That's interesting. I'm a fencer and it's interesting to see how quickly even sword fighting changed (and armor wearing in public and duels). Every time the swordsman in the video put the sword above his head all I could think was: free points! Just about any ranked fencer would have popped the guy in the chest and moved back before he could do a counter attack. Foil and sabre are pretty wussy (light) compared to their real world equivalents but an epee is quite close to a rapier or dueling sword.
Just about any ranked fencer would have popped the guy in the chest and moved back before he could do a counter attack.
This has long been my dissatisfaction with fencing. The type of strike you describe (a glancing touch at maximum extension of one's body, arm, and fingertips) is unlikely to disable any opponent wearing so much as a leather vest. Not to mention the fact that a sword and arm extended thus are highly likely to be mangled or removed by an overhead slash by a heavier sword from the position you describe.
Of course, this is a matter of taste. Since few of us will ever find ourselves fighting for keeps, we can play in whatever sword discipline we prefer.
Fencing models modern" dueling, typically a contest that ends with first blood. From that perspective it does apretty good job of staying close to its roots. That said, i prefer epee for just that reason.
That technique doesn't work well in HEMA combat. It's not hard to parry a thrust like that from a high, open guard and it leaves the attacker completely open to strikes on the hands, arms and head.
There's also a difference in scoring with regards to defense. In my HEMA group if opponent A strikes B, but B strikes back in the same motion (roughly 0.5 seconds, but basically the same "move") then it's a double-hit. Often counted as 0 points for either side but on some tournaments even counted as -1 for both sides.
In modern foil fencing, a riposte (B in your example) gets the point. Also, the only way to get a hit is by thrusts to the torso. No other body parts count, and no slashing or cutting.
It's very interesting that modern fencing is so "ritualistic" and far removed from actual sword combat. I wonder how that happened?
I think that other weapons and combat forms pushed the sword to be limited to duels and mainly duels of honor. Fencing came from training to duel. The foil is a learning weapon and even though the entire torso is a target, most attacks ideally aim for the heart. Epee you really see the dueling roots. In epee many points are scored off your hand or foot. Duels of honor were commonly fought to first blood rather than death. First blood was typically a wound to the hand or other body part close to the action.
An epee is close to a dueling sword, but still pretty far from a rapier. I imagine you know this, but a rapier is not the ultra fast moving sword most people think it is due to movies and the like. They are actually pretty heavy (1.7-2.2 lbs).
