How does one hold a tulwar?

[blue lander]

Isn't that fellows form of martial art an attempt at "reconstructing" Indian martial arts that were banned under the Raj? I wonder how definitive his interpretation should be considered

[sirupate]

I don't know if his stuff is reconstructed (like a lot of European MA) or he was taught it Blue Lander

[Rafngard]

Regarding the exposed thumb on the guy about to be disarmed, it's real easy to accidentally break someone's thumb in a disarm if they're holding on to tight. I suspect that's related.

Have fun,
Leif

[Timo Nieminen]

Just hold it in a hammer-grip, keep your wrist fairly straight (so the blade is at 90 degree to the forearm), and slice away (i.e., draw cut).

The snug fit lets you securely hold the sword without having to hold it tightly. So you can easily stay relaxed and fluid, and not tire. It's important to have the correct size hilt. Too small, and your hand is squeezed, but too large and you lose that relaxed but secure grip. Worse, the sword doesn't easily stay at the correct angle with a too-large hilt, and the pommel can dig into the hand/wrist. So rather than large one-size-fits-all hilts, we see a range of sizes. If your hilt is too small or big, replace it with the right size (or just swap the whole sword for one with a right-size hilt). The disc pommel isn't just to keep your hand there; it's also a good lever for moving the sword around.

I find the same thing with Viking sword hilts, and some other European medieval-style hilts. Notably, traditionally used with shields.

I find that hilts which curve forward at the end, away from the heel of the hand, with pommels that project forward past the little finger (e.g., a barong grip, some kris grips, shamshir grips, and many more), give some of the advantages of tulwar/Viking hilts, while at the same time giving you some of the advantages of handshake grip (or sabre grip). A kukri grip gives a similar (but different) compromise.

(1) Confined grips: stay in hammer grip
(2) Long straight grips: stay in handshake grip (perhaps with two hands)
(3) Hooked-forward grip: a hammer/handshake hybrid
I don't know how universal (2) is for the type of grip. Specifically, I don't know enough about grips used for fighting with SE Asian dha.

[sirupate]

Hi Blue Lander,
I'm not aware of Indian Martial Arts being banned under the Raj, indeed there was quite a bit of cross pollination, and many accounts of British Cavalry learning Indian sword techniques, all the best Simon

[blue lander]

http://gatkafederationofindia.org/gatka_british.php

I'm no expert on any of this stuff, but I've read similar accounts from other sites. On the other hand, it seems like basic knowledge like "how to hold a sword" would have survived even if it was banned.

Here's a probably irrelevant anecdote: I was showing my sword collection to an older Mongolian man, and he took my tulwar and dhal off the wall and started doing draw cuts with it. I have no idea what his background was since he only spoke a few words of English, but he seemed to know what he was doing. He was very unhappy with the hilt, from his gesturing I think he expected a shamshir hilt. He explained through gestures and his few words that you should never swing it like an axe, only draw cuts. What struck me was how short range these draw cuts were, you'd have to be within punching distance to actually hit anyone. Considering all of that, I doubt the tulwar hilt served any defensive purpose no matter how you grip it.

[sirupate]

Thanks for the link Blue Lander, that seems to contradict Swordsman of the British Empire, I wonder if anyone else has an opinion, cheers Simon

[Timo Nieminen]

Originally Posted by blue lander

Considering all of that, I doubt the tulwar hilt served any defensive purpose no matter how you grip it.

Yes. This is true of many, many sword hilts. While some sword hilts have a defensive function, the protection is rather minimal on many, and many don't provide any protection at all. The one universal function of a sword hilt is for holding/using the sword.

A knuckle-bow can still be useful in very close fighting - after all, the opponent probably has a naked sword blade of his own between your hand and his body, and a knuckle-bow will protect your hand when you accidentally put your hand into your opponent's blade.

Originally Posted by blue lander

I'm curious about knuckle bows on Tulwars. Some have them and some don't . Is this a regional thing or is one form older than the other?

I can't say anything useful about region or era, but can say something about function. The benefits are noted above, but there are disadvantages, too. If fighting in close, the knuckle-bow provides a handhold the the opponent to grab and control your sword. A knuckle-bow can also make it a little harder to grab your hilt properly when in a hurry.