A Short History of the Wooden Sword

The most common training tool for sword fighters during the middle ages, was without doubt the wooden sword. Known also as a waster this was not a crude light stick that could easily be broken, but heavy, sturdy, wood functionally formed into a reliable cheap sword variation that could take the wear and tear of training better than its steel counterpart. It is widely known that martial art forms consistently use wasters for training but surprisingly few will ever mention the waster of the middle ages in relation to traditional wooden training weapons.

As of late sports like fencing, which have usually shied away from, the use of wasters is becoming more accepted. Accounts in literature of the middle ages cite the use and the practicality of these budget friendly training tools. Wooden weapons were much cheaper than their steel counterparts with higher wear and tear acceptance and could be fixed or replaced quickly and cheaply, and so were ideal for the wear and tear of training while conventional weapons were reserved for real live combat. Additionally the danger that contact with a steel sword could seriously injure a sparring partner was reduced with the use of a wooden sword. These incentives made wasters extremely popular.

Starting around the tenth century the use of wooden swords was, for youths of Italian communities, a sport with young boys forming rival groups to battle in the open field outside their city for honor glory and respect of their comrades. These groups would battle with wooden weapons, helmets and shields sometimes battling individually or in a grand royale of sorts. These skills would hone the youth's skills in swordplay and can be seen as extremely valuable training technique to raise skills, reflexes, and quickness.

As you can see the various advantages of wooden swords are immense from their cheap cost to material ability and the fact that children could use them without worries of unnecessary injuries. Wooden weapons are decidedly less cumbersome to yield for learners and the lack of speed in using a waster heightens reflex and evasion techniques. Many of the smaller differences in steel verses wood weapons are not noticeable unless you have worked with both.

Replica Swords