Wood Training Swords

ne of the most common historical training tools for the practice of swordsmanship throughout the Middle Ages and Renaissance was a wooden sword or waster.  These were not light round sticks but heavy sword shaped training weapons. Wooden training swords are of course used in many martial arts around the world, most notably in Japanese, Chinese, Filipino and Indian styles.  Yet, less widely known is that in Europe wooden practice weapons were also employed.   They were used not just as substitutes for wide Medieval cutting blades but also for slender tapering Renaissance swords and even rapiers.

Though until recently not widely employed for training by today’s historical fencing enthusiasts, wasters are becoming more popularly accepted.  There is considerable evidence for their historical use throughout the literature of the period.  In examining this interesting material the advantage and utility of wooden training weapons becomes clear. A wooden weapon was readily available and able to withstand use and abuse while leaving expensive steel weapons for real combat. A wooden sword is also useful for one very obvious reason: you can make contact on a person in such a way that they would not be injured or unduly hurt by the strike, as they would practicing with blunt steel.   This, combined with the obvious wear and tear that is saved on valuable steel blades, made wasters popular instruments for teaching fencing.