How Would a Katana Swordmaster Fight with a Halberd? (Seki Sensei's New Favorite Weapon)

give him a zweihander next... that would be incredible

What is interesting is that Seki Sensei was able to instinctively figure out the exact same technique that western style fighters use when swinging the halberd with a single hand. Joachim Meyer describes the exact same technique in his book written in the 16th century.

The Man is an IRL Dark Souls character. Picks up any weapon and immediately has a usable moveset

I love the humility shown on this channel, theres no arrogance from "ive mastered everything here, i can easily master this too" but rather just "oh this is cool, heres how i would use it considering my skillset and knowledge, but im curious as to how this would have been used historically"

I'd love it if someone would provide Seki Sensei with a real Halberd. He truly deserves a weapon of this type.

The Master may never have trained with a halberd but I suspect he may know how to use a Naginata or Yari 😎

I love how Seki Sensei is both taking this seriously by thinking through how he can adapt his own training to a weapon he's never seen before, and clearly enjoying the process of learning something new. He looks like he's having the time of his life!

That single-arm thrust was actually very interesting: he basically "couched" the halberd much like a rider would with a lance, giving him plenty of stability and forcing the opponent to either retreat or fall on the point pretty hard. Kneeling down also helped him anchor himself, bracing the halberd further. Very cool to see.

It's no surprise that Seki Sensei picked up on the halberd's ability to hook an opponent so quickly. The halberd is designed to hook opponents and unhorse cavalry, and was basically the favourite weapon amongst European knights, along with other, similar polearms. It also comes with all the advantages of a spear, so even a novice could make good use out of it. As far as I'm concerned, it's one of the best melee weapons of medieval Europe, excellent both for battlefields and single combat. There's a reason it's so iconic, it's just that damn good!

Historical halberds (and the similar poleaxe) had weighted or spiked metal caps on their opposite ends, specifically to make the jab-swing combos Seki Sensei uses even more effective. The poleaxe emphasized these techniques, as they were meant to be used against heavy armor; keeping the axe in a high/overhead guard would mean you could stun or knock an opponent down with the cap, and you would already have the weapon raised high to split his helmet with the downstroke.

There is something about him holding a halberd that just looks so fitting. That was really awesome to see.

He picked up halberd dueling concepts instantly. A thing to remember is halberds are rarely used alone, it shines best in pairs or groups, this is why it was a common honor guard weapon aswell as its disarming and “nonlethal” abilities

A couple of points from a HEMA practitioner who spars with steel polearms: In the context of 1v1 combat you would not hold the polearm, be it halberds and pollaxes, like a spear with your hands at the back and the front extended towards the enemy. The head of a halberd/pollaxe is usually held aloft/back and deployed once you create an opening/deflect with the back, which often had a spike and could be employed offensively. The head is quite heavy so you would have little control in long spear grip, and it would be too easy for the opponent to beat it to the side. Hooking by the backs of the knees and the neck are standard polearm techniques and employed very often against armoured opponents. Also, you are expected to often change the grip and slide the hand along the shaft. Additionally sometimes you grip the pole with hands situated in such a manner that both thumbs point towards the centre of the shaft. Such a grip helps with high guards and allows for a qicker shift between the head and the back spike. Lastly, this training halberd is definitely on a short side as many historical examples were noticeably longer.

Seki sensei moves are some Dark Souls boss lvl, always pulls off something unexpected

The concept of examining a weapon through the eyes of a master of a different one is something I think the people would love to see more of. Knowing techniques for one thing and seeing how it can apply to something completely different is such a great and new way to look at old and familiar things. Will keep coming back just to see his eyes light up with the newest “toy” to play around with. Great series!

This is definitely pretty accurate usage for the halberd. With the weight distribution on a real halberd, some of these moves may be difficult to execute but that's something solvable with practice.

Watching a master mess around with a weapon he’s unfamiliar with but having fun learning how he could use it is sooooo cool and a lot of fun ^.^

It could be argued that the Halberd is one of the best weapons ever devised by humans.

As a Swiss I'm so happy to see this weapon feature on the channel. Seeing how well the Halberd did through history, it's no wonder it was used by the Swiss during their uprising, their mercenaries after that and in many other conflicts. The halberd was basically the weapon that marked the end of the knight on his horse. Thank you for the amazing video :)

Seki sensei is clearly a man of taste. His favorite weapon from the bunch is widely considered to be the greatest polearm of all time.