https://youtu.be/afqhBODc_8U
In this video you get to watch hema novices fight eachother with swords and spears, and hear interesting info about weapons
But not better than axes.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-N2VibnjB6g
No wonder why the Greek Hoplites were so dominant for so long. With enough training with shields and good enough reflexes, spears can definitely be countered pretty handily via grabbing it, but that seems to be a lot harder than it looks since very few of the people above pulled it off asides from the dude at 5:00 and the one right after.
I wonder how realistic / feasible it would be in a combat scenario to try and stab above your shield and quickly transition down to like waist level and try for a quick stab if the occasion presents itself
As someone who does SCA fighting, I can confirm that spears are bullshit. Most of the time you get stabbed in the face before you can do much else.
Ol' Lindy has several videos explaining why overhanding a spear is absolute bullshit and something you should literally never do. First one is here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=klOc9C-aPr4
Oh man, his old production quality... Lindy is a fuckin' national treasure, even today his production is absolute crap for a 700k subscriber channel, but back then? It really goes to show that quality of production isn't as important as quality of content.
swords are way cooler tho
So does this sort of prove that a lot of things in warfare are more psychological rather than being objectively practical or the most effective?
Isn't this simply to do with the evolution of armour and formations? I'd love to see a video on the ballistic differences between spears and swords, as in would the average spear really penetrate simple chainmail at those distances (I understand that swords often wouldn't but the difference is you can bludgeon someone with a sword)?
I think swords were generally considered to be more of a status symbol than an effective combat weapon. Axes are both far better at going through armour and cheaper to construct due to less metal being required. Spears are even more cheap, although pikes are obviously far superior to spears, hence Philip II of Macedonia being so effective, as well as Alexander The Great.
Spears were partially deprecated by the advent of plate armour, especially with hinges, as weapons like halberds and warhammers became much more important due to piercing damage being pretty shitty against men in full plate.
aren't swords supposed to be a backup weapon of sorts in many situation? It's not the best option for a weapon but it's versatile so having one is handy when you need it.
Feel free to correct me, but aside from the Roman Legions who used swords as their main weapons (at least in the Imperial Era), they were quickly phased out once chainmail became more common.
Swords are also easy to carry around in public contexts.
There's no dude in armour when you're just some policeman on the streets.
Ah that's what I meant but didn't know the language for it, underarm grip but can still wield it above the shoulder then transition down, he didn't really touch on it (at least this video)
Wasn't the biggest thing with the Romans was that they were operating against Barbarians who would mostly have leather/easily able to pierce through slashing etc, armour anyways? I think the difference was pretty stark.
A spear is a knife on a stick
Knives are great, so put it on a stick, you have a Super-Knife
this thread has be really informative so far
thank you facepunch
Train with it and gain the muscle to make it strictly an advantage.
Halberds were used very often for stabbing, the weight added by a bit more metal in comparison to the long handle would be negligible in most situations. You could argue that the spear could MAYBE stab faster/farther without the added weight in the front, but it would be by amounts you would need a camera and timers for. Like the weight increase from adding an axehead would be like 2-4 pounds at the maximum.
if spears are so good how come nobody's using them
well you see, in the 17th century, chinese invented a little known weapon commonly used today, y'know, DRONES?
Because you'll look like a fucking virgin waggling it around and trying to find a hole to stick the tip in, so all the ladies will just leave you for some flail-swinging chad
Man if I was in shape I'd be all over doing this as a hobby. Looks like a great time.
bullets are just really tiny spears going super fast
Issue is hoping there is an actual group in your area that does this stuff, like Im in the middle of Texas so I am sure I would have to drive like 6 hours somewhere to even find a place if that.
I was curious and it turns out there's a HEMA club in my city, so maybe if I ever start hitting the gym and eating less shitty
Everything comes down to sharp rocks. Thog and Grud killed eachother with a sharp rock. Mbeke and Nwani killed eachother with a sharp rock on the end of a stick. Aeanus found a way to make a really sharp rock by making dull rocks really hot and hitting them with a hammer. Ingvar made the sharp rock bigger and the stick either smaller or stronger. Philippe made a machine that uses explosions to throw dull rocks hard enough that they hit like sharp rocks. Henry made the machines smaller and the dull rocks slightly sharper so they can be even sharper. And now, we've got very complex sharp rocks filled with explosions that act like hundreds of thousands of sharp rocks. The past, present, and future is the sharpened rock.
This dillema should probably be solved via the invention of a spord of a swear, which is a long metal pole with two charp edges on each sides that is engraved with fancy stuff that has a spear head at the end.
Or a spear consisting of two metal screw on parts that can be used as swords independently that can be carried in two sheaths.
Or a sword that extends and retracts like a telescope depending on what you do with it.
