Swordsmanship

The term is modern, and as such was mainly used to refer to smallsword fencing, but by extension it can also be applied to any martial art involving the use of a sword.

One translation of Juvenal's poetry by Barten Holyday in 1661 makes note that the Roman trainees learned to fight with the wooden wasters before moving on to the use of sharpened steel.

Little is known about early medieval fencing techniques save for what may be concluded from archaeological evidence and artistic depiction (see Viking Age arms and armour).

The technique of pattern welding of composite metals, invented in the Roman Empire around the end of the 2nd century A.D., provided some of these northern weapons superior properties in strength and resilience to the iron gladius of early Rome.

As time passed, the spatha evolved into the arming sword, a weapon with a notable cruciform hilt common among knights in the Medieval Age.

Some time after this evolution, the earliest known treatises (Fechtbücher) were written, dealing primarily with arming sword and buckler combat.

[citation needed] During this period of time, the longsword grew out of the arming sword, eventually resulting in a blade comfortably wielded in both hands at once.

The compendium compiled by Paulus Hector Mair in the 1540s looks back to the preceding century of work and attempts to reconstruct and preserve a failing art.

The use of the longsword continued to decline throughout the Renaissance period, marked by the increased effectiveness of the arquebus and the use of pike squares as a powerful implement of battle.

The Italian, French, and Spanish schools embraced this change in civilian armament and developed systems of rapier fencing.

The need to train swordsmen for combat in a nonlethal manner led fencing and swordsmanship to include a sport aspect from its beginnings, from before the medieval tournament right up to the modern age.

[7] There, he taught the aristocracy the fashionable art of swordsmanship which they had previously had to go the continent to learn, and also set up a riding school in the former rear garden of the house.

With the help of artist Gwyn Delin, he had an instruction book published in England in 1763, which had 25 engraved plates demonstrating classic positions from the old schools of fencing.

[8] He established the essential rules of posture and footwork that still govern modern sport fencing, although his attacking and parrying methods were still much different from current practice.

He began tutoring groups of students in the art of 'ancient swordplay' at a club attached to the London Rifle Brigade School of Arms in the 1880s.

He delivered numerous practical demonstrations with his colleague Egerton Castle of these systems during the 1890s, both in order to benefit various military charities and to encourage patronage of the contemporary methods of competitive fencing.

While earlier tachi were primarily intended to be used from horseback and were thus worn with the edge facing down, the later katana was worn with the edge facing upwards; this simple alteration allowed the wielder to transition immediately from a draw directly into an attack without needing to first re-orient their weapon or body, proving to be a more efficient and practical optimization tailored toward melee combat scenarios (which were becoming more common than mounted combat at that time).

Joseon's centralized government and the need to fend off frequent foreign invasions were conducive to the development of swordsmanship as a standardized military discipline.

Along with other martial systems, forms of swordsmanship were formalised in the military manual Muyejebo (1610) based on Qi Jiguang's Ji Xiao Xin Shu, and in the revisions, Muyesinbo (1759) and Muyedobotongji (1790).

The Muyedobotongji also describes standard lengths and weights of the swords used; while not exclusive to swordsmanship, 8 of the 23 chapters are devoted to it, reflecting the needs of the era when guns had not yet matured enough for short-range combat.

Swords in the Philippines come in a variety of forms but are traditionally consistent with the straight or lightly curved cutting type used by the tribes of neighbouring Borneo and Taiwan.

During the Battle of Mactan, Lapu-Lapu's tribe used native swords and spears to defeat Ferdinand Magellan's troops who were armed with guns and cannons.

The arrival of European colonists brought the influence of western swords, which is likely the origin of the pinuti's hand-guard and sabre-like blade.

Soldiers in ancient Indian subcontinent are recorded as carrying a shield and spear in their hands while a sword, dagger, and battle-axe were held at the waist.

The hero Arjuna, for instance, is made to wield a one-handed sword with a bevelled point, a small handguard, and a large round pommel.

Some blades were of such varying sizes that it is difficult to classify them as either daggers or swords, and they are thus referred to by archaeologists as dagger-swords.In modern Iran, traditional Persian armed combat called razmafzar is currently being reconstructed.

Assyrians made extensive use of the sword and dagger in hand-to-hand combat; the primary weapons were the bow, spear, and sling.

[citation needed] With the exception of their curved handles, they were nearly identical to medieval European arming swords in both function and design.

The 9th-century Muslim scholar Al-Kindi studied the craft of forging swords and found 25 sword-making techniques particular to their countries of origin, including Yemen, Iran, France, and Russia.

The curved scimitar blade which has now come to typify Middle Eastern swords came about after the Turkish Seljuk migration from Central Asia to Anatolia, popularizing the pre-existing Byzantine sabre designs for cavalry use, which influenced the entire region.