A sword is a weapon with a single long blade, made for slashing or thrusting. A sword has one or two sharpened edges and maybe a sharpened point. A good swordsman would have been able to cut off the arms or legs of his enemies with a single stroke and still keep going on in defeating many of his enemies in a short period of time. Throughout history, many cultures have developed swords and the arts of fencing, and swords have continued to have a ritual role even after the invention of firearms rendered them essentially obsolete as instruments of war.