Melee preferences

Yes. The mobility of the person could be a danger... So I thought of a plan. Mount 2 weapons in a horse (dagger can be worn on a belt, so no problem there) and pick a primary melee weapon. Nifty, huh? But if the horse gets killed, I have to stick with only 1 weapon... and that would be either the Fork or the Sword (I have always been interested in Dual Blades)

From what I have seen, using the fork two-handed is effective, but leaves you mostly vulnerable for short, swift attacks. Mastering the fork one-handed is the way to go, then equip with a small, but sturdy shield. It might lack power, but the speed goes down only by a bit and the reach goes up a notch.

Anyways, I wasn't relatively thinking of a Katana (although it is a good weapon of choice, since I prefer swift and speedy weapons), but more of Dual Blades. Dual Blades are nifty to wield if mastered. The only trick to wielding it perfectly when beginning to master it is "not to think the blades as weapons, but merely as an extension of your arms", which is pretty much favorable. But the downside of wielding Dual Blades is, usually, you have to be very flexible and must have good senses to make quick movements (better practice with bamboo sticks first :D) and you must balance the power in both of your hands. Defensively, it is also a good choice, since the blades are medium on length and you can slide one down your back to defend from a backstab while having one to defend the front.

@zeKer_pencil: very good analysis on armor types, and I think I could add other minor info and the more various types, but for the most part you've hit it dead on.

@Uzumaki101: The only problem with dual-wielding/nitouryuu is that its attacks aren't particularly strong as it is a style meant for aggressive, speedy, and pinpoint blows that don't rely on brute strength since defense and offensive power are sacrificed somewhat to increase mobility, speed, and accuracy.

Dude, you deserve a rep. xD Every single second of that was pure awesome. (i've already spent mine today >.<)

True enough.... Tony Jaa was soo cool there i think he used Muay Thai...
and Uzumaki101, you are right... You think of the blades as extensions but it only applies to short blades and medium grade swords... Heavy grade swords such as twin claymores are impossible to use the arm extension as they use half of your stamina just by swinging the blade....

And just on a basis, the correct combination of armor and weapon makes the difference in your mobility, strength, damage resistance and speed

Eheheh. That's why it's the best. Learn unarmed combats then train with arms.

With that, you can still fight even when disarmed. Eheheh.

Or better if you learn how to grapple your opponent and not just striking him with the 8 body points like muay thai....

Correct. Also a reason why I like it. Speed is basically everything. The faster the weapon is wielded, the more powerful the impact is, which for a split second adds more power and damage to the blow.

Uh Uzumaki101, you got it. The major factors that make a weapon in your hands fast is that:

Its good all round
The blade is sharp enough
Deep impacts occur frequently
Its no cumbersome to hold

And thats not all you have to take into account. If you rely on sheer speed alone, there is a chance that you cant kill your opponent in one strike but instead you strike a hundredfold just to kill him without using strength. But to use all strength and no speed, well you are planning your early grave. Heres what i know:

How deep would the strike be
Will you still remain your composure after the strike/block
How fast would you be (requires 1 & 1/2 milliseconds to think, really)
Can the blade have the 'cleaving' effect
How many times will you strike without breaking your stride
Increase your speed or strength if necessary

Thats maybe the preferences of an agile strike

Well i join in as well then.

My choice of weapon and armour would be:

Sword, Two handed Broad Sword to be specific, for the fact two hands are more accurate and it's weight will leave devestation everywhere.

Amour i will take the Heavy Amour for the protection because of the delayed movements of my sword.

For a weapon I'd go for a sword [a short straight blade or a long katana] and for armor I'd go with either standard armor or no armor [maybe light...].

I think strength makes speed but strength would require one to get body mass therefore, whole body movement is hindered by weight, but they can still move limbs fast and less hindered by heavy stuff.

And on hitting, I posted it on probably 2 posts T_T, but I'd just like to explain it better, large weapon's size can help, like how to dodge a fast mid slash from a long sword with evasion and a knife, the situation would call for blocking which knife and less strong person are less capable, if it's evade in very low position, it would slow em down then would get more tired which may end their speed.

Also, thrusting with a sword is still fast with a good stance like a dagger yet having better range, yet so, whole body movement is still less. If they would like to kill fast guy that is fleeing, they'd just might like to bring along a small crossbow or throwing knives if it's medieval.

But of course, agile knife person is winner if gotten to a very close range, so big stuff would need to maintain distance, there's a stance where the sword is in front, it can force someone to parry or make long strafe which can lead to keeping distance and sight.

As I mention, strong person's limb would be still fast, so if badly wants to hit a knife user at close rance, they gotta drop their big weapon and grapple the arm with weapon, it's seems easier to grab an arm with a small weapon then do the usual go behind and twist the arm, hold the shoulder usually seen tv.

...long post...

Well to discuss something like use of melee weapons, its kind of hard to have a fair argument without inclusion of a shield. The sword/shield combo was created to shore up shortcomings that are inherent to the sword on its own. If a knife wielder made it close, they'd get bludgeoned by a steel-rimmed shield.

Lol, that actually makes the shield a melee weapon, I guess.

And I do realize that a shield did not always accompany a sword, I'm just saying that most experienced swordsman did make use of a shield.

As for my personal taste, I'd prefer a Zweihander and an armor type akin to that of the Canon of the Holy Sepulcher. This armor consisted of two suits on chainmail layered on top of each other, gauntlets, and a full helm. Most Canons were able to move fast enough in this armor type to be able to decapitate multiple men with a single swing of the Zweihander.

The Guy who uses shield as a weapon...

And he's a bad ass....

You see my logic here? Guess what makes him a badass

The stars and stripes? Joke. Maybe it's his shield-wielding skills...
He loves to bash his buddy on enemies. Or maybe his special move Hyper Charging Star, I think? Eheheheh. ^^

Perhaps, or maybe its just that he was alive since WW2.

He's a Senior citizen kicking ass and taking names with his boomerang-shield

HAHAHAH! wtf!

I'D mainly use a sword ( doesn't matter whether it's long or short)or a spear. I've taken lessons in both. trust me once you've used one weapon over a long period of time like me and my MegaSpear it doesn't matter how close or far away i am from my target; their ass is grass and im the lawnmower!
Once you get good with a spear it's easy to defend with. Even more so with a sword.

True enough, but double swords are also not bad... Considering like carrying a big sword and a shortsword... I'd recommend you to try using that combo.

I got it.... what?


And yes. It's true that relying on speed alone is not enough to kill an armored person, but it's very useful on disarming them, the only flaw of every weapon is the chance of it flying out of your hand to a good 5-10 meters away from you, leaving you perfectly vulnerable if you solely rely on said weapon. Speed and Accuracy are one of the things needed to perfectly disarm a person without killing them.

And yes. You have another point there. I will admit that relying on speed alone is a very risky and dangerous path if you should follow it. You have to consider the flaws of your weapon and relying on speed alone. Which brings me to rely on another person, mostly the one with power or the all-around type, to finish the armored dude after disarming them.

And I am gonna stop here before I derail the thread.

Call me a loon, but I think the best melee weapon is a cattle prod.

I mean come on, comedy AND lethality? (if used right)