Current Events > could a samurai with a katana beat a european knight?

(+) Yeah! (+)

Deadpool_18 posted...

Gheb posted...

Could a samurai win? Probably. But given standard armor and weapons, it isn't in their favor. Plate armor makes cutting weapons pretty ineffective.

Not with something as consistently sharp as a genuine katana.

I wish I could remember the article on the SCP Foundation that specifically makes fun of people like this.
---

Weren't knights more often horse back?
Like, pound for pound, skill for skill, a samurai probably has a knight beat but given their normal war attire I think the samurai would be at a distinct disadvantage. Not impossible, plate mail has its weaknesses (behind the knees, the gorget, etc) but definitely the knight would be favoured in that situation.
---

Ricemills posted...

katanas having trouble cutting trough samurai armors, what makes you think it would be better against knight armor?

made in china ones maybe. real japanese sword can cut rock like butter.

samurai also dont need armor, a slowass knight isnt hitting them.
---

I can't tell if people are being serious or not
---

TerrifyingRei posted...

I can't tell if people are being serious or not

Poe's Law really. A youtuber I like who discusses swords and armor was soured on Katana for years because of how absolutely dreadful the fan base of it is. He specifically derided it as a cult.
---

Crazyman93 posted...

TerrifyingRei posted...

I can't tell if people are being serious or not

Poe's Law really. A youtuber I like who discusses swords and armor was soured on Katana for years because of how absolutely dreadful the fan base of it is. He specifically derided it as a cult.

Is this skallagrim by any chance

I had a roommate that believed katanas were primarily thrusting weapons.

I was like... I'm pretty sure they're not
---

Crazyman93 posted...

Deadpool_18 posted...

Gheb posted...

Could a samurai win? Probably. But given standard armor and weapons, it isn't in their favor. Plate armor makes cutting weapons pretty ineffective.

Not with something as consistently sharp as a genuine katana.

I wish I could remember the article on the SCP Foundation that specifically makes fun of people like this.

SCP-572: Katana of Apparent Invincibility
http://www.scp-wiki.net/scp-572

tl;dr A poorly made, badly balanced, dull-ass katana. If you hold it, you become convinced that it is sharp enough to cut through steel and that you possess great strength and invincibility.
---

Reis posted...

Is this skallagrim by any chance

Yes as a matter of fact it is.

pegusus123456 posted...

SCP-572: Katana of Apparent Invincibility
http://www.scp-wiki.net/scp-572

tl;dr A poorly made, badly balanced, dull-ass katana. If you hold it, you become convinced that it is sharp enough to cut through steel and that you possess great strength and invincibility.

That's the one. Thank you.
---

Mal is correct here. The fighter with the most skill would win. If the samurai were forced to use katana and the knight had heavy armor at their disposal, the knight would have an advantage. Who wins is based on their skill, and their form of the day.
---

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aeEVSYZbnO4" data-time="

scar the 1 posted...

Mal is correct here. The fighter with the most skill would win. If the samurai were forced to use katana and the knight had heavy armor at their disposal, the knight would have an advantage. Who wins is based on their skill, and their form of the day.

Discussions of tiers are done under the assumption that combatants are at equal skill level

I'm certain any weeaboo firmly believes that a katana can cut through a tank, since they probably saw it in some turd anime.
---

Nope, Knight would win.
---

Also it's obvious, anyone with the slightest knowledge of medieval history knows that a knight would win easily. They were better equipped and had much sturdier swords and weapons. Also way better trained and battle-hardened, knights were waging war and battles almost constanty, samurais were more in charge of protection, and battles in medieval Japan were a bunch of sissies with hair buns charging at each other waving flimsy swords anyway.
---

samurai wouldnt have that much of a speed advantage. they stil wore heavy, full body armor. they wern't hulking metal men, but they wern't fast
---

Hayame Zero posted...

lol I actually saw a fistfight and a friendship end back in the day because of this argument.

Did the weeboo or the teaboo win?
---

Reis posted...

scar the 1 posted...

Mal is correct here. The fighter with the most skill would win. If the samurai were forced to use katana and the knight had heavy armor at their disposal, the knight would have an advantage. Who wins is based on their skill, and their form of the day.

Discussions of tiers are done under the assumption that combatants are at equal skill level

"Equal skill level" is a really fuzzy concept when the skills are different things meant for different scenarios. A samurai wouldn't even use a katana vs an armored knight to begin with, as has been pointed out. Katana swordplay wasn't developed for that kind of opponent.
---

pegusus123456 posted...

Crazyman93 posted...

Deadpool_18 posted...

Gheb posted...

Could a samurai win? Probably. But given standard armor and weapons, it isn't in their favor. Plate armor makes cutting weapons pretty ineffective.

Not with something as consistently sharp as a genuine katana.

I wish I could remember the article on the SCP Foundation that specifically makes fun of people like this.

SCP-572: Katana of Apparent Invincibility
http://www.scp-wiki.net/scp-572

tl;dr A poorly made, badly balanced, dull-ass katana. If you hold it, you become convinced that it is sharp enough to cut through steel and that you possess great strength and invincibility.

LMAO!

I would think European archers would still beat Samurai archers due to the longbow.
---

Yeah, a Katana is not built to cut through armor.
---

TerrifyingRei posted...

I had a roommate that believed katanas were primarily thrusting weapons.

I was like... I'm pretty sure they're not

Probably played too much Dark Souls: too much running R1 spam.
---

I don't think the yumi would penetrate the thicker parts of plate armor, most arrows snap on contact. Some heavy crossbows could be a threat

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ej3qjUzUzQg" data-time="

Itt butthurt weebs
---

ModLogic posted...

made in china ones maybe. real japanese sword can cut rock like butter.

Yeah, not only is that not true, but steel is harder than plenty of types of rock. It's not even designed to cut through armor because, as you pointed out, the samurai don't wear heavier armor.

How do the Japanese fight? They do the "kamikaze" by lunging and flailing. The samurai would fly at the knight, destroying his brittle weapon on the gauntlet, and then be left disarmed. That's if he's lucky. The knight would have an arsenal of battle-tested maneuvers to imbalance or break his target's defense and cut them down with a quality weapon. There's no good outcome for a ridiculously equipped japanese person facing a knight. The knight could trip him onto his stomach and stomp his face into the dirt, then the shamed samurai would have to commit seppuku.

HorrorJudasGoat posted...

How do the Japanese fight? They do the "kamikaze" by lunging and flailing. The samurai would fly at the knight, destroying his brittle weapon on the gauntlet, and then be left disarmed. That's if he's lucky. The knight would have an arsenal of battle-tested maneuvers to imbalance or break his target's defense and cut them down with a quality weapon. There's no good outcome for a ridiculously equipped japanese person facing a knight. The knight could trip him onto his stomach and stomp his face into the dirt, then the shamed samurai would have to commit seppuku.

He didn't say 'stereotype from a samurai film'. Also, good luck destroying European plate mail with a katanna. Your scenarios are incredibly arbitrary, as well.