Just looking to get some opinions on the matter - in the Dobringer manuscript, he states that you should not pommel the longsword to cut, but rather keep both hands on the handle, inferring that the hands should be close together to make a fast cut. While I agree with the physics of this - the shorter arc traveled by the hands tends to make for a faster cut - is this offset by the lack of power that is made up by swinging from the pommel? I've tried different methods of cutting, and while I seem to get faster cuts with the hands closer together, I feel much stronger in the bind or when I make contact with the hand on the pommel, or at the least at the end of the longsword handle (which is obvious, given the greater leverage offered.)

Now, if Force is equal to the change in velocity over time, then I may very well have faster and even stronger cuts when not pommelling, as the shorter arc travelled allows me to accelerate my point faster. This however, plays havoc with my control.

Opinions? Observations? Rhetoric?

This has been discussed here before (at least a little bit). :) There may be more threads than this one:

http://www.myArmoury.com/talk/viewtopic.php?t=9736