Jemini
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I have seen too many people favoring speed in story-telling for a while. From the perspective of someone who has trained both HEMA and Kenjutsu, I think it is high time to debunk the OP portrayal of speed. It is just not as effective a factor in combat as people give it credit for.
If you want an easy to understand example, have a skilled Super Smash Bros player play Ganondwarf (slowest character in the game) and a less skilled player play Sonic (Not just the fastest character, he is also more than 2X faster than the runner-up.) You will soon see the Ganon player landing perfectly timed hits on the Sonic player every single time the Sonic player tries to come in for an attack.
The only way speed is ever a significant advantage is if you have speedster-class superpower speed and can move so fast that you become effectively invisible. Otherwise, it is just not efficient or effective compared to other things that will give you an advantage.
So, based on the perspective of this one person with real-life martial experience with medieval weaponry, here are the things in rank order that will give you an actual advantage in combat.
The way I have organized this list is that if having an advantage in one area can be used to overcome your disadvantage in another area, then the one that helps to overcome the other is clearly a superior factor to have on your side. So, this is semi-objective in that sense and as accurate as I can manage.
If you want an easy to understand example, have a skilled Super Smash Bros player play Ganondwarf (slowest character in the game) and a less skilled player play Sonic (Not just the fastest character, he is also more than 2X faster than the runner-up.) You will soon see the Ganon player landing perfectly timed hits on the Sonic player every single time the Sonic player tries to come in for an attack.
The only way speed is ever a significant advantage is if you have speedster-class superpower speed and can move so fast that you become effectively invisible. Otherwise, it is just not efficient or effective compared to other things that will give you an advantage.
So, based on the perspective of this one person with real-life martial experience with medieval weaponry, here are the things in rank order that will give you an actual advantage in combat.
The way I have organized this list is that if having an advantage in one area can be used to overcome your disadvantage in another area, then the one that helps to overcome the other is clearly a superior factor to have on your side. So, this is semi-objective in that sense and as accurate as I can manage.
The protection you get from your armor and shield make a huge difference. If you can intercept your enemy's attacks with your shield or a portion of your armor, it means you can simply force your way through and attack them back without as much concern. If you are better protected than your enemy, then this will give you an almost insurmountable advantage.
The one special note is your helmet. With a helmet, there is always a trade-off between coverage and vision. Coverage is important for your protection, but if it limits your vision then that gives your opponent an area they can take advantage of by moving into a blind-spot created by your helmet. Modern day fencing masks solve this problem beautifully with their wire mesh face covering, but that's a technology that did not exist in medieval times.
The one special note is your helmet. With a helmet, there is always a trade-off between coverage and vision. Coverage is important for your protection, but if it limits your vision then that gives your opponent an area they can take advantage of by moving into a blind-spot created by your helmet. Modern day fencing masks solve this problem beautifully with their wire mesh face covering, but that's a technology that did not exist in medieval times.
Having better footing, positioning so the sun is to your back, thrusting a spear or firing an arrow from behind cover, these are all examples of using the terrain to your advantage and it makes for a huge difference in combat.
The ability of the combatant to respond quickly and smoothly to their enemy's actions simply by muscle memory, having an intuition for how to overcome reach advantage, knowing the techniques and being familiar with how a weapon moves, and even having the ability to effectively anticipate your enemy's moves and thus counter them.
Skill is something only gained through experience, and it makes a very large degree of difference. It can overcome almost any other advantage the enemy can throw at you if your skill is sufficient enough. However, it is still number 3 for a reason. The items in #2 and #1 positions are just that powerful to be above something as domineering as skill.
Skill is something only gained through experience, and it makes a very large degree of difference. It can overcome almost any other advantage the enemy can throw at you if your skill is sufficient enough. However, it is still number 3 for a reason. The items in #2 and #1 positions are just that powerful to be above something as domineering as skill.
The condition of the combatant's back or joints, and the level of movement they are capable of keeping up. Someone with high degrees of skill can fight effectively with artheritic joints and a bad back, but when lacking that level of skill, physical health can make a devastating difference.
This is not a reference to strength or speed. Rather, it is a reference to agility and ability to perform complex maneuvers. Stamina is also a factor in athleticism that makes a huge difference in combat. Agility is the ability to suddenly change the direction of your momentum.
Athleticism is optional when it comes to weapons combat, but it gives you options that a less athletically inclined person would not have. These extra options can often make all the difference in your combat performance.
Athleticism is optional when it comes to weapons combat, but it gives you options that a less athletically inclined person would not have. These extra options can often make all the difference in your combat performance.
Weapon reach is kind of a big deal. So much so that I am honestly surprised it wound up this far down on the list. However, by my criteria that anything that can be used to override an advantage will automatically be higher on the list, this is where things wound up.
Weapon reach really does make a rather big difference. You can hear it talked about, but you truly do not understand just HOW much of a difference a reach of a mere 6 inches or so can really make when it comes to getting past the other guy's weapon in order to strike. Every added inch means extra rotational speed. Rotational speed means extra force on impact, which means that attempts to parry the longer weapon will frequently put you at a disadvantage. And that is in addition to the trouble you will already have with the fact that he will be able to stab you at a measure where you can't even touch him.
If you are facing off against an opponent with a longer weapon, an advantage in one or more of the above 5 areas will be absolutely necessary in order to overcome the devastating advantage they will have over you.
Weapon reach really does make a rather big difference. You can hear it talked about, but you truly do not understand just HOW much of a difference a reach of a mere 6 inches or so can really make when it comes to getting past the other guy's weapon in order to strike. Every added inch means extra rotational speed. Rotational speed means extra force on impact, which means that attempts to parry the longer weapon will frequently put you at a disadvantage. And that is in addition to the trouble you will already have with the fact that he will be able to stab you at a measure where you can't even touch him.
If you are facing off against an opponent with a longer weapon, an advantage in one or more of the above 5 areas will be absolutely necessary in order to overcome the devastating advantage they will have over you.
How tall or short you are compared to your opponent actually does make a difference, and a big one too. This one, however, is a little unusual. The advantage you gain from this one is not linear. Rather, the closer to average height you are the more you are at a disadvantage. It is the people who are exceptionally tall or short going out in either direction who gain an advantage from this one.
There is no real benefit to being a little taller or shorter than your opponent. However, when you are facing an opponent of a different height, there will be some techniques that just will not work the same way as they would if you were facing an opponent of the same height as you.
This gives people with an unusual height a distinct advantage. Short people will be very used to fighting combatants who are taller than them, and very tall people will be used to fighting combatants shorter than them. They will be more capable of taking advantage of the differences in the techniques than their more average-height opponents.
However, there is one point in favor of the unusually tall person. If you face an unusually tall person against an unusually short person, they will be used to the technique difference between the two of them, which will eliminate the primary advantage given by height difference. However, once you have this large a size gap, you actually WILL now be at the point where the length of the taller person's arm makes a significant difference and gives them the same kind of advantage weapon reach would grant.
There is no real benefit to being a little taller or shorter than your opponent. However, when you are facing an opponent of a different height, there will be some techniques that just will not work the same way as they would if you were facing an opponent of the same height as you.
This gives people with an unusual height a distinct advantage. Short people will be very used to fighting combatants who are taller than them, and very tall people will be used to fighting combatants shorter than them. They will be more capable of taking advantage of the differences in the techniques than their more average-height opponents.
However, there is one point in favor of the unusually tall person. If you face an unusually tall person against an unusually short person, they will be used to the technique difference between the two of them, which will eliminate the primary advantage given by height difference. However, once you have this large a size gap, you actually WILL now be at the point where the length of the taller person's arm makes a significant difference and gives them the same kind of advantage weapon reach would grant.
When all the above is equal, having the ability to physically overpower your opponent can win you the day. If you can parry their weapon hard enough to fling them wide-open, defeat a grappling attempt and turn it into a strength-on-strength fight, or just rush the opponent in an overbearing manner, then you are now in the arena where who is physically stronger will make all the difference on who is the victor.
If it comes down to a contest of strength, it usually means that you are either 1. in a situation where technique has completely failed for whatever reason or, 2. you are equal in skill to your opponent but unequal in strength, and thus you decided to somehow incorporate overbearing tactics into your combat strategy.
If it comes down to a contest of strength, it usually means that you are either 1. in a situation where technique has completely failed for whatever reason or, 2. you are equal in skill to your opponent but unequal in strength, and thus you decided to somehow incorporate overbearing tactics into your combat strategy.
The ability to move your weapon or your feet quickly.
In truth, it takes an immense difference in physical strength in order to accelerate yourself even 10% faster. In the real world, speed is highly inefficient when it comes to gaining combat advantages. The only time speed is even capable of being different enough between 2 people for it to make a difference in a fight is in the worlds of video games and comic books.
The time in the real world you might get a significant speed advantage over someone is if you also have a HUGE athleticism and physical health advantage over them. If this is the case, you have far more than just your speed working in your favor anyway, and the other things working in your favor are likely to contribute far more to the fight than your speed would. As such, speed becomes hardly even worth the mention.
In truth, it takes an immense difference in physical strength in order to accelerate yourself even 10% faster. In the real world, speed is highly inefficient when it comes to gaining combat advantages. The only time speed is even capable of being different enough between 2 people for it to make a difference in a fight is in the worlds of video games and comic books.
The time in the real world you might get a significant speed advantage over someone is if you also have a HUGE athleticism and physical health advantage over them. If this is the case, you have far more than just your speed working in your favor anyway, and the other things working in your favor are likely to contribute far more to the fight than your speed would. As such, speed becomes hardly even worth the mention.
