Yeah its true, the very best fighters tend to start when they are barely old enough to take part (in Judo you have to be six) but I started when I just turned 10 and have excelled at it

@ deviant

jevryn is right. before a warrior learns to wield a weapon he must first learn to use the "large thing between the ears". the only thing between warriors (at least in my clan) that is settled with the use of swords, is a dispute in honour.

@ jevryn

And it's so difficult to wash the stains out afterwards

Edited by - locutus on 05-08-2003 00:29:08

LoL

This a good read. Wow! So many warriors! Who would have thought that a game forum could give rise to such an army of insecure psychologically unbala... err.. I mean: skilled killing machines?

It kind of reminds me of this guy on one of those 'bachelorette' type shows. He brought a boken (a wooden practice sword) to the screening session and wouldn't let anyone touch his sword because it was 'his honor'. The girl was like "I bet no one has ever touched your sword - get out of here you loser". That made me laugh too..

Jev said:

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. The samurai of Japan used a yari (spear) as his first weapon, the tachi (sword) second in close-in duels.

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Just to make a lame point, The first weapon he would carry was the Yari(spear) then if broken came the Katana. Roughly with a blade 30-50inches long. Made (im pretty sure) as very very VERY thin strips of steel folded one ontop of the other. This made it very very VERY strong. The Katana was used for slashing mainly because of its length.

After the Katana was a shorter sword used for stabbing was the Wakizashi which was roughly 15-25inches long. This was used for very close combat where it was hard to slash at an opponent without killing those behind you on your side. Example: Battle of Sekigahara 140,000 samurai on foot fighting each other. Friendly kills would be huge if all they used was the katana.

After the Wakizashi came the Tanto. This was like a dagger. Not always carried by a samurai (the other two tachi's (swords) were but a tanto was up to him/her.) It was a last resort I feel.

Funny thing about samurai: Before the mongols invaded them under Kublai Khan, bushido (the way of the warrior) was very honourable. Two samurai armies would clash and the samurai would call out their fathers and grandfathers looking for a worthy opponent to kill. Can you imagine a group of men milling about aimlessly all shouting and trying to find someone to kill. Presents a funny spectacle.

Obviously the mongols didnt do this and in the few battles that ensued they scored some early kills while the samurai were running around ranting and raving.

But in the end the Mongols were killed as the huge fleet that got them there was destroyed by a tai-fun (divine wind).

Bet that taught the samurai a lesson didn't it.

Trajan

The katana is the daisho sword which a samurai wore when he was not in battle armor. The grip and saya are made for wear when the samurai is in civilian clothing.

The tachi is a similar sword, but without the handguard, a more asture grip, and a saya (scabbard) that is looped for a belt suspension. It is made so that the samurai, when wearing full armor, could wield the weapon.

The wakazashi is the shortsword that is worn with the katana in the civilian dress daisho, and the tanto is the comparable weapon worn with the tachi in battle dress.

In battle, three blades were indeed carried by a samurai, but they were the tachi, the tanto, and a heading sword. The tachi is the longsword, the tanto the shortsword, and the smallest of the three is a blade primarily meant to cut off the heads of the fallen enemy. Japanese battle tradition was to make a head count to determine casualties inflicted, and one did not go about wearing down their battle swords with these decapitations.

Edited by - Jevryn Markes on 07-08-2003 19:08:38

I studied Shotokan for eight years and Budo Aikido for three until I got injured at a tournament.
(someone swept me, think wishbone..ouch) I also was self-taught a little Ninjitsu. (Books, there
aren't any real classes anywhere) Now after ten+ years rusting I'm back at Shotokan with my son.
(a LOT harder when you're crowding the half-century mark) I like helping the white belts at my
Dojo. I would like to do the same in FS but since half the noobies turn out to be cheaters with
cloak guns, that has diminished my desire. I'm thinking of starting a FS Dojo on some small server.
Obviously, I didn't return to Shotokan at the same belt color I left; shocks some people to see me
do Katas five levels up, but I love Kata. Enough rambling...

"Got anything for me?" - Trent, A.K.A. 'Mr. Eloquent'

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Funny thing about samurai: Before the mongols invaded them under Kublai Khan, bushido (the way of the warrior) was very honourable. Two samurai armies would clash and the samurai would call out their fathers and grandfathers looking for a worthy opponent to kill. Can you imagine a group of men milling about aimlessly all shouting and trying to find someone to kill. Presents a funny spectacle.

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Are you sure it was the Mongols that changed that habit? The Mongol invasion was in 1274. I know for a fact that samurais still shouted their family lines in the 1500s. The habit diluted in the early 1600s. So I don't think the Mongols factored in the change.

I was under the impression the Japanese warrior culture remained strong right up until Hiroshima/Nagasaki. An event like that could definately sponsor a re-examination of your cultural values.

I believe that after the event, the Japanese have emerged as one of the wisest nations on earth, focusing their formidable cultural dedication and devotion on commerce rather than war.

I'm no expert on Japanese history, however.

The habit ended with the introduction of firearms, the WW2 era was more of a
revival of Bushido for politcal purposes. IMHO

"Got anything for me?" - Trent, A.K.A. 'Mr. Eloquent'

I've been doing Judo for about 7 years. It suits me quite well compared to other martial arts, I'm a big guy and I know I don't have the speed or the right balance to throw fast kicks, punches etc to do well in tae kwondo or karate. Also Judo teaches you a few little tricks you can use on the rugby field
I have also recently started Ju Jitsu and learnt a few of the basics of Nunchaku observing a friend.

@ Spear, your comment on Ju Jitsu seemed a little uninformed. Ju Jitsu is constantly evolving, it was designed for the samurai on the battlefield, and thus there may be parts of classical ju jitsu that seem arcane. But modern ju jitsu has always been evolving, in some syllabuses you might even see firearm defences (although i have to admit i'd rather give the guy, pointing the gun, whatever he wants, rather than try something fancy). I'd also recommend you give Judo a try, even if only to improve your throwing technique, the way I've been shown to throw in the few Ju Jitsu (Shu-Ho Jujitsu Renmei) lessons I've been to so far have seemed to be fairly weak (nevertheless, I may be wrong).

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Then, when you get angry, there will be sufficient room for your rage.