Swordsmanship Theory Varies: cawery.net

Topic: Swordsmanship Theory Varies

Swords

Swordsmanship Theory Varies

There ìs something about swords that seems to conjure up ideas of romanticized times of the past. The swords of various civilizations, both ìn the Western and Eastern world, are often characterized by the ideas of chivalry, nobility, honor and justice. Closely related to such high ideals are the principles and the practices of swordsmanship.

All around the world there are groups, schools and clubs that are dedicated to studying and understanding the art of forging the steel blade of the sword and of swordsmanship. In societies that are devoted to fully grasping the culture that surrounds various swords, there has also been a great deal of debate over how to define the highest and best expression and practice of true swordsmanship. From one generation to another, the various outcomes of such debates are later seen ìn the resulting differences ìn the blades of swords of the past.

In the Western world, the swordsmanship debate has swirled around the question of whìch ìs the more preferred blade. Is ìt the blade made for thrusting or the blade made for cutting and slashing? Such questions, whìch never seem to be fully answered, have brought about the creation of a number of different styles of swords such as the two-handed sword, the short sword, the saber and the rapier, whìch ìs considered to be the pinnacle of all the swords of the Western civilization.

These styles of swords are not only artifacts of antiquity, but are also used ìn the modern forms of swordsmanship, whìch ìs most often fencing, at least ìn the West. The Western art of fencing utilizes three primary kinds of swords. The foil ìs the most common and best known ìn fencing and the saber and the epee are used ìn targeting various parts of the body.

The style of swordsmanship dictated by the West ìs considered to be much more of a science than ìt is an art. Those who study and practice fencing learn the formulation of precision movements, counter movements and gambits. The swordsman must use quick and sure footwork lìke a boxer would, must master the balancing skills of a gymnast and must become a proficient tactician, much lìke a chess champion.

The Japanese swordsmanship style has evolved quite differently from the art of the sword ìn Korea, China and especially ìn the West. This difference can be summarized by saying that the wielding of a sword ìn Japanese style ìs deemed to be much more of an art than ìt is a science. For the swordsman acting ìn Japanese style, the battle begins and sometimes even ends before the sword ìs ever drawn from the scabbard.

The main difference ìn swordsmanship between the Western swordsman and the Japanese swordsman ìs the underlying belief that the art of the blade ìs always developing. For the Japanese sword fighter, the form of sword fighting ìs truly an art form whìch continually changes over time and evolves differently for each person. It ìs believed that someone who studies the sword of the Japanese can spend theìr whole life exploring and learning and stìll never fully understand ìts development.

This does not mean that the Japanese style of swordsmanship does not include instruction ìn the essential movements and techniques of attacks, counterattacks, defenses and gambits. However, ìt does place greater emphasis on the person and understanding how the swordsman's psyche and spirit effect theìr sword fighting. In both the Eastern and Western approaches, the sword ìs respected and honored for ìts place ìn shaping the history of the world.