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The kopis sword was a one-handed weapon. Early examples had a blade length of up to 65 cm (25.6 inches), making it almost equal in size to the spatha.Later examples of the kopis from Macedonia tended to be shorter with a blade length of about 48 cm (18.9 inches).
A Greek hoplite with muscle cuirass, spear, shield, Corinthian helmet and sheathed sword. Ancient Greek weapons and armor were primarily geared towards combat between individuals. Their primary technique was called the phalanx , a formation consisting of massed shield wall, which required heavy frontal armor and medium-ranged weapons such as ...
Pankratiast in fighting stance, Ancient Greek red-figure amphora, 440 BC Pankratiasts fighting under the eyes of a judge. Side B of a Panathenaic prize amphora , c. 500 BC. Pankration scene: the pankriatiast on the right tries to gouge his opponent's eye; the umpire is about to strike him for this foul.
Makhaira were of various sizes and shapes, being regional, and not exclusively Greek. Greek art shows the Lacedaemonian and Persian armies employing swords with a single cutting edge, but Persian records show that their primary infantry sword was two edged and straight, similar to the Greek xiphos (cf. acinaces).
Martial arts of the 19th century such as classical fencing, and even early hybrid styles such as Bartitsu, may also be included in the term HEMA in a wider sense, as may traditional or folkloristic styles attested in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, including forms of folk wrestling and traditional stick-fighting methods.
Swordsmanship or sword fighting refers to the skills and techniques used in combat and training with any type of sword. The term is modern, and as such was mainly used to refer to smallsword fencing , but by extension it can also be applied to any martial art involving the use of a sword.
The word hoplite (Greek ὁπλίτης, hoplitēs) derives from hoplon (ὅπλον, plural hopla, ὅπλα) meaning the arms carried by a hoplite [1] Hoplites were the citizen-soldiers of the Ancient Greek City-states (except Spartans who were professional soldiers). They were primarily armed as spear-men and fought in a phalanx (see below).
Hilt-and-point sword dances exist in many places in Europe. In this kind of dance, the swords interlock to form a “rose,” or “lock,” that is placed around the neck of a participant to simulate decapitation. As well, crossed-sword dances are common in Europe. Typically, dancers execute complicated patterns of steps over and between the ...