this post was submitted on 07 Sep 2025
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I'm seeing some fencing manuals talking about left handed fighting but I can't find any real evidence of a southpaw division. It seems obvious to me, surely it would have to the great tactical minds of the era. Of course there are almost certainly things I'm not considering, for instance the fact that these cinematic staircase duels were probably really uncommon when you could instead just trebuchet some cows with TB over the walls and wait.
Never underestimate the power of tradition. The US Army was segregated until the Korean War and fought the idea of women in combat even longer. Back in anceint times lefties were considered devil spawn. "Sinister" is Latin for left.
Also, just because something isn't used often doesn't mean it's not a consideration. Fire exits and heart attack kits don't get used every day, but we get annoyed if a place doesn't have them.