Editing Swordsmanship (section)

===Classical history===
[[File:The Gladius Sword.jpg|thumb|left|Re-enactor with a Roman gladius]]
The Roman [[legionary|legionaries]] and other forces of the [[Roman military]], until the 2nd century A.D., used the [[gladius]] as a short thrusting sword effectively with the ''[[Scutum (shield)|scutum]]'', a type of [[shield]], in battle. According to [[Publius Flavius Vegetius Renatus|Vegetius]], the Romans mainly used underhanded stabs and thrusts, because one thrust into the gut would kill an enemy faster than slashes or cutting. However, some depictions of Roman soldiers show them using slashing and cuts.<ref>Fields, Nic (2010-02-01). ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=dVtuQidyB0sC&dq=Swordsmanship+of+Rome&pg=PA24 Warlords of Republican Rome: Caesar Against Pompey]''. Casemate Publishers. {{ISBN|978-1-935149-06-4}}.</ref><ref>Anglim, Simon; Rice, Rob S.; Jestice, Phyllis; Rusch, Scott; Serrati, John (2003). ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=13SV4nOCLHsC&q=Gladius Fighting Techniques of the Ancient World (3000 B.C. to 500 A.D.): Equipment, Combat Skills, and Tactics]''. Macmillan.</ref><ref>Goldsworthy, Adrian Keith (1998). ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=55KE-nNtTRUC&q=Swordsmanship+of+the+Roman+Army&pg=PA217 The Roman Army at War: 100 BC-AD 200]''. Clarendon Press. {{ISBN|978-0-19-815090-9}}.</ref> [[Gladiator]]s used a shorter gladius than the military. The [[spatha]] was a longer double-edged sword initially used only by Celtic soldiers, later incorporated as auxilia into Roman Cavalry units; however by the 2nd century A.D. the spatha was used throughout much of the [[Roman Empire]].

The Empire's legionary soldiers were heavily trained and prided themselves on their disciplinary skills. This probably carried over to their training with weaponry, no Roman manuals of swordsmanship have survived. One translation of [[Satires of Juvenal|Juvenal's poetry]] by [[Barten Holyday]] in 1661 makes note that the Roman trainees learned to fight with the wooden [[waster]]s before moving on to the use of sharpened steel. In fact, it is also found that Roman gladiators trained with a wooden sword, which was weighted with lead, against a straw man or a wooden pole known as a ''palus'' (an early relative of the later wooden ''pell'').<ref>L. Friedlander-Drexel. ''Darstellungen aus der Sittengeschichte Roms'' per Michael Grant. ''Gladiators'' page 40. Barnes and Noble, 1967. Mention from Clements, John. ''Get thee a waster!''</ref> This training would have provided the Roman soldier with a good foundation of skill, to be improved upon from practical experience or further advanced training.