Product Description An introduction to the fighting moves of the Vikings.Whether you are a beginner, or an experienced fighter, this DVD can help you grow to become a stronger Viking fighter. This DVD introduces you to Viking history, culture, and weapons, and shows why weapons were such an important part of their society. Then you move to the practice room to learn the fundamentals of Viking combat, such as stance and movement. You will learn how to cut with power and how to defend yourself with a Viking shield. You will see the drills, exercises, and training gear we use to practice these skills. You will finish with sparring, a true test of how well these fighting moves work. Join us in our practice of Viking-age fighting moves. Use the material on this DVD to grow as a Viking fighter. About the Director Dr. William R. Short is an independent scholar and author specializing in medieval Icelandic literature and Viking-age topics. His interest in the Sagas of Icelanders has led to research in Viking-age weapons and combat. He is a research fellow and instructor at the Higgins Armory Museum where he researches, practices, and teaches Viking combat with the goal of understanding how the people of the saga age used their weapons. Dr. Short has written several books on Viking age topics, including Viking Weapons and Combat Techniques (2009) and Icelanders of the Saga Age (2010), an introduction and companion to the Sagas of Icelanders.
V**R
How it must have been...
I've reviewed many of the western martial arts (WMA) products over the years including the Jomsvikings and Regia out of Europe. No one comes close to the authenticity that the folks at Hurstwic and Dr. Short put into this first volume on Viking Combat.While all the others do a reasonable job of portraying vikings in combat, the folks at Hurstwic take it to a whole new level. With Regia, Jomsviking, and the others, it seems more theatrical than real. Not so with Hurstwic; you can see the true combat techniques unfold here with realistic training drills, sparring, and a depth of technique that comes from devotion to the topic by Dr. Short, the staff of the Higgins Armory Museum and the Hurstwic folks.Highly recommended; also, see Dr. Short and Hurstwic's videos on fighting (7 short films) taken directly from the sagas on youtube. Truly well done; you wont want to miss out on this video or the upcoming releases they have planned.I've seen no better pre I33 training or early medieval/iron age technique out there.
A**R
Disk was unplayable
The disk was so scratched up it would not play. When I asked for a refund I was told another would be shipped but that never happened.
P**E
The training drills are perfect for anyone
A very informative DVD for anyone looking into the mechanics of, and training techniques for actual viking combat. Dr. Short compares the Icelandic Sagas to the archelogical artifacts to the forensic evidence left in bones. The training drills are perfect for anyone, beginner or advanced. He points out very important safety considerations, the most important being mindset. The section on shields clarified a lot of questions I had. .
R**.
This is a great introduction to Viking combat
This is a great introduction to Viking combat, and is worth the $25 or so that it costs. The production values are low, but that doesn't detract from the material presented. Mr. Short is a fairly good narrator and interesting teacher who I liked watching, but his tendency to rock/step from side to side as he spoke was a little distracting.The material covered is quality. I like the Hurstwic method of training and will be practicing everything I saw in the video. Stance & movement, basic angles of attack, training equipment, defensive postures and movements with the shield, solo and partner drills are covered, as well as some of the Hurstwic philosophy of training and sparring. Something that I really felt was lacking - there was no specific demonstration of defense/offense with the two-handed Dane axe or the spear. The same goes for the single-handed axe, although in reality there seems to be very little difference between the Hurstwic method of sword use and hand axe use, so it's easy to go off of what's shown.I was a little disappointed at the brevity with which sword cutting was discussed - no target cutting with sharp blades was demonstrated. Mr. Short advocates the hammer grip for holding a Viking Sword (I don't disagree with that, but some will).An introduction to Viking wrestling is given - just throws, really. The purpose seems to be to slam your opponent down hard enough to break him or stun him, then finish him off from above. No attention is given to fighting from the ground, but that seems fitting given the context. Trying to pull off an armbar on a Viking battlefield might be a bad idea if you don't want to be stabbed by someone. A basic bearhug/takedown technique is demonstrated well.The instructions for sparring were great. "Leave your ego in a locked box outside the practice room" was repeated several times. Good advice.Mr. Short is quick to note that his fighting method is speculation - nobody can say for sure what combat was like. But I'm inclined to believe that this is an accurate depiction of how Norsemen would fight. It's aggressive, simple, pragmatic, and powerful.
R**Z
Hurstwic
Excellent, informative how-to video on how to implement a system for learning and teaching this style of combat
A**L
Great beginnings
They share with the world all the research and studying they've done. Wonderful that they seem to know exactly how the vikings had fought. I waited a year for the release of volume two, re bought this volume with it, and gave my first volume I had bought to a friend. My kids were even trying out the techniques!
B**Y
Absolute beginners may find something useful. Those with martial arts
Absolute beginners may find something useful. Those with martial arts, and especially HEMA background will find nothing here. There is no mention of moving in "true time" for example. (that's the term I was taught in HEMA to mean leading with a threat that forces your opponent to defend themselves, so that they can't simply stab you... if you are going to move close enough to hit them, they are probably close enough to hit you)
J**L
DVD was also blank
From a previous review I can see this isn't the first time this has happened. Thankfully Amazon refunded me but this problem needs to be fixed or this dvd needs to be removed from Amazon.
Trustpilot
3 weeks ago
2 months ago