anybody into kendo/katanas/swords in general?

[bustr]

If you wish to learn bokken or bokkuto study Kenjutsu.

Here is a link. I studied Teshin-ryu.........in the 1700's dueling with swords in Japan was outlawed. Tenshin-ryu developed a system for dueling with suburito. Suburito made of a properly seasoned wood can easily break a sword. The wood will also trap the sword edge.

Because of the weight, when it makes contact with your body, it pulverises bone, or shatters your skull. The chizle shaped tip made thrusts lethal. Duels that did not end in death often ended with amputations of limbs that could never be put back together because the arm or wrist bones were pulverised at the point of impact.

http://www.chicagobudokai.com/tenshin-ryu.htm

[lazs2]

a good stick is allways better than a fist unless you have to carry it around.

God really knew what he was doing when he created handguns.

lazs

[JB73]

Originally posted by lazs2
a good stick is allways better than a fist unless you have to carry it around.

God really knew what he was doing when he created handguns.

lazs

BWHAHAHAHAaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!111

now that is totally a funny thread hijack! LMAO

[bustr]

Originally posted by lazs2
a good stick is allways better than a fist unless you have to carry it around.

God really knew what he was doing when he created handguns.

lazs

I agree with Laz. Thats why I beleive in Mr. Kimber and Mr. Glock in my older years. Altough it's funny the things people leave laying around that most would not beleive the secondary uses you can put them to.

Guns were the begining of the end for the Samurai. Any ashigaru could be trained to pull a trigger in a fraction of the time it took to train a functional Samurai.

[JB73]

Originally posted by bustr
I agree with Laz. Thats why I beleive in Mr. Kimber and Mr. Glock in my older years. Altough it's funny the things people leave laying around that most would not beleive the secondary uses you can put them to.

Guns were the begining of the end for the Samurai. Any ashigaru could be trained to pull a trigger in a fraction of the time it took to train a functional Samurai.

Tom Cruise tried to stop that, but noone knows what ebcame of him.

[CyranoAH]

Originally posted by wrag
You try here?

http://www.museumreplicas.com/webstore/homepage.asp

A note regarding swords vs practice/fencing equipment.

The real thing is often heavier and has a different balance.

Never much cared for the foil.  Hated the way they could interpose and arm to avoid the touch.   Epee  weeelllll .. wasn't TOO bad with it.  I prefered the saber.  BUT fencing can be very expensive.

Thanks I will take a look. About the weight and stuff... I know a 800 gram-sabre is not to be expected, but the quality of the iron used is far below what would be used in real life.

Just compare your typical steel katana that you can purchase anywhere with the $3000-6000 ones... the cheap ones will weigh almost two times of the expensive one.

Daniel

[Nilsen]

While googeling on this subject I belive I have found our old friend Mr Black!

I have never met him in person, but just look at those eyes... It can't be anyone else.

Scary

[spitfiremkv]

I read a book about fencing by Evangelista. Definitely a nice sport that requires a lot of skills, both physical and mental. Same with Kendo.
I would not try to hit anything with the bokken, of course, since it can break.
Some people on the site I bought it from commented on that.
I'm more interested in ancient swordfighting, versus fencing which is just a sport (though of course you can kill with an epee by sticking it in someone's vital organs). But unless you're going to renaissance fairs , I have no clue how you can practice that.
You'd need some sort of padded weapons  because older swords can maim through sheer weight when they hit someone.

[indy007]

Originally posted by CyranoAH
Thanks I will take a look. About the weight and stuff... I know a 800 gram-sabre is not to be expected, but the quality of the iron used is far below what would be used in real life.

Just compare your typical steel katana that you can purchase anywhere with the $3000-6000 ones... the cheap ones will weigh almost two times of the expensive one.

Daniel

An excellently crafted, folded steel blade is also normally very porous. They'll rust like hell without religious maintenance. Caught a special on them on the Discovery channel once. iirc you have to oil and polish them frequently. Now, I've always thought owning a sword was pretty obsolete since the invention of modern firearms, but I know a guy (ex-friend, he's a giant sweetheart) with a great collection including a few that are hundreds of years old. Impressive, but I couldn't see myself keeping up on their maintenance.

[wrag]

Originally posted by Nilsen
While googeling on this subject I belive I have found our old friend Mr Black!

I have never met him in person, but just look at those eyes... It can't be anyone else.

Scary

Hmm the grip he is using looks incorrect?

[Nilsen]

It was early days at the ninja boot camp.

[wrag]

Originally posted by indy007
An excellently crafted, folded steel blade is also normally very porous. They'll rust like hell without religious maintenance. Caught a special on them on the Discovery channel once. iirc you have to oil and polish them frequently. Now, I've always thought owning a sword was pretty obsolete since the invention of modern firearms, but I know a guy (ex-friend, he's a giant sweetheart) with a great collection including a few that are hundreds of years old. Impressive, but I couldn't see myself keeping up on their maintenance.

A trick I heard about is to use pledge furniture wax on damascus type steel.  Claim was it kept both moisture and oxygen from touching the metal.

Also BreakFree has/gives excellent protection on metal surfaces.

[indy007]

Originally posted by spitfiremkv
Some people on the site I bought it from commented on that.
I'm more interested in ancient swordfighting, versus fencing which is just a sport (though of course you can kill with an epee by sticking it in someone's vital organs). But unless you're going to renaissance fairs , I have no clue how you can practice that.
You'd need some sort of padded weapons  because older swords can maim through sheer weight when they hit someone.

Well, to practice fighting with the equivelent of padded baseball bats, check out SCA heavy fighting. They have fighter practice regularly, and most cities have their cul... groups.. nice enough people, but in general even more odd than extremist star wars vs. star trek geeks. It's generally more appealing to people interested in Kendo. I tried it, it's alot of fun, just didn't have the time to commit, and SCA politics... man, it's a renny version of 90210.

light fighting was more fun than me since I'm skinny. gave a nice advantage with a slim side profile (a major target being the armpit & just underneath it). not bad with a foil, pretty mean with an epee (since the target zones are much bigger & I can snipe knees out). got my butt handed to me in sabre though. just not my thing. University of Houston has a cool fencing club, so if it's your cup of tea check out local colleges. The SCA people also practiced with them, so I had some really good tutors.

man, I wish I still had the time

[wrag]

Originally posted by CyranoAH
Thanks I will take a look. About the weight and stuff... I know a 800 gram-sabre is not to be expected, but the quality of the iron used is far below what would be used in real life.

Just compare your typical steel katana that you can purchase anywhere with the $3000-6000 ones... the cheap ones will weigh almost two times of the expensive one.

Daniel

Ahhh .... think you will like what you see then.  These weapons are mostly made by Windlass Steelcraft in India.  I may have misspelled that name.

Anyways... it's reported on the site that the blades are made for actual combat use.  The steel used is pretty flexable and springs right back after flexing.  Don't recall the actual amount of deflextion they can take though.

Oh look here.....

http://www.atlantacutlery.com/webstore/homepage.asp

This is interesting but kinda hard to pick out the real from the look alike....

http://www.mwart.com/prod_list.asp

And ColdSteel now has Swords, Maces, and other stuff.............

http://www.coldsteel.com/

[bustr]

spitfire,

In normal use in a kenjutsu dojo junior students can go through several bokken in the first year mostly because it takes a year or so to learn not to use heavy hands at impact. Past that point the student only breaks the bokken by mistake, showing off, or they need to get their money back from the internet seller.

Or you are performing sanshin breathing and your sensei is testing your resolve and finds out your shoulders are stronger than your cheap bokken he's been whacking you with for the last 5 minutes........./:-(.......

If you want to strike something with your bokken build a tamishiwari stand for it. You can sink 2 4x4 posts in the ground close enough to stick an old car tire between them with the top about waist high. Then use large bolts with big washers to hold each side of the tire to the 4x4's.

A traditional stand is to make 2 - X's of wood with say 2x2's and collect a bundle of 1" tree limbs, tie them together with rope, then lay them across the 2 - X's. Tie them to the X's at each end. Make the bundle be about waist high.

Then proceed to wear yourself out on either stand.

I would be more worried about the mekugi working itself out of the mekugi-ana during kata with a shin ken.............