Longsword Fighting Is Coming Back In Style

The increased integration of technology in our daily lives hasn’t diminished our interest in ye olde ways, in fact it’s safe to say our interest in these traditional ways is increasing by the hour.

Many people thought we’d be playing some deadly form of laser tag by now, but there’s a different kind of combat sport rising in popularity that dates back to the Dark Ages- Longsword fighting.

(YouTube Link)

The only thing high tech about longsword fighting is the armor worn by the contestants, and as combat sports go it's quick and punchy, and definitely leaves a mark.

These historical European martial arts enthusiasts are trying to retain the purity of sword fighting while keeping heads from flying by using "steel swords with unsharpened blades and blunt tips to prevent bouts from turning into death matches."

They're hoping longsword fighting catches on as a sport, and by the look of these fast and furious duels it seems like one combat sport that might have an edge on the competition.

-Via io9


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I do this. It's quite fun. It's very interesting to draw parallels between 13th century manuscripts and east-asian martial arts as well. The biggest difference between a longsword and swords like the japanese katana is that katanas only (well, mostly) do cuts, while the longsword do both cuts and strikes. The longswords are usually called 1½-handers, because you have one hand firmly and one hand flexible (loose). They are fascinatingly light - I have a huge one, and it's only 2kg - and balanced just above the handle. (From the great czech swordsmith Pavel Moc.)
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