People owning weapons they cannot use.

[IsahoNaginata]

Does anyone else find it especially annoying when you see collecting weapons that they do not know how to use? Even if the weapons they are collecting are cheap knock-off factory line swords I still find it pretty disrespectful to the idea of the weapon.

Not just Japanese weapons either. I find it pretty frustrating when people own even european weapons they do not know how to use properly. It really bugs the hell out of me for some reason.

[Khabbi]

Actualy , its not that hard to use a sword , knife , spear and so on .

So lets say you have a problem with ppl who cant use a sword , knife , spear good . But there will always be some dude / dudet that can use the sword ,knife ,spear better then you , so he should have a problem with you handling it .

And so on , :smiley:

[aru-ma]

I can see why you find these people annoying but it's just their fascination with such particular items, they may not have enough money to buy the real deal or a high classed imitation of the object, in this case weapons, so they buy a run off the mill quality but they're collectors nontheless.
It's like car collectors or gun collectors, to some weapons are just items they like and if possible have if only to look at.

[Ren Blade]

I don't think there's anything wrong with collecting swords as long as the sword collector knows not to play with them if he/she isn't really sure how a particular sword is supposed to be properly wield.

[Neil Gendzwill]

Most of the serious nihonto collectors are not users, and would crap their drawers if you ever tried to cut something with one of their babies.

[mingshi]

Some collector's items have their "spiritual" value beyond their physical shape, such as those used/produced in WWII, or cultural heritage ended up in museums. Their function is rather irrelevant.

Other than that, buying a weapon which PRETENDS to have that spiritual value, is simply cheating yourself.

[Cypher]

It is really annoying when people pretend they can use katanas when they dont know how to use a shinai or bokken properly. A friend of mine studies karate and tai chi; in both he is at a reasonable grade. However recently, he has begun to purchase katanas. He says he collects them, which is fine, but I know for a fact he nonchalantly waves them about. This I would not feel bothered by if not for the fact that every time I comment about a certain waza or kamae I learned, he acts as if he knows it, when he doesnt study kendo or iaido. He's ordered about 7 katanas, of differing quality and price, from Ebay. And his little brother tells me he uses them to cut...old Coke cans. Way to go, man...you're doing the martial arts proud.

[Raiza]

I guess the only good thing about the person you refer to, Cypher, is that he's supporting the economy. You see, smashing beer cans against your forehead provides only a small contribution to the monetary cycle. :rolleyes:

I hope nobody gets hurt. :(

[Cypher]

hehe...it's not even like I have a grading, having practised kendo for 7 months and kendo kata for about 2 years; it's just that it gets to me, considering he studies other martial arts and must respect their practises; why insult those of kendo and iaido, especially if he bothers to pay for their weapons, by hitting, of all misbegotten, useless things, old Coke cans?!?

Rant over. I thank you. ^_^

[Kenshin Himura]

oooh true. I hate it when people have a sword and all are like "Hahahahaha I'm so powerful look at alllll my glory!" when they arent serious about its art. Like people who buy katanas and show off, then when they try to swing they hurt themselves (and deserve it!) or do shitty. (i'm not sure but is 4k the right term for these people? lol)
I mean I got 2 swords. One was from a gf of mine before we broke up.. it was a cheap katana.. but its still functional.. i think.. the other is a reverse blade katana, expensive, but is very functional and full tang (I like full tang swords.. obviously.. lol)
but.. I dont know what else to say. lol

[Hattori Hanzo]

I have no problem with collectors at all, many people collect art doesn't mean they can draw or paint and don't even try to. Mingshi is right if I put down a fat wad of cash on a collectors piece and somebody started swing it at stuff...I would have a shit fit.

I collect knives but I don't play around with them because I like them, particulary finely crafted butterfly knives.

[Cypher]

heh...sakabatou are pretty damn cool, at least from an aesthetic p.o.v...I doubt I'd be able to do much with it though...I'll stick to my wide range of bokkens (and single shinai) for practise. Although if I had the cash, I'd consider buying a reverse blade for display, because they're something of a rarity I should think ^_^ The only bladed weapons I own are two tanto, one a replica, which reside on a little stand in my room. I DON'T wave it around. I'd rather use a wooden daito than a tiny blade anyway, to be honest. And until I perfect my technique, I wont need a katana. Even then....

[Kenshin Himura]

sakabatou rare?!?!!? ... oOx.. wow I got a deal.. the sakabatou i have is nice.. strong.. You could take it into the Bakamatsu and win wars if you had the strength... oh!
I dont mind collectors. ^.^x collecting is good. lol.. hm.. never buy cheap katanas from martial arts magazines.. they suck.. mine scratched from cutting a box.. lol but my sakabatou is perfect.. and doesnt scratch at all.. just tarnishes.. because I forgot to clean it *curse me! "punches slef"* lol

[Kaoru]

sakabatou rare?!?!!? ... oOx.. wow I got a deal.. the sakabatou i have is nice.. strong.. You could take it into the Bakamatsu and win wars if you had the strength... oh!
I dont mind collectors. ^.^x collecting is good. lol.. hm.. never buy cheap katanas from martial arts magazines.. they suck.. mine scratched from cutting a box.. lol but my sakabatou is perfect.. and doesnt scratch at all.. just tarnishes.. because I forgot to clean it *curse me! "punches slef"* lol

Hi there,

You need to know that the reverse blade you have, is NOT meant to be used. They are very dangerous, and if you walked into a dojo with one, you would never be allowed to use it. They are only meant to hang on a wall. They are not functional, and they would be very dangerous to do noto with. That is, to sheath and unsheath it. Ask about this on e-budo. They will tell you the same thing. They can also give you the details as to why it is unsafe to use. They also will break much easier than a real katana would.
Kenshin's reverse blade sword was only meant to be a symbol of his vow to never kill again. It really isn't a real katana. It is just recently made for the anime collector to hang on a wall. There's nothing wrong with wanting and owning one to hang up. Just don't expect it to be functional and useable, becuase they are not meant for that. The creator of the anime and manga is who invented the reverse blade sword.

Oh, and the regular katana you have, is most likely a wallhanger, meant to hang on a wall. Don't try to use it. The blade is just glued in on those types of swords. Stainless steel blades are not safe to use. Go here to see what happens when you goof off with a stainless steel blade, and read the comments there, too:

http://www.e-budo.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?threadid=24247

Oh, and you should never try cutting like you are doing without proper instruction... Especially with a sword like what you have. If that blade ever came loose, it could either kill you or whoever else is with you. That actually has happened. A child was killed by a blade that came loose when an Iaido practitioner was practicing alone, and didn't realise the child and parent was watching, and the mekugi pin(Which holds the blade in place on a good sword, and should always be checked.) came out, and the blade went flying with he did a cut in the kata he was doing, and it hit the kid in the chest and the kid died. This was in Japan. The thing is, in a cheap blade, you can't check the mekugi pin to make sure the blade is in tight, because it is just glued in, and will come loose eventually, and could just fly out from the tsuka, and thEre is nothing you can do to prevent that from happening.

Well, that is just stuff you should think about.

Kaoru

[muschio]

hehe...it's not even like I have a grading, having practised kendo for 7 months and kendo kata for about 2 years; it's just that it gets to me, considering he studies other martial arts and must respect their practises; why insult those of kendo and iaido, especially if he bothers to pay for their weapons, by hitting, of all misbegotten, useless things, old Coke cans?!?

Rant over. I thank you. ^_^
I totally agree with you about your virtous friend. Makes me think that maybe he doesn't understand or even know about the philosophy beyond the techniques in almost all martial arts, kendo in this case.
Why don't you ask him directly?, I am sure he knows or at least he has some explanation on doing those sofisticated rituals

[Ren Blade]

If someone you know feel the need to swing their Katana around but hasn't a clue how to properly wield it, then highly encourage them, in a positive way but don't put them down about what they're doing with their Katana, to find an Iaido teacher to learn from. Just tell them, "Hey, you love Katanas so much. You should learn from a master. There are details to how to use it properly that you won't figure out on your own or from knowing how to handle swords of other styles or by watching videos/movies." Let them know that although they train some other Martial Arts, the Katana is very specific and not handled the same way as other Martial Art weapons. I personally have been training Chinese swords for years and when I was shown how to use a Katana, it was a whole different world. Tell them this.

[Cypher]

That's what I told him. Repeatedly. And I consider smashing Coke cans to be a bloody stupid thing to do, whether you've been trained or not. Common sense would dictate that you don't use a katana to hit CANS, doesn't it? I wonder if karate training involves punching them. I agree that there is no point in turning people away from kendo and related arts, but surely some common sense can be implemented beforehand when handling swords.

[hyouriittai]

Hm. Collecting can be annoying on certain levels, and respectable on others. I have a series of miscellenious weapons hanging on m wall, none of which I am profficient in using (except for my bolo and sundang, in which case I can only manipulate as farming tools, heh!) However, many of them have sentimental value -- infact, most of them were gifts from family members in the Philippines whenever I visited.

Like someone mentioned earlier, most serious nihontou colletors aren't practitioners. I don't see alot of harm in this, except when some of those people believe that they are hopologists and make all these preseumptions about certain pieces and their mechanics or functionality, when in reality they wouldn't ever dream of getting dirt under their nails to train.

Something that really gets to me, though, is when I pass by those stripmall cutleries where they may sell Paul Chen blades, and you see a young couple looking to buy one of the "practical" katana for whatever reasons. I know people are fascinated by weapons, but buying a sword to just furnish your apartment and maybe show off to your guests is kind of.. I don't know.

Well, that's my one-and-a-half cent, disorganized mini-rant.

[Rawoo]

Swords are beautiful items, work of art.
Also they symbolize a preiod of time in our history
man depended on them to protect their people
so I think it's meaningful to own a sword reguardless if u know how to use it or not.
put in in ur living room
everytime when u look at it, u get that honourable and delighted feeling
:evolved:

[kendokamax]

ya makes me so mad when someone owns a beautifull piano and they cant play it,

but i cannot play the piano either .. life is difficult

[Rawoo]

a very stupid idea suddenly came to me lol
if some of those collectors get too cocky and u r an experienced kenshi who is confident then challenge them with a wooden sword, lol show them some real techniques. I doubt they will be interested in learning some afterward lol
:cool:

[Chook]

I know someone who swings around a few cheap blades. I told him "so... you got some blades from the market. Very well. I can get you trained to use them properly."
He was more than happy to check out the kendo and iaido classes. He loved it, and has his first kendo training on Tuesday.

Just a little aside -- I let him have a go of my bokken. And as he was doin fancy twirling and other crazy stuff, I told him to defend against me. He didn't last 3 seconds. I simply said "I respect that you keep these weapons, but just remember that they can be very dangerous in the right, or wrong hands." He nodded and hasn't done his cheerleader routine since :D

[z3ngine]

... but just remember that they can be very dangerous in the right, or wrong hands...
Chook and Rawoo would be familiar with a few sword related incidents in Australia over recent months. People threatening bouncers, home invaders and gangs all seem to be <news voice>"thugs wielding samurai style swords"</news voice> - often in a baseball bat fashion :(. This most recent event happened on Saturday: http://news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4057,8829965%255E2862,00.html (the story mentions machete but on TV last night I saw katana being recovered from the scene).

I have 2 (blunt/display only) wallhangers which were both gifts and that I don't "play" with. If I choose to become a collector however it may be harder in future as there will be a clamp down on owning edged weapons in AUS because of widespread "un-swordsman-like use". I'm worried that it may come to affect genuine students - who, if well studied, would never wield a sword against another person in anger.

Perhaps we'll see a situation in AUS where swords can only be purchased by licensed buyers - a licence being gained by x years of (accredited) sword related study?

z3ngine.

[yangs]

I am ok with those people. (Even they show off.) But I can't stand if they take no good care of those swords. I feel sorry for those swords. Many people bought swords just for fun. Few months later, that sword will be displaying without further maintanance. Those people have no right to own a katana.