| Swords pay for my gas, rent and food so I'm rather partial to them. Also you were very close on the spelling; it is..... "Iaito". An Iaito sword is a practice blade meant for learning to draw the sword. In traditional Japanese martial arts most masters will have you training the drawing of the blade for possibly years before you do cutting with a fully functional Katana. The Iaito blade is usually lower in weight, it is also not tempered or sharpened. This is on purpose as you will be drawing this sword very very repetitively and it's less wear on your joints.....like Tennis Elbow..there is Sword Elbow...=)
I'm of course rather partial to the Hanwei and Bugei Katanas as I do feel they are the HIGHEST quality/value cutting Katanas available on the market. Yes I’m biased….=)
I love western style swords as well....especially Viking and Roman era swords... When all is said and done though I have to say that the Katana is simply one of the most perfect blade designs in history. I am proud of my European heritage and love the European swords, but I have to say a TRUE deferentially clay tempered folded steel katana....is probably the greatest sword of human history. It is awe inspiring in it’s art, science, and it’s function.
That said that DaDao / Horse chopper was used pretty effectively as late as teh 1930's in WW2 against the Japanese.......course it was carried by LOTS and LOTS of really angry Chinese........=)
"To study the history of the sword, is to understand the history of man."
__________________
\"Watch what people are cynical about, and one can often discover what they lack.\" -- George S. Patton
|