Sword Length?

[Ken Horton]

There seems to be a lot of opinions about how long the longsword you are using should be. I've read that your sword should come up from the ground to just under your armpit...Vadi I think. I also see a lot of longswords 46", is there an advantage to having a slightly smaller sword than your advesary? Does length matter in most of the teachings of the German schools?

Just a couple of questions I've been wondering about!

Ken

[Timothy Gunther]

46"-48" sounds about right, a long sword being about the height of your armpit sounds kinda ridiculous IMO considering for taller people like myself( I'm 6' 1") and depending on there body structure thats going to be fairly lengthy, for me thats about 54"-55".

having a smaller/shorter swords allows more maneuverability usually allowing you to parry faster if need be than a longer heavier sword even of the same type however this is not always noticeable or accurate considering just the same a longer heaver nicely balanced sword is going to be much more agile in combat than a shorter badly balanced sword.

the only real advantage in any martial art from Europe to the Far East and everything in between is always going to be speed, however this is never going to have anything to do with a weapon but rather the martial artists themselves which is why just having a nice weapon never gets you any ware in the martial arts world.

the best example I can give is one of my friends who is extremely fit and skilled who can actually use a steel pipe faster and more efficiently than I can use a sword of superior balance.

I don't know much about German schools tho I don't think length should matter anywhere if you keep the sword length between about 46"-48" considering this is going to be the most common length for a long sword and the length the teachings and techniques were designed for...however everything is relative so I would ask the school.

[Jonathan_Kaplan]

I thought you can parry just fine with most swords, as long as they are balanced right and not too heavy -- not much over three pounds, right?

[Ken Horton]

Thanks, that answers my question. I like a lot of Gus trim swords and most of the ones I like are 44-46".

Ken

[Timothy Gunther]

I thought you can parry just fine with most swords, as long as they are balanced right and not too heavy -- not much over three pounds, right?

indeed you can parry with any sword I never said you could not, however on that note it is usually easier to parry and maneuver a blade that is shorter and well balanced than one that is longer and well balanced, simply because even if you don't notice it a longer one is going to most likely be heavier and therefore slower if only by a fractions of seconds, tho even that small amount of time is crucial when cuts and stabs take only tenths-millionths of a second.

if your know anything about physics it's takes longer to start and stop a longer item than it does a shorter item because of centrifugal force even if the items are only slightly different and balanced relatively the same

2.8-3.4 lb depending on preference and balanced to about two fingers(2.5") from the guard.

[Will Adamson]

A sword should reach from your hands into your enemy's heart, lungs, and/or brains. But not necessarily in that order.

[ChristineChurches]

Ken -
Please log off and log back in with your full name, first and last, as mandated by our Forum rules.

Thank you.

As for longer vs. shorter longswords - while a longer sword may be a bit slower, one must remember that it makes up for that with reach - the loss of fractions of a second vs. an extra 2-3 inches...could make all the difference...

[Timothy Gunther]

As for longer vs. shorter longswords - while a longer sword may be a bit slower, one must remember that it makes up for that with reach - the loss of fractions of a second vs. an extra 2-3 inches...could make all the difference...

thats true.

arg I have not practiced with beginners in a long time and it kinda skews my views on things...but I had to remind myself that beginners are not going to make use of the true potential of shorter weapons lol.

Good luck on your training Ken.

[Ken Horton]

Thank you to all, this gives me somethings to think about.

I will change to my full name..Ken Horton.

[Grant Hall]

Thank you to all, this gives me somethings to think about.

I will change to my full name..Ken Horton.

A longer blade will always hold the advantage over a shorter blade. The time taken to close the distance of even just a few inches more than makes up for any time lost to accelerating a longer blade.

Master Silver tells as that a taller man will always hold an advantage over an equally skilled shorter man, because of his reach, this advantage is made more prominent by the fact that a taller man wields a loongblade, thus both his blade and his arm have greater reach than the shorter man resulting in a fairly large advantage.

So to answer your question and dispel misconceptions, the sword should reach your armpit, and yes, in martial arts, Bigger really is Better!

Cheers and God Bless!

[Jonathan_Kaplan]

Heh, unless you are fighting in a really densely packed formation, where you don't want to be accidentally hurting the person next to you...

[Grant Hall]

Heh, unless you are fighting in a really densely packed formation, where you don't want to be accidentally hurting the person next to you...

That's what thrusting and half swording are for

[Jonathan_Kaplan]

Heh, unless you are fighting in a really densely packed formation, where you don't want to be accidentally hurting the person next to you...

That's what thrusting and half swording are for

Heh, I know you are joking, but depending on how close you are packed together -- and whether you have a big shield, cause dense formations is one of the few times a big shield *helps* -- that may not be possible...

I'm pretty sure the Romans knew what they were doing!

[Grant Hall]

Heh, unless you are fighting in a really densely packed formation, where you don't want to be accidentally hurting the person next to you...

That's what thrusting and half swording are for

Heh, I know you are joking, but depending on how close you are packed together -- and whether you have a big shield, cause dense formations is one of the few times a big shield *helps* -- that may not be possible...

I'm pretty sure the Romans knew what they were doing!

By time Longswords came along, shields were gone. Tight Formations were mainly made up of pikemen by then. And those formations were taken out by Doppelsoldners.

I haven't trained in tight formations, so I'm not entirely sure of how it would be done, but I can see some manuevers working fine, thrusting and half sowrding would indeed be an option.

[Benjamin Smith]

There is actually a lot of variety in sword length and balance of historical swords. I've seen historical swords balanced 9" out (showed signs of being used in battle during the crusades), and some with balances about 3" from the hilt. I've seen weapons that I would classify as longswords because I could do all the longsword techniques I've gleaned in my 5 years with them, that were 42" total length and 52" total length. If it behaves like a longsword, it's a longsword.

The real issue is can you fight with it?

People have very different opinions of what they fight best with. There is no one answer that will satisfy every person. After a few years you'll find out where your preferences lie, you might like a short longsword with extra fine tip control, or you might like reach and greater cutting power.

Short answer get a training weapon of common length, when you have more experience and have handled a few different varieties choose the one that you win most with.