Swords have been one of the main forms of weaponry in the past. A sword is a bladed weapon with a handle called a hilt. Sword techniques vary geographically along with the unique form of their swords. In Japan, swords usually have the blade on one side alone, and vary in length. Some like the katana is higher than the wielder’s head if the blade is held at waist level upright. Some swords resemble daggers because of their length such as wakizashi. Furthermore, swords in Japan usually have different purposes as well. Some swords are specifically made for the purpose of ceremonial sacrifices, some are for suicide practices, some are for artistic collection alone.
Sword techniques are also an art in that country where different tribe competed for and fought for their styles of refining their techniques. However, basically, sword movements are divided into few motions such as slash, thrust, parry, and other simple motions. The degree of mastery in performing these motions determines the strength of a person’s wielding of the weapon. In short, the weapon is only as good as its user. In other countries, swords are also used as main weapons during wars in the medieval times. In Hispanic countries, people prefer sabers as they are wieldy and not very heavy. Usually, fencing is the art practiced by European sword fighters. Since fencing is a fast technique which requires a lot of agile motions of alternating thrusting as offense and parrying as defense, sabers are a good choice. Although in actual wars, broadswords are commonly used because of their destructive power that depends upon mostly on the physical power of the swing itself.
Posted 2011-01-29 and updated on Jun 08, 2011 9:17am by crisd