Waster
Encyclopedia
A waster is a practice weapon, usually a sword
, and usually made out of wood, though nylon
(plastic) wasters are also available. The use of wood
or nylon instead of metal provides an economic and safe option for initial weapons training
and sparring, at some loss of genuine experience. A weighted waster may be used for a sort of strength training, making the movements of using an actual sword comparatively easier and quicker. Wasters as wooden practice weapons have been found in a variety of cultures over a number of centuries, including ancient China
, Ireland
, Scotland
, Rome
, Egypt
, medieval and renaissance Europe
, Japan
, and into the modern era in Europe and the United States. Over the course of time, wasters took a variety of forms not necessarily influenced by chronological succession, ranging from simple sticks to clip-point dowels with leather
basket hilts
to careful replica
s of real swords.
Used commonly in the modern Historical martial arts reconstruction community, the term refers to wasters fashioned to resemble western European weapons like the longsword or arming sword. Historically, the term "waster" was used in English to refer to cudgels or clubs used as weapons, in addition to wooden swords. The increasingly popular Historical martial arts reconstruction groups, as well as the live action role-playing
and renaissance festival groups, have provided an ample market for commercial waster retailers. As the martial art has grown and academic interest has risen in weapons other than the longsword and arming sword, other types of wasters have been produced commercially.
The concept of wooden practice weapons is not limited to the Western Martial Arts
. Some Japanese martial arts
involving swordsmanship, such as kenjutsu
and iaido
, use bokken
or shinai
as practice weapons. Eskrima
, a martial art from the Philippines
, also uses a type of rattan stick as a practice weapon in place of a blade. The martial art of singlestick
is more or less entirely derived from the use of wasters as practice weapons in place of broadsword
s.
intrinsic to any martial art, wooden practice weapons were created.
Today, especially in the reconstruction of Historical European martial arts
, wasters have experienced renewed interest. Wasters provide a number of benefits to the modern practitioner, many of which would have applied to historic trainees as well. The wood construction coupled with unsharpened edges and blunted tip, crossguard
, and pommel of wooden swords provides a safer alternative to practicing with a sharpened or unsharpened steel weapon. Wasters do not cut flesh, but provide a decidedly blunt impact. The lower cost of ownership in comparison to a steel weapon of the same variety makes the waster a much more affordable and expendable tool. Many modern wasters are fashioned to replicate the original weapon with accuracy, including functional integral sword parts. This functionality allows the wooden weapon to be handled more like its steel counterpart.
Wasters are not without their faults. The all wooden construction usually makes wasters somewhat lighter and less balanced than steel weapons. The difference of material properties between wood and steel creates a difference in performance when training and sparring. The wood wasters tend to recoil from strong contact with other wasters as may occur in a strong parry or absetzen, a phenomenon colloquially referred to as "waster bounce". Steel weapons do not display this attribute to the same extent, usually binding and sliding with minimal rebound instead. The use of wood with rounded edges makes wasters considerably safer for practice than a steel weapon, but does not make them totally safe. Strong cuts or thrusts to vulnerable body parts during sparring may lead to significant injury to the individual. Wasters provide a safer training experience than steel weapons at the cost of authenticity.
Modern historical martial arts reconstruction organizations, including the Association for Renaissance Martial Arts
and the Chicago Swordplay Guild
use wasters as the primary training tool of new practitioners. Wasters are used to learn, practice, and later spar with a variety of techniques including cuts, slices, thrusts and ward
s. During flourishes, a waster may be substituted for a blunt sword, especially if a lack of experience is a concern. Participants may also use wasters against a pell, a training pole roughly simulating a human target. As the individual becomes more skilled, they will begin to use blunt steel weapons which offer a more realistic set of properties in comparison with a sharpened metal blade.
, a hard and resilient wood, in the construction of their wasters. Some producers allow individuals to accent the waster with wood of other types including Jatobá
and Purpleheart
. Manufacturers usually apply a coating of linseed oil
or other protective liquid and instruct users to regularly apply it. This prevents splintering and works to create a stronger, more enduring tool. Different specimens of wood, even of the same variety, are not necessarily identical in performance, and may display different characteristics during use.
The form of modern wasters follows from their use as replica training swords. Blades on wasters have a lenticular (lens-shaped) or diamond cross-section and defined edges. This shape continues into the hilt, which features a grip with an oval-shaped cross section oriented in the same plane as the blade. An integral part of historical swords, this oval shape permits the wielder to know the sword's rotational blade alignment by feeling for the position of the oblong grip in their hand. The pommel acts as suitable counterweight for the blade and a stable gripping surface, providing the sword's intrinsic balance and allowing the user a weighted leverage point for more powerful manipulation of the weapon. A functional cross acts as it does on a steel sword, protecting the hands and assisting in a number of guards and parries. During half-sword
ing, the cross and pommel may also function as a striking portions of the weapon, used directly to cause injury as in the mordhau
.
, with an original sword found on Orkney's Mainland in [Scotland] still in existence at the National Museum of Edinburgh. A similar find in Ireland
adds historical backing to the Irish myth, the Tain, in which the use of a wooden training sword is mentioned. Egyptian soldiers practiced a sort of sport fencing using blunt sticks as a sort of primitive waster. The Romans
used a form of wooden sword, the rudis, for combat training. Translations of Roman poets Horace
and Juvenal provide evidence of this training weapon in use. One translation of Juvenal's poetry by Barten Holyday
in 1661 makes note that the Roman trainees learned to fight with the wooden wasters before moving on to the use of sharpened steel, much in the way modern reconstruction groups progress. In fact, it is also found that Roman gladiator
s trained with a heavy wooden sword against a straw man or a wooden pole known as a palus (an early relative of the later wooden pell). Wasters are mentioned in period works, including The Book of the Courtier
. A number of Fechtbücher
also mention the use of wasters or depict them in use by models showing proper technique.
During the 16th century, the Dussack
came into use in German
fencing schools. A true waster, the dussack was made almost entirely of wood (in all but one known case) and acted as safe and cheap training weapon. The weapon's unique shape did not lend well to the replication of traditional cruciform-hilted swords like the arming sword
or longsword
. Instead, the dussack resembled the großes Messer or "great knife", a weapon found more often amongst the common people than longswords, the cost of which allowed only relatively wealthy individuals to purchase them.
Longsword
wasters are generally between forty-two and fifty inches long and are also known colloquially as Hand-and-a-Half swords, allowing the use of both hands on the hilt while using them. These weapons incorporate a ridge or fuller
, defined edges, and other sword components commonly found on steel swords. Longsword wasters are the most common type of waster today , largely because many of the fundamentals taught by Johannes Lichtenauer
and his students Sigmund Ringeck
and Hans Talhoffer
frequently involve the longsword. The modern Historical martial arts reconstruction community also focuses heavily on the longsword, providing a demand for the specific tool.
Arming sword
wasters span the broad gap of thirty-two to forty-two inches in length and, like their historical counterparts, have a shorter hilt than a longsword, allowing only one full hand to hold the grip. These wasters also commonly feature defined edges, pommels, and other typical sword elements. Arming swords are featured heavily in the combat of Manuscript I.33
, the oldest manuscript on sword-and-buckler
fighting, dating approximately to the turn of 14th Century.
The ceremonial rudius, a wooden gladius
given ceremonially to gladiator
s when they won enough battles to become free men, is produced by some current day vendors and is twenty-eight to thirty inches long. The producers warn that the rudii are for ceremonial purposes, however, and should not be used in mock combat. In this sense, the waster supersedes its place as a tool for combat and becomes primarily a work of art.
Dussack
s and falchion
, two-handed sword
, cut and thrust sword, gladius
, Viking sword
and rapier
wasters are not widely available from commercial vendors, but may be special ordered or hand-crafted.
wasters, like the daggers themselves, are generally about eighteen inches in length, with a twelve inch blade and six inch hilt. These weapons may forgo defined edges altogether and take on a more cylindrical shape as the rondel dagger acted historically as a thrusting and stabbing weapon. Hilted dagger
wasters are also available, featuring functional crosses and defined edges, often found in lengths of about 18 inches.
Sword
A sword is a bladed weapon used primarily for cutting or thrusting. The precise definition of the term varies with the historical epoch or the geographical region under consideration...
, and usually made out of wood, though nylon
Nylon
Nylon is a generic designation for a family of synthetic polymers known generically as polyamides, first produced on February 28, 1935, by Wallace Carothers at DuPont's research facility at the DuPont Experimental Station...
(plastic) wasters are also available. The use of wood
Wood
Wood is a hard, fibrous tissue found in many trees. It has been used for hundreds of thousands of years for both fuel and as a construction material. It is an organic material, a natural composite of cellulose fibers embedded in a matrix of lignin which resists compression...
or nylon instead of metal provides an economic and safe option for initial weapons training
Weapons training
weapons training may be*martial arts**Kata*military drill**Recruit training**Weapon effects simulation**Tactical engagement simulation*MilSim sports*Weapons Training...
and sparring, at some loss of genuine experience. A weighted waster may be used for a sort of strength training, making the movements of using an actual sword comparatively easier and quicker. Wasters as wooden practice weapons have been found in a variety of cultures over a number of centuries, including ancient China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
, Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
, Rome
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
, Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
, medieval and renaissance Europe
Early modern Europe
Early modern Europe is the term used by historians to refer to a period in the history of Europe which spanned the centuries between the end of the Middle Ages and the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, roughly the late 15th century to the late 18th century...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, and into the modern era in Europe and the United States. Over the course of time, wasters took a variety of forms not necessarily influenced by chronological succession, ranging from simple sticks to clip-point dowels with leather
Leather
Leather is a durable and flexible material created via the tanning of putrescible animal rawhide and skin, primarily cattlehide. It can be produced through different manufacturing processes, ranging from cottage industry to heavy industry.-Forms:...
basket hilts
Basket-hilted sword
The basket-hilted sword is the name of a group of early modern sword types characterized by a basket-shaped guard that protects the hand. The basket hilt is a development of the quillons added to swords' crossguards since the Late Middle Ages...
to careful replica
Replica
A replica is a copy closely resembling the original concerning its shape and appearance. An inverted replica complements the original by filling its gaps. It can be a copy used for historical purposes, such as being placed in a museum. Sometimes the original never existed. For example, Difference...
s of real swords.
Used commonly in the modern Historical martial arts reconstruction community, the term refers to wasters fashioned to resemble western European weapons like the longsword or arming sword. Historically, the term "waster" was used in English to refer to cudgels or clubs used as weapons, in addition to wooden swords. The increasingly popular Historical martial arts reconstruction groups, as well as the live action role-playing
Live action role-playing game
A live action role-playing game is a form of role-playing game where the participants physically act out their characters' actions. The players pursue goals within a fictional setting represented by the real world, while interacting with each other in character. The outcome of player actions may...
and renaissance festival groups, have provided an ample market for commercial waster retailers. As the martial art has grown and academic interest has risen in weapons other than the longsword and arming sword, other types of wasters have been produced commercially.
The concept of wooden practice weapons is not limited to the Western Martial Arts
Western Martial Arts
Western Martial Arts refers to formalized fighting techniques and skills of European or generally Western origin, as distinct from those originating in Asia....
. Some Japanese martial arts
Japanese martial arts
Japanese martial arts refers to the enormous variety of martial arts native to Japan. At least three Japanese terms are often used interchangeably with the English phrase "Japanese martial arts": , literally meaning "martial way", , which has no perfect translation but means something like science,...
involving swordsmanship, such as kenjutsu
Kenjutsu
, meaning "the method, or technique, of the sword." This is opposed to kendo, which means the way of the sword. Kenjutsu is the umbrella term for all traditional schools of Japanese swordsmanship, in particular those that predate the Meiji Restoration...
and iaido
Iaido
is a modern Japanese martial art associated with the smooth, controlled movements of drawing the sword from its scabbard, striking or cutting an opponent, removing blood from the blade, and then replacing the sword in the scabbard...
, use bokken
Bokken
A bokken , "wood", and ken, "sword") , is a Japanese wooden sword used for training. It is usually the size and shape of a katana, but is sometimes shaped like other swords, such as the wakizashi and tantō...
or shinai
Shinai
is a weapon used for practice and competition in kendo representing a Japanese sword. Shinai are also used in other martial arts, but may be styled differently from kendo shinai, and represented with different characters....
as practice weapons. Eskrima
Eskrima
Eskrima is the umbrella term for the traditional martial arts of the Philippines, which emphasize weapon-based fighting with sticks, knives and other bladed weapons, and various improvised weapons...
, a martial art from the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
, also uses a type of rattan stick as a practice weapon in place of a blade. The martial art of singlestick
Singlestick
Singlestick, also known as cudgels, refers to both a martial art that uses a wooden stick as well as the weapon used in the art. It began as a way of training soldiers in the use of swords such as the sabre...
is more or less entirely derived from the use of wasters as practice weapons in place of broadsword
Broadsword
Broadsword may refer to:*Broadsword , a military sword used by heavy cavalry during the 17th to early 19th centuriesIn more modern times, it has also been used to refer to:...
s.
Use
Historically, students and soldiers used wasters as inexpensive and expendable training tools. The cost of high quality steel weapons, especially swords, would have made them a poor choice for practice weapons. Constant training would fatigue the blade, rendering it far less effective and reliable as a weapon. To prevent the destruction of an expensive weapon and to permit the necessary training and sparringSparring
Sparring is a form of training common to many martial arts. Although the precise form varies, it is essentially relatively 'free-form' fighting, with enough rules, customs, or agreements to make injuries unlikely...
intrinsic to any martial art, wooden practice weapons were created.
Today, especially in the reconstruction of Historical European martial arts
Historical European martial arts
Historical European martial arts is a neologism describing martial arts of European origin, used particularly to refer to arts formerly practised, but having since died out or evolved into very different forms...
, wasters have experienced renewed interest. Wasters provide a number of benefits to the modern practitioner, many of which would have applied to historic trainees as well. The wood construction coupled with unsharpened edges and blunted tip, crossguard
Crossguard
On a sword or some knives, the crossguard , also known as quillons, is a bar of metal at right angles to the blade, placed between the blade and the hilt. The crossguard stops the wielder from punching shields while swinging the weapon, thereby protecting the user's hand...
, and pommel of wooden swords provides a safer alternative to practicing with a sharpened or unsharpened steel weapon. Wasters do not cut flesh, but provide a decidedly blunt impact. The lower cost of ownership in comparison to a steel weapon of the same variety makes the waster a much more affordable and expendable tool. Many modern wasters are fashioned to replicate the original weapon with accuracy, including functional integral sword parts. This functionality allows the wooden weapon to be handled more like its steel counterpart.
Wasters are not without their faults. The all wooden construction usually makes wasters somewhat lighter and less balanced than steel weapons. The difference of material properties between wood and steel creates a difference in performance when training and sparring. The wood wasters tend to recoil from strong contact with other wasters as may occur in a strong parry or absetzen, a phenomenon colloquially referred to as "waster bounce". Steel weapons do not display this attribute to the same extent, usually binding and sliding with minimal rebound instead. The use of wood with rounded edges makes wasters considerably safer for practice than a steel weapon, but does not make them totally safe. Strong cuts or thrusts to vulnerable body parts during sparring may lead to significant injury to the individual. Wasters provide a safer training experience than steel weapons at the cost of authenticity.
Modern historical martial arts reconstruction organizations, including the Association for Renaissance Martial Arts
Association for Renaissance Martial Arts
Association for Renaissance Martial Arts is an international educational non-profit organization dedicated to the study and practice of historical European martial arts of the 15th to 17th centuries...
and the Chicago Swordplay Guild
Chicago Swordplay Guild
The Chicago Swordplay Guild is a modern school of swordsmanship and Western martial arts, and non-profit organization based in Chicago, IL USA. It provides organized instruction in the serious study and practice of historical European swordplay, with a principal focus on the Italian school of...
use wasters as the primary training tool of new practitioners. Wasters are used to learn, practice, and later spar with a variety of techniques including cuts, slices, thrusts and ward
Ward (fencing)
A ward or guard is a defensive position in the German school of swordsmanship. In Royal Armouries Ms. I.33 the concept is rendered as custodia "guard"....
s. During flourishes, a waster may be substituted for a blunt sword, especially if a lack of experience is a concern. Participants may also use wasters against a pell, a training pole roughly simulating a human target. As the individual becomes more skilled, they will begin to use blunt steel weapons which offer a more realistic set of properties in comparison with a sharpened metal blade.
Construction
Modern commercial producers use primarily HickoryHickory
Trees in the genus Carya are commonly known as hickory, derived from the Powhatan language of Virginia. The genus includes 17–19 species of deciduous trees with pinnately compound leaves and big nuts...
, a hard and resilient wood, in the construction of their wasters. Some producers allow individuals to accent the waster with wood of other types including Jatobá
Jatobá
Hymenaea courbaril is a tree common to the Caribbean, Central, and South America. It is a hardwood that is used for furniture, flooring and decorative purposes....
and Purpleheart
Purpleheart
Peltogyne, known as Purpleheart, is a genus of 23 species of flowering plants in the family Fabaceae, native to tropical regions of Central and South America, where they occur in tropical rainforests....
. Manufacturers usually apply a coating of linseed oil
Linseed oil
Linseed oil, also known as flaxseed oil, is a clear to yellowish oil obtained from the dried ripe seeds of the flax plant . The oil is obtained by cold pressing, sometimes followed by solvent extraction...
or other protective liquid and instruct users to regularly apply it. This prevents splintering and works to create a stronger, more enduring tool. Different specimens of wood, even of the same variety, are not necessarily identical in performance, and may display different characteristics during use.
Half-sword
Half-sword, in 14th- to 16th-century fencing with the longswords, refers to the technique of gripping the central part of the sword blade with the left hand in order to execute more forceful thrusts against armoured and unarmoured opponents. The term is a translation of the original German...
ing, the cross and pommel may also function as a striking portions of the weapon, used directly to cause injury as in the mordhau
Mordhau
Mordhau, alternatively Mordstreich or Mordschlag , in the German school of swordsmanship, is the term for the technique of holding the sword inverted, with both hands gripping the blade, and hitting the opponent with the pommel or crossguard...
.
History
Wooden practice swords have been in use since the Late Bronze AgeBronze Age
The Bronze Age is a period characterized by the use of copper and its alloy bronze as the chief hard materials in the manufacture of some implements and weapons. Chronologically, it stands between the Stone Age and Iron Age...
, with an original sword found on Orkney's Mainland in [Scotland] still in existence at the National Museum of Edinburgh. A similar find in Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
adds historical backing to the Irish myth, the Tain, in which the use of a wooden training sword is mentioned. Egyptian soldiers practiced a sort of sport fencing using blunt sticks as a sort of primitive waster. The Romans
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
used a form of wooden sword, the rudis, for combat training. Translations of Roman poets Horace
Horace
Quintus Horatius Flaccus , known in the English-speaking world as Horace, was the leading Roman lyric poet during the time of Augustus.-Life:...
and Juvenal provide evidence of this training weapon in use. One translation of Juvenal's poetry by Barten Holyday
Barten Holyday
Barten Holyday or Holiday was a clergyman, author and poet. He earned a Doctor of Divinity degree, and entered the clergy in 1615; he was appointed archdeacon of Oxford by King Charles I in 1626. Technogamia was his only play. In 1618, the year it was produced, Holyday served as Sir Francis...
in 1661 makes note that the Roman trainees learned to fight with the wooden wasters before moving on to the use of sharpened steel, much in the way modern reconstruction groups progress. In fact, it is also found that Roman gladiator
Gladiator
A gladiator was an armed combatant who entertained audiences in the Roman Republic and Roman Empire in violent confrontations with other gladiators, wild animals, and condemned criminals. Some gladiators were volunteers who risked their legal and social standing and their lives by appearing in the...
s trained with a heavy wooden sword against a straw man or a wooden pole known as a palus (an early relative of the later wooden pell). Wasters are mentioned in period works, including The Book of the Courtier
The Book of the Courtier
The Book of the Courtier is a courtesy book. It was written by Baldassare Castiglione over the course of many years, beginning in 1508, and published in 1528 by the Aldine Press just before his death...
. A number of Fechtbücher
Fechtbuch
Martial arts manuals are instructions, with or without illustrations, detailing specific techniques of martial arts.Prose descriptions of martial arts techniques appear late within the history of literature, due to the inherent difficulties of describing a technique rather than just demonstrating...
also mention the use of wasters or depict them in use by models showing proper technique.
During the 16th century, the Dussack
Dussack
A Dussack is a type of short, single-edged sword from Central and Eastern Europe ....
came into use in German
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a realm that existed from 962 to 1806 in Central Europe.It was ruled by the Holy Roman Emperor. Its character changed during the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period, when the power of the emperor gradually weakened in favour of the princes...
fencing schools. A true waster, the dussack was made almost entirely of wood (in all but one known case) and acted as safe and cheap training weapon. The weapon's unique shape did not lend well to the replication of traditional cruciform-hilted swords like the arming sword
Arming sword
The arming sword is the single handed cruciform sword of the High Middle Ages, in common use between ca. 1000 and 1500, possibly remaining in rare use into the 16th century...
or longsword
Longsword
The longsword is a type of European sword designed for two-handed use, current during the late medieval and Renaissance periods, approximately 1350 to 1550 .Longswords have long cruciform hilts with grips over 10 to 15 cm length The longsword (of which stems the variation called the bastard...
. Instead, the dussack resembled the großes Messer or "great knife", a weapon found more often amongst the common people than longswords, the cost of which allowed only relatively wealthy individuals to purchase them.
Swords
Longsword
The longsword is a type of European sword designed for two-handed use, current during the late medieval and Renaissance periods, approximately 1350 to 1550 .Longswords have long cruciform hilts with grips over 10 to 15 cm length The longsword (of which stems the variation called the bastard...
wasters are generally between forty-two and fifty inches long and are also known colloquially as Hand-and-a-Half swords, allowing the use of both hands on the hilt while using them. These weapons incorporate a ridge or fuller
Fuller (weapon)
A fuller is a rounded or beveled groove or slot in the flat side of a blade . A fuller is often used to lighten the blade, much in the way that an I-beam shape allows a given amount of strength to be achieved with less material...
, defined edges, and other sword components commonly found on steel swords. Longsword wasters are the most common type of waster today , largely because many of the fundamentals taught by Johannes Lichtenauer
Johannes Lichtenauer
Johannes Liechtenauer was a 13th or 14th century German fencing master. He was likely born in the early to mid 1300s, possibly in Lichtenau, Mittelfranken . Unfortunately, no direct record of his life or teachings currently exists, and all that we know of both comes from the writings of other...
and his students Sigmund Ringeck
Sigmund Ringeck
Sigmund Schining ein Ringeck was a 14th or 15th century German fencing master. While the meaning of the surname "Schining" is uncertain, the suffix "ain Ringeck" may indicate that he came from the Rhineland region of south-eastern Germany...
and Hans Talhoffer
Hans Talhoffer
Hans Talhoffer was a Fechtmeister , employed as 'master of arms' to the Swabian knight Leutold von Konigsegg, a feudatory of Count Eberhardt the Bearded of Württemberg in southern Germany...
frequently involve the longsword. The modern Historical martial arts reconstruction community also focuses heavily on the longsword, providing a demand for the specific tool.
Arming sword
The arming sword is the single handed cruciform sword of the High Middle Ages, in common use between ca. 1000 and 1500, possibly remaining in rare use into the 16th century...
wasters span the broad gap of thirty-two to forty-two inches in length and, like their historical counterparts, have a shorter hilt than a longsword, allowing only one full hand to hold the grip. These wasters also commonly feature defined edges, pommels, and other typical sword elements. Arming swords are featured heavily in the combat of Manuscript I.33
I.33
Royal Armouries Ms. I.33, also known as "the Tower manuscript" because of its long stay in the Tower of London, is the usual name for the earliest known surviving European fechtbuch, although it deals only with the sword and buckler. The illuminated manuscript, of German origin, is now in the...
, the oldest manuscript on sword-and-buckler
Buckler
A buckler is a small shield, 15 to 45 cm in diameter, gripped in the fist; it was generally used as a companion weapon in hand-to-hand combat during the Medieval and Renaissance, as its size made it poor protection against missile weapons but useful in deflecting the blow of...
fighting, dating approximately to the turn of 14th Century.
The ceremonial rudius, a wooden gladius
Gladius
Gladius was the Latin word for sword, and is used to represent the primary sword of Ancient Roman soldiers. Early ancient Roman swords were similar to those used by the Greeks. From the 3rd century BC, the Romans adopted swords similar to those used by the Celtiberians and others during the early...
given ceremonially to gladiator
Gladiator
A gladiator was an armed combatant who entertained audiences in the Roman Republic and Roman Empire in violent confrontations with other gladiators, wild animals, and condemned criminals. Some gladiators were volunteers who risked their legal and social standing and their lives by appearing in the...
s when they won enough battles to become free men, is produced by some current day vendors and is twenty-eight to thirty inches long. The producers warn that the rudii are for ceremonial purposes, however, and should not be used in mock combat. In this sense, the waster supersedes its place as a tool for combat and becomes primarily a work of art.
Dussack
Dussack
A Dussack is a type of short, single-edged sword from Central and Eastern Europe ....
s and falchion
Falchion
A falchion is a one-handed, single-edged sword of European origin, whose design is reminiscent of the Persian scimitar and the Chinese dao....
, two-handed sword
Two-handed sword
A two-handed sword, used as a general term, is any large sword designed to be used primarily with two hands:* the European longsword, popular in the Late Middle Ages and Renaissance....
, cut and thrust sword, gladius
Gladius
Gladius was the Latin word for sword, and is used to represent the primary sword of Ancient Roman soldiers. Early ancient Roman swords were similar to those used by the Greeks. From the 3rd century BC, the Romans adopted swords similar to those used by the Celtiberians and others during the early...
, Viking sword
Viking sword
The Viking sword is a form of spatha, evolving out of the Migration Period sword in the 8th century, and evolving into the classical knightly sword in the 11th century with the emergence of larger crossguards...
and rapier
Rapier
A rapier is a slender, sharply pointed sword, ideally used for thrusting attacks, used mainly in Early Modern Europe during the 16th and 17th centuries.-Description:...
wasters are not widely available from commercial vendors, but may be special ordered or hand-crafted.
Daggers
Rondel daggerRondel (dagger)
A rondel dagger or roundel dagger was a type of stiff-bladed dagger in Europe in the late Middle Ages , used by a variety of people from merchants to knights...
wasters, like the daggers themselves, are generally about eighteen inches in length, with a twelve inch blade and six inch hilt. These weapons may forgo defined edges altogether and take on a more cylindrical shape as the rondel dagger acted historically as a thrusting and stabbing weapon. Hilted dagger
Dagger
A dagger is a fighting knife with a sharp point designed or capable of being used as a thrusting or stabbing weapon. The design dates to human prehistory, and daggers have been used throughout human experience to the modern day in close combat confrontations...
wasters are also available, featuring functional crosses and defined edges, often found in lengths of about 18 inches.
See also
- BokkenBokkenA bokken , "wood", and ken, "sword") , is a Japanese wooden sword used for training. It is usually the size and shape of a katana, but is sometimes shaped like other swords, such as the wakizashi and tantō...
a form of waster used in BudōBudois a Japanese term describing martial arts. In English, it is used almost exclusively in reference to Japanese martial arts.-Etymology:Budō is a compound of the root bu , meaning war or martial; and dō , meaning path or way. Specifically, dō is derived from the Buddhist Sanskrit mārga... - DussackDussackA Dussack is a type of short, single-edged sword from Central and Eastern Europe ....
a specific form of German waster - EskrimaEskrimaEskrima is the umbrella term for the traditional martial arts of the Philippines, which emphasize weapon-based fighting with sticks, knives and other bladed weapons, and various improvised weapons...
uses a rattan stick to represent the sword - FederschwertFederschwertThe Federschwert , or Fechtfeder , is a type of training sword used in Renaissance Fechtschulen to train safely at full speed and power...
a steel practice sword - SinglestickSinglestickSinglestick, also known as cudgels, refers to both a martial art that uses a wooden stick as well as the weapon used in the art. It began as a way of training soldiers in the use of swords such as the sabre...
a type of combat using a short dowel