11
It all comes back to the question: What are you trying to do? If you're training in sword fighting, then use a sword. Just repeat the same sword cut over and over again. Try to go as fast as you can without losing accuracy. Repeat.
In some amount of time, your forearms will tire. When they tire so much that either you're starting to slow down or you're ...
9
Okinawan kobudo (weapons training) has a short-spear and shield combination called the tinbe (shield) and rochin (shortspear). Purportedly, the shield was made of a tortoise shell, which is now illegal, causing modern versions to be made from plastic.
The tradition of Okinawan weapons is often associated with Okinawan and Japanese karate but it is also ...
9
This is more of an aside than a full answer (but too long and with links not well handled by comments), but it is worth noting that the traditional Katanas evolved in a region where the naturally available iron was both rarer than in many areas in Europe and of lower quality. While the famed folding process does have other effects, one of the most ...
9
The following translations (by Victor Harris and Thomas Cleary) instead translate the phrase as "Direct Communication":
The spirit of "Direct Communication" is how the true Way of the Ni To Ichi school is received and handed down.
The corresponding passage in Japanese (possibly modernized Japanese) is:
わたしは、勝利に直結するあり方を、わが流派の道としてお伝えします。
...
8
In general yes, it's better to start out with a light weapon as you have to learn the forms and techniques first, without being concerned about injuring yourself with a heavy or real weapon.
Usually you would learn the techniques with a wooden version of the weapon while at the same time learning how to strengthen the arms, wrist and fingers in style and ...
8
There's basically two factors here that matter.
Height and Reach
Reach matters with melee weapons, however... it matters most when you're fighting with similar weapons. Since your context is specifically "sword vs. sword" presumably of similar type, reach is going to matter.
You can change the effects of natural reach with things like longer weapons (...
7
Shields were used historically in Chinese martial arts, made of woven stems such as rattan, or wood covered in leather, in various sizes and designs.
In Shaolin Kung-Fu, a round rattan shield (Tengpai) is sometimes used with the single-edged sword (dao).
References:
Photo above from https://mastershifusays.wordpress.com/
Ancient Chinese Weapons: A ...
7
Krabi Krabong the tradtional weapons art from Thailand has a panoply of arms, including different shields.
The shields are usually combined with offensive weapons. During a fight/show the participants often switch weapons/shields or pick up weapons others dropped. Thus many combinations are possible.
7
I've actually learned more (in longsword) from a heavier weapon than I have from a lighter weapon. The key with longsword is to learn how to use the handle as a lever, and nothing teaches that like weight. It's very easy to tell when you're brute forcing a cut, as opposed to levering it with weight.
Using a light sword, it's possible to do things that ...
7
The book of five rings, written by Miyamoto Musashi around 1645, advocates two-sword fencing style (nitōjutsu): that is, wielding both katana and wakizashi.
He does, however, states that you should use two long swords while training!!
6
There are a few forms in Tenshinsho-den Katori Shinto ryu. I know they exist, but was not able to progress to that level in my local school. Here is a link to a video of the style. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o2xmfyZSn80
6
Upon seeing that all the newbies in the class were right-handed, my Kendo sensei told us the following: "I'm sorry everyone but, in Kendo, everyone is left-handed."
We really thought it was weird, seeing as the way we had to hold the shinai felt really natural, with the right hand near the tsuba and the left hand at the opposite end of the tsuka. We soon ...
6
This 2007 interview with Dr. Rick Vinci, a Stanford-trained materials scientist and engineer at Lehigh University, by NOVA does a good job of describing both the materials science and engineering of the samurai sword.
The sword is an excellent example of people, first of all, understanding the requirements of the particular application. Understanding that ...
6
According to this site, the schilt is a safety thing, to route a blocked blade away from the fingers. Non-training weapons generally don't have them because, being larger and heavier, they already have a wider base.
The purpose seems to be additional protection of the hand and fingers at the crossguard, mainly by widening the base of the blade. The schilt ...
6
The reason steel feders are so widely used in HEMA is due to them being able to be used safely in partner drills, especially at higher intensity .
Stage combat swords miss the rolled tip and bending in the thrust, instead many of them have rather pointy tips. This makes them really unsafe for partner drills and there have been a number of accidents where ...
5
First of all, please no. Just don't.
And no, it will not be effective. Even given that there are some people that can tow trains by ropes in their teeth, you cannot clench your jaw enough to be able to hold on to it if someone hits the blade. It will spin out, and if you are lucky, leave your teeth behind.
Second, despite what they show in cartoons, you ...
5
It is definitely best to start with a light weapon at slow speed.
You must give your body time to adjust to different movements and you must give your brain time to adjust to different techniques.
When using a light weapon you are able to cheat (using improper techniques) so by going slow you provide yourself with the time to make conscious choices about ...
5
Yes. Contrary to what the average "expert" on swords and Japanese swordsmanship will tell you online (along with their obligatory mentions to Miyamoto Musashi who everyone obligatorily must mention whenever dual-wielding Japanese swords is discussed even though in his own book he clearly states using two swords is nothing new in Japan and there ...
5
If you are in the US want to buy your first steel sword either sharp or blunt, my suggestion is to take a look at HEMA Supplies, a US-based importer and reseller of Peter Regenyei's swords that seem to offer reasonable prices. They mostly sell blunt steel feders from Peter Regenyei but they will take orders for custom sharp longswords.
Regenyei is one of ...
5
This is a cost analysis (kinda) answer1.
What would being injured cost you? Do you have medical insurance/free health care? Would a broken hand/finger(s) mean you would be effectively unable to earn a living because you do a lot of manual work? Do you know how to use a left/right handed Dvorak keyboard? Once you have an idea of the cost of the injury as ...
answered Nov 30 '15 at 13:03
Sardathrion - against SE abuse
14.7k3 gold badges45 silver badges119 bronze badges
5
The same source text you're quoting mentions the use of Uberlauffen or overrunning as defense against low threats. The idea is to use a Scheitelhau (or a similarly executed thrust) to strike before you get hit by the opponent while removing the target. Your blade in the opponent's body would then prevent follow-up attacks.
The argument used there is that ...
5
Chinese Swordsmanship, by Scott Rodell refers to that hand position as "sword talisman". The illustrations of the sword talisman used for strikes. (Mr. Rodell has an international reputation as a scholar of Chinese swordsmanship. Obligatory self disclosure; I am a student of his student)
Aside from its overall function of balancing the jian's movement,...
5
First of all, this isn't universal: there are sharp swords with a flared ricasso (schilt) and feders without.
"Feder" is very much a modern term, and broadly just means a longsword foil specifically modified for sparring. Characteristic features include:
flared points
wide edges
additional flex
blade shape that brings the weight closer to the ...
5
First, don't drill anything you haven't been taught in person by a good teacher. You can learn a lot watching videos, but videos don't give you feedback and correction. I'm worried that you'll be drilling the wrong movement, and that will make it hard to undo later on. Drilling should only be done when you're getting feedback and are actively making ...
5
In most cases, sword flex is only for the sake of durability and excessive flexibility is likely to interfere with doing proper damage with your blade. A major exception is the urumi, or "whip blade", where that flexibility is used to use it as more of a "soft weapon", able to make more use of centrifugal momentum and to curve around ...
4
First off I think it our choice of trainingweapon depends on whether you want to start practicing on your own, or join a club. If you are planning to join a club, I'd say wait and see what they are using. Some clubs prefer steel other nylon wasters. This might save you the costs of new/additional gear ;). Also, and this might be different from club to club, ...
4
There's been some pretty good scholarship and interest in the Dadao recently. There's a few forms or methods which have managed to be incorporated/carried along with various forms of kung fu - here's some demonstrations from a Mantis kung fu school. Others are attempting to reconstruct Dadao movements from old military manuals.
It's a bit difficult to ...
4
Not only can it be done, but it has been done and you can watch it:
https://www.youtube.com/results?q=man%20at%20arms%20katana&sm=1
In the TV show "Man at arms, reforged", when they do katanas, they do the folding and tempering but with power tools instead of hand hammers, recently designed clays, and modern furnaces and chemical treatments (in this ...
4
You should really be asking your club, rather than here. If you have just started training then you should not even be using a full weight sword. Safety and strength aside, your joints (and connecting fibers) will probably not be up to the task without some practice.
Buy a cudgel (stick) and a helmet (with eye proper eye protection!) and practice the ...
4
What a coincidence. I recently stumbled upon a video of a young sort of guy in Arizona by the name of Kairo Seijuro who seems to have attained a high degree of skill in classical kenjutsu. He was in the news due to a video posted to youtube showing him using his sword to protect himself and another man from harm when a fight broke out between multiple people ...
Only top voted, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible