Vector Transformations and the “Wedge”
Vectors are used to describe just about everything in life. And all it takes to win a sword fight is to transform all your opponent’s vectors into ones that can’t hurt you. Piece of cake!
Physics
Why n00bs Fling the Sword: A Multi-Part Analysis of Rapier Thrusting Mechanics (Part 2)
In Part1 we discussed what flinging is, why n00bs fling, and why flinging is a poor tactic. But how can we not fling? Before we can start, we need to understand motor redundancy.
Why n00bs Fling the Sword: A Multi-Part Analysis of Rapier Thrusting Mechanics (Part 1)
In Salvator Fabris’ 1606 treatise on rapier, he dedicates an entire chapter on the subject of flinging the sword and in-depth discussion of why this is bad. But what is flinging? And why is it poor form?
Blade Stresses
We are used to thinking about the forces that swords apply on their targets, but we don’t spend as much time thinking about the forces that the targets apply to the swords. Between axial, shear, bending, and torsion there is a lot more going on than you might have thought!
Sword Cross Sections
In my previous article, “Do Fullers Make Feders Take a Set?”, I promised you that I would take some data on production swords and back up the theory with data. I still haven’t done it, but I do have some measurements of the sharps around my apartment.
Closed Loop (Part 2) – Loops, Vision, and Sword Control
We have many ways and senses to process information with. How do we put them all together to control our actions?
Power Through The Body, Or How I Learned To Do A Leaping Cut
You can cut without proper grounding, or across your body. But it does have consequences.
Breakdown: Thrust and Point Control
A breakdown of video footage of Robert Childs delivering his trademark start-from-low thrust.
Do Fullers Make Feders Take a Set?
In a completely non-intuitive trick of physics, adding a fuller to a feder actually makes the sword more likely to take a permanent set. Let’s have a look!
Degrees of Freedom
A degree of freedom is the number of directions in which something is free to move. You may be thinking of the three directions, but in this case you would be thinking wrong. The maximum number of degrees of freedom of a rigid body is six.