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Hottip cleanup


*** Sorry Tropers/{{Sandor}}[[hottip:*:Batman]]

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*** Sorry Tropers/{{Sandor}}[[hottip:*:Batman]]Tropers/{{Sandor}}[[note]]Batman[[/note]]



* Your knight avatar actually inspired me to make the story to an RPG. I'm not sure the RPG will ever be finished, but at least I have a cool story[[hottip:*:bro]]. - @/{{Aryn}}

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* Your knight avatar actually inspired me to make the story to an RPG. I'm not sure the RPG will ever be finished, but at least I have a cool story[[hottip:*:bro]].story[[note]]bro[[/note]]. - @/{{Aryn}}

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* BornInTheWrongCentury: Although I sure do love modern medicine.

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* BornInTheWrongCentury: Although I sure do love modern medicine. BornInTheWrongCentury/[[BornInTheWrongCentury Born In The Wrong Decade]]: No matter how you slice it, I'm a little anachronistic.


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* ThePowerOfRock: Dadadun dadadun weeoo wee!
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* Your knight avatar actually inspired me to make the story to an RPG. I'm not sure the RPG will ever be finished, but at least I have a cool story[[hottip:*:bro]]. - @/{{Aryn}}

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* Your knight avatar actually inspired me to make the story to an RPG. I'm not sure the RPG will ever be finished, but at least I have a cool story[[hottip:*:bro]]. - @/{{Aryn}}@/{{Aryn}}
* So uh... swords! - @/{{kay4today}}
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** I dunno, man. They all kick a lot of arse. I personally like the Liechtenauer tradition of Germany the best, but that's not an objective measure by any stretch. The best system of swordsmanship is probably the one the practitioner has the most personal investment in. So in my hands, the Liechtenauer tradition is the most powerful of all; in the hands of someone more endeared to Chinese Xing, that style would be superior in their hands. It's useless to search for a "best" style -- instead, look for a good style. A good style, trained in and studied hard, will always be a "best" style in the hands of a passionate and committed practitioner.

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** I dunno, man. They all kick a lot of arse. I personally like the Liechtenauer tradition of Germany the best, but that's not an objective measure by any stretch. The best system of swordsmanship is probably the one the practitioner has the most personal investment in. So in my hands, the Liechtenauer tradition is the most powerful of all; in the hands of someone more endeared to Chinese Xing, that style would be superior in their hands.superior. It's useless to search for a "best" style -- instead, look for a good style. A good style, trained in and studied hard, will always be a "best" style in the hands of a passionate and committed practitioner.
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* BornInTheWrongCentury: Although I sure do love modern medicine.
* ElegantWeaponForAMoreCivilisedAge: [[TheLateMiddleAges The longsword]], a [[WeaponOfChoice personal favourite]].
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* HonourBeforeReason/StupidGood: Depending on your interpretation.

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* HonourBeforeReason/StupidGood: HonourBeforeReason / StupidGood: Depending on your interpretation.
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[[AC: Tropes]]

* BadassBeard: If I do say so myself!
* HonourBeforeReason/StupidGood: Depending on your interpretation.
* OlderThanTheyLook
* [[MasterSwordsman Student Swordsman]]: In the German master method.
* SwordFight: My favourite pastime.

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* '''The way I hear it, Medieval swords were really heavy.'''
** Not actually. A two-handed sword is at its sweetest somewhere between 1.2 and 1.5kg, but some examples exist that are lighter than that.

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* '''The way I hear it, Medieval medieval swords were really heavy.'''
** Not actually. A versatile two-handed sword is at its sweetest somewhere between 1.2 and 1.5kg, 8kg, but some examples exist that are lighter than that. Some were as heavy as 3.5 kg, such as the heaviest examples of zweihander swords, but those are amazingly light for their length and mass.



** As for modern sport fencing, it enforces its own limitations. For instance, the arena is narrow and disallows many circling techniques as a result, and certain weapons may only make certain strikes. For instance, a foil may only thrust, thereby removing all techniques related to cutting. In contrast, teachings from the Medieval, Renaissance and Early Modern eras emphasise cuts, thrusts and draw cuts with all types of swords.

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** As for modern sport fencing, it enforces its own limitations. For instance, the arena is narrow and disallows many circling techniques as a result, and certain weapons may only make certain strikes. For instance, a foil may only thrust, thereby removing all techniques related to cutting. In contrast, teachings from the Medieval, Renaissance and Early Modern eras emphasise cuts, thrusts and draw cuts with all types of swords.swords.
*'''What's the best form of swordsmanship, then?'''
** In short, there is no singular "best", although there's arguably tiers of effectiveness. For instance, the late medieval European systems are more advanced in many ways than the Early Modern European systems, thanks in part to the versatile longsword. On the other hand, the versatility and advancement of a system cannot replace pure skill, and the most important skills are always the most basic -- it's often the swordsman with greater control, fluidity, judgement and knowledge that wins, rather than the one with the greatest repertoire of techniques.

*'''I was actually asking about how the Asian systems stack up against the European ones.'''
** I dunno, man. They all kick a lot of arse. I personally like the Liechtenauer tradition of Germany the best, but that's not an objective measure by any stretch. The best system of swordsmanship is probably the one the practitioner has the most personal investment in. So in my hands, the Liechtenauer tradition is the most powerful of all; in the hands of someone more endeared to Chinese Xing, that style would be superior in their hands. It's useless to search for a "best" style -- instead, look for a good style. A good style, trained in and studied hard, will always be a "best" style in the hands of a passionate and committed practitioner.
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* ''EuropeanSwordsmanship''

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* ''EuropeanSwordsmanship''
''UsefulNotes/EuropeanSwordsmanship''

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[[AC: This troper displays examples of]]

* [[BadassLonghair Badass Longhair]], for a fairly conservative definition of "badass".
** LongHairIsFeminine, too. For a bearded swordsman, I am not particularly masculine.
* BornInTheWrongCentury, or at least the wrong decade.
* [[ChaoticGood Chaotic Good]]
* TheComicallySerious: Usually invoked on purpose, though, so it might not count.
* [[DeadpanSnarker Deadpan Snarker]], but mostly in RealLife. I am more pedestrian on the internet.
** With elements of [[GentlemanSnarker Gentleman Snarker]] on a ''really'' good day.
* ILikeSwords.
** To the extent of studying Medieval-Renaissance German swordsmanship through tutelage and perusal of the combat manuals.
* NoPronunciationGuide: My surname, unless you're German-speaking.
* [[OlderThanTheyLook Older Than They Look]]
** I'm in my early 20s, but have the appearance of one quite a bit younger - some have said as young as 14.
** [[AvertedTrope But not while I have a beard.]]




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* ''EuropeanSwordsmanship''
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Male, Germanic Australian, early 20s, bespectacled, geek, [[ThePowerOfRock guitarist]], [[{{Blossfechten}} swordsman]]. Currently a contributor towards {{Dystropia}}. That's just about all there is to me.

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Male, Germanic Australian, early 20s, bespectacled, geek, [[ThePowerOfRock guitarist]], [[{{Blossfechten}} swordsman]]. Currently a contributor towards {{Dystropia}}. That's just about all there is to me.
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* Greetings, fellow swordsman [~bows~] -@/TomoeMichieru

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* Greetings, fellow swordsman [~bows~] -@/TomoeMichieru-@/TomoeMichieru
* Your knight avatar actually inspired me to make the story to an RPG. I'm not sure the RPG will ever be finished, but at least I have a cool story[[hottip:*:bro]]. - @/{{Aryn}}
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** Pfft, I wouldn't ''dream'' of killing an artist such as yourself! [=*pommel strike K.O*=]

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** Pfft, I wouldn't ''dream'' of killing an artist such as yourself! [=*pommel strike K.O*=]O*=]
* Greetings, fellow swordsman [~bows~] -@/TomoeMichieru
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* A sensible supposition if sword forms and their purpose remained consistent, but this isn't the case. As guns began to replace close combat weapons during the Early Modern period, less emphasis was placed on close combat as a requirement for an effective soldier. As such, the decay of European swordsmanship can be thought to begin somewhere in the 1600s. Certainly there were still master swordsmen to equal their Medieval and Renaissance forebears, but with the emphasis on sword combat declining and sword forms losing versatility, there was an inevitable decline. By the 19th century, swordsmanship was almost a mockery of its former self, even though back swords and sabres were still used by the soldiery.
* As for modern sport fencing, it enforces its own limitations. For instance, the arena is narrow and disallows many circling techniques as a result, and certain weapons may only make certain strikes. For instance, a foil may only thrust, thereby removing all techniques related to cutting. In contrast, teachings from the Medieval, Renaissance and Early Modern eras emphasise cuts, thrusts and draw cuts with all types of swords.

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* ** A sensible supposition if sword forms and their purpose remained consistent, but this isn't the case. As guns began to replace close combat weapons during the Early Modern period, less emphasis was placed on close combat as a requirement for an effective soldier. As such, the decay of European swordsmanship can be thought to begin somewhere in the 1600s. Certainly there were still master swordsmen to equal their Medieval and Renaissance forebears, but with the emphasis on sword combat declining and sword forms losing versatility, there was an inevitable decline. By the 19th century, swordsmanship was almost a mockery of its former self, even though back swords and sabres were still used by the soldiery.
* ** As for modern sport fencing, it enforces its own limitations. For instance, the arena is narrow and disallows many circling techniques as a result, and certain weapons may only make certain strikes. For instance, a foil may only thrust, thereby removing all techniques related to cutting. In contrast, teachings from the Medieval, Renaissance and Early Modern eras emphasise cuts, thrusts and draw cuts with all types of swords.

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** Not actually. A two-handed sword is at its sweetest somewhere between 1.2 and 1.5kg, but some examples exist that are smaller than that.

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** Not actually. A two-handed sword is at its sweetest somewhere between 1.2 and 1.5kg, but some examples exist that are smaller lighter than that.




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* '''But technique would've advanced over time, right? So modern sport fencing should be much more refined than its historical equivalents.'''
* A sensible supposition if sword forms and their purpose remained consistent, but this isn't the case. As guns began to replace close combat weapons during the Early Modern period, less emphasis was placed on close combat as a requirement for an effective soldier. As such, the decay of European swordsmanship can be thought to begin somewhere in the 1600s. Certainly there were still master swordsmen to equal their Medieval and Renaissance forebears, but with the emphasis on sword combat declining and sword forms losing versatility, there was an inevitable decline. By the 19th century, swordsmanship was almost a mockery of its former self, even though back swords and sabres were still used by the soldiery.
* As for modern sport fencing, it enforces its own limitations. For instance, the arena is narrow and disallows many circling techniques as a result, and certain weapons may only make certain strikes. For instance, a foil may only thrust, thereby removing all techniques related to cutting. In contrast, teachings from the Medieval, Renaissance and Early Modern eras emphasise cuts, thrusts and draw cuts with all types of swords.
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[[AC: Debunking Sword Myths]]

* '''The way I hear it, Medieval swords were really heavy.'''
** Not actually. A two-handed sword is at its sweetest somewhere between 1.2 and 1.5kg, but some examples exist that are smaller than that.
* '''Wait, that would mean that swords couldn't cut through that heavy plate armour.'''
** Yeah, although they had other ways to solving the problem. Swordsmen would grip the middle of the blade with their off hand, turning the sword into a short spear. Or they would hold it entirely by the blade, upside-down, and use the pommel to transfer blunt force through.
* '''So why were these techniques forgotten? Japanese swordsmanship survived to this day, for instance.'''
** Well, for one thing, guns were introduced to Asia rather than developed there en mass. So guns didn't really phase out close combat weapons in the same way as in the Western hemisphere.
** In a round-about way, we still kinda do have the original teachings. Sport fencing, while pretty far removed from the arts of eras past, shares fundamentals and some advanced concepts with even Liechtenauer's art. For instance, you still attack as a defense, and you still try to strike in a way that closes of your adversary's avenue of attack while keeping yours open.
* '''Weren't European swords kinda poor?'''
** No, they were actually pretty badass. During the Crusades, European swords were prized amongst Saracen soldiers, for instance. Swordsmiths of the time packed a lot of resilience into reasonably light weapons, and this is what allows the European response method of strike-against-strike.
* '''Strike against strike?'''
** Using a strike to parry another strike. In most media, you'll see a lot more dedicated defense, where the defender tries to catch their adversary's strike at something like a 90 degree angle. In European swordsmanship, this isn't really done; you want to strike to defend yourself in such a way that you point can menace your adversary. So most "parries" are at 45 degrees or even less.
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* [[IaijutsuPractitioner *hand on hilt*]] En garde. --@/{{Blackmoon}}

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* [[IaijutsuPractitioner *hand on hilt*]] En garde. --@/{{Blackmoon}}--@/{{Blackmoon}}
** Pfft, I wouldn't ''dream'' of killing an artist such as yourself! [=*pommel strike K.O*=]
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**** No idea. For my part, I haven't posted there on a regular basis for perhaps two, three years. Last I heard, the forum officially died and the remaining members banded together and made a new one externally. So I guess the answer is "It's all down the shitter". Can't say I'm honestly surprised, though. [=VGC=] was fun, but it didn't really allow itself to grow. - @/MadassAlex

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**** No idea. For my part, I haven't posted there on a regular basis for perhaps two, three years. Last I heard, the forum officially died and the remaining members banded together and made a new one externally. So I guess the answer is "It's all down the shitter". Can't say I'm honestly surprised, though. [=VGC=] was fun, but it didn't really allow itself to grow. - @/MadassAlex@/MadassAlex
* [[IaijutsuPractitioner *hand on hilt*]] En garde. --@/{{Blackmoon}}

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* Wait, weird question, but way back when did you post on the VG cats forums?
** ... now ''that's'' a blast from the past. To whom do I speak? - @/MadassAlex

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\n* *** Wait, weird question, but way back when did you post on the VG cats forums?
** ...
forums? - @/{{Sandor}} (I found this out later)
*** ...
now ''that's'' a blast from the past. To whom do I speak? - @/MadassAlex
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* ''Secrets of German Medieval Swordsmanship''

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* ''Secrets of German Medieval Swordsmanship''''SecretsOfGermanMedievalSwordsmanship''
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* ''Secrets of German Medieval Swordsmanship''
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**** Damn, thought I recognised the name. Yeah posted there as Sandor as well. That takes me back, must have stopped posting there a good four or five years ago. How are the old furries and nerds holding up? - Tropers/{{Sandor}}

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**** Damn, thought I recognised the name. Yeah posted there as Sandor as well. That takes me back, must have stopped posting there a good four or five years ago. How are the old furries and nerds holding up? - Tropers/{{Sandor}}Tropers/{{Sandor}}
**** No idea. For my part, I haven't posted there on a regular basis for perhaps two, three years. Last I heard, the forum officially died and the remaining members banded together and made a new one externally. So I guess the answer is "It's all down the shitter". Can't say I'm honestly surprised, though. [=VGC=] was fun, but it didn't really allow itself to grow. - @/MadassAlex
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*** ... @/{{Sandor}}. That name. ''Familiar''. - @/MadassAlex again

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*** ... @/{{Sandor}}. That name. ''Familiar''. - @/MadassAlex againagain
**** Damn, thought I recognised the name. Yeah posted there as Sandor as well. That takes me back, must have stopped posting there a good four or five years ago. How are the old furries and nerds holding up? - Tropers/{{Sandor}}
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Male, Germanic Australian, early 20s, bespectacled, geek, [[ThePowerOfRock guitarist]], [[{{Blossfechten}} swordsman]]. That's just about all there is to me.

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Male, Germanic Australian, early 20s, bespectacled, geek, [[ThePowerOfRock guitarist]], [[{{Blossfechten}} swordsman]]. Currently a contributor towards {{Dystropia}}. That's just about all there is to me.
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*** ... @/{{Sandor}}. That name. ''Familiar''.

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*** ... @/{{Sandor}}. That name. ''Familiar''. - @/MadassAlex again
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*** ... @/Sandor. That name. ''Familiar''.

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*** ... @/Sandor.@/{{Sandor}}. That name. ''Familiar''.
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** ... now ''that's'' a blast from the past. To whom do I speak? - @/MadassAlex

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** ... now ''that's'' a blast from the past. To whom do I speak? - @/MadassAlex@/MadassAlex
*** ... @/Sandor. That name. ''Familiar''.

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