I'd like to talk a little bit about something that I'm well known to be a specialist of sorts with: great-swords. I've spent the lion's share of my last seven years training, sparring, slaying and dying with a stick longer than four feet in my hands. I love my great weapons, the elegance in a perfectly timed block and counter-strike combination, the brutality of a precise shoulder slot-shot so forceful that it blasts through a shield man's guard and the satisfaction of planting a stab so smooth your opponent never saw it coming. In this piece, I'd like to explore the reasons for learning this particular style, it's strengths and weaknesses, the varieties of execution, the mindsets required behind effective red work and some common mistakes and misconceptions.
To Red or not to Red:
I am not a red weapon evangelical. My goal is not to propagate the weapon set, I'd merely like to provide resources for those who've decided to take the path I did, and want to better themselves. The red sword is certainly a double edged blade. It provides additional range (with the exception of a min-red), armor bypass, shield-breaking and a certain psychological impact. In return you're perpetually at a defensive disadvantage, limited to a single plane of defense, which must be kept far more active than a shield to be effective. This same defensive tool is also your only offensive tool, meaning that at any given point in time, you can only utilize it for one or the other. This means that effective red use requires smooth, conscious or muscle memory trained transitions between the two modes. Great weapons can be paired with a buckler or a backshield to allow more defensive options, though I strongly believe them to be best used as an anti-missile option, not something to be relied on in most situations.
There's no "right" way to do red weapon. When I decided to commit to it as a style, the only fighters really going hard with it were the Dark Angels. Being friends with Xiao and Tiji, Rugged Lands bad-asses, and having watched Sir Soth crush his way through the War God tournament one year, I imagined the potential and knew that I'd found my calling. My personal style is a primarily defense oriented mindset and I've practiced blade and hand blocking almost constantly. I like to use my body language, stances, and defensive solidity to force fighter options into predictable patterns/locations, solidly meet that shot with a block and counter-strike accurately to a weak location. I prefer shoulder slot shots, extreme close-work, and stab with a very high success rate.
Other fighters use vastly different styles, take Evias for example. We both came up using the exact same kit , min-red and small backshield, and spent long, long hours sparring each other, but developed into vastly different fighters. He has stronger footwork than I do, and uses it incredibly effectively in combination with his shield-evading outside work. His angles are very hard to gauge, and his speed hard to counter. Malkin, of No Quarter! has been fighting a local game Darkon for almost twenty years. He is a much larger fighter than we are, and his kit consists of a 5-6foot single-edged greatsword and a buckler. He is a distance striker, with very powerful, consistent down-chops and sweeps. He doesn't spin and moves in a relatively linear fashion. But his power at range is over-whelming and stepping close to him results in getting shoved over by a huge, powerful frame. There's no wrong way to do it, you just have to find out how to make your style work.
In The Mind's Eye:
Most fighters who decide to learn red sword have already learned another style to some extent. This is due to most experienced fighters encouraging newer fighters to sword and board, pole-arm or occasionally florentine. I don't disagree with this practice, as red weapons are inherently more dangerous than other styles. You are simply swinging more mass around, creating a higher chance of injury at higher force. This is not to say that red weapons cannot be wielded safely, it just requires a higher degree of emphasis on control during the learning process. The most skilled red fighters are not those who can swing hard enough to hurt, but those fighters who can turn a blast into a tap when they see a situation go awry. Control is power with red swords.
Every weapon combination is accompanied by a required mindset. This isn't to say that there isn't more than one way to approach that mindset, but the general idea is based off inherent advantages and disadvantages. Reds are incredibly powerful field tools, in conjunction with a skilled SnB or two, a red battery can be nearly unstoppable. In 1v1 situations, we're generally at a distinct disadvantage. SnB fighters have a large passive blocking surface that can be actively used to cut angles or stuff shots and florentine fighters have two planes whose individual offensive and defensive options can be used independently. In exchange we gain range advantage, leverage and power.
In Dagorhir, power is generated through efficient body mechanics not musculature. Sure being ripped doesn't hurt, but it doesn't really help either. Proper, smooth transfer of kinetic force from the origin (shoulders/core) to the hands is crucial. Range is probably the most important advantage. Given equivalent speed, you gain a potential extra swing with every 8 inches of blade length you add. However the more range you add, the longer your recovery time, regardless of weapon weight. If you want to force improvement, put yourself at a disadvantage even further. To challenge myself, I like to play up top with SnB fighters, rather than resorting to lower quadrant swings. This isn't to say you shouldn't chop legs in field fights, but you get out of training what you put into it. Happy redding campers!
-The Golden Lion
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