Early practical piercing fencing in Europe

During the Western Renaissance, there appeared a "double sword" with a dagger in the left hand. The names of this dagger in various countries are as follows: Italians call it sinistra, French call it maingauche, and Germans call it Linkehand, which means "left-handed dagger".

The left-handed dagger is an auxiliary defensive weapon, which appears to make up for the fencing that pays attention to light attack at the expense of defense. The long sword is mainly for attack, and the short sword is mainly for prevention, but sometimes it also has the function of attack.

The left-handed dagger appeared in Europe from 16 to 17 centuries. Its name (MainGauche) comes from French, which means playing a tune with your left hand when playing the piano. The left-handed dagger appears as a long sword (especially a thin sword). Left-handed daggers were quite popular at that time, especially in Germany. Its main function is to resist the attack of the opponent's sword, thus protecting the life of the swordsman. At the same time, it is also a sword with hidden dangers. If there is an opportunity, it can also give each other a fatal blow.

In western culture, carrying a sword has always been a symbol of masculinity. Whether noble or civilian, you must carry a sword with you when you have the conditions. Fencing makers complied with this trend and created a thin sword with a slender body and light weight, which is suitable for daily carrying. Rich gentlemen often hang a thin sword on one side and a left-handed dagger on the other. During the Renaissance, there was also a "fencing school" in Europe, which was dedicated to teaching the skills of combining swords with left-handed daggers.

Because the left-handed dagger is smaller, generally less than 50 cm, it is more concealed; Moreover, left-handed daggers are generally elaborately decorated, which, like works of art, can easily make people relax their vigilance. When the opportunity comes, it can also become a deadly weapon, known as the "hidden killer."

Compared with the sharp and heavy epee of the same period, the slender rapier is suitable for one-handed use, mainly with thorns. Although the rapier has gorgeous and complicated armguards, once it comes out, there is no protection on it. Therefore, how to avoid the fatal stab of the opponent in a duel is the key to success. Usually, the sword holder will separate the stab of the sword with his bare hands, then hold the opponent's sword in one hand and stab him with his own sword while not letting him take it back. In order to prevent the hand from being injured when holding the opponent's sword, some will wrap the left hand with a cloak, or directly take a small round shield or dagger.

The main function of this dagger is protection. Its blade does not need to be too sharp, but it needs to be strong to resist the enemy's sword attack and expand the scope of attack and protection. Its protection function and the attack function of the rapier complement each other and blend into one. In fact, the emergence of the left-handed dagger is to make up for the fencing that pays attention to lightness and sacrifice defense. The most extreme example is the shield sword. The left-handed dagger and the supporting rapier generally adopt the same design style.

In order to achieve better protection effect, the blade of the left-handed dagger is serrated, which can not only effectively stop the enemy's sword, but also break the tip of the opponent's long sword, so it is also called "broken knife" figuratively. Daggers also have various designs, the shapes of snakes and locks ... In short, left-handed daggers are auxiliary weapons, but many thieves also like to use this light weapon and take two!

The left-handed dagger is generally double-edged, and the handle has a solid hand guard design, such as a solid crossbar or hand guard net. The famous hand guard net is triangular and has different carving decorations. Some left-handed daggers are also designed with hooks to hook or even break each other's swords. Of course, some medieval European swords were so powerful that they might split the dagger in two.

There is also a Trident German left-handed dagger. On both sides of the main blade, the other blade protrudes 30 degrees, which plays a better protection role. If you have the opportunity to attack, you can not only hook or break the opponent's sword, but also cause further damage to the opponent. Some "Trident" daggers have flexible left and right blades, which can be put on the main sword when not in use, and will pop up immediately when you press a key.

In the old movie three musketeers, the Spanish "Musketeer" left-handed dagger appeared. This Spanish dagger has a hand protection design and a wide hand guard. Better than other types of hand guards. The "split" of the sword body can also effectively block the opponent's sword attack, win valuable reaction time for experienced swordsmen, and even save the lives of swordsmen.

At that time, there was a special fencing school to teach fencing, and a special fencing textbook was published (previously, the world weapons picture book translated by Taiwan Province Province and published in Britain was introduced, which contained illustrations of human body's key points, basic fencing, defense, footwork movements, etiquette and so on. , with beautiful illustrations). Because it holds the sword in both hands and cooperates with each other, it requires a higher technical level of swordsmen, and it takes a long time to achieve something, and the solid spread is less and less. Later, because of the rise of muskets. In the later period, in order to pursue lethality, there also appeared a left-handed dagger, which was mainly defensive and changed into a long sword that was more conducive to attack. At present, some traditional knight schools/aristocratic schools in Europe are still teaching.

Two-handed sword teaching video:/w27/play _ album-aid-903900 _ vid-mjy5odm3mdk.html.

French classical fencing demonstration (including demonstration of long and short swords):/U32//U32 /u32/v_Mzk4ODg3NDk.html