Where The Weapons At?

Polearms

Alright I'm going to start off with one of the most diverse classes of weapons. Polearms(spears, halberds, pikes, lances, etc.) were VERY widely used back in the day, the spear usually being a footsoldier's weapon of choice. They're great for taking down hard-to-reach or big targets, and depending on shaft construction, can be very effective parrying weapons. 'Nuff said here-I'll get to specifics.

Pike

The pike saw heavy use in the Medieval era, as a cavalry deterrent and in the whole 'put soldiers in squares and let them stab each other' fiasco. Pikes were usually between 10 and 16 feet long, with a long, thin spear tip at one end and a short spike at the other. The spike could be driven into the ground, to create an improvised defensive fortification. This would often be done to deter cavalry(knights on horseback), or just to hold a line.
Pikes are great as a defensive weapon, when used correctly. The only way to get at someone armed with a pike is to sneak up on them, or move fast enough to get around their pole-and if the weilder knows what they're doing, neither will be easy.

Halberds

These things come in all shapes and sizes, from 3 to 8 feet long usually-again, they were primarily used as anti-cavalry weapons. Halberd heads' dimensions and design were limited only tothe maker's imagination, which led to some pretty vicious designs. The combination of axe and spear gave you more than one way to attack, and that little hook...dam these weapons were brutal. That little hook was, well, a hook, made to yank knights off their horses, bring horses to the ground, and yeah, let your imagination do as it will.
Because halberds are a combo of two different weapons, spear and axe, they are very versatile if you want to take out a hard target-sometimes even a good one-on-one weapon, though halberds tend to be rather heavy for obvious reasons.

Partisan

Aight, partisans fall into that nasty weapon category. These things tend to be about 5 feet long, with the blade being anywhere from five inches to a foot and a half long-they're practically daggers with crazy long hilts, some even being like gigantic swords.
Partisans were used as stabbing/sweeping weapons, and yep, you guessed it, thos hooks on the sides... not pretty. Instead of being used on cavalry(though they were, sometimes) they were used with one hand holding the pole, the other holding a short sword or dagger-you'd hook the end around some poor chap's neck, pull him to ya, and then put him on your sword. Sometimes they'd just lop off people's heads instead.
In short, partisans are very, very lethal weapons, and in my opinion if the weilder is skilled enough with one, they could take on and BEAT a master duelist. Maybe with a dagger for backup, too.

Padao/Pudao

This weapon is yet again an infantry weapon, at least in origin. It is intended to be used both as a battlefield device and dueling weapon, the overall length usually between four and five feet. The hilt is always longer than the blade, usually in a 3:2 ratio(roughly). It was popularized for mano à mano use by Chinese monks, when they picked it up and incorporated it in martial arts.
As visible on the photo, the blade is rather heavy, made for chopping and slicing both with heavy blows and quick, precise cuts, provided the user knows what they're doing. The hilt, if reinforced, can be effective for parrying, but a hand guard is often included at the base of the blade-like a sword, but it's utilized in a much more aggressive way. The weilder blocks a strike with the guard, and then shoves th opponent's blade forcefully in an effort to knock their opponent off balance.

Clarisse's Comments:
Look, I love spears, I can't say anything else-but damn, that Panda thing looks WICKED. Where can I get one of those?!?