pollaxed

[pollaxed]

Nope! This is from a rapier fencing manual and it depicts two different positions of the rapier... Showing your options of where to thrust. :)

Rapier and dagger gore! Woo!

[pollaxed]

Why? I do not wish you to be scared of asking for knowledge, not on my tumblr! Please, in the future, do not hesitate. This goes for everyone!

I might not have all the answers, but I have a bunch... And there's people hanging around here with more knowledge that can help. :)

Rapier and dagger gore! Woo!

[pollaxed]

Well... I doubt it's a double-bladed rapier... Nor do I think it's an error, my guess is that it just shows options. :D

Rapier and dagger gore! Woo!

[pollaxed]

Rapier and dagger gore! Woo!

[pollaxed]

[pollaxed]

*throws cloak at your face and stabs*

“If you happen upon someone who knows fencing as well as you or better, is stronger than you and more agile, you must employ the art of deception.” Nicoletto Giganti (1608)

[pollaxed]

Lovely.

Inscribed Roman Pugio Dagger, 1st Century AD

A highly unusual feature of this iron dagger is the punched inscription on the crossbar, which may be interpreted as: 7 PRIICONIS (centuria) Preconis / the century of Preco.

The pugio was the standard military sidearm of the Roman Empire. Though arms were stored collectively within a century, they belonged to the soldier individually. Thus inscriptions are sometimes found indicating the names of now forgotten soldiers.

[pollaxed]

My new favourite post. BOOMSTICKS!

17th and 18th century grenade launchers.

[pollaxed]

“The arms used for combat have been of various shapes and materials, depending on the keenness of the intellects which invented them. The first weapons were spears, clubs and flails, whose wood was arrayed with bone, horn, fish spines and similar materials apt to harm. As human avarice sought to know what was held in the depths of the earth, so iron was discovered, and as man’s punishment it was soon employed in battle. Of all the forms which iron takes, the sword is the most noble. It is used by every sort of person, both by civilians and by soldiers, the former to defend honour, the latter to acquire it. It is carried by princes, who use it in bestowing knighthoods; and it is the usual instrument with which, where it is permitted, quarrels are settled.” Francesco Ferdinando Alfieri (1640)

[pollaxed]

YESSS!

Salampasu Sword

Dated: late 19th or early 20th century

Culture: D. R. Congo, Africa 

Measurements: overall length 25 inches (63.5cm); blade length 19 ½ inches (49.53cm)

This Salampasu fighting sword features a wood handle finely carved and wrapped with hide and hair. The double edged blade is very heavy and well forged in the classic Salampasu style. The Salampasu were a warrior tribe, and this would have been one of their main weapons.    

Source: Copyright © 2015 Erik’s Edge

[pollaxed]

Gosh darn thoroughly yummy! Thanks! Always nice to see how closely related sword martial arts can be. :)

Hey @pollaxed have a dadao

[pollaxed]

Thanks! There is a bunch of them floating around, but most of them are sadly pretty bad... And some feel kinda unfair... I remember one longsword versus kendo... The longsword wielder just closed, grabbed the kendokas blade and finished with the longsword in one hand, you could see surprise/shock in the kendokas body language... Not really used to Ringen am Schwert. Both of them seemed to be pretty green in their Art though.

@pollaxed im going to @ you if i can find such videos lol (re: documentaries / HEMA vs budou videos)

[pollaxed]

Ohhhh, rapier! Jealous!

I'd really like to practice some Michael Hundt rapier, heh. :)

for the anon asking for fencing pics!!! i WASNT lying! sorry i couldnt get the video i promised, we really jumped into it really fast today :) but i finally got to start sparing, and it was so fun!! i mean, i was terrified of hitting people too hard, but after they told me its hard to hit someone too hard unless you’re REALLY close, then i started to get the hang of it.

first pic is where we fight, second is my sword and gloves (both borrowed) :(

[pollaxed]

There is a darn good documentary about it too! In which Gothenburg Historical Fencing School choreographed and starred in the combat scenes. :)

Wreck of the Swedish warship Mars, which exploded during the first battle of Öland, 1564 (Baltic Sea)

It was the largest and fiercest warship in the world, named the Mars for the Roman god of war: But it went up in a ball of flames in a brutal naval battle in 1564, consigning 800 to 900 Swedish and German sailors and a fortune in gold and silver coins to the bottom of the Baltic Sea.

[pollaxed]

We finally went official with our company St Mark! The first product can be seen above. It’s a glove, called Koning, made for Historical European Martial Arts. Visit our site www.saintmark.se

[pollaxed]

"Drilling gloves" ;P

http://youtu.be/TJW4bccCd5M

This is the new Koning Gloves by St Mark - Fencing Clothes & Equipment introduced by Axel and Anders at the 2015 Swordfish tournament.

I briefly tried them on and they were indeed very comfortable, if a bit moist (I put them on right after the elimination rounds, where they had been put to good use). There is a segmented hard shell cover (made of some mysterious undisclosed light composite material) over the hand & fingers and under the leather exterior, and the material under the palm felt very smooth and supple.

This prototype was a bit large for me, but I can see that if it fits to your hand this would have been immediately more comfortable on first use than other current popular HEMA gloves that require breaking in. I’m personally not too keen on the aesthetics, in particular the little decorative elements over the wrist band and the brown leather colour, but I’m apparently in the minority on this and this is trivial detail compared to the potential that this product has to be a multi-weapon glove anyway. I’m sure they will eventually make them in ‘tactical black’, which is the historical fencing colour of choice.

They are aiming to get this glove on the market at various sizes for around 200€, so keep an eye on their website as I’m guessing orders will be coming in hard and fast as soon as this is produced and made available to the public.

[pollaxed]

KONING! (In more ways than one)

Anders Linnard of GHFS taking down an opponent on his way to gold in Open Longsword at Swordfish 2015.