Originally posted by AmbientFireAnd yet he has no way to pierce chain mail, has never encountered a fighter with a shield before, and is likely the smaller combatant with a smaller weapon, Richard is described as having been a tall man.
I'm going to have to go with Musashi on this one. He killed his first samurai when he was 13, and he was never defeated in combat. I'm trying to find credible sources on this, but it is said he defeated/killed 60 men in duels before he retired from fighting.He also participated in 6 wars, developed his own school of martial arts. One occasion he duelled against several senior students and the master of a martial arts school at the same time, managed to kill the master, and make his "tactical retreat". Richard may have seemed like a lunatic, but I can't find any records of him killing a man when he himself was 13.
Originally posted by NemeBroYou were the one who highlighted how insane it was to call that encounter a duel.
That means frankly very little in terms of a one on one fight you stupid pile of cow manure.
Let's be clear, Musashi doesn't just yell "SURPRISE!" and attack Richard while he's busy in this thread. uhuh Richard's army leading experience is legitimately more relevant.
As is his axe. Musashi's largest advantage, imho, is that he comes from a later period in history, and his armour might have steel plates rather than the laminated leather and bamboo typical of earlier times.
The axe Richard carries into this thread should still be effective in that scenario, able to break bones even if it doesn't get through. He also has a shield, which is extremely practical.
Originally posted by CosmicComet
Killing a man at 13 is cool--needs more context though, but not as cool as having been leading small armies by the time you are 16, which Richard was.
Well, there was a Chinese 2-year old emperor who "lead" his army into battle (and got tossed off a cliff after said battle). That doesn't mean that he alone commanded the battle.
Wasn't a spear in Musashi's thread load out? How well does a spear work against a chainmail? (either piercing or blunt trauma?) Also, is Richard's face, hands, and other joints entirely covered by superior armour? I looked around a bit and it seems that Richard's legs would've been uncovered from the knees down, his hands would've been uncovered, his face would be open-helmet with a nasal-protector possibly.
Another question is how cumbersome Richard's armour was, how much did it weigh? One of Musashi's favoured strategies was the waiting game - it is highly conceivable that he would wait for Richard's armour to get too heavy for him to move effectively (remember, all the weight of that armour goes on his shoulders, it's not evenly distributed as later armour tech is) and then strike.
Another aspect of shields is that they (assuming Richard used anything like a heater shield) leave the legs relatively unprotected, and limit usage of the shield arm.
Anyhoo TLDR - Musashi waits Richard out and goes for his legs until Richard can't effectively walk anymore. Now he's tired, can't move his legs, and the longer the fight goes on, the less likely it is that he can use his arms effectively - his shield arm couldn't be used effectively to begin with because of the shield, but that's another story.
Richard has a kite shield in this thread.
Originally posted by ScreamPasteNowhere did I say the Musashi example demonstrated his duel capabilities. I just pointed out that leading armies doesn't either, stupid *****.
You were the one who highlighted how insane it was to call that encounter a duel.Let's be clear, Musashi doesn't just yell "SURPRISE!" and attack Richard while he's busy in this thread. uhuh Richard's army leading experience is legitimately more relevant.
As is his axe. Musashi's largest advantage, imho, is that he comes from a later period in history, and his armour might have steel plates rather than the laminated leather and bamboo typical of earlier times.
The axe Richard carries into this thread should still be effective in that scenario, able to break bones even if it doesn't get through. He also has a shield, which is extremely practical.