Yari fighting 101

[tomoyuki]

"Spear fighting in the SCA is the hardest thing you will ever do in combat."
I have told people this for years. I have learned that this is the gospel truth. If you are doing your job, in a 1.5 hr, res. battle, as a spear fighter, you will know what I mean.
The best spear training I have had has taken place in the Ravine at Gulf Wars, and on the bridges of Pennsic.
I have studied many tapes, and books on so-jitsu. Most by Hatsumi Sensei. These are great for form, and some footwork, but most Japanese Yari fighting techniques, are useless in SCA spear fighting. They are a bit better for pole arm fighting . The Japanese Yari can slash-cut as well as stab. The edges are razor sharp. And in most Yari fighting there is a lot of pole hits. Something the Marshals frown on in the SCA.
Getting your form right is very impotent. Learning to do the basic thrusts are the first best skills one should learn.
1. The knack. I have come to learn that the most impotent thing in a good SCA yari fighter is the ' Knack'
If you pick up that spear, and go, "hey this is easy", and then you back that up by killing the local knights at practice 3 to 1. you likely have the knack. Become a spear fighter! You will gain great fame at war (where the spear is the killing weapon) and you will have a great time doing it.
2. The strength. To be a truly effective spear fighter you need strength. The SCA spear is not very balanced, and is heavy, and there are lots of other guys nearby that want to give you lumps you will remember.
So you must work on this strength. Spear fighting in a long battle is brutal on your upper-mid back. You must strengthen this area to last more that 10 min.
I like to thrust at my pell a thousand times most practices if I have a chance, more leading up to war. Just like any weapon practice make better. Make you friends, and other yari fighters work with the yari at practice. I like to end my practices with one on one spear dueling. That is when you should be just about out of gas. Do 20 passes or more.
3. Small movements. When you learn good form you should be standing shoulder forward, feet comfortable apart , back hand at the end of your Yari pole, front hand gently holding the pole wherever is the most comfortable for you. Aim the point at your opponents chin. From here, you can do anything you like.
If your opponent thrusts, use your yari pole to block. make this as small a motion as you can. Practice this!!!!
Hit the opponents pole with as much power as you can, using this small motion. This usually sets you up for a counter strike. If your motion is to big, with the block, you will not be able to get off an effective attack.
4. LOOK! In melee combat you usually get killed by that guy 3 people down the line. You must look with your total vision. Try not to fix on the guy in front of you. He is not going to kill you. His friend is. Be ready for this at all times.
5. MOVE. Be ready to move!! pay attention to your range. Stay balanced. bob and weave. All this helps. When in melee combat be ready for that spear killing unit that wants to give you lumps. Pull your spear back straight up, a bit out from tor body, and back out quickly, hoping that your sword and board buddies are paying attention. If not, YELL!! Someone will pick them up.
5.1 STAY ALIVE!! At war, in most static battles, the spears do the killing. In a nonres. battle if you only kill 2-3 guys with your spear you have done very little for your side. LOOK where the enemy forces are engaged, these will be easy pickings for your spear. Get back, if the enemy is not engaged. Or you will be the one getting killed.
In a res battle, if you are walking, than your buddies at the front are getting killed by me. There is nothing I love more in a fight, than to come to a part of the line that has no spears. Pole arms and great swords help very little, if a few good spear fighters are on you and you have no spears within yards. BAD!! LOOK for these situations as you return from res. Jump in, and up your total for the day.
That's all for now. I hope this help a bit. Make your bros. practice with you. Find the good spear fighter in your area and learn what he/she can teach you than practice it!!!!
If you have all these skills you are wasting your talents if you are not fighting spear at war.
Most of my skills came from playing hockey for 25 years, and just being an Atlantian spearman, where you are most likely outnumbered 3-1. This makes for a pile of practice. especially in Res. battles. Move to the front. Work hard. Kill the bad guys.
Tomoyuki/Marc

[guntheroforkney]

"Spear fighting in the SCA is the hardest thing you will ever do in combat."

I totally disagree with that statement but I cannot narrow it down to just one weapons form like that.

I personally perfer to fight sword and scutum. I also like to pick up a spear sometimes but I dont truly enjoy it so I am not great at it.

You have some real good points for basic spear fighting. I find nothing specific gets tired when I am spear fighting,its an overall workout for me,its like trying to play soccer,hehe.

[tomoyuki]

Hiya bro,
I imagine that you disagree with my statement because you may never had fought with your spear in a 90min. long resurrection battle, at 90+ deg., killing, say 80-90 bad guys. If you have, and still disagree, you are a spear God.
Most weapons forms are hard to learn. Scutum shield is very difficult, but once you really get the play of it, that form is very scary for people that do not see it much. Like most Atlantians! " The knack" Later, Marc

[guntheroforkney]

I am a very active spear fighter oh and I am out of shape hehe and since I am mostly a scutum fighter I generally only fight half of a rez battle with spear.

[tomoyuki]

Very good, I hope we can cross blades some day. Sir Marc d'Aubigny/Tomoyuki / Atlantia

[Hiroda Ujio]

tomoyuki said:

Hiya bro,
I imagine that you disagree with my statement because you may never had fought with your spear in a 90min. long resurrection battle, at 90+ deg., killing, say 80-90 bad guys. If you have, and still disagree, you are a spear God.

Agreed. Add in the fact that spears are generally looked at to direct traffic or command the front, and it starts opening an entire bag of junk.

[Yoshimitsu]

Kombanwa,

The honorable Tomoyuki-dono wrote:
"Spear fighting in the SCA is the hardest thing you will ever do in combat."

YOSHI: Spear is certainly one of the most challenging, in melee or single combat. I hate to say that it is the hardest - to each their own, as Hachiman allows, neh?

Tomoyuki-dono:
2. The strength. To be a truly effective spear fighter you SNIP
So you must work on this strength. Spear fighting in a long battle is brutal on your upper-mid back. You must strengthen this area to last more that 10 min.

YOSHI: Speaking in terms, primarily, of melee combat with long (9') yari and after some snippage...
I agree that endurance is extremely important. A spearman standing in the line, but too winded to shoot, should call for a replacement.

Tomoyuki-dono:
Aim the point at your opponents chin. From here, you can do anything you like.

Yoshi:
If you are spear dueling, this is a reasonable en garde, if you will. In a line of mixed weapons, you will find more open to you if you alter your starting kamae. An alternative approach is to think about protecting your centerline first and then selecting the appropriate attack.

Tomoyuki-dono:
If your opponent thrusts, use your yari pole to block. make this as small a motion as you can. Practice this!!!!
Hit the opponents pole with as much power as you can,

YOSHI: Small moves really are all you need, at least at dueling range. Proximity and incoming fire may give you cause to broaden your movement. I don't agree with the need to throw a lot of power into your blocks when fending off incoming spears. A little nudge goes a long way to throw the incoming shot off target and you want to do what you can to keep your spear on-line with your direct opponents. For shots coming in from up or down the line, you will be relying more on your companions in your line and your ability to move to survive.

Tomoyuki-dono:
4. LOOK! In melee combat you usually get killed by that guy 3 people down the line. You must look with your total vision. T

YOSHI:
It goes without saying, but these are your targets, too.

YOSHI:
Domo, Tomoyuki-dono - an interesting conversation. Thank you for sharing your perspective.

[tomoyuki]

Greetings Yoshi,
Yes, I ment to say hit the pole with as much power as needed. You can judge your opponent on that.
And yes all the spearmen and everyone else within 15ft of you in a line are targets. I like sending my 3man spear killing units down the line at an angle and follow in behind that. That is usualy good for 2-3 easy kills.
And yes, your stance will always depend on the situation at hand. Always protect your center line first.
Thank you. Marc

[guntheroforkney]

I believe Tomoyuki was just stating some basics for spear fighting because anyone that has done even a small amount of spear fighting knows that it is very complex,as is any weapons form.

Sometimes it appears easy to be a scutum fighter,like when I run straight through my enemies ranks to open a grap in their lines,hehe boy I love that.

[tomoyuki]

Do you use the big Roman type scutum? They are great for smashing, and defending. I find them a bit hard to fight around. Great for war though!
Marc

[guntheroforkney]

well I use a big oval scutum,without the corners its much easier to fight around. but its still big enough that one single spearmen can kill me unless I am not looking at them hehe. Oh it also helps that I am 6ft tall and 270lbs and use to be a power lifter,hehe.

[Kitadatetenno]

I disagree with several points. I am a spear man, and I've fought in most of the big wars at one time or another.

"The best spear training I have had has taken place in the Ravine at Gulf Wars, and on the bridges of Pennsic."

I disagree very much. In those places, the lines are mostly static. It is very easy to fight in a static battle without flanks with a spear. It is much more difficult to fight a running battle with one. For example, the hairier portions of the Pennsic woods, or the Estrella broken field. Even the resurrection battles at Lilies are harder for me as a spearman than any bridge or the ravine.

The only thing the ravine is good for training is vision, because of the arrows.

"The strength. To be a truly effective spear fighter you need strength. The SCA spear is not very balanced, and is heavy, and there are lots of other guys nearby that want to give you lumps you will remember. "

Yet a spear weighs less that a sword and shield, and no one is leaning on you physically for most of the battle. The shield guys come off the field a lot more tired than I do.

"I like to end my practices with one on one spear dueling. That is when you should be just about out of gas. Do 20 passes or more."

There's very little one on one dueling in the battles I fight, so I don't practice that for war much. If I want to fight to exhaustion, spear dueling isn't the way to do it.

"If your opponent thrusts, use your yari pole to block. make this as small a motion as you can. Practice this!!!!"

Why bother blocking with the pole? Much easier to attack and not be in the same line. This assumes good technique (which I don't always have). If you do use the pole, it takes almost nothing to move another spear off line.

"STAY ALIVE!! At war, in most static battles, the spears do the killing. "

Not if they're fought correctly. If they are, spear dueling is just to pass the time. Although I'll admit, usually they are not fought correctly.

"In a nonres. battle if you only kill 2-3 guys with your spear you have done very little for"

If the sides are even, killing 2-3 is just fine.

"In a res battle, if you are walking, than your buddies at the front are getting killed by me. There is nothing I love more in a fight, than to come to a part of the line that has no spears."

And nothing I dislike (from a strategy perspecitve) more. No spears = charge.

If the spears are doing all the killing, then others are slacking off.

[tomoyuki]

Hello,
Well I'm glad to see that this topic is alive.
I have never been to Estrella, or Lilies, And yes, I should have said the woods battle at pennsic. It is likely the BEST.
If you think the Ravine is a static battle, you haven't been near me much. Atlantia always holds a flank. It is usually about as see-saw as can be.
And I stand by the bridge, as the ultimate test. In a bridge you usually get one life. If you can stay alive, and get rid of 10-15 bad guys. you have likely won the day for your side. I have fought all weapons forms, and nothing is as grueling as that.
I have no problem, standing in the bear pit circle, for 8-10 fights. Do that in a spear bear pit, you will see what I'm talking about.
Of course, it could just be my old decrepit self.
While one on one spear dueling may get boring, it is still a great training tool. Try two on one, if you want some real work.
Moving a spear off line does very little to get you past a good fighters block. Disruption, is much better. Vs. lesser fighters than yourself, it is deadly.
I agree that no spears=charge. But, your charge gets held up, spears, and poles, kill most of the chargers, battle over. Sometimes leaving huge gapes in your line. BAD!
I used to command a spear killing unit, ' The Hellhounds'. and had an "anything but spear" motto.
In the Ravine, and woods, and most any rez. battle we would wreck havoc on the opponent spears. I would walk a dozen times, and maybe kill 20-25 people.
With my spear, I feel I had a bad day if I haven't killed at least 50. Half of them being enemy spears, that are for a bit, not killing my guys.
In most static battles, the spears will kill twice as many people, as every one else. likely way more. And please, feel free to think we are just passing the time, when in range of my spear fighters.
I'm not sure that people are slacking off, I think that in the past few years, many Kingdoms armies have become very spear heavy. (not mine) hehe And many of these spear fighters are not very skilled, but are one less sword and board guy that could cause problems for the spears. Who knows??
Pell work, one-on-one, two-on- two, and just standing there with your spear is all good training. If you want to be very scary at war, learn to use a spear with skill.
A Super Duke, in a tourney, is likely to kick your ass. If he is standing across the line from you with a pole weapon, great sword, or w/s, when you have become good with a spear, he is just another dead guy waiting to happen. And most of them didn't become super Dukes fighting with a spear.
This is fun. Later gang, Marc/Tomoyuki

[Kitadatetenno]

"If you think the Ravine is a static battle, you haven't been near me much. Atlantia always holds a flank. It is usually about as see-saw as can be."

Yes, it's a see-saw. But it's very static in the sense that there always seems to be a line, with one side on one side, and the other on the other. Not a lot of mixing, which is what makes fighting spear more difficult.

"I have no problem, standing in the bear pit circle, for 8-10 fights. Do that in a spear bear pit, you will see what I'm talking about."

I regularly fight spear is normal bear pits.

"While one on one spear dueling may get boring, it is still a great training tool. Try two on one, if you want some real work."

Try doing the single side of the 'violence drill' with a spear. That's real work.

"Moving a spear off line does very little to get you past a good fighters block. Disruption, is much better. Vs. lesser fighters than yourself, it is deadly."

That comment was in response to you speaking about blocking, so I'm refering to him getting mpast my block, not the other way around.

"I agree that no spears=charge. But, your charge gets held up, spears, and poles, kill most of the chargers, battle over. Sometimes leaving huge gapes in your line."

If the charge gets held up. There's enogh variations that that shouldn't happen. Not all changes are meant to go through the opposition.

"In most static battles, the spears will kill twice as many people, as every one else. likely way more. And please, feel free to think we are just passing the time, when in range of my spear fighters."

And that is why I disagree with your assertions on which battles are hardest for spears. Static battles are easy for spears.

"I'm not sure that people are slacking off, I think that in the past few years, many Kingdoms armies have become very spear heavy. (not mine) hehe And many"

It is partly because of the attitude that guys with skill fight wth spears, so lesser fighters emulate them. Fortunately, in Northshield, we have some kick-butt shield fighters, so people emulate them, too.

A Super Duke, in a tourney, is likely to kick your ass. If he is standing across the line from you with a pole weapon, great sword, or w/s, when you have become good with a spear, he is just another dead guy waiting to happen. And most of them didn't become super Dukes fighting with a spear.

I'd like to point out that in the Crown I won, I fought spear in at least one bout of every match. And in the Coronet, I fought exclusively with spear and sword (slightly different animal, but the rules were wacky for that tourney). Next time I win, I'll likely do the same, unless the rules are against it.

And he's only a dead man if you have support, and he doesn't. One on one, Dukes are rough to beat, by design, regardless of what the relative weaponry is.

[tomoyuki]

Well your Majesty, You must have learned that sword and spear from my friend Tarrach. Or was it the other way around. He is the only fighter I have fought who used that style. I hope that we can play soon. Will you be at Gulf Wars? If not, mayby Pennsic.
If you see Terrach, please say hi from me.
You are very correct that something like a field battle is very tough for spear fighting. So much so, that I usualy use my 7.5 ft pole weapon. That gives you WAY more options in a field situation. But once in a while I will fight spear in this. YES, skill wise the hardest by far, but over in just a few moments, most of the time. You don't get much practice, unless you run a pile of them. In a 15-30 man open field battle, a few good spears can do great work. I look forward to playing with you sometime. Please say hi to Tarrach if you see him.
Sir Marc d'Aubigny/ atlantia.