Reconstruction

Attempts at the reconstruction of historical fighting arts have occurred since the Victorian age most notably with the work of Egerton Castle and Alfred Hutton and of the French Academie D'Armes circa 1880-1914.

With the advent of the Society for Creative Anachronism (a historical re-enactment organization founded in 1966)

there was a renewed interest in the practice of historic fighting arts. Dividing their focus between Heavy Armored Fighting, to simulate early medieval warfare, and adapted sport Rapier fencing, to reenact later renaissance styles, the SCA regularly holds large re-creation scenarios, throughout the world. Their styles are often criticized by other groups as lacking discipline and scholarship. Since the organization is effectively a collection of like-minded hobbyists (with individual exceptions), participants who view their fighting sport objectively accept it as an outlet for stress and a source of pleasure, rather than a literal re-creation of historical fighting methods.

Another approach to the reconstruction of Medieval and Renaissance martial arts in the USA was pioneered by John Clements in the mid-1980s that focused on the analysis of the works of the historical masters and realistic martial practice. In the early-1990s Clements took over the leadership of The Association for Renaissance Martial Arts (ARMA), then known as HACA (The Historical Armed Combat Association), and focused the organization on a true martial arts approach to the reconstruction of these fighting arts. To ensure that a martial focus is maintained in its reconstruction efforts ARMA excludes all sport, re-enactment, role-playing, and persona activities, as well as choreographed theatrical swordplay. ARMA also started providing to the general public the fight books of the historical masters through its web site.

During this same period several other researchers in Europe and the United States started collecting and analysing the works of the historical masters. By the late 1990s there were more groups and organizations. Since 1999 a number of these groups have held the annual Western Martial arts Workshop (WMAW). In 2001 the Historical European Martial arts Coalition (HEMAC) was created to act as an umbrella organization for groups in Europe. Since 2002, the HEMAC has organized the annual International Historical European Martial arts Gathering in Dijon, France, hosted by De Taille et d'Estoc. A number of groups and organizations who were originally focused on Medieval and Renaissance re-enactment have since changed their focus to the study of Historical European Martial arts.

Modern period (1700 to 1918)

Academic fencing (1725 etching)

Academic fencing (1831 painting)

The martial arts of the post-Renaissance period can be divided roughly into civilian duelling/self defence, sporting and military applications. There is considerable overlap between these classifications, however, in that some systems fit into more than one category.

Examples of martial arts practiced primarily by the military during this period include bayonet fencing, sabre fencing and the use of the lance by cavalry soldiers.

The duelling and self-defence categories include smallsword and later styles rapier fencing, walking-stick fighting and Bartitsu (an early hybrid of Eastern and Western schools popularized at the turn of the 20th century).

European combat sports of the 1700s to early 1900s include boxing, numerous regional forms of wrestling, the French kickboxing art of Savate, quarterstaff and singlestick fencing as well as stick fighting methods such as Jogo do Pau and Juego del Palo.

Some existing forms of European martial arts and combat sports can trace direct teacher-student lineages to the 19th century. Notable examples include the French kickboxing art of savate and the stick fighting methods of Portuguese Jogo do Pau, Italian Paranza and some styles of Canarian Juego del Palo. Direct continuity between the 18th and 19th centuries is more difficult to establish, but to a certain extent needs to be assumed by necessity: not least because the terminology of modern fencing is directly based on that introduced by Henry de Sainct-Didier in 1573. Likewise, academic fencing has a continuous tradition from the 16th century to the present day.

Early Modern period (1500 to 1700)

Students fencing with rapier and dagger, ca. 1590

Academie de l-Espee (Girard Thibault, 1628)

In the 16th century, compendia of older Fechtbücher techniques were produced, some of them printed, notably by Paulus Hector Mair (in the 1540s) and by Joachim Meyer (in the 1570s).

In the 16th century German fencing had developed sportive tendencies. The treatises of Paulus Hector Mair and Joachim Meyer derived from the teachings of the earlier centuries within the Liechtenauer tradition, but with new and distinctive characteristics. The printed fechtbuch of Jacob Sutor (1612) is the last in the German tradition.

The Italian school is continued by the Dardi school, with masters such as Antonio Manciolino and Achille Marozzo. From the late 16th century, Italian rapier fencing attained considerable popularity all over Europe, notably with the treatise by Salvator Fabris (1606).

• Antonio Manciolino (1531) (Italian)
• Achille Marozzo (1536) (Italian)
• Angelo Viggiani (1551) (Italian)
• Camillo Agrippa (1553) (Italian)
• Jerónimo Sánchez de Carranza (1569) (Spanish)
• Giacomo Di Grassi (1570) (Italian)
• Giovanni Dall’Agocchie (1572) (Italian)
• Henry deSainct Didier (1573) (French)
• Frederico Ghisliero (1587) (Italian)
• Vincentio Saviolo (1590) (Italian)
• George Silver (1599) (English)
• Luis Pacheco de Narváez (1600) (Spanish)
• Salvator Fabris (1606) (Italian)
• Nicoletto Giganti (1606) (Italian)
• Ridolfo Capo Ferro (1610) (Italian)
• Joseph Swetnam (1617) (English)
• Francesco Alfieri (1640) (Italian)
• Francesco Antonio Marcelli (1686) (Italian)
• Bondi' di Mazo (1696) (Italian)

Late Middle Ages (1350 to 1500)

Longsword guards (1452 manuscript)

The central figure of late Medieval martial arts, at least in Germany, is Johannes Liechtenauer. Though no manuscript written by him is known to survive, his teachings were first recorded in the late 14th century MS 3227a. From the 15th century into the 17th, numerous Fechtbücher (German "fencing-books") were produced, of which some 55 are extant; a great many of these describe methods descended from Liechtenauer's.

Normally, several modes of combat were taught alongside one another, typically unarmed grappling (Kampfringen or abrazare), dagger (Degen or daga, often of the rondel variety), long knife (Messer) or Dussack, half- or quarterstaff, pole arms, longsword (langes Schwert, spada longa, spadone), and combat in plate armour (Harnischfechten or armazare), both on foot and on horseback. Some Fechtbücher have sections on dueling shields (Stechschild), special weapons used only in judicial duels. The long sword had a position of honour among these disciplines, and sometimes Historical European Swordsmanship (HES) is used to refer to swordsmanship techniques specifically.

Important 15th century German fencing masters include Sigmund Ringeck, Peter von Danzig, Hans Talhoffer and Paulus Kal, all of whom taught the teachings of Liechtenhauer. From the late 15th century, there were "brotherhoods" of fencers (Fechtbruderschaften), most notably the Marx brothers (attested 1474) and the Federfechter.

An early Burgundian French treatise is Le jeu de la hache ("The Play of the Axe") of ca. 1400.

The earliest master to write in the Italian was Fiore dei Liberi, commissioned by the Marquis di Ferrara. In approximately 1410, he documented comprehensive fighting techniques in a treatise entitled Flos Duellatorum covering grappling, dagger, arming sword, longsword, pole-weapons, armoured combat and mounted combat. The Italian school is continued by Filippo Vadi (1482-1487) and Pietro Monte (1492, Latin with Italian and Spanish terms)

Three early (before Silver) natively English swordplay texts exist, all very obscure and of uncertain date; they are generally thought to belong to the latter half of the 15th century.

Dance

As mentioned above, some martial arts in various cultures can be performed in dance-like settings for various reasons, such as for evoking ferocity in preparation for battle or showing off skill in a more stylized manner. Many such martial arts incorporate music, especially strong percussive rhythms.

Examples of such war dances include:

Capoeira is a martial art traditionally performed with a dance-like flavor and to live musical accompaniment, as seen depicted here.

• Buza - From Russia.
• Panther Dance - Burmese Bando with swords (dha)
• Gymnopaidiai - ancient Sparta
• European Sword dance or Weapon dance of various kinds
• Haka - New Zealand
• Sabre Dance - depicted in Khachaturian's ballet Gayane
• Maasai moran (warrior age-set) dances
• Aduk-Aduk - Brunei
• Ayyalah - Qatar
• Khattak Dance - Afghanistan and Pakistan
• Brazil's Capoeira, as well as some similar Afro-Caribbean arts
• Dannsa Biodag - Scotland and Scottish sword dances
• Hula & Lua - from the traditions of indigenous Hawaiian
• Combat Hopak - From Ukraine
• Yolah - From Oman/UAE

Light- and medium-contact

These types of sparring restrict the amount of force that may be used to hit an opponent, in the case of light sparring this is usual to 'touch' contact, e.g. a punch should be 'pulled' as soon as or before contact is made. In medium-contact the punch would not be 'pulled' but not hit with full force. As the amount of force used is restricted, the aim of these types of sparring is not to knock out an opponent; a point system is used in competitions.

A referee acts to monitor for fouls and to control the match, while judges mark down scores, as in boxing. Particular targets may be prohibited (such as the face or groin), certain techniques may be forbidden, and fighters may be required to wear protective equipment on their head, hands, chest, groin, shins or feet. In some styles (such as fencing and some styles of taekwondo sparring), competitors score points based on the landing of a single technique or strike as judged by the referee, whereupon the referee will briefly stop the match, award a point, then restart the match. Alternatively, sparring may continue with the point noted by the judges.

Some critics of point sparring feel that this method of training teaches habits that result in lower combat effectiveness. Lighter-contact sparring may be used exclusively, for children or in other situations when heavy contact would be inappropriate (such as beginners), medium-contact sparring is often used as training for full-contact.

Full-contact

"Full-contact" sparring or fighting is considered by many to be requisite in learning realistic unarmed combat. Full-contact sparring is different from light and medium-contact sparring in several ways, including the use of strikes that are not pulled but are thrown with full force, as the name implies. In full-contact sparring, the aim of a competitive match is either to knock out the opponent or to force the opponent to submit. Full-contact sparring may include a wider variety of permitted attacks and contact zones on the body.

Where scoring takes place it may be a subsidiary measure, only used if no clear winner has been established by other means; in some competitions, such as the UFC 1, there was no scoring. Due to these factors, full-contact matches tend to be more aggressive in character, but rule sets may still mandate the use of protective gloves and forbid certain techniques or actions during a match, such as punching the back of the head.

Nearly all mixed martial arts leagues such as UFC, Pancrase, Shooto use a form of full-contact rules, as do professional boxing organizations and K-1. Kyokushin karate requires advanced practitioners to engage in bare-knuckled, full-contact sparring while wearing only a karate gi and groin protector but does not allow strikes to the face, only kicks and knees. Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Judo matches do not allow striking, but are full-contact in the sense that full force is applied in the application during grappling and submission techniques.