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Would a sword attached to a long metal gauntlet be a solution for Jaime's sword-fighting problems?


mystickristoff

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He has a metal hand attached to his stump. What if, instead, it would be a sword attached or even welded to a long metal gauntlet instead? Have a bunch of straps and belts securing it to his forearm and meet at the elbow and have more straps towards his shoulders to keep it in place. He won't have mobility with his wrists since it's all strapped in but at least he has a sword securely placed on his right hand, his sword hand.



Sure, who would want to walk around with a sword attached to your hand all day? Well, he doesn't have to wear it. It will only be worn when he's preparing for combat. He would have a sword in a sheath by his hip just like all swords, except this one will have a long gauntlet and several straps and whatnot hanging from it as well. It may take him a good 5 minutes to actually put it on or may even need help to put it on... but hey... theoretically, he gets back his Kingslayer skills back right?



It doesn't take high-tech stuff to pull this off. Medieval technology will suffice. Heck, they were able to make a strap for Bran's legs to a horse so he can fire arrows properly from horseback. A long gauntlet attached to a sword sounds rather crude compared to that.



Do you think it will work? I'm assuming one problem would be the gauntlet "slipping" around his forearm, making sword alignment difficult, but that's what the straps and belts and whatever also attached to his elbow and even up his shoulders, are for, to keep them in place. It will be uncomfortable for sure.


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He has a metal hand attached to his stump. What if, instead, it would be a sword attached or even welded to a long metal gauntlet instead? Have a bunch of straps and belts securing it to his forearm and meet at the elbow and have more straps towards his shoulders to keep it in place. He won't have mobility with his wrists since it's all strapped in but at least he has a sword securely placed on his right hand, his sword hand.

Sure, who would want to walk around with a sword attached to your hand all day? Well, he doesn't have to wear it. It will only be worn when he's preparing for combat. He would have a sword in a sheath by his hip just like all swords, except this one will have a long gauntlet and several straps and whatnot hanging from it as well. It may take him a good 5 minutes to actually put it on or may even need help to put it on... but hey... theoretically, he gets back his Kingslayer skills back right?

It doesn't take high-tech stuff to pull this off. Medieval technology will suffice. Heck, they were able to make a strap for Bran's legs to a horse so he can fire arrows properly from horseback. A long gauntlet attached to a sword sounds rather crude compared to that.

Do you think it will work? I'm assuming one problem would be the gauntlet "slipping" around his forearm, making sword alignment difficult, but that's what the straps and belts and whatever also attached to his elbow and even up his shoulders, are for, to keep them in place. It will be uncomfortable for sure.

I agree with Gallowsknight, all he could do would be to flail about. Using a sword properly requires an awful lot of work with the wrist, and even the fingers.

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Yeah, two words: wrist movement.



Experiment: Grab a stick and lock your wrist while swinging it around. You have to alter your whole fighting style to adjust for the missing motion from your wrist. It all has to come from your elbow and shoulder, now. It might work. However, against a non-disabled opponent, you will probably be at a disadvantage.



That being said, there are similar real-world historical examples for that kind of weapon. See the Indian Pata. And here. Also called "gauntlet swords".


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Yeah, two words: wrist movement.

Experiment: Grab a stick and lock your wrist while swinging it around. You have to alter your whole fighting style to adjust for the missing motion from your wrist. It all has to come from your elbow and shoulder, now. It might work. However, against a non-disabled opponent, you will probably be at a disadvantage.

That being said, there are similar real-world historical examples for that kind of weapon. See the Indian Pata. And here. Also called "gauntlet swords".

Yep, I was going to link to Matt Easton as well :)

So they could theoretically make a sword like that for Jaime. Though he'd probably be better of just learning to use his left hand. That way he wouldn't need to learn (or invent even) a whole new style of fighting.

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I think he would have a hard time learning to fight with that, similar to his efforts to use his left hand. Plus he was an "artist with a sword" and a free wrist movement does a lot in that regard. Also the weight of the sword and the force from the impacts would most likely destroy his stump, resulting in more amputations.


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I think it's an interesting concept, but I think it loses some of the metaphor illustratrated between Jaime learning to use his left hand, and the growth of his character. Learning to fight with this left hand is difficult, and takes time, as does his development as a character from an asshat who fucks his sister in church and pushes kids out of windows, to an individual of higher character. It's possible, over time, for Jaime to become better with his left hand then he was with his right, as Qhoren Halfhand did. This would match the idea that Jamie can become a better person then he was before.



A mechanical solution destroys the trial and effort involved in the physical solution. That's why they don't put escalators or cable cars going up to the top of Mt. Fuji. Getting to the top has to be a physical, thus spiritual, journey.


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Well, the straps and belts attaching to his elbow and shoulder should take some of the weight of the sword off his stump. That Indian Pata sword looks more like it would stress his stump more because it would directly push on it from a stabbing motion since the sword is straight from his stump.



And yes, there would be no wrist movement. But would the Indian Pata have that problem as well?



But anyways, he could always have both attached to his hip, the Indian Pata and this crude thing. Or have one carried on his back. It would be bulky but he won't be carrying this around if he's in King's Landing or in Casterly Rock. Just only when he's preparing for a fight. He could also carry a mace or axe for his left hand too, sheathed by his hip.



By the way, he can use his left hand to support his right hand sword. A technique called Half-swording. He'll have a glove on his left had anyways so he won't get cut by his own sword, preferably a valyrian steel sword.



Also, he could put padding inside the metal gauntlet for comfort.


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I believe Martin did not cut off the hand of his most skilled knight at that moment only to come up with some weird mechanism to allow him to fight again. Sure, I guess Martin wants Jaime not to be completely useless in battle, but the whole point is that he's going to have to do other stuff now.


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Well, the straps and belts attaching to his elbow and shoulder should take some of the weight of the sword off his stump. That Indian Pata sword looks more like it would stress his stump more because it would directly push on it from a stabbing motion since the sword is straight from his stump.

And yes, there would be no wrist movement. But would the Indian Pata have that problem as well?

But anyways, he could always have both attached to his hip, the Indian Pata and this crude thing. Or have one carried on his back. It would be bulky but he won't be carrying this around if he's in King's Landing or in Casterly Rock. Just only when he's preparing for a fight. He could also carry a mace or axe for his left hand too, sheathed by his hip.

By the way, he can use his left hand to support his right hand sword. A technique called Half-swording. He'll have a glove on his left had anyways so he won't get cut by his own sword, preferably a valyrian steel sword.

Also, he could put padding inside the metal gauntlet for comfort.

You can't move your wrists while using those swords either, no.

I think the main problem would be that his legendary right hand skills wouldn't transfer over to this new style of fighting very well. All his training and experience was with swords where use of the wrist and hands was paramount.

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Wait a minute! You can hold a longsword with two hands by the hilt, similar to a the way a katana is held. Even if his right hand won't have wrist movement, his left hand still holding the sword will. It would support his other hand but all sword-fighting knowledge would be applied to his right hand. You won't be able to pull this off with an Indian Pata but you could with this crude gauntlet-sword attachment.



Does anyone here practice HEMA or SCA? It's a sword fighting thing in real life that I heard is big in Europe now. If you do, do you think this would work?



One problem with Jaime using his left hand was because he was of course using it one-handed, with no support from his right hand. But aren't longswords typically used with two hands if you're not using a shield?


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From everything I understand about wielding a sword, wrist movement and grip both are key factors. Just strapping a sword to the stump isn't going to make him as effective as he was. If anything all that weight strapped down would be ineffective and cumbersome being the center of gravity would be so far away from the straps. He'd be better off using his left and strapping a shield to the right arm.


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I believe Martin did not cut off the hand of his most skilled knight at that moment only to come up with some weird mechanism to allow him to fight again. Sure, I guess Martin wants Jaime not to be completely useless in battle, but the whole point is that he's going to have to do other stuff now.

I agree. Jaime practiced with Ilyn Payne so that he wouldn't be completely useless in a combat situation, but mostly as a form of therapy where he could talk out loud about how fucked his life is without worrying about Ilyn telling anyone. GRRM likely took away his sword hand to force him to develop other skills beyond one-on-one combat.

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