May 25, 2025
I really dislike your formatting as it's very difficult to read and would strongly recommend using things like quotation marks to differentiate between speech. Take this chapter for example: This chapter, chapter 4? It's literally just one paragraph, one block of text. Also you might want to use a spellchecker because amongst other things, Skilless should be spelt with two L's, not three.
This next part is probably going to be pretty brutal against your concept so I apologize in advance if I offended you.
I've skimmed 4 chapters and it's slow going but the bigger problem is that I still don't understand how HEMA is supposed to be game-changing considering: a) martial arts were developed to fight against human opponents, not bears, magical equivalents, or magic-wielding demons, b) if you could use magic, why wouldn't you use both as that's the strength of mixed martial arts against traditional schools (Bruce Lee would totally use magic if he could), c) HEMA is focused on single-combat, not group combat, and the martial knowledge is mostly about using a variety of different weapons and forms from different periods but before the popularization of firearms, weapons, armor, and tactics almost always favored pikes and pike formations (a pike square can defeat cavalry, pikes vastly out-range other melee weapons, pikes are considered primary weapons unlike most swords which are considered secondary weapons so assuming an armored and dismounted men-at-arms closed the distance, it becomes a swordfight, or two people trying to bash each other over the head with the pommel of their sword), d) tactical formations from before the popularization of firearms always favored pike squares so a phalanx for example is useless so what's the value in learning the history?, e) wouldn't introducing game-changing technology or industrialization be more effective? f) skirmishing, Fabian's, terrorism/insurgencies, asymmetric tactics, and modern tactics to defeat conventional forces be more effective than pitched battles?
I understand that you're trying to come up with a justification for why HEMA knowledge and tactics should defeat magic but it just doesn't make sense, especially when modern tactics also exist. If you're focused on logic and tactics, mixed martial arts with magic, like the Witchers, is the only logical result in a world where magic exists. Even in our world, HEMA is HEMA because it's obsolete. I can understand bullets or projectiles not working - a reason for that can be easily contrived but pikes, man. Pikes are the best, there's just no way to beat them. If you can enchant a sword, you can enchant a pike and anything that can defeat a pike will defeat a sword.
I can understand HEMA being maybe useful against humans vs. humans but why would it work against demons?
Let's take a look at Attack on Titan - specialized gear was developed to fight titans. This makes sense because they're fighting titans, not humans. In Gundam, mobile suits are made because naval tactics become obsolete due to minovsky particles. In Pacific Rim, Jaegers are made to fight Kaijus because nothing else works. It's the nature of the enemy that drives the tactics. Even Bran Stoker's Dracula features anti-vampire weaponry and tactics because their opponents are vampires, not humans. But your enemy here are demons, not humans, so how does HEMA knowledge and tactics, which are all based against fighting humans, supposed to help?
I just don't understand the core logic.
