I've seen technical medieval swordplay manuals and these techniques re-enacted in various videos. How much of these techniques would actually translate in a real battle?

by Nutella_Sandwich

Firstly, these videos probably covered a wide time range as I've seen many posted, and it's been awhile since I've watched them so my specifics might be wrong.

At any rate, it was interesting to watch them because they often involved a lot of disarming and grappling. Was the common soldier trained in these techniques and if so, did they translate well into actual battles? Or was it more for 1v1 sparring and showfights? Kind of like how you learn a lot of advanced martial arts techniques, but when an actual fight breaks out you'll probably just use a basic grapple and pummel your opponent anyway?

meomeomeo

As discussed e.g. [here ] (http://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/20x01e/did_soldiers_in_the_sword_and_shield_era_in_big/), and [here] (http://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/157upf/what_was_sword_fighting_actually_like_did_it/), swords were side-arms for fighters who have either lost their main weapon (spear, polearm, ranged weapon) or if the formation was broken. In this situation, having a 1 on 1 situation with a similarly equipped opponent and enough room to maneuver is unlikely. Exceptions could be during siege warfare if a fortification was assaulted and fighting occured in buildings and on walls.