Uploaded August 2023 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Filmed during the class we taught at Fightcamp 2023. The class was about bayonet and sword use in small melee combat. We delved into various sources from the early 19th century up until ww2 to consider the bayonet in different contexts and uses as well as to test various theories and arguments which existed regarding the superiority of the sword v bayonet. We ended this class with a segment where the participants could use pugil sticks in sparring exchanges to understand their use as a close in brawling tool and not merely the ranged thrust attacks and formation fighting more common in 18th and 19th century bayonet fencing.
These pugil sticks are based upon those created for the US military in the 1940s and still used today, however the design has been modified to better represent a late 19th century rifle and bayonet. This means they are significantly larger and more unwieldy than a typical military pugil stick. See the video below for more info -
youtube.com/watch?v=eoXWb4ByOkg
As this was an open class at an event it features fencers with a wide variety of experience and training from relative beginners to very experienced fencers. However, for most it was their first time with the pugil sticks. Contact levels were at the descretion of both participants.
Filmed during the class we taught at Fightcamp 2023. The class was about bayonet and sword use in small melee combat. We delved into various sources from the early 19th century up until ww2 to consider the bayonet in different contexts and uses as well as to test various theories and arguments which existed regarding the superiority of the sword v bayonet. We ended this class with a segment where the participants could use pugil sticks in sparring exchanges to understand their use as a close in brawling tool and not merely the ranged thrust attacks and formation fighting more common in 18th and 19th century bayonet fencing.
These pugil sticks are based upon those created for the US military in the 1940s and still used today, however the design has been modified to better represent a late 19th century rifle and bayonet. This means they are significantly larger and more unwieldy than a typical military pugil stick. See the video below for more info -
youtube.com/watch?v=eoXWb4ByOkg
As this was an open class at an event it features fencers with a wide variety of experience and training from relative beginners to very experienced fencers. However, for most it was their first time with the pugil sticks. Contact levels were at the descretion of both participants.
