On the Katana and it's wielder.

[katsumoto03]

I agree, Shashkas [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shashka] are way cooler.

It's the sword equivalent of Wheaties...


The breakfast of champions.

 

[tehroc]

Oh wow I feel like a moron...just noticed you said rapier not saber.Whoopsie daisy.
But yes most rapier wielding men I would perceive as men of let's say flimsy constitutions.

Inigo Montoya? Prepare to die.

 

[LondonBeer]

If a knight were to fight a samurai, both unarmoured the samurai would likly win, if the knight was wearing armour and/or had a shield the samurai would more than likley be fucked.

See, this is the Deadliest Warrior problem. The samurai was SMART, he would use any possible advantage he could get. Bushido is bullshit. This is what made the samurai formidable, NOT his weapon.

Yeah Deadliest Warrior is fun but some of the weapons tests and comparisions are total BS.

There was one with a pig cutting, (cant remember which) but the first team hit the inside of the leg and carried through to the bottom of the spine at its thinest point the weight of the haunch hanging on the tear & the second team hit high going through ribs & spine. They decided that first team won even though they cut through less hard bone & muscle.

Oh & the roman one where the guy dented the Gladius on the metal pole holding the body up (Cant remember if it was the APache or the Rajputt one?) He lost made no sense whatsoever.

 

[Tim_Buoy]

i quite like katanas they are easier to display my claymore keeps ripping the screws out of the walls

 

[Treblaine]

Does this mean in 300 years were gonna get weeabo half-wits talking about how Pattons .45 could shoot through Tiger tanks .

Im not being a jerk Im telling you what the reality of the medieval battlefield was like trying to undo years of dogma.

What does the medieval battlefield have to do with pistols shooting holes in tanks?

 

[Brawndo]

Not reading 6 pages to see if this was posted already, but: Katanas are a product of their unique battlefield. They were highly effective in one-on-one combat against unarmored or bamboo-armored opponents. However, against steel plate armor, slashing swords are relatively useless, the katana included. That's why late medieval European swords were basically clubs because they had to be heavy enough to impart force through the armor to the wearer.

 

[The Stonker]

Show me a nerd who can wield a claymore!

I'd say it's probably because the katana is far easier to handle than a huge european sword due to lesser weight and smaller form. I agree that in direct combat against a european broadsword the katana would most likely be fucked.

You're on motherfucka!
*Insert awesome picture*

But I've trained with both a katana and a claymore and I have to say that I win most of the time with the claymore against well, most of the students.
The thing is that if you put enough strength behind a claymore and the samurai decides to block it, then you WILL break the sword, (plus where you hit it).
And I would say that vikings could slaughter samurais any day. Even in a 1 on 1 combat.

But I'm a fan of the Chinese polearms, so beautiful yet so deadly.

 

[The_root_of_all_evil]

Eastern sword: Sharp, pretty.
Western sword: A club with a slight edge.

Katanas are easily deflected by armour, but can slice flesh into ribbons.
Broadswords cripple whatever it hits. Zweihanders especially.

 

[tehroc]

Finally, have you ever heard of the huns or the Golden Horde (Ghangis Khan and all them?)? They were from a Mongolian (read: Chinese) empire that to this day held more land than any empire before or sense.

Slight correction, The English Empire was the largest empire ever know on Earth in both mass and population, though Mongolia was the largest continuous stretch of empire.

 

[kypsilon]

I personally think the katana is over-used, but thanks to anime it has endeared itself to a rather wide audience of people who really don't know any better. Most of its attraction comes from the mysticism built up around the weapons themselves, they are a cultural icon in Japan, and with all the little Japanophiles running around you can see why they'd be the first thing people think about when someone says sword. Honestly, you can't beat a gladius for versatility, but I've always been a fan of the longsword. A rapier is awesome too, but way too specialized for anything other than dueling. As far as martial mastery over weapons go, I'd have to give it to the Persians both for technique and weapon design. A single Persian warrior is far more trouble than a samurai.

 

[tehroc]

I think it has more to do with the honor and the culture behind it, samurai were supposed to be reserved and humble unlike what i picture of knights. I guess its the idea behind the samurai and katana more than anything, and i mean you have to admit, it is a little bad ass.

They were of no such caliber. Most Samurais were just as much drunks and braggarts as their western counterparts.

 

[faspxina]

It's elegant and you don't need to be super strong just to pick it up. Plus, samurais are cool. xD

Even so, I think Chinese weapons (and respective fighting styles) make for much more spectacular choreographys.

 

[KissofKetchup]

I'd personally much rather have a naginata than a Katana. Longer reach, same size blade, what's not to like!?

 

[AVATAR_RAGE]

I like the way everyone here has instantly become a historian, martial artist and weapons expert.

 

[JokerboyJordan]

Eastern sword: Sharp, pretty.
Western sword: A club with a slight edge.

Katanas are easily deflected by armour, but can slice flesh into ribbons.
Broadswords cripple whatever it hits. Zweihanders especially.

This.
It's exactly this. They're both the products of their respective battlefields.

 

[jamesworkshop]

Eastern sword: Sharp, pretty.
Western sword: A club with a slight edge.

Katanas are easily deflected by armour, but can slice flesh into ribbons.
Broadswords cripple whatever it hits. Zweihanders especially.

This.
It's exactly this. They're both the products of their respective battlefields.

Makes me wonder why anyone even cares when swords have been totally irrelevant as military weapons for centuries.

No living tradition of western sword fighting exists.

Weapons are not judged on a 1.1 basis spears, daggers, axes, maces, flails, poleaxes, halberds, pikes, lances, platemail, chainmail, shields, cavalry, infantry. etc
Weapons and armour are made to face all manner of threats not just swords vs other swords, a single battle could involve tens of thousands of people leading to a diverse range of threats.

 

[Scout Tactical]

Dave Strider wields a katana ironically, and it turns out to be a "piece of shit" (direct quote) and breaks immediately.

 

[A random person]

They have good construction to compensate for the poor steel available in feudal Japan, and they deserve respect for that at the very least. The romanticism probably comes from the exotic status of Japan and Samurai (something from well before the anime boom, I might add) and that western combat seemed more based on having better equipment (the knight succeeding in blocking a katana with their shield would be a simple matter of having tougher equipment).

Personally I'd go for a Claymore, though, since it fits my mentality and Celtic heritage better.

Edit: Despite the above, from what I know, actual Samurai used a range of different weapons in actual combat (they used a much bigger kind of sword when fighting on horseback, for example).

 

[Shock and Awe]

It probably has something to do with it's inherent aesthetic appeal. The Samurai and Katana look very cool and if you do not know anything about them you still think its badass. The medieval knight on the other hand wielding a straight blade longsword does not have the same appeal, or implied grace. I personally find European swords to look amazing myself.

 

[Novur]

*snip*

*snip*

You can block with a katana as well, and YES you can block with it WITHOUT breaking the sword. It's just that you don't parry with the edge but rather the sides of the blade.

Just to clarify for others:

Yes and no. A direct block between Katanas is perfectly viable, although a true master wouldn't need to block.

Against a heavier European sword, a redirection would serve more purpose than a parry. Given a simple downward stroke, one would guide their opponent's weapon to the side, opening their defenses to counter-attack, and reducing possible damage to the Katana. Similar tactics can be deployed against other attacks.