Falling with your Sword
I want to talk about swords, wrestling, and falling down.
Medieval and Renaissance swordsmanship included techniques to wrestle and throw opponents. The modern HEMA movement often points to the inclusion of such techniques as one of many factors distinguishing HEMA competition from modern sport fencing. However, there are people who express concern about the safety of wrestling with swords, and in fairness, there have been a few serious injuries resulting from wrestling in longsword competition. Some of those injuries can be attributed to the fact that there are no weight classes in longsword tournaments. There also seems to be some concern about people falling on their swords.
In my opinion, most injuries that occur when competitors wrestle at the sword are due to people not training their wrestling with the same diligence as their sword work. It’s understandable. The HEMA community is made up of people who think swords are awesome. Not everyone has figured out that throwing people to the ground is also awesome. People join HEMA to sword fight. It is possible to win a sword fight without wrestling. It is possible to win an exchange with a single cut and never have to parry a blow. Still, it’s prudent to learn to parry a blow and, even if a person has no intention of wrestling, it’s a good idea to learn how to fall.
Regardless of your feelings about wrestling, it is my opinion that there is no excuse (in swordsmanship or in life) for not learning to fall safely. I tell my students: if you are smart and lucky, you may go your whole life without experiencing an unfriendly violent encounter with another person, but sooner or later we all stumble and get into a disagreement with the ground. Knowing how to fall safely is therefore an indispensable element of self-defense.
I was recently in conversation with one of the organizers of Swordsquatch about what constituted good form when falling with a sword in hand. Honestly, while there are specific cases where the sword may complicate matters, I believe the common breakfalls taught in Judo provide a good foundation for swordsmen learning safe falling habits.
So, here’s a quick rundown on breakfalling with some notes for folks who will be falling with a sword in hand.
Seriously, people shouldn’t start thinking about counter throws until they have figured out basic breakfalls and basic throws. On the occasions I have seen fencers fall on top of their swords it hasn’t been due to a clean throw, but a staggering tangled mess where both competitors seemed convinced that a little more enthusiasm would land them on top.
A quick review of injuries to be avoided:
landing on the head or neck
Whiplash
Posting and subsequently spraining the arms
Landing the ribs on the elbow
Scissoring the legs
An aside: There is one other serious injury I’ve seen in wrestling at the sword, but I attribute it more to the technique of the person throwing than an issue of breakfalling, and that’s knee sprains and dislocations due to throws that grapevine the leg. Such throws are depicted in historical wrestling manuals and they can work, but it’s worth noting that they are banned in modern Judo for the sake of knee safety, and they make me nervous.
Slap with the hand that isn’t holding the sword. That’s the main thing really. There are times and techniques that will call for landing on the side that’s holding the sword, but often there will be a moment to chose which hand will be free and, I believe, it will be safer for those still learning to fall if they slap with the hand not holding the sword.
Happy falling.