I keep hearing that dual wielding two isn't a good idea in real life, even though Miyamoto Musashi and everyone who trains Escrima seems to disagree.

I can sort of see why it was never popular from a historical viewpoint (since carrying two swords around makes you look kinda stupid) and I can also sort of see why using a sword and shield combo would be more practical in most cases. However, if one guy has only a single sword and the other has two, I really can't see anything but advantages to the akimbo guy.

Thoughts on this?

Compared to the single sword, the sword and dagger is better, since it enables you to defend and attack at the same time, and protects against grappling.

Two full size swords, however, would not be all that practical. The blades would simply end up in the way of each other, and you would not get the short range efficiency of the dagger.

Sword and buckler protects the hands and lower arms, effectively buying the user 30cm of extra reach over someone without hand protection. A two weapon fighter would thus end up being hit in the hands or in the head when he tries to close.

Also, to attack with an alternate weapon, you need to turn your body to deliver the hit. For instance, if you are facing a single sword foe that leads with his sword side, and you lead with the dagger, you will need to make a full step to strike him with the sword, then another to follow up with the dagger, a Time your opponent might use to disengage or counterattack.

Escrima is also originally a battlefield art ( duelling is merely a training method) and usually only a single stick is used, the off hand is used for grappling, disarming etc.

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Um... Eskrima is NOT a dueling art!!! It, more then any martial art I know of, makes a huge deal of where "the other guys" are. Eskrima was a combat art and never believe otherwise!!! I take a form of Eskrima with an inviable level of heritage. Battle is a huge topic in the system! I can't stress this enough, Eskrima is an art-of-combat, not dueling!!!!!!!!!!!!!! There is actually very little two-weapon wilding in eskrima but all the styles have it as an option. Sinawali eskrima uses two short-swords/sticks, and Espada y daga is a short-sword/stick and knife style. Other then my system contains 7 individual styles and those were the only two-weapon wilding styles in the system, and they are not part of the "three core styles of Inayan Eskrima".

jake, I respectfully disagree.

Escrima focuses on one on one combat making it invariably a dueling art. Battlefields never were 1 on 1 events (well I shoudln't say never...how about "rarely") and learning only combat that teaches you how to defend against a single opponent is not as effective, in my opinion, as larger combat training. Escrima is nothing more than two men with specialized weapons fighting one another. That doesn't make it useless, but it certainly doesn't make it a recreation of true warfare any more than olympic fencing would.

Just my opinion, take it as you would.

I'm not an escrima person, but I know people who are. While they do practice mostly one on one, they all regularly practice versus multiple opponents too. From listening to them, I get the sense that the context for the multiple opponent work is street fighting, which is either one person fighting multiple opponents, or several people vs multiple opponents (equal or unequal numbers).

The Samurai were one on one fighters, ie they were the run down and kill them all types until the Kublai Khan in 1274 showed them that error.

Eric, thank you for pointing that out, my mistake.

Addressing the original post, within my own experience studying (although not a good student I will admit) use of the Chinese Jian, I was surprised at the variety of cuts and slices that accompanied many of the moves. Almost every thrust and chop (I don't know the Chinese words for the move, but it's most close to a chopping move) is finished out with a slicing motion as the sword is withdrawn. Because of the reach involved, the empty hand is moved opposite the body to balance the move.
Were someone to try this with two swords against someone with a single jian, I see a high likelihood of them getting one of their wrists sliced.

To better describe the slice, it is a slice like carving a turkey or ham... designed to pull the blade across an arm or wrist and let the edge do its work.

It is hard enough for me to keep the one wrist with blade from getting whacked, let alone worry about a second blade and limb!

Hello again Anders.

Anders Backlund wrote:

Maybe I wasn't clear. I'm not saying I think using two swords is automatically better then using one. I'm saying I don't think that using two swords is automatically worse.

That sounds OK to me. Personally I'd expect that without specific training done by an already accomplished swordsman, trying to use two swords could easily backfire. But that's just my less-than-concretely-based opinion. :)

Anders Backlund wrote:

True, but it is also slang for wielding two weapons at once. It's usually used about guns, though. (Guns Akimbo being the habit of carrying one gun on each hip.)

Ah, thanks for the info; I wondered if perhaps there was a martial aspect that I was ignorant of, which would definitely be true if the term was used for firearms.
-GLL