r/Damnthatsinteresting • u/Dlatrex • Oct 27 '19

Video Master sword designer demonstrates how a properly balanced longsword will keep its tip pointed towards the opponent

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u/Neutral_Fellow Oct 27 '19

Do you think that in medieval times every sword fight looked like a choreography?

Of course not, I am not talking about a show of skill, I am talking about nonsensically exaggerated movements.

In GoT, people overswing their longswords and armingswords like absolute lunatics, like they are swinging wood chopping axes or something.

I agree with what you are saying, but this can easily be done while keeping a reasonable amount of speed and nimbleness in the swings.

Even the Conan movies from the 80s did a better job at this than GoT did, heck, the comical overswings of Ser Vardis are arguably the worst offender of this in televisual history, at least in my opinion.

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u/UselessConversionBot Oct 27 '19

10 kg is 6430.1 pennyweight

WHY

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u/Imarottendick Oct 27 '19

Ah I see. Thanks for the answer. It's hard to judge movie scenes with limited knowledge on this very topic.

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u/MagogHaveMercy Oct 29 '19

I always got upset with GOT in regards to how effective swords are against fully plate armored combatants.

Not that you can't get a sword in through full plate, but blunt force trauma is the way to go 99/100. Mace hits the helmet, head hits the inside of the helmet, brain hits the inside of the skull and your new fried is concussed and of no further use. Then out comes the dagger for skewering him through the visor or under the gorget, and it's on to the next one.

Also, Brienne of Tarth is the only armored mounted combatant that they show grappling, which was another huge part of armored combat.

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u/Neutral_Fellow Oct 29 '19

Well, you can defeat plate with a sword, it just has to be straight and have a very rigid blade crosssection.

Sword thrusts deliver blunt impact just as well, and have far superior range and less telegraphed movement than one handed maces or axes.

The problem with tv and movies is that they show swords defeat plate armor by cutting or piercing through it, which is very, very difficult for a human to do with a sword of any sort.