How to fight with GIANT SWORDS

In this episode of Functional Fandom we explore how you would fight with GIANT SWORDS!!
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[kycholek]

It was too big to be called a sword... Massive, thick, heavy, and far too rough. Indeed, it was like a heap of raw iron.

[andymcdermott]

The dizziness issue would be pretty easily dealt with via training similar to what ballerinas and figure skaters go through.

[ReignFox]

In this video, Shad discovers Guts' fighting style

[DoctorDucky]

20 minutes of a full grown Shad playing with a giant wooden sword. I love it.

[arture.]

I think in order to counteract the dizziness from the spin you could do the technique ballerinas use and focus your head on one point while spinning. Say, you lock your head towards an object (like a door) and hold it for so long until you have to spin your head and then rinse and repeat. It's rather tricky to pull off and requires practice, but when it works it works.

[Ryadalyl]

I continually marvel at the fact there is such a person on Youtube.
Until I really think about it and am just happy there is such a man on Youtube.

[helldrake]

I think this video is less "how to fight with giant swords" and more so "watching Shad visibly turning into a mashed tomato in real time". 😂

[NMGSGaming]

Guts actually does incorporate a lot of off the shoulder slashes in his fighting style, pretty sure I have even seen him half sword, makes me wonder if Kentaro Miura actually experimented with a prop. Interesting that you mentioned the upwards wind pull of the sword too, as guts has used the width of his weapon almost like a fan to disperse poisoned spores.

[bootnad]

What I've learned from this video, giant two handed swords aren't as impractical as you might think at first glance, just need light and strong material

[KirbyZhang]

it's good for fighting wild beasts; the momentum would knock back the beast and keep you safe. the wide blade is helpful for extending your cutting arc. Maybe you could twist the handle to more precisely point the cut?

[martinclaus]

I had an idea for a story that involved a character getting scaling strength that quickly became super strength. Said character then proceeded to use super giant swords as his main weapon, partly for crowd control and partly for intimidation. For a bit more realism, the I thought the best ways to approach having super strength but not the weight would be a combination of dual wielding the swords in a specific style such that one sword would work as a counterbalance to the other, leaving the only issue to the wielding being the strength of the wielder. The other solution was super heavy plate armor, to increase the relative weight of the wielder to the sword.

[jiggyman]

@14:20 There are, surprisingly, a few games that come to mind that incorporate that shoulder leverage into their heavy sword combat by having a stance switching mechanic built into the character. Nightmare/Faust from Soul caliber is one (albeit they do have some stances in the realm of fantasy level weight to strength ratio).

[skeletoncorpscomics]

Shad: showing people how to properly use giant swords

Rathalos: Nervous sweating

[DeathImpacto]

Gonna be honest, this sort of content is what I’m here for. I don’t mind the other stuff, but discussing the viability and technical side of completely absurd fantasy weapons and creatures is what brought me here. This was quite interesting to listen to

[brandanpalmer]

I… I LOVE THIS. You take something so fantastical and unrealistic, and you find out how you ACTUALLY COULD KINDA WELL just by experimenting. Shad came up with this fighting style live right in front of us, and I just love that.

[the_furry_inside_your_walls]

I love how in Monster Hunter World, whenenever you use the great sword, your character tries their best to not get thrown around by the force the sword carries with it, and in some cases even uses said force to move forward during attacks. The animations of great swords in that game really sell the idea of how crazy heavy and strong those weapons are, and how crazy strong the humans of Monster Hunter's universe have to be in order to wield such ridiculously sized weapons in the first place.

[chimerakait]

I thought the techniques Cloud Strife uses in Final fantasy 7 remake were interesting. His buster sword is basically a sharpened slab of metal with a handle. He is a "super SOLDIER" so it makes sense that he wealds this weapon. It's slow to get going but when he does it literally throws him into his attacks. He flows into each slash in wide arcs, throwing him around in almost a dance, instead of traditional sword work. Stance is VERY low to the ground and he is either using it like a shield, moving slowly; or almost dragging it behind him to move faster.

[arakasi]

Dizziness can be dealt with, but what about actually striking something during your spin? I'd imagine having a grounded stance while swinging sword around would make you way more stable. Hitting someone in full rotation would most likely throw you completely out of balance.

[extinctbeaver]

Bring that sort of shoulder technique into monster hunter for the great sword would be so nice.

[LotharTChips]

Your sword is now officially a siege weapon!

On another note, you mentioned in the spin you actually felt the wind lift the blade. Why not capitalize on that, and make the blade in a shape to create more lift like a plane wing. The lift may lighten the load on the wielder during side slashes and spins compensating for some of the negative effects of the weight on the wielder.

Technique wise incorporating the hips and other leverage points might be helpful. Such as recovery from a downward attack, with the blade on the ground using a hip push to start a slash may be a faster way to recover and attack immediately.