The Top 10 Cinematic Sword Fights

Yeah,

I had a feeling this would bring all the sword-geeks to the yard.

You guys and gals are the best for hanging around and posting your favorites.

So,

VictorVonDoom,

Again, it was a real struggle not to include that one.

So, here it is.

The Sword Fight That Never Was

Raiders of The Lost Ark. Indiana Jones Vs Confused Local.

Raiders of The Lost Ark

You know, I have to agree; it's one of the most satisfying sword fights ever. I love the look on Indy's face.

Ran into this vid on youtube, has a whole bunch of clips from different movies all strung in there with a killer beat. I was also going to put up the black knight scene from monthy python, but I see KilgoreTrout beat me to it. First time I seen that movie I was spilling my drink at that scene and pretty much most of the movie. The cinematic sword fights are cool and all, but if you ever by some chance find yourself in a sword fight, try not to do what they show in the movies as its likely to get you killed. Usually your supposed to aim for the other guys head or body or even there arm but never his sword, more importantly and same goes with firearms your supposed to aim at were there going to be, not were there at. Its like swordfighting 101. Anyways cool thread.

reply to post by galadofwarthethird


That was a very cool montage and I am so glad you like the thread, man.

I really loved that Zatoichi remake, the actor that plays him really made Z seem like a terrifying monster when he goes in to action and the way he sort of leans in to his cuts makes the whole thing seem so believable.

So, I was hoping for a reason to post this, I found it while putting the thread together and I really like the video.

I am going to say that what I like most about the video is watching their foot work change as they try and close the gap. I am a little mystified from the waist up, but I am pretty well acquainted with what seems to be a universality of movement from the waist down as these two jockey for enough purchase to do damage.

I am really intrigued that the Japanese guy goes in with the front leg fully posted, and the Western guy doesn't post the leg until he has to, and when he does he seems to recover the angle faster than the Japanese guy.

Trippy.

Inigo Montoya and Prince Humperdinck, The Princess Bride.

My name is Inigo Montoya. You kill my father. Prepare to die.

reply to post by Xoanon

The fencing guy would have to be fighting backwards in a counter attack style the whole time, which is what the dude in the vid did, in fact from what I seen I do not think he went on the attack once. He has the advantage of having a way lighter sword, the rapier is much more faster and you can do many more quick attacks with it, but more importantly you can withdraw you attacks much faster or lead into a different attack.

Were as the katana is a weapon were you would have to commit to your attacks you can not withdraw so easily once you attack, and if you do so while attacking you will be much more vulnerable then if you were fighting with a lighter sword such as a rapier. Fencing and the rapier Is a bleed you and confuse you type of weapon and style, it has to avoid misdirect and confuse the opponent, the first mistake the katana guy did is in constantly always being on the attack against that, its much easier to fight backwards and catch a guy then it is to go on the offense basically whoever goes on the offense first always leaves himself open, and against a rapier and fencer its basically what they want you to do, especially against somebody who is for all practicality a counter fighter which is what fencing is mostly about.

If the guy with the fencing sword would attack first he would put himself at a disadvantage constantly, if anything the kendo dude should of just annoyed him by doing absolutely nothing and forcing him to go first, Once the fencer goes forward to attack his stance is limited and he cant do half the things he would do if he was fighting in his circle or if he was going backwards.

At which point one I would say to the katana guy don't go for cutting attacks and instead just tangle his sword up with yours because the fencing guy is looking to misdirect him anyways so he is looking to cross swords and lead his sword away anyways, and seeing that he has a way longer reach because of his one handed jab or lunge style then the two handed guy, it would be best if he then force yourself withing his range full body face to face type of thing that or impale him as he comes forward and you deflect his attack, or you can try to stabbing attacks as either way if you attack you will have to commit to it, and swinging cutting attacks will leave you much more open to somebody who is way quicker and lighter and seeing as you have a way heavier sword and much more control of it with two hands you can literally push through his defense if he tries to misdirect you.

But you know the fencing dude wont come forward, so I think the dude should of just aim first to attack the lead hand of the fencing guy during there exchanges, nothing that uses full movements just you know something to disable him or even just to cut him, really it does not take all that much to mess up your hand or arm once there is even a little cut on it. And once his hand or arm is damaged its pretty much over for him as it would take his biggest advantage away his speed and quickness and then eventually you would catch him if you keep probing and not being to attack happy. But hey who knows, in most real sword fights you have a loser who ends up dead, and then you have the winner who goes home and then dies latter from cuts and damages or even the fever that is brought on by healing up from any minor cuts.

That is why most samurais either went all the way and they fought in spurts which lasted seconds and were aimed at making a killing blow even at the expense of suffering lesser blows yourself, when they had there armor on it was a bit different but the same concept applied. The kendo guy is trying to fence a fencer with a weapon that really not fully meant for that, which is really the wrong way to go about it. You can do it but, what would be the point of it. Cool vid anyways, makes me want to take out my sword and swing at stuff, but you know I like my furniture. I have a bokken the wooden swords around somewhere I think, but even that thing is dangerous, its much more harder then a bat and can cause some serious damage, and its not something you can mess around with. I need to get me one of them foam swords or the padding there wearing, and find me a sucker to play around with. It looks like fun.

reply to post by galadofwarthethird

reply to post by Eidolon23

The sad thing is that baring number 3 and 6 as there really not practical all those moves will likely work as well as any, if one can make them work that is, number 4 is kind of a no brainier. I used to take karate class years and years ago, did not take it for long as my family moved around a lot. But I was there for months, and in the same building they had the class in they also had a kendo class. Sometimes I stayed back and watched them a bit, but there used to be this girl in the class. Or actually she was not a girl as even then I think she was more then 10 years older them me so I suppose that would make her a woman. Anyways they usually did there drills or sword kata, and sometimes they did it with real swords. I remember watching her doing Kata or just swinging her sword around and going wow that is one sexy dam sword she has, I kid you not that blade was real fine and must of cost her a small fortune. Oh and she wasn't bad looking herself, but anyways...What I am trying to say is, swords are cool.

Here E23 found this on one of the links the other 47 Xoanon posted, you know the vid were kendo guy and the fencing dude went at it, if you look at the slow motion they usually both get hit, and technically the one who makes the cleanest hit, or the killing hit, or even who makes contact first gets the point, the point being the cleanest hit likely to result in a kill. As you can see Its rare that one would escape from a sword fight against another who knew what they were doing without any harm, and if you can do that you got a lot of skill or you were dam lucky, but doing it consecutively is a whole nother thing. I was always amazed by people who can do that. And then there are dudes like musashi who more then once fought against and won and even killed other trained samurai using a wooden sword vs a real sword, you got to have a whole dam lot of crazy confidence to even attempt it, much less attempt it more then once just to prove a point that you can, as to how you kill a dude with a wooden sword, well I don't think you want to know. But even musashi lost once I think, the dude he lost against spared his life, because the first time they fought musashi spared his life, so I suppose that made them even, unless it was a best out of three type of situation, in that case you can assume who won the last fight.

Tyrone Power in "The Mark of Zorro".

These guys, came across this vid not long ago, they even seem to be doing there thing with real swords as you can see the sparks fly when they go at it, if there sharp? I doubt it. They seem to be some sort of cossacks arts performers, and seem to be pretty good at what they do, ad a camera, some lights, the right angles, and there stuff is cinematic movie worthy.

was surprised to see the Die Another Day one in there..... totally forgot about that one.

Hey,

So I know I was sayin' that I thought that this thread might bring all the 'Sword Geeks' to the yard.

I forgot to add, I like sword(ies), don't get me wrong, girls, but I am actually a Spear and Polearm Geek...



But swords are cute.

reply to post by Xoanon


Interesting, I had a really cool dream about swords last night...not to get the Freudians overly excited, it wasn't just about swords, but I had to make a choice from a wide selection. I chose a rather fetching Falchion. I was very disappointed upon waking to note it's absence I am thinking I should take it as a sign and acquire one immediately forthwith.

Anyway, speaking of Freud, I'm sure he'd have plenty to say about your clearly over-compensatory choice of weapon

reply to post by KilgoreTrout


Oh my god!

I didn't think of it until I read my post again and then read your post.

You got me.

Ah, well. It was what I always thought to be merely a technical choice, but now I don't know.

You know, the Naginata from Japan is considered a woman's weapon. So I'm not all bad. But now i have to sort of eat that 'girl' comment I made.

Thanks a lot.

reply to post by Xoanon


My pleasure

I'm not sure the Naginata would suit me, all very well against an opponent of equal size and strength...and with rules to govern the 'play'...but without those things, someone of my size and build would be easily overwhelmed using such a long weapon. No. I'll stick to a Falchion...sometimes less is most definately more

reply to post by KilgoreTrout

I chose a rather fetching Falchion. I was very disappointed upon waking to note it's absence I am thinking I should take it as a sign and acquire one immediately forthwith.

Oh ya KilgoreTrout you should definitely get a Falchion then you should take some pictures of yourself with your new awesome sword and post it here...No, for real.

But don't now much about falchions, they are practically machete like in size and build, mostly used for slashing and cutting, and due to there size which is pretty small it would probably suit a smaller person. Some Naginatas like Xoanon said can be pretty clumsy, and if you do not have the space or somebody gets in close there practically useless, and for a polearm type weapon they can get pretty heavy, its not something you would be able to carry around or wield without effort or lots of practice, even though they are simple and pretty effective in there use, and from a distance if you can keep your opponent at a distance then and as a long rage weapon they would have the advantage.

That or you can always get a rapier, its something that anybody can use regardless of strength or size, its more of a straight technique weapon. But like I said if you cant afford a falchion you can always get its cheep cousin a machete, its also very helpful around the house or yard in trimming those overgrown bushes or weeds.

reply to post by galadofwarthethird


I had a good think about this as I was systematically massacring a gathering of laundry that had formed in the corner of my living room and was beginning to encroach upon a main transit route. A character in one of the books I am reading makes a similar choice and chooses a Falchion. The arsenal itself was similar to displays at the Royal Armouries in Leeds, where I am a frequent visitor. Just messengers, not the message. Had to dig deeper with that. In short, really good dream but I don't think I will be getting a sword, but I will continue to read about them . So no, no photo (not that that was ever, even remotely, a possibility).

So yeah, as it turns out, having pondered on it, and ironed out the creases, the dream was almost definately about penises after all...

reply to post by KilgoreTrout


That had me laughin out load for ages!!!

I wont look at my katana the same way again!!

reply to post by KilgoreTrout

You know looked at the royal armories place you were talking about on the net, they seem to have a bunch of stuff even seen a picture of a life like full armored samurai on a horse, one even of an armored elephant, and also a bunch of bucket heads. Even a bunch of ww1 guns the anti aircraft type. Really does look like a cool place to visit.

Just messengers, not the message. Had to dig deeper with that. In short, really good dream but I don't think I will be getting a sword, but I will continue to read about them . So no, no photo (not that that was ever, even remotely, a possibility).

Oh no you should definitely get a sword, and when you do Pictures plz.

But I'll tell you what, even though I'm a sword nut I only have like 1 sword in my collection, its nothing all that fancy but its functional, and it definitely can turn things into mince meat, in fact have not taken it out for a while its in my closet gathering dust. I don't have the $$ for any of the other ones that I would have wanted to get, and believe me some of them are really pricey.

In fact I at one point wanted to make swords or try my hand at blacksmith. No joke this was back years ago when I was in high school. I think I watched to many movies and my fascination with swords hit hard, but after that mellowed out I wanted to make some. So I bought all the material required to make one or at least try my hand at making a knife or something smaller, even bought some books on forging and blacksmithing. So ya, I got myself an anvil at the scrap yard and a bunch of scrap metal, then I got a little propane forge online, then I bought and foraged a bunch of forging tongs and hammers, even got whetstones for sharpening and polishing. Then I bought a bunch of firebricks, and was thinking of making a hole in my parents backyard and making a little forge, but that did not go well with them when they found me digging a hole, and they even have some sort of rule about noise and smoke in the place were we used to live. Go figure.

So in there back yard they had a little shed were they kept shovels and other things it was big enough to walk into and move around a bit, but it did not have much space it was long enough to put things in, but narrow. So I cleaned it out then I set up the firebricks around the whole inside area because, well you know the thing was made of wood, then I set up my little propane forge there, and all the tools. And well one day I set to trying to heat up a piece of metal I got from the scrap yard, to try my hand at making a knife, was even reading a book I bought on the subject. But sorry to say my blacksmithing like pretty much everything else in my life did not take off, I remember while I was doing that and trying to heat up the scrap metal for it to be malleable my little forge sucked, no really it took like forever to even get it anywhere near the right glow, so I left it there for a few minutes while I took off somewhere.

And when I came back, the propane forge had these two rubber tubes that were hooked to the forge, I did not notice it at first but one of them slipped and fell. But when I got back after a few minutes I looked behind it and one of the rubber tubes was touching the corner of the forge, and not only that it was almost melted through. So I turned the thing off with the quickness, who knows what would of happened if I did not catch it. Most likely some sort of BOOM, last I heard propane gas leaking and fire do not mix well in an small enclosed room. And so ended my little attempt at being a blacksmith. I think I still have some of the stuff like the tongs, the little forge and the anvil in the garage somewhere.

So ya swords teach you about a bunch of stuff, even about how to now blow yourself up. It was educational at least, and who knows maybe one day I will try again when I have the space and the righ materials...Or not, who knows.

So yeah, as it turns out, having pondered on it, and ironed out the creases, the dream was almost definitely about penises after all...

You know and this may come as a shocker, but I don't actually like read stuff, most times. Sorry but I did not catch the part were you had a dream about swords...Or maybe I did and forgot it. But anyways, I do believe those are called morning dreams, and everybody has them....You know Confucius say man who go to sleep with hand in pocket wake up feeling cocky. Confucius also say other similar things about woman, but that may not be for this thread...Also I forgot the quote.

Face The Queen of Battle

You have to hand it to these dudes...



No regard for their poor fingers at all...

Originally posted by galadofwarthethird
You know looked at the royal armories place you were talking about on the net, they seem to have a bunch of stuff even seen a picture of a life like full armored samurai on a horse, one even of an armored elephant, and also a bunch of bucket heads. Even a bunch of ww1 guns the anti aircraft type. Really does look like a cool place to visit.

It is a great place to visit...and free too...so smiles all round

And indeed they do have an armoured elephant...I even have the photos to prove it...





And armour for horses...



Battle wear from all around the world...







As well as lots of weapons...



Some of my favourites...







They even have some of the weapons-on-broomsticks that Xoanon likes so much...



Best sword by far though is this Nepalese Kora...



Check out the detail...all Kora's have an eye etched into them...but this one is quite unusual...just the iris...




So, there you go, lots of pics, all taken by me...and if you study them very, very carefully you won't see me reflected anywhere, not even naked