#also you're Finnish?? I had no idea you could do something as niche as historical rapier fencing in Finland

[canisalbus]

I do historical rapier fencing, and it is quite tough on the arms and legs! The classic rapier is around a kilo in weight, and maintaining precision while holding it out in front of you and thrusting is surprisingly taxing on the muscles. The concept of rapier being a light weapon is somewhat misleading - it only weights a little bit less (a few hundred grams at most) than an European longsword, and in my experience handling the rapier is actually tougher. In my first class I felt like my limbs were about to fall off because I had absolutely no stamina haha. :D

I've been trying to do some research on rapiers and fencing, mainly because Vasco (as a well trained nobleman of his time) is actually supposed to be a reasonably skilled swordsman and rapiers are the period accurate choice. They look very airy and light but it's still a significant piece of metal, and to my understanding the blade is comparatively long as well, for that maximum reach I suppose? It's always a little intimidating when I give a character a skill or a trait that is outside my area of expertise, because eventually someone who actually knows a lot about the subject will show up and I get scared of embarrassing myself with my limited understanding ´v`'

Modern Machete has the benefit of proper healthcare and better stress management so he's nowhere near as actively feeble as his chronically fatiqued 16th century counterpart. He's still twiggy and unsporty but if he really truly wanted to do fencing, I think it would be possible for him to gain the necessary physical endurance and fitness through persistent training.

#also you're Finnish?? I had no idea you could do something as niche as historical rapier fencing in Finland #that's legimately very fancy #feel free to chime in and correct me if you see me making flagrant mistakes in the future! but also please be merciful I'm trying eugh #answered #tetradic-echinoidea