Martial arts for the man-at-arms

[Anders]

I'm making templates for a world at early TL3 (although, inexplicably, there's full plate around*). But the rest of the world is at early TL3. Promise.

Anyway, there are knights there, and they sometimes lose their weapons on the battlefield. So, what unarmed martial art should these knights (and mercenaries and maybe even experienced militiamen) learn to supplement their swords and maces?

[Icelander]

Wrestling or Judo see use even when they don't lose their weapons, in that grappling, tripping, throwing, takedowns and other uses of leverage form a core part of most realistic melee fighting styles, particularly if armour is common.

Note that Wrestling is a part of most knightly martial arts and for the one style where it is not, Judo takes its place. Longsword Fighting uses Judo, Master of Defence Training has Wrestling (with Judo as optional), Shortsword Fighting has Judo and both Sword and Buckler and Sword and Shield use Wrestling. For close-in specialists, Dagger Fighting also incorporates Wrestling and Combat Wrestling is a plausible supplemental martial art for any armoured fighter.

[Anders]

That's what I thought. Striking arts would be dangerous to use when there's metal armor involved... How about Sumo Wrestling?

[Icelander]

Originally Posted by Anders

That's what I thought. Striking arts would be dangerous to use when there's metal armor involved... How about Sumo Wrestling?

For a fantasy world, it's actually quite suitable as a supplement for armoured warriors. GURPS Martial Arts doesn't include it for historical styles, prefering a combination of Brawling* and Wrestling, but that's no reason to avoid it for fantasy styles.

*Which can be used or slamming.

[Polydamas]

Originally Posted by Icelander

Brawling* ... *Which can be used or slamming.

And pommel striking, which works when armed, does extra damage, and avoids the realistic danger of breaking your hand.

[Ulzgoroth]

Unarmed striking isn't good against armor, and is mostly inferior to using a weapon in any case. But having armor yourself is a considerable plus if it does come down to hitting somebody, and there are likely to be plenty of bodies to hit that aren't heavily armored.

Defense Boxing from Pyramid 3-61 being an example of taking this pretty far.

[CraigM]

Originally Posted by Anders

That's what I thought. Striking arts would be dangerous to use when there's metal armor involved... How about Sumo Wrestling?

It's what the PC fighter in my campaign uses (or at least did, before he started relying on shield rushes instead). It's good for closing distance; a slam is usually more effective than a move and attack, and lower risk than a committed or all-out lunge.

It also comes in handy when trying to capture a fleeing opponent alive, or if they're in town unarmed. The fighter puts the target down, then the entire party joins the kerbstomping...

[DouglasCole]

Originally Posted by Anders

That's what I thought. Striking arts would be dangerous to use when there's metal armor involved... How about Sumo Wrestling?

I like it.