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  1. #1
    Join Date
    28th March 16
    Location
    Syracuse, NY
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    Kilted Swordplay

    Let me preface this by saying I'm not sure whether this is the appropriate forum. I looked at the various options, read the headlines, skimmed the contents, and couldn't decide. So, if the thread must needs be moved, I understand. I was surprised that there isn't a "Kilts in Action!" subform somewhere. All of the Kilted I know wear them in primarily athletic contexts; either when running, or as mobile change-stations for biking (I'm one of those), or during hiking...and even during fencing. Perhaps it's something to consider for the future of the XMTS boards? I digress.

    --

    So, what we have here is the raw footage and a "commercial" produced in response to UT Kilts' latest newsletter, in which the company offered $15 gift certificates in exchange for videos of their kilts in action. My friend and I, who spar in the german longsword tradition, decided it would be a good idea to test a theory that we'd had for a while: that swordplay would be easier in a kilt. He wore the green Standard II, and I am wearing the Standard I. For what it's worth, we're using slightly modified Cold Steel trainer longswords. I cannot recommend the swords (they're little more than heavy bats, which is great for muscle training, but terrible for swordplay), but I can recommend the kilts, if you're in the market for something cost-effective and modern without wanting to invest in higher-end models.

    A few things to note: we're wearing no safety gear whatsoever, whereas we would typically wear fencing masks and heavily padded gloves. For that reason, we agreed to leave thrusts out, and to keep body contact to a bare minimum to avoid injury. It's very, very easy to hurt one another in this particular form of swordplay, and particularly with the equipment we're using. So if it looks a bit staged, because no one is actually hit, that's because we're pulling blows. I typically walk away from sparring with a handful of bruises and rapped knuckles. We're also "locked" into that one section of the yard, which reduced footwork. We didn't want to expose our neighbor's house to the camera, nor shoot the busy street a few feet to the right of the camera. Typically, sparring involves much more footwork.

    I could go on about the unfortunate artifices of the video, but why bother? In the video, I am Gray, and he is Green. Here is the raw footage:



    The kilts performed admirably, and they definitely have a distinct "swish" that looks cool in video form. As an amateur swordsman, I can tell you that it was MUCH easier to move about in the kilt, and the UT Kilts' material is heavy enough that it never swept up or got in the way. I suspect that a mid-weight wool kilt would perform even better, but as I only have one of those, and it's a pretty, expensive thing, I won't be sparring in it...ever. I suspect a SportKilt would bind up about the legs during more rapid movement and would thus be ill-suited to swordplay. I may test it at some point.

    Below is the finished "commercial" we made for UT Kilts. No word on whether or not we'll get our gift certificates, but it was fun to make the video, anyhow. All of the wording and editing in the video is my own, and does not in any way represent UT Kilts... I made it up as I went along and sent it their way the other day.

    Last edited by Knight; 16th May 16 at 06:39 PM.

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