Re: 2 sword fighting

From: Wulf Corbett <wulfc_at_...>
Date: Tue, 04 Jul 2000 15:28:41 -0000

Because battlefields are the wrong place for it. If you have a whole load of friends, a shield is excellent for cooperative tactics - shield walls, boar's snouts, turtles, the lot. These all make use of the extra protection of overlapping shields, whereas 2-sword techniques need more space. 2-sword fighting is for loners against one or few opponents, if you're outnumbered you're in trouble. Of course, if you're outnumbered with a shield, you're in trouble too, but it can be more of a nuisance than a help in confined spaces (like dungeons). So, basically, 2-sword (or 2-weapon - I use an axe and sword myself in re-enactment and live roleplay) is for adventurers and berserkers (who can't use a shield anyway), not soldiers. And there were some 2-weapon combat techniques around, historically, mostly in the far east, but don't forget parrying weapons like hatchets and daggers/main gauche.

Wulf

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