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<blockquote data-quote="Cannyjiggit" data-source="post: 6408697" data-attributes="member: 6780231">Most people make this mistake about bucklers (and smaller shields in general) but they are not strapped to the arm as a number of fantasy sources have depicted in the past, they would be all but useless if they were. The error comes from the idea that it is a smaller version of a large shield and that as the large shields have arm straps then all shields are strapped to the arm. In reality, the reverse is true.Bucklers are primarily used to protect the leading hand of a single handed weapon so that the wielder can strike further out without fear of losing fingers to a fast response. Its secondary use (surprisingly to most) is to assist the blocking of incoming attacks in conjunction with the weapon. Each fighter will have their own preference for the size of buckler, the smaller buckler gives more agility with the weapon but needs to be more precise in positioning whereas larger bucklers need less precision but force the weapon into wider arcs in attack. In all cases though the buckler is held in the off-hand and used in conjunction with the primary.Personally, I like about a 12&quot; buckler, others commonly go as small as 9&quot; or as large as 16&quot;. At some point above that, probably about 20&quot; diameter, the buckler becomes too cumbersome to work around and becomes a shield although even then, the smaller shields were still held in a punch grip like the bucklers but the use changes to primarily blocking strikes aimed at that side of the body. From there shields grow to make it easier to protect a larger area with less movement and as the size increases so does the weight which brings about the arm strap to take some off the stress off the wrist for the support of the shield.In all cases the shield or buckler is held with the hand but sometimes it is also strapped to the arm. Thus use of any 2 handed weapon at the same time is simply impractical</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Cannyjiggit, post: 6408697, member: 6780231"] Most people make this mistake about bucklers (and smaller shields in general) but they are not strapped to the arm as a number of fantasy sources have depicted in the past, they would be all but useless if they were. The error comes from the idea that it is a smaller version of a large shield and that as the large shields have arm straps then all shields are strapped to the arm. In reality, the reverse is true. Bucklers are primarily used to protect the leading hand of a single handed weapon so that the wielder can strike further out without fear of losing fingers to a fast response. Its secondary use (surprisingly to most) is to assist the blocking of incoming attacks in conjunction with the weapon. Each fighter will have their own preference for the size of buckler, the smaller buckler gives more agility with the weapon but needs to be more precise in positioning whereas larger bucklers need less precision but force the weapon into wider arcs in attack. In all cases though the buckler is held in the off-hand and used in conjunction with the primary. Personally, I like about a 12" buckler, others commonly go as small as 9" or as large as 16". At some point above that, probably about 20" diameter, the buckler becomes too cumbersome to work around and becomes a shield although even then, the smaller shields were still held in a punch grip like the bucklers but the use changes to primarily blocking strikes aimed at that side of the body. From there shields grow to make it easier to protect a larger area with less movement and as the size increases so does the weight which brings about the arm strap to take some off the stress off the wrist for the support of the shield. In all cases the shield or buckler is held with the hand but sometimes it is also strapped to the arm. Thus use of any 2 handed weapon at the same time is simply impractical [/QUOTE]

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