I was recently watching Boondocks and a character was fighting with metal bracelets around his arms. This reminded me in many old Asian movies depicting old masters of combat wielding numerous bronze bracelets on their arms to stop a sword hit or generally make their arm a metal weapon. Was this a viable tactic? It seems like these bracelets would not be very effective sliding up and down the arm and creating friction constantly.
Are they more a training tool and not actually used in combat?
I'm not sure what you mean-- are you talking about gauntlets or some sort of metal wrist guards?
First of all, I don't know if Boondocks or "many old Asian movies" really reflect anything that can be considered historical or combat effective, rather than purely stylistic.
Secondly, the simple answer is, I guess, is gauntlets and wrist guards largely disappeared as melee weapons became obsolete, but you still see riot police with this sort of gear because they anticipate being attacked with hand-to-hand weapons.
It was used with martial arts to counter weapons. Some martial arts i.e. Karate were originally designed to counter weapons with bare hands, however fighting a sword with your arm isnt a very intelligent idea, so the iron rings would have been used to block the sword before moving in and disabling the opponent. Unlike gauntlets or gloves your hands would be unimpeded which meant that mobility which is key in martial arts would be preserved, allowing you to strike.
The rings also would have been relatively easy to make since generally you can go by a "one size fits all" mentality.
Also serves as weight training to strengthen arm muscles.
