"Research into Hand-to-Hand Fighting" Topic

Has there ever been any serious research into the detailed mechanics of hand-to-hand fighting? I was wondering if the re-enacting/martial arts/military communities had done any research into what worked, the effect of armour, how long fights lasted, injuries etc.?

I often watch videos from this two gentlemen. They often discuss exactly what you looking for. YouTube link and YouTube link

Thanks very much for the links!

There have been posts about this in the TMP "period" groups.

There was at least one book written in the late medieval/early ren' era showing moves in sword fighting.

There have been some modern university studies into detailed mechanics e.g. energy consumption, stamina, ability to charge etc for armored troops. One of the famous longbow English-French medieval battles was refought as a sim using the research.

There are some vids on youtube showing real sword and shield fighting.

And there is a chap in the UK that appears from time to time on the telly who appears to be an expert in performing ancient and medieval combat, mounted and dismounted.

There's been a lot of real world study into recreating medieval and renaissance fighting techniques. One the more intensely historical approaches has been by Roland Warzecha of the Dimicator school in Germany. His web site is here: dimicator.com and he has a Facebook page here: link He also has a number of videos on Youtube. He even advocates the use of sharp weapons because they react differently in actions like binds than do blunted practice weapons.

David S.

Related to this topic, I knew a Gunnery Sergeant who once told me that if I ever had to actually use a bayonet in combat, "Somebody. somewhere, has gone and ed up bad!"

This was in the 90s, of course.

I think that History Channel did some series on it (back when they did History). I remember one show where they showed the difference between Hollywood style Three Musketeers swordplay (which uses foils) and how you actually fought with a rapier. The rapier, in the hands of someone who knows how to use it is a terrifying weapon. Richard Lester's Three and Four Musketeers" movies probably come closest to actually showing how they were used. And even with stuntmen who knew what they were doing a couple of them were wounded making those films.