The Katana is a curved, single-edged Japanese sword traditionally used by the samurai. Pronounced [kah-tah-nah] in the kun’yomi (Japanese reading) of the kanji, the word has been adopted as a loan word by the English language; as Japanese does not have separate plural and singular forms, both “katanas” and “katana” are considered acceptable plural forms in English.

In battle, katana was typically paired with the wakizashi or tanto, a similarly made but shorter sword. Both were worn by members of the Japanese warrior class. The two weapons together were called the daisho, and represented the social power and personal honor of the samurai.

Katana with long blade was used for open combat, while the wakizashi or tanto with shorter blade was considered a side arm, more suited for stabbing and close quarters combat. Samurai may have used the shorter sword for decapitating beaten opponents when taking heads on the battlefield, and seppuku, a form of ritual suicide.

katana-sword

In Japanese, the scabbard for a katana is referred to as a saya, and the hand guard piece, often intricately designed as an individual work of art, is called the tsuba.

Other aspects of the mountings (koshirae), such as the menuki (decorative grip swells), habaki (blade collar and scabbard wedge), fuchi and kashira (handle collar and cap), kozuka (small utility knife handle), kogai (decorative skewer-like implement), saya lacquer, and ito (professional handle wrap, also named emaki), received similar levels of artistry.

Each blade has a unique profile, mostly dependent on the smith and the construction method. The most prominent is the middle ridge, or shinogi. The shinogi can be placed near the back of the blade for a longer, sharper, and more fragile edge – or a more moderate shinogi near the center of the blade.

katana sword making

The sword also has an exact tip shape, which is considered an extremely important characteristic. The tip can be long (okissaki), medium (chukissaki), short (kokissaki), or even hooked backwards (ikuri-okissaki). In addition, whether the front edge of the tip is more curved (fukura-tsuku) or (relatively) straight (fukura-kareru) is also important.

The kissaki (point) is not a “chisel-like” point, nor is the Western knife interpretation of a “tanto point” found on true Japanese swords. A straight, linearly-sloped point has the advantage of being easy to grind, but it bears only a superficial similarity to traditional Japanese kissaki.

Kissaki have a curved profile, and smooth three-dimensional curvature across their surface towards the edge – though they are bounded by a straight line called the yokote and have crisp definition at all their edges.

A hole is drilled into the tang (nakago), called a mekugi-ana. It is used to anchor the blade using a mekugi, a small bamboo pin that is inserted into another cavity in the tsuka and through the mekugi-ana, thus restricting the blade from slipping out. To remove the tsuka one removes the mekugi. The sword smith’s signature (mei) is placed on the nakago.

Katana Sword Making

Some marks on the blade are purely aesthetic. Signatures and dedications written in kanji and engravings depicting gods, dragons, or other acceptable beings, called horimono.

Some are more practical. The presence of a “blood groove” or HI (also known as “fuller”) does not actually allow blood to flow more freely from cuts made with the sword. There is no difference in ease of withdrawing a blade from the saya, or a reduction of the sucking sound, which many people believe was the reason for including this feature on commando knives in World War II.

Instead, the purpose is to lighten and strengthen the sword blade. The grooves are consistent in structure to an I beam, lessening the weight of the sword yet keeping structural integrity and strength. The basic design principle is that bending causes more stress in material near the edge or back of the blade than material in the middle, due to leverage. Blood grooves remove material from near this neutral axis, which is closer to the blade’s spine if one edge is sharpened. This yields stiffer blades of a given weight, or lighter blades of a given stiffness.

Furthermore the grooves (always done on both sides of the blade) make a whistling sound when the sword is swung (the tachikaze). If the swordsman hears one whistle when swinging a grooved katana then that means that just one groove is making the whistle. Two whistles means that both the edge of the blade and a groove are making a whistle, and three whistles together (the blade edge and both grooves) would tell the swordsman that his blade is perfectly angled with the direction of the cut.

This is a documentary of the sword of the samurai, also known as katana. Good quality. Enjoy!

Basic Ninjitsu

The origins of Ninjitsu are shrouded in the mists of time. It was greatly influenced by Chinese spying techniques, many of which are found in Sun-Tse’s classic, The Art of War.

The word Ninjitsu itself originated during a war between Prince Shotoku and Moriya over the land of Omi in sixth century Japan. During this conflict, a warrior named Otomo-no-Saajin contributed to the victory of Prince Shotoku by secretly gathering valuable intelligence about the enemy forces.

For this service, he was awarded the title of Shinobi, which means “stealer in.” From this ideogram, the character for the word Ninjitsu is derived. Originally, the role of the Ninja was to gain information about the enemy and to sabotage his operations.

Agents were classified as:

Indigenous, meaning local personnel who gathered intelligence or worked for the Ninja on site;

Sleeper, being one long in place, merely awaiting instructions;

Doubled or Turned, a former agent of the enemy who spied for both sides; and

Expendable agents who were used for only one mission and then left to fend for themselves. Such agents include both men and women, the female Ninja were called Kunoichi and carried out missions of assassination and sabotage, as well as espionage.

Ninjitsu is not a magical technique which will enable you to disassemble your body and reassemble yourself somewhere else. It will not change the structure of your body, making it transparent. This Art of Invisibility consists of the skills employed to make yourself unseeable; in this context, the art becomes almost a philosophy.

The ancient masters have said, “A tree falling in the forest with no one to hear it, makes no sound; but, it falls nonetheless.” So it is with Ninjitsu. A Ninja attacking a blind man is invisible, but he is attacking nonetheless.

In today’s modern society, samurai and the art of sword fighting has an immediate appeal to many thousands of people. There has been a huge upsurge in students flocking to Dojos around the world looking to learn the art of the samurai, whether their hand combat techniques or their most famous sword fighting.

Japanese samurai swords, called katana swords are the stuff of legends. While students will first be taught with a boken or wooden mock sword they will eventually progress to a ‘live’ blade if they persist in the art. Celebrities such as Steven Seagal, who trained in Japan with Aikido master Morihei Ueshiba has brought samurai warriors and legends of samurai to the popular mind in the same way that Bruce Lee and Jacky Chan have done with Chinese Kung Fu.

The image of the modern samurai has been popularised in many a Hollywood film with one of the most epic modern tales ‘Star Wars’ using kendo practitioners to enact the light saber battles. There have also been the ancient samurai heralded in recent films like ‘The Last Samurai’. Manga cartoons are one of the biggest exporters of the samurai legends and the Japanese popular culture that has sprung up around them, both in Japan and in the rest of the world is testament to their lingering appeal.

Today there is also a booming industry for katana swords, with some handmade katanas fetching thousands of dollars to dedicated collectors or practitioners.

Most martial arts equipment stores will sell a version of the katana blade, whether a live blade or a boken, and there are many cheaply produced blades available for purchase in almost every country. The prized handmade katanas are rarer, and usually for sale to an exclusive clientele at auction or through dedicated sellers either online or by order.

Whilst the true art of the finest blade swords has been lost in history, many swordsmiths today are trying to regain the lost knowledge in order to make real samurai swords like those of legendary swordsmith Masamune.

The art of samurai sword making is also being evolved by some smiths, who have incorporated modern technologies into the process. Swordsmiths like Howard Clark have produced fine quality blades that are in such demand he stopped taking order in 2003.

So whilst the real Japanese samurai have long since vanished, we can see their enduring ghosts in the ever present fascination with their weapons and way of life, and their reincarnation in popular films, television and fiction.

And now on a less serious note, a great scene of contemporary samurai sword fighting

The very first blades were a basic variant of the Chinese straight bladed, double edged sword called a jian. The very first precursor to the Japanese katana was seen at around 700AD which were straight swords with a curve at the tang only. Around the tenth century saw Japan cleaving close ties with China and begin developing its own social and class divisions and it was in this time that the palace guards and gentry became the first samurai warriors, and with them developed the first real samurai swords.

The legends of samurai tell of the Emperor’s smith Amakuni who made the first fully curved blade after receiving divine inspiration from the Kami. His sword was praised by the Emperor and the tradition of the curved handmade katanas was born.

The golden period for the authentic samurai swords was between 1192 and 1573 in the Kamakura and Muromachi periods. After the near loss of Japan to the veracious Mongol invaders, the need for a virulent national defence was seen, and so sword smiths were kept very busy. The most famous of Japanese katana smiths was in this period and the legendary Masamune’s swords are still the most prized and exquisite handmade katanas the world has ever known.

It was Masamune who first perfected the art of folding the metal to create the beautiful temper line with crystals imbedded in a pearlite matrix. His remaining blades are considered priceless national heirlooms.

The Japanese samurai swords went into a dark period when the gun was introduced and the skills of the previous generation were almost lost. When this turbulent time in Japanese history was over, the Japanese katana once again rose in the exclusive hands of the privileged samurai class.

With the coming of the west and two world wars, the Japanese katana became a symbol of nationalism, and thousands were roughly produced to equip officers of the army. Since the end of World War II there has been an uptake in interest in the traditional art of samurai swords, and many smiths world wide have tried to reproduce the golden methods of tempering the blade perfected by Masamune. However hard they try, and whatever new methods are devised his still remain the ultimate blades.

Japanese samurai swords, called katana swords are the stuff of legends. While students will first be taught with a boken or wooden mock sword they will eventually progress to a ‘live’ blade if they persist in the art. Celebrities such as Steven Seagal, who trained in Japan with Aikido master Morihei Ueshiba has brought samurai warriors and legends of samurai to the popular mind in the same way that Bruce Lee and Jacky Chan have done with Chinese Kung Fu.

The image of the modern samurai has been popularised in many a Hollywood film with one of the most epic modern tales ‘Star Wars’ using kendo practitioners to enact the light saber battles. There have also been the ancient samurai heralded in recent films like ‘The Last Samurai’. Manga cartoons are one of the biggest exporters of the samurai legends and the Japanese popular culture that has sprung up around them, both in Japan and in the rest of the world is testament to their lingering appeal.

Today there is also a booming industry for katana swords, with some handmade katanas fetching thousands of dollars to dedicated collectors or practitioners.
Most martial arts equipment stores will sell a version of the katana blade, whether a live blade or a boken, and there are many cheaply produced blades available for purchase in almost every country. The prized handmade katanas are rarer, and usually for sale to an exclusive clientele at auction or through dedicated sellers either online or by order.

Whilst the true art of the finest blade swords has been lost in history, many swordsmiths today are trying to regain the lost knowledge in order to make real samurai swords like those of legendary swordsmith Masamune.

The art of samurai sword making is also being evolved by some smiths, who have incorporated modern technologies into the process. Swordsmiths like Howard Clark have produced fine quality blades that are in such demand he stopped taking order in 2003.

So whilst the real Japanese samurai have long since vanished, we can see their enduring ghosts in the ever present fascination with their weapons and way of life, and their reincarnation in popular films, television and fiction.

Learn techniques of Aikido – an introduction

It is very well regarded that Aikido one of the most popular martial arts in the United States and across the World today.  The art of Aikido can be best associated with the actor Steven Seagal – he made it very popular by using these techniques in a number of his movies.  Aikido is technique that is very rich  and it has a long history – and it is an art which originally started in Japan in the early 40s.

The founder of Aikido was Morihei Ueshiba – he was born on December 14, 1883.  As Ueshiba grew up in a rapidly modernizing Japan, he witnessed many instances of  local thugs vandalize his family.  It was then that the  young Ueshiba decided that he will make himself into a strong person and will seek revenge against these thugs.  He was strong willed and was devoted and he spent every waking moment to his physical training and the techniques of martial arts.

Ueshiba received a number of certificates in jujitsu, fencing and spear fighting.  Despite the fact that he was very impressive in his abilities, he found himself unhappy with the skills he had acquired. Ueshiba knew that there was more to the art of self defence and even offence and he began to look into various aspects of religion and hoped to find a greater significance for his life – and all this while he was pursuing martial arts.
Ueshiba then founded the martial art of Aikido – this by combining both the religious beliefs he had learned and honed and his exceptional training in the martial arts.  Then, the style was called Aikibudo, it was renamed to Aikido only in 1942.

This new style was very different and incorporated several different styles of aiki-jujitsu, jujitsu and sword fighting techniques.
Even though many people think that Aikido is the ultimate martial art, it is really an art based on religion and harmony.

Aikido uses techniques such as joint locks, throws and weight manipulation to achieve it’s goals.  This form of martial art is very effective and such were the intentions of Ueshiba from the start.  Aikido consists of several techniques and many of them have been the result Morihei Ueshiba’s creative innovation.
There is really  no unified  philosophy or belief  in the martial art world of Aikido.   Aikido is rich in heritage and religion but at the same time it believes in the harmony and peace of the spirit.

By achieving a much higher level of spiritual power, Ueshiba always believed that the human body can be capable of doing anything.  Even though the reason for his learning martial arts was  revenge, he clearly stated that Aikido was not only about fighting but was a way to reconcile with this  world and bring all human beings together.

Over the past 70 years, Aikido was introduced in America and with amazing results.  The actor Steven Seagal is by one of the most popular spokesperson for this art – and he is showing the world the power and harmony of the Aikido art.

There are many martial arts schools around America that offer Aikido to study. Aikido will not only teach you self defense, but it will also teach you harmony of the spirit and how to find inner peace as well.