinque with out making content is nice to see. Because it does take great control and precission with each cut and strike. I give them props for the style and fineesse. Its not that easy to do what they did with good control, and specially since they move very in sync it leads me to believe they have crossed paths more then once in terms of sparring.
1.Dan Kendoka here with Naginata experience. The Kendoka (Bokken) fighter is top notch level. Very high skill with lots of tricks in his bag. You can grasp his expertise from his calm outer demeanor (while always being ready to strike/counter). His precision counters and almost disarm (of a two handed weapon no less) at 0:40 speak for themselves. But the longsword fighter is no slouch either! I assume he is not used to fight without armor though because many of his strikes are clearly aimed at "taking less" damage then his enemy (while in Kendo "one strike kills" and therefore every hit must be prevented.
It is clear that both fighters are coming from their distinct field (where they are very competent and know how to handle enemies with similar weapons) but both are struggling with the reach of their enemy. You can see that clearly at 1:49 when the Kendoka did not expect to be in reach of a piercing hit while defending himself with outstretched arms (I pierce you, you pierce me). Most hits from the Kendoka are counters or have to push the longsword out of the way first.
+MrVlonk he's not a kendoka mate, using waki gamae and gedan no kamae in a sparring situation? I'm 2dan and I have never seen a kendoka of any level do that. Probably aikido, though I can't be sure.
Derpy Dashie
Learned all of that doing Kendo to. We have a very elaborate Kata system that is connected to Kendo (here in Germany). All those gamae are part of it and techniques seem similar. His behaviour is exactly as a kendoka would conduct himself in a sparring match, the gamae are unusual that is true. Considering he has the range disadvantage I can understand why he does not want to connect to the enemy sword. Waki is kinda pointless in this situation though... He could be a Iaidoka but only hint for that would be the white keigoki which is unusual in Kendo.
Both of them had no protective gear. its a miracle that they didnt hurt each other with the wooden swords
Which is the best weapon? The one you're trained in.
The longsword guy was being too polite, he could have hit him lots of times.
i have a feeling you're getting confused by the bokken guy calling all those feints.
Torc Handsomeson Some of them weren't feints. If he had just followed through he would have cracked the poor guy's skull open.
Even if they were feints, why would anybody allow an opening and leave luck to deciding whether they get stabbed or not.
because if you react to a feint then you open yourself up to a real attack somewhere else. that's what a feint is for.
Torc Handsomeson So what you're saying is basically that, if the longsword guy HAD followed through, the boken guy would be dead, but the boken guy was psychic and knew he wouldn't.
Kendo mask? Sabre fancing mask? Anyone? Protective vest? It is pointless if you dont want to hit somebody.
Longsword guy's footwork is all over the place. Seems like the bokken wielder had quite the experience advantage
Both these dudes seem very skilled and there's no sloppy wasted movement. I don't understand sword fighting but you can see how composed and focused they both are.
The long sword guy simply does not abuse of his range and the katana guy is not offensive at all.
reactive playstyle is far better than offensive
long sword man is gentle and kind. His intention is not to harm his opponent. while the bokken man cannot see his fingers and arms were cut already only if the long sword man would haved intended to. as individual long sword man is much greater , deeper and skilled
That depends on who's the best martial artist and perspective. As I practice a Japanese martial art built over Japanese kenjutsu, I see the bokken opponent too much tolerant and gentle towards his opponent, and even losing some opportunities to strike.
+목정근 (MichaelMok) If you look closely you will notice the swords are, in fact, wooden, and can't cut anything.
GabrielAKAFinn lol
Never heard of metal gauntlets? lol
No shit......... What he's saying is, if this was a real fight with real fucking metal then the bokken dude would have lost cause his fingers would have gotten sliced off due to lack of skill.
What lacker or spry best to use
The guy with Bokken is an Aikidoka. Good to see the application of the technique.
If you ever tried something like this you know how hard it actually is to fight sword vs sword. One fuck up and you are dead. But i think they both look like they arent just show offs, you can see they have skills. Good Job!
I know that people train with blunt swords well not sure about blunt katanas but they could do it with real swords if they are skilled enough
They used wooden swords at tournaments and people still got killed. Ninjas used wooden swords because steel wasnt afordable for them, they still killed silently. u dont need real swords to practice. besides getting yourself MORE hurt and staying out of practice isnt smart. also if you have experience you know how to keep your distance and wait for the perfect timing and dont charge in like crazy, because both guys end up dead. sword fighting is a lot like anderson silvas counter striking style, thats whats gonna keep you alive in a real combat situation.
The guy in the white robe knows what he's doing- he has a perfect sense of spacial awareness and the range of his opponent- at 0:53 he didn't even flinch when the guy with the longsword faked a thrust- he knew exactly how far the reach of his opponent was, and he knew that the sword posed him no threat- great swordplay.
To be fair, he didn't even flinch at 1:48 either, when the thrust wasn't fake.
yeah i'm guessing he was tired i mean you do know that flinching a defensive move is pretty useful in a sword fight?
but why are they not wearing anything? dangerous and irresponsible
He didn't flinch because its SPARRING. They aren't aiming to hit the opponents and most of the hits were aimed at opponent weapon.
It looks cool and all but it was as real as WWE.
His footwork is all off
On could ponder whether a real broadsword could be handled with the agility of that wooden one, or whether a lighter bokken would be able to parry a heavier broadsword as shown in this video.
He catches his arm there at the end, that was awesome.
shouldnt that be longwood? :D
+dies irae nice try to make a joke, i laughed, but nice try
+dies irae The term "waster" would be fitting.
Fucc
Now put masks and gambesons on each of them. You will have an entirely different duel.
But no gloves, just so they realize how hard it is to wipe with broken fingers.
How is this on my recommendation and this is like 11 years ago
Both very skilled with very different weapons. Excellent demonstration.
Watching the guy with the longsword is almost painful- though I can understand it's hard not to have a static stance. In the art of the longsword wards are meant to be windups and not static positions, your sword is meant to be in constant motion and not in a consistent position that can be read.
Why must every argument over Katana vs Longsword must end in one dedicated style. Whomever was more experienced with that blade would be the victor. Both combatants in this video show that both are pretty equally skilled. Also, both combatants seemed to have landed similar hits. While Knights were more armored, it's not like other Japanese warriors were any less armored. The average foot soldier was lightly armored. Both swords are excellence but also can be over hyped. Both have jobs they are good at and their own fighting styles.
Because there is a lot of pride and belief in this dick-waving contest. There has to be a winner. In this day and age, people will settle for nothing less.
but I actually heard that good-quality iron was rare in Japan, but common in Europe, that means more armour for the European and their half-swording style.
realenew While that comment is not wrong, iron was scarce in Japan, the sword makers figured out a way to forge two types of steel into one blade, allowing for the sharpness of each sword. Both swords are fantastic in my opinion, and have their advantages and disadvantages
Nice job! I wish we could get more people together to train like this. Its not about who is superior, its all about good training
So which is better, longsword or katana?