sword preferences?

opinions anyone?

 

nice! maybe i should join the next round of balikatan...

 

I enjoy the imperial style of samurai sword. Also, double broad swords are my personal favorite. Easy to manuever in my experience and they provide a nice solid defense for me.

 

yeah! there are a lot of those floating around the philippines! (please look where you're posting. we're talking about fma swords).

 

I've already mentioned some Spanish-style swords that were indeed used in FMA, and I suspect that it's possible that Chinese "broadswords" (actually sabers--daos) were used from time to time too, since Sino-Japanese pirates (wokou or wako) frequently raided the Philippines.

 

British and Dutch pirates also raided the area from their strongholds in Formosa.
There used to be a large (christian exile) japanese community in Manila. Actually the spaniards used japanese ronin troops to fight for them in South East Asia. There is an opera on a japanese exiled to the Philippines, lord Takayama Ukon, he lived in the San Miguel district. The so called "Samurai" (katana) became popular among some gangs in Manila.

A large chinese community lives in the Philippines, and chinese martial arts are well represented, especially the Fukienese ones. Chinese weapons are easily available....
In the 70's tournaments took place in Manila opposing chinese martists to practitioners of other arts, armed and unarmed.

 

yeah ok. all i'm saying is that they're not as abundant as the other more "native" weapons. though there are many smiths here that produce local katanas (nothing like the real thing).

 

new additions to the family...opinions anyone

 

Nice

 

<<Drool>>

 

I've read that the Dutch sometimes employed Japanese mercenaries, but I wasn't aware of the Spanish doing so--do you have sources for this?

 

I like the top 2, and the 4th one from the top.

 

i can't really remember where I read it but you may find some information in:

There is also a reference to japanese troops who helped the spaniards to massacre Manila's chinese in 1603 by jose eugenio borao, national taiwan university.
"The massacre of 1603, Chinese perceptions of the spaniards in the Philippines". Using google you should be able to find the paper.

 

name those swords!

love 'em. i envy you.

 

do those swords handles only come in black?...

 

esgrimador, thanks for the compliments, those 3 are negros blades
son of escrima, unfortunately, the handles only come in black beacuse they will be either made of kamagong or buffalo horn.

 

themorningstar,

please post some details of your toys. where did you get them. what they're called, any notables on them, etc.

 

Esgrimador,
have you ever held/moved with a bilbo? Or do you know of it just from research?

 

Always good to have family . Well, based on the picture...I'd say your out to chop tuna, stick pigs, and kill Inigo Montoya's father!

 

Spunjer two books to start with. Muslims in the Philippines by Dr. Cesar Adib Majul and Mandate in Moroland: The American Government of Muslim Filipinos 1899-1920 by Peter Gordon Gowing Both these books should be a good start in clearing up a couple of misconceptions that relying on Hurley alone would create. In this case Majul is both Filipino and Muslim, if that is a factor for you.

However, I would like to stress, while I often use Hurley myself as a reference in my research papers, he is not a very accurate account of events. There are a number of problems that Hurley's work contain. Firstly, Hurley's books are not primary sources when viewing early Philippine history, particularly prior to the US arrival to PI, and even then it is still largely put together from second hand accounts (eg. interviews with soldiers). For his early history he relies heavily on Blair and Robertson's History of the Philippines, in which he gets Legaspi's account. As a secondary source, the history presented in Swish of the Kris, is Hurley's interpretation of events, and particularly his editorial commentary on Spanish ineptitude is his opinion of events, not necessarily what really happened. Beyond being a secondary source, Hurley was not a trained historian. If you look into his background, Hurley was a wandering spirit, who tried his hand at many things, including what brought him to PI, dreams of owning a plantation in Zamboanga, however he was not a trained historian. That being the case, his interpretation of past historical events, beyond the problems in theoretical frameworks of the time, are further inhibited by his lack of training. Furthermore, Hurley was an adamant anti-Spaniard. You gotta remember he is part of a group of American settlers who came to PI to rid the country of what they felt was Spanish laxity and excess, and bring American rule and order. It is not surprising that he is so critical of Spanish occupation. Finally, Swish of the Kris was written by a man seeking to cast a flamboyant air to his stay in PI. It was written for popular consumption, and not hard research.

As I mentioned before I have cited Hurley in numerous papers. However, his work is most valuable as an insight into American perceptions of PI at the time, as well as being one of the few accounts that deal in some detail with the early American occupation of PI. He was close friends with Majorl Hugh Scott, a key player particularly in the numerous battles in the Southern Philippines, of particular note the Battle of Bud Dajo.