Lord Xia - agreed. Fighting hand to hand was developed as a last resort discipline (after losing weapon), as a form of physical training and competetion (Greek Pancration), or in regimes that banned weapons from general populace (Japan).
No kingdom, duchy or even a piddling village have ever fielded unarmed troops.
A long wooden pointy stick is ridiculously cheap and always better than bare hands. In case of conscripted peasants, work tools like pitchforks, flails and scythes were used. Even a frying pan is better than bare hands.
