Sword?

[Bitseach]

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As far as modern society, your response is more bigotted and full of prejudice(ie there are no sane, legal reason, and the allusion to hillbilly mentality behind ownership) than older more barbaric mentalities of elder years.

 

I could be wrong, laws are quite different where you are from. Where I live the laws allow me ownership of such an item without labelling me a psycho.

 

If the purpose of studying martial arts is self-defense of self and loved ones why on earth would you ever want to own a weapon that would never work if you needed it to?

 

Er, yeah, I forget, sane and legal stuff stopped me frum doin' 'dat.

 

If you wanted to learn about guns or protect yourself with one, would you buy a rubber toy? A cap gun perhaps? In that respect I can think of very few sane reasons to defend onself with a plastic gun.

 

Better to arm yourself to the teeth expecting war at the door and have nothing happen than to live in a stupor of thought and wonder why you weren't better prepared.

 

And finally(I could go on, but I have bored myself with your response)

 

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Personal insults, and insulting my country's laws add little to a reasonable debate. In fact I am somewhat surprise that my question seems to have touched SUCH a nerve with you.

 

It is not prejudicial to enquire as to why anyone would want a lethal sword in their possession, and - in my opinion at least - it is reasonable to ask people to question their motives as to why they really want such a weapon. Each person must examine themselves.

 

It is clear that we study the martial arts for different reasons - I study them to avoid conflict, and do not wish to use deadly force on anyone. Ever. I am trained so that I COULD if it were absolutely necessary, but I would not choose that path if it is at all avoidable.

 

 

[ronryu]

It is all part of the art there is something about doing the art they way it has been done for years . This is jsut my oopinion as soem one stated earlier you wouldent take a course in how to shoot a gun and then buy a cap gun would you . everyone has an opinion and this is just mine to each his own.

 

In kenjutsu pracitice is done wiht boken but when you reach and advance rank the kata are preformed with a shinkin (live blade) agin it si part of the art .

 

 

[Martial_Artist]

You didn't get it. I didn't insult you or your beautiful country. I used the same approach you took in your post. My sense of humor, however, has obviously not hit the funny bone.

 

My point was, and is, what difference does it make why anyone would want to own such a weapon? Does it matter? Is it really all that important to question someones honest motives behind weaponry ownership? He is a martial artist, he's not some guy on the street who thinks swords are 'cool.' He, I'm assuming here, just might have some discipline in him. So what does it matter? Do his motives, which we don't know, make him a hillbilly?(ie "Can I make him squeal like a piggy?") Who are we to judge?

 

Your post hit my sarcastic nerve and brushed my "holier than thou" tendon. Each person must examine themselves, but that is their right, not ours. We can only judge on basis of fact not possibility. If they want to own the weapon to commit mass murder, we can't judge unless there is evidence or act. I think this person doesn't want his sword for that purpose. I find your assumption and judgment on him unnecessary. This is a MARTIAL ARTS forum. The discussion of arts designed for WAR...Admittedly, war is not the primary reason behind them anymore, but in every movement you practice it is and was and always will be for war. Your personal slant on the move is what changes it to excercise, self-defense, etc.

 

You said it yourself, each person must examine THEMSELVES. Not us.

 

Your holier than thou mentality will hinder you martial arts progress. Are reasons are not so different behind studying the martial arts. I don't look for fights, I avoid them. Yet, believe me, I train to win every single one. Philosophy is good, choose the path you want to walk. But ask yourself this: If you don't train to the fullest, expecting everything, how can you honestly expect yourself to be ready? How can you honestly expect your training to work? Our reasons aren't that different, Bitseach, it's our approach.

 

This is off the original topic subject. I refer the poster to the information I previously posted concerning swords. Happy Hunting.

[spinninggumby]

There may be varying opinions on what the exact definition of 'martial arts' is, but IMHO not all martial arts are designed for war, and certainly not designed SOLELY for war. Although martial arts as a whole started out as systems for combat (because the ones who practiced it had no choice because they were bare-handed and had no weapons to fight their oppressors), the purposes can and do change with time. This applies to more than just our world of 'martial arts'.

 

You can say, but if it's not designed for war, why do they call it 'martial' art? Well if you can argue that, you can also wonder, why do they call it 'art'? Art seems to insinuate at something more along the lines of 'abstract, beautiful, unique, a result of the creative mind'. On the battlefield, the techniques used will be none of these. They will be ugly, direct, basic, and effective. There will be no time or room for creativity or any form of beauty.

 

For those who feel that the term 'martial art' should be reserved for the styles solely reserved for combat and have no room for those flowery sporty watered-down 'activities', consider that learning how to use firearms and operating military equipment would be a much more worthwhile practice than learning how to punch or kick someone or apply a lock, if ultimate combat efficiency is all that matters to you. This means that you make an effort to absolutely minimize the room for error when somebody attacks you. In our day and age, this would require nothing less than a possession of a firearm. In this case, martial arts should involve nothing else but the art and training of using firearms. At the very least, firearms are more effective in combat than your body. I am sure that many of us who train here also have training in firearms. My point is that if everyone is so into the 'hard-core' aspect, it would make more sense to spend the majority of our time training with weapons and guns than in our doboks, gi's, or uniforms throwing punches and kicks. Unless, of course, you are practicing martial arts for a few other reasons too (such as, *gasp*, health? recreation? release?) :razz:

 

Just my two cents Kinda off topic, but oh well, haha I'm not particularly arguing with anyone, I just needed to get it out of my system because there are so many people out there who keep telling me that if it's not all for combat then I am wasting my time.

 

_________________

 

It's not about getting what you want. It's about wanting what you've got.

 

[ This Message was edited by: spinninggumby on 2002-05-04 13:32 ]

[Bitseach]

Hmm, martialartist - we clearly have very different senses of humour, that much is true! Being called "bigotted", "full of prejudice", the "waste of bandwidth" comment and now "holier than thou" is hardly anyone's definition of "chummy"!

 

As you state, it's a martial arts *discussion* forum, so I asked a question to get some debate on the subject of sharp swords. I've had some moronic answers and some sharp ones - ronryu makes a good point [puns intended!]!

 

However, like it or not, a lot of total nut-cases are attracted to the martial arts and in my experience of a few of them, they are usually the ones that are most interested in pointy weapons or "samurai" swords! These are very often the same people who lie about their prowess in the MAs (and keep stuck-together copies of mags such as "Combat", "Survival" and "Guns and Ammo"!!) and have an unhealthy interest in the Columbine boys.

 

If one has a real katana because one is at the top of one's art, accomplished with the bokken and highly disciplined, then it would be a good training aid and the ultimate test of skill. However, how many people just want one because these swords are really quite sexy, or to pose about with in front of the mirror?

 

[ This Message was edited by: Bitseach on 2002-05-07 11:10 ]

[Bitseach]

Spinninggumby - here in the UK we cannot legally carry weapons at all in the street: no guns, knives or anything so we are in effect rather in the same position as the Okinawans of old!!

[Phantasmatic]

...Japan....

 

Well, that would be kind of hard to find. I would recommend communicating with your sensei on that one!!!

 

 

[Withers M.A.A.]

Try Ebay and do a search for Paul Chen katanas. These are hand forged and made the same way they were made in Japan. They average about $400 each but you can buy a practical katana for $130. Let me know if you get one and how it is.

 

Pete

 

 

[sakimaru]

http://www.budkww.com hey ya i saw a katana here for 20 buck! Crazy huh? It looked beautiful too. It is the maroon katana... Would it be cheapy (as in quality)?

[sakimaru]

hey blade, I own one of those black and red ninja swords. Mine isn't that bad. I mean it doesn't shake er anything. I have never tried to cut anything with it thought (i don't ahve anything to cut.....OOHHH SISTER!) haha jk