Swordsmanship facts for kids
Swordsmanship refers to the skills of a swordsman. It is a modern term mainly used to refer to small sword fencing. But it can also be applied to any martial art involving the use of a sword. The English word "swordsman" is parallel to the Latin word gladiator. This was a professional fighter who fought against other fighters and others for the entertainment of spectators in the Roman Colosseum. The word gladiator itself comes from the Latin word gladius, meaning "sword".
Noted swordsmen
Japan's greatest swordsman, Miyamoto Musashi won sixty duels. His classic book on swordsmanship is called the Book of Five Rings, written about 1645.
William Marshal, 1st Earl of Pembroke was called "the greatest knight who ever lived". He was one of England's greatest swordsmen.
Guy Chabot, Seigneur de Jarnac was famous as France's finest swordsman. He won by a slashing blow to his opponent's buttocks so he could no longer stand. Winning a duel using this method has since been called a coup de Jarnac.
Italo Santelli was a great Italian fencing master (teacher). His fencing styles made Italians the best swordsmen in Europe by the end of the 19th century. He established and taught fencing in Hungary for over fifty years. By the 20th century his Hungarian fencers were the best in Europe. He was given a knighthood for his contributions to the sport in Hungary.
Related pages
Images for kids
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Sherden guards with double-edge swords
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Roman gladius
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The MS I.33 manuscript, dated to ca. 1290, shows fencing with the arming sword and the buckler.
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1763 fencing print from Domenico Angelo's instruction book. Angelo was instrumental in turning fencing into an athletic sport.
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Advertisement for Alfred Hutton's swordsmanship show at the Bath Club.
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A Chinese dao and scabbard of the 18th century
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Filipino soldiers armed with bolos
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Kendo at an agricultural school in Japan around 1920
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An excerpt from the Muyedobotongji: mounted double-sword (마상쌍검; 馬上雙劍)
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