this post was submitted on 30 Mar 2025
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Off My Chest

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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.

Cool guy holding a sword backwards

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.

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[–] Tramort 11 points 5 days ago (4 children)

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.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 5 days ago (1 children)

I'm a mediocre person who finally understood what OP meant about ⅔ of the way through. A picture would have been very helpful.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 5 days ago

Yeah that's on me, I'll chuck an explanation in the post.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 5 days ago (3 children)

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.

[–] Tramort 4 points 5 days ago

Thanks for the description. Now it's clear.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 5 days ago (3 children)

blade running along your forearm

extension of your arm

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.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 5 days ago

Shit now I'm confused. Wherever one wouldn't let you point the pointy end at your enemy without twisting your entire body.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 5 days ago

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.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 5 days ago

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.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 5 days ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 7 points 5 days ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 0 points 5 days ago (2 children)

Is this a good example or bad example?

[–] [email protected] 5 points 5 days ago

It is both a bad example of swordsmanship and a good example of OP's description.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 5 days ago* (last edited 5 days ago)

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.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 5 days ago

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.