Re: Re: Multiple attack the same "round" ?

From: steve_at_...
Date: Mon, 05 Jul 2004 11:56:57 +1200


RR Wrote:
> I checked with my local Martial arts sensei - Other than very
> light Chinese swords, he couldn't think of another style with
> two swords (there is a new filipino matial art that uses 30-
> inch sticks, but it's been invented within the last 20 years
> or so, from what I can gather).

Escrima I think.

In European martial arts, I'm pretty sure there was use of two swords, particularly in "case of Rapier" which I understand was really dangerous to people who didn't know what they were doing, but considered not that much more effective against competant opponents. Less unbalanced were the sword and dagger techniques.

I'm not sure if the Short sword schools used two swords. My faint memory suggests they might have, but I'd have to check.

In Japan of course, there is the very famous Myamoto Musashi who used two swords, two fence posts, two oars, two muskets.... [1] Generally, I believe he used two swords in combats against many people. When going one on one with an expert swordsman he'd use one fence post. (Apparently, he felt that swords were a little boring once you'd mastered them, and took to fighting with lumps of wood instead.)

In my game I have a humakti who has two swords. They're about as effective as sword and shield, and other than that they are very similar, except they suffer when standing in a shieldwall trying to withstand the hail of arrows...

I do wonder if the issue was more that carrying one sword was enough of a pain (having to have one hand on the hilt most of the time to control it and make sure you didn't wipe out people walking past) that carrying two swords was really irritating. Learning a skill that requires that you be practically helpless as far as carrying stuff, because you always have your arms full carrying weapons, seems to give practical reasons for why you wouldn't bother.

Cheers,

Stephen

[1] Supposedly, when asked whether he had specially weighted swords to fight with one in each hand, he said you could fight with two of anything, and took up two muskets by the barrel to demonstrate.

-- 

Powered by hypermail