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Post by Daniloninja98 on May 31, 2013 14:40:38 GMT
Hello this is my first post.I would like to know which sword would be the best sword for me since I train ninjutsu and have experience in Iai and kendo.The sword should be durable, battle ready, fast, practical, not have a too long blade.At the moment I am considering between these ones: Cheness Oniyuri Hanwei practical shinobi ninja to(black rayskin) Ronin dojo pro ko katana Cold steel chisa katana(but I heard it is too heavy so it is not very fast) Feel free to also suggest other swords that you think would fit the requirements. Also my budget is about 300$. Thank you in advance!!!  |
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Post by aussie-rabbit on May 31, 2013 14:50:19 GMT
You are correct in saying the Cold Steel is heavy, and for me is not well balanced, given your requirements I would steer towards the Ronin but your other choices are good also.
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Post by Valandur on May 31, 2013 15:02:53 GMT
I like the look of these two blades... ( if you can't see the whole image, right click it and select view in new tab) www.katana-samurai-sword.com/cas ... p-551.html  www.katana-samurai-sword.com/cas ... p-550.html  The straight sword design might not be traditional, but I like the look. The Saya on both swords above just adds to the "deadly" look of both blades. But I just ordered a sword made like the Oniyuri. I caught too good price a price on a Golden Oriole to pass up. I like this design and the review of the Oniyuri on SBG, it really sold me. I picked up a www.swordsoftheeast.com/tenryuha ... sword.aspx a while ago, here's a review of it I did viewtopic.php?f=6&t=16862&p=205674& . It's fairly standard. Nothing to write home about, but I wanted a sword like this because I used to have one a long time ago. |
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Post by Daniloninja98 on May 31, 2013 22:01:11 GMT
Thanks for the reccomendation but I dont think I will buy straight edge swords or ninja tos I will stick with curved blades but thanks anyway |
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Post by Valandur on May 31, 2013 22:09:20 GMT
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Post by LastGodslayer on May 31, 2013 23:02:21 GMT
I think that the ronin looked very nice on Marc Ridgeway's review. |
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Post by DKMurphy on Jun 1, 2013 14:29:01 GMT
I believe the real ninja-to's looked like a katana when it was in the saya. The blade was shorter enabling a faster draw than a standard katana, thus a tactical advantage of surprise over reach. they didn't look different like most ninja-to's do. The "traditional" looking ninja swords we think of are more of a hollywood creation than anything else.
As a fan of 80's movies I like them. I have the Hanwei Practical Ninja. I has a real hamon but very faint. It was solidly constructed. I used it on a week of primitive camping instead of a machette, simply for kicks. It cut way better than my friends machette and held up well to abuse. The square tsuba got caught on everything as was a pain in the butt. Other than that loved everything about the sword. I would not argue it is in anyway traditional but still cool.
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Post by LastGodslayer on Jun 1, 2013 16:27:46 GMT
I have a small issue with "real ninjato". They were probably a case by case thing.
If you were undercover as a gardener, you wouldn't be carrying a ko-katana. If you were acting as an assassin, a blowgun, narrow spear, garrote would be your weapon. If you were invading a camp/compound and you required a sword of some sort, its characteristics would either depend on the requirement for the intrusion, or on what you could acquire.
To say it was a wakizashi length blade in katana mounts is reducing the ninjato to the specific case of a weapon designed to surprise an opponent in a one-on-one sword fight starting with both swords sheathed. In almost ALL other situations another kind of sword would be better.
I think that movies and Tokagure-ryu have influenced what the common perception of the ninjato is based on the movie concept and on Tokagure-ryu's historical basis.
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Post by johnwalter on Jun 2, 2013 18:16:17 GMT
Take a look at the Kris Cutlery 26 and the Munetoshi Nisshoku at swordnarmory.Both are very good and the Nisshoku is very agile.
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Post by jlwilliams on Jun 3, 2013 1:24:31 GMT
What makes a sword more suitable to ninjitsu vs any other Japanese sword art? As I understand it, ninja were the black bag men of ancient Japan. I can see how they would employ various unconventional weapons and tactics, but when they used a sword they used a sword. I've never really studied JSA in a serious way but I understand that there are a number of different styles, each with it's own nuances but all with certain similarities. What is it that differentiates ninjitsu swordsmanship?
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Post by Daniloninja98 on Jun 3, 2013 9:08:31 GMT
There are two problems for me with the ninja to:
1. They have sharp cornered square tsubas which could hurt you if youre carrying it on your back and you fall
2.The straight blade they say its straight for stabbing but the normal tanto has curvature and it is even shorter.
I would never use it in a real ninja mission.
I would probably use a ko katana.
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Post by jlwilliams on Jun 3, 2013 10:37:24 GMT
That makes sense, and I have long thought that the "ninja-to" was a product of Hollywood as is much of what is "known" about the ninja. I'm fairly sure that a great deal of what I have seen and heard about ninja and ninjitsu is complete BS. Still, that doesn't address what it is that differentiates ninjitsu from other Japanese martial arts. Having someone who's studying ninjitsu in conversation (that's you) gives me the opportunity to ask some basic questions, so I hope I'm not distracting from the sword specific thread when I ask.
So, can you tell me what makes ninjitsu different from any other Japanese sword art?
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Post by Daniloninja98 on Jun 3, 2013 11:24:14 GMT
Well, from my experience in kendo amd ninjutsu I can say that kendo focuses more on the traditional sword attacks and blocks while ninjutsu employs various tricks and skills to trick the opponent and get the battle over as fast and as with less casualties as possible.Thats what I think anyway but I bet a ninjutsu master or instructor could tell you far more.  |
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Post by aussie-rabbit on Jun 3, 2013 12:20:20 GMT
Well I am far from an expert, in spite of near 40 years in the martial arts, in fact the more I learn the more I understand how little I know.
Ninja were noted for their use of stealth and deception, today we would call them spies, think KGB, CIA, MI5 etc.
Samurai on the other hand were the Army, Navy and Marines, only with a strict code of honour, fights between high ranking Samurai were often preceded with tea ceremonies.
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Post by jlwilliams on Jun 3, 2013 13:06:27 GMT
That's my understanding as well. To follow the analogy, CIA doesn't do as much shooting as the army, but when they do they are shooting the same guns the same way. Extending that back to ninja/samurai; I'd expect that ninjitsu swordsmanship would be closely akin to samurai swordsmanship both in method and hardware.
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Post by LastGodslayer on Jun 3, 2013 13:56:12 GMT
Just take a look into the Bujinkan curriculum. (assuming you can considerate it "legit" ninjitsu)
On Shinden Fudo Ryu, the main sword is an odachi! And Iaido might have even originated from there (search Mizuhara Kuro yoshinari)
The smaller ko katana is from Tokagure ryu I believe.
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Post by Isshogai on Jun 8, 2013 11:02:47 GMT
This is a little OT but just to chime in it's important to note that there are ZERO historical examples of a straight bladed katana or ninja-to. Not a single one has been recovered. Not even in the 'ninja' provinces of Iga and Koga. Most martial historians would agree that the reasons for this is because they never existed at all.
We've had many excellent points as to why they were impractical and the fundamental mechanics of using a Japanese sword is vitally dependant on the curvature (sori) of the blade. Also if you were a spy/assassin/feudal James Bond etc - why on earth would you carry a weapon that is clearly different from everything else around you? You wouldn't.
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Post by jlwilliams on Jun 8, 2013 13:42:45 GMT
I'm under the impression that the straight bladed, square tsuba sword with the breathing tube scabbard originated in the 1980s. I'm not sure if it originated in Hollywood or Hong Kong, but it's definitely a product of the silver screed.
There are some straight bladed, single edged, two handed, Asian cutting swords out there in the historical record. Thai, Korean and others, but the Ninja-to is apparently modern.
Not that that makes it a bad dog......
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Post by ninjedi on Jun 12, 2013 15:32:05 GMT
The best advice is to ask your teacher which one to buy.
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