Troper Fencing Academy

I did.

We've moved three times since.

Fuck knows what Mum did with them.

Also because I only had one shot drawing this. Note the pen. The goal was just to practice perspective, the sword was an after thought. If I were to ever draw it properly, I'd probably flip it.

edited 13th Jul '11 9:15:41 AM by MrAHR

Being an awkward child is no excuse to try and lift something on your weak side.

Is it my mechanical mind that reduced the sword to a wedge mixed with a lever?

/sigh

The bad news is, after two years of being left alone, those pieces might've started decaying. :/

^ No, that's arguably the nature of any sword. <_<

edited 13th Jul '11 9:16:57 AM by MadassAlex

I know.

It'll probably be cheaper to buy a new sword, but TBH, I need to focus my money towards moving.

I know. Maybe it's just engineering taking precedence over Rule of Cool.

The dominant hand serves as the effort.

Here we go. Here's something I'm stuck on.

I have a protagonist who wields a claymore/zweihander- massive 6-foot sword.

She was in a coma for several months, with all the muscle atrophy that implies. Since, she's had her arms and legs replaced with prosthetic limbs due to plot reasons, but her chest, including her shoulders, is still muscular and thus suffering from muscle atrophy.

In the ensuing weeks, how will this affect her fighting?

She'll tire quickly. Strength is for more than the power you put into strikes — it's for making more efficient use of energy thereby keeping you in the fight for longer. With a large sword and wounds like that, she probably wouldn't have many strikes before she becomes exhausted.

Lack of ability to control or lift the sword for long periods of time, lack of stamina while fighting.

Alex, if you keep ninja'ing me, I will fucking cut you.

edited 13th Jul '11 9:23:12 AM by Blackmoon

And the desperation from that might result in her using more aggressive tactics to make use of her limited time.

^ B'aaw, poor widdle samurai got ninja'd? >:3

edited 13th Jul '11 9:28:26 AM by MadassAlex

Excellent.

Here Cygan, just for you.

In order to hold that...

Right hand facing away from body...

Left hand facing towards body...

I think the hands are on the wrong side of the hilt. You'd snap your wrists like that.

The blade should be on your strong side. You want your inner hand- the hand on the same side as the sword- to be close to the hilt, facing away from your body, while your other hand is closer to the pommel, facing towards your body.

In other words, try placing your hands in said position and swinging. Use yourself as a reference.

It seems delightfully awkward and horrible form, perfect for someone who is supposed to be delightfully awkward and has horrible form. But now, he's on the right side!

Well...left side, technically.

edited 13th Jul '11 10:07:35 AM by MrAHR

No, it'd be like holding a scythe.

Upside down.

AHR, you're killin' me here.

edited 13th Jul '11 10:07:38 AM by Blackmoon

Sorry. >_>

I promise that next time I'm here to ask about forms and stuff, I'll ask about characters who actually need to be optimized, if it helps.

I'm fairly sure you'd have to be deliberately doing yourself in to hold a sword like that.

Well, he normally holds swords back handed, so he tried to do that. Then he needed the extra support, and tried to use his right hand for help, using that backhanded style as well.

He is the epitome of suckiness. Whooh.

edited 13th Jul '11 10:15:20 AM by MrAHR

How does he hold them backhanded? Please describe it.

When wielding a sword backwards, all that is usually done is reversing the sword so that the blade points backwards, and reversing the positioning of your hands so that your outlying hand is closer to the pommel.

Well, it's an old picture, but like this?

It's not supposed to be a good style. See previous pages.

The thing is, while you certainly have bad styles, there's a difference between 'bad styles'- e.g. positioning your hands wrong on the hilt- and 'trying-to-get-yourself-killed styles'- e.g. deliberately twisting your hands ninety to one hundred and eighty degrees to hold a sword hilt.

One feels natural, while probably getting you killed in actual combat. The other involves doing everything you can to make your style as awkward and inconvenient as possible. The only explanation for the second is that you're doing it deliberately.

While that's fine for one-handed use, you have to remember that two-handed fighting styles are an entirely different kettle of fish.

edited 13th Jul '11 10:22:17 AM by CyganAngel

That's not a style. That's him seeing a sword on a table and desperately trying to lift it up. It just seems awkward to have both hands facing the same way, with the way he's using his right elbo to try and lift it.

edited 13th Jul '11 10:48:01 AM by MrAHR

@Alex, are you familiar with any of Sir William Hope's writings on the Back-sword?