Ok, it is time for part 2. For more on the purpose of these postings, see the First part. Today I am going to look at one Longsword vs Longsword video, with wooden wasters, and a sword a buckler spar, with steel. Two this time, a hopefully, two each time I do it, until I run out of old videos. I really like how going through them exchange by exchange makes me see so much more – and trying to explain what is happening almost brings me back there. It is strange – this process brings some memories, but not in my head – in my muscles.

First, the longsword:

0:06 – Kosta tries a long strike. I decide just to evade, while I should have done a nachreisen. 0:12 – same thing. And then, I jump in. While I like the way I cover the ground, and my initial strike, after that, I got a slice on my hands, deliver one unterzwerch, and receive an afterblow, again on my hands. 0:20 – I deliver a nice Krump to the hand. Whether it would’ve weakened Kosta’s one handed blow enough to leave me undamaged, is unknown. 0:29 – this time I enter after his strike, and deliver a solid one to his arms. Great, only I should have done the same two times already. 0:37 – another rush, I miss Kosta’s strike by a hair (it actually may have slice some skin of me) and deliver a nice strike to his head. 0:47 – very interesting situation. Kosta rushes in with a lowered sword, but a threat for a thrust. I try to parry, I miss, but he decides to go into Kron. Then we both appear in Kron for a second, almost perfect manuscript picture. His strike misses me, mine goes into a mittel and strikes his head. With the guard, not the edge, but having seen some nasty longsword guard, I think it will do the trick. 0:56 – chaotic, we both decide to pull out, Kosta makes an interesting “Crawling Goat” thing. 1:05 – boring double. 1:11 – nice and simple exchange, I get a slice though. 1:18 – perfect one-handed cut to the hand and abzug. 1:38 – I manage to cover myself, some hit on Kosta, but it is hard to say if it landed effectively. 1:43 – hit and afterblow. 1:52 – some kind of a double, but an interesting exchange nonetheless. 2:10 – Kosta just dominates the initiative. Some lamer exchanges, and than, 2:46 – a lucky hit on the hand. And another double for the end.

This one was not so bad, although doubles were a bit too much. Still, while some of them were from rushing in too much, others followed after a not-so-bad-exchange. I am really frustrated at myself for missing so many good nachreisen opportunities, I still do that sometimes. But at least it keeps me alive.

Now, we move to steel and sword and buckler. A note – my buckler is a bit heavier. It has 5 plates, which are mostly decorative. They also add something like half a pound.

Some exchanges for the first 20 seconds, and than, at 0:21 – a nice one. I go in Ochs, Kosta strikes low, I block with the buckler (there may be some slice with the tip), and deliver a strike, it misses the head but lands on his arm. We keep things tight, until 0:50 – Kosta delivers a strike, a bit slappy one, I cut to his flat, and then to his head behind the buckler. I am not sure if the strike reaches, so I deliver a second cut to his buckler arm. 1:16 – lucky leg cut. We were focusing a lot on the higher openings. A double, then, at 1:30 – a falso from me, I manage to stop his counter, then I try for a cut… it may look ok, but it was shallow. 1:46 – a double. 2:01 – a nice exchange, it really shows how a left-handed guy changes sword and buckler play a much more than longsword or single sword. 2:10 – I take a nice hit to the ribs, surprised me there. 2:21 – I manage to get the hit in, but I had to lift the buckler just 4 inches more to cover myself. 2:31 – very direct unterhau. 2:45 – another one of Kosta’s strange cuts. It may look simple from the side, but when you are against it, it is much more complex. And 2:59 – I love this last exchange, we move back and forth, and make it quite dynamic – I manage to hit his buckler arm again.

This spar really shows the difference between how we handle wood and steel. The other thing I also like is how it highlights left-handedness. I feel no difference when facing Kosta or any other lefty with longsword or single sword, but sword and buckler has some tactical differences that really make it fun. What I hated is how I did not manage to cover the low blows the best way. Kosta is scary that way.

Again, any feedback and comments are quite welcome.