duel weilding/staff

[Vivectius]

My view regarding the attacking sword/defending sword style: yes, BUT to be truely successful with it, either sword must be capable of attacking or defending (don't always just have right hand sword for attack, left hand sword for defense), AND you must be able to switch which is doing which smoothly in the flow of combat.

So, now I have two more questions:

One is weapon/blade length. When using two swords, do you prefer two of the same size, or differing sizes? And at what lengths for either of those options? One long, one short, or both long, or both short? For long I'm referring to sword easily capable of one handed used, such as a Lightsaber with a 32-36" blade (to me anyway). For short, I'm referring to a sword with, obviously, a shorter blade, 24-32". If you prefer longer or shorter for either of those definitions, good, say so. Those are just the ones I use and are obviously not any kind of absolute measurements. (Also, I'm not including the people walking around dual wielding two Flamberge or Renegades. I can see the intimidation factor, but that's just crazy for actual combat. Awesome scary if you can pull it off though.)

Two is how is your opponent armed? We've taken a pretty good look at how we're armed and what techniques work for us, but what about our oppenent? How are they armed, and how does that change what we do? What, if anything, do we do differently facing an opponent armed with a single blade versus sword/shield versus sword/sword, versus sword/dagger, etc. I realize the permutations of this question, combined My first question is a very large number (such as me with two long swords versus opponent with sword/shield, or me with one long one short versus the same, etc., etc.), but I'm curious, in general how, if at all, your approach changes depending on how your opponent is armed. A specific sub question is for those who prefer two shorter blades, how do you deal with someone with a single longer blade or even two longer blades.

[Darth Cephalus]

Dual wielding crossguards? You must have seen my most recent video. It is less awkward than you might expect, but the weight if nothing else makes it a bad idea.

That aside, I prefer 32" blades even with single wield these days. You lose some reach but pick up a lot of mobility. Dual wield, I use 2 32" blades. Rational for this is on my last post.

As to what my opponent is using, I find dual sabers work best on a single long saber. Most of the time, you use one as a blade catcher and the other to strike. I watched Daniel Lane recently do this a lot in a training video where he was using two 18" blades to get ready for a TSL bout. If your opponent has 2 sabers you don't have the ability to attack without fear of reprisal unless you can trap both blades with one of yours. with someone not used to dual wield, this is very possible as their blades get tangled.

If the opponent is competent, then the benefit of the two longer blades is that most of the time you have the reach. Most of the people I see using dual wield are using something like stick fighting moves and shorter blades. This makes me resort to fencing type movements and use the reach to target extremities like the hand or lead foot.

[Master Althalus]

When using two swords, do you prefer two of the same size, or differing sizes?

I prefer my off-hand blade to be shorter. I've fought with two sabers of equal lengths but, as with steel, the fight get's a bit static. The long blade in the off-hand often gets in the way, so there's a certain rythm of right-left-right to the whole thing. With a shorter blade, I'm able to move more freely and therefore unpredictable.

Two is how is your opponent armed?

With sabers, I've fought against opponents wielding one or two sabers.
With steel, I've fought anything up to really big two-handers and polearms. Especially against the latter, I like the possibility of controlling the shaft with a dagger and being able to attack with my sword.

A special benefit of two blades is against hard-hitters: Cross-parries provide good defence, while trapping the opponent's blade for a counter.

[obliviondoll]

I've fought dual-wield vs. dual-wield, dual-wield vs. polearm/staff, dual-wield vs. sword and shield, dual-wield vs. single sword, on both sides of each combination, in LARP. With sabers, I've only done dual-wield vs. single and dual vs. dual.

As for length, in LARP, I've been crazy enough to dual-wield naginata for a character scene (I was a boss monster). It was... very impractical. For serious use, I prefer long/short or paired shorter blades. I can dual-wield longer blades moderately well, but it doesn't feel quite as comfortable as having at least one shorter blade. I've recently tried swapping which hand I'm using the longer blade in, and while it's not as familiar yet, I'm surprised how comfortable I am with it, and that I never tried it earlier.

[projectno253]

Admittedly, I haven't read all of this, but I figure I can still tell of what I've experienced. I find that I have much more leverage with a saberstaff. With dual wielding you'd need some crazy wrist and arm strength even with apprentice V4 (or equally short) hilts and 32" blades.

One of the most important things I find in combat is control. And leverage is an element of that I would venture to say. If you can control where your opponent's saber is (through blocking, then deflecting), you can win the fight. And more leverage means more power to control where your opponent's saber ends up.

You see this in Rey's fight with Kylo. When she was on the defensive, she used little to no leverage. She was really just blocking Kylo's strikes out of defense. I wouldn't blame her for not being on the offensive, considering it was her first fight.

Kylo was able to use his crossguard one handed because Rey wasn't using her leverage. He put enough power forth to control where her saber was.

Once Rey goes on the offensive, she puts leverage in and therefore gets control. You can see her hitting Kylo's one handed gripped crossguard out of the way as she uses a two handed grip. He can barely bring the weight of his saber back to block these strikes and this is eventually what causes his loss.

I may have gotten off topic, but I think the analysis of a canon fight can help illustrate the importance of leverage and control in a fight (of course real lightsaber blades supposedly have no weight, but the actors used practically what we use, so the weight distribution is comparable).

The single bladed saber will always have the widest range of movement. But unless that hilt is the same size as a staff hilt, it won't offer as much leverage as one. Even though it makes up for it in mobility. Sometimes getting around a strike is better than blocking or redirecting it.

I've found that a saberstaff is excellent when facing multiple opponents. I've fought 2 single blades at once with ease. The staff gives great reach without compromising your control over your saber.

To those who haven't faced staff sabers or are inexperienced in gerneral, a staff saber can be extremely intimidating. If you scare an inexperienced (important element) opponent, you can reduce their offense and win the fight with leverage.

Hopefully I could offer something new. I'm not sure if what I have said has been mentioned already. This comes from a year and a half of full contact sparring, in which I started with a saberstaff, and a little bit of training with Ludosport Italia

[skribs]

Projectno, you can get a yari (pike) extension and have the extra leverage without the extra blade.  You get a lot of the range of motion of a single blade, but still the leverage from the longer handle.

[projectno253]

Projectno, you can get a yari (pike) extension and have the extra leverage without the extra blade.  You get a lot of the range of motion of a single blade, but still the leverage from the longer handle.

Agreed, I've always liked the idea of a pike. I've never faced one so I can't weigh in on it much. But the staff is still great for crowd control 

[obliviondoll]

of course real lightsaber blades supposedly have no weight

There's no canon source that's ever said they have no weight, and a recent episode of Rebels confirmed (in canon) that it's not true. Where'd you get this information?

[projectno253]

There's no canon source that's ever said they have no weight, and a recent episode of Rebels confirmed (in canon) that it's not true. Where'd you get this information?

I think it may have been on Wookieepedia. I can't remember. You're talking about trials of the darksaber, right? That makes a lot of sense now. I'll have to rewatch that clip.