Weapon Fighting Tournament

 

Espada y Daga vs Katana vs Broadsword

 

 Will you prove that your blade art is better with the Espada y Daga against the Katana and Broadsword or Saber? This may be what some players had in mind who participated in the concluded BAM 3 Weapon Fighting Tournament on July 26, 2025, organized by Blade Arts Manila (BAM) under the leadership of Coach Vier Tajonera, Lee, and Nicole Smith.

        Poster of the Tournament (Source: Blade Arts Manila)

The tournament is unique because participants fought with a choice of synthetic swords: espada y daga, katana, or broadsword. It was participated in by 32 modern swordsmen from 11 organizations, including Avalon HEMA Guild, Blood and Iron Martial Arts, De Campo 1-2-3 International, Forge Pioneer Historical Fencing, Invicta LARP Manila, KAMAO Ateneo, Kalis Ilustrisimo Repeticion Original (KIRO), Pinaglabanan Kidlat Arnis, Filipinas Sala de Armas/Cavite Esgrimistas, Tellu Bituun Bagani (TBB), and Toshinkai Iaido Philippines. The participants are said to be legitimate practitioners of Filipino Martial Arts, Historical European Martial Arts, and Japanese Sword Art. Throughout the rainy day, swordsmen competed inside the Tiendisitas Shopping Mall in Pasig, Metro Manila.

Review

Participants

The 32 participants, including 2 female swordplayers, are legitimate modern swordsmen or espadistas (for gender neutral). They are practitioners of traditional Filipino Martial Arts, practitioners of Kendo, Iaido, and Classical Japanese Kenjutsu, and practitioners of Historical European Martial Arts or HEMA. They are not new to the field of swordfighting, there were teenagers and senior-agers. All of them have devoted time to training and have provided finances to have their protective gear. Swordsmanship is truly a privilege because you need time and finances to meet the training requirements. This is not the type where you just buy two rattan sticks and you are a swordsman.

One of the unique features of the tournament is that there are no other categories, no weight or sex categories. Men can fight women, small and big can fight, and a young guy can fight the elderly. It is similar to a real battle without categories. On the battlefield, whoever faces you with the willingness to destroy or hurt you, whether it is a woman or an old man, is considered an enemy.

Transfer of Skills

 Bolo to Saber

 It is also noteworthy that the skills and knowledge in Filipino Martial Arts are easily transferred to the use of a broadsword or saber, the basic cuts, parry, and thrust are similar, it may also be because of the nature of the weapons which are single handed, the only thing is that the saber is longer compared to typical Filipino machetes. It can be said that the transfer of skills from using the Filipino bolo to using the saber can be said to be in the Near Transfer of Motor pattern. Near Transfer of Motor Pattern refers to the ability to apply a newly learned skill to a very similar task or context. It involves situations where the stimulus for the original learning task and the transfer task are highly alike. Essentially, it's about how well a skill learned in one situation can be used in another almost identical situation. Although it can be said to be a near transfer of motor pattern from the use of a short Filipino sword to the use of a European saber, it is not 100%, Filipino martial art also has a natural, unique motor pattern.

 Saber to Katana

 There are HEMA players who also chose to use a synthetic katana, it is also noticeable that the players did not have any difficulty using the katana, they may know using the European longsword so it can be said that there is a near transfer of motor pattern of skill from HEMA (possibly the use of longsword) to using katana.

Broadsword vs Broadsword, the fighter on the right used arnis body armor and a fencing mask

                There are also FMA players who chose to use the katana, the main reason being the length and measure; the Filipino bolo is shorter than the European broad sword or military saber. It is noteworthy that most FMA players who used the katana had no formal training in its use. They were just practical; the katana is longer than the bolo.

             Katana to Saber

         Some participants in the tournament practiced Kendo and Kenjutsu, Kendo is the modern Japanese Fencing that uses a bamboo sword stick (shinai), while Kenjutsu is a traditional study of how to use the katana in combat. But the aforementioned participants continued to use the synthetic katana throughout the day of the tournament. None of them changed weapons other than the katana against other players who used different weapons in the tournament.

 

Weapons (synthetic, edge awareness)

                 The weapons used are synthetic katanas, broadsword/sabers, and sword and dagger. They are of the right weight and flexibility to prevent concussion and other physical trauma. The synthetic katana has a blade length of 29 inches; the sword and dagger, consisting of a pinuti has a blade length of 26 inches and the dagger is 11 inches long, and the broadsword/saber is 32 inches blade length. Some players stayed with their regular weapons that they practiced with, while others attempted to use other weapons.

 

Protective Gear - importance, innovation

                 The typical protective gear used is that commonly used in HEMA competitions, consisting of a fencing mask with back protection, gambeson (jacket), gorget (neck protection), and protective gear for the knees, shins, and hands. Almost all players brought their protective gear; some were available for rental. This is also different from typical sports arnis where almost all players use a single protective gear set. Swordsmanship is truly a 'privilege art', you need the financial means to buy weapons and personal protective gear.

                 It is also noteworthy that there was a player who used the typical body armor used in rapid arnis competition, while the mask used was that of fencing. The two fit together, unlike the usual headgear in arnis, which is heavy, and the set of protective gear was like a super Saiyan.

 

Rule set and Organizers

             The organizers are well planned, from the very beginning of the invitation to the awarding, and the orderliness of the game can be seen. The rule set used is the typical one used in Europe in HEMA tournaments. The following are parts of the rule set that those who want to conduct or participate in a blade-oriented competition should understand:

 Terminologies

 1. Insufficient Contact or 'IC'. - A blow landed with no rotation, on the side, or flicked toward the opponent to make a touch, but that would not result in a fight ending blow

 2. Revenge hit - Late afterblow made with a great deal of force to facilitate punishing or intimidating opponents.

 3. Faulted double - A double that happens when a party drives in with no respect for the weapon of their opponent.

 4. Flat hit or "Flat!"- A blow with the flat of the blade (i.e. insufficient contact).

 

Scoring actions and point allocation

 1. Total points to victory: 9 (Nine). Two bonus points are awarded for every victory in the pool rounds.

 2. Covered or controlled thrust: A thrust landed where the opponent's weapon is controlled and an afterblow with a weapon is not possible. This can be achieved through controlling through a blade on blade action (from primary or secondary) or through grappling a stopped blade or weapon arm.

 3. Blow calling: All blows are expected to have sufficient rotation, and deliver adequate force to the intended target, as per our demonstration video, and pre-tournament fighter briefing and demonstration.

 • Sport fencing type touches, and tip taps will not be scored and fighters and coaches may be reprimanded if the officials' warnings are repeatedly ignored.

 • Thrusts must make definitive contact and not be at full body extension, and would have achieved deep target penetration with a sharp sword, thus be martially valid.

 • In the interests of empowering and promoting a culture and atmosphere of honor and fairness, once at their corner Fighters can elect to self-call if they feel their hit on an opponent was invalid, or if a valid blow landed on them.

o Note: This is entirely an elective practice, and it is not mandatory.

o Note: Fighters are absolutely prohibited from signaling, protesting and calling blows landed on an opponent for themselves. Penalties will be leveled for this sort of behavior.

 

Valid point allocation:

 Cuts:

• Head: 3pts.

• Weapon arms: 2pt.

• Torso: 1pt.

• Non weapon Arm/Legs: 1 pt.

 

 Thrusts:

• Controlled Thrust 4pts.

• Uncovered Thrust to head, torso, thigh, or bicep: 1pt

• Note: Thrusts that land below the knee or elbow will not be counted.

 

 Simple Fight Analysis

 Espada y Daga vs Katana

                 The katana is longer than a typical bolo, so it has an advantage over the former in reach alone. The players who use espada y daga, uses a pinuti and balaraw (dagger) which has a disadvantage in reach but has an advantage in maneuverability over the katana. The espada y daga player just needs to take advantage of the opportunity of blade-to-blade contact to close the gap and reach the player using the katana.

 

Espada y Daga vs Broadsword/Saber

                     Typically, the general strategy of the espada y daga player is easy to read, which is to try to get close to the opponent who uses a longer weapon. However, a one-handed sword, such as the broadsword/saber, has a great advantage in terms of reach and maneuverability, since its main use is the flexibility of the wrist joints.

          Broadsword vs Katana

Katana vs Broadsword

                     Similarly to the above, the broadsword/saber has an advantage in terms of maneuverability over the katana, a two-handed sword that easily exposes the user's body. The saber/broadsword is almost always in front of the sword player than the katana user, who has the chance of losing the sword in front of him during his cutting follow-through. In the overall principle of using a sword, it should always be in front of the user, not only as a blade but also as a shield.

 

Closing

                     In the last part of the tournament, it is noticeable that the broadsword/saber prevails over the two weapon choices of sword and dagger, and katana. This is due to logical and physical science; its reach and maneuverability are longer than those of the two. So even in the end, it is almost the one used by FMA practitioners rather than the sword and dagger. Most of them have a slight difference in the level of physical preparation, experience, and height advantages, so it can be said that the fight is fair in the context of the above-mentioned.

Katana vs Espada y Daga

The blade-oriented tournament has been held for several years, from the earlier Laban-Laro, tournaments for HEMA/FMA practitioners conducted by the Filipinas Sala de Armas, BIBAK Historical Fencing Club in Baguio, and the Forge Pioneer Historical Fencing. Participating in this type of weapon-based tournament is a great way to raise awareness for stick fighters. Arnis practitioners should try to use other edge weapons and test their art and skill against other weapon arts.

 

 

July 26, 2025

While still appreciating being played in BAM 3