HEMA at Home - Feints (British Military Swordsmanship)

I wrote a Essay about Feints <3 I love feints

Lovely discussion, especially the dangers of the feints with foolhardy opponents.

you should do as Zachary wylde tell you to do ,keep your are stiff without bowing the elbow joint your point at opposer right eye ,dexter outside and your body , hollow as you can and all you need to do is turn your knuckles in to come into sinister inside so the feints will not work and you don't also get hit by the 3 & 4 cut . and broad sword play is "circularly" .why do you think that the old 1711 was replaced by Roworth ? as the old wylde is a better for combat

A feint doesn't have to start out as a Feint. You might go for a real attack, and treat it as a feint, depending on how the opponent reacts (instead of parrying, he goes for Footwork, or whatever.) Ultimately, you're expecting some sort of reaction from the opponent, otherwise, it's not really effective. You're trying to draw a parry, or just keep them moving around if it's not a static stance. (Depends on the style, and the opponent.) So, you can circle around, and feint feint feint... Strike! Another thing that feints can do is wear down the opponent, or his concentration, once they stop taking a series of feints seriously. It also keeps the tempo up, like the taps of the hammer on the anvil from a blacksmith. (I'm more of an armorer than a fighter, honestly.) This is another thing the opponent may, or may not be reacting to, your tempo, so you can change it up in the Feint Feint Feintstrike! Series.

I love how you differentiated between Beginners, Experienced fencers, and "Crazies." Keep in mind that in modern Fencing, there's minimal risk. You're not really going to be run through, and killed. If you do get cut (First blood) it's not going to abscess, go to gangrene, and get that limb amputated after months of agony, it's basically a plaster, and onto the next bout. So, some fighters, even experienced Fencers can just abandon the fascade, or momentarily ignore it to do something that would be suicidal in a swordfight, but this is Fencing, so at most they risk a point. You may not be prepared for that, because it would be "Crazy" in a real fight. I've lost to this, because an experienced Crazy used that mindset against me. Granted, he told me earlier that "Nobody does this:" Then he did it, to teach me a lesson. Nobody in his right mind would, but you can, because at most, you're risking a point.

Good point about the mass at the tip

Excellent video, Nick! I always appreciate your methodical style of teaching with just the right amount of context. I also like how you break it down to the "street" level citing personal experience. This series is probably one of your best.

Really interesting video. Thanks for posting.