It's the first time I'm seeing this but I remember envisioning and very amateurishly presenting something like this for Skyrim years ago, glad to see someone actually make this a functional thing! Cheers!
(image for reference) https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/images/683963
Wrong. Hold it with the palm straight to the blade and fold your hand so it doesn't directly touch the blade. If it does? No biggie. Blades slice, they don't cut. You need movement and force and quite a bit of it to lose fingers.
You may be thinking of the trick of catching a katana or any other sword mid-stroke, which is impossible as it would either slice your palms off, or it would tear them off, or just slip through giving you a rather bad abrasion and death.
This is a viable and commonly used armor striking technique that allows greater precision and force in a singular point. It can be used in some cases to puncture light armor, but mostly it's used when you can't get to a vulnerable spot through easier means; such as the spot under the breastplate that comes right before the neck guard, which is sometimes not put on. You can thrust into it and stab the man's neck.
Look up Shadiversity on Youtube, or Skallagrim. They both have halfswording videos with real swords that have been sharpened. Also, keep in mind, modern swords are A LOT stronger and can be sharpened to a greater extent; so, if anything, this technique is being tested against even GREATER odds than would be seen on a battle field with gauntlets.
ALSO. GAUNTLETS DON'T HAVE STEEL PALMS YOU IDIOT. WHAT KIND OF MORON WEARS PLATES ON THEIR PALMS!? No grip, no purchase, and it serves zero purpose. Most gloves don't even have plated under finger bits in fact, since it hinders movement due to the strict spacing.
It seems you've fallen victim to typical fantasy tropes.
How would "steel gloves" (gauntlets, I'm presuming) protect you when historical plates only cover, at most, the top of your hand and fingers? Imagine trying to move your hand while encased in solid steel. Wouldn't exactly be able to hold a weapon.
Furthermore, in order to cut, you have to make a sliding motion with the blade against your skin. Grabbing the blade will not cut you so long as you don't slide it down your hand. If you have a firm grip on it, it isn't a problem.
If you don't think that sword is a "real weapon," clearly you don't know the quality and craftsmanship put into modern sword reproductions. They are based on the measurements of surviving artifacts, and Skallagrim in particular likes to sharpen his blades to a fine enough point to the extent that he can shave the hair on his arm with them. That is extremely sharp, if you didn't know.
Finally, I'd like to point out that half-swording is a historical technique. Swords are by no means capable of slicing through metal armor, and blunt weapons are far more effective as they can cause dents and blunt force trauma. Striking with either the guard or the pommel effectively turns the sword into a makeshift mace, saving the life of someone facing a foe in armor while only wielding a sword. In fact, swords were typically secondary weapons, rarely used alone on the battlefield, but that is beyond the point.
Watched a video made by a HEMA enthusiast, and it does seem that half-swording is both what you described and holding the sword backwards like in the mod. The act of using the blade in the latter is considered a move in the larger practice of half-swording. Here's some sauce: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vwuQPfvSSlo
from what I understand half sword is general term for grabbing the sword at the blade and murder stroke is the specific name for stance in the image uploaded by mod author.
I haven't tried the mod yet, but the screenshot shows a Mortschag (murder stroke). Halfswording is typically used in full armored combat because swords really don't do anything against plate armor. They're fast, but there simply isn't enough weight behind them to damage plate armor. In halfswording one hand grips the hilt and the other the blade as you try to work the point into the less protected areas like the insides of joints (elbows, armpits, etc.) or under the chin or into an eyeslit. It allows finer control and as armor developed, swords became more about piercing than cutting.
The Mortschlag is basically hitting your opponent with the pommel or a quillion (which may well be sharpened into a nice, pointy spike). Either will mess your opponent up pretty well if there's enough force behind it, but is also pretty easy to block and leaves the wielder quite vulnerable. You're basically swinging a 3-lb sledgehammer with an icepick built in. Without the big swing, it really doesn't do anything to plate armor.
That said, DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME, especially with a sharp sword! Unless you have trained in longsword and Harnessfechten and know what you're doing this can be incredibly dangerous and you're going to end up hurting yourself or someone else (or both of you). Don't just read books and watch videos, find a local HEMA, WMA, or even SCA, group/club/studio and learn how to safely handle these weapons.
While it is halfswording, I feel it would still be better to call the mod murderstroke since its a more specific term (unless the author does plan to implement the stabby stabby version of halfswording as well ofcause)
Yeah uploaded the wrong file at first, my bad. And yes it would, that was my original plan but I would need to figure out how to do that. Maybe some day
Don't be so surprised, this is a historical technique. Swords are incapable of cutting through armor, so when facing an opponent clad in metal, blunt force is the most effective option. This effectively turns the sword into a makeshift mace.
32 comments
(image for reference) https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/images/683963
Watch the first 15 seconds of this video.
These kids playing with replicas.. and you comparing that to a real weapon?
You may be thinking of the trick of catching a katana or any other sword mid-stroke, which is impossible as it would either slice your palms off, or it would tear them off, or just slip through giving you a rather bad abrasion and death.
This is a viable and commonly used armor striking technique that allows greater precision and force in a singular point. It can be used in some cases to puncture light armor, but mostly it's used when you can't get to a vulnerable spot through easier means; such as the spot under the breastplate that comes right before the neck guard, which is sometimes not put on. You can thrust into it and stab the man's neck.
Look up Shadiversity on Youtube, or Skallagrim. They both have halfswording videos with real swords that have been sharpened. Also, keep in mind, modern swords are A LOT stronger and can be sharpened to a greater extent; so, if anything, this technique is being tested against even GREATER odds than would be seen on a battle field with gauntlets.
ALSO. GAUNTLETS DON'T HAVE STEEL PALMS YOU IDIOT. WHAT KIND OF MORON WEARS PLATES ON THEIR PALMS!? No grip, no purchase, and it serves zero purpose. Most gloves don't even have plated under finger bits in fact, since it hinders movement due to the strict spacing.
How would "steel gloves" (gauntlets, I'm presuming) protect you when historical plates only cover, at most, the top of your hand and fingers? Imagine trying to move your hand while encased in solid steel. Wouldn't exactly be able to hold a weapon.
Furthermore, in order to cut, you have to make a sliding motion with the blade against your skin. Grabbing the blade will not cut you so long as you don't slide it down your hand. If you have a firm grip on it, it isn't a problem.
If you don't think that sword is a "real weapon," clearly you don't know the quality and craftsmanship put into modern sword reproductions. They are based on the measurements of surviving artifacts, and Skallagrim in particular likes to sharpen his blades to a fine enough point to the extent that he can shave the hair on his arm with them. That is extremely sharp, if you didn't know.
Finally, I'd like to point out that half-swording is a historical technique. Swords are by no means capable of slicing through metal armor, and blunt weapons are far more effective as they can cause dents and blunt force trauma. Striking with either the guard or the pommel effectively turns the sword into a makeshift mace, saving the life of someone facing a foe in armor while only wielding a sword. In fact, swords were typically secondary weapons, rarely used alone on the battlefield, but that is beyond the point.
Here's some sauce: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vwuQPfvSSlo
The Mortschlag is basically hitting your opponent with the pommel or a quillion (which may well be sharpened into a nice, pointy spike). Either will mess your opponent up pretty well if there's enough force behind it, but is also pretty easy to block and leaves the wielder quite vulnerable. You're basically swinging a 3-lb sledgehammer with an icepick built in. Without the big swing, it really doesn't do anything to plate armor.
That said, DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME, especially with a sharp sword! Unless you have trained in longsword and Harnessfechten and know what you're doing this can be incredibly dangerous and you're going to end up hurting yourself or someone else (or both of you). Don't just read books and watch videos, find a local HEMA, WMA, or even SCA, group/club/studio and learn how to safely handle these weapons.
HEMA stand's for historical European martial arts .
And this is also half swording yes.
Looks like interesting mod though. Would be cool to have hot key that switched weapon for that move and back. With animation.
And yes it would, that was my original plan but I would need to figure out how to do that. Maybe some day