Edit for clarity, I’m talking about when someone holds their sword in the grip where the blade is pointed along the forearm, instead of the usually grip, where it’s an extension of your arm. I clearly don’t know how much general knowledge people have about swords.
Bit of a rant here. It’s like the smallest of nitpicks. It’s not a big deal. But I also wish people in charge of how swords in media are handled had to just hold a sword for an hour, because it’s immediately obvious how impractical that technique is.
I’ve had a medium amount of sword handling in my life which is probably why it bothers me so much. Minor amount of 16th century swordplay, 4 years of fencing, half a year with Kung Fu sword form. Not an expert, but enough to know how the muscles work. Holding it backwards puts a huge amount of strain on the wrong part of the forearm, forget blocking or deflecting, shorten your effective range by almost the entire of the sword. You might as well just be punching the dude.
Technically you could argue for some amount of reverse grip. Could potentially catch someone off guard, but also they could just stab you. With a short blade an icepick grip is entirely viable. That’s not generally how it’s presented, it’s depicted as a main character style that implies more skill than the usual plebeians.
It just bothers the fuck out of me. I know nobody cares, and I feel like guns are misused much worse in media. But fuck me it’s so annoying every time it comes up.
I have no idea what you’re talking about without a diagram or an example photo.
But I’m also not smart. Maybe other people do.
I’m a mediocre person who finally understood what OP meant about ⅔ of the way through. A picture would have been very helpful.
Yeah that’s on me, I’ll chuck an explanation in the post.
You hold it with the blade running along your forearm, as opposed to the usual grip where it’s more of an extension of your arm.
Thanks for the description. Now it’s clear.
I’m confused. So is it like holding the sword as if doing a thumbs-up, so the blade is perpendicular to the forearm? Or the wrist is bent, so the blade is parallel to the forearm? I know jack squat about swords.
Shit now I’m confused. Wherever one wouldn’t let you point the pointy end at your enemy without twisting your entire body.
How would you hold an ice pick if you wanted to stab some ice really hard? Yeah, that’s how some movie protagonists hold swords in a sword fight. Good for stabbing, bad for defending and pretty useless for defeating your opponent.
How would you hold an axe when copping wood? Yeah, that’s the normal way to hold a sword. That’s how you don’t die within the first 2 seconds.
If you’re holding the sword while doing a thumbs up, the blade is pointing down instead of up. The bottom of the pommel is between your thumb and forefinger and the cross guard is next to your pinky.
Still need a picture.
https://swordis.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/What-is-Reverse-Grip-Sword-cropped.jpg
Is this a good example or bad example?
It is both a bad example of swordsmanship and a good example of OP’s description.
yes
I can’t imagine more than 2 ways to hold it. Hold a sword (or baseball bat, etc), now turn the handle around in your hand so the long end is toward you. That’s it. That’s what OP is referring to.
I just wanted to let you know I got it right away without trying, but I’m also a highly exceptional person, so there’s still no telling. I have nothing more to add.