Quote Originally Posted by Galloglaich View Post
Thats true but only if you don't know how to use the weapon mate ;) In the Renaissance fencing manuals you are taught how to fight at all ranges with swords, staves, polearms etc. Same in most Eastern martial arts.
And in almost any martial arts system, they teach the notion of pining large weapons such as two handed swords and polearms to the target body, rendering the weapon useless, before the target gets a swing off. It is a tactic I make use of all the time. Thanks for assuming I don't know how these weapons are used and how to counter them. Thanks also for assuming that I was speaking my opinion and not the wisdom of another, namely that of many martial arts instructors (martial arts since I was 4, live steel full contact medieval combat for the last 8 years), and Hank Reinhardt, one of the foremost experts on medieval combat, weapons, and equipment.

Yes, there are techniques for fighting with a weapon at all ranges, but when dealing with (for example) a pole arm it is undeniable that at short range your options become signifigantly limited, as compaired to longer range. Some fighters prefer the side arm (designed for that range BTW) when such a situation occurs, VS working with a limited tool.