Haven't seen the movie; haven't seen the duel, but it sounds like a posture seen with both European and Japanese swordfighting; it wouldn't surprise me if it's seen in between; the sword hand on high, the blade tip facing forward and down with the main cutting edge facing forward and up; a position good for the deadly downward behind the shield thrust into the chest/throat (especially with a curved blade), and from which a cut can be deployed more quickly than from the high-and-back position that guards your sword (as seen in earlier medieval European art, for instance), and also allows/implies the protective use of the blade. The sheild, or lacking one, left arm, deployed for parries, grappling, etc..........On the other hand, it's fairly typical for newer "Hollywood" type movies that the martial arts are flavor of the month of what's on the N American scene, regardless of relevance to the historical milieu depicted; thus we've had the 3 musketeers using rapiers as if they were daito, and the opposite ridiculousness in old historical dramas with the sheild held to the rear, and sword in front; MacBeth using his spatha like a smallsword......sounds like this movie promulgates the ignorant popular idea of curved Islamic swords, and the glimpses of the commercials I've had may bear that out? Nice to hear it's not an antiMuslim hatefest, though.
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