The Thousand Mask Warrior

Rapier & Saber

Where did the prowess of Walanda's bule sword blade come from? What and how exactly is the European style sword silat?

***

When looking back at the history of the kingdom of Walanda and the lands of the pale people, the science of fighting with swords or sharp weapons has existed since the reign of the Roman empire, the Roman Empire, for example, the time of the fighters called gladiators who were recorded began in the first year 264 BC. These gladiators were people who fought in an arena or cage and were watched by many as entertainment.

Similar to those in the Mataram Kingdom, gladiators were not infrequently slaves and criminals sentenced to death by fighting with fellow humans or animals. In this fight they are armed with a variety of other sharp or dangerous weapons. No wonder because the word gladiator means 'sword jago' or 'sword user', from the word gladius itself which means sword.

Then, hundreds of years later, when the Roman Empire collapsed, the vassal states that had either escaped or disengaged began to feel they had their own government and dignity.

Many fighters from the warrior class master the martial arts of wrestling and swordsmanship. Call it in the 1060s in the Kingdom of Germany or France where many one-on-one fights to the death occurred to solve the problems that occurred between them.

In particular swordsmanship, countries such as Germany, Italy, Great Britain and Pranggi did have many swordsmen and swordsmen who taught their knowledge to soldiers or princes, landlords or nobles in exchange for high pay. This is because at that time fighting and war were commonplace to gain power and influence among the rulers.

One of the most famous swordsmanship masters in the country of the Caucasians was Johannes Liechtenauer of Germany who formulated his sword techniques in the 1300s AD. His secret college years later became known only as Kunst des Fechtens which means the Art of the Sword.

His swords were then spread throughout Germany and for hundreds of years were studied and developed by various masters with weapons such as swords and shields, spears, axe-eyed spears, and so on, short and long sticks and daggers.

Liechtenauer's swords were ancient moves used during wars in the past with emphasis on footwork. The agile footwork to the back front, right left side and resting on one leg to surround the enemy is trained hard.

Footwork is also used to avoid enemy swords and to adjust the distance and attack by approaching the enemy quickly. Every slash of the sword must be followed by a step.

The formula of sword fighting techniques that have been spread is what became the basis of sword techniques in Germany until now, even affecting all countries across the Caucas.

Secretly Sebastian de Jaager managed to learn the original ancient moves of Liechtenauer from reliable sources. He has studied many sword styles in various Caucasian countries. The saber sword moves he learned were indeed much newer sword moves and were a development of Liechtenauer's sword techniques, but he managed to dig up a secret source where Liechtenauer's original swords were kept tight.

Not only that, though, he also managed to learn the secret techniques of the master swordsman Hans Talhoffer who was a follower or disciple of Liechtenauer's own sword style whose moves were on the use of a long sword held in two hands, swords and shields, dagger fights, snatch weapons from the hands of opponents and knock them out, as well as various wrestling and lockdown moves.

His abilities in the sword and the secret silat of the past complement Sebastian de Jaager in his saber swordsmanship which he learned in his training in the army. Just like his older brother, Devisser de Jaager, he learned the swordsmanship handed down from the great swordsmen of Germany, Italy, France and Great Britain, especially the kingdom of France which has been an ally of the land of Walanda since the 1560s AD.

After the kingdom of Germany had excelled for hundreds of years in the greatness of their swords, the country of Italy developed swords more concise and simple but very dangerous and killing. The use of sabers and rapiers is an option compared to large swords. Surprisingly, these swords were created by many scientists, scholars and mathematicians.

They actually did certain research and calculations to get to know the distance and careful calculations in the attacking and defending moves of a swordsman. For example, Lippo di Bartolomeo Dardi who is a master of swordsmanship as well as a professor of arithmetic and stellar science. In addition the sword masters also came from the blue blood type, nobles and nobles of the army or princes. Call it Pietro Monte, a sword teacher who served the Prince of Urbino who lived from 1472 to 1508 AD.

Sebastian de Jaager chose to use the saber, a curved sword, almost similar to the simitar and shamsir swords but with an arch more similar to the Japanese katana sword, it's just that the katana is longer and can be and is usually used with two hands. The thickness and length of saber blades also vary. Some are about two fingers wide, some are like a machete and sword of the Javanese Mataram army, about four fingers. The length of the saber from half fathom to more is also adjusted to the user.

The moves with the saber sword are more about the speed and accuracy of piercing and chopping. Saber attacks with stabbing are considered faster and more efficient than memapras as in the swordsmanship of the archipelago, China and Japan for example. Therefore, the exercise of the foot and the focus of elbow agility is highly favored.

Generally, the saber consists of two main parts, namely the handle and blade of the sword. The saber handle is always equipped with a protective head and a bowl-shaped finger under the base of the sword continues to connect until the lower end of the sword upstream. While the blade of the sword is still divided into three parts.

The first is called forte in Italian, which is the bottom of the sword blade near the handle that is forged thicker as the base of the sword blade and is used to repel enemy sword attacks. The second part in the middle is also used to repel or fend off attacks. The latter is called foible, which is the tip of the sword to slash or stab the target. The entire blade is basically sharp at the front and thick and blunt at the back, but the sharpness of the sword in foible is used as the main attack part.

The saber warriors were completely different from the native warriors throughout the archipelago, even different from the horses to use the dao and jian or katana of the Japanese samurai. Because saber sword attacks focus on conciseness, speed, agility of footwork and puncture, the saber player will stand sideways. The right foot in the back and the left foot in the front straight. The body and legs are in a line like a crab, the difference is that a saber champion walks forward and back, instead of walking sideways or covering.

The saber sword stretched forward, while the other hand would hide behind the body. It can be like a waistline or folded behind the back. This is intended to make it difficult for the body to be the target of an attack. With horses in rows like this, the attacker will have difficulty attacking parts of the saber holder's body and vice versa saber champion will easily quickly go forward stabbing or cutting the enemy and retreat to avoid the opponent's attack. While the sharp blade part can be directed sideways, down even upwards.

Sebastian de Jaager has mastered the ability of his fingers in playing the saber. The agility of both his legs creates amazingly fast moves.

Although the actual moves using the rapier are also slightly similar to the saber, Devisser de Jaager prefers the rapier. A rapier is a long sword, about half a fathom or so wide as only two fingers, yet very sharp at the tip and strong enough to deflect an opponent's sword attack.

Some types of rapier prefer a taper tip compared to the sharp side of the blade. The sharp side of the blade is often only used to prevent the opponent from robbing the rapier by grasping it. Similar to his older brother, the saber, the rapier also has finger and fist protectors. The difference when the saber has a bowl-shaped protector, the rapier has a protective ring-shaped rings that cover the fingers up to the base of the blade.

The base of the rapier blade is not sharp is used to put the index finger or thumb. The point is that the stab attack setting can be mastered well because the fingers also come into play. This also means that in the game of rapier, the fingers are very instrumental in the mastery of the sword and the arrangement of attack moves.

In addition Devisser also equips himself with a dagger on his right waist that is used in pairs with a rapier. This dagger is useful like a shield to brush off or dispel enemy attacks but can also be used to attack.

The choice of the rapier is due to Devisser favoring his lightning sword moves and that the rapier has a level and nature similar to the keris and jian, the weapons of the nobles. Rapier is often used as an indication that the owner is a noble or from a higher level of society.

Rapier is used for one-on-one combat between two men in defending their self-esteem to the death. That is why, Devisser more learned swordsmanship from the land of Italy and France than the brother who is a fan of the secrets of the ancient swordsmen of the land of Germany.

However, the two brothers de Jaager will be very powerful when together. The moves they use complement each other and their defense is almost impenetrable. The quick stabs and attacks that are their mainstay are highly calculated and depend also on their sensory sensibilities.

It's just that in contrast to the fighters from the archipelago, inner energy is not the center of their attention. They exercise tremendous sensitivity to enemy attacks or movements, body and agility that are trained all the time, as well as high confidence, just as Keling's grandfather explained to Jayaseta.

De Jaager brothers in this case are a few of the officers or soldiers of the Caucasus who are still deepening the science of fighting using sharp weapons, though most Caucasian soldiers have developed more intelligence in using firearms and intelligence tactics to fight with the troops.

Their experience both serving in the Walanda army and army has led them to various parts of the world. They meet, face to face and even fight with weapon whoso, even to bet their lives. There are criminals, rebels and enemies of the Walanda company. There are also ordinary warriors who deliberately challenged just to try out their silat abilities.

To this day, both are still superior. These concise and precise moves of theirs are still reliable and earn the highest place within themselves. The speed, accuracy and knowledge applied in each step of their sword moves are still the best moves.

Arriving in the archipelago, especially Maluku and the island of Java, both get a place that is a paradise of warriors and great moves and characteristic. However, instead of praising and interested in learning the silat nusantara, de Jaager brothers instead want to test the style of silat-silat and beat it as proof that their abilities are still higher. To this day, what they believe is still proven to be true.