I was going to say, this is fine and dandy as far as single combat goes, but who chooses a pike for single combat? And when you have one guy with a pike next to 40 of his buddies in line with pikes and three or four more lines behind them all armed with pikes… it would be very cool to see highly trained people demonstrate rank and file pike warfare. Very cool.
@@30Salmao i would just imagine it as a gigantic wall of pikeheads. there is only death in a pikewall, even if your are armored, someone will kill you, if you rush in.
@@tomghzel They ddi! Atleast I know the captain in Robert Barret's Theorike And Practice of Vvares instructs pikemen to do so, and the English tradition was apparently inspired by the Spaniards and Italians, so one must assume the behavior must be normal for pikemen. Anyways. "Now for the Pike,* which the Spaniards do tearme Sen̄ora y Reyna de las armas, the Queene and mistresse of weapons. The souldier which carieth the same, is to bee well armed with a good corslet, furnished with his gorget, Morion, tasses, pouldrons, vambraces, and gauntlets also; to be armed as he ought to be; whatso∣euer opinion other men may hold to the contrary, supposing a bare payre of Cuy∣rasses onely sufficient: but I am of opinion, that the armed Picquier ought to bee armed in all points (as I haue said) for defence: and then to offend, to be weapo∣ned with a good Pike of ground Ashe,* of seuenteen or eighteen foote long at the least, well and strongly headed, with the cheekes three foote long, or there a∣bout: and for other weapon,* to weare a good short sword and dagger: for the dagger is a weapon of great aduantage in Pell mell."
Perfect timing on the video, thank you. I am organizing my apartment complex into a pike square next week to attack our neighbors for resources. I’ll be sure the Pikemen are outfitted with Sabers as a sidearm.
I did the same a few weeks back, but with a hoplite phalanx. It was very successful at first, even when someone got past the spears our shield wall blocked them, but then some of the neighbors attacked us from behind with pans and bike chains... It was a mess. Never forget your sidearms!
@@spinakker14 The last time the locals used a shield wall in a skirmish here, a few of the local duelists picked up our fish and routed them. Must be humiliating to be hit with a fish!
I like how you mentioned the efficacy of these techniques would vary considerably on a battlefield situation compared to a duel. I imagine there would be a second and third line of pikemen so that their points extended into the enemy in layers, making it much harder to rush in.
Another thing to mention, in a dense pike formation, the pikeman has nowhere to really go as he can't back up or sidestep like he can in a duel. Forward is the only way, so if an enemy gets past the length of the pike with any other short weapon, he's going to be chutney.
@@killer3000ad - What about: 1. Pulling back the pike so it becomes effectively shorter in forward direction?, probably harder to manage but better than nothing. 2. Dropping the pike and using some sort of sword instead? 3. Just keep the formation and normal length of the pike while your comrades of the lines behind you deal with the intruders?
@@LuisAldamiz number 3 is the most typical but number 2 also happens. IIRC some historians theorized Swiss were able to charge into different formations because they are ready to drop their pikes and get their longswords/swiss sabres out and become swordsmen. Number one is impossible in a formation because you'll smack and disorder your friends in the back ranks and the sides.
@@irfannurhadisatria2540 - Makes sense what you say (I also considered your objections to #1 but thought maybe the formation was not so tight or whatever).
This really shows the utility of such large swords sometimes seen alongside pikes. A skilled mercenary popping up out of the blue in a battle, wielding an unusual weapon, controlling your pike in all sorts of ways you didn't encounter before. There was definitely a case to be made for their use on the battlefield.
Maybe against a single pikeman but this is a formation weapon, I’m pretty sure you either need lots of arrows or other pikemen or to do a Calvary bluff even two pikes would be insurmountable for a great sword. I’m not really saying large swords are useless I just don’t think they’re meant for pikes.
In Ming and Korea's halberds, there is a movement of cutting with a long spear thrust and rotating the whole body. 6:21 seconds is very similar to that.
@@stephena1196 Rotation is not recommended in HEMA and Japan, but it is often used in China and Korea. In China's military techniques, the technique of using weapons against very long spears has evolved. And in China's long spear, the emphasis is on thrust. Japanese spears were often hit. I think it's very effective to rotate against a long spear that shoots.
A lot of traditional chinese martial arts seem to prioritize power in the strikes, while everything else about the techniques is about how to get to the position to use that powerful strike.
Regarding people saying that there is a lot more pikemen around - you are most likely not alone too. Usually people with non-pikes were placed at flanks or behind pikemen. Commanders had to get the moment just right to see enemy ranks widdling out to either launch the frontal attack or flank the regrouping lines when the concentration of pikes is lower.
Nevertheless, it's a bit like a 'showcasing effective anti-musket tactics,' but giving the musketeer no bullets and no bayonet. What does that prove? Other than that muskets were super ineffective without either bullets or bayonets. Same principle applies here.
@@mikep8071 Hardly the same principle you are (and many others to be fair) are serving here. Think the point is to demonstrate how an individual would fight against a pike, the basics before advanced formation tactics if you will. Title of the video is after all "Learn the Art of Combat - Pike Fighting Techniques - Part One". At the end of the day we know weapons like the zweihander were used against (and in conjunction with) pike formations, knowing how to attack a pikeman even if simulated alone is valuable study and training. In a real scenario there would be more pikemen likewise the attacker wouldnt be alone either, that doesnt mean that closing the distance on the first pikeman is somehow not worth training. In fact its probably more important that the whole formation of soldiers are well drilled. In particular this job of closing the distance on pikes and attempting to break their formation was a dangerous job anyways, doubly paid some places I have heard.
@@ThePijarro I guess? But advancing on a lone pikeman, it is enough to simply grab the pike - as demonstrated in this video. (the romans liked catching pikes in their shields according Pindar and Tacitus). However, advancing on a line of pikemen, when there are several pikes protruding beyond the first pikeman is an entirely different scenario. If you're saying Scenario A and Scenario B are totally different situations, therefore let's practice A to prepare for B? Eh? Example: The Romans bested Macedonian, Seleucid, Mithradatic (sp?) and Epirot phalanxes with one set of tactics - break the formation via terrain, skirmishers, or feigned retreats, and then engage the pikemen individually or in small groups. Why did this work? Because individual pikemen, or small groups of pikemen out of formation, are harmless. The Romans learned this the hard way by suffering gruesome casualties when attempting to take pike formations head on. By contrast, the pikeman in this video is functionally harmless.
@@mikep8071 You still practice target shooting with a rifle by yourself, don't you? It's the same idea. You get to understand the strength and weaknesses of a weapon individually first before you join the formation and learn to cover those weaknesses while emphasizing your strength. If you don't even know what you are capable of alone, how are you going to contribute to the whole?
@@RavenAdventwings Two problems with that comparison. A rifle is deadly on its own. Even single shot black powder rifles. Skirmishers were used to great effect in the American Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars, for example. The pike, by contrast, is useless on its own. Second issue - we have a fairly good idea how pikemen were trained from manuals dating back to the Spanish Tercio, a shot and pike formation. No emphasis was placed on 'individual combat' with a pike, instead pikemen were equipped with sidearms. Again, I don't mean to be difficult, but I still think this video gives a very poor example of the pike as a weapon.
We need to establish front-facing camera perspectives even more. First person mode feels like Kingdom Come Deliverance and improves understanding of techniques 😊. Also, love the application of greatsword techniques. I think you might as well start in this short (half) sword guard and treat it like any other Meyer polearm.
czcams.com/video/n5w2Mh6CyXo/video.html I see where you're coming from, but theres a few reasons why it's not standard. - The camera is constantly shaking and moving - You see very little hand positioning - You don't see any footwork - You don't see most of the strikes that connect.
This actually makes sense on why some pikes had a sharpened pommel or spikes on the pommel. Changing grip would mean that the pommel would become the new pointy end, so it makes sense the pommel not only add balance to the weapon but also serve as a new weapon if you need to change the grip. Awesome!
i think the problem with fighting against pike men was not blocking the first poke, but the followed up moving towards this pike men, because there was the second row of pikesmen poking you like shashlik, while the second row of swordsmen couldn't participate in the front combat line. this video is ecactly what i imagined: it seems so easy to fight against pikesmen and yet this warstyle came back so there must have been an advantage.
Even more than two rows could point their pikes against enemy at once. Usually entire formation did it all at once. So to get pass through that was really hard, almost always suicide. But people seem to think it was easy to break the formation of pikes. While oposite was true. I can think of only Flodden, where Earl of Surrey managed to do it by luring Scots into muddy terrain.
I like your videos. This one in particular has given me much more insight as to why the lansknechte were utilized against pikemen. Once they had closed to melee with the front rank they had closed with them all. soon they would shatter the formation on which pikes rely.
I love the spear camera angle, more on the next videos please, something like a gopro forehead attachment. amazing content. this will blow up eventually. bravo!
What is often not discussed is that rushing in on a pole weapon is more difficult than it seems in abstract. When fighting one on one with plenty of room, the polearm user will be constantly attempting to double back at the same speed and pull his weapon back into range, and rushing forward can easily end up with you incidentally rushing into the weapon itself. This effect is even greater with shorter polearms than pikes, because of the obvious. And in a formation, there is the matter of multiple men around and behind your opponent that might seize the opportunity to score a quick kill at the man rushing in passed all his side's defenses. Still, though, this is the generally the only choice one has to defeat a pole weapon when they have a shorter weapon. However, rather than rushing in to kill, a shorter weapon is excellent at deflecting and tying up opposing pikes coming in at your ranks. Here, it has a complete advantage of leverage, and can be used to open up the opponent to a thrust from one of your own pikemen. *Edit*: I almost forgot to mention the butt-spike method. Another danger you have to keep in mind when rushing in on a pole weapon, is the possibility that your opponent might have a spike or other weapon at the rear end of his weapon. Speaking from experience, this is one of the easiest ways to totally thwart an inexperienced or overconfident opponent rushing passed your reach; just rotate your weapon and present the butt towards him and he will very often run into it himself at full force. And since this is easy to hold one-handed, it allows you to draw a secondary weapon for such a close engagement as well.
i mean doubling back isn't very reliable. its much more difficult to run backwards then forwards and with someone rushing after you it means you're much more exposed, of course when it comes to a formation you need to rely on your allies just as the other person would be relying on theirs.the only reason someone would even get a chance to rush in is because of their allies occupying the other pikes and keeping them at bay
Can you imagine being a pikeman during the pike and shot era? It must have been maddening being in a formation of pikemen against another formation of pikemen.
pikes used in line formation are pretty much impenetrable. Just think, there will be a guy to his left and right that have an angle on you and if you manage to get through there will be guys behind him to stab you whilst you have his pike deflected and a guy behind him and so on. Enjoyed the video! 👍
it works the other way around. though. you're not gonna just get people recklessly rushing in, there will also be enemy pikemen keeping the others busy along with all kinds of things like ranged weapons which is probably a pike formations biggest counter given that pikemen are far less protected from such things
Pike formations are a thing of their times. It was effective in the Hellenic period because it was combined with cavalry and light infantry to cover it's weakness. It was strong in the 15th to 17th century because of the availability of steel armor and drawbacks of firearms.
Usually pike formation is impenetrable, I agree . But James IV's army was formed mainly by long pikes formation and still his army got massacred in Flodden Field. Every weapon has weakeness and in case of pike is it that if enemy manages to break your formation, you're screwed. Experienced commander would know/realise this. Would use terrain to try to hinder unified walk of formation and would carefully choose what kind of troop will go into frontier to clash with the pikes.
I'd be very interested in pike formations as well Would be difficult to get enough people with a pike together for a demonstration but this video clearly shows that pikes are not a dueling weapon. I would love to see what they can do in proper formation.
This video doesn't show that & the idea specifically conflicts with period sources. We know people dueled pike against pike. Furthermore, George Silver gave the full 18ft pike the odds over anything shorter than 8-9ft for unarmored single combat in the open. Antonio Manciolino recommended the lancia (12-14+ft?) over the spiedo (8ft?), instructing to grip it in the middle for better control while still having a reach advantage. Renaissance masters loved reach.
Pikes in formation = Wall of absolute death. Pikes in a 1v1 duel = Pikemen's tombstone will read: "Probably had a better chance beating the other guy unarmed."
Great demonstration of technique, though as always things get more complicated when the person you're performed the technique against isn't going along with it. Y'all show this in the sparring clips. Note that George Silver gave the full 18ft pike the odds over anything shorter than 8-9ft for unarmored single combat in the open. Antonio Manciolino recommended the lancia (12-14+ft?) over the spiedo (8ft?), instructing to grip it in the middle for better control while still having a reach advantage. Rushing in wasn't necessarily effective against a skilled opponent, at least according to the many Renaissance masters who highly valued reach.
In larp battles, pikemen often retreat really rapidly, possibly also reeling the shaft back to keep the spear tip a constant threat to worry about for the charger. Even if the pikeman is reached, they practically always have a short sword or dagger that they can rush you with instead, while placing the spear shaft in the way of your attacks. The extreme close range turns the greatswords or halberds length into a weakness. That said, generally there is no other chance of defeating the pikeman with a shorter weapon than to rush them. Staying at their range while not being able to threaten them is a situation where it is simply a matter of time until they get you. Other solutions involve your side having archers, or even longer spears than your opponent.
This video already demonstrates quite effectively why a pike is so useful; especially in the sword vs pike demonstrations it takes the swordsman a very long time to close in with the pikeman; which gives the pikeman ample time to switch to a shorter weapon just retreating; the man with the short weapon is forced to commit to an attack that will take a long time even under ideal circumstances; if the pike were to be shorter it might actually become possible for the swordsman to "surprise" his enemy and get a hit before the pikeman can react.
I always get un-eased by the floppiness of the pike, imagine a formation of pikemen thrusting those floppy beasts at you, any angle and spot could be hit.
You need to close more distance on the pike if you are going to be attempting a grab. This minimalizes the chance you will take a hit from the spearhead after a quick pull through
sometimes or most often, spearmen or pikemen have secondary/back up weapon like a small knife, short sword. They usually fought along side each other so the rare chance of you going one on one against an opponent using spear/pike during a battle is slim.
Now you just need to get 216 volontaires to form up as a pikeblock. That would be a sight to see! Dont forget to put two wings of shot(matchlock musketeers) on each flank of the pikeblock too. 👍
Cool stuff! I recall in Machiavelli's "Art of War," he encouraged the use of sword and shield against pike formations; as you mention, I'm sure a formation of pikes is that much more challenging, given the guys beside and behind the pikeman can "pick up the slack" if the attacker tries to control the shaft, as demonstrated here. It would be interesting to see a demonstration of two pikes in formation against various weapons, as well!
I'd be curious to see as well but I suspect you don't just push the pikes aside and then let them go once you step past. Not fighting a formation. There are a lot of options, since pikes aren't light sabers. You could grab the pike and tug it out of the wielder's hand. You could take a your time to cut the shaft off with your weapon in the safe zone where he can't stab you then advance to the next line of pikes. You could entrap the pike and push it further and further off line as you move up the shaft to bind up other pikes with it, acting like a shield. You could grab the shaft and push the enemy pikeman backward into his own lines causing them to trip up then move in quick. It's a pretty chaotic situation though which is why pike formations were so damn powerful. The only way to break them is with pure balls and rolling the dice while hoping your armour does it's job. I suspect the reality is that such lines were rarely broken without the help of missile weapons or a lot of alcohol. 😁
The Spartans and the Macedonian phalanx were masters of pike warfare. Single sword man vs one pike man can be defeated. However two pike men arrange their pikes in different alternating lengths can defeat the swordsman.
When I first read about pike combat, many years ago, it was said that the Swiss favoured the offensive and so tended to carry the pike high* and hold it towards the centre, whereas the Landsknecht favoured defence and tended to hold the pike further back, much as you are. Were there regional differences in the use of pikes? * I recall reading in one source that it would be carried above the head in the charge.
This is a Chinese story, but it had the rearmost end in Ming's military pike technique. The same is true of the Yang family pike in the Ming dynasty. But some of the other schools at the time (there were only about five at the time) were in the middle. The school with the middle had a very long spear, so it will also be affected by the length of the spear.
Blaise de Monluc has that bit about the Swiss supposedly hold the pike in the middle. Is there any other evidence for it? Urs Graf, a Swiss soldiers & artist, shows Swiss pikers at Marignano holding their pikes near the end when facing off against French men-at-arms. Of course, that is a different context than facing other pikers. Otherwise, period artwork seems to show more of an end grip than middle grip, but it also rarely depicts accurate pike length because that would take up so much space & many elements may be stylized, etc. Spanish & English manuals from the second of the 16th century indicate an end grip.
@@b.h.abbott-motley2427 I understand. Even in Japan and China, the place to hold is changed depending on the length of the spear (the length described as a numerical value, not the artwork). Of course, this is an Asian story, not a Swiss story. I was just going to chat. That being said, the difference in how to hold it is interesting.
@@papermap1646 In chinese martial arts like bajiquan, the big spear is held with the butt of the spear in the cup of your palm. The point is to prevent slipping during the stab, as well as to push and drive the spead forcibly into the target. Some argue even through some types of armor.
@@Juusokakku I understand. In the Ming dynasty, the Yang family, the Ming army, and the Wu family's spear art were held that way. According to my memory, the 沙家槍 used a spear of 7m or more, so it certainly had a part that was about 70 to 90% of the length of the spear. In Yang and Ming dynasty, I usually use something about 4 to 5 m, so I have an edge. Of course, you can have an edge even at 7m, but it depends on your personal taste. The Bajiquan spear was born in the Qing dynasty, so I think it was influenced by Yang, the Ming dynasty, or Wu. By the way, it seems that the Song army and the yuan army practiced only thrusting. From the description at that time, it seems that the movement is similar to the one-handed thrust of the spear of CHIVARY2.
@@danielcrafter9349 No... no they're not at all. I don't know what you're understanding as renaissance, but the great majority of fantasy settings are a crude representation of a myriad of medieval misconceptions.
Great video on a rare subject! Some thoughts: Could the greatsword break the pike if instead of rushing in (2:30), it smashed the pike to the ground with force? Or perhaps scissor the pike shaft from the position in 2:50 against the greatsword wielders body? I'm imagining these as possible alternatives for situations when the greatsword cannot to rush the pikes (perhaps there are other pikes and you need to hold your distance). Another thing, is that from "larp" battles I've realized holding the greatsword blade down in ox guard gives more protection for the lower body, and much easier chance to catch the pike during thrust. The negative side is that it practically takes away the passive offensive benefits of the field guard. I also wanted to point out that I've seen all of the same pike vs pike techniques exist in chinese bajiquan big spear forms :D Just an interesting observation.
This is my own theory of how they were used. You can stay just at a range where your large sword can connect with the tip of the pike, while still being far enough away to avoid a thrust as you chop away like you're cutting down corn stalks. You won't knock a pike head off in one swing but if you just keep at it eventually you'll start to cut them apart. Pikes by their long nature are fairly thin towards the pointy ends. I see this as totally doable. Of course once they lose the pointy parts, your own pikemen can step forward a bit more confidently and stab those who can't stab back. Just watch out for blunt pikes slamming down on your head and hands, it's still going to hurt!
@@MrBottlecapBill You know what, that actually sounds very reasonable! It's not that risky of a tactic, and it made me think: If you had to make a weapon which purpose was specifically to cut off spear heads, what would it look like? Probably some kind of a bardiche or a greatsword. Greatsword might not have as much weight and a large blade as a bardiche, but the greatsword's longer blade would accomodate for less precision.
Fighting someone with shield and sword/axe is really difficult with the spear, at least i found, so easy for your opponent to get inside and dispatch you
So where is the part where a bunch of little shytes crawl between the pikeline with knives and short swords just to fight the other little shytes from the enemy's rank?
If it was just one man yes, but pikes were historically used in formation. And guys in middle of formation of pikes also raised their pikes against enemy. So you'd have to get through several layers of pikes to get to pikeman, most of time suicide to do so.
@@maearcher4721 Oh totally, Pikes are way way better as part of a formation. But if you were attacking a formation i don't think any of the moves in this entire video would work. You'd get stabbed in the middle of your cool scimitar spins by one of the guys with regular swords standing next to the pike guy.
well, it must be said, that the pike is a weapon for war, not for hand to hand combat, its very easy to use, cheap to make and works better as more u can get. combined with bows u got a very good army in a matter of days. Its a Warweapon to eqip cheap untrained troops in Masses, and it works fantastic, espacily against Knights, who costs more then 100 pikeman, but has no chance against them
The pike never was a duel weapon. The concepts re interesting, but one as to remember tht pike fighting techniques involve a pike wall, not an overextended and unbalanced pikeman fighting alone in an open field.
There should be a pike technique where if the opponent gets past your spearhead, you break out into a 100% effort sprint in the opposite direction whilst swinging your pike in a circle like a madman until you establish proper distance again.
you might want to learn how to stay alive long enough to have a chance to fight one to one against a pikeman. most of the time, you get 3 ranks of pike man, with the front rank armed with shield, all of them combine covered all reachable range of the front rank. if they decided to form phalanx, you might want to call artillery on them. During feudal japanese era, pike was always the core of all battles, followed by bow, expensive muskets, riders and finally swords(mostly CQB during sieges). Here you see the trend, longer reach means faster kills. A good pike/spear can fetch a few fold higher the price than swords back in the days fyi.
Pikes are not a weapon for individual combat (as depicted here). Pike warfare revolves around arming large groups with the weapon so they can form a spear wall. This has been done since the Macedonian Phalanxes under Alexandre the Great. This tactic is particularly known for it's effectiveness in stopping cavalry charges.
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Im tired to answer... is nobody reading my vid description or listen to my narration?
@ I didn't ask a question. I stated a fact: Pikes are not an appropriate weapon for single combat. A spear or quarterstaff would be more appropriate. If you want to discuss military history then great! If you want to get butthurt that I'm not playing along with your Ren Faire fantasy then idgaf.
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@@nathanieltalcott7888 Then I do not understand that you are writing something that is already mentioned in the video and is well known. But we don't have to discuss this any further - idgaf ;)
Pike isn't a single combat weapon. They're showing a side-view, with 2 people for clarity of technique, but you'd never see 1 guy walking around with a pike. Keep that in mind, that while you can parry a pike, and work your way up the shaft, there's probably anther 5 guys with him also trying to stab you (And others with you.)
Halbard, Poleax, and other combination weapons are extremely versatile. The trade-off is Reach. The heavy head makes it impossible to grip all the way out, and control it. So, you always end up using part of the haft for balance, and leverage. This is basically why Pikes don't have Halberd heads.
Youre thrusting upwards making it easier for them to counter. In the drawings the person probably trusted center and horizontal for the body, and the person probably grabbed it and pushed it up. Also all of the attacks except the one where the pike is held could be countered by the pikeman by flipping to hit with side in the hands as shown in pike v pike.
What do you think of moves and strikes aimed specifically at breaking the pike (possibly while grabbing it with your left hand)? Did this happen only occasionaly (I am sure that at least must be true) or were they a regular thing?
If someone rushed in on me and I had the pike, if I have any control of it i.e. they didn't grab, I would totally sweep between their rushing legs and trip them on their face.
I don’t know if a multiple line formation would change too much. Seems like if you’re keeping your weapon to your left, you would be able to block the pikes behind the first rank without needing to worry much about the first pike. Also you would also be in a formation and your buddy behind you could even take control of the first enemy pike in time for you to guard the second. So I think it would be possible to use these against pike formations. It would just take a lot of skill, teamwork, and synchronization
Actually, entire pike formation was trained to hold their pikes against the enemy all at once, and walk-in unison. The people from the middle of formation extended their pike against you as well. Before you could get to distance to hit first pikeman, you'd first have to get through several layers of pikes pointed at you. Not just one or two, but even five or more. It was almost suicide to go against formation of pikes, if they had good terrain. Even for cavalry. That was why in Flodden they didn't join the fight until formation of pikes was broken(at least partially). They'd just be killed. Long-range weapons might have some success, but to win against pikemen, you have to break their formation. Your best choice is to use terrain against them. In Flodden they got lured into mud. And got massacred.
rushing the pikeman is extra fun when theres another rank or two of pikemen behind him so you have to avoid those stabby bits as well
Didn't consider that
@@mayorgeneralramirez1997 there is always antoher pike. if you kill your oponement, the next pike is in your face^^
@@Hunter27771 another hundred pikes you mean xD
I was going to say, this is fine and dandy as far as single combat goes, but who chooses a pike for single combat? And when you have one guy with a pike next to 40 of his buddies in line with pikes and three or four more lines behind them all armed with pikes… it would be very cool to see highly trained people demonstrate rank and file pike warfare. Very cool.
@@30Salmao i would just imagine it as a gigantic wall of pikeheads. there is only death in a pikewall, even if your are armored, someone will kill you, if you rush in.
And remember, switching to you secondary weapon is always faster than reloading your pike.
I was also thinking, the pikemen should cary a dagger. Instead of wait for the longsword to come and get him, drop the pike, take the dagger, charge.
@@tomghzel reminds my father
Never go out without knife light and water
@@tomghzel landsknecht pikeman carried a katzbalger often for this exact reason.
@@tomghzel They ddi! Atleast I know the captain in Robert Barret's Theorike And Practice of Vvares instructs pikemen to do so, and the English tradition was apparently inspired by the Spaniards and Italians, so one must assume the behavior must be normal for pikemen.
Anyways.
"Now for the Pike,* which the Spaniards do tearme Sen̄ora y Reyna de las armas, the Queene and mistresse of weapons. The souldier which carieth the same, is to bee well armed with a good corslet, furnished with his gorget, Morion, tasses, pouldrons, vambraces, and gauntlets also; to be armed as he ought to be; whatso∣euer opinion other men may hold to the contrary, supposing a bare payre of Cuy∣rasses onely sufficient: but I am of opinion, that the armed Picquier ought to bee armed in all points (as I haue said) for defence: and then to offend, to be weapo∣ned with a good Pike of ground Ashe,* of seuenteen or eighteen foote long at the least, well and strongly headed, with the cheekes three foote long, or there a∣bout: and for other weapon,* to weare a good short sword and dagger: for the dagger is a weapon of great aduantage in Pell mell."
Man, cooldowns on pikes are so deadly, thanks for the advice
Perfect timing on the video, thank you. I am organizing my apartment complex into a pike square next week to attack our neighbors for resources. I’ll be sure the Pikemen are outfitted with Sabers as a sidearm.
Hahahahahah
Godspeed
I did the same a few weeks back, but with a hoplite phalanx. It was very successful at first, even when someone got past the spears our shield wall blocked them, but then some of the neighbors attacked us from behind with pans and bike chains... It was a mess. Never forget your sidearms!
Also dont forget to add some musketeers to your pikemen
@@spinakker14 The last time the locals used a shield wall in a skirmish here, a few of the local duelists picked up our fish and routed them. Must be humiliating to be hit with a fish!
I'm glad they point out that pike are generally not used in duels.
Pikes are mass weapons.
Its obvius
I like how you mentioned the efficacy of these techniques would vary considerably on a battlefield situation compared to a duel. I imagine there would be a second and third line of pikemen so that their points extended into the enemy in layers, making it much harder to rush in.
Absolutely. Pike always was a mass formation type of weapon, dueling techniques seem relatively pointless in such context.
Another thing to mention, in a dense pike formation, the pikeman has nowhere to really go as he can't back up or sidestep like he can in a duel. Forward is the only way, so if an enemy gets past the length of the pike with any other short weapon, he's going to be chutney.
@@killer3000ad - What about:
1. Pulling back the pike so it becomes effectively shorter in forward direction?, probably harder to manage but better than nothing.
2. Dropping the pike and using some sort of sword instead?
3. Just keep the formation and normal length of the pike while your comrades of the lines behind you deal with the intruders?
@@LuisAldamiz number 3 is the most typical but number 2 also happens. IIRC some historians theorized Swiss were able to charge into different formations because they are ready to drop their pikes and get their longswords/swiss sabres out and become swordsmen. Number one is impossible in a formation because you'll smack and disorder your friends in the back ranks and the sides.
@@irfannurhadisatria2540 - Makes sense what you say (I also considered your objections to #1 but thought maybe the formation was not so tight or whatever).
The amount of control you guys exert is sincerely frightening. Your moves are so fast and stop scarily close, but always with control. It's impressive
This really shows the utility of such large swords sometimes seen alongside pikes. A skilled mercenary popping up out of the blue in a battle, wielding an unusual weapon, controlling your pike in all sorts of ways you didn't encounter before. There was definitely a case to be made for their use on the battlefield.
You are talking a lot of nonesense all at once.
@@flyingdutchman9053 It is best to let the... self-enlightened... talk to themselves
@@AdamOwenBrowning id love to hear your opinion then. Why did they use greatswords as opposed to other methods? Because we know thats what they chose.
Maybe against a single pikeman but this is a formation weapon, I’m pretty sure you either need lots of arrows or other pikemen or to do a Calvary bluff even two pikes would be insurmountable for a great sword. I’m not really saying large swords are useless I just don’t think they’re meant for pikes.
Just wanted to say that i have been had never seen someone training pike fencing before these videos... Super cool! Bravo!
In Ming and Korea's halberds, there is a movement of cutting with a long spear thrust and rotating the whole body.
6:21 seconds is very similar to that.
There is also a movement similar to that in a dao form I practised.
Even before Ming! Dynasty warrior man. 198AD Guan Yu!!! God of war man.
These techniques are old! fighting spears the same!
@@descendant0fdragons I think so too
@@stephena1196
Rotation is not recommended in HEMA and Japan, but it is often used in China and Korea. In China's military techniques, the technique of using weapons against very long spears has evolved. And in China's long spear, the emphasis is on thrust. Japanese spears were often hit. I think it's very effective to rotate against a long spear that shoots.
A lot of traditional chinese martial arts seem to prioritize power in the strikes, while everything else about the techniques is about how to get to the position to use that powerful strike.
Regarding people saying that there is a lot more pikemen around - you are most likely not alone too. Usually people with non-pikes were placed at flanks or behind pikemen. Commanders had to get the moment just right to see enemy ranks widdling out to either launch the frontal attack or flank the regrouping lines when the concentration of pikes is lower.
Nevertheless, it's a bit like a 'showcasing effective anti-musket tactics,' but giving the musketeer no bullets and no bayonet. What does that prove? Other than that muskets were super ineffective without either bullets or bayonets. Same principle applies here.
@@mikep8071 Hardly the same principle you are (and many others to be fair) are serving here. Think the point is to demonstrate how an individual would fight against a pike, the basics before advanced formation tactics if you will. Title of the video is after all "Learn the Art of Combat - Pike Fighting Techniques - Part One". At the end of the day we know weapons like the zweihander were used against (and in conjunction with) pike formations, knowing how to attack a pikeman even if simulated alone is valuable study and training. In a real scenario there would be more pikemen likewise the attacker wouldnt be alone either, that doesnt mean that closing the distance on the first pikeman is somehow not worth training. In fact its probably more important that the whole formation of soldiers are well drilled. In particular this job of closing the distance on pikes and attempting to break their formation was a dangerous job anyways, doubly paid some places I have heard.
@@ThePijarro I guess? But advancing on a lone pikeman, it is enough to simply grab the pike - as demonstrated in this video. (the romans liked catching pikes in their shields according Pindar and Tacitus). However, advancing on a line of pikemen, when there are several pikes protruding beyond the first pikeman is an entirely different scenario. If you're saying Scenario A and Scenario B are totally different situations, therefore let's practice A to prepare for B? Eh?
Example: The Romans bested Macedonian, Seleucid, Mithradatic (sp?) and Epirot phalanxes with one set of tactics - break the formation via terrain, skirmishers, or feigned retreats, and then engage the pikemen individually or in small groups. Why did this work? Because individual pikemen, or small groups of pikemen out of formation, are harmless.
The Romans learned this the hard way by suffering gruesome casualties when attempting to take pike formations head on. By contrast, the pikeman in this video is functionally harmless.
@@mikep8071 You still practice target shooting with a rifle by yourself, don't you?
It's the same idea. You get to understand the strength and weaknesses of a weapon individually first before you join the formation and learn to cover those weaknesses while emphasizing your strength. If you don't even know what you are capable of alone, how are you going to contribute to the whole?
@@RavenAdventwings Two problems with that comparison.
A rifle is deadly on its own. Even single shot black powder rifles. Skirmishers were used to great effect in the American Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars, for example. The pike, by contrast, is useless on its own.
Second issue - we have a fairly good idea how pikemen were trained from manuals
dating back to the Spanish Tercio, a shot and pike formation. No emphasis was placed on 'individual combat' with a pike, instead pikemen were equipped with sidearms.
Again, I don't mean to be difficult, but I still think this video gives a very poor example of the pike as a weapon.
I love youtube channels where I "like and subscribe" before being requested to. Good content.
I loved watching this entire video!
Then I thought to myself “when am I ever going to apply this in battle?”
We need to establish front-facing camera perspectives even more. First person mode feels like Kingdom Come Deliverance and improves understanding of techniques 😊.
Also, love the application of greatsword techniques. I think you might as well start in this short (half) sword guard and treat it like any other Meyer polearm.
czcams.com/video/n5w2Mh6CyXo/video.html
I see where you're coming from, but theres a few reasons why it's not standard.
- The camera is constantly shaking and moving
- You see very little hand positioning
- You don't see any footwork
- You don't see most of the strikes that connect.
This actually makes sense on why some pikes had a sharpened pommel or spikes on the pommel. Changing grip would mean that the pommel would become the new pointy end, so it makes sense the pommel not only add balance to the weapon but also serve as a new weapon if you need to change the grip. Awesome!
Those European martial manuscripts are so beautifully illustrated. Thank you for sharing the source material!
Never was I intrestead in Pike Fighting Techniques but for some reason youtubes algorithm brought me here
god storing pikes in medieval armories must’ve been a pain in the ass
These comments are really helping me figure out how to integrate this into my fantasy story
Oh really...now im curious xD
i think the problem with fighting against pike men was not blocking the first poke, but the followed up moving towards this pike men, because there was the second row of pikesmen poking you like shashlik, while the second row of swordsmen couldn't participate in the front combat line. this video is ecactly what i imagined: it seems so easy to fight against pikesmen and yet this warstyle came back so there must have been an advantage.
Even more than two rows could point their pikes against enemy at once. Usually entire formation did it all at once. So to get pass through that was really hard, almost always suicide.
But people seem to think it was easy to break the formation of pikes. While oposite was true.
I can think of only Flodden, where Earl of Surrey managed to do it by luring Scots into muddy terrain.
I like your videos. This one in particular has given me much more insight as to why the lansknechte were utilized against pikemen. Once they had closed to melee with the front rank they had closed with them all. soon they would shatter the formation on which pikes rely.
I love the spear camera angle, more on the next videos please, something like a gopro forehead attachment. amazing content. this will blow up eventually. bravo!
I guess you delivered the video yourself I was looking for. Keep the good content flowing.
We need more pike vs pike sports. I don't know why but it is pretty funny to watch
Was looking forward to this video! Wish movies were more accurate to these types of battles.
People saying all this stuff about pikemen beating all other infantry, but once good armor became more available pikemen became much more niche.
What is often not discussed is that rushing in on a pole weapon is more difficult than it seems in abstract. When fighting one on one with plenty of room, the polearm user will be constantly attempting to double back at the same speed and pull his weapon back into range, and rushing forward can easily end up with you incidentally rushing into the weapon itself. This effect is even greater with shorter polearms than pikes, because of the obvious. And in a formation, there is the matter of multiple men around and behind your opponent that might seize the opportunity to score a quick kill at the man rushing in passed all his side's defenses.
Still, though, this is the generally the only choice one has to defeat a pole weapon when they have a shorter weapon. However, rather than rushing in to kill, a shorter weapon is excellent at deflecting and tying up opposing pikes coming in at your ranks. Here, it has a complete advantage of leverage, and can be used to open up the opponent to a thrust from one of your own pikemen.
*Edit*: I almost forgot to mention the butt-spike method. Another danger you have to keep in mind when rushing in on a pole weapon, is the possibility that your opponent might have a spike or other weapon at the rear end of his weapon. Speaking from experience, this is one of the easiest ways to totally thwart an inexperienced or overconfident opponent rushing passed your reach; just rotate your weapon and present the butt towards him and he will very often run into it himself at full force. And since this is easy to hold one-handed, it allows you to draw a secondary weapon for such a close engagement as well.
i mean doubling back isn't very reliable. its much more difficult to run backwards then forwards and with someone rushing after you it means you're much more exposed, of course when it comes to a formation you need to rely on your allies just as the other person would be relying on theirs.the only reason someone would even get a chance to rush in is because of their allies occupying the other pikes and keeping them at bay
Never watched any of this stuff with actual pikes. Nice, thanks.
Loved to see the duels in the end!! Looks like great fun as well as informative
Can you imagine being a pikeman during the pike and shot era? It must have been maddening being in a formation of pikemen against another formation of pikemen.
well, imagine being a pikemen under fire with cavalry threat
2:50
Excellent.
Thank you for demonstrating how zweihander "breaks pike"
I really was needing one or two of these videos to show my group of group fighting. Much appreciated.
pikes used in line formation are pretty much impenetrable. Just think, there will be a guy to his left and right that have an angle on you and if you manage to get through there will be guys behind him to stab you whilst you have his pike deflected and a guy behind him and so on.
Enjoyed the video! 👍
There is a reason why the men who made the first rank of sword infantry, who had to rush the pike line and break it, where paid double.
it works the other way around. though. you're not gonna just get people recklessly rushing in, there will also be enemy pikemen keeping the others busy along with all kinds of things like ranged weapons which is probably a pike formations biggest counter given that pikemen are far less protected from such things
Pike formations are a thing of their times. It was effective in the Hellenic period because it was combined with cavalry and light infantry to cover it's weakness. It was strong in the 15th to 17th century because of the availability of steel armor and drawbacks of firearms.
Usually pike formation is impenetrable, I agree . But James IV's army was formed mainly by long pikes formation and still his army got massacred in Flodden Field.
Every weapon has weakeness and in case of pike is it that if enemy manages to break your formation, you're screwed. Experienced commander would know/realise this.
Would use terrain to try to hinder unified walk of formation and would carefully choose what kind of troop will go into frontier to clash with the pikes.
they are also all in each other's way.
Can you imagine watching one of the battles unfold in real life lol straight chaos
I like how the pikemajn politely raises his pike in a big telegraph before attacking. People just had better manners back then.
I think starting just out of range of the pikes tip is putting the pikeman at an incredibly significant disadvantage.
I'd be very interested in pike formations as well
Would be difficult to get enough people with a pike together for a demonstration but this video clearly shows that pikes are not a dueling weapon. I would love to see what they can do in proper formation.
This video doesn't show that & the idea specifically conflicts with period sources. We know people dueled pike against pike. Furthermore, George Silver gave the full 18ft pike the odds over anything shorter than 8-9ft for unarmored single combat in the open. Antonio Manciolino recommended the lancia (12-14+ft?) over the spiedo (8ft?), instructing to grip it in the middle for better control while still having a reach advantage. Renaissance masters loved reach.
@@b.h.abbott-motley2427 Interesting stuff.
I'm still waiting for dual wield pike build
I'm looking for one handed pike and buckler.
Thank you, this is immensely useful.
Not sure I will use this info but I will still give it a like. Lol
Wow you could be Rollo's stunt double in Vikings
Rollo from Vikings is now a master of all!
Wow! Those pikes are long.
The techniques shown in this vid, are really interesting. 👏
The essence of Long Pike lies in group battles. The prosecutor can't even access it and it becomes a beehive.
Fundamentals are required to build options. Good video.
Pikes in formation = Wall of absolute death.
Pikes in a 1v1 duel = Pikemen's tombstone will read: "Probably had a better chance beating the other guy unarmed."
Great demonstration of technique, though as always things get more complicated when the person you're performed the technique against isn't going along with it. Y'all show this in the sparring clips. Note that George Silver gave the full 18ft pike the odds over anything shorter than 8-9ft for unarmored single combat in the open. Antonio Manciolino recommended the lancia (12-14+ft?) over the spiedo (8ft?), instructing to grip it in the middle for better control while still having a reach advantage. Rushing in wasn't necessarily effective against a skilled opponent, at least according to the many Renaissance masters who highly valued reach.
In larp battles, pikemen often retreat really rapidly, possibly also reeling the shaft back to keep the spear tip a constant threat to worry about for the charger. Even if the pikeman is reached, they practically always have a short sword or dagger that they can rush you with instead, while placing the spear shaft in the way of your attacks. The extreme close range turns the greatswords or halberds length into a weakness.
That said, generally there is no other chance of defeating the pikeman with a shorter weapon than to rush them. Staying at their range while not being able to threaten them is a situation where it is simply a matter of time until they get you. Other solutions involve your side having archers, or even longer spears than your opponent.
This video already demonstrates quite effectively why a pike is so useful; especially in the sword vs pike demonstrations it takes the swordsman a very long time to close in with the pikeman; which gives the pikeman ample time to switch to a shorter weapon just retreating; the man with the short weapon is forced to commit to an attack that will take a long time even under ideal circumstances; if the pike were to be shorter it might actually become possible for the swordsman to "surprise" his enemy and get a hit before the pikeman can react.
fighting 1 pike: np bro got this just grab the thing
fighting 1 pike with pikes behind him: im gon die
Ill keep this in mind in case i challenge a guy to a duel in a bar and he's brought his trusty 20ft long pike with him.
this is the type of video i hope i will never need
A video on halberd fighting would be cool.
If you could do a 5v5 with spears/pikes/halberds vs swords would be very cool.
cant wait to try this out at school.
Nice election of background music 👌🏻
Theory: the flamberge blade not only increases cutting surface but allows better control of a pike/spear shaft.
Possible... i like the theory!
I always get un-eased by the floppiness of the pike, imagine a formation of pikemen thrusting those floppy beasts at you, any angle and spot could be hit.
imagine flopping it over the enemies shoulder and it flexing into the guy behind him lol
Fascinating, bringing those illustrations to life.
You need to close more distance on the pike if you are going to be attempting a grab. This minimalizes the chance you will take a hit from the spearhead after a quick pull through
These pants are awesome!!!
sometimes or most often, spearmen or pikemen have secondary/back up weapon like a small knife, short sword.
They usually fought along side each other so the rare chance of you going one on one against an opponent using spear/pike during a battle is slim.
Well done Rolo from Vikings
Now you just need to get 216 volontaires to form up as a pikeblock. That would be a sight to see! Dont forget to put two wings of shot(matchlock musketeers) on each flank of the pikeblock too. 👍
*spanish intesifies *
In critical situations like these the Pikeman has to resort to his last line of defence, the M1911, God's Sidearm of choice!
pretty handy techniques to know if you ever get in a 16th century fight
This is my bud smoking CZcams channel
Good stuff!!
2:13 i can imagine why pike men fight in more than 1 line now
Cool stuff! I recall in Machiavelli's "Art of War," he encouraged the use of sword and shield against pike formations; as you mention, I'm sure a formation of pikes is that much more challenging, given the guys beside and behind the pikeman can "pick up the slack" if the attacker tries to control the shaft, as demonstrated here. It would be interesting to see a demonstration of two pikes in formation against various weapons, as well!
I'd be curious to see as well but I suspect you don't just push the pikes aside and then let them go once you step past. Not fighting a formation. There are a lot of options, since pikes aren't light sabers. You could grab the pike and tug it out of the wielder's hand. You could take a your time to cut the shaft off with your weapon in the safe zone where he can't stab you then advance to the next line of pikes. You could entrap the pike and push it further and further off line as you move up the shaft to bind up other pikes with it, acting like a shield. You could grab the shaft and push the enemy pikeman backward into his own lines causing them to trip up then move in quick. It's a pretty chaotic situation though which is why pike formations were so damn powerful. The only way to break them is with pure balls and rolling the dice while hoping your armour does it's job. I suspect the reality is that such lines were rarely broken without the help of missile weapons or a lot of alcohol. 😁
Loving pike, I just wish we would get visuals of large formations, because it was never meant to be an indivudal dueling weapon at all.
These techniques work really, really well when the pikeman aims his thrust about a foot and a half over your head consistently.
The Spartans and the Macedonian phalanx were masters of pike warfare. Single sword man vs one pike man can be defeated. However two pike men arrange their pikes in different alternating lengths can defeat the swordsman.
When I first read about pike combat, many years ago, it was said that the Swiss favoured the offensive and so tended to carry the pike high* and hold it towards the centre, whereas the Landsknecht favoured defence and tended to hold the pike further back, much as you are.
Were there regional differences in the use of pikes?
* I recall reading in one source that it would be carried above the head in the charge.
This is a Chinese story, but it had the rearmost end in Ming's military pike technique. The same is true of the Yang family pike in the Ming dynasty. But some of the other schools at the time (there were only about five at the time) were in the middle. The school with the middle had a very long spear, so it will also be affected by the length of the spear.
Blaise de Monluc has that bit about the Swiss supposedly hold the pike in the middle. Is there any other evidence for it? Urs Graf, a Swiss soldiers & artist, shows Swiss pikers at Marignano holding their pikes near the end when facing off against French men-at-arms. Of course, that is a different context than facing other pikers. Otherwise, period artwork seems to show more of an end grip than middle grip, but it also rarely depicts accurate pike length because that would take up so much space & many elements may be stylized, etc. Spanish & English manuals from the second of the 16th century indicate an end grip.
@@b.h.abbott-motley2427 I understand. Even in Japan and China, the place to hold is changed depending on the length of the spear (the length described as a numerical value, not the artwork).
Of course, this is an Asian story, not a Swiss story.
I was just going to chat.
That being said, the difference in how to hold it is interesting.
@@papermap1646 In chinese martial arts like bajiquan, the big spear is held with the butt of the spear in the cup of your palm. The point is to prevent slipping during the stab, as well as to push and drive the spead forcibly into the target. Some argue even through some types of armor.
@@Juusokakku I understand. In the Ming dynasty, the Yang family, the Ming army, and the Wu family's spear art were held that way. According to my memory, the 沙家槍 used a spear of 7m or more, so it certainly had a part that was about 70 to 90% of the length of the spear.
In Yang and Ming dynasty, I usually use something about 4 to 5 m, so I have an edge. Of course, you can have an edge even at 7m, but it depends on your personal taste. The Bajiquan spear was born in the Qing dynasty, so I think it was influenced by Yang, the Ming dynasty, or Wu.
By the way, it seems that the Song army and the yuan army practiced only thrusting. From the description at that time, it seems that the movement is similar to the one-handed thrust of the spear of CHIVARY2.
the first weapons were like: yeah that make sense and then halberd be like: BRUTALITY
Very cool.
Dude, renaissance is so cool. I feel like it's terribly underrated in fantasy.
You're kidding, right?
EVERY fantasy setting is Renaissance 😂😂
@@danielcrafter9349 No... no they're not at all. I don't know what you're understanding as renaissance, but the great majority of fantasy settings are a crude representation of a myriad of medieval misconceptions.
Great video on a rare subject! Some thoughts: Could the greatsword break the pike if instead of rushing in (2:30), it smashed the pike to the ground with force? Or perhaps scissor the pike shaft from the position in 2:50 against the greatsword wielders body? I'm imagining these as possible alternatives for situations when the greatsword cannot to rush the pikes (perhaps there are other pikes and you need to hold your distance).
Another thing, is that from "larp" battles I've realized holding the greatsword blade down in ox guard gives more protection for the lower body, and much easier chance to catch the pike during thrust. The negative side is that it practically takes away the passive offensive benefits of the field guard.
I also wanted to point out that I've seen all of the same pike vs pike techniques exist in chinese bajiquan big spear forms :D Just an interesting observation.
Probably not, but the length and inertia of weapons like greatswords and halberds might be able to push enough pikes out of the way to get in close.
This is my own theory of how they were used. You can stay just at a range where your large sword can connect with the tip of the pike, while still being far enough away to avoid a thrust as you chop away like you're cutting down corn stalks. You won't knock a pike head off in one swing but if you just keep at it eventually you'll start to cut them apart. Pikes by their long nature are fairly thin towards the pointy ends. I see this as totally doable. Of course once they lose the pointy parts, your own pikemen can step forward a bit more confidently and stab those who can't stab back. Just watch out for blunt pikes slamming down on your head and hands, it's still going to hurt!
@@MrBottlecapBill You know what, that actually sounds very reasonable! It's not that risky of a tactic, and it made me think: If you had to make a weapon which purpose was specifically to cut off spear heads, what would it look like? Probably some kind of a bardiche or a greatsword. Greatsword might not have as much weight and a large blade as a bardiche, but the greatsword's longer blade would accomodate for less precision.
Fighting someone with shield and sword/axe is really difficult with the spear, at least i found, so easy for your opponent to get inside and dispatch you
in rank and file, even the mounted bayonet is superior to the sword.
The dussack technique is nearly the same as the technique taught for sabre against bayonet in the 1800s.
Great video
Great Techniques
But no pointy ouchies
8/10
So where is the part where a bunch of little shytes crawl between the pikeline with knives and short swords just to fight the other little shytes from the enemy's rank?
I guess this is why pike blocks would include halberdiers and zweihanders.
The pike would be cut off in real fight.
And a pike man know he's weakness, so he never dare to fight not in a formation.
Please read the vid description!
Even armed with a wood cutting axe it would take several good hits to break a pike so no it wouldn't be cut off in a fight....
The pike length should give advantage to two pike infantry in line where a saber length can only benefit 1
Awesome content!
Good stuff, keep up the good work!
It seems like once you get past it you can really do anything you want.
The point is only on the end, if the guy keeps holding it you win.
If it was just one man yes, but pikes were historically used in formation. And guys in middle of formation of pikes also raised their pikes against enemy. So you'd have to get through several layers of pikes to get to pikeman, most of time suicide to do so.
@@maearcher4721 Oh totally, Pikes are way way better as part of a formation. But if you were attacking a formation i don't think any of the moves in this entire video would work. You'd get stabbed in the middle of your cool scimitar spins by one of the guys with regular swords standing next to the pike guy.
well, it must be said, that the pike is a weapon for war, not for hand to hand combat, its very easy to use, cheap to make and works better as more u can get. combined with bows u got a very good army in a matter of days.
Its a Warweapon to eqip cheap untrained troops in Masses, and it works fantastic, espacily against Knights, who costs more then 100 pikeman, but has no chance against them
Fascinating topic
The pike never was a duel weapon. The concepts re interesting, but one as to remember tht pike fighting techniques involve a pike wall, not an overextended and unbalanced pikeman fighting alone in an open field.
Exactly, as i said in the video :)
There should be a pike technique where if the opponent gets past your spearhead, you break out into a 100% effort sprint in the opposite direction whilst swinging your pike in a circle like a madman until you establish proper distance again.
Everyone's gangsta, until there are 20 pikes like that pointed at you
you might want to learn how to stay alive long enough to have a chance to fight one to one against a pikeman. most of the time, you get 3 ranks of pike man, with the front rank armed with shield, all of them combine covered all reachable range of the front rank. if they decided to form phalanx, you might want to call artillery on them. During feudal japanese era, pike was always the core of all battles, followed by bow, expensive muskets, riders and finally swords(mostly CQB during sieges). Here you see the trend, longer reach means faster kills. A good pike/spear can fetch a few fold higher the price than swords back in the days fyi.
Pikes are not a weapon for individual combat (as depicted here). Pike warfare revolves around arming large groups with the weapon so they can form a spear wall. This has been done since the Macedonian Phalanxes under Alexandre the Great. This tactic is particularly known for it's effectiveness in stopping cavalry charges.
Im tired to answer... is nobody reading my vid description or listen to my narration?
@ I didn't ask a question. I stated a fact: Pikes are not an appropriate weapon for single combat. A spear or quarterstaff would be more appropriate. If you want to discuss military history then great! If you want to get butthurt that I'm not playing along with your Ren Faire fantasy then idgaf.
@@nathanieltalcott7888 Then I do not understand that you are writing something that is already mentioned in the video and is well known. But we don't have to discuss this any further - idgaf ;)
@ Quarterstaff video bro. Hook it up.
Pike isn't a single combat weapon. They're showing a side-view, with 2 people for clarity of technique, but you'd never see 1 guy walking around with a pike. Keep that in mind, that while you can parry a pike, and work your way up the shaft, there's probably anther 5 guys with him also trying to stab you (And others with you.)
Halbard, Poleax, and other combination weapons are extremely versatile. The trade-off is Reach. The heavy head makes it impossible to grip all the way out, and control it. So, you always end up using part of the haft for balance, and leverage. This is basically why Pikes don't have Halberd heads.
Units of pike-men were devastating, entire units of alexander the great dominated the battlefields.
I like their fancy pants! These should come back to fashion.
Youre thrusting upwards making it easier for them to counter. In the drawings the person probably trusted center and horizontal for the body, and the person probably grabbed it and pushed it up. Also all of the attacks except the one where the pike is held could be countered by the pikeman by flipping to hit with side in the hands as shown in pike v pike.
What do you think of moves and strikes aimed specifically at breaking the pike (possibly while grabbing it with your left hand)? Did this happen only occasionaly (I am sure that at least must be true) or were they a regular thing?
If someone rushed in on me and I had the pike, if I have any control of it i.e. they didn't grab, I would totally sweep between their rushing legs and trip them on their face.
I don’t know if a multiple line formation would change too much. Seems like if you’re keeping your weapon to your left, you would be able to block the pikes behind the first rank without needing to worry much about the first pike. Also you would also be in a formation and your buddy behind you could even take control of the first enemy pike in time for you to guard the second. So I think it would be possible to use these against pike formations. It would just take a lot of skill, teamwork, and synchronization
Actually, entire pike formation was trained to hold their pikes against the enemy all at once, and walk-in unison. The people from the middle of formation extended their pike against you as well. Before you could get to distance to hit first pikeman, you'd first have to get through several layers of pikes pointed at you. Not just one or two, but even five or more.
It was almost suicide to go against formation of pikes, if they had good terrain. Even for cavalry. That was why in Flodden they didn't join the fight until formation of pikes was broken(at least partially). They'd just be killed.
Long-range weapons might have some success, but to win against pikemen, you have to break their formation. Your best choice is to use terrain against them.
In Flodden they got lured into mud. And got massacred.
thanks for the content.
3:58 Imagine both pikemen got the same idea and slammed face-first into each other