The Sword & Self Defence

This clip is taken from the Royal Armouries series Arms in Action as seen on TV. These are available to buy on DVD from the Royal Armouries shop.

THE SWORD: For thousands of years the sword has been the prince of weapons - the sure defence, the life preserver, used as a last resort when all other weapons had failed or been cast aside, not to be drawn in anger or sheathed without honour.

Of all weapons the sword has had the greatest impact upon the imagination - it has been a symbol of power, of cruelty, of bravery, of loyalty, of honour, of justice, of fate even of God. But what is it about the sword that has made it such a potent symbol in so many cultures and civilisations? The answers lie in part in an understanding of its power as a weapon, and the skill required to make and use it.

SELF DEFENCE: Man, a relatively slow, weak and vulnerable animal has come to dominate the planet. We have used our brain to find ways of protecting ourselves. We have developed weapons, defensive clothing, and defended settlements, and we have learnt to co-operate with each other in societies. But these societies have proved play to violence, form within, and so we have also had to use our brains to try to counter this threat.

This film tells the story of our continuing attempts to defend ourselves from the development of the earliest weapons to the latest bullet resistant armour, from the earliest law enforcers to the well equipped police forces of today, from the armed combat taught in European fencing schools to the famed martial arts of Japan.

Category:

Education

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