Question: are rapiers effective at cutting/slashing as well or can they be used only for primarily thrusting? Im asking because if I were to train with one type of sword in particular, I would like something to have a practical use for self defense as well. I was thinking of maybe training for broadsword/sabre since they can cut and thrust equally well from what I read, but they would be at a bit of a disadvantage against the rapier because of its longer reach. So the broadsword/sabre is the versatile military weapon of its day but of course you cant discount the dominance of the rapier in practically all of the eras after the middle ages so there must have been a reason why they were the preferred sidearm of civilians and duelists for so long. Thoughts?
Ehh... not really. Many rapiers did have edges, but due to the thinness and flex of the blade, that was more of a disincentive to grab it than a useful fighting tactic. They just don't have the mass to do a ton of damage.
Sabers were thicker and slightly more useful in this capacity. But not really to the point where they were a replacement for heavier swords. And it depends on the type a little bit. As others said, they can have an edge, and straighter versions were sometimes even double-edged, which is why I wouldn't throw them out of a battle situation -- you're that little tiny bit less vulnerable from someone coming at you from the side. But they still weren't anything more than a back-up weapon for ground combat because they weren't going to stand up to thicker, sturdier swords, and they probably won't slash through most armors. They're just too light and bendy.
Sabers as we know them were actually used most by charging cavalry, where the upwards turn provided a nice skewering motion. Thrusting was still their main value.
And the saber you use to learn fencing -- obviously designed *not* to kill people easily -- looks pretty much like any other fencing practice weapon. The main difference is that you can score points with a blade strike, where the blade might actually make a difference, since one-on-one is typically without any armor and duels were sometimes to first blood rather than death. Points in epee and foil are thrusting strike only.
There's no universal sword, really, which is why there were so many. When you change curve, weight, edge style, tip style, or even just the grip, you both gain and lose something.
When I say I pick up things that would be theoretically useful to me, I do that considering a couple things, mainly trying to maximize my abilities and minimize my weaknesses. For me this looks like this:
- Maximize the ability of my balance, agility, and aim.
- Minimize the weakness of my strength and reach.
So a light, long weapon that enables my speed as much as possible is ideal, regardless of whether the weapon is an "all-arounder." Everything it demands of me or enhances for me is stuff I'm inherently good at, and it helps cancel out the stuff I'm inherently not good at.
Whatever weapons works for all of those things FOR ME is the most theoretically useful. Yes, in a battle situation, a rapier won't do me as much good. But neither will a longsword, because it doesn't work with my strengths. Which is why I'd pick up a bow instead.
For someone bigger than me thinking about theoretical use rather than simply enjoying the style of combat, especially if you're thinking battle rather than duel, worry less about weight and reach, and worry more about bringing both of those things to bare with force. A saber is not a forceful weapon for edge use. It's just too light.
And in terms of learning how to use your body to its highest potential either with or without a weapon, it doesn't matter what the weapon is in my opinion. If it suits you, you will learn how to fight to your own greatest advantage, and it's easy to add or subtract a weapon once you have a really good handle on that.
(I'm using the modern established forms of the these weapons that you can actually get your hands on for martial arts throughout these posts, because as others have pointed out, they did go through their own evolutions and various forms. There are thicker, shorter, heavier, and more curved "sabers" in history for example, but today we'd probably call them something else, and they aren't what you'll be trained to use if you go to a fencing studio and say you want to learn saber.)
