Little-known but effective types of bladed weapons (6 photos)

Cold steel is usually understood as a military, hunting or sporting weapon that does not use the power of flammable explosives, compressed gas, electricity, etc.





Knives, brass knuckles, swords and swords are all prime examples of this category. But it also includes others - those about whom little is known to the general public. But they were actively used and left a significant mark on history. And some are still in use today.

Cestus



Fighting was commonplace for Ancient Greece and Rome: it was a popular, albeit very cruel, sport. There were also fist fights, during which the rivals had to inflict the maximum number of shallow wounds on each other. And for this it was allowed to use cestus - gloves made of leather straps, reinforced with metal inserts. Before some fights, the parties agreed that the gladiator could take some time to rest. But in most cases, one of the fighters, if a cestus was used in battle, died or received serious injuries to the face and body.

Santensu





Japanese weapons are a whole universe: the katana long sword, the kaiken samurai dagger, the odachi and nodachi swords, and more. Much less known was the santense, a metal rod with a ring in the middle. The warrior threaded his middle finger through it, and held the rod itself tightly in his palm. Fatal blows with the santense could be delivered with either side of the palm. Despite the primitiveness of the design, the weapon could be, as they say, “upgraded”, customized in accordance with the individual needs of a person. For example, adding additional spikes, which often made even an indirect blow decisive.

Korogath



But not all little-known types of bladed weapons, as they say, have sunk into oblivion and become a page of history. For example, a korogat is a finger knife, which is still used by some tribes in Ethiopia and Kenya instead of ordinary ones. It is made in the form of a wide ring, which ends with a wide short (up to 8 cm) curved blade. Despite the fact that rather soft metals - aluminum and iron - are used for production, such knives can cause serious injuries. Especially if you poke your opponent in the eye. In everyday life, people use them to cut food and even as a toothpick.

Difficult horns



We are talking about a Chinese bracelet with the poetic name “deer antlers”. It was invented in the 1800s by the founder of the martial art of Baguazhang, Dong Haichuan. The design is primitive, but at the same time very effective: two crossed crescents, which allows you to inflict cutting wounds with a blow. Legend has it that the master went on long trips and journeys exclusively with his “horns” and could deal even with a large group of attackers. Whether this is true or not, of course, is impossible to know. But beginners gained access to these weapons only several years after the start of training, since in inept hands “deer antlers” can even accidentally take a life.

Tekko



Another Japanese invention is the tekko brass knuckles, which were invented on the island of Okinawa. It is made in two variations - the first is in the shape of a crescent for inflicting cutting wounds, the second is additionally equipped with spikes, which are designed to strike the area of ​​ribs, joints, collarbones - weak spots. A trained fighter who knows how to handle tekko is difficult to defeat, since even the slightest movement is fraught with a deep and painful cut.