HEMA unarmed combat?

[Mider]

Do you think that HEMA unarmed Grappling, striking, etc is useful in modern times?

 

[Blindside]

Only in the sense that it (should) take into account the presence of weapons available to the opponent. Otherwise any of the sports based competition circles will give you a far stronger base that you then can adapt to the HEMA assumptions.

 

[Monkey Turned Wolf]

Useful in what way? For self defense-it's more useful than nothing. Less useful than an art that focuses on either modern weapons (without armor), or no weapons.

For general life-probably just as useful. Given the rarity of assaults which martial arts can help with vs. other issues like heart disease or diabeties, the main thing is general health, which hema can provide via exercise as much as any other art. It also helps mental health both via exercise, and via increasing your social circle.

 

[Mider]

Useful in what way? For self defense-it's more useful than nothing. Less useful than an art that focuses on either modern weapons (without armor), or no weapons.

For general life-probably just as useful. Given the rarity of assaults which martial arts can help with vs. other issues like heart disease or diabeties, the main thing is general health, which hema can provide via exercise as much as any other art. It also helps mental health both via exercise, and via increasing your social circle.

That's a very general response

 

[Mider]

Only in the sense that it (should) take into account the presence of weapons available to the opponent. Otherwise any of the sports based competition circles will give you a far stronger base that you then can adapt to the HEMA assumptions.

I think any artist should have MMA as his or her base

I just wonder how someone with a strong base could incorporate these skills

 

[Tony Dismukes]

Okay, here's my current view as an experienced grappler who is relatively new to HEMA and has spent some time looking at available sources for unarmed grappling. I reserve the right to come back and issue a revised opinion in a few years once I've had the chance to study more of the historical sources.

Everything that is in the historical sources for unarmed grappling in HEMA also exists in modern grappling.

The technical level of the material as shown/explained in the historical sources appears to be lower than what you can find for the same material today. There are a couple of explanations I can think of for this:

• The technical level of grapplers at the time was actually lower than today, due to the smaller talent pool and the limitations of sharing information.
• The understanding of pedagogy in print was lower. The creators of the manuals might have been skillful grapplers but lacked the ability to clearly explain techniques and principles through writing and pictures.

Different styles of grappling are all built on the same fundamental principles, but those principles can be expressed differently based on the sportive rules used in practice and competition. I haven't yet come across any sources with competition rulesets laid out, but I can make some guesses based on the techniques that are described in the sources I've read so far:

• Jackets were commonly worn
• Winning was likely based on making the opponent touch the ground with something other than the feet. There is no ground work and there are no descriptions of going to a knee when shooting for a double-leg or single-leg takedown.
• Damaging techniques like armlocks and shoulder wrenches were allowed, at least sometimes.

There actually seems to be more material out there for grappling in an armed context than for unarmed grappling. This is particularly true for armored combat.

 

[Monkey Turned Wolf]

That's a very general response

You asked a very general question. If you narrow down your question, I can give a more narrow response.

 

[Flying Crane]

I think any artist should have MMA as his or her base

I don’t. However, I imagine one’s opinion on the matter is influenced by one’s own personal interests and experiences.