I see some very different opinions in the comments, which is good as long as we keep it civil. No need to insult anyone. The guys in the video acknowledge themselves that what they're doing is dangerous, and they're more than old enough to decide whether the bottom line of risk-reward is worth it to them.

Although I feel a certain way about it I'm not trying to claim that what they're doing is objectively wrong. Unnecessarily risky and inadvisable in my opinion, but clearly they have been able to handle it without anything serious happening, at least so far. Also it looks like the vast majority of their HEMA practice is done conventionally, with protective gear. This is an experiment rather than practice.

Something to add that I forgot to mention in the video: If you think this is the most "real" way to experience sword fighting, don't forget that it's still artificial and quite limited in some ways. Thrusts and many other viable attacks are either excluded or discouraged by not counting them as valid hits, and they have to move differently to not put each other in the hospital. Full gear is a hindrance, but it allows you to use martially viable techniques that would end a historical duel to the death immediately.

He is just employed in the Ministry of Silly Walks.

This is incredibly dangerous. As Skal mentions several times, these are metal blades they're swinging around with pretty considerable force. What I will say though, is that compared to the HEMA longsword "tournament-style" fights I've seen, these guys are actually moving like it'll be bad if they get hit - because it will. I've watched HEMA matches and they just rush each other and try to get more points getting doubled with little to no sense of self-protection. Maybe it's not always like that, hopefully not, but it's something I cannot help but notice.

“A couple of rich dudes that can afford good health insurance do some medieval kill bill shit”

This reminds me of my Sifu's stories about sparring when he was young.  They'd spar all-out and barely pull their punches and kicks.  He said at least once a month someone went to the doctor.  Now he's blown out both his knees, broken an arm, a collar bone, and probably a few other bones and aches every morning.  The biggest lesson he had for us was "We were young and stupid.  Don't do what we did."

What's getting me is the lack of neck protection. Even with blades that aren't sharp, there are a few times where a strike toward the head flexes enough that it looks close to stabbing the neck!

This speaks alot about duels historically.

The idea behind duelling was that it should be a last resort, the if both party's are willing to resolve there dispute with orginized violence then they will probably do so with unorganized violence, and instead of a lawful resolution  that would be petty to disagree with, the unlawful method will lead to revenge and further bloodshed.

Even duels to first blood almost always come at the caveat that should you kill your opponent, you will be charged with murder and punished so. Making even the safest duels dangerous.

I think Healthcare insurance companies would increase my rates if i took up that hobby.

They want to have mensur scars I guess.

I did this as a yad lad.  ( Young And Dumb) With fencing Epee and Saber. No excuse save macho stupidity, and at 60 years old still have visible scars.
Though, girls were " impressed" and there was that influence involved.

Longsworders have somehow managed to make their game even more concussion inducing, simultaneusly very impressed and not at all.

I hold that what happens between consenting adults is their own business, but publishing that business does include third parties. I think the concern over underqualified copycats you raise is a valuable one. It colors everything we put out there, but whether or not a disclaimer is sufficient responsibility for doing so? I don't know. It's been legally sufficient for much worse in the past. Looking at you MTV. But morally sufficient?

That aside, the conditions of this exploration will produce something analogous to a Fechtschule as we commonly understand it, but that carries with it both the artifacts of the original abstraction circa 1500's, and the modern ones. As we can see, a ruleset with these prohibitions and scoring conditions will prioritize certain techniques over others. This is something we'll see in any sportive context.

Where I advise caution is in taking this narrow lens as a basis to condemn an entire system of fencing as your instructor has so flippantly done. It implies an inadequate reading of Meyer. I did not start with Meyer, I started with Ringeck, Danzig, and Lew. I pursued that for half a decade before indulging my growing curiosity into Meyer's work. I have found the pursuit deeply enriching and gained plenty of tools that have served me well. What's more, the deeper I read, the more, and more I come across a passage that causes me to nod and remember the same from R,D,L. The corpus of Liechtenauer is in Meyer if you look for long enough.

The biggest trap people can fall into is to read through the introduction to longsword, and get some ways through fencing from the stances and think they've gotten the picture. That's wholly inadequate. Yet, even in that small slice, we have the very tools to address these supposed gaps in the system.

Selected quotes:
Nachreisen - "This is an especially good Handwork, and whoever is well practiced in this and knows well how to use it can deservedly be praised as a master. You conduct yourself in pursuit like this: you hurry after your counterfencer to the opening (because your counterfencer cuts with their weapon either too high or too low or too far out), and you thus prevent them from completing their cut. *This can properly be used against those who fence with the cuts sweeping wide around themselves.*"

Schneiden - "Among the Handwork, this is also correctly considered a *core technique*. When you are rushed by your counterpart with quick and fast sequences, *you have no better technique to obstruct and hinder than with the slice*, which you should keep in mind beforehand in all sequences as a special gem invented for this purpose.
You must complete the slice as follows: after you receive your counterpart’s sword with the bind, you should tarry there, to feel whether they want to lift from the bind or strike around. As soon as they strike around, then follow them with the long edge on their arm ... "
(See also that he includes Händedrücken/Crushing Hands - Off target for their ruleset, very on target for the system)

"Item, if a fencer already fences wide and long in of themselves with the long edge, but more at your sword than at your body, then you should change through at their closest opening and let them completely miss with their cuts."

"... as soon as your Strong touches their sword (while [the swords] still mutually glance together) you should turn the Weak to the next opening and snap and twist with flicks."

Mind, this rule reappears in Dussack with a thrustier modification:
"... as often as two cuts touch or bind together, in that moment in which they beat in the bind, you thrust forward on their [sword] ..."
And obviously again in rapier:
"“... in all counteractions, guide the point straight ahead or toward their face, and wherever they cut from, turn the long edge likewise (as taught previously) to counter their cut ..."

If we then continue to expand our scope to the other weapons as we're intended to, we have some other universal precepts like the following:

“These cuts in the Before involve a lot of practical skill in the art because you must readily consider that you can’t cut or thrust without exposing yourself by this action. They will then have positioned themselves in this counterposture so that, wherever you allow yourself to be noticed by a cut or become exposed, they will be able to penetrate to the closest of the openings.”

“However, if you have more closely approached one another so that both blades touch together in the middle in the bind, you should not ever cut around in this case, nor rise from their blade without specific advantage because, as soon as you were to rise from their blade, they could rush you with pursuit. Instead, be aware of the sequences which can be fenced on their blade, and take diligent note: if they were to cut through or otherwise expose themselves, that you force them backwards in response.”

Expanding even further past the 1570 book into 1561, we have this very relevant passage, speaking to the artifacts of the ruleset and the scope of his work:
"Because it happens at the present time that people will run in together with each other, and strike deliberately at the fists, fingers and wrists, and yet only a few will know how to guard and protect themselves, therefore, I want to give a short and good lesson on how such things are to be changed and countered. ..."

As to the footwork, there are some raised foot actions in Meyer but I cannot think of any that expect you to land the cut with your foot sticking out somewhere. Most commonly, they're used as part of a deception, where you raise your foot while signaling one action but change to something else by the time your foot lands.
E.g. “... in that moment in which you threaten the thrust, lift your right foot to step, and pull the threatened thrust so quickly that you set the lifted foot back down with the completion of the Low Cut, so that the step forward and the strike are completed together.”

It is not the fault of the system that Meyerists Be Like That, but only that the flashy elements that allow one to immediately clock someone as doing Meyer Be Like That, while the rest of the body of work is indistinguishable from anything else. Nor are these "trademark" techniques always appropriate or even encouraged, as “... no sequence, regardless of how good, can be usefully fenced if it is not used at the opportune time.” If you're exclusively fencing Meyer with big sweeping cuts and nothing else, you're not really fencing Meyer.

“There are always more who criticize than improve.”
- Joachim Meyer, 16 C. Fencing Master

Translations by Rebecca Garber 1570 & Kevin Maurer 1561

Let's say you want more of the "feeling" of a real sword-duel. As @dapperdapps said, you can see that they are wary of being hit, and that is real. But they seem to be headhunting, as the way to win is to bleed the head. And I can see, in a "real duel", how you'd likely go for the hands at any opening. Broken hand, you cannot hold the sword.
Or the leg, a cut tendon and you cannot walk.
But are these guys more skilled than me? Yeah, I'd probably be hit three times before I figured out how to avoid or block or parry. And it has a degree of bravery.
I hope they stay safe. Good video Skall, thank you.

The constant barking truly adds to the Mount&Blade ambience

There are two kinds of sword fighters in the modern age. Those who think play fighting is fun, but would never want to be a real sword fight, and those who think play fighting is fun enough, as the closest legal thing they can get to what they really want to do, real fighting.

At least they got safety goggles on...😁😁😁

Verily!  Hold my ale...

I'm surprised to see this covered here since I was just training with one of the guys who did this. He runs a Meyer club in the city I live in. He said people who did this historically in the fechtshuchle still needed to go to work the next day (as did both of them), so they fenced with that in mind. I certainly wouldn't do this, but it was interesting to hear his thoughts about it.

4:11 A quick, controlled tap to the head to draw blood in an unarmoured duel brings my mind to the end of the famous duel from The Deluge.

They look like they know exactly how stupid this is, which is better than just being stupid I guess