u/Foreign-Falcon7808

Jackpot: Single touch awards 1 point + the entire accumulated Jackpot, then resets the Jackpot to zero. All simultaneous touches result with no points awarded to fencers. Instead, add 1 point to the Jackpot held in limbo.

Winning: The first fencer to score 21 points and lead by 2 points wins the assault.

Note: The jackpot is a way to positively reinforce clean fencing as it does not award doubles. Instead it uses doubles to increase the ponderation of the next clean hit. It is meant to synergize doubles into game design while adding a wee bit of drama. Play by clearing the jackpot back to zero after a clean hit. Works great for epee and is a wild time for sabre! Much cheering and heckling is encouraged.

Jackpot: Clean Hit / Disarm awards 1 point + the entire accumulated Jackpot, then resets the Jackpot to zero. All simultaneous hits result with no points awarded to fencers. Instead, add 1 point to the Jackpot held in limbo.

Afterblow Rule: An afterblow is any valid strike landed within 1 step of being hit. An afterblow invalidates the clean hit and counts as a Double—awarding 0 points and adding +1 point to the jackpot.

Winning: The first fencer to score 21 points and lead by 2 points wins the assault.

Note: The jackpot is a way to positively reinforce clean fencing as it does not award doubles. Instead it uses doubles to increase the ponderation of the next clean hit. It is meant to synergize wasted time into game design while adding a wee bit of drama. Play by clearing the jackpot back to zero after a clean hit. Much cheering and heckling is encouraged.

As I get older and more injured (occupation incurred not fencing) I find myself recreationally fencing epee even though I have more experience with sabre. Basically to fence with less pain and get ok results I have gone to epee. Is this essentially what most people do? I won't go much beyond recreational fencing but even there though I know what to do in sabre and have training, the body says no. Feels like in sabre if I can't ever win priority off the line, I have to play defense and that feels like I'm flipping 2 coins while my opponents only have to flip 1 coin. Skill issue? Probably lol. In my case I have chronic ligament injuries in the left side shoulder through leg. I have been enjoying epee more than I thought I would!

Peace to us all

Sorry "dueling sabruers" but even back in the 1800's the military men hit different. This is according to the log from Leon Paul anyway. One man fenced for points and the other was used to fighting. Both won the same assault in their own way.

"Sporting sabre was first demonstrated in England in 1893, when the inspector of gymnasia at Aldershot, Col. Fox, brought over the celebrated master Ferdinando Masiello of Florence with his pupil Giuseppe Magrini, who was to settle in this country and teach sabre in the army until his death in 1912. In his book Cut and Thrust, 1927, Leon Bertrand vividly described an encounter between Magrini and a traditional army fencer: “Magrini was a resplendent figure in black satin knee-breeches and silk stockings, waving a light and fragile-looking silver-plated sabre. In contrast Mr X was lifted on to the platform at the other end, clad in heavy canvas, shin guards and cage-like mask, clutching a heavy blunted cavalry sword. With gossamer touch, Magrini drew his blade swiftly across the chest to draw ‘first blood’. Mr X, who had made one wild attempt to follow the steel, abandoned defence and cut wildly at head. The flat of the blade curled over Magrini’s mask and he received the full force of the blow on his back. Believing his first impression of British sabre-play too bad - and too painful - to be true, Magrini advanced to the attack once more. Following a couple of bewildering feints came the circular cut with feathery touch. Once again Mr X floundered, hit out blindly, and for the second time his blade curled down the Italian’s spine, whereupon Magrini whipped off his mask, held out his hand and, despite his obvious agony, said distinctly, Thank you, sir. You are a very much better man than I.” - https://www.leonpaul.com/blog/the-history-of-sabre-fencing/

My custom ruleset for a hybrid smallsword and savate sparring game. It may be a little too rough and tumble for the faint of heart and playing on a soft surface like grass or mats may be more comfortable. Some may like savate shoes and a mouth guard in addition to fencing gear but if play is responsible shouldn't be required. This is getting into folk game territory admittedly.

Core Rules:

Thrusts and disarms only. All Jackpot points +1 are granted upon a single clean thrust or disarm then reset the jackpot to zero. Simultaneous thrusts result with no points awarded. Instead, add 1 point to the Jackpot held in limbo. The first fencer to score 21 points and lead by 2 points wins the assault.

The jackpot is a way to positively reinforce clean fencing as it does not award doubles. Instead it uses doubles to increase the ponderation of the next clean hit. It is meant to synergize wasted time into game design while adding a wee bit of drama. Play by clearing the jackpot back to zero after a clean hit/disarm. Much cheering and heckling is encouraged.

If you must play with the cut and thrust commoners, I have found it is best to give priority to a parry riposte in case of a simultaneous hit.

Rough and Tumble Rules:

Kicks, trips, and open hand pushes carry zero direct points.

Instant Win: Knocking an opponent to the ground (anything above the ankle touching the ground) using a chassé medium, revers bas, coup de pied bas, or main ouverte opens an instant win condition. Landing a clean thrust on the grounded opponent delivers the instant match victory. If a double hit occured with a fencer on the ground add one point to the jackpot and reset the fencers for the next exchange exactly where they were when the double occurred (the grounded fencer starts on the ground).

Ground Defense: Downed fencers may defend themselves until they are back on two feet or score a clean thrust/disarm upon which ends the instant win condition for their opponent. If a fencer chooses an action like the passata sotto that fencer does open himself/herself to the instant win condition until back on two feet only. Tackling, elbows, knees, closed fists, kicks/hand strikes to the mask, wrestling, grabbing and throwing opponents are strictly prohibited.

Legal Savate Striking & Sweeping Suite:

1. Mid-Level Push Kicks (Chassé Medium)

Execution: A direct piston-like push kick delivered with the sole or heel to the opponent's body (strictly below the collarbone for safety).

2. Low Hook Kicks (Revers Bas)

Execution: A sweeping or hooking kick targeted below the knee, using the boot or instep to hook behind the lead heel or calf.

3. Low Sweeping Trips & Clears (Coup de Pied Bas / Croche)

Execution: A low, sweeping kick or boot-trip targeted at the opponent's shin or ankle, scooping their foot out from under their center of gravity.

4. Open-Hand Deflections (Main Ouverte)

Execution: Pushing, redirecting, or catching the opponent's lead shoulder, wrist, or weapon arm with the non-fencing hand to disrupt balance or reveal the target area.

Feel free to experiment with this ruleset and change up as needed. Let me know how it goes!

Edit: One would be wise to focus on swordsmanship first and the savate second for opportune moments. Always take your training partner's safety more importantly than your own. No one needs to go to the hospital over a silly game. I also borrowed the concept for the fencer on the ground rules from an old S. Korean folk kicking/tripping game called tekkyeon. A folk game played before Japanese occupation.

Peace to us all 🌞

Are there more fun folk games within non-steel HEMA?

What has been people's experience with an elitist or exclusive mindset within their own sword art journeys? This could be HEMA, a subculture of HEMA, MOF Fencing, or any African/Asian/Middle Eastern sword disciplines. I enjoyed HEMA immensely for military sabre as I liked bridging the gaps to what lead to Olympic Sabre which is a silly game of tag that I do enjoy because humbly, I freaking rocked at tag as a kid!

In my experience HEMA began with the study of dead martial arts and seemed to lack the elite exclusive culture I have encountered in MOF Fencing and Japanese disciplines; even though these elite types are far less common than their humble and kind clubmates as a whole. I think because when repairing something like a dead martial art one tends to want to share what has been restored. I'm not sure if price of kit can properly be factored into this but if you have experience I'd like to know about how price affected your experience as well.

Times change, with the more sporty HEMA tournaments (I don't go to them) how is the temperature with that?

Edit: A comedic purposeful smallsword club built on satyr elitism would actually be really fun!

Thank you for commenting with your human experience.

Peace to us all

Link to the Kukri: https://everestforge.com/gurkha-saxon-warrior-kukri-for-sale?srsltid=AfmBOootoV-DXM1dhHkX5MOwInZFsqzyYBgGwn_qJGsL7MBpoqGxvOV3

I had the pleasure of handling this 15" bladed Kukri from Everest Forge and was amazed that it was not as axe-like as I had assumed. It felt the same or a little less weight about as my Radaelli sabre and was balanced just as good. Moulinets with this big knife were just as if I had a well balanced sabre. I don't know how the Napal inhabitants actually use them but both direct cuts and moulinets were well behaved. The blade did have noticeable distill taper, a fuller, and was scalloped so whoever made it really wanted a nimble blade for its size.

This would be a good buy if one was looking for a big knife that sabre skills could easily transfer to in practical terms for cheap backyard water bottles and outdoor work. Be careful, the one I handled was extremely sharp along with the smaller utility seax that smartly is part of the kit. A forward curving blade now makes lots of sense to me for big knives after handling them. Where a backward curve on a knife shortened my reach, the forward curve kept the knife ergonomic for my wrist and effective at transferring energy. One change I would make martially would be to not leave my arm hanging out in front due to 0 hand protection. One would need an active defense to keep all their fingies.

Gurkha Saxon Warrior Kukri Specifications Total Weight (with dap): 1.260 kg Weight (without dap): 0.840 kg Main Kukri Weight: 0.630 kg Seax Knife Weight: 0.210 kg Total Length (Kukri): 21 inches Main Kukri Blade Length: 15 inches Main Kukri Handle Length: 6 inches Main Kukri Blade Width: 2 inches Seax Knife Total Length: 11 inches Seax Blade Length: 6 inches Seax Handle Length: 5 inches Seax Blade Width: 1.4 inches

Peace to us all

Short Version:

Best Iaido YouTube Channels?

Where to source custom Katana/wakizashi fittings?

Full version:

Greetings, I am new to iaido coming from years of instructing Olympic/classical fencing (epee/sabre) and studying historical Italian longsword. The only other Asian art I practice is traditional Korean archery (I'm half S. Korean) so I have a very eclectic approach.

I only want to do iaido for myself and not instruct people. Keeping up on MOF fencing certs is already too costly for what it is. Can anyone recommend a solid YouTube iaido channel I could follow along with? Preferably an authentic Japanese channel with iaido playlist. I know going to a class is best but right now that is not an option for me. I have the book Flashing Steel and think it is one of the best sword books I have in my martial Arts library. Again this is purely a private hobby for me and I'm ok with being a beginner at it for the rest of my life.

I am very interested in the 16th/17th century era of Christian persecution within Japan as a scholarly study as well. I am attempting to slowly build a Kirishitan sword set that uses Christian symbols for the fittings. I had this budget Romance of Men (terrible name btw for a store) dulled katana engraved with part of Luke 22:38 with the two swords verse and plan to work on the wakizashi later as a Kirishitan set. If anyone knows where I could source Japanese-Christian symbol types of fittings either authentic or replica I would also be very grateful.

Thank you kindly.

よろしくお願いします

To my free HEMA hobbyists, I present to you the war hammer. Don't overlook this hard to safely spar gem. Let it inspire your solo workouts to become stronger, faster, and mobile at sparring. Instead of a replica, a sledge hammer/tire, heavy club, and kettlebells are obviously going to give the best practical movement full body workouts but let that primal imagination of wielding a medieval war hammer flow through you as you prep your body with those workout tools. Try it in your HEMA kit and identify weak spots with comfort and mobility of your armor before heading off to the next sparring session. Then CAREFULLY cool down with a heavy club flow state using a medieval replica.

That is what a practical minded person might say about war hammers. I'm not one of them. No. The #1 reason to have a war hammer is because when humanity is done building and arming robots, swords will simply not "cut" it. To take down what's coming next will take blunt force and a beak. Pack some ceramic plates behind your gambesons too because in the words of Han Solo, "You're gonna need it."

What medieval weapon / tool would you use?

My Fencing Upkeep Workout KB and Heavy Clubs 3-4 Sets:

KB Swing x 40, KB Clean x 20, KB Snatch x 15

KB Goblet squat x 30, KB Press x 15, KB Jerk x 15

Heavy Club Windmill x 40, heavy Club Squat half mill x 16, KB Halos x 16, KB Goblet Squat to Curls x 15

Though orthopedic grips are sometimes seen as just hamfisted MOF pistol grips by our HEMA community, they were designed by Italians around 1904-ish to help those who could not properly grip a foil due to injury to continue fencing. As pictured you can see that chef's kiss grip being facilitated by the orthopedic grip with 3 and 4 fingers respectively. Also featured is a drawing of grips from Giordano Rossi. If not used as a punch dagger, the orthopedic grips do allow and enhance fine motor skills and dexterity if one's mindset is to do that.

I would like to ask if anyone has experience with the Spanish smallsword by timebladeguild? [found here](https://timebladeguild.com/) It looks interesting to say the least and I am very intrigued by its modern garden art charm. Wanted to know if it caused discomfort or blisters.

Here are some video reviews of the Spanish smallsword courtesy of: https://www.reddit.com/user/Dull_Detail_6606/ timebladeguild

LondonLongsword

https://youtu.be/hGNNFRI7E9U?is=Gzf2wn8sDggtnSJ7

OliverJanseps

https://youtu.be/KctqRV48wKY?is=GIdLl0Ei6e0jwdVR

As always here is the Wayback's Jackpot Mode training game you might enjoy: Jackpot points +1 are granted upon a single clean hit or upon an immediate parry riposte (this means no marching in between the parry and riposte for any Olympic types out there) then reset the points held in the jackpot to 0. Simultaneous Hits result with no points awarded. Instead, add 1 point to the Jackpot held in limbo. The first fencer to score 21 points and lead by 2 points wins the assault.

Peace to us all

STOP! A WARNING TO READERS! Admittedly I was testing the waters with this post on purpose. Wanted to see the data of a post that would most likely generate negative feedback given our sword culture's temperature of today while simultaneously refraining from outright attacking anyone. I wanted to see how much of an echo chamber the culture has become. If you managed to stay positive, thank you and may your inner peace last 😊 As always you are free to dawn your armchairs and ready your keyboards if you feel a call to arms is required.

Social Media culture routinely pairs the Japanese katana with the European longsword as natural cultural equivalents. However, a proper historical analysis reveals that the katana shares far more cultural, functional, and mythological DNA with the 19th-century American revolver.

Indubitably, both weapons occupy near-identical niches in the collective imaginations of their respective nations. Here is why:

Civilian Sidearms of an Era of Peace: The longsword was primarily a military weapon of late medieval battlefield warfare and noble dueling. Conversely, the iconic era of the katana—the Tokugawa Shogunate—was defined by over two centuries of internal peace. Much like the Colt Single Action Army in the American West, the katana transitioned from a larger primary weapon of open war to the ubiquitous sidearm of daily civilian wear, symbolizing personal authority, law enforcement, and individual self-defense.

The Culture of the Quick-Draw: The defining technique of late katana martial arts is Iaijutsu (or Iaido)—the art of drawing the blade and striking in a single, instantaneous motion directly from the scabbard. This mirrors the romanticized quick-draw ethos of the Western gunslinger. Neither knightly longsword manuals nor battlefield doctrines prioritized the "draw-and-strike" duel from a hip holster in everyday encounters.

Cinematic Intertwining: It is no accident that Japanese Chanbara cinema and American Westerns translate seamlessly into one another. Akira Kurosawa’s Yojimbo became Sergio Leone’s A Fistful of Dollars, and Seven Samurai became The Magnificent Seven. The solitary samurai wandering into a lawless town with a katana on his belt is the exact narrative archetype of the lone gunslinger arriving with a revolver on his hip.

Symbolic Mythology Beyond Practicality: As military technology rendered both weapons battlefield-obsolete, they transformed into legendary symbols of a romanticized honor code—the idealized Bushido mythos for the samurai, and the "Code of the West" for the frontier shooter. Both were elevated from simple tools of steel and iron into mythic extensions of the individual's moral character.

While the longsword remains a fine weapon of knightly warfare, the katana and the revolver are cultural soulmates born of transitional frontiers, personal duels, and cinematic legend.

Feel free to check out a fun game for Military Sabre:https://www.reddit.com/r/Hema/comments/1vlmk43/waybacks_jackpot_mode_sabre_edition/