Samurai!

[Tash]

im 6" tall and im considered not at tall as the average men, but i have robust building instead hehe.

The " symbol means inches, I think you wanted the ' which indicates feet....unless you are in fact six INCHES tall, in which case you have a whole different set of problems :)

[bergh]

lol 6 feet yes,

anyways the length of the katana dont surprice me, anything less would only be a sharp butter knife :)

I have read several places that the length of the katana was different in each time period and even region of japan.
I can imagine that each sword was specific made to what the user prefered.

[Muggins]

There is a fair amount of variety in Katana length, but in general they are 13th- 14th C arming sword length for the blade, with a long handle.

The major point of interest for me is in the mechanics of the cut. Cutting with a katana is quite different to a longsword- the optimal use of the curve is a blow much closer to the body than that used with a longsword. (The curve maintains contact with the target longer, producing a slicing cut). In that way, a properly swung katana is arguably a better cutter than a European longsword, at the expense of range and flexibility. Not that I would ever swap any of my swords for a katana, but adding the odd oriental weapon to the collection has an appeal...

James

[Lance D. Allen]

I have vague ideas of eventually studying both western martial arts (probably longsword) and continuing my eastern, with some emphasis on various sword techniques.

The weapons and the styles are in detail vastly different. I cannot really speak for western styles, only having had about an hour's worth of pointers from Jake to speak from, but I know that eastern sword techniques emphasized timing, speed, and fluidity. This is the purpose of the kata, to train muscle memory so you can move without thought from a particular pose to parry and strike in the same movement.

[Richard_Strey]

...and that's exactly what German Langsword is about, as well. If you lack in either timing, sense of distance, fluidity of movement or mind, reflex or muscle memory, your career as a swordsman will be cut short.

[Tash]

I think that's pretty much every combatic art, from swordfighting to ju-jitsu to close quarter handgun techniques.  Its the individual movements that differ.

[Bastoche]

"One thing that needs to be addressed first is probably my biggest button: Japanese armour was never made of wood or bamboo. It was either leather, steel, or a combination of the two. Don't even ask me."

From:

http://www.sengokudaimyo.com/

[clehrich]

"One thing that needs to be addressed first is probably my biggest button: Japanese armour was never made of wood or bamboo. It was either leather, steel, or a combination of the two. Don't even ask me."

The one exception, that I know of, was the arrow-catcher sometimes worn on the back of a mounted man in battle.  It was a sort of tightly-woven, multi-layered bamboo basket.  The idea was that an arrow would slow down or even stop in the bamboo, rather than hitting the man and quite possibly penetrating.

Apart from that, my understanding is that this web reference is correct, if we discount the cloth lacing often used to weave together the steel plates.  But sometimes, I gather, the lacing was leather.

[bergh]

ok people name me a good samurai movie i shall see.
i have 2 requriments:

1. It shall be a colour movie, no B/W please.

2. There should be LOTS of samurai armour in it.!
not just guys with katanas (yes i have an armour fetish).

3. Large battles. ok this is not a requirement, but i prefer large battles.

can anyone help me?

[Tash]

Well I just saw The Last Samurai and its a good flick.  I don't know about its plot's historical accuracy but the battle scenes are impressive and there is lots of armor.

[clehrich]

Akira Kurosawa, director:

Ran (King Lear as a samurai flick)
Kagemusha (about a daimyo's double)

Ran is overrated, if you ask me, but then again it's often said to be one of the greatest films ever or something.  It's wonderful, but the best?

Kagemusha is really amazing, though.  And there are some battles in which you can feast your eyes.  The cinematography and color are stunning.

Have fun.  More armor than you could shake a stick at.

[timfire]

My boken are all around 45" and my actual katana is 48"...

48 inches?!? How long is your actual blade?

For reference, if you're talking post-1600's, when the Tokagawan shogunate regulated the length of swords, a katana would have a maximum blade length of 27.6 inches + 10-14 inch handle.

Modern swords are no longer regulated, and its common (especially here in America) to see blades that are 30-32 inches + handle. (That's why I asked how long your blade was. Is it 32 + 16" handle?)

If you're talking earlier than 1600's, a tachi designed for war would easily be 36 - 48 inches + handle. ( See this site for reference - click on the "Choken battojutsu" section.)

I'm not very familiar with European swords, so I'm not sure how they compare.

[clehrich]

If it's 48", I think we're talking about a daikatana.  There's a moment in Seven Samurai when you actually see what this thing is for: a bandit riding by gets chopped out of the saddle by a man on foot swinging a humongous blade.

[bergh]

just read about those two movies on imdb.com, and they seem find, think i will get em, i hope not im getting addictede to Akira K.....

[Malechi]

sounds like its too late to turn back now bergh.  The road of a Kurosawa junkie is a long and.... no i won't go on.. must ..resist urge to watch Hidden Fortress.. one .. more time....


for those who don't know yet.. Hidden Fortress is Starwars is Hidden Fortress... .damn you George Lucas!

*ahem*