Welcome to Gaia! ::

You forgot your sword and your slightly woozy from all of the alcohol you just drank. On your way out the door you accidentally bump into a large man and spill his beer. You don't notice it, but he happens to follow you out into the street and decides to pick a fight. You would be getting your a** kicked right now, but luckily for you, you read this guide.

Stand-Up Techniques

Punch: A proper punch uses just top knuckles of the index and middle finger to deliver a crushing blow to either chest or head, this is the easiest move in fighting.
Front Kick: A kick done with the body square. The chamber* is in front, and the attack lands with the ball of the foot.
Side Kick: An often defensive kick. The chamber lies more to the chest, and is aimed with the hip and heel. If done slowly, it looks like a push. It uses the heel. The body is completly sideways.
Round Kick: This kick chambers so that the shoulder, hip, and knee are in line. It then extends, and moves a little to the inside. It hits with the shinbone, and the body is completely sideways. It can also hit with the ball of the foot but this is much weaker and easier to cause damage to one's self.
Axe Kick: The leg is raised, with a slight chamber similar to the front kick. the leg is then extended, and dropped onto the opponent's head or collarbone.
Cresent Kick: There are two variations. The inside Cresent Kick starts as a side kick to the outside, then extends, moves across to the inside. The outside Cresent Kick is the same, but the kick moves from the inside to the outside.
Knees: Knees are great attacks against the body at close range. The goal is to strike the point of the knee in any of the many unprotected vitals in the stomach region, or as a strike to the ribs, intended to break one of the smaller ones. Knees are also a great blocking technique as the shin can absorb more damage than the forearm.
Elbows: Elbows are a variation of the punch but can be delivered with much more force. A proper elbow strike is done with the back of the forearm, just below the elbow, or with the backside of the upper arm, just above the elbow. Elbows are most effectively placed against the head, but they can be used to the body just as well.
Sweep: A sweep is done with the legs, by taking the other persons legs out at either their ankles or the back of their knees. It can be more effective with a backhand placed to the chest or head in the opposite direction of the sweep.
Backhand: A backhand is similar to a punch but involves coming across the body to strike the opponent with the back of one's fist (some prefer the hammerstrike which involves the side of the fist, but it is more likely for you to break your own fingers or hand). Backhands can be amplified with a step or a spin into the move.
Blocks: Most blocks are done with the forearm.
Open-hand-blocks: These are done with the arm, wrist, or palm. The are useful for leading into throws.
Clinch: When an opponent gets too close it is sometimes best to meet him and clinch his body, this can be done by hugging the body, or wrapping your arms around the others in a way that prevents them from easily striking. If an opponent puts you in a clinch, the knees, takedowns, and sweeps are the best solutions to getting out of the position.
Takedown: Any move that takes the fight to the ground.

Ground Techniques

Closed Guard: the guard position is where the person on their back has their legs spread around the body of the person on top to prevent them from moving in or standing up. If your legs are trapped you want to free them and get in this position as soon as possible.
Open Guard: this is the process of using the guard position to push the other person into another position by placing your feet on their hips. This position leaves you vulnerable to the attack so it is generally used to either push the person away or setup a counter attack.
Back Mount: This is when the person on top is sitting on the persons back. This is the absolute worst position to be in as the back of your head is open to attack and nearly impossible to accurately block. To escape it is easiest to turn your chest towards your opponent before trying to escape.
Mount: The Mount position is similar to the Guard position, only the person on bottom has their legs trapped under the legs of the person on top. This is another bad position to be at the bottom of. Some people will also use a Knee on Stomach mount, where they use the knee to pin the other persons body to the ground; this can be overcome by knocking their knees off balance.
Sidemount: This is a mount position from the side. The goal here is likely to get an arm submission. The person on top has their body weight evenly distributed with their legs on the ground and their body covering the other persons to prevent them from moving.
Half Guard: A guard position that is between the Guard and Mount positions; the Half Guard is wehre the person on bottom has one of their legs entangled in between the legs of the person on top.
North-South Position: This is a mount where each person is facing opposite directions.
Grappling: The gripping, handling, and control of a person without using physical strikes. Grappling moves are most commonly done by Wrestlers and Jujitsu fighters.
Submissions: A submission is a move where a body part is placed in danger of breaking and the person being submitted usually taps at this point in non-hostile situations. Being submitted is extremely painful, and it is one of the best attacks to use in order to end a fight quickly. A submission can be used on just about any joint of the body.

*note: chamber refers to when the leg is bent at the knee prior to the actual kick.

Daggers & Knives
Anelace - often referred to as medieval long dagger, though some people consider it a small sword. An Anelace is sharp on both edges, and could be carried on either the small of the back or on the hip.
Dirk - A Dirk is a short dagger, that was sometimes made from a cut-down sword. It's lengths varied, but the Dirk was normally between 7 and 14 inches long. This blade would be great for piercing someone at a very short range, but would not be a good choice for any sort of fencing.
Katar - A katar is a punching sword of sorts, used by Native American warriors. It consisted of a blade on top of a handle that wrapped around the hand (as if it were attached to brass knuckles). A hooded katar was the same punching sword, but it contained a small shield that wrapped around the back of a users arm. This blade was typically used for close hand to hand combat and armor piercing.
Machete - A machete is a large cleaver like blade typically used for multiple functions. The blade typically is larger at the end and thinner at the handle, and was most often used as a tool rather than a weapon.
Misericorde - A Misericorde was a long, very narrow blade used to deliver the death kill to a knight. It was made to pierce through the weak points in plate armor. Often it could be used to show mercy for somebody who was suffering from a fatal, yet slow wound.
Rondel - The Rondel was more of a short lance than a dagger. It was round at it's base, but had a very sharp point.

Swords
Claymore - The claymore was a very large, two handed sword used for battle. It was about 55 inches long and was fairly heavy at five and a half pounds. It was a very deadly weapon in the right hands. The claymore is very similar to the Broadsword.
Cutlass - A cutlass was a short broadsword and had either a straight or slightly curved blade. The hilt was most commonly a basket, or a cupped hilt to protect the users hand.
Falchion - A falchion is a single-handed, one edged sword. It was about 38 inches long, and was very heavy. It was said that this sword was supposed to combine the power of an axe with the versatility of a sword.
Flame-Bladed Sword - The flame bladed sword had a wave in the blade that could send unwanted vibrations to a parrying blade. It is typically a long blade, with a wide crossguard. It is named because the waves in the blade appear to look like a flame.
Foil - A foil is a weapon used in fencing to train people who to parry and attack. It has some spring to it, and typically a dull tip. This is not a likely weapon to be used in real combat.
Longsword - The longsword is a large, double edged blade used during the Renaissance. They were 35 inches in length and weight about 2.5 pounds, making it possible to wield with either one or two hands.
Rapier - The rapier is much like a foil, only it is made thicker with sharp edges, and contains a sharp point, used primarily thrusting attacks. Rapiers generally had very elegant hilts that were used to protect the hand.
Sabre - The sabre usually consists of a long, curved blade with a large handguard that often covers the knuckles and thumb of the hand. The sabre was typically used by cavalry.
Shortsword - The shortsword was a thick, one handed sword with many names. These were typically two sided weapons, though they could come with just one, and took many shapes and sizes.
Katana - often referred to as a Samurai sword, the Katana is considered to be one of the greatest swords in existance. It is a slightly curved sword longer than 23 inches in length, typically closer to 27 inches. It is fairly lightweight and it is known for its sharp edge, which was used to slice opponents in half. The Katana derives its strength from how it is forged.
Sica - A weapon of the gladiator


MORE WEAPONS COMING SOON
Trident & Net
Tomahawk
Scissor - a gladiator weapon that had a hilt which covered the entire fist of the user. There was a thin, round bar about six inches long that held a blade that was about six inches wide and looked like half of a circle. (I cannot remember it's true name, but I saw it on Deadliest Warrior)
Cestus


*NOTE: Many of these weapons might resemble each other, and in today's culture their terms are often inter-mixed. For this reason you may refer to your weapons with different names, as long as the two weapons are of a close resemblance. For example you may not call a Katana a longsword.


((More weapons can be found at Wikipedia