toleressea

http://www.reddit.com/user/toleressea

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toleressea8 karma

I just read all the way through this - thanks so much for the detailed answers. Here are a few questions of my own:

  • I have studied swordplay, primarily longsword, off and on for the last 5-10 years. The "off" periods usually come about due to a lack of dedicated practice partner who shares my passion for the subject material. Frequently, friends I beg to try it out lose interest when they realize I want to study, and not just hit each other for an hour. What do you recommend as a beginning method to get people started? I need to keep people interested, but I also want to learn very badly.

  • When it comes to studying, can you outline a best practice method for applying some of the historical manuals? I've tried using books such as "Fighting with the German Longsword" by Tobler, but then I've seen people talking about him negatively in other places. I saw you recommend a book further up. Is it better to go straight from the original translated text, or to work from someone's interpretation?

  • How frequently do you recommend practicing? At times when I had sessions twice a week I noticed some real improvement, with once a week barely registering basic maintenance. Life has many demands; how do you best fit it in? How do you keep it up, especially studying so many different styles and weapons?

  • What's your opinion on the best practice weapon? I know people swear by wooden wasters. I have been using hard impact nylon longswords for the last few years, made by the dwarven smithy (hopefully you know who I mean). What are your thoughts on them?

  • (bonus round) Are you familiar with the somewhat recent game, Chivalry: Medieval Warfare? Most of the "loading screens" in the game are actually plates from some of the historical manuals, with captions providing hints about the game. A huge portion of the game is utterly inaccurate, but they do manage to capture the mind game that is sword-fighting, as well as the many different styles of weapon and the matchup it can have.

Thanks for doing this - I've taken quite a break (many months) from fighting lately, and you've inspired me to take an interest again!

toleressea1 karma

Have you done any research on the relationship between personality and a gamer's preferred genre of game? Is there a connection?

Great AMA so far, thanks :)