LogFAQs > #896010427

darkknight109 posted...

Cross-Guard: The katana's tsuba (what you're referring to as a cross-guard) is actually not a cross-guard at all - it's basically a design feature to keep the wielder's hand from inadvertently sliding up onto the blade (and not all historical katana had them). Katana swing much faster than longswords - a significant point in their favour, by the way - so catching with a crossguard is impractical. Not to mention, in a clash katana tend to "bite" into one another due to the way the blade is designed, so a cut that would slide all the way down to the hilt would be fairly rare.

Having trained and swung both I disagee on the "swing much faster" opinion, a proper longsword swing is faster, especially the tip, because of momentum (again physics). Sword fighting has 2 rules, Don't get hit, hit them. In that order. The cross guard was great at stopping attacks hitting the hands, though they were used you A LOT more, the murder stroke being a big one. Anyone who teaches Katana would cringe about you talking about Katanas biting one another as them hitting like that is not wanted, and is not beneficial in any way.

darkknight109 posted...

No knight or samurai that had a brain would ever willingly hit something hard. It happens sometimes, but the popular image of knights banging their swords off each other is pure Hollywood - about the only thing you'd get from doing that is a blunt blade.

Agreed, doesn't mean it didn't happen.

The standard equipment of the samurai included guns from the 1500s onwards, which kind of kicks the ass of anything the knights could bring to bear.

And no, knights did not typically use longswords against heavy armour like plate mail (see above point about blunt blades). Standard weapons to deal with armour involved things like warhammers (which virtually every fictional representation depicts incorrectly - you hit with the pick on the "back" of the hammer, with the large "front" being used to provide weight to drive that pick into the armour), arrows (which, if properly designed, could easily punch through full-plate) or heavy weapons that could knock a knight over, at which point they could be easily dispatched by a knife in their armour joints.

You've claimed a background in kendo, TC, but unless your school was pretty lacklustre or simply focused on shinai training rather than working much with the actual blades themselves, I'm actually surprised you don't know more about the katana. A lot of what you posted was misinformed at best, completely wrong at worst. As a suggestion, you may want to supplement your kendo training with some iai, as I find you don't get a full appreciation for what's involved in using a katana without both.

Late 1500's (1543)

Sorta right on the Warhammer, though it was not for weight, it was for crushing joints, much easier to kill with the pick if they cannot move there legs or arms! Also if they were on there arse, it would not be going in close for a knife, it would be a murder stroke, or a warhammer strike. Yes, some arrows could pierce plate, though not "easily" Just ask the French, they designed armour to deflect arrows, but yeah. the Longbows won Agincourt

I have done longsword for a lot longer than Kendo (8 yrs vs 3) and he didn't go much into the blades themselves, more the technique and the like, though I am a sword enthusiast and I have read up about Katana, please point out my misinformation though. You agree the mats were crap, and better at cutting with softer, easy to break blades. Where about I misinformed?
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