Did Knights Practice Martial Arts? | 60 Seconds History

As the warrior class of feudal Japan, the samurai spent much of their time training in martial arts. Notably, not just weapons training, but also unarmed jujutsu and kumiuchi, teaching them to grapple in armor as well as in throws, joint locks and chokes. But what about the knights of medieval Europe? As a warrior class themselves, did these men undergo any martial arts training that did not involve weapons? Well, let's take a look at some medieval fighting manuscripts. What becomes apparent very quickly is that grappling played a central role in knights' training, both armed and without weapons, while kicking and punching were notably omitted, due to low effectiveness against armored foes. Grappling is generally described on foot or, interestingly, even on horseback, while the manuscripts make little mention of ground grappling or only cover it very briefly. The 1390 combat manuscript of Johannes Lichtenauer, for example, states that a knight must be a good grappler in wrestling alongside the manful handling of lance, spear, sword and dagger, as well as being able to foil weapons in his opponent's hands. The mid-15th century combat manuscripts of Hans Talhoffer similarly mention not just lance and sword, but throwing and pushing stones for strength, as well as wrestling a central aspect of a knight's training. And the famous 14th century Italian knight Fiore de' Liveri even goes as far as stating that the art of grappling was the foundation of his entire art of armed fighting, whether on foot or on horseback and whether armored or not. Now as always, thank you for watching, and if you enjoyed the video, please like, comment, subscribe and become a channel member to support our work.