with all due respect to both of you, the question "who would win, medieval knight or samurai?" is very stupid. as a side note, who do you think would win, spider-man or captain america?
anyway. european medieval armor got heavier and heavier as longbow (and eventually gun) technology got more and more lethal, and as iron mining techniques got more efficient, right up until it was rendered obsolete after the gun took over.
yes, europeans had their own martial arts, but they weren't as formalized as oriential MAs, and weren't treated with quite the reverence.
honestly, the japanese weren't particularly good at armor. what armor they had could provide limited protection, but the focus was on retaining mobility. they were very good at swords, but those swords were developed specifically to attack the inferior armor that they were used to. they wouldn't do much to a full european suit. a good suit of european armor would basically force the opponent with a light sword to find an opening and hit it very precisely, which wasn't very practical on the battlefield. so, swords got bigger, and things like morningstars and giant battle axes were invented. oh, and guns.
in all fairness, europe went through periods of violence of a much larger scale than anything going on in japan. you had an entire continent of technological innovation and competition going on, as opposed to japan, which was basically its own competition, with a few exceptions.
europe also had a ridiculous "edge" in available natural resources.
anyway. european medieval armor got heavier and heavier as longbow (and eventually gun) technology got more and more lethal, and as iron mining techniques got more efficient, right up until it was rendered obsolete after the gun took over.
yes, europeans had their own martial arts, but they weren't as formalized as oriential MAs, and weren't treated with quite the reverence.
honestly, the japanese weren't particularly good at armor. what armor they had could provide limited protection, but the focus was on retaining mobility. they were very good at swords, but those swords were developed specifically to attack the inferior armor that they were used to. they wouldn't do much to a full european suit. a good suit of european armor would basically force the opponent with a light sword to find an opening and hit it very precisely, which wasn't very practical on the battlefield. so, swords got bigger, and things like morningstars and giant battle axes were invented. oh, and guns.
in all fairness, europe went through periods of violence of a much larger scale than anything going on in japan. you had an entire continent of technological innovation and competition going on, as opposed to japan, which was basically its own competition, with a few exceptions.
europe also had a ridiculous "edge" in available natural resources.
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