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Wrestling and Hand-to-Hand Combat Techniques in Middle Ages in the Light of Historical Sources and within the Wider Context of Martial Arts
Šlapák, Vojtěch ; Drška, Václav (advisor) ; Čechura, Jaroslav (referee) ; Černý, Karel (referee)
The study deals with European medieval contact combat, which is often unjustly overlooked and underestimated. It places medieval wrestling and the techniques of medieval hand-to-hand combat systems into the wider context of global development and qualitatively assesses their technical level. In historiographical literature, martial arts used by medieval wrestlers, just like any other medieval martial arts, are often regarded as a mere connecting link between the advanced ancient combat and complex Renaissance combat systems. However, such assessment is rather the result of logical premises, not a detailed analysis. The study does not regard medieval combat as a complete and imperfect interlude on its way towards ever-more perfect formations. On the contrary, the study aims to find and explore several phases and systems, various qualitative levels that medieval combat systems went through and which emerged from the heterogeneous conditions of different time epochs. The study will explain the reasons of the transformation from ancient combat activities into medieval systems and it will reveal and explain their particular forms and contents on specific examples. It will also stress the fact that each peak phase of development of any martial art fully meets the needs of the war field and self-defence...
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