The first weapon, apparently, appeared even when the person was not quite human. So a stone or a stick in the hands of our distant ancestor is also, in essence, a weapon.
Further more. The stronger a person moved along the “historical scale”, the more complex (and deadly!) Weapons became.
But now it’s not about the latest innovations designed for the modern military, but rather ancient types of various gizmos designed to cause physical damage to the enemy. Or rather, about the most outwardly unusual of them.
We are used to believing that in antiquity and during the Middle Ages they used mainly knives, swords, spears, axes, and bows with arrows. Now, look how inexhaustible was the man’s imagination regarding weapons.
10. Yavara
Yavara is essentially the simplest brass knuckles without finger protection. Medieval Japan was a very harsh place: ordinary peasants and artisans were nobody here, and anyone could (and had every right) to attack them.
And since metal was too expensive, representatives of the lower strata of the population simply could not afford to have real weapons. And they found a way out: an ordinary wooden cylinder with a length of 12-15 cm and a diameter of up to 3 cm fits perfectly in the hand.
And if its ends are also sharpened, then, in combination with the Japanese hand-to-hand fighting technique, it becomes a rather formidable poke weapon (especially if it is aimed to hit the centers of nerve bundles, ligaments or tendons). According to the most prosaic version, Yavar came from the usual pestle, which pounded grains.
9. Tekko-kagi
The regulars of the video salons of the late 1980s - early 1990s (where action films about ninjas quite often went) probably saw this kind of weapon. In fact, this is also a kind of brass knuckles, worn on the arm and representing claws of metal attached to a metal strip.
They could be used in several ways, depending on how tekko-kagi was attached to the hand: if he was put on the inside of the palm with his claws, then they could beat or block the enemy sword, climb a tree with their help, or break through an clay wall and turn her, etc .; Well, if on the outside, then the claws could be used in the manner of Wolverines, inflicting multiple stabbing and cutting wounds to their opponent (especially when these claws were long and straight).
8. Naginata
In fact, the Chinese invented the naginata, but this type of weapon was most widely used, again, in Japan. It is a shortened (on average 50-70 cm) and slightly curved blade, similar to a classic (but more massive) Japanese sword, mounted on a long (150-180 cm) shaft.
Naginata was used both by ordinary infantrymen (firstly, it allowed not to let the enemy get too close, and secondly, on the contrary, to reach the recoiled enemy), as well as more noble warriors - they cut the legs of enemy horses with it in battle.
In addition, in peacetime, this type of weapon was used to protect their home by women from the samurai class. In the XVII-XVIII centuries. all women from samurai families were required to master the naginata to perfection by the age of 18.
7. Sai
Sai is considered the traditional weapon of the inhabitants of Okinawa. According to one version, it came from a pair of agricultural tools, with which it was convenient to carry bales of hay. On the other hand, these little "forks" -tridents were weapons initially.
They were used (like “combat claws”) depending on the situation: for example, they could block and twist a long knife or sword from the opponent’s hand, or use one or two sais as a stabbing (stick) weapon, and if you sharpen the side teeth - and how cutting.
Finally, sai can be attached to the shaft and used as a spear-"sharpening", or just throw. By the way, this type of weapon is very convenient to carry: you can plug it in your belt and not be afraid to lose, because it is securely fixed with teeth.
6. Kusarigama
And again the Japanese know-how. (Yeah ... But these guys loved to mutilate enemies in a variety of ways). Kusarigama is a rather massive sickle connected by a long chain to a percussion weights (it can be of various shapes, including spikes).
There is an opinion that this weapon appeared out of necessity: individually, all its components are just agricultural implements, and therefore the person armed with the disassembled kusarigama did not arouse suspicion (after all, Japanese peasants were strictly forbidden to have weapons).
And it could be used, again, universally: to sweep the enemy with a weight on a chain; throw a sickle into it, then pull it back behind the chain (it is especially convenient to do this from the wall); entangle the enemy with a chain and strike with a sickle, etc.
5. Kpinga
But kping is an African weapon. It was used on the territory of Nubia (this is the north of present Sudan and the south of Egypt) by the Azandan tribe.
In fact, this is a kind of “irretrievable” boomerang, which was used in a very similar way: the throwing was thrown horizontally towards the enemy system and, since this throwing knife has a specific shape and several blades (usually not less than three), even shields were badly saved from it , - the kping could bounce to the side of a standing warrior or, having turned over the edge of the shield, still cripple its owner.
By the way, thanks to the “configuration”, this weapon was convenient to carry on the shoulder. And in fact, kping was used, most often, only when all spears and arrows were used up (metal is expensive).
4. Urumi
Urumi literally translates as "twisted blade." This Indian weapon is a kind of very flexible (and very long - from 1.5 to 6 meters) sword, which can be covertly worn under clothes in the form of a belt.
Outwardly, Urumi is simply a thin steel strip with a hole on the end attached to a wooden handle. It can be wrapped around the waist and “fastened” on that very hole.
Of course, to deal with these weapons is very difficult, because you can cause serious damage to yourself (especially when used in a cramped environment).
Therefore, it has never been widespread. But the masters who perfectly knew the Urumi were considered great warriors, since it is very difficult to defend themselves from this weapon (and sometimes it had up to 10-12 blades at once).
3. Scissor
The skissor is, at the same time, both the “specialty” of the Roman gladiator and the weapon with which he fought. The skissor was either two small swords on one handle, or a special metal tube with a handle inside, which was worn on the gladiator's forearm from hand to elbow.
At the end of this squisor there was a wide semicircular blade on a long pin. With a protected scissor, the gladiator could block the enemy’s blows, and with the blade he could inflict not very deep, but bleeding wounds (easily cutting arteries). In his other hand, there could be an ordinary gladius sword, which was also actively used.
2. Chakram
Remember Xena, the Warrior Queen? Her favorite weapon was the chakram (aka the chakra). Although, of course, the big question is where Xena got (in Ancient Greece) Indian weapons. In addition, she also bifurcated in flight.
In fact, the chakram is just a flat metal ring with a diameter of 12 to 30 cm, quite light and having an outer edge honed to the state of a razor.
It was untwisted on the index finger, and then sent with a sharp movement towards the enemy (in large battles, this was done simultaneously by 200-300 soldiers).
The chakram flew to a distance of up to 50 meters and could inflict quite a lot of damage to the enemy, causing deep cuts to unprotected parts of the body. They wore it (often several at a time) at the headgear or at the bend of the elbow.
1. Qatar
Qatar is an Indian dagger with an n-shaped handle that provides a very reliable grip in the soldier’s hand (even if it became wet from sweat or blood).
It was intended for direct and strong piercing strikes, piercing any ancient armor. The blade in Qatar was most often straight and double-edged (but there were blades with a wavy edge or even in the form of a "tongue of flame"), with a length of 8 cm to a whole meter.
In addition, there were Cathars of a special design, with a special lever on the handle: when pressed, two more sharpened side blades were thrown out.
Three blades were not only three times more effective in battle on their own, causing more damage, but also very frighteningly acted on the enemy, suddenly appearing “out of nowhere”.