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Message: <blockquote data-quote="KenHood" data-source="post: 2505857" data-attributes="member: 4413">I cannot argue with your experiences. However, mine are different.You are correct. Grappling is restraining your opponent and applying a hold of some sort. Consider the most basic of grapple: the bear hug. You can grab a person with your arms to initiate a bear hug. One step up: Could you do it holding a belt or short cord in your hands? Yes. That's relatively simple. Loop it around your opponent, while holding one end in each hand.Another step up: Could you do it holding a three-foot stick in your hands?Yep. You'd do pretty much the same thing you did with the cord. Since the stick is rigid, it may actually hurt your opponent more. One more step: Could you do it holding a single-edged sword?Yes. In the same manner as you would use the stick! (Ultimately, a sword is just a stick with sharpened edges. There's nothing holy or special or inherently magical about it--other than they cost a heck of lot more than sticks.) You grasp the hilt in one hand, the dull edge of the blade in the other, and the sharp edge of the sword goes into your opponent. And squeeze...Final step: Could you do it holding a double-edged sword?Yes. Again in the same manner as the previous examples. However, instead of grasping the dull edge of the blade, you grasp a sharp one. You might ask: But, Ken, wouldn't you slice through your own fingers when you grasped the blade?To which I would reply: No, not necessarily. Blades have to move or slide against a surface to cut it. For example, you can place a knife against the palm of your hand, edge on skin. It won't cut you until you draw the blade against your skin. You can even wrap your hand tightly about the blade and squeeze--as long as the blade doesn't move, it doesn't cut.If you grasp the double-edged blade firmly in your hand and do not permit your hand to slip, you most likely will not be cut by your sword when you grapple. Do I recommend this? Heck, no! I'm attempting to provide a very basic example of how one could grapple with a double-edged sword. By the way: A bear hug is a HORRIBLE form of grappling. I don't recommend it either!Were I to wield a double-edged, two-handed sword against an opponent, I would maintain my grip on the hilt and use part of my opponent's body as the "grip" on the blade. (Mind you, I'm not even talking about stabbing it through my opponent's body, yet.) For instance, I could hold the blade against the opponent's throat in the front, while the extension of the blade lays behind his shoulder. (I know this hard to visualize. I wish I knew how to post pictures in a message.) I would apply pressure with the hilt, most likely by simply walking past my opponent. The portion of the blade behind his shoulder acts as a fulcrum for my leverage. The opponent would most likely fall backwards. I would ride the blade towards the grip. Depending on circumstances, I would probably shift my knee into a position on the hilt, so that I could kneel on the sword as my opponent smashes into the ground and place my entire body mass on the end of my lever. On impact, the sword will most likely decapitate the victim or imbed itself deeply in the throat, after which a draw will complete the cut. We've trained beginners--people who have never even punched another person--to grapple with a weapon in about thirty minutes. We generally start with a short staff (hanbo) and demonstrate how the principles apply to every weapon of every size. I don't think it takes several feats, but it does require some training. To represent this, I made grappling with weapons part of the Improved Grapple feat.</blockquote>

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