Realistic Sparring Weapons - Weaponry Knowledge

Spears / Chiang / Yari and other polearms were the primary weapons on the battlefield. It was easier to train people with polearms and form a tight formation. Moreover, spear has longer reach and faster speed than swords do. With the same amount of training, on an open ground, the spearman would mostly win the fight against the swordsman.
The shiny European articulated plate armors that people often see in the movies were about 60 to 70 lbs historically. However, it was not THAT heavy that the wearer could not get up from ground or had to be fetched to horseback. Quite the contrary, the wearer of the time could jump from ground to horseback and perform groundfighting. That's because the sophisticated design of the armor spreads the weight evenly over the body. It feels lighter than 50 lbs concentrated on the shoulders as modern soldiers have to carry. Plus, such armors are invulnerable to sword cuts, slices and largely thrusts also.
Bludgeoning weapons are good anti-armor weapons. The momentum of the hit would be transmitted to the wearer and may deform the armor so that it hurts the wearer. That's why mail (chain armor) and plate armors were worn with gambeson (padding) underneath to absorb the shock.

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