How good could you wield a double bladed saber or 2 sabers in RL?

[sithlordcip]

So many people are playing assasin and marauder, was wondering, if you would have atleast a training doublebladed saber or 2 sabers, how good could you wield them IRL without choping off your limbs?

 

I think 2 sabers are way harder to wield than a doublebladed saber.

[Rhyltran]

So many people are playing assasin and marauder, was wondering, if you would have atleast a training doublebladed saber or 2 sabers, how good could you wield them IRL without choping off your limbs?

 

I think 2 sabers are way harder to wield than a doublebladed saber.

 

The question is irrelevant. Real life is very different than the star wars universe. In Star Wars the Jedi have the force. In real life you'll be hard pressed to learn how to wield two swords correctly let alone two lightsabers. "Dual Wielding" swords wasn't very popular.

[Brimmer]

It's easy to dual wield swords, however It's very difficult to dual wield sword effectively

 

You need a lot of skill / endurance to dual wield since you'll use up a lot more energy than a person using a single blade. Since they will be able to put more force behind each blow, versus your multiple blows at a weaker strength.

 

Kinda silly to dual wield unless you're very skilled, it's vastly easier to use a single blade.

[ObiWanBaikonur]

The only thing that comes to mind for me when I think of dual wielding is the main gauche that was used to parry incoming blows during the swashbuckling days of renaissance Europe!

 

Did anyone historically "dual wield" in real life? (Anyone being a collective here, i.e. Musketeers, Vikings, Samurai, etc.)

[-squiddy-]

The benefit of dual wielding in Kendo might be a good comparison. Even though it is harder to do, it is much more difficult for a single wielding opponent to defend against your attacks, and your bouts end much quicker, in the end saving you energy you expended using two swords.

 

Opponents sometimes don't know what to do and in a lot of cases and just go limp, suffering decision paralysis, when they face dual wielders in bouts. You can sometimes see you have already won before the first blow is struck.

 

Dual wielders IRL like Miyamoto Musashi often fought more than one opponent at a time. Dual wielding helps with crowd control in a way single sword wielding does not accomplish. It is more difficult for a single swordsman to stand against five others without two blades to maintain a threat zone.

 

Having said that though, the number of times I have hit myself in the back of the head with a shinai or bokken, even after 15 years of Kendo and Iaido, I think the likelihood of me dual wielding a light sabre and surviving more than a year or two, would be slim.

[bionamaster]

The only thing that comes to mind for me when I think of dual wielding is the main gauche that was used to parry incoming blows during the swashbuckling days of renaissance Europe!

 

Did anyone historically "dual wield" in real life? (Anyone being a collective here, i.e. Musketeers, Vikings, Samurai, etc.)

 

Well, the Samurai would wield their Katana (their longsword, used for slashing, typically) and their Wakizashi (A shortsword, used for stabbing). But, if they were to wield two Katanas (which I don't think ever historically happened) they would need immense strength in both arms.

[-squiddy-]

Miyamoto Musashi, mentioned earlier, developed a technique called "Niten'ichi" dedicated to dual sword wielding. Most pictures of him show him wielding the shorter Wakizashi, but his writings do mention dual Katana use.

 

A lot of the history written about him has been fictionalised over time so it is hard to say, but his book "The book of Five Rings" explains that the off hand isn't used for much in combat anyway, you may as well have your second sword out. It's been a long time since I've read it, but it's worth a look.

 

In a lot of cases you are using the main hand for attack and the offhand for defence like a sword and shield of European knights. The other cool thing about the second sword though, in one on one combat, is that you can deflect with one and then use the gap you just made to strike the killing blow. You can do this with one sword, but it's faster and less obvious with two.

 

After you spend a few years practicing with two swords the strength and stamina doesn't become an issue. You get more worn out in practice than you ever would in a short bout. In practice I like to mess with my opponents by reversing the grip of one or both shinai, holding them with the tip to the floor and the hilt up.

 

I don't think lightsabers would weigh as much as a katana though either somehow

Edited April 29, 2012 by -squiddy-

[KorinHyvek]

I could be wrong, but I believe the Sai could be dual wielded (although the Sai is actually more of a bludgeoning weapon). Also, some later forms of swordplay used a main gauche, a small dagger in the offhand used for both defense and slipping through an opponent's blocks.

 

As for double bladed sabers... You can use a staff somethign like a double bladed saber might be used, but ultimately most styles go for a more sensible two handed grip that offers greater reach and striking power.

Edited April 29, 2012 by KorinHyvek

[jarjarloves]

the problem with weilding lightsabers in general is the fact that if you touch the blade you lose what ever part touched it.

 

In real life if you mess up and the sword hits you at worst you might get cut or if you hit the flat of the blade then nothing. You accidently touch a light saber you could potentially cut part of your body off.

[-squiddy-]

There are a bunch of non sword dual wielding techniques too from stick fighting, tonfa, nunchucks etc...

 

To me it has always made more sense to have both hands used vs one hand just guiding the main weapon.

 

I get more reach with one handed wielding than with two. The second hand on the hilt actually reduces the reach.

 

I've also seen plenty of people open up their hands and almost sever fingers sheathing their weapon. I've heard of one young lady who was practicing drawing and then resheathing her sword in her room in the dark who put the tip through her hip instead of back in the scabbard.

Edited April 29, 2012 by -squiddy-

[Spartanik]

I could be wrong, but I believe the Sai could be dual wielded (although the Sai is actually more of a bludgeoning weapon). Also, some later forms of swordplay used a main gauche, a small dagger in the offhand used for both defense and slipping through an opponent's blocks.

 

As for double bladed sabers... You can use a staff somethign like a double bladed saber might be used, but ultimately most styles go for a more sensible two handed grip that offers greater reach and striking power.

well if you compare or use a double bladed saber as a spear, then it would be the most popular weapon used by mankind since the danw of men. The spear. Much more so then a sword.

[jarjarloves]

well if you compare or use a double bladed saber as a spear, then it would be the most popular weapon used by mankind since the danw of men. The spear. Much more so then a sword.

 

yeah but a spear is for piercing targets a light saber is more for slashing as it can slice through pretty much anything with little resitance.

 

Really a sword fight with a light saber would be completley different then the way we fight with swords espcially since there is no need to worry about breaking your sword

[-squiddy-]

The double bladed lightsaber I would probably equate to the bo staff in modern martial arts. Although the chinese do have a double bladed sword staff. I'll shut up now... Edited April 29, 2012 by -squiddy-

[ObiWanBaikonur]

I've heard of one young lady who was practicing drawing and then resheathing her sword in her room in the dark who put the tip through her hip instead of back in the scabbard.

 

Oh my god that's awful! But also, in the dark? Really? I am reluctant to even put my shoes on in the dark because I'm afraid I'll stab myself in the hip. This seems like an easily foreseeable accident.

[ProfessorWalsh]

There are forms of dual weapon combat in real life. I did Amtgard and the SCA for around a decade and a half and my preferred style (in Amtgard, SCA it was pure Sword and Board) was dual weapons. While I primarily focused on "daggers" (that is weapons constructed to the length of just under the minimum for a short sword) in combat as a Healer I also knew how to use two full length swords.

 

First of all, you don't make large sweeping strikes usually, though with a lightsaber things would work far differently. Usually I used the off-hand weapon to parry and the main weapon to strike. There are things that (contrary to some poster's beliefs) are simply easier to do with two weapons than with one and rarely the other way around. The main issue with using two blades is that one has to develop a passable amount of ambidexterity.

 

Without that ambidexterity, without the proper practice and training, without the right control trying to use two weapons can quickly put you at a disadvantage.

 

Now as for a double bladed lightsaber... No. Those weapons are stupid and would never be used by anyone ever.

[kiddeth]

The question is irrelevant. Real life is very different than the star wars universe. In Star Wars the Jedi have the force. In real life you'll be hard pressed to learn how to wield two swords correctly let alone two lightsabers. "Dual Wielding" swords wasn't very popular.

 

The question isn't as irrelevant as you think. There are a great many people that can use two swords at the same time. The difficulty increases though when the swords reach a certain length, or so I have been told buy people that have done so. In the 30+ years that I have been practicing the sword I have never tried so I could not tell you how hard it would be from personal experience.

 

as for "light sabers" Personally I think it would be really weird to try and use one as the blade has no weight and that could create a balance issue.

[master_endymion]

In the Philippines, there is a Martial Art called "Arnis" which lets you dual wield two wooden sticks. Just sharin'

[Lincaserus]

In the Philippines, there is a Martial Art called "Arnis" which lets you dual wield two wooden sticks. Just sharin'

 

is that in Rambo?

[-squiddy-]

Oh my god that's awful! But also, in the dark? Really? I am reluctant to even put my shoes on in the dark because I'm afraid I'll stab myself in the hip. This seems like an easily foreseeable accident.

 

Was posted in an Iaido forum I read a while back. She was doing it in the dark so she was not tempted to look at the saya/scabbard. Pretty much went right through and out the other side without doing any major damage to any arteries, kidney etc.

[Rhyltran]

The benefit of dual wielding in Kendo might be a good comparison. Even though it is harder to do, it is much more difficult for a single wielding opponent to defend against your attacks, and your bouts end much quicker, in the end saving you energy you expended using two swords.

 

Opponents sometimes don't know what to do and in a lot of cases and just go limp, suffering decision paralysis, when they face dual wielders in bouts. You can sometimes see you have already won before the first blow is struck.

 

Dual wielders IRL like Miyamoto Musashi often fought more than one opponent at a time. Dual wielding helps with crowd control in a way single sword wielding does not accomplish. It is more difficult for a single swordsman to stand against five others without two blades to maintain a threat zone.

 

Having said that though, the number of times I have hit myself in the back of the head with a shinai or bokken, even after 15 years of Kendo and Iaido, I think the likelihood of me dual wielding a light sabre and surviving more than a year or two, would be slim.

 

Actually, Musashi used a single sword in all of his major duels. Also "reverse gripping" a shinai wouldn't work properly with a real Katana. You wouldn't be able to cut effectively that way.

Edited April 30, 2012 by Rhyltran

[-squiddy-]

Actually, Musashi used a single sword in all of his major duels. Also "reverse gripping" a shinai wouldn't work properly with a real Katana. You wouldn't be able to cut effectively that way.

 

True, but he did discuss the technique and did use it in some of his fights against multiple opponents. I’m not saying that he was always dual wielding, but he did advocate it at a time when it was not common to do so.

 

He spent most of his early life wandering and perfecting his method against people who claimed to be masters of their technique to try improve and develop his own style. The dual wielding technique was what he wrote about.

 

His last fight was a single wooden sword against an opponent wielding a longer style of sword. I mean its all on the wiki...

 

I use the 'underhand' technique quite effectively, but it does have its drawbacks. For the most part when you reverse the shinai it then only becomes useful as a 'shield'. In Kendo you then can't use it to make a scoring attack, but I would never do that in a competition anyway.

 

The other issue is that the way you strike with the sword means that you can not hold the hilt the way you should and it is open to disarming attacks. I can strike quite effectively with the underhand technique, I am sure that with a real katana, it would cut just as well

[MORTTUUM]

It's easy to dual wield swords, however It's very difficult to dual wield sword effectively

 

You need a lot of skill / endurance to dual wield since you'll use up a lot more energy than a person using a single blade. Since they will be able to put more force behind each blow, versus your multiple blows at a weaker strength.

 

Kinda silly to dual wield unless you're very skilled, it's vastly easier to use a single blade.

 

Having done Live Steel combat IRL, I can say, from personal experience, that this is partially true, but very dependent on a number of factors.

 

1) It's not "easy" to dual weild, at least not if you plan to use the off-hand weapon for attacking rather than strictly for defense.

2) Power is less important than speed and accuracy; it's incredibley difficult to beat someone with a Rapier and shield (or main Gouche) while wielding a Claymore. You get one swing, and if they block that strike, you're hosed (gutted) by the speed of the other guy.

3)Conversely, I never lost a duel while using my 1100s hand-and-a-half, becuase, more than anything else, it was fast; 16" hilt, hands max distance apart, treat it like a hockey stick; not a lot of power, but fast enough to snap it around even a fast opponent's defese, because nobody expects that long a blade top be that fast.

 

How all that applies to a lightSabre, which presumably has a weightless blade... honestly, nobody knows.

[-squiddy-]

How all that applies to a lightSabre, which presumably has a weightless blade... honestly, nobody knows.

 

Sure there is. We could all meet up is park in Austin and go at each other with our respective dual styles. The survivors can explain to the media how Star Wars made us do it. It would be a great publicity boost for the game and would surely bring a flood of new players.

 

Just like that "magic missile" viral video did for Dungeons and Dragons

[MORTTUUM]

Sure there is. We could all meet up is park in Austin and go at each other with our respective dual styles. The survivors can explain to the media how Star Wars made us do it. It would be a great publicity boost for the game and would surely bring a flood of new players.

 

Just like that "magic missile" viral video did for Dungeons and Dragons

 

I'D be up for it ! LOL, but the key is "wheightless" Even foils have a noticeable amout of wheigh/inertia to them after a couple minutes...

[Rhyltran]

True, but he did discuss the technique and did use it in some of his fights against multiple opponents. I’m not saying that he was always dual wielding, but he did advocate it at a time when it was not common to do so.

 

He spent most of his early life wandering and perfecting his method against people who claimed to be masters of their technique to try improve and develop his own style. The dual wielding technique was what he wrote about.

 

His last fight was a single wooden sword against an opponent wielding a longer style of sword. I mean its all on the wiki...

 

I use the 'underhand' technique quite effectively, but it does have its drawbacks. For the most part when you reverse the shinai it then only becomes useful as a 'shield'. In Kendo you then can't use it to make a scoring attack, but I would never do that in a competition anyway.

 

The other issue is that the way you strike with the sword means that you can not hold the hilt the way you should and it is open to disarming attacks. I can strike quite effectively with the underhand technique, I am sure that with a real katana, it would cut just as well

 

A shinai doesn't weigh the same as a real Katana. Also if you haven't done any serious cutting.. it's different than many people think. Cutting a target properly requires technique. Cutting multiple targets even more so. Most cutting targets, while trying to simulate the real thing as close as possible, still don't really come close. Cutting through muscle and bone is a different animal altogether.

 

If you're technique isn't good enough to do lethal damage. There's a good chance your opponent is going to kill you. Your cutting technique, in a real duel, is very important.