The term “Hilt Shadow” is a term I use to describe the position of the crossguard of the sword, and how much you are allowing it to do its job. Simply put, the hilt shadow is the region of protection created by keeping your crossguard between your hands and your opponent.
If you are thinking “this seems a lot like the Sword and Buckler cone of defense”, that would be because it is essentially the same principle. Just with a cross guard that is a fraction as effective as a buckler. The concept is not all that difficult, and thinking of hilt shadow is just a different way of looking at things. And it can correct some significant, and common, technical flaws.
High Guard
High Vom Tag, the most kick-ass of all guards.
And naturally the one you put on the front of your book
Though this is supposed to be a super intimidating position, most people in High Vom Tag (HVT) end up feeling very vulnerable and exposed – specifically that they will get a snipe to the hands. But it doesn’t have to be that way, and hilt shadow might help you break out of the bad habits.
When in the HVT position you have accepted that you only have one good reaction, cutting down at the opponent. They step into measure, cut at them. They throw a thrust, cut at them. Someone in the crowd cheers loudly, cut at them. But my description is a little bit of a trick, because cutting “down” is the worst possible thing.
Imagine you are in HVT and someone cuts at you, and you are afraid of your hands. The natural reaction is to lower the hands as quickly as possible, and that is the exact wrong move.
This is how elbows work
I call this action “racing down with the hands” because you are attempting to dive under an incoming cut, which is not a good bet to make. Instead of racing under maybe if we tried to keep the hands up? Maybe I can invent a completely new and modern term like racing over for it?
Of course your hilt is only a thin bar of steel, and can not block everything. If they get tricky they can get around it. However I have found that the imminent cut coming in at their head will tend to keep them from doing anything too crazy to avoid your sword.
When I first started working for HVT another instructor told me that it was a bad idea because I was asking for a hand snipe. I made them a bet that they couldn’t consistently snipe my hands, and we had 10 rounds. Solely by focusing on shooting my point forward, rather than hands down, I was able to avoid getting hit all 10 times and successfully hit them in the head every time. (That doesn’t mean that the position is unbeatable, but it certainly was a good sign I was heading in the right direction.)
What if I Use Shoulder Tag Like a Normal Person?
This concept applies to every cut, and people cutting from Shoulder Vom Tag (SVT) tend to make the exact same mistake in a different form.
By pushing the hands forward first there is no protection afforded, and the problem is compounded by the lack of threat you are presenting. This makes the hands an attractive target for your opponent to attack as you are throwing your cut.
If the sword tip starts to move earlier you get the greatest possible protection from the crossguard. (And also protection from the blade itself, but we can ignore that for now.)
It Gets Even Better
The cool part about the idea of Hilt Shadow is that it synergizes with the other super important concept in cutting, leading with the point. Leading with the point will present a threat to the opponent in the shortest possible time, leaving them with less space to work with and counter your intention. In addition you will likely meet the opponent’s sword in a superior blade crossing, and have more inertia in your strike for them to absorb.
And, nearly and dearly to me, your cutting mechanics will be far better if you focus on leading with the point. And it is always nice when you find changes to your form that make both test cutting and sparring better.
Yay cutting!
Action Items
Look at some slow motion footage of you doing cuts. Identify at what point the point gets ahead of the hands and when your body starts to move forward. Look for places where you aren’t maximizing your Hilt Shadow as low hanging fruit to keep your hands safe.
Ultimately Hilt Shadow is just another way to look at the same good attacking mechanics which are well and widely known. But if this is the cue that makes it ‘click’ then all the better.