History WebVideo / Skallagrim

** In [[https://youtu.be/IVZ9b7GjQsY?si=AkJk6f6ORb8wL_PO Swordsmanship: The basic types of defense]], after getting hit repeatedly during Skall's demonstrations, his EvilTwin decides to just pull a gun on him, but Skall successfully distracts him by saying "Watch out, flying pommel!" and knocks him out with a [[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mordhau_(weaponry) Mordhau]] when he turns around to look.

* PistolWhipping: In "Empty Gun vs. Sword?", Skall's springboard is the final fight in ''Film/SukiyakiWesternDjango'', which The Gunman catches Yoshitsune's katana strike using the frame of his just-emptied revolver. Skall points out that a sword would never be able to chop that deeply into the frame of a revolver, which is thick steel, but more to the point he shows how difficult it would be to block or parry a sword strike using a handgun, or to close the distance enough to bludgeon a swordsman with one's pistol. He certainly wouldn't try to catch a cut under the barrel near the trigger guard like The Gunman does, since that exposes the hand to being cut, nor is he confident in his ability to stop a cut dead with a static block; his preference is to dodge to one side while using his barrel for a deflecting parry at the same time, enabling him to close in and pistol whip his opponent in the head. Success is doubtful, however, since the sword has so much more reach and can quickly change trajectory to slip past the tiny area on the gun that Skall can use for parrying. A decent swordsman would kill him before he could ever club them with his handgun. It's a different story with a long musket, however, since even without a bayonet it has reach, a large area for parrying, and enough heft to inflict severe bludgeoning damage.

** {{Subverted|Trope}} in [[https://youtu.be/LDsLbgt9arw?si=8ex278y6u0dbCQcB A "tough guy" walks into a blade shop]], where after having all his points against the usefulness of melee weapons refuted, the "tough guy" starts proposing a hypothetical scenario where he holds the shopkeeper at gunpoint... then ''actually'' pulls a gun on him, making the scenario no longer hypothetical. Fortunately, the shopkeeper's assistant disarms him right away.

** {{Subverted|Trope}} in [[https://youtu.be/LDsLbgt9arw?si=8ex278y6u0dbCQcB A "tough guy" walks into a blade shop]], where after having all his points against the usefulness of melee weapons refuted, the "tough guy" starts proposing a hypothetical scenario where he holds the shopkeeper at gunpoint... then ''actually'' pulls a gun on him. Fortunately, the shopkeeper's assistant disarms him right away.

* HypotheticalFightDebate: Like many students of historical martial arts, things like the "Knight versus Samurai" debate tend to annoy him because people who pose this question often fail to specify all kinds of variables such as the time period, social rank, and wealth of the combatants, where the fight would take place, what equipment they would be allowed to use, etc. He doesn't find it particularly useful to discuss a fight between two warriors who were unlikely to encounter each other in the first place, nor does he think this kind of thought exercise necessarily leads to a better understanding of any warrior culture.

* NeverBringAKnifeToAFistfight: [[DeconstructedTrope Deconstructed]]. Skallagrim has debunked videos of dubious disarming techniques and reviewed actual historical documentation of unarmed self-defense against weapons. He stresses that while there are unarmed self-defense techniques that ''can'' work, they should be considered a last-ditch move, as the odds are still against you, especially if the weapon user has proper training.

* RefugeInAudacity: In his video on ''VideoGame/MonsterHunter'', he admitted that he couldn't critique it from a practical perspective because it was ''so'' ridiculous that the creators had no interest whatsoever in creating something that looked like a person could use.

** In [[https://youtube.com/shorts/Fg4Oid-UqH4?si=b7V8fvz1-ZI4UPG6 this short]], Skall shows that, contrary to popular belief, the trope is at least OlderThanPrint, with Medieval artworks showing swords cutting through mail and even plate armor just like games, films and shows today do.

** In [[https://youtube.com/shorts/Fg4Oid-UqH4?si=b7V8fvz1-ZI4UPG6 this short]], Skall shows that, [[OlderThanTheyThink contrary to popular belief]], the trope is at least OlderThanPrint, with Medieval artworks showing swords cutting through mail and even plate armor just like games, films and shows today do.

* ArmorIsUseless: Averted all over the place. Many of his videos emphasize the usefulness of armor, not only in historical settings but also in modern-day martial arts.

* BadassNormal: {{Deconstructed|Trope}} in [[https://youtu.be/MX7cqkQNAwE?si=RUKzKIPSpEPjioaG this video]], in which Skallagrim analyzes fight scenes from several animated DC films; in fictional settings where superpowers exist, characters like ComicBook/{{Nightwing}} will be established as just (badass) regular humans, but then subjected to attacks that would realistically result in serious injury no matter what, judging by the damage to the surroundings (or even just by plain common sense), only to be no worse for wear and continue like hardly anything happened. Skallagrim's point is that you can't have your cake and eat it too by claiming someone is this trope but then essentially giving them SuperToughness in practice.

* BadassNormal: {{Deconstructed|Trope}} in [[https://youtu.be/MX7cqkQNAwE?si=RUKzKIPSpEPjioaG this video]], in which Skallagrim analyzes fight scenes from several animated DC films; in fictional settings where superpowers exist, characters like ''ComicBook/{{Nightwing}}'' will be established as just (badass) regular humans, but then subjected to attacks that would realistically result in serious injury no matter what, judging by the damage to the surroundings (or even just by plain common sense), only to be no worse for wear and continue like hardly anything happened. Skallagrim's point is that you can't have your cake and eat it too by claiming someone is this trope but then essentially giving them SuperToughness in practice.

* CoolGuns: In a change of pace, he tests and demonstrates the [[http://youtu.be/qlN-5BA87bU KRISS Vector.]]

* OffhandBackhand: In [[https://youtu.be/1_q8s3CoWHQ?si=bEXFfZmpT3mmWQ4B This move is ridiculous... here's what works!]], Skall explains that this trope doesn't work very well in a sword fight because it results in you having less reach than your attacker due to not being able to fully extend your arm. If you need your character to pull a flashy move in order to deal with an enemy sneaking up on them, he instead suggests having them pivot to quickly turn around, which also creates distance and thus gives them a little more time to react.

* OffhandBackhand: In [[https://youtu.be/1_q8s3CoWHQ?si=bEXFfZmpT3mmWQ4B This move is ridiculous... here's what works!]], Skall explains that this trope doesn't work very well in a sword fight because it results in you having less reach than your attacker due to not being able to fully extend your arm. If you need your character to pull a flashy move to deal with an enemy sneaking up on them, he instead suggests having them pivot to quickly turn around, which also creates distance and thus gives them a little more time to react.

* GlassCannon: The Albion Principe. It earned its title as the best cutting weapon in Skall's collection, but the blade is also remarkably fragile, and [[https://youtu.be/SH250Hvkw5c?si=K7ipP_8IXpcLZU_I&t=563 actually got damaged]] when Skall misaligned the edge during a cutting test. [[spoiler:In a later video where he tested weapons on a zombie head, [[https://youtu.be/5BROoYHGH5g?si=G9-H3aZAh60JFaw6 the damaged area broke off entirely]] when Skall cut into the zombie head with that exact part of the blade]].

* HypotheticalFightDebate: Like many students of historical martial arts, things like the "Knight versus Samurai" debate tend to annoy him because people who pose this question often fail to specify all kinds of variables such as the period, rank and social standing of the combatants, where the fight would take place, what equipment they would be allowed to use, etc. He doesn't find it particularly useful to discuss a fight between two warriors who were unlikely to encounter each other in the first place, nor does he think this kind of thought exercise necessarily leads to a better understanding of any warrior culture.
* ImplausibleFencingPowers: In [[https://youtu.be/jd169aGq_AA?si=I6dwiPbm48sfBe1S What unholy tacticool mall ninja edgelord trash is this?]], Skallagrim points out that even if you suspend your disbelief for an AbsurdlySharpBlade, it should still be physically impossible to completely slice in half an object larger than the blade is long.

* IWasBeatenByAGirl: In "Yes, Women Do Sword Fight" with Nicole Smith and Brittany Reeves, Smith talks about how certain men in HEMA are so afraid of appearing weak because of losing a match to a woman that they'll use excessive roughness to try and gain the advantage. It's potentially dangerous for everybody, and it's demeaning to the hard work that a woman puts into her training if it's assumed that she couldn't have won unless her opponent sucked. Skall shares his annoyance at how two men engaging in a practice match are treated as individuals whose abilities and performance only reflect on them, yet when a match between a man and a woman, people will view them both as representatives of their entire sex.

%%* DeadpanSnarker: Skall's humor is generally of this flavor.