Sword Fighting Styles

The sword is probably one of the longest used weapons by mankind, with its history spanning over many centuries. The sword, which was probably derived from the knives of the early days, is an apt hand to hand combat weapon. Though nowadays, the fighting styles and the sword, itself, are not used as a combat tool, the weapon is used by many fencing enthusiasts and collectors to recreate mock fights and also recreate battle scenes. Sword fighting techniques, differ from region to region, but are based upon the same principles of physics. The techniques differ due to the design of each and every sword. The design is derived from many different factors such as height of swords men, height of enemy, topography, etc. Though the swords developed independently throughout the different regions of the world they had two principle duties, namely defense and offense. Thrust, jab, point, slash and rip, are offensive techniques and restrict, block and evade are three defensive techniques. Apart from these techniques, there are many sword fighting terms that have evolved in course of time in regional languages throughout the world, for instance in India the foot work techniques are known as 'ghar'.

Different Styles of Sword Fighting

As mentioned above, sword fighting styles have developed in the course of time, individually, all across the world. The following are some prominent swordsmanship styles that have been practiced by people for a number of centuries and have been perfected into perfect martial arts. These styles have been broadly classified into Asian and European styles.

Asian Styles
In Asia, especially South east Asia and Japan, you will come across teachers dispensing sword fighting lessons to many young pupils. Martial arts have been embedded in the cultures all across Asia, and constant invasions by foreign powers, for a prolonged period of history have promoted sword fighting martial arts in these regions. In era prior to modernization, almost all young boys were trained by skillful masters in swordsmanship.

Japanese people who were also skilled blacksmiths had perfected the art and craft of operating the famous katana - a sword that is often considered to be even more lethal than several firearms. The katana is usually operated by two hands and is a long , thin and extremely sturdy sword with a flexible blade. This long sword is used to form a defensive radius around the swordsman and is also used for highly aggressive offensives such as thrust, poke and slash. The extreme sharpness of the blade has made this sword a deadly weapon. The Chinese used a comparatively broader sword such as the Dao, with a quite a heavy blade. This design was more apt for battles on plains and open grounds where the two armies collided head-on. An offensive was more apt for a Dao instead of an extremely speedy fight. The Dao was used as a single-handed weapon in most of martial arts. A similar sword that was developed by the Chinese was Jian, a single-handed sword that was principally used by nobility and royalty. It has been noted by historians, that apart from the katana, most Asians preferred to use single-handed swords such as Shamshir, a central Asian sword that was used as a single-handed sword.

European Styles
The history of European sword fighting techniques can be traced back to the use of Viking swords and the Roman Gladius. The Europeans in the initial stages have also used single-handed swords, but during the medieval ages, the focus shifted to two-handed swords with the introduction of the long sword. The reason for this shift over is probably the increasing speed of battles and a widespread use of cavalry. The long sword is often commented to be the most difficult to handle due to its length, weight and defensive features. The focus eventually shifted, in the late 16th century, to single-handed swords such as the Rapier which is in fact a single-handed sword. The use of Rapier, has led to the development of the sport of fencing.

If you want to learn more about the operation of swords and martial arts, on which the sword fighting techniques are based, then I would recommend you to visit some of the sword fighting academies that have come up in the recent past. Here you will also be taught sword fighting moves, that were practiced during ancient warfare.