I’ve always been a fan of Man at Arms: Reforged, so when I saw an email from polish Blacksmith Alan Padzinski, I was keen to see what he was showing off. It turned out not to be about blacksmithing at all, rather a seemingly natural extension of it; sword fighting. Alan’s Polish heritage – coupled with his martial training – makes him particularly well suited to show off some moves from Polish developer CD Projekt Red’s The Witcher. He’s working now to expand his YouTube channel, The Sword’s Path.
Given that I know virtually nothing about sword fighting, I can’t actually speak to whether Alan is a technically proficient sword fighter, but his The Witcher fighting tutorials look real enough. For me, the coolest thing about Alan’s channel isn’t the content itself, rather how he is crossing over from forging swords to wielding them and, more importantly, how he’s taking his fans along for the ride.
His skills with a forge aren’t really up for debate, as you can see from these project pictures. That high heel? When your dog chews up your girlfriend’s favorite heels, this is the single best way to make amends. Fantasy armor and weapons are, more often than not, intricately designed and decorated, and Alan seems to be able to capture every detail. From rune-etched swords to fantastical boob armor, Alan’s crafting is impressive. If you want to see more of his crafting, check out the AudentiaGuild site. If you want to know how to swing that sword, though, check out his channel, The Sword’s Path.
