Why do so many people said that Katana is the Best sword ?

Discussion in 'Weapons' started by MingTheMerciles, Aug 5, 2007.

  1. MingTheMerciles

    MingTheMerciles Valued Member

    I am rather sick of people ( usually this people tend to be crazy fan of ninja and samurai movies or japanophile ) mythifying the fact that katana can deflect bullet , capable of cutting through tank and other kind of sword into half and make them appear like the ultimate close range weapon ( always hear this kind of shi from discovery channel ) and keep bragging about how most european sword and other kind of sword are useless , clumsy and uneffective compare to a Katana .

    So I would want to hear some of your opinion ?

    I mean do not only heard about the sword stuff , also the bow stuff such as Kyudo is harder to learn than the Mongol Reflex Bow and the Englsih Longbow and somemore , some people ( never practice any archery ) claim that a Yumi are superior to the english longbow and the mongol bow .

    Somehow making so many japanese martial art sound so mythifying and superior to another culture .
     
    Last edited: Aug 5, 2007
  2. adouglasmhor

    adouglasmhor Not an Objectivist

    My oppinion is there are plenty of other threads on this subject! [​IMG]
     
  3. Gong_Sau_Rick

    Gong_Sau_Rick ultimate WSL nutrider

    Well it definately can't cut through a tank, it probably could deflect bullets if you where lucky enough. There's some videos on youtube of a katana slicing 9mm bullets and .50 cal bullets in half.

    The katana is simply a very finely made sword (the real ones of course), this was because the Japanese didn't have much iron at their disposal so when they made a sword they made a good one.
     
  4. adouglasmhor

    adouglasmhor Not an Objectivist

    IN SHOCK NEWS TODAY - SCIENTISTS SAY LEAD IS SOFTER THAN IRON

    [​IMG]
     
  5. hanakuso

    hanakuso Banned Banned

    how long before the bias and bigotry become too obvious to ignore?



    Well, somebody's got his agenda on today! :rolleyes:
     
  6. MingTheMerciles

    MingTheMerciles Valued Member

    I mean not only do people claim that the sword itself is superior , they also claim that japanese sword fighting skill ( those people are usually kendoka , hear it kendoka , I know that most of the japanese sowrd art are diluted version of the feudal samurai sword art ) , i mean most EMMA ( European Medieval Martial Art ) and FMA manage to keep their record alive and still practice stuff like sword grappling and much more practical stuff compare to any kendo school .
     
  7. shootodog

    shootodog restless native

    don't drag fma into this.
     
  8. gakure

    gakure I am watching you....

    This is why:
     

    Attached Files:

  9. ScottUK

    ScottUK More human than human...

    Looks like he didn't find his revered kenjutsu dojo after all... :rolleyes:
     
  10. El Tejon

    El Tejon MAP'scrazyuncle

    Katanas can stop/deflect bullets? :D

    Well, they failed the Japanese miserably then. My grandfather picked many swords off dead Japanese at places like Saipan and Okinawa.

    Ming, forget about it. It's simply the nonsense of the Errornet creating the daft hype that cartoons and movies have created. Don't let the uninformed opinions of 14 year old boys get to you. :)
     
  11. prowla

    prowla Valued Member

    There was an interesting programme about the making of a katana on TV last week.
    The process is obviously very traditional and skilled, and the craftsmen were fascinating to watch.
    But the key thing about the sword is essentially that it is both hard and flexible because it is a hard exterior placed over a more flexible core.
    They showed one gent deflecting arrows with his sword, but bullets - I don't think so!
    They also said that a lot of the ones brought home by the US troops were probably cheap toot, but there could well be some real gems in there too.

    There was another programme measuring martial artists of various types and the impact of their strikes, both armed and unarmed.
    They compared the Katana to a Chinese sword and to a European Broadsword, and concluded that the Katana was best.
     
  12. Kogusoku

    Kogusoku 髭また伸びた! Supporter


    Kindly tone down your hatred for all things Japanese. Your agenda is rather transparent.

    Tank Vs Sword. Tank wins endex.

    Regards,

    S."Kuma" Delaney
     
  13. Lily

    Lily Valued Member

    MingtheMor...Merciless - you probably have been too blinded to notice the great conversations between Korean, Japanese, Western etc. sword art practitioners on the board. We are more than open to sharing our thoughts, finding the similarities and having extremely entertaining and productive discussions.

    Whine, whine, whine.
     
  14. shootodog

    shootodog restless native

    btw, for the record, i think that the japanese sword is one of the greatest swords ever created. truly an engineered wonder. it's design is great. wonderful balance between cutting and thrusting. wonderful weight. not too heavy. great to wield.
     
  15. TheCount

    TheCount Happiness is a mindset

    There was a lot more artistry involved in the eastern weapons and style of combat compared to the west. Many eastern swords are beautiful, however Katana have always been made with beauty and deadly intent in mind.

    It is an engineering master piece when it comes to cutting stuff and doing it effectively.

    However, a katana CAN deflect a bullet or cut one in half... just not many times. It can cut into some thigns such as car doors and the like (dependant on the material and construction...). The fact is however doing this seriously damages the integratary of the sword and it's a matter of time before it might break

    What it CAN'T do, is cut through a machinegun barrel
     
  16. shootodog

    shootodog restless native

    DAMN THOSE MYTHBUSTERS!
     
  17. Stolenbjorn

    Stolenbjorn Valued Member

    I agree to what most people have posted. The biggest error many do when comparing katana to "weastern sword", is that "weastern sword" is not one standard (and I have a suspicion that there were different qualities on "katana" as well back in the good old days.)

    My claim is that the best european swords can stand up to the best katana, and the crappiest european sword is hardly better than cutlery. There are references from both icelandic sagas from 1200's and from an italian fencing-manual from 1410 about european swords bending in combat.

    But on the other hand, I've yet to read about one single "superior katana-smithing-technique" that european top-notch-smiths was unaware of, and the best iron-ore in europe is far superior to the iron-quality possible to obtain in japan. (Here's a link to a picture of a modern replica of a Frankish/Norwegian sword from "vikingage(790-1060ad) Weight: 1,7kg, allmost 1m long:
    http://www.templ.net/pics-weapons/105-viking_sword/105-corpus-v.jpg
    http://www.templ.net/pics-weapons/105-viking_sword/105-detail_of_blade-v.jpg

    I've heard some dude claiming that part of the reason why there's so much work involved in making a katana, is that the raw-matereal you make it from is so crappy (aledgedly a high degree of phosphour, making the steel somewhat more brittle than f.eks. Rhine-valley steel in current weastern parts of germany. -And if this is true, well then I must say that the japaneese swordsmiths had a tougher job than their european counterparts; all credit to them; they could probably set up a pretty exclusive shop if they moved to europe, and started to make swords from superior metal :)
     
    Last edited: Aug 9, 2007
  18. Kogusoku

    Kogusoku 髭また伸びた! Supporter

    That is what I thought until I was in Japan earlier on this year; I was at my sensei's house for tea and he showed me a photo album from 1943 of a Teikoku Token Taikai (Imperial Sword gathering/exhibition) One of the exhibitions was to cut through a steel bar using suemono-giri. The other was to cut through the barrel of a deactivated Nanbu machine-gun. Both cuts were successful.
     
  19. DAMADAD

    DAMADAD Valued Member

  20. Terao

    Terao Valued Member

    I shall try not too take offence ;)
     

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