Editing Dual wield (section)

==History==
[[File:dual wielding.jpg|alt=A young boy in a black vest over a white shirt and a black hat raises a pistol high in his right hand and lets another hang from his left hand.|thumb|An urban proletariat boy dual wields pistols in Eugène Delacroix's painting [[Liberty Leading the People|''La Liberté guidant le peuple'']].]]
Dual wielding has not been used or mentioned much in military history, though it appears in [[Martial arts#Variation and scope|weapon-based martial arts]] and [[fencing]] practices.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=r0PCAgAAQBAJ|title=Schools and Masters of Fencing: From the Middle Ages to the Eighteenth Century|last=Castle|first=Egerton|date=2012-06-19|publisher=Courier Corporation|isbn=9780486138756|page=51|language=en}}</ref>

The [[dimachaerus]] was a type of Roman [[gladiator]] that fought with two [[sword]]s.<ref>The Power of Spectacle in Ancient Rome: Gladiators and Caesars, ed. by Eckart Köhne and Cornelia Ewigleben (Berkeley and Los Angeles, 2000), p. 63. {{ISBN|978-0-520-22798-9}}</ref> Thus, an inscription from Lyon, France, mentions such a type of gladiator, here spelled ''dymacherus''.<ref>{{CIL|13|1997}}</ref> The dimachaeri were equipped for close-combat fighting.<ref name=nossov>{{cite book|last=Nossov|first=Konstantin|title=Gladiator: Rome's bloody spectacle|year=2009|publisher=Osprey|isbn=978-1-84603-472-5|pages=208}}</ref> A dimachaerus used a pair of [[Sica|siccae]] (curved scimitar) or [[gladius]] and used a fighting style adapted to both attack and defend with his weapons rather than a shield, as he was not equipped with one.<ref name=nossov /><ref name="Junkelmann63">Marcus Junkelmann, 'Familia Gladiatoria: "The Heroes of the Amphitheatre"' in The Power of Spectacle in Ancient Rome: Gladiators and Caesars, ed. by Eckart Köhne and Cornelia Ewigleben (Berkeley and Los Angeles, 2000), p. 63. {{ISBN|978-0-520-22798-9}}</ref>

The use of weapon combinations in each hand has been mentioned for close combat in western Europe during the [[Byzantine]],<ref name="Byzantine">{{cite book|author=Tim Dawson PhD|title=Byzantine Infantryman: Eastern Roman Empire C.900-1204|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=O14p5hPv8wAC|date=2010|publisher=Osprey Publishing|isbn=978-1-84603-105-2|page=48}}{{Dead link|date=February 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> [[Medieval]], and [[Renaissance era]].<ref name="ShacklefordSpiritofSword">{{cite book|author=Steve Shackleford|title=Spirit Of The Sword: A Celebration of Artistry and Craftsmanship|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pkLaMKl09L8C|access-date=12 June 2013|date=7 September 2010|publisher=Adams Media|isbn=978-1-4402-1638-1|page=48}}{{Dead link|date=February 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> The use of a [[parrying dagger]] such as a main gauche along with a [[rapier]] is common in historical European martial arts.<ref name="Oxford Medieval warfare">{{cite book|author=Clifford Rogers|title=The Oxford Encyclopaedia of Medieval Warfare and Military Technology|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mzwpq6bLHhMC|access-date=12 June 2013|date=June 2010|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-533403-6|page=240}}</ref>

North American Indian tribes of the Atlantic northeast used a form involving a [[tomahawk]] in the primary hand and a [[knife]] in the secondary. It is practiced today as part of the modern Cree martial art Okichitaw.

All the above-mentioned examples, involve either one long and one short weapon, or two short weapons.  An example of a dual wield of two sabres is the Ukrainian cossack dance [[hopak]].

=== Asia ===
During the campaign [[Early Muslim conquests|Muslim conquest]] in 6th to 7th century AD, [[Rashidun caliphate]] general [[Khalid ibn Walid]] was reported to favor wielding two broad swords, with one in each hand, during combat.<ref name="Complete treatise on the war expeditions of the chosen Prophet and the three Caliphs">{{cite book |last=Elcolaí |first=Aburrebii ibn Salim |year=1237 |title=Complete treatise on the war expeditions of the chosen Prophet and the three Caliphs Arabic: الاكتفاء في مغازي المصطفى والثلاثة الخلفاء}}</ref>

Traditional schools of [[Japanese martial arts]] include dual wield techniques, particularly a style conceived by [[Miyamoto Musashi]] involving the [[katana]] and [[wakizashi]], two-sword [[kenjutsu]] techniques he called ''[[Niten Ichi-ryū]]''.

[[Eskrima]], the traditional martial arts of the Philippines teaches ''Doble Baston'' techniques involving the basic use of a pair of [[rattan sticks]] and also Espada y daga or Sword/Stick and Dagger. [[Okinawan martial arts]] have a method that uses a pair of [[Sai (weapon)|''sai'']].

[[Chinese martial arts]] involve the use of a pair of [[butterfly sword]]s and [[hook sword]]s.

Famed for his enormous strength, [[Dian Wei]], a military general serving under the warlord [[Cao Cao]] in the late [[Eastern Han dynasty]] of China, excelled at wielding a pair of ''[[Ji (halberd)|ji]]'' (a [[halberd]]-like weapon), each of which was said to weigh 40 ''[[Catty|jin]]''.

[[Chen An]], a warlord who lived during the [[Jin dynasty (266–420)]] and [[Sixteen Kingdoms]] period, wielded a sword and a serpent spear in each hand, supposedly measuring at 7 ''[[Chi (unit)|chi]]'' and 1 ''[[Zhàng|zhang]]'' 8 ''chi'' respectively.

During [[Wei–Jie war|Ran Wei–Later Zhao war]], [[Ran Min]], emperor of the short-lived Ran Wei empire of China, wielded two weapons, one in each hand, and fought fiercely, inflicting many casualties on the Xianbei soldiers while mounted on the famous horse Zhu Long ("Red Dragon").

[[Gatka]], a weapon-based martial art from the [[Punjab region]], is known to use two sticks at a time.

The Thailand weapon-based martial art [[Krabi Krabong]] involves the use of a separate [[Krabi (sword)|''Krabi'']] in each hand.

[[Kalaripayattu]] teaches advanced students to use either two sticks (of various sizes) or two daggers or two swords, simultaneously.

=== Modern ===
The use of a gun in each hand is often associated with the [[American Old West]], mainly due to media portrayals. It was common for people in the era to carry two guns, but not to use them at the same time. The second gun served as a backup weapon, to be used only if the main one suffered a malfunction or was lost or emptied.<ref name="OldwestFactorFilm">{{cite book|author=Jeremy Agnew | title=The Old West in Fact and Film: History Versus Hollywood | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=R_mRcTRYcvsC | access-date=12 June 2013 | year=2012 | publisher=McFarland | isbn=978-0-7864-9311-1 | page=170}}</ref>

However, there were several examples of gunmen in the West who used two pistols at the same time in their gunfights: 
* [[John Wesley Hardin]] killed a gunman named Benjamin Bradley who shot at him, by drawing both of his pistols and firing back.<ref>Hardin, John Wesley (1896). The Life of John Wesley Hardin: As Written By Himself. Seguin, Texas: Smith & Moore. p. 20. {{ISBN|978-0-8061-1051-6}}. Retrieved March 30, 2011.</ref>
* The Mexican vaquero [[Augustine Chacon]] had several gunfights in which he was outnumbered by more than one gunman and prevailed by equipping himself with a revolver in each hand.<ref>Wilson, R. Michael (2005). Legal Executions in the Western Territories, 1847-1911: Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Washington and Wyoming. McFarland. pp. 43-44. {{ISBN|978-0-7864-4825-8}}</ref>
* [[King Fisher]] once managed to kill three bandits in a shootout by pulling both of his pistols.<ref name="ccchaney.com">[http://www.ccchaney.com/Genealogy/maternal/Damron/FisherJohnKing/kingfisher.html Texas Gunslinger, Outlaw and Lawman] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140903094308/http://www.ccchaney.com/Genealogy/maternal/Damron/FisherJohnKing/kingfisher.html |date=2014-09-03 }}.</ref>
* During the [[Four Dead in Five Seconds Gunfight]], lawman [[Dallas Stoudenmire]] pulled both of his pistols as he ran out onto the street and killed one bystander and two other gunmen.<ref>Metz, Leon Claire. 1979. Dallas Stoudenmire: El Paso Marshal. Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press. 162 p.</ref>
* [[Jonathan R. Davis]], a prospector during the [[California Gold Rush]], was ambushed by thirteen outlaws while together with two of his comrades. One of his friends was killed and the other was mortally wounded during the ambush. Davis drew both of his revolvers and fired, killing seven of the bandits, and killing four more with his bowie knife, causing the final two to flee.<ref>[http://www.jcs-group.com/oldwest/pistoleer/davis.html The Spell of the West: Captain Jonathan R. Davis.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304113433/http://www.jcs-group.com/oldwest/pistoleer/davis.html|date=March 4, 2016}} Retrieved October 31, 2012.</ref>

[[File:Alison Carroll 20080927 Festival du jeu video 02.jpg|thumb|Model dressed as [[Lara Croft]] dual wielding pistols]]
Dual wielding two handguns has been popularized by film and television.<ref name="GunDigestGuide2010">{{cite book|author=Jerry Ahern|title=Gun Digest Buyer's Guide to Concealed-Carry Handguns|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ulWbH-4xtd8C|access-date=12 June 2013|date=5 October 2010|publisher=F+W Media, Inc|isbn=978-1-4402-1767-8|pages=135–137|chapter=18}}{{Dead link|date=February 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>