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The Sword group encompasses all combat techniques employing bladed weapons of sword length, spanning both East Asian and European traditions. [1] This group unifies the Japanese sword arts (kenjutsu, ...

The Grappling at the Sword (Ringen am Schwert) subfamily covers the close-quarters wrestling techniques performed while both combatants retain their longswords, a distinctive feature of German HEMA th...

The Japanese Sword family encompasses the interrelated disciplines of kenjutsu (classical sword combat), kendō (modern bamboo-sword fencing), and iaidō/iaijutsu (the art of drawing and cutting), all p...

The Lunge is the fundamental attacking movement in Western fencing, combining a full arm extension with a powerful forward drive of the body to deliver a thrust across a distance greater than the fenc...

The Standard Espada Y Daga subfamily covers the fundamental techniques and drills of the sword-and-dagger combination, including the basic guard positions, coordination patterns between the long and s...

The Rapier family covers the combat techniques of the rapier, the long, slender, thrusting-oriented sword that dominated European civilian swordsmanship from the mid-sixteenth through seventeenth cent...

The Men Cut is a descending vertical or slightly diagonal cut to the top of the opponent's head, the most fundamental and frequently practised technique in Japanese swordsmanship. [1] A correct men cu...

Chūdan-no-kamae (middle guard) positions the sword with the tip (kissaki) pointed at the opponent's throat or eyes, the tsuka (handle) held at navel height, embodying the principle of centre-line domi...

Shuto Uke (knife-hand block) is a traditional karate middle block that uses the outer edge of the open hand (the knife-hand or shuto) to deflect incoming strikes to the midsection. [1] The block is ex...

The HEMA Guard family encompasses the named sword guard positions (Huten or Leger) of the German and Italian longsword traditions. [1] Guards are specific positions in which the sword is held relative...

The Fencing Parry family covers the system of blade deflections used in fencing to redirect an opponent's attacking blade away from the valid target area — the sword-fighting equivalent of blocking in...

The Parry of Quarte is the most fundamental defensive action in Western fencing, deflecting attacks directed to the inside high line — the area of the chest and torso on the sword-arm side — by moving...

The Stick And Dagger (Espada Y Daga) family covers techniques using a long weapon (stick or sword) in the dominant hand and a short weapon (dagger or short stick) in the other hand, which is one of th...

The HEMA Strike family encompasses the offensive cutting techniques (Hauw/Hau) of the German longsword tradition. [1] The Liechtenauer system organizes sword strikes into a hierarchy: the five Meister...

The Kenjutsu Cut subfamily encompasses the primary cutting techniques of classical Japanese swordsmanship, classified by their trajectory and target. [1] The major cuts include shōmen-uchi (straight d...

The Standard Ringen am Schwert technique encompasses the fundamental grappling actions at sword range: the pommel strike (Mordschlag), crossguard hooks, half-swording transitions, and disarms executed...

Waki-gamae (side guard) conceals the sword behind the body with the blade pointing rearward, hiding the weapon's length and the wielder's intent from the opponent. [1] This deceptive guard denies the ...

The Kamae subfamily encompasses the five standard sword guards (go-gyō-no-kamae) used across Japanese sword arts — chūdan, jōdan, gedan, hassō, and waki-gamae. [1] Each kamae positions the sword to de...

The Iaidō Draw Cut subfamily covers the techniques of drawing the Japanese sword from its scabbard and delivering an immediate cutting strike in a single fluid motion — the defining action of iaidō an...

The Tsuki Thrust targets the throat protector (tsuki-dare) of the men with a straight forward thrust of the shinai tip, making it the only non-cutting technique among kendō's four scoring actions. [1]...

The Riposte is the offensive action delivered immediately after a successful parry, completing the defensive-offensive cycle that is the foundation of fencing tactics — the defender parries the incomi...

Standard Winding (Winden) is the fundamental blade-rotation technique of the German longsword tradition: from the bind, the fencer turns the sword by rotating the short edge toward the opponent and dr...

The Foot Blade Front Kick strikes with the outer edge of the foot (sokuto — literally 'sword foot') rather than the ball or heel, concentrating force along a narrow blade-like surface for penetrating ...

Defensive techniques using the jo to intercept sword strikes, a core element of jo-versus-sword kata.

Schrankhut (Barrier Guard) is a HEMA longsword guard where the sword is held low with the blade crossed in front of the body, creating a barrier between the fighter and the opponent. [1] The sword is ...

The Esgrima Pass is a half guard passing technique where the passer uses a fencing-like leg threading motion — sliding the shin forward and through the opponent's half guard like a sword being drawn f...

The Double Stick (Doble Baston) family covers techniques using two rattan sticks simultaneously, one in each hand, which is one of the most distinctive and visually spectacular aspects of Filipino mar...

The HEMA Longsword family covers the two-handed sword techniques of the German Kunst des Fechtens and the Italian school of Fiore dei Liberi, the most widely studied and competitively practised weapon...

The Kendō Waza subfamily covers the competitive techniques of kendō — the four valid target strikes (men, kote, dō, tsuki), the footwork that delivers them, and the tactical categories of shikake-waza...

Gedan-no-kamae (low guard) positions the sword with the tip pointed downward toward the opponent's knees, the tsuka held at hip level. [1] Gedan is a defensive and inviting guard that conceals the wie...

The Kote Cut targets the opponent's wrist or forearm, striking the area just above the hand to disable the opponent's ability to wield the sword. [1] In kendō, the kote strike targets the right kote w...

Hassō-no-kamae (eight-direction guard) positions the sword vertically beside the right side of the head, with the tsuka at mouth height and the blade pointing upward. [1] This guard radiates threat in...

Jōdan-no-kamae (high guard) raises the sword overhead with the arms extended, threatening an immediate downward cut to any target. [1] Jōdan is the most aggressive of the five standard kamae, projecti...

The Standard Military Sabre Cut delivers the curved blade's edge in a powerful slashing arc, typically targeting the opponent's head, shoulder, or sword arm, generated by a combination of arm extensio...

The Direct Thrust (stoccata) drives the rapier point straight forward along the centreline toward the opponent's chest, throat, or face, initiated by extending the sword arm and followed by the body a...

The Guard (Huten) subfamily covers the four principal guards (Vier Leger) of the German longsword tradition — Vom Tag, Ochs, Pflug, and Alber — which form the positional framework from which all attac...

Terza (third guard) positions the hand with the palm facing to the right (half-supinated), the blade extended along the centreline to threaten the opponent's chest or face. [1] Terza is the most neutr...

Vom Tag ('from the roof' or 'from the day') is the high guard that raises the longsword above or behind the head, poised to deliver powerful descending cuts. [1] Vom Tag is the most aggressive of the ...

The Zornhau (wrath cut) is the first and most important of Liechtenauer's five master cuts — a powerful diagonal descending cut from the dominant shoulder to the opponent's opposite side, delivered wi...

The Winding (Winden) subfamily covers the blade manipulation techniques performed when two longswords are crossed in the bind (Binden), one of the most distinctive and sophisticated aspects of the Ger...

The Parry of Tierce deflects attacks directed to the outside high line by moving the blade to the outside with the hand in pronation. [1] Tierce protects the area outside the sword arm — the flank and...

The Epee family covers all techniques specific to the epee discipline, the heaviest of the three fencing weapons, characterised by the absence of right-of-way rules, a target area covering the entire ...

The Fencing — Sport group covers all techniques within the three Olympic fencing disciplines — foil, epee, and sabre — as governed by the Federation Internationale d'Escrime (FIE). [1] Sport fencing i...

The Halberd-Pollaxe (HEMA) family covers the fighting techniques of European hafted polearms — the pollaxe (a long-handled weapon combining an axe head, hammer, and spike) and the halberd (combining a...

The Sojutsu (Spear) family covers Japanese spear fighting techniques using the yari, a straight-bladed spear that became the dominant battlefield weapon of the Sengoku period (1467-1615), surpassing t...

The Spear Thrust subfamily covers the primary offensive technique in sojutsu — the straight thrust of the yari blade into the opponent's body, which is the defining attack of spear combat worldwide. [...

The Short Blade group encompasses all combat techniques employing edged weapons shorter than a standard sword, including knives, daggers, and tantō. [1] Short blades have been carried as secondary wea...

The Weapon class encompasses all fighting techniques that employ an external implement — whether bladed, blunt, flexible, or projectile — as the primary means of offence and defence. [1] Weapon-based ...

Fundamental blocking technique using the jo shaft to receive and redirect an incoming sword or staff attack.

The Sabre (Military) family covers the techniques of the military sabre, the curved, single-edged cavalry sword used by European and colonial armies from the seventeenth through early twentieth centur...