With the arrival of guns, the art of swordsmanship had slowly died. For years it was more or less forgotten, living only in old books covered in dust and cobwebs.
Then we had rediscovered the art thanks to the books. Thus the HEMA has come to existence.
Now it’s time to rediscover the fighting with cold weapons in your artwork. Are you prepared?
Fighting with axe
Tight on money? Battle-axe is an excellent choice, then. They were often cheaper than swords and considerably more available. Besides a fight, you can use them as a tool. You can wield them one-handed or in both hands, depending on the length of the haft. They also weight far less than modern splitting axes, since they were used mainly to cut limbs rather than wood.
The ax is traditional weapon of dwarves. At least in fantasy stories.
Fighting with knife
Knives weren’t the most traditional fighting equipment. Not in wars. They could accompany sword in a duel, though. In the modern day, they’re more common, e.g. in street fights.
Knives are excellent weapons for stealthy rogues, assassins, and thieves because they’re light and easy to carry. According to fantasy based novels, of course.
Fighting with spear
Now, the spear is something of a granny among weapons. Our ancestors used it in some shape at least 400000 years ago. Spears even survived to the modern era in the form of a bayonet. Maybe it wasn’t that useless. Certainly not, since it could be a worthy opponent to a sword.
Spears are also in many legends. Rhongomyniad was a spear of King Arthur. Gungnir belonged to Odin. And even Poseidon used a spear, or a Trident to be precise.
Fighting with sword
And we’ll finish with the sword, the most iconic cold weapon of them all. And the most butchered one, as well. I know, you want to have a cool looking sword, there’s nothing wrong with that. However, there’s a good reason historical swords looked the way they looked and weren’t in such wild shapes and forms.
Swords are the best weapon choice for any hero. Well, maybe except for Legolas.
