Im Interested in getting a new sword.

[Gyakuto]

Those guys are basically machetes. But people enter cutting comps with them.

I think if you wanted to get good at a sword you would benefit more from cutting down trees. Than kata. You would get stronger. You would get more repetitions and you would make cleaner cuts

Cutting through a person with a sword and keeping it intact so you can fight on, is more about skilful use than brute force.

 

[Xue Sheng]

Cutting through a person with a sword and keeping it intact so you can fight on, is more about skilful use than brute force.

Talking CMA, and the Da Dao is CMA, it depends on the sword. The Da Dao was made for hacking and chopping, not a whole lot of finesse. However I will admit, I would not use it for chop down trees

Old Chinese saying, the jian is the weapon of the scholar, the dao is the weapon of a butcher

 

[drop bear]

Cutting through a person with a sword and keeping it intact so you can fight on, is more about skilful use than brute force.

Cos you have done it?

 

[Gyakuto]

Cos you have done it?

Several times….today alone.

 

[drop bear]

My guess is that this falls under the heavy bag reasoning. Punching only on a heavy bag will make your punch strong but, only punching the heavy bag won't make you a good fighter.


Chopping vs slicing

If I wanted to have a good idea the types of swings when using a blade and how to use it, then I would probably train for cutting competition. At least this way I get a good understanding of effective swinging to achieve the cut. But beyond that there is no fighting technique

If you really want to be good with a sword then I would say always go ninja lol

Cutting comps would be the way to go.

The issue is in the sword community you have these gatekeepers of sword etiquette Who claim that without years of the "right" training and a ten thousand dollar sword. As soon as you try cutting. Your sword will explode in to sharp shards in to your eyes.

Where I think going out and doing the thing will be better than talking about the thing.

(Obviously there is a safe technique.)

But Hema do sword cutting. And I have heard they will use cold steels and condors. And they will work OK.

Personally I think you could get a cane knife and practice cutting and you would probably be OK.

 

[drop bear]

Several times….today alone.

Lol.

There are a bunch of gatekeeper comments that get used by people who of course are not really real sword fighters. (Because who is. Right?)

And I think this poisons the well for people who just want to smash stuff around the house with a cheap sword.

 

[drop bear]

My guess is that this falls under the heavy bag reasoning. Punching only on a heavy bag will make your punch strong but, only punching the heavy bag won't make you a good fighter.


Chopping vs slicing

If I wanted to have a good idea the types of swings when using a blade and how to use it, then I would probably train for cutting competition. At least this way I get a good understanding of effective swinging to achieve the cut. But beyond that there is no fighting technique

If you really want to be good with a sword then I would say always go ninja lol

By thecway. If they had competition cutting anywherenear me. I would probably be doing it. Not for any martial purpose but just because it looks fun.

But it is also a place where you can be pushed in to buying thousand dollar knives.

Otherwise cold steel do a competition cutter. Condor do a competition cutter. And a company called Siam blades do a competition cutter. (Which is about what I could afford)
Siam blades.

Siam Bladesports Competition Chopper - Knife Cutting Competitions

Find out what steel is used in the competition choppers for bladesports. Imported high carbon steels like Sup9 Sk5 Sk4 D2 N695 M390&3V 52100 440C Knife Making Steel. Handmade Competition Cutters for Blade Sports. Field tested & Sharp Performance Blades for Knife Cutting Competitions in America &...

siamblades.com

 

[Gyakuto]

Cutting comps would be the way to go.

The issue is in the sword community you have these gatekeepers of sword etiquette Who claim that without years of the "right" training and a ten thousand dollar sword. As soon as you try cutting. Your sword will explode in to sharp shards in to your eyes.

That’s exactly what could happen. It’s terrible watching people being exploded by…sword..that explode due to incorrect cutting technique. It takes almost 43.7 years to learn to cut correctly with a sword (so that it doesn’t explode).

Where I think going out and doing the thing will be better than talking about the thing.

No, no, no…you simply don’t understand. <shake head…in pity>

(Obviously there is a safe technique.)

But Hema do sword cutting.

Yeah, after 43.7 years of careful, supervised practise.

And I have heard they will use cold steels and condors. And they will work OK.

You must never use large birds for cutting. They explode on impact!

Personally I think you could get a cane knife and practice cutting and you would probably be OK.

Emergency rooms are filled with ‘probablys’

Don’t listen to a grappler, OP. Start off with a letter opener and only wave it in the air for 10 years.

 

[JowGaWolf]

I would probably be doing it. Not for any martial purpose but just because it looks fun.

I do it when I do yard work. I get to practice on banana trees. Hacking with a machetes makes more work so I us sword cutting techniques. Using a swing that pulls the blades across the banana tree. I just occurred to me that I could test out some double dagger swings on the tree. My understanding is that the swings are circular to make use of an efficient cut.

 

[Dirty Dog]

Cos you have done it?

Cutting competitions. And animal cadavers.

 

[Hanshi]

Back when I had my dojo I had a few swords for display and they did look cool mounted on the wall. In this case they had aluminum blades for safety and $$. I got a katana for myself and I still have it. The sucker came sharp and I mean really sharp. It cost under $100 so would be quite a bit more today. We'd get occasional classes on the katana but used wooden ones.

Way back when I was a cop we had a fatal incident involving a sword. Seems two guys had a katana (If memory still serves) or maybe similar style. They were PLAYING around with it when it came apart at the handle. The free blade then somehow struck one of the two guys right behind the collar bone. The unattached blade penetrated the length of his body, around 3 feet, so there was no way first aid could help. My usual patrol partner had answered the call and was at a loss. She started to do chest compression but stopped short as more blood poured out. The truly weird thing was that rather than the point of the blade going through first, it was the broken end that stabbed him yet had enough (???) to penetrate completely. Swords are not toys to play with.

I have lots of knives, 90% given to me, but I'm NOT a collector. I have had quite a lot of training in their use but not so the sword.

 

[Gyakuto]

I think your tale shows that very little force is required to penetrate the body even with a dull point. Everyone seems to think the whole body needs to be behind a thrust, but unless ones enemy is wearing armour, it really isn’t. And yes @drop bear, I’ve stabbed lots of people with a sword…today alone! 😑 😉

 

[JowGaWolf]

Back when I had my dojo I had a few swords for display and they did look cool mounted on the wall. In this case they had aluminum blades for safety and $$. I got a katana for myself and I still have it. The sucker came sharp and I mean really sharp. It cost under $100 so would be quite a bit more today. We'd get occasional classes on the katana but used wooden ones.

Way back when I was a cop we had a fatal incident involving a sword. Seems two guys had a katana (If memory still serves) or maybe similar style. They were PLAYING around with it when it came apart at the handle. The free blade then somehow struck one of the two guys right behind the collar bone. The unattached blade penetrated the length of his body, around 3 feet, so there was no way first aid could help. My usual patrol partner had answered the call and was at a loss. She started to do chest compression but stopped short as more blood poured out. The truly weird thing was that rather than the point of the blade going through first, it was the broken end that stabbed him yet had enough (???) to penetrate completely. Swords are not toys to play with.

I have lots of knives, 90% given to me, but I'm NOT a collector. I have had quite a lot of training in their use but not so the sword.

The only sword I'll play around with is a wooden sword with a blunt edge. Anything more than that gets treated with the realization that it can hurt me or worse. Like that video of that guy who hit the sword on the wood and it broke. And stabbed him in the arm.

Don't but cheap quality knives or swords if the goal is to use them for self defense. Training with metal swords even if blunt should be done with protection gear and in a light manner. It shouldn't be done by beginners or by people without control.

There are a lot of sword accident videos on YouTube. The things some people do with swords screams. "You are not mature enough to own one"

 

[isshinryuronin]

treated with the realization that it can hurt me or worse.

This is most important thing in using real weapons - Respect for its capabilities.

"You are not mature enough to own one"

Live weapons practice is not playtime.

Before iaido class begins there is a prologue. Walking onto the floor, kneeling with the hakama properly bloused out, placing the sheathed sword on the floor in the prescribed fashion, bowing and perhaps a short meditation, picking up the sword, a 3-step process in itself, and slipping it into your obi, then getting up. (I've skipped some of the more detailed procedures.)

This "ritual" is much like a formal tea ceremony: Each movement is deliberate and controlled. The purpose is to set a mood and attitude. The discipline required when swinging sharp blades around is established before the blade is ever drawn.

 

[JowGaWolf]

The purpose is to set a mood and attitude.

I like this as this has been a problem with some of the people I sparred with in the past. Setting the mood and purpose of what is about to occur. When I teach, I like for people to get into the mind set of sparring to learn and not to use so much force that they are afraid to take risks and make mistakes.

I think I'm going to create something similar to help set the mood and the purpose. It sounds like it helps get people on the same page which is important. I like to spar to learn, but if my sparring partner isn't on the same page then I won't be to "spar to learn" as I have will need to match the intensity and use more reliable defense and attacks that I already know.

if both are on the same page vs having their own goals for sparring, then both will benefit greatly and injuries will be reduced.

Do you know where I can see examples of this?

 

[Flying Crane]

I think your tale shows that very little force is required to penetrate the body even with a dull point. Everyone seems to think the whole body needs to be behind a thrust, but unless ones enemy is wearing armour, it really isn’t. And yes @drop bear, I’ve stabbed lots of people with a sword…today alone! 😑 😉

When I stuck myself in the leg two years ago with my Dao, it was like an afterthought. At first my thought was “oh I bumped my leg.” Then my thought was “oh damn [insert long string of expletives] I better take a look at that.”

Just a moment of failing to consider the full path of the point was all it took. No effort at all, just a bit of gravity. And just a few days earlier I had been thinking to myself, “it could probably be a little bit sharper, without being too sharp.” Nope, didn’t need it.

 

[gyoja]

When I stuck myself in the leg two years ago with my Dao, it was like an afterthought. At first my thought was “oh I bumped my leg.” Then my thought was “oh damn, I better take a look at that.”

Just a moment of failing to consider the full path of the point was all it took. No effort at all, just a bit of gravity. And just a few days earlier I had been thinking to myself, “it could probably be a little bit sharper, without being too sharp.” Nope, didn’t need it.

Ouch!

 

[Dirty Dog]

When I stuck myself in the leg two years ago with my Dao, it was like an afterthought. At first my thought was “oh I bumped my leg.” Then my thought was “oh damn [insert long string of expletives] I better take a look at that.”

Just a moment of failing to consider the full path of the point was all it took. No effort at all, just a bit of gravity. And just a few days earlier I had been thinking to myself, “it could probably be a little bit sharper, without being too sharp.” Nope, didn’t need it.

I wish I'd been there to hear the ER staff's response to your story.

 

[Flying Crane]

Ouch!

Interestingly, I felt no pain. Even when getting it patched up, and after the anesthetic wore off it just didn’t hurt.

 

[Dirty Dog]

Interestingly, I felt no pain. Even when getting it patched up, and after the anesthetic wore off it just didn’t hurt.

Usually doesn't, once the incision is closed.