Half-swording - Why grabbing a sharp blade in a sword fight is not crazy

This is a technique from the historical fencing manuals that may seem very odd at first. Many people say "why would you grab a sharp blade with bare hands, you're gonna cut yourself!" But with a firm grip it is indeed possible.

There were good reasons for doing this in medieval / renaissance times of plate armor that was impervious to sword cuts. Half-swording allows gives the user more precise control over the point, which can then be driven into the gaps of the armor. Alternatively the blade can be grasped with both hands in order to strike with the crossguard or pommel (the so-called Mordschlag, or "murder stroke"). Or you could grip the blade to do various wrestling techniques.

In this video I also give a hands-on (pun intended) demonstration of this technique in order to prove that it is indeed possible to do this without getting cut.

Putting the off-hand on the blade is not limited to HEMA (Historical European Martial Arts) by the way, it is also seen in Japanese swordsmanship, were sometimes the left hand is placed on the spine of the blade.

The swords used in this video are the following:

1.) Albion Caithness
http://ww4.aitsafe.com/go.htm?go=kultofathena.com/product.asp?item=ANS5&afid=28632&tm=14&im=1
http://albion-swords.com/swords/albion/nextgen/sword-medieval-caithness-xii3.htm

2.) Valiant Armoury Zombie Slayer (AT307)
http://sbg-sword-store.sword-buyers-guide.com/zombie-sword.html
http://www.valiant-armoury.com/catalog/txt_AT307.html

Music (royalty-free):
"Chaotic Metal" by Cinemusic / Eugin Martinov
http://www.audiomicro.com/chaos-metal-royalty-free-stock-music-1081662

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My favorite online store for buying swords (worldwide shipping):
http://ww4.aitsafe.com/go.htm?go=kultofathena.com&afid=28632&tm=14&im=1

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Видео Half-swording - Why grabbing a sharp blade in a sword fight is not crazy канала Skallagrim