Category: Civilization, History, and Anthropology

REALISTIC MEDIEVAL COMBAT IS AN EXCERCISE IN POINTED THINGS.

An arrow, a lance, a spear, a sword, and a knife are piercing weapons.

A axe and a cutlass are chopping weapons.

A hammer, mace, and club, are smashing weapons.

Armor renders slicing weapons useless.

Edged weapons are useful only against the unarmored: rapiers are for dueling among gentlemen and knives for assassination or getto.

A bullet, like all pointed weapons concentrates energy in a tiny area and pierces, with damage caused by the hydraulic effect of mostly liquid biological tissue.

So any armored combat that relies upon edged weapons rather than very dangerous pointed weapons, less dangerous smashing weapons is material in technique.

But hacking and slashing and chopping with straight swords against armored opponents is about as meaningful as a pillow fight.

Fencing with foils or cutlass against merely padded opponents is more realistic.

A melee between armored men with long swords looks like a fight with short spears.

A melee between armored men with single handed swords and shields looks more like an MMA brawl than fencing.

Hand to hand fighting is a last resort more dependent upon the physicality and athleticism of the fighters. So most of history involved fighting that keeps men at distance and reliant upon technology and skill.

Guns are just the most recent equalizer of men in battle.

Although drones really remove the physicality of man from the conflict entirely.

Duchesne;