readx;? In the later generations of Zhang Jiashi's life, Western swordsmanship mainly evolved into the fencing system. Pen ~ fun ~ pavilion www.biquge.info

In the case of fencing, fencing can hardly be regarded as a way of fighting that has a great effect on the battlefield.

And when it comes to fencing, we have to mention a very interesting existence, that is, the knight class in the West.

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A knight (ier) was a formally military-trained cavalry in the Middle Ages in Europe, which later evolved into an honorary title to denote a social class. The status of knights was often not inherited, and in the Middle Ages, knights served in the lord's army and were granted fiefs.

In this phase of turmoil, kings and nobles alike need some troops that are overwhelmingly superior in warfare, and for this reason they will carefully train young men to become knights. The status of a knight is often not inherited, and its essence is different from that of the nobles, in addition to being able to obtain fiefs like the nobles, the knights must also serve in the lord's army, and bring their own weapons and horses in case of war.

In chivalric literature, knights are often a symbol of bravery and loyalty, and every knight takes chivalry as a code and is the embodiment of heroes.

Whenever a knight encounters an enemy that he cannot match, he will often lead his teammates and shout: "Loyalty-faith-glory-courage", and finally, these knights will use their lives to protect their homeland, and the knights will never turn their backs on their homeland, even if it comes at the cost of death.

But for the legends of medieval knights, all kinds of romantic reveries are often exaggerated. Much of this comes from our dissatisfaction with the status quo and our imaginations: living in quaint castles and living in the richest life of nobility, defeating evil magicians and giants, protecting good but ignorant peasants, and acting chivalrous in the name of a noblewoman or a king.

The most famous are the nomadic novels that obsessed Don Quixote upside down, or the improvisations of the Provençal folk singers, which explain the ideal knight's behavior. But even modern man is unable to follow his conscience at all times, and even in the past, when he relied on force to speak, knights often deviated from the established track.

In the 14th and 15th centuries, the organization of the first teams in Europe was much the same, and below the king were the governors and marshals, whose functions were sometimes independent and sometimes intersecting. Below that is the herald, who plays the role of adjutant, clerk and staff officer, and as the name suggests, is often sent to the opponent's camp to issue a war letter or ask for a truce, and after the battle, he is also responsible for counting his own casualties, which is an all-round position. The combat units below were divided into squadrons, led by nobles or knights.

Generally speaking, knights are divided into two classes, one is called, they are called knights, this name comes from their rectangular flag, which is the main force of battle. Cadet knights, known as apprentices, form smaller formations to follow the main force, and they need to gain experience and master more combat skills. The flag of the midshipman is also rectangular, but the ends are split into a dovetail. When they have achieved considerable merit, they can request a promotion from the commander. The herald then cut off the swallowtail from his banner and upgraded him to a knight.

Therefore, the code of conduct of many churches became the code of conduct for the knights, and the knights became the warriors of God. From this point of view, the presence of knights often carries a large part of its religious nature.

At that time, the main principles of knighthood were the following: Be a devout Christian. After the 12th ~ 13th century, piety became the primary criterion, and belief in Christianity was both a quality and a qualification, and there were regulations and constraints on knights.

The knight's equipment also represents doctrine, the sword is the symbol of the cross, the shield represents the duty to protect the church, and the double-edged sword represents the righteous side and killing the enemy. And believing in God, the knight must also have practical actions, for prayer and repentance of sins. It is necessary to be the guardian of the Church, the secular state is God's room on earth, the king is the representative of the room, and the knight protects the king both for the protection of God, thus translating into the duty of protecting the Church.

And this style of knighthood was mainly popular in the Middle Ages, especially in the historical period of the Crusades.

The Crusades marked the beginning of a golden age of chivalric culture, as they all carried a cross called the Crusaders, who were considered the perfect knights. Retaking holy places from the pagans and protecting helpless pilgrims was seen as the highest duty of the knights. In return, the Church placed the Order under its own protection, making it a transnational organization. They were promised ecclesiastical property and religious privileges, exempted from the confession of the Crusader knights. A tenth of the income from the ecclesiastical lands was paid to the Knights as a cost to protect pilgrims from going to the Holy Land. In 1099, Jerusalem was conquered, but the Holy Land and the Latin states of the East were still surrounded by Arabs and Turks. The need for a standing army became more and more urgent, and special military regulations were established, which became the so-called fourth dogma, the long war against the infidels. Crusader groups were formed, and religion gave the Knights Templar and the Knights Hospitaller a noble aura.

Like the canon, the canon is equally binding on each member. Beliefs and dogmas unite knights from different backgrounds to love each other and share the same stance and purpose. It also stipulates their devotion to the faith, respect for the lord, caution in words, justice and tolerance on the battlefield, and adherence to the principles of honor and humility.

Thus the chivalry was independent of the feudal system, and there were many similarities between the regimental and canon rules of the crusaders. It was at this time that the Christian virtues of chivalry were formed. The crusaders had both the devotion of a monk and the spirit of an aristocracy. Generally speaking, there were only two suitable outlets for the disgraced aristocracy who lost their territory or the children of families who did not have the right to inherit: the clergy or the military, the latter of which was obviously more attractive. The frenzy for the liberation of the Holy Land and the great benefits promised by the Church were irresistible, and many civilians sold their property to buy equipment just to go to the East. So these professional soldiers joined the guards of the great nobles, and went to the East with the king or emperor, yearning for a rich booty, or a rich ransom.

These soldiers wore modest clothing, lived a hard monastic life, were renamed after the guardian saints, fought under the command of the great nobles, were bound by canons, and became rich by donations. The knights who volunteered for the cause became perfect models, and Frederick I the Redbeard, King the Lionheart, Richard I, and Augustus Philip II became exemplars, and the latter was posthumously canonized as saints, although they all killed many of their followers in their own country. These crusader groups were the forerunners of the Knights of the Garter and the Fleece of Burgundy, the Knights of Aisiate of Savoy, and the Knights of San Michelo and the Knights of the Holy Spirit in France.

All of these knights were guarded by their attendants, who had triangular spear flags on the tips of their spears. The specifications of these flags were uniform, with the family coat of arms painted on them. Correspondingly, there were two classes of knights, and there were also two classes of squires, referring to the older squires who participated in the battle with their masters, and the page was equivalent to orderlies, mostly children who were trained as knights, and each castle was a knight's school at that time. After completing their training at a young age, these squires can become official midshipmen after a coming-of-age ceremony. Some people could not afford the high expenses of knights and served as squires for the rest of their lives, but of course, princes and children of great nobles were born knights.

In general, the essence and essence of chivalry combine the aristocratic bearing of the time, the virtues of Christians, and the respect for ladies. The ideal knight requires not only strength, but also absolute loyalty, generosity, and tolerance. Like the heroes of the epic, he served the good people with his arms, and in the name of the Church, he did chivalrous deeds to protect the pilgrims to the East.

After the Crusades, the knighthood gradually lost its religious overtones and represented only the sense of honor of the aristocratic class. This spirit was celebrated during the Hundred Years' War between England and France, where knights on both sides observed ancient rituals. Bloody battles are occasionally accompanied by marksmanship competitions and military parades, which are rarely the case. Since the death of Edward I, the English gun competition has been completely abolished, and the French have had a terrible accident: on July 1, 1559, Henry II was competing with the Earl of Montgomery when the sheath on the head of the gun suddenly fell off. As Nostradamus had predicted, the king was impaled in the brain. The Church issued a ban on all gun competitions for two centuries.

The emergence of this situation is probably one of the main reasons for the gradual popularity of duel swordsmanship, the predecessor of fencing.

But in a way, fencing itself is said to be one of the "Seven Knight Skills" that are a compulsory subject for the knight class. The "Seven Skills of Knights" are equestrianism, swimming, spear throwing, swordsmanship, hunting, chanting, and chess.

But there is a problem with this description of the "Seven Techniques of Knighthood", that is, it is likely that spear throwing was an alternative technique after the ban on rifle duels, and it is not surprising that fencing arose at this time.

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Fencing is a sport developed from ancient sword duels, which combines elegant movements and flexible tactics, requiring a high concentration of the athlete's spirit and good coordination of the body, reflecting the athlete's good movements and agile reactions. Athletes wear fencing clothing and protective gear, and stab each other with a sword in one hand on the fencing field, and the one who is hit first on the effective part of the body is the one who is hit.

In later generations, fencing competitions included foil, epee and sabre for men, and foil, epee and sabre for women, both in individual and team competitions. The introduction of perfect protective clothing and blunt tips in modern fencing has greatly eliminated the danger of the sport and greatly contributed to the spread of the sport throughout the world.

In medieval Europe, fencing, along with horseback riding, swimming, hunting, playing chess, chanting, and throwing guns, was listed as the seven noble sports of knights. In order to study and promote the development of fencing technology, fencing guilds (associations and schools) have been established in various European countries. Spain is considered the cradle of modern fencing, and the first fencing book was written by two Spanish coaches.

In the 14th century, a dazzling class of knights emerged in Spain, France, and Italy, and they gained a wide reputation for their swordsmanship. Since then, the aristocracy of various countries have followed suit, and it has become the fashion of the upper class for a while, so that it has developed to the point where the nobles settle disputes with each other, and they often draw their swords against each other, and a sword determines life and death.

It was during the reign of Henry III and Henry IV of France that fencing really developed in full swing. In 1776, the famous French fencing master La Boisier invented the face mask, which took the sport of fencing further on the path of elegance. People wear masks, gloves, and fencing suits, and they can safely engage in a series of offensive and defensive battles. The advent of face shields was a milestone in the development of fencing. France became the center of the development of fencing in Europe at the time.

Duels prevailed in Europe at the end of the 16th and beginning of the 17th century. In this situation, in order to meet people's hobbies and needs for fencing, but not to harm life, a new type of sword with a short and quadrangular body and a leather strip bandage at the tip was designed, which was widely welcomed by people and widely developed, which was the prototype of foil. Since then, in European martial arts halls, fencing halls and professional schools, the fencing method of foil has gradually taken shape and become more and more perfect.

Gentlemen and aristocrats who were keen on dueling began to practice in the martial arts hall in 1885, using triangular swords that were not limited to the parts of the battle, and this is the epee that continues to this day.

At the end of the 18th century, the Hungarians reformed the curved short knives used by the early cavalry of the Persians, Arabs and Turks in the East, and equipped the hilt with a meniscus-shaped handguard to protect the fingers during fencing. Later, the Italian fencing master Giuseppe Radadaelli further improved it, making it suitable for use in fencing and duels, and according to the characteristics of cavalry combat, the effective part was above the belt, which became the predecessor of the modern sword. At this point, people were free to choose foil, epee and sabre when engaging in fencing.

(Modern fencing is divided into three types of fencing: foil, epee, and sabre.) Historically, foil was originally used for combat training, heavy swords evolved from duel swords, and sabers were derived from scimitars used by cavalry. The effective hit points and competition rules of the three sword types are different, so each sword class has its own competitive characteristics. In contrast, foil is more athletic, with sabre being the fastest, while epee requires more skill and accuracy. ）

At the beginning of the 19th century, at the initiative of the French fencing authority Lavger, the weight of the three different styles of swords was reduced, and at the same time, some technical principles and tactical significance were studied in depth, and competitions were often carried out in some European countries. Fencing has since become an international sport and has become one of the first members of the Olympic family.

Modern fencing is a traditional sport at the Olympic Games. In 1896, the first modern Olympic Games in Athens included men's foil and sabre competitions. The men's epee competition was added to the 2nd Olympic Games in Paris in 1900. In 1924, the 8th Olympic Games in Paris added women's foil. At the 25th Olympic Games in Barcelona in 1992, women's epee was included as an official event. The women's sabre was officially added to the Olympic programme at Athens 2004.

In 1931, epee competitions began to use electric referees. In 1995, the electric foil referee was also used in competitions. In 1989, electric referees were introduced for sabre competitions. The invention of the electric referee was also a milestone in the history of modern fencing. It makes fencing more equitable while pushing fencing to newer heights.

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Zhang Jiashi did not think that fencing, a weapon derived from Western stabbing swords, had any actual combat capabilities, but he had to think that a sword weapon that also had a great status in the West was useless, and this weapon was the German two-handed sword.