# How come duel blades don't have the longer weapon with the offhand and knife with dominant hand?



## Bullsherdog (Mar 27, 2020)

Post I saw.

How come duel blade combinations don't have the longer weapon with the front arm and the shorter blade with the dominant arm? In particular with rapier and dagger?

The OP's statement about using the longer hand with offhand as a jabbing weapon and rear hand using a shorter weapon as killing blow intrigues me esp with the rapier and dagger combination. Why wouldn't it work esp with rapier and knife (which OP believes rapier is the perfect weapon to use to do jabs with and dagger to aim precise killing blow similar to boxing)?


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## Monkey Turned Wolf (Mar 27, 2020)

Bullsherdog said:


> Post I saw.
> 
> How come duel blade combinations don't have the longer weapon with the front arm and the shorter blade with the dominant arm? In particular with rapier and dagger?
> 
> The OP's statement about using the longer hand with offhand as a jabbing weapon and rear hand using a shorter weapon as killing blow intrigues me esp with the rapier and dagger combination. Why wouldn't it work esp with rapier and knife (which OP believes rapier is the perfect weapon to use to do jabs with and dagger to aim precise killing blow similar to boxing)?


You'd be purposefully limiting your own range, so both of them (depending on the size of the blade, and how much you blade your stance) are cut off at the range of the dagger in the front hand.


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## Flying Crane (Mar 28, 2020)

Bullsherdog said:


> Post I saw.
> 
> How come duel blade combinations don't have the longer weapon with the front arm and the shorter blade with the dominant arm? In particular with rapier and dagger?
> 
> The OP's statement about using the longer hand with offhand as a jabbing weapon and rear hand using a shorter weapon as killing blow intrigues me esp with the rapier and dagger combination. Why wouldn't it work esp with rapier and knife (which OP believes rapier is the perfect weapon to use to do jabs with and dagger to aim precise killing blow similar to boxing)?


Pick up a sword with your weaker hand and see what you can do with it.  That will answer your own question.


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## Danny T (Mar 28, 2020)

Because when it comes to edged/pointed weapons you want distance. Your strong side forward with the longer weapon give you the stronger options.


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## Gerry Seymour (Mar 28, 2020)

I suspect all the answers above are correct. You want to maintain range (which I suppose you could also do by putting your off-side forward with the sword). You also want to maximize your best weapon (the sword is generally the better weapon, so you put it in the more competent hand) and maximize your off-hand (the sword is generally harder to manage with the off-hand, so the dagger is a better choice there).


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## drop bear (Mar 28, 2020)

Sort of related.


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## JP3 (Mar 30, 2020)

I had a friend who did formal fencing training (I've never done anything like it at all). He was curious about this exact question once so he asked if he could try it in class. He did, and he said it took him about 30 seconds, and being poked (i.e. touche'ed) several times in that span of time, to figure out that what everyone is saying above is correct.


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## Monkey Turned Wolf (Mar 30, 2020)

JP3 said:


> I had a friend who did formal fencing training (I've never done anything like it at all). He was curious about this exact question once so he asked if he could try it in class. He did, and he said it took him about 30 seconds, and being poked (i.e. touche'ed) several times in that span of time, to figure out that what everyone is saying above is correct.


I did the same thing btw. Even amongst people much worse than me, I fared horribly with my weapon in my off-hand. Also tried a couple times a knife against fencers, and fared just as horribly with that.


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## Flying Crane (Mar 31, 2020)

kempodisciple said:


> I did the same thing btw. Even amongst people much worse than me, I fared horribly with my weapon in my off-hand. Also tried a couple times a knife against fencers, and fared just as horribly with that.


I actually train my weapons both right- and left-handed.  I do that with staff, spear, and big knife/saber, but I’ve done it with sword as well.  I work the fundamentals, and I can do my forms each way.  I figure, when you are in the midst of a zombie herd and you are taking them out left and right, but that one gets through and gives you a bite on your sword hand, you’ve got about thirty seconds to switch your weapon to your other hand, cut off the bitten hand before the Zed infection spreads into your body, and then you need to be able to keep fighting your way out until you can get your bloody wrist-stump bandaged up.  While you will never be as good with your weak hand as you are with your strong hand, you can train some skill into it.  When the time comes where you need to sacrifice your good hand, if you’ve never worked with the weapon with your weak hand, then you are well and truly screwed.


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## Monkey Turned Wolf (Mar 31, 2020)

Flying Crane said:


> I actually train my weapons both right- and left-handed.  I do that with staff, spear, and big knife/saber, but I’ve done it with sword as well.  I work the fundamentals, and I can do my forms each way.  I figure, when you are in the midst of a zombie herd and you are taking them out left and right, but that one gets through and gives you a bite on your sword hand, you’ve got about thirty seconds to switch your weapon to your other hand, cut off the bitten hand before the Zed infection spreads into your body, and then you need to be able to keep fighting your way out until you can get your bloody wrist-stump bandaged up.  While you will never be as good with your weak hand as you are with your strong hand, you can train some skill into it.  When the time comes where you need to sacrifice your good hand, if you’ve never worked with the weapon with your weak hand, then you are well and truly screwed.


So to clarify, what i was referring to was having my normal stance while keeping the weapon in my off hand. So planing my body with my right hand forward, but having my weapon in my left hand.

I also had to for a couple months train lefty foil (don't think i competed like that) due to a shoulder injury. I was worse with that, but it was still doable.


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