Fighting Ireland's Best! Longsword Competition Run (Blademaster 2026)

Welcome to my run of Blademaster! Below are the rules, some notes I had on a personal level, and timestamps. COMP RULES. As in the video: 5 points for deep targets (head and torso) 3 points for shallow targets (arms and legs) Landing a deep thrust with a bind made your opponent's afterblow shallow regardless of target. All one-handed actions were one-point. Disarms and grappled with clear intention were 5 point. Time limites were 9 exchanges, 3 minutes, or first to 20 points. And for the most part, the point system was "deductive" in the same way that the Nordic system was. So someone hits your head, and you one handed cut them on the leg, they got 4 points. Or if you stabbed them in the chest, and you cut them on the head, there would be zero points to either fencer, but the exchange would still count, etc. Overall, I really enjoyed how cool this system was, it felt like it tried really hard to address one-handed actions as risky, but also made them still impactful in getting rid of an "exchange". Really interesting and fun to fence within this for myself, as I had never done it before. SUMMARY/Personal Notes One of the most excited I've been to compete. My first time flying anywhere for a competition, which was its own stress, and my first international! Now, it's only Ireland so I consider it a bit of a baby-step compared to going to somewhere hardcore like Finland or Poland, but for me, it was a big step. Overall, I was so tired, but so happy, and really enjoyed it. Hopefully I didn't come across as too serious to everyone who was there: very much was trying my best to be in as locked in as possible to ensure I could medal. A lot of thanks to give out! Thanks to Blademaster: competitors, referees, and all supporters who make such a fun competition possible. Keep at it Ireland! It was such fun and a really great atmosphere. Thanks also to Szymon and Alicja. Sorry again for saying this for maybe the millionth time, but you guys deserve the most praise for all the support and help getting me from place to place, also journeying with me/telling me about this competition in the first place! Also, thanks for to Mark Wilkie and the IHA, of which I borrowed the beautiful sword I was using in training there for the past two weeks: and further for all the training I did with you lot to feel comp-ready. TIMESTAMPS! 00:00 Highlights 00:24 Gary 01:35 Martin 03:26 Jehdil 04:48 Michal 06:29 Frank 07:52 Gyorgy vs Szymon (Frog Fencer Activities) 09:41 Remi 11:18 Colin vs Szymon (Frog Fencing Chaos) 12:51 BRONZE MEDAL MATCH! Szymon vs Remi (Double Frog Action) 14:12 GOLD MEDAL MATCH! Colin vs Oli 15:39 Epilogue