Make hay while the fists fly

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Raymond1000

Joined
Oct 8, 2006
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Is there anybody here who knows about using a scythe and about boxing? I suppose I could post this in practical tactical. But I doubt scythe users are thick on the ground over there.

The theory is that the haymaker punch is so named because it is similar to, or derived from, the body motion used to swing a scythe.

Maybe that’s true. Maybe not. I’ve never used a scythe myself, so I don’t get a vote.

Does the haymaker punch really have anything to do with harvesting grass or grain?
 
The fact that it uses more rotation of the torso applies, but I think that it has to do more with the fact that the arm is performing a circular thrust, causing the forearm to be analogous to the blade of a scythe, the elbow being where the blade mounts to the snath, and the upper arm being the the snath itself. This 90°-angled sweeping motion would most easily be likened the relationship of a scythe as it cuts its swath.
 
http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=haymaker

"haymaker (n.) Look up haymaker at Dictionary.com
mid-15c. as the name of an agricultural occupation (hay-making is attested from c.1400); 1910 in the sense of "very strong blow with the fist," from hay + agent noun of make; the punch probably so called for resemblance to the wide swinging stroke of a scythe. Haymaker punch attested from 1907."
 
FortyTwoBlades said:
The fact that it uses more rotation of the torso applies, but I think that it has to do more with the fact that the arm is performing a circular thrust, causing the forearm to be analogous to the blade of a scythe, the elbow being where the blade mounts to the snath, and the upper arm being the the snath itself. This 90°-angled sweeping motion would most easily be likened the relationship of a scythe as it cuts its swath.
Click to expand...

I’d assumed the blow used the same body and arm motion as swinging a scythe.

Comparing the forearm to the scythe blade itself is an interesting way to put it. Confusing though, unless I’m misunderstanding. You don’t normally thrust with a scythe blade, do you?
 
Raymond1000 said:
I’d assumed the blow used the same body and arm motion as swinging a scythe.

Comparing the forearm to the scythe blade itself is an interesting way to put it. Confusing though, unless I’m misunderstanding. You don’t normally thrust with a scythe blade, do you?
Click to expand...

No, you don't thrust with a scythe per se, but it's a circular motion with the toe of the blade leading into the cut.

[video=youtube;vyqVtIHhf34]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vyqVtIHhf34[/video]
[video=youtube;pT7T2ohrlKM]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pT7T2ohrlKM[/video]
[video=youtube;Oe-OfaMsogA]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oe-OfaMsogA[/video]
 
I used a scythe for several summer while a young man working on the road dept.
it was great fun.now as a 52 year old land owner I still enjoy using my personal scythe.it save gas and can cut large areas quickly.
of course for smaller areas a machete is more fun.but IMHO a scythe stroke sure does resemble a full power punch.its a similar motion.
 
Using a scythe is the one thing I enjoy more than using a machete. :D
 
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