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Originally Posted by Stan S.
It is known that in traditional Indian hand to hand combat a sword (tulwar) was usually accompanied by a defensive side arm, usually a shield, less friquently a katar, or some other dagger. It is also my understanding that due to a greatly varied quality of blades and a rather questionable defensive attributes of a tulwar hilt, Indians did not block with their swords. In other words, tulwar is a strictly offensive weapon. The question is, what did they do in a fight when the shield/katar was lost, damaged, or otherwise not available? Any opinions?
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Salaams Stan S. I imagine that losing ones shield could have disastrous results since not only was the defence not available but the balance of the swordsman dramatically altered. If no buckler is available the arab technique employed especially in the UAE was to use a sandal to deflect incoming strikes. I suspect more fighters lost their sword than their shield..but in either case .. not good.
Regards Ibrahiim al Balooshi.