Sword Tanto
Sword Tanto
 What would you call a sword whose blade is about 3ft long, an inch across, sharp on one side, and no guard? I've been collecting swords for a while and have accurate names for each (for showing off purposes (: ), but I recently got one that has me a little puzzled. At first glance I would say it's some form of katana, but it is only curved on one side. I did a little research and it has similar aspects to a tanto, but I think it is much to long. Also, it has no tang so far as I can see. It is one of my favorite swords for it's simplicity, so if I could have a name for it, that would be just great. Here is a link to a picture I took of it. The wood behind it is its sheath: http://photos-a.ak.facebook.com/photos-ak-sf2p/v108/24/122/724047061/n724047061_191060_9796.jpg This is a modern replica of a relatively newer style of blade called a shikomizue...a Japanese cane sword. Stainless steel. Great for showing off and hanging on the wall, but I would not cut with it. Stainless is brittle, and many times these have rat-tail tangs. Not a bad looking piece, though. After the ban on wearing swords in public in old Japan went into effect, a relatively large number of die-hard swordsmen had blades made/fitted like this...or something similar. Many of these type of swords had poorly forged blades, bad temper, and structuraly unsound fittings, however there are a number of surviving pieces with very well made blades and fittings. Mine is one of these. Some were even very well made katana and wakizashi, refitted to look like pieces of bamboo, branches of trees, and just plain old walking sticks. These types of swords, antique, that is, are kinda hard to find anymore...many were destroyed, and they were not ever really made in large numbers to begin with. Other shikomizue, sometimes refered to as shinobigatana (Not translated as ninja sword...just "hidden sword", though it was sometimes used by ninja), were made long before this ban. Jo-to, staff-swords, were one such type. These were made specifically to give the bearer an unseen advantage in combat. They were fitted to look just like a jo staff, but concealed a chokuto (Straight sword). Now, as a side note...please do not think of all straight swords as ninja swords. In reality, straight ninja swords like we see in all these movies never existed (Save for a couple of oddities). A ninja's sword was simply your standard katana in appearance. Some had sharpened tangs, used in certain tsuka-strike techniques. Some had iron sheathes to double as secondary weapons. If a person were to lay a ninja's sword next to a samurai's, the only visible differences would be in personal taste in fittings. I mean, if I were a ninja, I wouldn't be carying a sword that had NINJA written all over it. I'd go for a sword like everyone else was wearing. ^_^ Sorry for the tangent. It's one of my "things". Anyhoo...name: Shikomizue. History: See above. Hope this helps. ^__^ Contact me if you want any info on other blades. |
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Mastering the Tradition Jujitsu Weapons
An ancient art of self defense, Juitsu can be traced back 2500 years, although much of the history of jujitsu has been lost over the centuries with other Asian cultures combining to form what we now call Jujitsu. The first mention of Jujitsu can be dated around 772-481 BC in Choon Chu, China. During this era empty hand techniques were used as opposed to the later jujitsu weapons. Legend has it that the gods Kajima and Kadori used the art against the people of an eastern province as a punishment for their crimes.
It was in 525 AD that a Zen monk known as Boddidharma visited the Shaolin monastery and combined Japanese -Kenpo and a form of yogic breathing to form Shaolin chuan. Legend has it that he kept developing this style and came up with go-shin-jutsu-karate, which translates to self-defense art of the empty hand. It is believed that between 794 and 1185 AD, during the Heian period the empty hand technique was taught to Samurai warriors as well as their weapons training, although weapons did dominate during this period. In 880 Ad Prince Teijun formed a school and taught the use of circular hand motions to help in the defense from attackers with weapons. But it is Hisamori Teninuchi who is given the credit for formalizing jujitsu in Japan in 1532 and Jigoro Kano developed Judo in 1882 and this set the tone for a combining of many skills used in competition today.
Today there are many forms of jujitsu, all based on the original forms. Some styles using only hands and feet, others using weapons and some a combination of all. Jujitsu weapons, especially the swords are very ornate with expertly carved handles. The longest of the jujitsu weapons is the bo or kon, which is a long staff, originally made of tapered hard wood or bamboo. The art of wielding the bo is called bojutsu. The bo is used to increase the force delivered in a strike, through leverage. The Bo may also be thrown at an opponent. This weapon mainly used for self-defense and can be used in combination with kicks and blocks or in combined with other weapons or techniques. Other weapons include the hanbo which is a three-foot staff, a katana or long sword , wakizashi or kodachi which is a short sword, tanto knife, or a jitte -short one hook truncheon. There is also an array of other weapons used in jujitsu. Using and practicing with traditional weapons of jujitsu needs excellent first hand instruction and involves a lot of repartition to come somewhere close to perfecting the techniques.
Although there are three main forms of jujitsu today there are actually many styles with completions at all levels. Jujitsu weapons also have their place in competition under very controlled rules and regulations as with all martial arts codes which ensures safety for competitors.
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