Hi all,

I am currently learning sword technique from my Korean master. I am patient and love learning it. At some point in the future, I want to learn the sword techniques of my people, the Scots. I am a direct descendant of Rob Roy MacGregor and he used the Broadsword. What are your suggestions for learning more about this weapon and wielding it?

[QUOTE]Originally posted by mentor:
Hi all,

I am currently learning sword technique from my Korean master. I am patient and love learning it. At some point in the future, I want to learn the sword techniques of my people, the Scots. I am a direct descendant of Rob Roy MacGregor and he used the Broadsword. What are your suggestions for learning more about this weapon and wielding it?[/QUOTE]

Hi, mentor.
Let me start by saying I know NOTHING of western MA, but I ran into this web site researching Kenjutsu. http://www.thearma.org/
It's devoted to medieval western arts. They have a forum. I don't know how friendly they are, no reason to think they wouldn't be, however. Especially to an honest inquiry like yours.
Anyway, my 2 centavos.

A very good person for you to talk to in my opinion would be Dale Seago. He's a moderator at swordforum.com. He could give you some very good insites into Scottish sword play. http://www.bujinkansf.org/

[QUOTE]Originally posted by mentor:
Hi all,

I am currently learning sword technique from my Korean master. I am patient and love learning it. At some point in the future, I want to learn the sword techniques of my people, the Scots. I am a direct descendant of Rob Roy MacGregor and he used the Broadsword. What are your suggestions for learning more about this weapon and wielding it?[/QUOTE]

Keep in mind that whatever you end up learning will only be a reconstruction, as there is no surviving European broadsword/backsword school.

Basket-hilted broadswords (double-edged) and backswords (single-edged) were common weapons in Scotland, England, & Germany for several centuries. Certainly, it was one of the national weapons of the Scots, and was used to great effect by both the Highlanders and the Borderers (Anglo-Scottish clans on the Border). The English also had similar swordfighting traditions.

Unfortunately, the classic method of wielding the broadsword in conjunction with the targe (shield) died with the last of the Jacobite Rebellions ("The '45"). A school of Western European cut-and-thrust fencing (making use of the broadsword, backsword, cavalry saber, naval cutlass, etc) remained, but it eventually died out as swordplay lost its military usefulness. The British Isles and Germany were essentially the last holdouts, but eventually the lighter Italian sciabola di terreno (aka the "Radaellian" duelling saber) took over in popularity. Modern saber fencing is largely derived from this lighter weapon (although the Italians at that time still made use of cuts from the elbow, which is practially never seen today).

If you find a good HEMA (Historical European Martial Art) school, you may be able to train in what might be a decent reconstruction, but remember that it is a dead art--it's not as if you'll have Donald McBane by your side, to correct your form, etc.

Just some friendly advice, from one Scot to Another [IMG]http://www.fightingarts.com/forums/ubb/wink.gif[/IMG].

A_M_P

Subscibing. I can't offer any helpful information, but as a fellow Scot taking a Korean sword art, I'm curious as to what you find out. All I really learned was the Broadsword was primarily for hacking and wielding it wore you out in a hurry.

BTW. A_M_P, that was great information!

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Gemini:
Subscibing. I can't offer any helpful information, but as a fellow Scot taking a Korean sword art, I'm curious as to what you find out. All I really learned was the Broadsword was primarily for hacking and wielding it wore you out in a hurry.[/QUOTE]

No more so than any other type of sword.

Having handled my fair share of original Scottish basket-hilted broadswords, I can assure you that they are surprisingly light, and very well-balanced. You would never guess this by playing with Cold Steel's replicas (their basket-hilts are friggin' clubs), but that's the dark side of the replica business, I guess.

The Elizabethan English used swords of this type, and the English swordmaster George Silver described the basket-hilt as a "short sharp light sword". By "short", he meant shorter than most rapiers (but it was still pretty long, with a blade averaging from 37"-40"). By "sharp", he meant a blade that was sufficiently wide to take an edge that could sever limbs. And "Light" is self-evident.

[QUOTE]BTW. A_M_P, that was great information![/QUOTE]

Thanks, bro. Happy to be of assistance.

A_M_P