I just traded my freind for a real sword but its very weak..

[Reba]

im sword fighting you know (Sword to sword) and he wacks my finger it hurt like for 2 sec then he dented my sword what do i do now?more like (Chipped my sword)

[Uriah]

I had a samurai sword we were hacking bushes with... It bent the sword...

[Stephen]

Yeah. While those are "real" they are not for actual use. I own like 4 or 5 swords...only one is even a full tang. Full tang means the blade and handle are one piece of steel. Push tang are 2 welded together. There awesome for looks...but if you wanted a real practical hack up other ninja style katanas...your gonna spend hundreds and hundreds.

[Mr. SmartyPants]

If you want one to kill people (and not mess up the steel) expect to pay lots of money

Me, I have 2. A Katana and a Wakizashi... well balanced, but I have a feeling the are push-tang... And bought it for like 70 dollars and 40 dollars respectively. (at Otakon)

[Dunedan]

Hitokiri slashed my finger open once. Its quite a story.

I have a bokuto (or maybe its a bokken, or maybe it doesn't matter), so I'm cool, but not as hardcore as you guys.

[Hitokiri]

Yes, it's quite the story

I broke my bokuto in a match and then a wooden European-broad sword sword given as a present in another fight (by that person :lol) His wooden sword also broke. I own a Wakizashi but has no cutting power, just stabbing.

I remember making a thread a long time ago about this but I had a 7 foot long Zanbatto that my father and I made but my friend broke it. So until I remake that sword into a much large but less mass version of th eorginal, I'm going to trad ein the sword for a pair of gauntlets and don some arm guards, chest guard, and shin guards so I can counter swords withou tbeing hurt.

[Reba]

LOL well it was fun sword fighting with my freind we made a little dojo on his porch and we went (Dojo agiast Dojo) i made up the most stupidest name MOST Master Of The Samiria lol! After we built a small fire on a hude rock! im still gonna practice with my sword though

7 foot long Zanbatto -Sanoska sagaras swords-?! wow realy? my freinds step dad is making him Clouds sword its awsome!!!

[termyt]

I don't know. I think you'll regret trading friends for swords. Friends can be really hard to come by.

[Shao Feng-Li]

You traded your friend for a $20 sword?

[Scribs]

You traded your friend for a $20 sword?

hey, thats not too bad a trade...

[Kaligraphic]

I know some people I wouldn't mind trading for some cheap, misshapen aluminum baseball bats/swords.

[PrincessZelda]

I want a sword...

[Hitokiri]

7 foot long Zanbatto -Sanoska sagaras swords-?! wow realy? my freinds step dad is making him Clouds sword its awsome!!!

Yes...it was most related to Sanosuke's Zanbattou in the anime version, all bulky and heavy. It was so that in order to wield it, you needed to place one hand where the handle meets the base of the wooden blade and the other on the end of the handle. So that you can use your upper body as a lever to hoist it up and swing. It was very limited to fast and precise swings. I could basically swing in horizontally, come back around with a reverse swing, and possibly bring it up quickly for a upward smash.

My friend however went to swing it to the ground and his hand slipped from the top position and because the weakest point was where the handle meets the base, it snapped. The same friend recently made the Buster Sword, it's freakin sweet. If I ever get to remaking the zabattou (I called it Sukai) it will be made longer, out of one piece of wood, but made thinner, not as bulky. More akin to the Zanabattou in the Rurouni Kenshin manga.

[Kaligraphic]

My own preference is for a smaller, faster blade - For a tachi, I like the tough Kamakura shape. For a katana, the classic Muromachi curve is still the bar. (I prefer the curve toward the middle of the blade in both - might just be me, but it feels better in my hand that way.)

As for longer swords, well, no-dachi didn't really live past the Nambokucho - they were unwieldy and slow. They were a fad, little more. The "zanbattou" exascerbates the downsides of the no-dachi, while mitigating its benefits.

If you like the length of a zanbattou, I might suggest a naginata. (and find a Tendo-ryu instructor if you can - that style is heavy on the naginata.)

[Wise Dragon]

I would recomend getting a Shinai, used in Kendo, if you want to swordfight with your friends. They are more flexible than Boken so they dont hurt as much and real swords break too easily so you waste a lot money on them. But if you want to practice Kata forms then either use a Boken because it has the shape of a Katana or a real sword because of the unsheathing techniques.

[Shao Feng-Li]

Yes...it was most related to Sanosuke's Zanbattou in the anime version, all bulky and heavy. It was so that in order to wield it, you needed to place one hand where the handle meets the base of the wooden blade and the other on the end of the handle. So that you can use your upper body as a lever to hoist it up and swing. It was very limited to fast and precise swings. I could basically swing in horizontally, come back around with a reverse swing, and possibly bring it up quickly for a upward smash.

My friend however went to swing it to the ground and his hand slipped from the top position and because the weakest point was where the handle meets the base, it snapped. The same friend recently made the Buster Sword, it's freakin sweet. If I ever get to remaking the zabattou (I called it Sukai) it will be made longer, out of one piece of wood, but made thinner, not as bulky. More akin to the Zanabattou in the Rurouni Kenshin manga.

You just staple it...

I had a boken. It broke. but ti was only $10 so it might of not been the best wood. But they claim it was oak.

[Kaligraphic]

I would recomend getting a Shinai, used in Kendo, if you want to swordfight with your friends. They are more flexible than Boken so they dont hurt as much and real swords break too easily so you waste a lot money on them. But if you want to practice Kata forms then either use a Boken because it has the shape of a Katana or a real sword because of the unsheathing techniques.

That is a pretty good suggestion, with the added benefit that a $20 or $30 shinai is actually usable - as opposed to spending a lot more to get a metal sword that won't fold when struck.

[Wise Dragon]

That is a pretty good suggestion, with the added benefit that a $20 or $30 shinai is actually usable - as opposed to spending a lot more to get a metal sword that won't fold when struck.

And its also safer and a lot easier on your knuckles. Id rather be hit on the knucles with a Shinai than anything else (trust me on this). Its not a good swordfight if you dont get a few blows on the knuckles.

[Kaligraphic]

Which is why so many European swords (especially slashing swords like sabres and cutlasses, as well as the thinner swords like military rapiers and modern fencing blades) have finger protection. (The tsuba on a katana is only there to keep your hand from sliding onto the blade.)

Personally, I'd rather be hit on the knuckes with a roll of $20s, but that's just me. (not that I'm disagreeing with your point there)

[Wise Dragon]

Which is why so many European swords (especially slashing swords like sabres and cutlasses, as well as the thinner swords like military rapiers and modern fencing blades) have finger protection. (The tsuba on a katana is only there to keep your hand from sliding onto the blade.)

True, but then again the Katana is made for quick draws from the scabard because when two sammurai dueled usually the draw of the sword was the only attack needed because it would kill the other opponent on the first strike. So a hand guard isnt really neccessary (for a Katana Any way) cause unlless you were at war the epic drawn out battles in the movies were just in the movies. Real fights were over in a few seconds.