that's the point of the sword, or any weapon really. Weapons are a force multiplier that works to even the playing field between the strong and the weak. the more advanced the weapon is, the more even the playing field.
You don't need to be very strong to use a sword effectively.
you don't need to be a strongman to use a sword, but it still requires certain strength and endurance to wield it effectively. have you ever actually swing around a sword in "combat"? it's highly exhausting, most sword matches end in 5 minutes or less, usually 3, and do require upper body strength to hold the guards and perform cuts.
a woman will likely win against a man without a sword just by extra reach, but will lose 8/10 times when facing a man with a sword even if they have equal expertise and similar body size. that was the point.
even when you use guns, women will lose on accuracy because most of them have too low upper body strength to steadily hold the weapon or handle the kickback. force multiplier doesn't matter much if the other side also has the same weapon but is naturally advantaged in physical strength, endurance and spatial reasoning. it only works at point blank range and the other side was caught by surprise. within 21 feet, a determined man with no gun might still be able to grab the gun from a panicking woman.
one can argue even at the high tech level of using remote drones, men will still beat women using the same weapon, just look at esports, women still lose to men even if the activity only involved keyboard and mouse with minimal physical movements.
what's left? pushing a button to fire missiles in a secured bonker?
there's a reason why every competition is separated by sex, it's certainly not to the benefits of men.
have you ever actually swing around a sword in "combat"?
Yes. I fence HEMA, and I have practice cutting with several sharp swords that I own. I also participate in a semi-local LARP group that uses steel weapons. I have also been a judge at a few HEMA events.
When it comes to unarmored fencing, strength is hardly a factor. Once the basic muscles are developed, Endurance and Finesse are the name of the game, even in longsword. Based on my experience, a sword fight will not last long unless two very skilled opponents are fighting each other. A match between two rookies is likely to end in both being severely wounded or dead, and a match between intermediates will be more aggressive and suicidal than a match between experts. 2 to 5 minutes is pretty long for a sword fight.
While it may be true that men on average are stronger than women, the two populations intersect significantly. I have personally met and fenced good bouts with women who are more than capable of holding and swinging a sword, as well as maintaining guards when appropriate, much longer than the average sword fight will last.
I have personally participated in events where women have gone on to beat men who have more years of fencing under their belt. having fenced these woman myself, I can tell you they are good fencers, but they are no more experts than the other men they have faced. yet they easily hold their own.
What are the ratios of women in the sport that can hold their own against men (and then win), from the already small pool of women who are interested in hema? I imagine the number is really small at whichever hema club you are at. They are the exceptions.
Sure there are women who can effectively use sword after training and already fit in general but that hardly matters when they have to face some one a foot taller and 100+ lb heavier wailing on them. Also this is hit based sport match with heavy protections where men will still hold back when fighting against women, if somehow in real life we ended up carrying swords for self defense, people wishing harm against someone wearing a sword will not openly request for duels, the force multiplier is still moot.
doesn't matter if they used their whole body with proper techniques, their entire body is WEAK
that's the point of the sword, or any weapon really. Weapons are a force multiplier that works to even the playing field between the strong and the weak. the more advanced the weapon is, the more even the playing field.
You don't need to be very strong to use a sword effectively.
lol month old zombie thread.
you don't need to be a strongman to use a sword, but it still requires certain strength and endurance to wield it effectively. have you ever actually swing around a sword in "combat"? it's highly exhausting, most sword matches end in 5 minutes or less, usually 3, and do require upper body strength to hold the guards and perform cuts.
a woman will likely win against a man without a sword just by extra reach, but will lose 8/10 times when facing a man with a sword even if they have equal expertise and similar body size. that was the point.
even when you use guns, women will lose on accuracy because most of them have too low upper body strength to steadily hold the weapon or handle the kickback. force multiplier doesn't matter much if the other side also has the same weapon but is naturally advantaged in physical strength, endurance and spatial reasoning. it only works at point blank range and the other side was caught by surprise. within 21 feet, a determined man with no gun might still be able to grab the gun from a panicking woman.
one can argue even at the high tech level of using remote drones, men will still beat women using the same weapon, just look at esports, women still lose to men even if the activity only involved keyboard and mouse with minimal physical movements. what's left? pushing a button to fire missiles in a secured bonker?
there's a reason why every competition is separated by sex, it's certainly not to the benefits of men.
Yes. I fence HEMA, and I have practice cutting with several sharp swords that I own. I also participate in a semi-local LARP group that uses steel weapons. I have also been a judge at a few HEMA events.
When it comes to unarmored fencing, strength is hardly a factor. Once the basic muscles are developed, Endurance and Finesse are the name of the game, even in longsword. Based on my experience, a sword fight will not last long unless two very skilled opponents are fighting each other. A match between two rookies is likely to end in both being severely wounded or dead, and a match between intermediates will be more aggressive and suicidal than a match between experts. 2 to 5 minutes is pretty long for a sword fight.
While it may be true that men on average are stronger than women, the two populations intersect significantly. I have personally met and fenced good bouts with women who are more than capable of holding and swinging a sword, as well as maintaining guards when appropriate, much longer than the average sword fight will last.
I have personally participated in events where women have gone on to beat men who have more years of fencing under their belt. having fenced these woman myself, I can tell you they are good fencers, but they are no more experts than the other men they have faced. yet they easily hold their own.
What are the ratios of women in the sport that can hold their own against men (and then win), from the already small pool of women who are interested in hema? I imagine the number is really small at whichever hema club you are at. They are the exceptions.
Sure there are women who can effectively use sword after training and already fit in general but that hardly matters when they have to face some one a foot taller and 100+ lb heavier wailing on them. Also this is hit based sport match with heavy protections where men will still hold back when fighting against women, if somehow in real life we ended up carrying swords for self defense, people wishing harm against someone wearing a sword will not openly request for duels, the force multiplier is still moot.