Research and Discussion Forums

If you're going to practice on your own you should stick to basics. Two things you can never have too much of are basic cutting exercizes and footwork drills. Luckily, you can practice both at the same time, and in fact, it's best if you combine them. Stand in any one of the basic longsword gaurds a...

I would suggest free weights over machines as these are more effective at strengthening your "control" muscles, which are very important for athletic performance. While I agree that weight lifting will make you a better martial artist, I don't think it's the source of your problem. While i...

Is the detail work on those wasters really necessary? Seems they'd only serve to increase the price and provide numerous weak areas that could snap off to create dangerous jagged points.

Another note - Shields were used to defend against projectiles. Plate armor was nearly complete proof against projectile weapons of the time, a shield would have been redundant. While against say, mail, a shield provided much needed protection against arrows and slings that were quite capable of inj...

A lot of those early straight swords in Japan were imported from Korea and China or crude copies of imported weapons before Japan possessed a strong swordmaking tradition.

Well, with a single sword I can extent it from my body and point the tip at their chest or throat to keep them at bay, or I can pull it back to my body in hopes they'll misjudge my range of attack, raise it high to strike downward against their head and shoulders. With a second sword I can assume tw...

They're advancing in giant thimbles.

I'm a little confused. My response was directed at Jeffrey Hull, probably should have quoted him.

To master a single weapon in either hand first before moving on to two weapons simultaneously is how stick fighting is taught, you may just be mistaking something your stick instructor (or manual) told you for something your cut and thrust instructor (or manual) said. To Mr. Martinez: Historical exa...

Chinese warriors didn't do Wushu stuff either

I wouldn't think this is something you can just get the hang of by striking a pell. It's complicated and requires flawless coordination of both weapons and feet. I'd also assume some degree of natural ambidexterity would be required for true effectiveness. So, you need an orderly system of attack an...

From what I have seen the majority of Iaidoka do not spar at all yet are still utterly convinced of their martial superiority. It's my extremely biased and slightly reactionary opinion that all this "the sword is a sacred thing and it would be disrespectful to use it in combat" is simply a...

And some swords are better suited to unarmored duels than others. If you assumed some form of hand protection than the basket would be redundant. Not to say you can't duel with a two handed sword, but I was under the impression such weapons were a response to the increasingly protective armors of th...

Found it. Now I think I know what he means with this strike.

What is this prelhau and where can I find it? Hopefully I don't come off as lazy here, I'm just not nearly as familiar with the manuals as most of you.