How to Avoid Hand Hits in a Sword Fight (Historical Martial Arts)

Like Matt Easton @scholagladiatoria pointed out in a recent video, injuries to the hands were not uncommon in medieval / renaissance / early modern combat, whether intentionally targeted or accidentally. If you practice HEMA (or another form of armed martial arts) or wonder about realistic dueling dynamics you might use in fictional writing, game design, etc, you might be asking: What are good ways to prevent getting the sword hand from getting cut, crushed, or even severed? In this video I explain and demonstrate some methods I’ve learned over the years that have worked well in sparring. Including some observations about how fully armored knights would try to exploit the gaps in each other’s armor. Check out Matt’s video too if you haven’t yet (“How often were HANDS WOUNDED in real SWORD FIGHTING?“): Here are some other related videos I’ve made in the past that you may find interesting: The SAFEST Way to Fight with Swords? How to Fight with Daggers (Historical Martial Arts) Risking My Hands to Test the Mordhau (Murder Stroke)! Nothing but GAUNTLETS vs. SWORD - Could it Work? *** Music credits *** Outro: “Highland Storm“ by The Slanted Room Records Used with artist’s permission *** Merch *** If you want to join Bonfire to start selling your own merch: *** Support the channel *** Help fund future videos, get bonus content and access to an exclusive Discord server: Other ways to support the channel by shopping through affiliate links: Kult of Athena, my favorite online store for reproductions of historical arms and armor, fantasy swords, etc: Where to get HEMA gear and practice swords: Want to treat your face fluff? I highly recommend the balms and oils from Beard Sorcery: *** Social media *** How to contact me (can’t always reply, as I get too many messages): See a list of my video uploads: #skallagrim #hema #swordfighting