Although primarily a military weapon, the pike could be surprisingly effective in single combat and a number of 16th-century sources explain how it was to be used in a dueling situation; fencers of the time often practiced with and competed against each other with long staves in place of pikes. George Silver considered the pike one of the more advantageous weapons for single combat in the open, giving it odds over all weapons shorter than or the sword and dagger/shield combination.