Comments on: On The Advantages And Disadvantages of Height http://elizabethanmafia.com/blog/2010/03/01/on-the-advantages-and-disadvantages-of-height/ Fashion, Culture, and Martial Arts in Early Modern England Sun, 22 Jan 2012 00:44:17 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Wistric http://elizabethanmafia.com/blog/2010/03/01/on-the-advantages-and-disadvantages-of-height/comment-page-1/#comment-188 Wistric Mon, 08 Mar 2010 17:24:34 +0000 http://elizabethanmafia.com/blog/?p=488#comment-188 In talking with Letia last week, this came up tangentially to our other conversations. Certainly, short fighters have an advantage in close range, but they often have difficulty getting there (as a tall-ish fighter, if somebody short tries to close range on me and I don't like it, I take a big step back and regain the range I'd lost). It took me a while to figure out a sound approach to closing with Tall Joe that didn't get me killed as he stepped back ten feet and thrust at my face. What I found worked on him, and what I advised Letia, was to not rely on low guards so much. Fighting Letia when she holds her sword in low ward, I have access to her entire body, and it doesn't impede much. When she raises it up to a broad ward, though, it starts to give me trouble working around it and opens the opportunity for her to close on me when she can catch me in the middle of another action. If she doesn't catch me in the middle of another action, I can bail backwards or attempt a disengage and stopthrust, so it has to be a mesotempo attack. In talking with Letia last week, this came up tangentially to our other conversations. Certainly, short fighters have an advantage in close range, but they often have difficulty getting there (as a tall-ish fighter, if somebody short tries to close range on me and I don’t like it, I take a big step back and regain the range I’d lost). It took me a while to figure out a sound approach to closing with Tall Joe that didn’t get me killed as he stepped back ten feet and thrust at my face.
What I found worked on him, and what I advised Letia, was to not rely on low guards so much. Fighting Letia when she holds her sword in low ward, I have access to her entire body, and it doesn’t impede much. When she raises it up to a broad ward, though, it starts to give me trouble working around it and opens the opportunity for her to close on me when she can catch me in the middle of another action. If she doesn’t catch me in the middle of another action, I can bail backwards or attempt a disengage and stopthrust, so it has to be a mesotempo attack.

]]> By: Alison http://elizabethanmafia.com/blog/2010/03/01/on-the-advantages-and-disadvantages-of-height/comment-page-1/#comment-187 Alison Mon, 01 Mar 2010 20:49:47 +0000 http://elizabethanmafia.com/blog/?p=488#comment-187 I agree and I think that's a lot of the reason taller fighters may have more initial success but often recieve an unpleasant awakening as they begin to fight more experienced fighters. The shorter fighters have already had to learn a lot more about range and engagement while the taller fighters were able to get by relying on their height. When the taller fighters find they can't always rely on it often they also find that they are now behind the shorter fighters with respect to their knowlege of range, distance, and closure. Thanks for the note about La Gerusalemme liberata. I think I will look that up. :) I agree and I think that’s a lot of the reason taller fighters may have more initial success but often recieve an unpleasant awakening as they begin to fight more experienced fighters. The shorter fighters have already had to learn a lot more about range and engagement while the taller fighters were able to get by relying on their height. When the taller fighters find they can’t always rely on it often they also find that they are now behind the shorter fighters with respect to their knowlege of range, distance, and closure.

Thanks for the note about La Gerusalemme liberata. I think I will look that up. :)

]]> By: David Twynham http://elizabethanmafia.com/blog/2010/03/01/on-the-advantages-and-disadvantages-of-height/comment-page-1/#comment-186 David Twynham Mon, 01 Mar 2010 19:46:08 +0000 http://elizabethanmafia.com/blog/?p=488#comment-186 Here's my take as a not-so-tall fencer. Concepts of engagement and closure are important for all fencers, but they are even more important for short fencers. A short fencer can not afford to close distance without having control of the opponents blade. A tall fencer can rely on their greater reach to hit the opponent long before they are in danger of being hit. It seems to me that a lot of taller fencers that I know have had more initial success in competing because of this. However, once they begin to fence other experienced fencers they either start to lose, or learn to adapt their game. Some of the tall people that I fence rely on absence of blade to keep me from finding their sword (which forces me to rely more on counter-time actions as well as better timing). My wife was actually reading about an fight in the poem La Gerusalemme liberata from 1581 in which a taller fencer is holding the point of his blade up in front of his face in order to avoid his opponent's attempts to find his blade. I don't remember the rest of it, but I think half swording and grappling ensue, and then someone getting stabbed :) Here’s my take as a not-so-tall fencer. Concepts of engagement and closure are important for all fencers, but they are even more important for short fencers. A short fencer can not afford to close distance without having control of the opponents blade. A tall fencer can rely on their greater reach to hit the opponent long before they are in danger of being hit.

It seems to me that a lot of taller fencers that I know have had more initial success in competing because of this. However, once they begin to fence other experienced fencers they either start to lose, or learn to adapt their game. Some of the tall people that I fence rely on absence of blade to keep me from finding their sword (which forces me to rely more on counter-time actions as well as better timing).

My wife was actually reading about an fight in the poem La Gerusalemme liberata from 1581 in which a taller fencer is holding the point of his blade up in front of his face in order to avoid his opponent’s attempts to find his blade. I don’t remember the rest of it, but I think half swording and grappling ensue, and then someone getting stabbed :)

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