My introduction to Buckler...

In a way.

One of the things that makes HEMA distinct from fencing is the fact that people use the other hand. It's an easy thing to point at as a difference.  Personally, I find the option of an off-hand weapon to be remarkably sensible and pragmatic. Even if you don't really know what you're doing, it improves your chances of coming out alive and if you're up against brutes who really enjoy closing, it makes them think twice.

Unfortunately, the cost of a safe dagger is prohibitively expensive as club kit. It's a shame and I work around that issue in a variety of ways (including a very drill which means that I can just use one rapier and one dagger for each pair), but it is difficult to build up any kind of solid base.

However, during my reading around I've started to look at offhand weapons in general- to see how the theory matches up and what kinds of threads can be tied in and used to create a solid understanding of a concept that is largely overlooked in modern stuff. Looking at the "new" bits is one of the ways I gain understanding. When I finally get to play with quarterstaff, I'll be concentrating on what to do with the butt and how to protect hands since the long end is not that dissimilar from basic sword work.

I digress... This is supposed to be why rapier/sword and buckler is a good base for offhand weapon use. The big deal is that bucklers can be sourced fairly cheaply. You can get 3-4 of them for the price of a Hanwei dagger.  There's some crossover between use with simple and complex hilts, so the majority of theory and body mechanics is compatible. The distinction is basically made through personal preference and what kind of fight you enjoy.   There are problems with steel vs nylon, but this may be reduced due to the rounded edges of the buckler, it's not something I've investigated yet.   So on the kit and integration side, it's starting to look like a no-brainer.



The later material is a bit sketchy and there's certainly the possibility of some Victorian revisionism sneaking in under the radar. But it's there, with a strong base from simple hilt work and digging through sources and criticisms, it's possible to reconstruct the complex hilt usage. Especially if you include the criticisms and see how those altered later styles and off-hand choices.

As for the fight?

Well, I'm almost ideologically opposed to anything with simple hilts, it just seems a bit silly to have spent so damn long without even a knuckle bow to protect your fingers from being sniped at. The buckler provides the protection of a detachable complex hilt and so removes that reservation. This makes the fight a lot more fun, especially in the modern world where damaged fingers are very inconvenient. Your flinch reactions to an outside cut bring the buckler in line to parry without much in the way of change.  In all it makes it quite clear why bucklers were popular.

They're less fun in complex hilt fights because they're basically a heavier version of a dagger without the stabby bit.  So coming from that direction is a little disappointing, but as a newbie's introduction to the off-hand, it should be rather good- you don't have to worry about orientation in the way you do with a dagger, and it feels more protective (even if it's not really).


In conclusion- I think buckler will be a valuable tool for teaching off-hand stuff, and it's fun.