by Nekomata-sensei » Wed Apr 27, 2011 11:01 pm
From what I've heard, a lot of the old European martial arts (including ones related to the use of longswords and broadswords) have been lost, partly due to practitioners dying out in duels and plagues and stuff, and following a master/apprentice system, rather than a master/school system, so if both the master and the single heir die out, the fighting style is lost.
It's also relatively simple in some ways. Despite being a bladed weapon, the longsword is often treated similar to some kind of club-like weapon where the edge focuses the force, rather than slicing or slashing or piercing, using the weight of the blade, because they were often used against opponents in heavy armors, often used in knightly duels and such. The broad-sword was particularly geared towards such, it's breadth adding to it's mass, in order to have greater impacts and impart greater momentum against an enemy's armor. Two-handed swords were often used even more simplistically, but unlike the others couldn't be used with a shield or on horseback, and were even more extreme in being intended to simply bash through an enemy's armor with the force of both hands. The blade doesn't actually need to penetrate or damage the armor itself, but instead sort of turns the armor itself into a weapon against the opponent, although causing dents and such would likely also reduce the opponent's mobility, as armor often has to be carefully fitted.
I'm not really sure about all the details, this is just stuff I've heard from some friends who go to Renaissance fairs and such, so it might be inaccurate 2nd hand knowledge.
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