Gunyo Kogusoku

You cannot do Togi (Sword polishing) by yourself. Polishing a nihonto requires a lot of time, training and the correct tools, like several different sharpening stones, water troughs, oils, etc. When polishing you need the right kind of water too. You are better off going to a professional polisher. There are several grades of polish you can have, from an art polish to a normal polish if you want to use your nihonto for martial arts. If you go at your sword with a sharpening diamond or an every day sharpening hone, then you are going to ruin your weapon.

Most of the teachers and students in my kenjutsu dojo wrap the sageo around the tsuka and the saya and then knot the sageo at the kurigata. But that's the way our ryuha does it. Each ryuha has a different way of doing things. Ask your instructor. Regards,

Stainless steel is too brittle for swordsmanship, be it solo or paired work. If a sword made of 440 stainless steel comes into contact with anything too hard (like a tameshigiri wara or another sword) it breaks. Simple as that. http://www.killsometime.com/Video/VideoIndex.asp Scroll down this page and click on the link captioned "Wanna Buy A Katana" . You'll see how damn brittle these things can be. The poor guy demonstrating the toughness of the blade gets a bellyfull. LITERALLY!

Capital, You won't be able to find many authentic schools of traditional Japanese jujutsu in Virginia to be honest. Not many of the traditional ryuha have made it across the pacific from Japan to the United States. Most of the ones that have are on the east coast or in the Pacific Northwest in places like New York, New Jersey, Washintgon and Oregon. It's better that you search for modern generic jujutsu. It's al ot easier for you to find IMHO. The classical schools are harder to find and require a lot more attention to detail and effort. Hope this helps,

Trekmann, Jujutsu is an art that not only contains grappling, strangulation, joint locking and projection techniques, but also striking techniques, including punches, kicks, various hand strikes, eye gouges and other vital area strikes. Several styles of jujutsu also include weapons usage and weapons defence. I prefer comprehensive MA.

Thank you, much obliged.

LOL, sorry mate. I couldn't understand if you were referring to the tsuka of the weapon or the weapon itself. You should have articulated that the katana's tsuka was straight.

Cathal, sorry, but katana are curved weapons. Less curved than a tachi, but still curved. Straight Japanese swords (very rare) are called chokuto. My kenjutsu teacher who works as a sword polisher in Tokyo brought in a Jindachi toshin (sword body) for the dojo members to examine and hold. This sword was about 600 years old and it's value was estimated at about USD$ 10,000. The sori (curvature) of this particular tachi was greater than that of a katana, but it was very heavy I'd say at least 2.0 Kilos. Tachi were not light weapons.

Hi my name is Steve. I'm originally from the Republic of Ireland, but I have been living in Japan for about six years now. I've already posted twice in the forums. I should have introduced myself first. Sorry about that. I train in classical Japanese jujutsu, weaponry and Kodokan Judo. I've been training in Budo for about twenty years. I'm more into the traditional and self defence part of martial arts training. Regards,

A katana is a Japanese sword worn, thrust through an Obi (sash) with the blade up. This was usually worn with kimono and hakama. A tachi (Or Jindachi) is an older form of Japanese sword that is slightly longer and has a more pronounced curvature for use while mounted on a horse. It's worn with special fittings, slung from the belt and usually with armour. One for peacetime personal defence the other, a sidearm for wartime.

Hi this is my first post here. Jujutsu translated directly from Japanese means "gentle" or "supple art". Jujutsu is primarily a grappling art that includes stiking, kicking, choking, joint locking, pins and throwing techniques. At present there are many classifications of jujutsu. There is classical jujutsu, modern generic jujutsu and sports jujutsu. Classical Jujutsu - All classical jujutsu ryuha (styles/traditions) originate from Japan and date back before 1868 (The Meiji restoration. Each classical jujutsu style is unique, with different psychological mindsets, different approaches to grappling and defeating the enemy and some styles also include some weapons training. Almost every style is combative. Examples of some classical jujutsu ryuha are; Tenjin Shinyo ryu, Takenouchi ryu, Hontai Yoshin ryu and Sosuishi ryu. Modern generic jujutsu - Some ryuha originate not only from Japan, but from foreign countries. Most modern generic jujutsu styles seem to consist of similar techniques. Most don't really have homegrown techniques and draw their technical repetoire from judo, aikido and karate. Some are solely based on self defence and others are focused more on the more sporty, flashier side. Sports Jujutsu - Competitive forms like Brazillian jujutsu and jujutsu Kumite (Found in Europe and the UK).