Siegbert wrote:I don't think the guys in this video use real weight swords... I once held a rapier in a shop and was surprised by how heavy it is. Most games and movies depict it as it was a wooden stick.
Anyway, I think we agree that real sword fighting looks nothing like Darkfall... I don't even know why people think it's a valid idea to play a game that drives for a realistic medieval approach in terms of aesthetics and movement and than jump around like in Quake3.
The weapon regulations for the HMB, Battle of Nations teams are as follows. Directly from their site.
2.4.1. Bladed weapons:
- single-handed swords, sabers, broadswords – up to 1,600 g;
- falchions – up to 1,800 g;
- long (total length is up to 1,400 mm) swords, sabers, broadswords – up to 2,500 g;
- two-handed bladed weapons of the XIV-XVIIth centuries – up to 3,500 g
2.4.2. Polearms: - single-handed: axes – up to 1,300 g, maces and six-flanged maces – up to 1,000 g
a) Important! The length of a cutting part of an axe blade should not be less than 7cm!
b) Important! All the maces and six-flanged maces can have ONLY wooden handles and no sharp edges!
- long axes and other similar weapons (with a total length of not less than 1 m) - up to 2,300 g.
- two-handed: halberds, glaives, poleaxes and similar weapons (with a total length of more than 1,400 mm) - up to 3,000 g.
Real one handed swords weigh around 2-3lbs, or about 900-1400g, which is LESS than the swords used in BotN.
Hand a half swords, or "bastard" swords, rarely got over 2kg, which is less than 5lbs. While some of the Zweihander swords would get up to 3kg-3.6kg. But even then that is still WELL south of heavy when used two handed. And considering those swords were often between 150-170cm long! That is a pretty light weapon.
The sword you handled must have been a parade sword, which were heavy, and not at all useful.
Here is one of my sources on two handed swords.
http://www.thearma.org/essays/2HGS.html#.U0zqDldvqwQAnd same site for single handed swords
http://www.thearma.org/essays/weights.htm#.U0zpD1dvqwQMost of the "swords" handled by the public at museums are parade swords or replicas of parade swords and are quite heavy. A real sword is light and dangerous. The sword was the top of the food chain when it came to killing people. It was designed for that purpose and only that. And it does it extremely well, this is why the sword is still in use to this day, in some nations.
Sorry Siegbert to get all preachy on you but unless you have the arm strength of a child, no real sword should be heavy in the hand of an adult male. Hell my 11-12th century XI Berber style sword that I own weighs less than my 2 1/2lb dead blow hammer.
And yes we agree on the point real sword fighting is nothing like DFO or MO.