Martial arts manuals are instructions, with or without illustrations, specifically designed to be learnt from a book. Many books detailing specific techniques of

martial arts Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defense; military and law enforcement applications; competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; and the preser ...

are often erroneously called manuals but were written as

treatise A treatise is a formal and systematic written discourse on some subject, generally longer and treating it in greater depth than an essay, and more concerned with investigating or exposing the principles of the subject and its conclusions." Tre ...

s. Prose descriptions of martial arts techniques appear late within the

history of literature The history of literature is the historical development of writings in prose or poetry that attempt to provide entertainment, enlightenment, or instruction to the reader/listener/observer, as well as the development of the literary techniques ...

, due to the inherent difficulties of describing a technique rather than just demonstrating it. The earliest extant manuscript on armed combat (as opposed to unarmed wrestling) is

Royal Armouries Ms. I.33 Royal Armouries Ms. I.33 is the earliest known surviving European ''fechtbuch'' (combat manual), and one of the oldest surviving martial arts manuals dealing with armed combat worldwide. I.33 is also known as the Walpurgis manuscript, after a fig ...

("I.33"), written in

Franconia Franconia (german: Franken, ; Franconian dialect: ''Franggn'' ; bar, Frankn) is a region of Germany, characterised by its culture and Franconian dialect (German: ''Fränkisch''). The three administrative regions of Lower, Middle and Upper ...

around 1300. Not within the scope of this article are books on

military strategy Military strategy is a set of ideas implemented by military organizations to pursue desired strategic goals. Derived from the Greek word '' strategos'', the term strategy, when it appeared in use during the 18th century, was seen in its narrow ...

such as

Sun Tzu Sun Tzu ( ; zh, t=孫子, s=孙子, first= t, p=Sūnzǐ) was a Chinese military general, strategist, philosopher, and writer who lived during the Eastern Zhou period of 771 to 256 BCE. Sun Tzu is traditionally credited as the author of '' The ...

's ''

The Art of War ''The Art of War'' () is an ancient Chinese military treatise dating from the Late Spring and Autumn Period (roughly 5th century BC). The work, which is attributed to the ancient Chinese military strategist Sun Tzu ("Master Sun"), is com ...

'' (before 100 BC) or

Publius Flavius Vegetius Renatus Publius (or Flavius) Vegetius Renatus, known as Vegetius (), was a writer of the Later Roman Empire (late 4th century). Nothing is known of his life or station beyond what is contained in his two surviving works: ''Epitoma rei militaris'' (also r ...

' ''

De Re Militari ''De re militari'' (Latin "Concerning Military Matters"), also ''Epitoma rei militaris'', is a treatise by the Late Latin writer Publius Flavius Vegetius Renatus about Roman warfare and military principles as a presentation of the methods and ...

'' (4th century), or military technology, such as ''

De rebus bellicis ''De rebus bellicis'' ("On the Things of Wars") is an anonymous work of the 4th or 5th century which suggests remedies for the military and financial problems in the Roman Empire, including a number of fanciful war machines. It was written af ...

'' (4th to 5th century).

Predecessors

Some early testimonies of historical martial arts consist of series of images only. The earliest example is a

fresco Fresco (plural ''frescos'' or ''frescoes'') is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plast ...

in tomb 15 at

Beni Hasan Beni Hasan (also written as Bani Hasan, or also Beni-Hassan) ( ar, بني حسن) is an ancient Egyptian cemetery. It is located approximately to the south of modern-day Minya in the region known as Middle Egypt, the area between Asyut and Me ...

, showing illustrations of

wrestling Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat s ...

techniques dating to the 20th century BCE. Similar depictions of wrestling techniques are found on

Attic vases Ancient Greek pottery, due to its relative durability, comprises a large part of the archaeological record of ancient Greece, and since there is so much of it (over 100,000 painted vases are recorded in the Corpus vasorum antiquorum), it has exe ...

dating to

Classical Greece Classical Greece was a period of around 200 years (the 5th and 4th centuries BC) in Ancient Greece,The "Classical Age" is "the modern designation of the period from about 500 B.C. to the death of Alexander the Great in 323 B.C." ( Thomas R. Marti ...

. The only known instance of a book from

classical antiquity Classical antiquity (also the classical era, classical period or classical age) is the period of cultural history between the 8th century BC and the 5th century AD centred on the Mediterranean Sea, comprising the interlocking civilizations of ...

is Papyrus Oxyrhynchus 466 from the 2nd century CE, detailing Greek wrestling techniques. There are some examples in the

Chinese classics Chinese classic texts or canonical texts () or simply dianji (典籍) refers to the Chinese texts which originated before the imperial unification by the Qin dynasty in 221 BC, particularly the "Four Books and Five Classics" of the Neo-Confuci ...

that may predate the turn of the

Common Era Common Era (CE) and Before the Common Era (BCE) are year notations for the Gregorian calendar (and its predecessor, the Julian calendar), the world's most widely used calendar era. Common Era and Before the Common Era are alternatives to the or ...

: the ''

Records of the Grand Historian ''Records of the Grand Historian'', also known by its Chinese name ''Shiji'', is a monumental history of China that is the first of China's 24 dynastic histories. The ''Records'' was written in the early 1st century by the ancient Chinese his ...

'' by

Sima Qian Sima Qian (; ; ) was a Chinese historian of the early Han dynasty (206AD220). He is considered the father of Chinese historiography for his ''Records of the Grand Historian'', a general history of China covering more than two thousand years be ...

(c. 100 BCE) documents

, referring to earlier how-to manuals" of the

Western Han The Han dynasty (, ; ) was an imperial dynasty of China (202 BC – 9 AD, 25–220 AD), established by Liu Bang (Emperor Gao) and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–207 BC) and a war ...

(2nd century BCE), which have however not survived. An extant Chinese text on wrestling is "Six Chapters of Hand Fighting" included in the 1st-century CE ''

Book of Han The ''Book of Han'' or ''History of the Former Han'' (Qián Hàn Shū,《前汉书》) is a history of China finished in 111AD, covering the Western, or Former Han dynasty from the first emperor in 206 BCE to the fall of Wang Mang in 23 CE. ...

''. All other extant manuals date to the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

or later. The "combat stele" at Shaolin Monastery dates to 728 CE. The earliest text detailing

Indian martial arts Indian martial arts refers to the fighting systems of the Indian subcontinent. A variety of terms are used for the English phrases “Indian martial arts”, deriving from ancient sources. While they may seem to imply specific disciplines (e.g. ...

is the ''

Agni Purana The ''Agni Purana'', ( sa, अग्नि पुराण, ) is a Sanskrit text and one of the eighteen major Puranas of Hinduism. The text is variously classified as a Purana related to Shaivism, Vaishnavism, Shaktism and Smartism, but also ...

'' (c. 8th century), which contains several chapters giving descriptions and instructions on fighting techniques. It described how to improve a warrior's individual prowess and kill enemies using various methods in warfare whether they went to war in chariots, horses,

elephant Elephants are the largest existing land animals. Three living species are currently recognised: the African bush elephant, the African forest elephant, and the Asian elephant. They are the only surviving members of the family Elephantida ...

s or on foot. Foot methods were subdivided into armed combat and unarmed combat.J. R. Svinth (2002)
A Chronological History of the Martial Arts and Combative Sports.
''Electronic Journals of Martial Arts and Sciences''. The former included the bow and

arrow An arrow is a fin-stabilized projectile launched by a bow. A typical arrow usually consists of a long, stiff, straight shaft with a weighty (and usually sharp and pointed) arrowhead attached to the front end, multiple fin-like stabilizers ...

, the sword,

spear A spear is a pole weapon consisting of a shaft, usually of wood, with a pointed head. The head may be simply the sharpened end of the shaft itself, as is the case with fire hardened spears, or it may be made of a more durable material fastene ...

, noose, armour, iron dart, club,

battle axe A battle axe (also battle-axe, battle ax, or battle-ax) is an axe specifically designed for combat. Battle axes were specialized versions of utility axes. Many were suitable for use in one hand, while others were larger and were deployed two-ha ...

chakram Chakram ( sa, , script=latn; pa, , script=latn) is a throwing weapon from the Indian subcontinent. One of its major purposes is to protect the turban and the head from sword/melee attacks. It is circular with a sharpened outer edge and a diame ...

and

trident A trident is a three- pronged spear. It is used for spear fishing and historically as a polearm. The trident is the weapon of Poseidon, or Neptune, the God of the Sea in classical mythology. The trident may occasionally be held by other mar ...

. The latter included wrestling, knee strikes, punching and kicking methods. The oldest extant European martial arts manual is

(c. 1300). "Illustrations only" manuals do not become extinct with the appearance of prose instructions, but rather exist alongside these, e.g. in the form of the Late Medieval German

illuminated manuscript An illuminated manuscript is a formally prepared document where the text is often supplemented with flourishes such as borders and miniature illustrations. Often used in the Roman Catholic Church for prayers, liturgical services and psalms, th ...

Historical European martial arts

German Fechtbücher

(plural ) is

Early New High German Early New High German (ENHG) is a term for the period in the history of the German language generally defined, following Wilhelm Scherer, as the period 1350 to 1650. The term is the standard translation of the German (Fnhd., Frnhd.), introduc ...

for 'combat manual', one of the manuscripts or printed books of the late

and the

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ide ...

containing descriptions of a martial art. Usually, the term is taken to include 15th- and 16th-century German manuals, but the nature of the subject matter does not allow a clear separation of these from treatises from other parts of Europe on one hand (particularly from the Italian and French schools), and from manuals of later centuries on the other hand. A list of include: *Royal Armouries Ms. I.33 ("Walpurgis Manuscript") (c. 1300, predating

Johannes Liechtenauer Johannes Liechtenauer (also ''Lichtnauer'', ''Hans Lichtenawer'') was a German fencing master who had a great level of influence on the German fencing tradition in the 14th century. Biography Liechtenauer seems to have been active during the mi ...

) *

Nürnberger Handschrift GNM 3227a Codex 3227a of the in Nuremberg (also known as ''Hs. 3227a'', ''GNM 3227a'', ) is a manuscript of 169 folia, dated to the close of the 14th century. Its text is written in Latin and German. The German portions have been identified as in East ...

(c. 1389) *Fechtbuch of Sigmund Ringeck (1440s) * Codex Vindobonensis B 11093, kept in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

, and "

Gladiatoria The Gladiatoria Group is a series of several 15th-century German manuscripts that share the same art style and cover the same material—various types of armored combat. The texts are contemporary with the tradition of Johannes Liechtenauer, bu ...

", discovered in

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

, both dating to the mid-15th century and largely uninfluenced by Liechtenauer. * of

Hans Talhoffer Hans Talhoffer (Dalhover, Talhouer, Thalhoffer, Talhofer; – after 1482) was a German fencing master. His martial lineage is unknown, but his writings make it clear that he had some connection to the tradition of Johannes Liechtenauer, the ...

(several surviving manuscripts dating from 1443–1467). * of Peter von Danzig, Cod. 44 A 8, 1452 *Jud Lew Cod.I.6.4°.3 (1450s),

Augsburg Augsburg (; bar , Augschburg , links=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swabian_German , label=Swabian German, , ) is a city in Swabia, Bavaria, Germany, around west of Bavarian capital Munich. It is a university town and regional seat of the ' ...

* of Paulus Kal (1460s) *

Cgm 558 The Cgm 558, or ''Codex germanicus monacensis'' is a convolution of two 15th-century manuscripts with a total of 176 folia, bound together in the 16th century. It is kept at the Bavarian library in Munich. The first manuscript contains two chroni ...

, a Swiss treatise of the later 15th century only loosely related to the German school. * Codex Wallerstein (), 1470s,

*Solothurner Fechtbuch, no text, dependent on Paulus Kal, 1470s,

Solothurn Solothurn ( , ; french: Soleure ; it, Soletta ; rm, ) is a town, a municipality, and the capital of the canton of Solothurn in Switzerland. It is located in the north-west of Switzerland on the banks of the Aare and on the foot of the Weissens ...

* Johannes Lecküchner Cod. Pal. Germ. 430,

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; Palatine German: ') is a city in the German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Neckar in south-west Germany. As of the 2016 census, its population was 159,914, of which roughly a quarter consisted of students ...

(1478), Cgm. 582,

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and ...

(1482) *Cod. Guelf. 78.2, ''Herzog August Bibliothek''

Wolfenbüttel Wolfenbüttel (; nds, Wulfenbüddel) is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany, the administrative capital of Wolfenbüttel District. It is best known as the location of the internationally renowned Herzog August Library and for having the largest ...

(late 15th century) * Peter Falkner P 5012, ''Kunsthistorisches Museum'',

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

Hans Folz Hans Folz ( 1437 – January 1513) was a German author of the late medieval or early Renaissance period. Folz was born in Worms. He was made a citizen of the city of Nuremberg, Germany in 1459 and master barber of the city in 1486. Folz was a refo ...

Q566 (c. 1480),

Weimar Weimar is a city in the state of Thuringia, Germany. It is located in Central Germany between Erfurt in the west and Jena in the east, approximately southwest of Leipzig, north of Nuremberg and west of Dresden. Together with the neighbouri ...

* Hans von Speyer (MS M I 29) (1491) * MS 862, c. 1500, influenced by Kal and Falkner, drawn upon by Wilhalm. * Glasgow Fechtbuch (1505) *Hans Wurm, grappling, (c. 1505) *"Goliath (manuscript)" (1510s) *

Albrecht Dürer Albrecht Dürer (; ; hu, Ajtósi Adalbert; 21 May 1471 – 6 April 1528),Müller, Peter O. (1993) ''Substantiv-Derivation in Den Schriften Albrecht Dürers'', Walter de Gruyter. . sometimes spelled in English as Durer (without an umlaut) or Due ...

's fechtbuch HS. 26-232 (1512),

Michigan State University Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the first of its kind in the United States. It ...

* Andre Pauernfeindt, ,

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

, 1516 * Cologne Fechtbuch, anonymous (early 16th century) * by Jörg Wilhalm (1520s) *Egenolph: , anonymous, printed by Christian Egenolff, 1529,

Frankfurt Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , " Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on it ...

. This is largely derived from Pauernfeindt's 1516 manual. *Hans Czynner MS. 963 (1538),

Graz Graz (; sl, Gradec) is the capital city of the Austrian state of Styria and second-largest city in Austria after Vienna. As of 1 January 2021, it had a population of 331,562 (294,236 of whom had principal-residence status). In 2018, the popula ...

*the compendia of

Paulus Hector Mair Paulus Hector Mair (1517–1579) was a German civil servant fencing master from Augsburg. He collected Fechtbücher and undertook to compile all knowledge of the art of fencing in a compendium surpassing all earlier books. For this, he engaged the ...

(1540s). * Johannes Lecküchner (1558) (this is a reprint from the , printed by Egenolph). * Joachim Meyer "" (1570) *Gunterrodt: "" (1579),

Wittenberg Wittenberg ( , ; Low Saxon: ''Wittenbarg''; meaning ''White Mountain''; officially Lutherstadt Wittenberg (''Luther City Wittenberg'')), is the fourth largest town in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Wittenberg is situated on the River Elbe, north of ...

*Codex Guelf. 83.4 (c. 1591) * Jakob Sutor von Baden (1612) * Hanko Döbringer, Cod.ms.3227a (1389)

Italian treatises

The Italian school is attested in an early manual of 1410, at which time it is not yet clearly separable from the German school. Indeed, the author Fiore dei Liberi states that he has learned much of his art from one "Master Johannes of

Swabia Swabia ; german: Schwaben , colloquially ''Schwabenland'' or ''Ländle''; archaic English also Suabia or Svebia is a cultural, historic and linguistic region in southwestern Germany. The name is ultimately derived from the medieval Duchy of ...

". The heyday of the Italian school comes in the 16th century, with the

Dardi school Bolognese Swordsmanship, also sometimes known as the Dardi school, is a tradition within the Italian school of swordsmanship which is based on the surviving fencing treatises published by several 16th century fencing masters of Bologna, As early a ...

. * Fiore dei Liberi's ''

Flos Duellatorum The Flos Duellatorum is the name given to one of the manuscript versions of Fiore dei Liberi's illuminated manuscript fight book, written in 1410 (dated to 1409 in the old reckoning). There are five other surviving recensions, under the title F ...

'' (1410) *Filippo Vadi's '' De Arte Gladiatoria Dimicandi'' (1485) * Pietro Monte (1509) *Anonimo Bolognese M-345/6 (c. 1510s) * Antonio Manciolino (1531) * Achille Marozzo (1536) *

Camillo Agrippa Camillo Agrippa (died 1 January 1600) was a noted fencer, architect, engineer and mathematician of the Renaissance. He is considered to be one of the greatest fencing theorists of all time. Biography Though born in Milan, Agrippa lived and wor ...

, ''Trattato di Scienza d'Arme'' (1568) *

Giacomo di Grassi Giacomo is an Italian name. It is the Italian version of the Hebrew name Jacob. People * Giacomo (name), including a list of people with the name Other uses * Giacomo (horse) Giacomo (foaled February 16, 2002 in Kentucky) is a champion American ...

, ''His True Art of Defense'' (1594) *

Vincentio Saviolo Fencing master Vincentio Saviolo (d. 1598/9), though Italian born and raised, authored one of the first books on fencing to be available in the English language. Saviolo was born in Padua. He arrived in London at an unknown date and is first ...

, ''His Practice'' (1595) * Salvator Fabris (1606) * Ridolfo Capo Ferro (1610) * Francesco Alfieri, ''La Scherma'' (1640) * Giuseppe Colombani (1711)

French manuals

Similar to the situation in Italy, there is one early manual (c. 1400, dealing with the pollaxe exclusively), and later treatises set in only after a gap of more than a century. *'' Le jeu de la hache'' (c. 1400) *Andre Pauernfeindt, (1528)—This is a French translation of Pauernfeindt's 1516 work. One notable difference between it and the original is that the "noble science" print has colored images, unlike the German. * Henry de Sainct-Didier, (1573) *

Gérard Thibault d'Anvers Gérard (or Girard) Thibault of Antwerp (ca. 1574–1627) was a fencing master and writer of the 1628 rapier manual ''Academie de l'Espée''. Thibault was from the Southern Netherlands which is today Belgium. His manual is one of the most detail ...

, (1623) *Monsieur L'Abbat, ''The Art of Fencing, or, the Use of the Small Sword'' (1734)

British manuals

;England Apart from three rather opaque texts of the later 15th century, the native English tradition of fencing manuals begins with George Silver's '' Paradoxes of Defense'' (1599). * Harliean Manuscript 3542 (''The Man Who Wol''), late 14th–early 15th century *

Cotton Titus This is an incomplete list of some of the manuscripts from the Cotton library that today form the Cotton collection of the British Library. Some manuscripts were destroyed or damaged in a fire at Ashburnham House in 1731, and a few are kept in othe ...

, 15th-century English

greatsword The English language terminology used in the classification of swords is imprecise and has varied widely over time. There is no historical dictionary for the universal names, classification or terminology of swords; a sword was simply a double e ...

and

staff Staff may refer to: Pole * Staff, a weapon used in stick-fighting ** Quarterstaff, a European pole weapon * Staff of office, a pole that indicates a position * Staff (railway signalling), a token authorizing a locomotive driver to use a particula ...

*Additional Manuscript 39564, 15th century * George Silver, '' Paradoxes of Defense'' (1599) *

Joseph Swetnam Joseph Swetnam (died 1621) was an English pamphleteer and fencing master. He is best known for a misogynistic pamphlet and an early English fencing treatise. Three defensive responses as pamphlets were made by Rachel Speght, Ester Sowernam and C ...

, ''Schoole of the Noble and Worthy Science of Defence'' (1612) *Sir

William Johnstone Hope Vice Admiral Sir William Johnstone Hope, GCB (16 August 1766 – 2 May 1831) was a prominent and controversial British Royal Navy officer and politician in late eighteenth and early nineteenth century Britain, whose career experienced fleet ...

, several books (1690s) *Captain John Godfrey, ''A Treatise Upon the Useful Science of Defence, Connecting the Small and Back-Sword'' (1747) *

John Musgrave Waite John Musgrave Waite (c. 1820 – 13 September 1884) was a Victorian era, Victorian fencing master (sabre, singlestick, small-sword, foil), non-commissioned officer in the 2nd Life Guards. "A master who had a considerable following between about 1 ...

, ''Lessons in

sabre A sabre (French: �sabʁ or saber in American English) is a type of backsword with a curved blade associated with the light cavalry of the early modern and Napoleonic periods. Originally associated with Central European cavalry such as t ...

, singlestick, sabre &

bayonet A bayonet (from French ) is a knife, dagger, sword, or spike-shaped weapon designed to fit on the end of the muzzle of a rifle, musket or similar firearm, allowing it to be used as a spear-like weapon.Brayley, Martin, ''Bayonets: An Illustr ...

, and sword feats'' (1880) * Alfred Hutton, ''Cold Steel, A Practical Treatise on the Sabre'' (1889), ''Old Sword-Play'' (1892) ;Scotland Scottish manuals detailing the use of the basket-hilted Scottish broadsword, besides other disciplines such as the smallsword and spadroon, were published throughout the 18th century, with early and late examples dating to the late 17th and early 19th centuries, respectively: * Sir William Hope, ''The Scots Fencing Master (the Complete Smallswordsman)'' (1687) * Sir William Hope, ''Advice to his Scholar from the Fencing Master'' (1692) * Sir William Hope, ''Complete Fencing Master'' (1691–1692) * Sir William Hope, ''The Swordsman's Vade-Mecum'' (1692) * Sir William Hope, ''New Short and Easy Method of Fencing'' (1st edition, 1707)Highland Swordsmanship: Techniques of the Scottish Sword Masters, by Mark Rector (editor) and Paul Wagner (editor), Published by The Chivalry Bookshelf (Nov 15, 2001) * Sir William Hope, ''New Short and Easy Method of Fencing'' (2nd edition, 1714) * Sir William Hope, ''A Few Observations upon the Fighting for Prizes in the Bear Gardens'' (1715) * Sir William Hope, ''A Vindication of the True Art of Self-Defence'' (1724) * Donald McBane, ''Expert Swords-man's Companion'' (1728) * Captain James Miller, ''A treatise on backsword, sword,

buckler A buckler (French ''bouclier'' 'shield', from Old French ''bocle, boucle'' 'boss') is a small shield, up to 45 cm (up to 18 in) in diameter, gripped in the fist with a central handle behind the boss. While being used in Europe since ant ...

, sword and

dagger A dagger is a fighting knife with a very sharp point and usually two sharp edges, typically designed or capable of being used as a thrusting or stabbing weapon.State v. Martin, 633 S.W.2d 80 (Mo. 1982): This is the dictionary or popular-use def ...

, sword and great gauntlet, falchon, quarterstaff'' (1737) * Thomas Page, ''The Use of the Broad Sword'' (1746) * Captain G. Sinclair, ''Anti-Pugilism – Anonymous'' (1790)Highland Broadsword:Five Manuals of Scottish Regimental Swordsmanship, by Paul Wagner (editor) and Mark Rector (editor), Published by The Chivalry Bookshelf (July 2004) * Captain G. Sinclair, ''Cudgel Playing Modernized and Improved; or, The Science of Defence, Exemplified in a Few Short and Easy Lessons, for the Practice of the Broad Sword or Single Stick, on Foot'' * Archibald MacGregor, ''Lecture on the Art of Defence'' (1791) * Thomas Rowlandson, ''The Guards of the Highland Broadsword'' (1799) * Henry Angelo and son, ''Hungarian & Highland Broadsword'' (1799) * John Taylor, ''The Art of Defence on Foot with Broadsword and Saber'' (1804) * Thomas Mathewson, ''Fencing Familiarized; or, a New Treatise on the Art of the Scotch Broad Sword'' (1805)

Iberian manuals

There are some manuals containing training advice for the medieval tournament and

jousting Jousting is a martial game or hastilude between two horse riders wielding lances with blunted tips, often as part of a tournament. The primary aim was to replicate a clash of heavy cavalry, with each participant trying to strike the opponen ...

, such as the early Portuguese work '' A ensinança de bem cavalgar em toda a sela'' by

Edward of Portugal Edward ( pt, Duarte (; 31 October 1391 – 9 September 1438), also called Edward the King Philosopher (''Duarte o Rei-Filósofo'') or the Eloquent (''o Eloquente''), was the King of Portugal from 1433 until his death. He was born in Viseu, the son ...

(1391–1438), a riding instruction manual that also included martial information. In 1599, the swordmaster Domingo Luis Godinho wrote the '' Arte de Esgrima'', the only fencing manual that preserved the older "Common" or "Vulgar" system of Spanish fencing, which has its traditions in the Middle Ages. 17th-century Spanish destreza is steeped in the Spanish

Baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including ...

noblemen mindset, so it does not contain graphical explanations of the fencing techniques so much as hard-to-understand explanations based on mathematics and philosophical sciences in general. The subsequent difficulty on interpreting the theory and practice of correctly has frequently led to this school of fencing being misunderstood. * Jerónimo Sánchez de Carranza, (1582) * Luis Pacheco de Narváez, '' Libro de las grandezas de la espada'' (1600) * Gerard Thibault, (1628) * Luis Pacheco de Narváez, (1632) * Luis Méndez de Carmona Tamariz, (1632) * Luis Diáz de Viedma, (1639) and (1639) * Cristóbal de Cala, (1642) * Diogo Gomes de Figueyredo, (1651) * Miguel Pérez de Mendoza y Quijada, (1675) * Francisco Antonio de Ettenhard y Abarca, (1675) * Álvaro Guerra de la Vega, (1681) * Thomas Luis, (1685) * Nicolás Tamariz, (1696) * Manuel Cruzado y Peralta, (1702) * Francisco Lórenz de Rada, (1705) * Nicolás Rodrigo Noveli, (1731) * Manuel Antonio de Brea, (1805) * Jaime Mereló y Casademunt, (1862)

Historical Asian martial arts

Some texts on unarmed combat survive from Han China (c. 1st century). A list of wrestling techniques is contained in the ''Malla Purana'' of 13th-century

Gujarat Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth ...

, India. The Chinese ''

Jixiao Xinshu The ''Jixiao Xinshu'' () or ''New Treatise on Military Efficiency'' is a military manual written during the 1560s and 1580s by the Ming dynasty general Qi Jiguang. Its primary significance is in advocating for a combined arms approach to ...

'' dates to the 1560s. The Korean '' Muyejebo'' dates to 1598, the ''

Muyedobotongji Commissioned in 1790 by King Jeongjo (r. 1740–1810), the ''Muyedobotongji'' (or ''Muye Dobo Tong Ji''; translating to "Comprehensive Illustrated Manual of Martial Arts") expanded on the eighteen weapons systems identified in the '' Muyeshinbo' ...

'' dates to 1790. The Japanese '' The Book of Five Rings'' dates to 1645.

References

External links

Wiktenauer: A Wiki database dedicated to the masters, manuals, and techniques of Historical European Martial Arts
hosted by the

HEMA Alliance Hema may refer to: * Hemā (mythology), a figure from Polynesian mythology * HEMA (store), a Dutch chain of stores * Hema (supermarket) (盒马), a supermarket chain in China * Hema maps, an Australian map publisher * Hema people, an ethnic gr ...

THE ARMARIUM: Online Historical Fencing Manuals & Texts of the Doctrina Armorum
by The

Association for Renaissance Martial Arts Association for Renaissance Martial Arts (ARMA) is a US-based non-profit organization dedicated to the study and practice of historical European martial arts of the 15th to 17th centuries.

(ARMA)
Online Library of Historical Fencing Treatises
hosted by th
Academy of European Medieval Martial Arts
(AEMMA)

hosted by th
Academy of European Medieval Martial Arts
(AEMMA)
Destreza Translation & Research Project
{{DEFAULTSORT:Martial Arts Manual *

Predecessors

Historical European martial arts

German Fechtbücher

Italian treatises

French manuals

British manuals

Iberian manuals

Historical Asian martial arts

See also

References

External links