A sword master can hold a weapon any way he likes.
Still from Game of Thrones / HBO There are several ways to hold a sword, and some of them differ from the usual "slash with the sharp end."
However, characters in films and TV series often use their weapons too freely. For example, in The Witcher series, Henry Cavill grabs the sword by the blade in front of the guard, striking. With this grip, you deprive your hand of protection and reduce the distance at which the strike is effective.
Of course, it looks unusual and impressive, but a sword master would not do that.
Just look at how the guy on the right is holding a weapon in the video and you’ll understand what we’re talking about.
Or Arya Stark, who holds her Needle incorrectly in many scenes. The ring on the hilt of the Needle is supposed to protect her fingers, but she keeps turning it the wrong way.
Syrio Forel should have paid attention to this while he was alive. The girl's hand will be mutilated as soon as she tries to parry the blow of an opponent who really knows how to fence.
Why and how it is used[edit]
In works of art, sword fights can have many functions:
- The most classic option is to resolve the main conflict of the work with a duel. Since a fencing match is not some vulgar fight (see above), it can serve not only to find out which of the heroes is stronger, but also to find out whose side is right. Yes, yes, an echo of “God’s judgment” on our screens! Sometimes this is supported by a justification a la a martial arts movie: the toughness of a character is not just brave prowess, but a reflection of his inner spiritual perfection. Then victory over a strong enemy will mark the boundary at which the hero has neutralized the source of weakness in himself.
- The world may be ordinary, but one particular character is a relic, a fragment of that time when...
- However, even in this case, the romantic aura may be in place - it all depends on how it beats.
The sword is very cool to carry on your back
Cover of the series “The Witcher” / Netflix
Fantasy authors stubbornly continue to hang two-handed swords on their heroes’ backs. The problem is that a person is physically unable to remove the sword from its sheath behind his shoulders: even a tall man simply does not have enough arm length.
The blade was kept in a sheath on the thigh, from where it was easily accessible. And such long swords as the Zweihander were not sheathed at all. They were carried on the shoulder, and on long trips they were carried on a horse or in a wagon.
Hans Burgkmair, the Elder / Achenbach Foundation, Germany
This 15th-century engraving shows Landsknechts holding two-handed swords. Surely, if it would be more convenient to carry a sword on the back, they would do so.
Miyamoto Musashi - master of the sword
“If we rejected anyone who made a mistake once, we probably wouldn’t have any useful people at all. A person who has once stumbled will behave much more prudently and do more good because he has experienced repentance. A man who has never made a mistake is dangerous.”
Yamamoto Tsunetomo. "Hagakure" - "Hidden under the leaves" - instructions for samurai (1716).
It has always been and always will be that someone is born with special abilities in some area. Some people have a good voice, some already have the talent of an artist in early childhood, and others are born with the talent of a fencer. And if he notices what his soul is, so to speak, for and develops his innate abilities through exercise, then... the skill of such a person will increase a hundredfold!
A modern monument at the site of the duel between Musashi and Kojiro.
In Japan, this person was Shinmen Musashi no Kami Fujiwara no Genshin, known simply as Miyamoto Musashi (“Miyamoto of Musashi”). He was born in the village of Miyamoto, in the province of Mimasaka in 1584. Moreover, his ancestors were members of one of the branches of the Harima clan, which was very strong at that time on the island of Kyushu, one of the southern Japanese islands. Musashi's grandfather served the prince at Takeyama Castle, and he valued Hirada so highly that he even allowed him to marry his daughter.
At the age of seven, he lost his father, and then his mother died, and the young Bennosuke (that was the name Musashi had in childhood) was left to be raised by his maternal uncle, who was a monk. It is now unknown whether he taught him kendo or whether the boy learned to wield weapons on his own, but what is known for sure is that he killed a man at the age of thirteen. Moreover, he turned out to be a certain Arima Kihei, a samurai who studied at the Shinto-ryu martial arts school, that is, a man who knew how to handle a sword. However, Musashi first threw him to the ground, and when he began to rise, he hit him on the head with a stick with such force that Kihei died, choking in his own blood.
This is how he was depicted in Japanese u-kiyo...
Musashi's second fight took place when he was already sixteen years old. He met there with the famous fighter Tadashima Akime, defeated him again, and then left his home and went to wander around the country, making the so-called “samurai pilgrimage.” The essence of such pilgrimages was to meet masters from different schools, gain experience from them, and perhaps, having chosen a school to your liking, stay there as a student for some time. It must be said that a great many ronins like him, that is, “ownerless” samurai, roamed Japan in those years and some, like Musashi, traveled alone, and others as part of a large group. For example, such a famous swordsman of the 16th century as Tsukahara Bokuden had a retinue of hundreds of people with him.
Musashi decided to spend the end of his life away from society, searching for spiritual enlightenment on the Path of the Sword. Pursuing only the perfection of his art, he lived in truly inhuman conditions, blown by the wind and watered by rain, in a mountain cave. He didn’t comb his hair, didn’t pay attention to women, didn’t wash, and only focused on honing his fighting skills. He didn’t even take a bath, so that his enemies wouldn’t take him by surprise when he was unarmed, and therefore had a very wild and even creepy appearance.
And this is how he was also portrayed.
Although, he became like this at the very end of his stormy life. And in his youth, Musashi joined the ranks of the “West” army to fight against the “East” army of Tokugawa Ieyasu. So he had the opportunity to participate in the Battle of Sekigahara, fighting as an ashigaru spearman, and he survived literally by a miracle, but what is even more surprising is that he managed not to fall into the hands of the winners after the battle.
Musashi came to Kyoto, the capital of Japan, at the age of twenty-one. Here he met in a duel with the master swordsman Seijiro, and if he fought with a real combat sword, then Musashi fought with a training sword made of wood. And, despite this, Musashi managed to knock Seijiro to the ground, and then he simply beat him with his wooden sword. When the servants brought their unfortunate master home, he, burning with shame, cut off a knot of hair on the top of his head - a symbol of belonging to the samurai class, so great was his grief.
But all the artists were surpassed by Utagawa Kuniyoshi (1798-1861). He depicted Miyamoto Musashi killing the fantastic beast nue.
Brother Seijiro decided to take revenge and also challenged Musashi to a fight, but he himself fell victim to his opponent’s wooden sword. Now the young son of Seijiro Yoshioka has decided to avenge his father. Moreover, although he was still a teenager and not even twenty years old, his fame as a master fencer was almost higher than the fame of his father. It was agreed that the battle would take place in a pine grove, next to a rice field. Musashi arrived early and hid, waiting for his opponent. Yoshioka arrived there in full battle dress, accompanied by armed servants, determined to kill Musashi. But he hid until those who came thought that he would not come. It was then that Musashi jumped out of his hiding place, hacked Yoshioka to death and, working with two swords at once, managed to break through his crowd of armed servants and... that was it!
Musashi then continued his travels throughout Japan, and became a legend during his lifetime. He fought in more than sixty fights before he was twenty-nine years old, and won all of them. The earliest descriptions of all these fights of his are described in “Niten Ki” - “Chronicles of Two Heavens”, compiled by his students after his death.
In 1605, Musashi visited the Hozoin Temple, which was located in the south of Kyoto. Here he entered into a duel with a disciple of a monk from the Nichiren sect. He was a true “master of the spear,” but Musashi managed to knock him to the ground twice with blows of his short wooden sword. However, Musashi remained at this temple, determined to learn new fencing techniques while sharpening his mind in conversations with the monks. The text of instructions written by him for exercises with a spear, which were practiced by the monks of this temple, has survived to this day.
Musashi's life was inextricably linked with swords. Tati sword (horseman's sword). The work of master Tomonari. Japanese National Museum.
In the province of Iga, on the contrary, he met a skilled fighter who mastered the rare art of fighting with a sickle on a chain, whose name was Shishido Baikin. He swung his chain, but Musashi, with no less speed, pulled out his short sword and plunged it into his opponent’s chest. Baikin's students rushed at Musashi, but he, waving two swords at once, put them to flight.
In Edo, he met the fighter Muso Gonosuke and offered Musashi a fight. And at that time he was whittling a blank for a bow and announced that he would fight with it instead of a sword. Gonosuke rushed to attack, but Musashi deftly brushed aside his sword, and then dealt him a strong blow to the head, from which Gonosuke fell dead to the ground.
Arriving in the province of Izumo, Musashi asked the local daimyo Matsudaira for permission to meet in a duel with his most experienced swordsman. There were many who wanted to try their luck in a fight with the invincible Musashi. The choice fell on a man who fought with such an unusual weapon as an octagonal wooden pole. The fight took place in the library garden. Musashi fought with two wooden swords at once and drove the enemy onto the steps of the veranda, and then lunged, threatening to strike him in the face. He stumbled back, and then Musashi hit him in the arms, crushing both hands.
Then Matsudaira asked Musashi to fight him too. Realizing that it was necessary to act here with great caution, Musashi first pushed the prince onto the terrace, and when he attacked him in response, he struck him with a blow of “fire and stone” and broke his sword. The daimyo had no choice but to admit defeat, but apparently did not harbor a grudge against him, since Musashi then remained in his service for some time as a fencing teacher.
Tati master Yukihira, XII – XIII centuries. Heian-Kamakura (Tokyo National Museum).
However, Musashi's most famous fight was the fight that took place in the 17th year of the Keite era, that is, in 1612, when he, while in Ogura, a small town in the province of Bunzen, met Sasaki Kojiro, a very young man who developed an absolutely amazing a sword fighting technique known as the swallow pirouette, named after the movements of the swallow's tail during flight. Since Kojiro was in the service of the local daimyo, Hosokawa Tadaoki, Musashi asked him to allow him to fight Kojiro through a certain Sato Okinaga, who had studied with Musashi’s own father. The daimyo gave permission, and it was decided to fight on a small island in the middle of Ogura Bay at eight o'clock the next morning. Musashi spent the entire night away from home, feasting at the home of a certain Kobayashi Zaemon. This was immediately interpreted to mean that Musashi became cowardly and fled shamefully.
Katana of the master Motoshige. (Tokyo National Museum)
And yes, the next morning Musashi overslept and did not show up to the battle site on time. They had to send a messenger for him, and it was difficult for Musashi to wake up. At this point he got up, drank water from... the washbasin and climbed into the boat of Sato Okinaga, who took him to this island. On the way, Musashi first tied up the sleeves of his kimono with paper ribbons, and then cut himself a kind of wooden sword from... Sato's spare oar. Having done this, he lay down to rest on the bottom of the boat.
Ganryujima Island, where the duel took place.
When the boat approached the shore, Kojiro and all his seconds were simply shocked by Musashi appearing before them. And in fact, he did not look well: his disheveled hair was caught in a towel, his sleeves were rolled up, his hakama was tucked up. Moreover, without any ceremony, he immediately got out of the boat and, with a stub of an oar in his hand, rushed at his opponent. Kojiro immediately drew his sword - a blade of amazing sharpness and quality, made by the master Nagamitsu from Bizen, but at the same time he threw the sheath of the sword aside. “You’re right,” Musashi exclaimed, you won’t need them anymore,” and rushed towards him.
Kojiro was the first to lunge, but Musashi deftly dodged to the side and immediately, in turn, lowered the sword from the oar directly onto his opponent’s head. He fell dead, but at the same time his sword cut the towel on Musashi’s head and, in addition, the belt on his wide pants, and they fell to the ground. Seeing that his opponent was finished, he nodded his head to his seconds, and so with his bare ass he went to the boat and got into it. Some sources claim that, having killed Kojiro, Musashi seemed to throw away his oar and make several quick leaps, and then drew his combat swords and, with a cry, began to swing them over the body of his defeated opponent. According to other sources, Musashi fought this battle so quickly that Kojiro did not even have time to pull his sword out of its sheath!
Wakizashi - short companion sword (Tokyo National Museum).
After this, Musashi completely stopped using real combat blades in fights, and fought only with one wooden sword, a bokken. However, even with a wooden sword in his hand, he was invincible and, having drawn a certain conclusion from this for himself, he devoted his entire subsequent life to searching for the “Way of the Sword.” In 1614 and 1615, he was again in battle, but only now on the side of Tokugawa Ieyasu, who was besieging Osaka Castle. Musashi participated in both the winter and summer campaigns, but now he fought against those for whom he had fought at Sekigahara in his youth.
Tanto blade of master Sadamune (Tokyo National Museum).
Musashi then wrote about himself that he came to the understanding of what combat is and what its strategy is only when he was already about fifty years old, in 1634. He acquired an adopted son, Iori, a street boy whom he picked up while traveling around the province of Dewa, and settled with him in Ogura and never left the island of Kyushu. But his adopted son rose to the rank of captain and as such fought against Christian rebels in 1638 during the Shimabara uprising, when Musashi was already about fifty-five. At this time, Musashi himself found a place at the headquarters of the military council of government troops near Shimabara, and faithfully served the Tokugawa shogunate.
After living in Ogura for six years, Musashi went to the daimyo Tyuri, who owned Kumamoto Castle, and a relative of Hokasawa. He spent several years with this prince, engaged in painting, wood carving and taught his feudal lord martial arts. In 1643 he became a hermit and settled in a cave called "Reigendo". There he wrote his famous book “Go Rin No Se” (“Book of Five Rings”), which was dedicated to his student Teruo Nobuyuki. A few days after the completion of this work, on May 19, 1645, Musashi died. The testament he left to his disciples was called “The Only True Path” and contained the following instructions: Do not go against the unchangeable Path of all times. Do not seek the pleasures of the flesh. Be impartial in everything. Kill greed in yourself. Never regret anything. Don't feel self-doubt. Never envy another for good or bad. Don't feel sad when apart. Do not feel dislike or hostility towards yourself or others. Never have any love attractions. Don't give preference to anything. Never seek convenience for yourself. Never look for ways to please yourself. Never own precious things. Don't give in to false beliefs. Never get carried away with any object other than weapons. Devote yourself entirely to the true Path. Know no fear of death. Even in old age, have no desire to own or use anything. Worship Buddhas and spirits, but do not rely on them. Never deviate from the true Path of martial art.
As for his book, it is named so because it has five parts: “Book of Earth”, “Book of Water”, “Book of Fire”, “Book of Wind” and “Book of Emptiness”. As for Musashi himself, he is still known in Japan as “Kensei,” that is, “Holy Sword,” and his “Book of Five Rings” is studied by all who practice kenjutsu. And although Musashi himself considered it just “a guide for men who want to learn the art of strategy,” it is a real philosophical work, written in such a way that the more you study it, the more you will find in it. This is Musashi's testament and at the same time the key to the path he took. Moreover, he was not yet thirty years old, and he had already become a completely invincible fighter. Nevertheless, he only became even more diligent in improving the level of his skills. Until his last days, he despised luxury and lived for two years in a mountain cave, immersed in deep self-contemplation like Buddhist ascetics. Even his enemies note that the behavior of this absolutely fearless and very stubborn man was, without a doubt, very modest and sincere, although it shocked some because it violated the usual rules.
Drawing by Musashi.
Interestingly, Musashi himself was a remarkable master in everything he undertook. He painted beautifully with ink, and created works that the Japanese themselves value very highly. His paintings depict various birds with great skill, such as cormorants, herons, the Shinto god Hotei, dragons, and flowers, Daruma (Bodhidharma) and much more. Musashi was also a skilled calligrapher who wrote the work "Senki" (Martial Spirit). The wooden sculptures and metal products he carved have survived to this day. Moreover, he founded a school of sword tsuba makers. In addition, he wrote a large number of poems and songs, but they have not survived to this day. Shogun Iyomitsu specifically ordered Musashi to paint the sunrise over his castle in Edo. His paintings are usually marked with the stamp "Musashi" or his pseudonym "Niten", which means "Two Heavens". He also founded the Niten Ryu or Enmei Ryu (Pure Circle) school of fencing.
Musashi advised: “Study the Paths of all professions,” and he himself did exactly the same. He tried to learn from experience not only from renowned kenjutsu masters, but also from peaceful monks, artisans and artists, and tried to expand the circle of his knowledge literally to infinity, as far as life allowed him to do so.
But such swords and daggers had purely ceremonial functions and would hardly have seduced Musashi...
It is interesting that the text of his book can be applied not only in military affairs, but also to any life situation where a decision is required. Japanese businessmen widely use the Book of Five Rings as a guide to organizing sales campaigns that are carried out as military operations, and use its methods in doing so. To ordinary people, Musashi seemed strange and even very cruel, since they did not understand what he was striving for, and... what’s funny is that to most modern people, the successful business of other people also seems certainly unconscionable, since they know only two ways to get rich: “steal” and “sell”!
Well, he wouldn’t refuse such a set: everything is modest and tasteful. The scabbard is finished with silver dust and varnish.
Thus, what Musashi taught remains relevant in the 20th century, and is applicable not only to the Japanese themselves, but also to peoples of other cultures, and, therefore, has global significance. Well, the spirit of his teaching can easily be expressed in just two words - modesty and hard work.
The sword makes a grinding sound when drawn
In films and TV series, swords are drawn from their sheaths with a characteristic sound that cannot be confused with anything else: it is the grinding of steel on steel.
Making a steel sheath is not only expensive, but also harmful to the sword, because it will soon become unusable. The blade will rub against the sheath every time you take it out or put it back in and will quickly lose its edge.
In reality, the scabbard was most often made of wood covered with leather, fabric or fur. And if you take a sword out of such a sheath, there will be no grinding noise.
Infantrymen in single trenches
In front of their front line, the Japanese opened single trenches in which they placed infantrymen. In advance, their machine guns on the flanks, snipers and artillery targeted these trenches. When the enemy advanced, Japanese riflemen defiantly left these cells so that enemy infantry could occupy them. After this, they opened accurate fire on previously targeted positions, from which the enemy suffered heavy losses.
The samurai followed this tactic not only at the forefront, but also in the depths of their defense. Therefore, trenches, bunkers and other Japanese defensive structures occupied by the British or Americans were not safe for them.
Cool guys use two swords at once
Still from Game of Thrones / HBO
Dual swords are a common feature in films and video games, but in real battles it is very awkward to use two swords. Even an experienced fighter will find it too difficult to control two long blades at once.
Therefore, in fights, La Scherma (Francesco Fernando Alfieri) took daggers, bucklers (small round shields), cloaks (to confuse the enemy’s blade), sticks or even sheaths in the second hand. Anything except the second sword.
The sword is for attack, the auxiliary item is for defense.
Even if you're fighting multiple opponents, like Ser Arthur Dayne at the Tower of Joy in Game of Thrones, it makes more sense to use one two-handed sword rather than two one-handed swords.
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The name “samurai” can be considered conditional. It is familiar to a European, who understands by this type of sword, first of all, a katana, but this form of sword came to Japan itself from Korea, and in Japanese chronicles of the 7th-13th centuries. such a sword was called “Korean”. The ancient Japanese sword - tsurugi - had a long handle and a straight, double-edged blade. They wore it obliquely behind their back and uncovered it, grabbing the handle with both hands at once. Since the 3rd century AD. The tsurugi becomes sharpened on only one side, and some types have a massive counterweight on the handle. Curved blades in Japan began to be made in the Heian era (the first serious mention of them dates back to 710), that is, almost simultaneously with the appearance of the classical saber in the Middle East. By the 12th century, with the growth of power and the strengthening of the samurai class, the curved blade, which was the service weapon of the samurai, completely replaced the straight one in Japan.
Both in European and in our literature there is sufficient confusion in the names of samurai swords. It is known that the samurai carried two swords - long and short. Such a pair was called daisho (literally “larger and smaller”) and consisted of a daito (“larger sword”), which was the main weapon of the samurai, and a seto (“smaller sword”), which served as a spare or additional weapon used in close combat, for cutting off heads or hara-kiri, if the samurai did not have a kusungobu dagger specially designed for this. True, the custom of wearing two swords finally developed only in the 16th century. A long sword has a blade length of more than two shaku (shaku = 33 cm), a short sword - from one to two shaku (that is, 33-66 cm). The long sword is the most famous in Europe, usually called the "katana". But this is not entirely correct. A katana is a long sword that is worn in a sheath, tucked into the belt with the blade facing up, and is drawn from the sheath, unsheathed, in a downward motion. This method of wearing a sword appeared in the 14th-15th centuries. and became the main, most convenient one (by the way: wearing a katana in your belt with the blade up allows you to conveniently pull it out not only with your right, but also with your left hand). Until that time, the word “katana” meant a long dagger or short sword tucked into the belt, and a long one was called “ Tati." Tati was worn on his side in a sling tied to a sheath in which he was placed with the blade down, exposed from the bottom up. This method of carrying a long sword was suitable when samurai fought mainly on horseback, but for those on foot it was significantly less convenient. In addition, etiquette required that a long sword be removed when entering a house, and removing a sword in a sheath from a belt is much simpler and more convenient than unhooking them from the sling each time and then tying them back. From the 14th-15th centuries, when such swords began to be worn mainly in the belt, wearing a sword on a sling began to be considered rather ceremonial, and therefore the tati himself and his scabbard were treated much more richly, because they were ceremonial. The short sword, which was always carried in a sheath at the waist, was called a katana or tanto when worn in conjunction with a tachi. And when worn in conjunction with a long katana, it was called wakizashi. So the name of samurai swords reflects mainly the way they were worn, and when drawn from their scabbards, the larger and smaller swords, no matter what they were called, had the same length and shape, except perhaps the very early forms of the smaller sword (at the time when it was still called a katana) had a barely noticeable curvature and seemed almost straight.
The length of a daito is 95-120 cm, a seto is 50-70 cm. The handle of a long sword is usually designed for 3.5 fists, and a short one for 1.5. The blade width of both swords is about 3 cm, the thickness of the back is 5 mm, while the blade has a razor sharpness. The handle is usually covered with shark skin or wrapped in such a way that the handle does not slip in the hands. The weight of a long sword is about 4 kg. The guard of both swords was small, only slightly covering the hand, and had a round, petal or multifaceted shape. It was called "tsuba". The tsuba of the small sword could have additional slots for inserting additional knives into its sheath - throwing kozuka and utility kogai. The production of tsubas has literally turned into an artistic craft. They could have a complex openwork shape and be decorated with carvings or relief images.
In addition to the daisho, a samurai could also wear a nodachi - a “field sword” with a blade more than a meter long and a total length of about 1.5 m. It was usually worn behind the back like a tsurugi or on the shoulder, holding it with the hand. With the exception of length, nodachi was structurally no different from daito, which we will further call katana.
The rider could hold the katana with one hand, but in battle on the ground, this sword was preferred to be held with both hands because of its weight. Early katana techniques involved wide circular slashing movements, but later they became much more developed. The katana could be used to stab and chop equally easily. The long handle allows you to actively maneuver the sword. In this case, the main grip is the position when the end of the handle rests in the middle of the palm, and the right hand holds it near the guard. The simultaneous movement of both hands allows you to describe a wide amplitude with the sword without much effort.
Both the katana and the straight European sword of a knight weigh a lot, but the principles for performing chopping blows are completely different. The European method, aimed at piercing armor, involves maximum use of the inertia of the sword and delivering a blow “with a sweep”. In Japanese fencing, the person leads the sword, not the person's sword. There, the blow is also delivered with the force of the whole body, but not from a normal step, but from an additional step, in which the body receives a powerful push forward (greater than when turning the body). In this case, the blow is applied “fixed” to a given level, and the blade stops exactly where the master wants it, and the force of the blow is not extinguished. And when the master of the sword chops into small slices a head of cabbage or a watermelon lying on the stomach of his student, or cuts off half a lemon clutched in his teeth (often also blindly, blindfolded), then what is first of all demonstrated is his ability to catch a shot. And if such a blow does not hit the target, then it no longer pulls the owner along with it, as is the case with a European sword, but gives him the opportunity to change direction or strike the next one, especially since the short step allows him to deliver powerful blows at every step - today's A Kendoka with a black belt can perform three vertical sword strikes per second. Most of the blows are delivered in the vertical plane. There is almost no division into “block-strike” accepted in Europe. There are knocking blows to the enemy's hands or weapons, throwing his weapon away from the line of attack and making it possible to deal a damaging blow to the enemy at the next step. They retreat forward when fighting with katanas. Leaving the line of attack while simultaneously striking is one of the most frequently used combinations. After all, we must keep in mind that a direct blow from a katana can cut through almost anything, and Japanese armor is simply not designed to “withstand” direct blows. A duel between true masters of the samurai sword can hardly be called a duel in the European sense of the word, because it is built on the principle of “one blow on the spot.” In kenjutsu there is a “duel of hearts”, when two masters simply stand motionless or sit and look at each other, and the one who first jerks to the weapon loses...
There were and are many schools of kenjutsu, as the art of sword fighting is called in Japan. Some pay special attention to instantly leaving the line of attack, accompanied by a vertical strike (“Shinkage-ryu”), others pay great attention to placing the left hand under the blade of the sword and combat techniques carried out using this technique (“Shinto-ryu”), others They practice working with two swords at the same time - a large one in the right hand, a small one in the left ("Nito-ryu") - such fighters are called "reto zukai". Some people prefer cutting strikes in a horizontal plane while going around the enemy - there is a lot in common between kenjutsu and aikido techniques. You can hit with the handle, you can grab the sword with a reverse grip, you can use trips and sweeps in close combat. The features of the samurai sword allow you to use almost all techniques for working with long bladed weapons.
In the 17th century, after the unification of the country under the rule of the Tokugawa house, a trend began to transform kenjutsu into kendo - a method of sword fighting into the Way of the Sword. Kendo paid a lot of attention to the moral self-improvement of the individual, and is now one of the most popular sports in Japan, which no longer uses real military weapons, but their sports equivalents made of wood or bamboo. For the first time, a wooden sword that follows the contours of a real one (bokken, or bokuto) was introduced by the legendary master of the 17th century. Miyamoto Musashi. True, such a wooden sword was still a formidable weapon that could easily split a skull. Samurai often kept bokken at home, at their head. In the event of a surprise attack, it was possible to use it to disarm and capture the enemy without shedding blood, simply, for example, by breaking his arms or breaking his collarbone...
Compared to the technique of fighting with a long Japanese sword, the technique of fighting with a short sword is less known. Here you can find lashing blows with a brush, built on the same principle of a fixed blow, and a suspended position of the sword, which fans of Slavic-Goritsky wrestling love to flaunt, and frequent blows with the handle to the solar plexus. Naturally, compared to a long sword, there are more thrusting blows, since this weapon is still intended for close-range combat.
A lot has been written about the place of the sword in Japanese society and Japanese culture. The sword was and remains one of the symbols of the imperial dynasty, an object of Shinto cult, one of the symbols of nurturing the national spirit. Before starting to make a real traditional Japanese sword, the Japanese blacksmith performed a long preparatory ritual, reminiscent of the preparation of a Russian icon painter for painting a church or creating an icon important to him: fasting, cleansing baths, long prayers, dressing in clean, ceremonial clothes, celibacy .
Perhaps in no other country in the world was sword etiquette so developed. As in other regions, a blade tucked into the belt on the right side or placed to the right of oneself signified trust in the interlocutor, because from this position the sword was more difficult to bring into combat readiness. When entering a house, a long sword was left at the entrance on a special stand, and entering inside with this sword meant demonstrating extreme disrespect. It was possible to hand over a sword to someone, both for display and for storage, only with the hilt towards oneself - turning the sword with the hilt towards the enemy meant disrespect for his abilities as a fencer, since a real master could instantly take advantage of this. When demonstrating weapons, the sword was never completely exposed, and it could only be touched with a silk scarf or a sheet of rice paper. Drawing a sword, striking the scabbard against the scabbard, and, even more so, rattling the weapon was tantamount to a challenge, which could be followed by a blow without any warning. As in Europe, swords could have names and were passed down from generation to generation. And the best Japanese gunsmiths often did not specifically brand their swords, believing that the weapon itself tells about who created it, and a person who is not able to understand this has no need to know who created the sword. The word “sword” was often taboo, and, for example, “wakizashi” literally means “stuck in the side”...
Speaking about the features of the manufacturing technology of a samurai sword, it is worth noting the weaknesses of this process, namely, while gaining greater hardness and power along the axis of the blade, this type of sword is more vulnerable if hit on its flat side. With such a blow you can break a katana even with a short mace (or Okinawan nunchucks, which were specially used to break samurai swords). And if a European sword usually breaks at a distance of a palm or two fingers from the guard, then a Japanese sword breaks at a distance of 1/3 or 1/2 of the length of the blade from the guard.
Armor is useless
Still from the series “The Witcher” / Netflix
Judging by “The Lord of the Rings”, “Game of Thrones” and “The Witcher”, the most effective armor is plot armor. The main characters are practically invincible, and the extras, even those clad in armor, die from one poke in the steel plate on the chest.
In fact, a person in armor is well protected from a sword. Therefore, it is better to fight against a warrior in armor with a war hammer or a sword, and save the sword for another occasion.
Even a simple jacket, if it consists of several layers of fabric, is not easy to cut with a sword.
Those who did not have metal armor wore gambesons (quilts), and they already provided good protection. Try cutting your blanket with a knife and you will understand what we are talking about. The same Russian overcoat completely stopped Cut And Thrust: European Swords and Swordsmanship the blows of a British cavalry saber.
Still from the series “The Witcher” / Netflix
So the guy who in The Witcher could not stand on his feet after being slashed in the cuirass with a sword looks simply ridiculous.
A little history about those to whom the samurai code of honor owes its appearance
In medieval Japan, which for a long time was a state closed from external influence, certain class differences were formed. Feudal lords - landowners, noble persons of noble origin created their own separate society - a caste, which had its own principles, laws and orders. In the absence of a strong central government, it was the samurai of Japan who laid the foundation for an organized system of government in the country, where each layer of society occupied its own specific place. As in the rest of the world, the military man has always had a special place. Engaging in military craft meant classifying oneself as a member of the highest caste. Unlike the simple artisans and peasants who formed the basis of the militia in wartime, Japan had a small stratum of society consisting of professional military men. To be a samurai meant to be in the service.
Samurai training
The meaning of the word samurai literally translates as “serving man.” These could be people of both the highest rank in the hierarchy of the feudal nobility, and minor nobles who were in the service of the emperor or their overlord. The main activity of caste members was military service, but in peacetime samurai became bodyguards of high lords and served in administrative and civil service as hired servants.
The heyday of the samurai era occurred during the period of civil strife in the 10th-12th centuries, when several clans fought for central power in the country. There was a demand for professional soldiers who were trained in military craft and respected in civil society. From this moment on, the separation of people united along military lines into a special class begins. The end of hostilities led to the fact that the new class began to be considered the military elite of the state. They came up with their own rules for initiation into members of the caste, defined moral and ethical criteria for membership in the caste, and outlined the range of rights and political freedoms. The small number of samurai, constant service and high positions provided them with a high standard of living. They said about samurai then that these are people who live only during war and their meaning in life is only to gain glory on the battlefield.
Samurai and his servant
Samurai were also distinguished by their military equipment; the samurai mask along with his helmet constituted a mandatory attribute of military equipment. In addition to masterly swordsmanship, the samurai had to be excellent with a spear and poles. Professional warriors were fluent in hand-to-hand combat techniques and knew military tactics perfectly. They were trained in horse riding and archery.
In fact, this was not always the case. During periods of peace, most samurai were forced to look for a means of subsistence. Representatives of the nobility went into politics and tried to occupy important military and administrative positions. The poor nobles, returning to the provinces, made ends meet by becoming artisans and fishermen. It was a great success to be hired by some gentleman to serve as a security guard or to occupy a minor administrative post. The education of samurai and their level of training allowed them to successfully engage in such activities. Due to the fact that the highest level of Japanese nobility was represented by people from the samurai clan, the spirit of the samurai permeated all spheres of civil society. Being considered a member of the samurai clan is becoming fashionable. In class titles, belonging to the highest military-feudal caste becomes mandatory.
However, the warrior caste was not an all-male club. Dating back to ancient times, many noble families in Japan had women who were members of the elite class. Women samurai led a secular lifestyle and were exempt from military and administrative duties. If desired, any of the women of the clan could receive a certain position and engage in administrative work.
From a moral point of view, samurai could have long-term relationships with women. The samurai was not inclined to start a family, so marriages, especially in the era of feudal wars and civil strife, were not popular. There is an opinion that homosexual relations were often practiced among the elite class. Frequent military campaigns and constant changes of residence only contributed to this. It is customary to speak about samurai only in superlatives, therefore such facts are kept silent by history and are not advertised in Japanese society.
Blocking someone else's sword with your own blade is a great idea.
Still from the series “The Witcher” / Netflix
Despite the fact that this is the only way they do it in Hollywood, taking hits from an enemy sword on your blade is a sure way to damage the blade and render it useless. But a sword is an expensive thing and should be taken care of.
The blade of a sword is divided into a strong side (wider, closer to the guard), a weak side (tapered, located further from the guard) and a point (the end with which to poke the enemy). And the enemy’s blows were parried by The Myth of Edge-On-Edge Parrying in Medieval Swordplay only with the guard and the strong side of the blade, which was often not even sharpened.
Samurai and ninja. Legendary Japanese warriors in the world of video games
- Nobody needs the way of the samurai anymore...
- Not needed? What could be more necessary?
Film “The Last Samurai”, 2003
The Japanese islands, as if making up for centuries of self-isolation, introduced many vivid images into popular culture in the 20th and 21st centuries. Japanese warriors are one of the calling cards of the Land of the Rising Sun. Discipline, self-denial, martial art on the edge of human capabilities, exotic armor and weapons - the images of samurai and ninja attract and excite the blood, especially of young people. With the appearance of stern sword-bearers and mystical killers on cinema screens, Europeans and Americans fell in love with them instantly. The gaijin enthusiastically widened their giant eyes and demanded more ninjas, more samurai. Gamedev, a culture as young as it is frisky, could not pass by.
It was possible to join the spirit of the samurai back in the hoary old days, long before the advent of all sorts of PlayStations and games on CDs. Samurai Warrior : The Battles of Usagi Yojimbo was popular at one time (released in 1988) . It allowed him to control a samurai, terrifying local bandits with his katana. An interesting feature was the combat system - for once, the player was forced to accurately calculate sword strikes. That is, the katana had to hit the enemy’s body precisely, with a small radius of destruction and with constant movement of the target. Slashers of those times treated such details with disdain, but Samurai Warrior taught you to be attentive. In addition, the game had, albeit tiny, elements of the adventure genre: the hero sheathed his weapon and walked around the villages, bowing to passers-by. The zest was added by the setting of the game itself: the action took place in a country of anthropomorphic animals. The main character was a hare and fought with rhinoceroses and bears.
Samurai Warrior: The Battles of Usagi Yojimbo
Technology did not stand still, and soon it became increasingly easier for players to smell the scent of cherry blossoms and be transported near the screen to distant Japan. Hardware became more complex, hit samurai games began to appear more and more often. The year 2001 was marked by the launch of perhaps the most famous series of games about the Way of the Warrior on the PlayStation 2 - Onimusha . The first part of the franchise, subtitled Warlords, introduced the young samurai Samonosuke Akechi, a menace of demons. The hero was remembered largely thanks to the actor Takeshi Kaneshiro who played him - this star of Asian cinema worked with such masters as John Woo and Zhang Yimou. The colorful basis was Japanese legends, and the process was an exemplary fusion of action and survival horror. Samanosuke caught the souls of demons with a magic glove, hit with a bow, shot with an arquebus, but his main weapon was still a samurai sword (though there were some magical variations with thunder and lightning). The Adventures of Akechi sold an impressive number of copies, and Onimusha became one of the most famous series of the giant Capcom. The legendary Frenchman Jean Reno even looked into the third part. Interestingly, all four main parts of the series have a very high rating from critics: on the ratings aggregator Metacritic, all Onimusha are rated at least 80%. Rumors about the revival of the brand have been floating around the infosphere for a long time, and something tells us that the demons will soon be in trouble again.
Onimusha: Warlords
As for the genres of games about samurai, in the last two decades preference has been given to third-person action games - this way the player can fully appreciate the hero’s military performance and admire the combat animation. Samurai aesthetics and beautiful battle choreography have provided many thematic projects with commercial success and recognition.
Thus, it was the visual part that largely ensured the popularity of the action game Genji : Dawn of Samurai (released in 2005, PS2 platform, developer Game Republic). The game squeezed all the juice out of the sixth-generation console: martial arts connoisseurs rejoiced at the colorful scenery, a unique Asian bestiary and an unusual fighting style with two swords - the samurai hero held one of the blades with a reverse grip, with the tip pointing backwards. Genji: Dawn of Samurai is also remembered for its competent use of slow-mo, which here looked no worse than that of Detective Payne.
Genji: Dawn of Samurai
The historically correct image of the samurai, albeit against the backdrop of living myths, did not always attract developers - there are examples of successful experiments with the source material. In the action thriller Afro Samurai (2009, Bandai Namco), we controlled a dark-skinned sword master named Afro in a setting that was more reminiscent of the American frontier than the distant eastern islands. It was based on the cult anime series, and the soundtrack was provided by a popular overseas musician known as RZA. Rapid battles with a katana in hand accompanied by catchy rap inspired many users, but the failed sequel put an end to the potential franchise.
Afro Samurai
A more serious approach to narrative and mechanics, as well as a rare level of non-linearity, is about the Way of the Samurai . There was some hooliganism, but the life and exploits of samurai here are closer to reality than in many similar projects. The first of four games in the franchise hit shelves in 2002. We fit into the clothes of a ronin, a samurai without a master. The road led us to a town where feud between clans flared up. And then the story of our ronin branched out with unprecedented frequency. Decisions had to be made constantly, and each action entailed certain consequences. We were free to take any side, engage in this or that activity, and even drawing a katana from its sheath was not a scripted act, but the result of your informed decision. A flexible combat system and a lot of optional tasks here coexist with weak graphics - and we’re talking about all four parts of Way of the Samurai. But where else will you find the ability to strike with the back of a katana? After all, this way you can save the life of any opponent, and the story will turn in a non-obvious direction. The potential for replayability is about samurai, so says the Way of the Samurai series.
Way of the Samurai 4
But still, a samurai is primarily a warrior, not an adventurer. The Omega Force studio, known for its endless Warriors series (the franchise began with the Dynasty Warriors in 1997), reminds us of this truth. The formula “legendary heroes in the middle of a big battle” gained popularity back in the days of the first PlayStation, but initially it was about Chinese heroes. In 2004, a branch of Samurai Warriors appeared, and here the harsh Japanese entered the battlefield. Yes, the differences were mainly external, but the terrifying samurai armor really looked fresh after all those Chinese feathers, ribbons and bells. And new features appeared in the mechanics of the samurai branch: storming castles and elusive ninjas as opponents.
Samurai Warriors
The open-world crime action series Yakuza also explored the theme of noble samurai. Yakuza Kenzan, was released . The action moved from the neon streets of the modern metropolis to the late Middle Ages of the early 17th century. You had to play not as a Japanese mafioso, but as a sword master Musashi. The main elements were familiar to Yakuza fans: big city morals, serious drama at the heart of the plot, a lot of optional activities. But the samurai gave the game a unique atmosphere with their martial art: several fighting styles were available in Kenzan, including without weapons, and numerous QTEs provided a high degree of entertainment. The game was received very favorably by the public, and Kenzan was followed by another spin-off subtitled Ishin (2014). The action took place already in the 19th century, but the samurai theme was not closed at all - in those days samurai were still walking along the streets of Japanese cities in large numbers, Japan was in no hurry to part with traditions. So, to the delight of the players, katanas shone in the frame again. Unfortunately, both Kenzan and Ishin were released only in the Asian market and are only available in Japanese. Although it is worth considering that SEGA has recently actively taken on the franchise, releasing remakes of the first games, and also - unexpectedly, but pleasantly! - finally porting several issues of the series to PC. There is a good chance of playing Yakuza samurai projects on PC or PlayStation in the foreseeable future.
Yakuza Kenzan
You definitely need to remember the samurai - and very successful - variation of “soulful” RPGs. The first Nioh was released in 2017, the second - this year, and for now remains exclusive to Sony (apparently temporary). The combat skills of the samurai are shown here in the most detail and depth. A dozen unique types of weapons, three stances, a huge number of techniques - the head of particularly sensitive gamers could go spinning. Here, by the way, lies the dark side of Bushido - the combat in Nioh turned out to be quite cumbersome: in order to activate a new technique, you need to climb into the jungle of a harsh interface, the number of keys on the gamepad was simply not enough, and, using some skills, you had to disable others. But, be that as it may, the campaign of a true samurai (well, even if in the first game he is an English gaijin, and in the second he is a half-demon) showed incredible variability and scrupulousness in the elaboration of battles with melee weapons. It was difficult to fight with spears in the corridors - the weapon caught the walls, the exotic kusarigama with a chain made it possible to control a large amount of space, the battle ax was slow but deadly. Despite the ubiquitous fantasy and national myths, in Nioh's combat system you can find elements of real samurai art. For example, a separate active perk is iai-jutsu, the art of drawing a katana from its sheath with a subsequent swift blow. Real samurai paid a lot of attention to honing this skill. And Sir William from the first Nioh successfully combined the skills of samurai and ninja long before the protagonist from the upcoming Ghost of Tsushima: he struck monsters with poisoned shurikens and kunai, scattered sharp spikes around and in every possible way avoided the rules of fair combat.
Nioh
A good samurai action movie doesn't have to take place in Japan five hundred years ago. One of the best 2D action games of recent years, Katana ZERO , takes the player to a modern pixelated metropolis. Amidst a riot of neon lights, a samurai mercenary carries out risky contracts. The game harmoniously intertwines Asian motifs with European ones, and the main character in a kimono, with a sword on his belt, looks surprisingly at home in the laser beams of a nightclub. Katana ZERO is remembered for its fast, almost lightning-fast action, and the developers deserve special thanks for the ability to deflect rolled bullets.
Katana ZERO
The image of a samurai fits perfectly into the fighting game genre canon, where the essence comes down to a duel. Thus, Yoshimitsu from the Manji clan appeared in two legendary fighting game series: Tekken and Soul Calibur . However, in these games, fighting pandas, Geralt of Rivia, and the flop-eared Master Yoda also appear as characters. But the Samurai Shodown focuses specifically on samurai from the feudal era of the Japanese islands. This brand has been known since 1993 and recently featured a very worthy Samurai Shodown 2019 (real warriors, apparently, do not need numbers in the title and all sorts of subtitles). Yes, among the characters in the series you can find a Chinese general and a couple of cheeky Americans - Earsquake and Galford, but this only makes it more fun. The series is characterized by the highest speed: newcomers lose before they have time to understand what exactly is happening. If you don't mind the anime style, this franchise is worth giving a chance. For some reason, Samurai Shodown is not particularly popular in our area.
Samurai Shodown (2019)
You can recall successful examples of the appearance of samurai in the RTS genre. Battle Realms had its own unique look and a number of original mechanics . Some critics were completely in vain to call it a Command & Conquer clone, but that’s how it was: after the release of the strategy from Westwood Studios, C&C clones were labeled as C&C clones for many years, whether for work or not. But the story of Kenji, the son of a daimyo prince, in Battle Realms was remembered for its unique bright style, colorful clans and a serious approach to economics. The mechanics of army recruitment were presented in an interesting and fresh way: in order to get an infantryman or an archer, you had to drive a simple peasant into the barracks for training. The game was a commercial success and a remaster, Battle Realms: Zen Edition, can currently be found in early access on Steam.
Battle Realms
The samurai theme was not always presented with a serious expression. It’s worth remembering the excellent strategy Skulls of the Shogun (developed by studio 17-BIT, published by Microsoft itself in 2013). According to the plot, the fallen samurai end up in the land of the dead and - who would doubt it - take up fighting again. Skeletons in samurai armor riding on horsebacks looked at least funny. The game featured nice cartoon graphics and a surprisingly deep combat system.
Skulls of the Shogun
And in the popular tactical game Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun (the work of the German studio Mimimi Games, most recently this team shot the hit Desperados III) we saw in our squad both the textbook samurai Mugen and the ninja Hayato.
For developers, ninjas have always been no less attractive than samurai.
Perhaps the most respected, long-lived and recognizable series of games about ninjas is Shinobi . The brand’s first game was released back in 1987, and since then Shinobi has looked at almost all possible platforms (the last one today, Shinobi, was released in 2011 on the 3DS console), and appeared on the first slot machines that appeared in the post-Soviet space in the early nineties , moved into three dimensions on sixth-generation consoles with Shinobi (2002) and Nightshade and eventually became recognized as an arcade action classic. There was no talk of any realism in the series: usually the masked hero shot down helicopters with shurikens or fought with villains on the wing of a flying fighter. It is for such a riot of imagination that the brand is loved. As befits a ninja, the protagonist of the Shinobi games was capable of incredible acrobatics, mastered hand-to-hand combat and struck the enemy with throwing weapons. Ninja Gaiden (launched in 1988) followed a very similar path
Shinobi (2011)
Often, games about ninjas take only external attributes from the real history of shadow warriors. All other content of such games is imported from the land of Fantasy. This, however, does not make action films about ninjas worse. An exemplary example is Ninja Blade . The game was released in 2009 by the FromSoftware team, within whose walls, by the way, the Souls series appeared. Ninja Blade became a furious, spectacular action movie that threw aside not only the rules of ninjutsu, but also the laws of logic and physics. Here, a hero dressed as a ninja jumps from a plane without a parachute, leaps through skyscrapers and chops up spiders the size of trolleybuses. Fun and playful.
Ninja Blade
But we will turn to more serious thematic games where the invisible warriors are shown with an emphasis on real history. Tenchu demonstrates the working life of a ninja very coolly . From 1998 to 2008, the franchise's games were released on a variety of consoles, and the first three are deservedly considered exemplary statements on the ninja theme. Tenchu placed stealth at the forefront: experienced shinobi with gamepads in their hands carried out missions without descending from rooftops or poking their noses out of bamboo thickets unless absolutely necessary. Here an enemy taken by surprise is a dead enemy. What’s interesting is that when an infiltrator was discovered, experienced warriors from all over the location came running, but the player still had, albeit scanty, any chance of fighting back in open battle. This gave the game poignancy and authenticity: real stories from medieval Japan say that in a direct confrontation the ninja's chances were not very great.
Total War its success to the same ninjas. In the first game of the franchise, Shogun: Total War, ninjas shone with skill and could be more useful than an entire army alone. The game instantly made me fall in love with cool videos where each ninja task was shown. The Creative Assembly team took a responsible approach to historical accuracy. So, some attempts on the lives of enemy military leaders were carried out by ninjas while disguised: one moment a peasant was rolling a cart down the street, but a second later a samurai was already falling dead next to him. And no masks with swords behind their backs. An important feature in Shogun: Total War was that every ninja could fail the mission. That is, several ending options were prepared for each video. As a result, messing around with ninjas was a lot of fun.
Shogun: Total War 2
Almost a separate subgenre was created by ninjas in the format of a two-dimensional platformer. Those who wish can immerse themselves in pure trash adrenaline: the game Super House of Dead Ninjas with extremely positive reviews on Steam is at your service. A beautiful platformer starring a ninja, Shadow Blade, has migrated from mobile devices to PCs with the Reload console. Pixel Shinobi Nine Demons of Mamoru gives you the opportunity to appreciate the diversity of the ninja arsenal.
Shadow Blade: Reload
But the best 2D ninja lurks in the shadows of Mark of Ninja . This absolute hit was developed by the Klei Entertainment team (Shank duology) in 2012. It turned out very stylish, exciting and even convincing. Here, the ninja marked with a magical tattoo acts precisely as a master of shadows. His method of fighting is the only true stab in the back. In an open battle with pumped-up mercenaries, there is practically no chance, unless you throw the villain off the roof of a high-rise building with a skillful kick. But mostly we're hiding here. The ninja even gains precious experience points when duped guards pass by. Mark of Ninja has become a shining example of a game that in an ideal world should become a series, but in our reality it has not yet worked out.
Mark of the Ninja
Game developers interpret the image of a ninja very freely, because shadow warriors are accompanied by mysticism and understatement. In one of the best games of last year, Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice , a shinobi nicknamed Wolf initially serves as a bodyguard, not a contract killer. Only after “failing the service”, having lost a client and a hand to boot, the Wolf remembers the old methods and begins to quietly slaughter those responsible and those involved. However, the main focus of Sekiro was the excellent system of open melee combat, with parries and counterattacks.
But the Danish developers from IO Interactive, creators of the brutal Hitman Mini Ninjas in 2009 . The local shinobi and samurai seemed to have escaped from Sesame Street, and the game itself was filled to the brim with concentrated cuteness. And the punch to the gut came with rich, varied action. Yes, with these ninjas you need to be prepared for anything!
Mini Ninjas
For obvious reasons, not all worthy games about samurai and ninjas were included in the material. We are waiting for your comments in the comments - indicate those video games that made you feel like a katana master or a silent ninja shadow.
You can't hold a sword by the blade
Hans Talhoffer, Michel Rotwyler / Wikipedia
On the Internet you can often find pictures in which medieval warriors take their sword not by the hilt, but by the blade. They are usually accompanied by mocking comments like: “You should have read the instructions.”
However, the sword can be taken by the blade! This technique is called Half-sword half-sword, “half-sword”. If the enemy is wearing armor against you, instead of bending and dulling the blade against his armor, it is easier to grab the sword from the other end and hit him on the head with the guard. Even if he is wearing a steel helmet, such a blow will at least be unpleasant. And it can even lead to a concussion.
The sword was also taken by the blade with the left hand, leaving the right hand on the hilt to enhance the stabbing blow. This technique was suitable, however, only against a stunned and defenseless enemy.
Lie down and deceive
During an offensive or counterattack, moving Japanese chains could suddenly lie down and then hastily retreat. With this maneuver they tried to provoke pursuit from the enemy. If he fell for this trick and rushed after the fleeing samurai, then he had a hard time.
The retreating Japanese lay down again and opened fire on their pursuers.
Roundhouse kicks are great.
Still from the series “Game of Thrones” / HBO
Jon Snow and Geralt spin around their axis in battle like ballerinas, but real swordsmen would never do that. You cannot turn your back on a person who intends to attack you.
Turning 360 degrees in a sword fight is useless. Firstly, this exposes you to attack. Secondly, you let the enemy out of sight for a moment. Thirdly, it is pointless to try to hit an enemy with a sword from a roundhouse: such a movement is easy to evade, and the blow is only slightly enhanced.
Most Japanese who practice one or another martial art unanimously revere kendo as the oldest and fundamental art of combat. Indeed, in the arsenal of other martial disciplines there are many direct borrowings from the complex of techniques and exercises that make up kendo. For example, many strikes in Aikido are copied from Kendo, with the only difference being that in Aikido the strike is delivered with the bare hand.
But, perhaps, the most important thing is that its philosophical content has passed from kendo to other martial arts, which provides the fighter with the best concentration before a fight and maximum tension in battle.
Kendo, which means the way of the sword in Japanese, was previously called kenjutsu - sword technique. It originates from the samurai art of sword fighting, which, according to the Japanese, was formed as an integral system of principles and techniques by the 10-11th century. At the same time, imported from China, the double-edged sword took on the appearance familiar to us from samurai films: a slightly curved blade, sharpened at one edge, up to one meter long with a two-handed handle.
For several centuries, the decisive blow in any battle between Japanese feudal lords fell to the sword. At that time, obviously, kenjutsu was experiencing its heyday. But there are no descriptions of it in the documents of that time.
With the advent of firearms in the 16th century, the practical use of swords faded away, becoming the lot of wandering samurai and robbers, but, as happened more than once in Japan, it was then that the rebirth of kenjutsu began. Numerous schools of this martial art and treatises dedicated to it are published. Training armor appears, which is still used in our time. And the fame of the samurai Miyamoto Musashi, a master of kenjutsu and a tramp, who won 60 battles without spending more than three blows with a sword, thundered throughout the country. He also wrote a wonderful book about kenjutsu, which has become a reference book for generations of Japanese.
In the 19th century, the wearing of swords was prohibited, but this again, paradoxically, only increased the popularity of kenjutsu, which then received its modern name - kendo. Moreover, it was mainly peasants who were interested in it. There was something about this discipline that appealed to the Japanese spirit.
Meanwhile, by the 20th century, kendo had finally turned from an applied martial art into a sport, although many disagree with this.
We also recommend reading:
- Miyamoto Musashi - a warrior who never lost a single fight
- Karte - the art of fighting with bare hands
- The history of the samurai - truth and fiction
The swords were very heavy
Dragon Slayer Sword.
Illustration: manga “Berserk” Sometimes even seemingly educated people say this. For example, one academic on The History Channel said What did Historical Swords Weigh? , that the swords of the 14th century weighed 40 pounds, that is, 18 kg. You probably need to be a real hero to swing such a barbell?
Not really. Most of the longswords and bastard swords in the Wallace Collection in London weigh What did Historical Swords Weigh? less than 1.5 kg. The average weight of swords in the period from the 10th to the 15th centuries was 1.3 kg; in the 16th century it decreased to 0.9 kg. Even huge two-handed swords, for example zweihänders as long as a man, weighed no more than 3 kg.
How a drunken ronin beat the legendary samurai with an oar
There lived in the Land of the Rising Sun a typical Japanese ronin named Miyamoto Musashi. He loved to drink, philosophize about life, he even wrote the entire “Book of Five Rings” and everything would have been fine, but one day he had to challenge a famous samurai to a mortal battle. And again, everything would have been fine, but the hangover turned out to be inappropriate, and in a drunken head, the ronin lost his sword somewhere inappropriately... he lost it...
Miyamoto Musashi was not a samurai, but a ronin, that is, a warrior without a master. He was an excellent swordsman, one might say the best in Japan. But there was also a real samurai, Sasaki Kajiro, who also considered himself the best swordsman.
How to deal with this situation and how to find out who is the best? Of course, cross your katanas in battle! So the soldiers decided. We set a time and place.
The island of Ganryujima was chosen as the venue for the duel between Japan's best samurai, Sasaki Kajiro, and the ronin, Miyamoto Musashi.
Samurai Sasaki Kajiro and his seconds arrived at the place on time and began to wait for the ronin Miyamoto Musashi. They wait for an hour, they wait for two, but Miyamoto Musashi still doesn’t show up.
Then the enraged samurai sent his seconds to find Miyamoto Musashi and drag his opponent to the island as soon as possible. Finding the ronin was not difficult. It turned out he was sleeping deeply in the house where he had spent the night for the last few days. The reason for not showing up for the duel turned out to be a banal hangover.
It turned out that Miyamoto Musashi got pretty drunk last evening and forgot about perhaps the most important fight in his life.
Having hardly pushed the hungover ronin, the seconds dragged him into the boat and sailed to the island. Gradually, Miyamoto Musashi came to his senses and realized that he did not have a sword with him, which meant the duel was on the verge of breakdown. The seconds began to panic, but not the ronin.
“Calm down,” said the ronin, slurring his tongue, “I have everything under control... Hic!”
There is such a thing called a “bokken” - it’s a wooden training sword. It is of no use in battle unless it is in the hands of the best swordsman in Japan. So Miyamoto Musashi realized that if you have an oar, you have a wakizashi (this is a mini version of a katana), which means you can plan a bokken. So he did.
Of course, Sasaki Kajiro was furious when he saw his opponent. But there’s nothing to do but cancel the fight after so many hours of waiting.
Falling out of the boat, with an unsteady gait, clutching an unplaned oar in his hands, the ronin moved menacingly in the direction of the famous samurai.
To the surprise of the samurai Sasaki Kajiro, the ronin Miyamoto Musashi turned out to be not as simple as he might have seemed at first glance. Ronin deftly dodged all the samurai's attacks and carried out very dangerous counterattacks with his oar.
Then, choosing the right moment, Miyamoto Musashi delivered precise and deadly blows with the sharp end of the bokken. Sasaki Kajiro did not expect this at all and could not believe his eyes. He died from his wounds with surprise in his eyes.
Miyamoto Musashi respected the memory of his opponent. Moreover, he gradually gave up drinking, founded his own fencing school, and even left a mark on history thanks to his philosophical work “The Book of Five Rings.” After Miyamoto Musashi, bokken training weapons began to be taken much more seriously, and on the site of the legendary duel on the island of Ganryujima, a monument was erected to the duel between the ronin Miyamoto Musashi and the samurai Sasaki Kajiro.
This can be very interesting!
- How a Russian officer defeated a Japanese samurai in battle The Russian-Japanese War, which died down at the beginning of the twentieth century, is known not only for the defeat of the Russian Empire, but also...
