Sam N. wrote: |
Oh yeah, also, I heard that reports from battlesites indicate that leg wounds were very common. Does anyone know more? I think it might be relevant to the leg-targeting debate. |
There is this diagram indicating some of the wounds found on corpses from Visby:
[ Linked Image ]
So yes the lower leg was hit frequently. However it does not say much about the level of the fighters or what technique or weapon made the wounds...
I have something to bring to the debate of sword vs. polearms, that could maybe give some food for thoughts. I am studying kenjutsu from the Katori Shinto Ryu school. I can't claim being expert or anything (merely 1 Dan). The basic paired katas are teacher vs. student. The teacher always uses the sword. The student uses various weapons: sword of course, but also bo (long staff) and naginata (akin to the western glaive). I know 2 katas for naginata and 4 for bo.
Obviously they are designed so that the teacher is not utterly overwhelmed, but they are also made to teach the use of the other weapon in an efficient way... They generally go on like this:
- teacher launches an out of reach attack, forcing the student to react
- student reacts, counters, and multiple exchanges ensue.
There are general principles that can be drawn. The polearm wielder avoids staying in binds for too long, because at one point the sword snaps out of it faster than the polearm can defend. All the more true for the staff, probably because of the lack of blade... And, there are no hits to the lower leg. Knee hits are present, tighs get cut, but not so much shin. Except in very specific situations, for example when the student is kneeling after he has made a strong attack to the head or body.
For the naginata it might be explained by the specific grip used, that does not make full use of reach (we grip it in the middle), but allows the use of the butt-end. But the bo could very well use hits to the shin and does not (we use an asymetric grip, with one hand at the extremity).
So I don't know. I don't have the reason behind these katas, why the moves are such. But it could very well be that we are missing something obvious about the lethality of the lower leg wound, or the practicality of the move against a trained opponent with real weapons...
What would happen to the lower-leg strike, in your experience Sam, if the swordman (shield or not) merely advances with the blade lowered to protect the legs? Do you think the initial strike still works?