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Post by MichaelRS on Jun 18, 2021 5:16:45 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Jun 18, 2021 5:29:01 GMT
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Post by Lord Newport on Jun 18, 2021 6:37:53 GMT
Absolutely PATHETIC...
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Post by Deleted on Jun 18, 2021 7:23:12 GMT
One place I would never get sword advice is reddit. It's like they watched an episode of forged in fire and that's all of their knowledge
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Post by pvsampson on Jun 18, 2021 7:58:43 GMT
One place I would never get sword advice is reddit. It's like they watched an episode of forged in fire and that's all of their knowledge Actually,there are quite a few there with extensive knowledge on nihonto,some even have a bit of knowledge of production swords as well as sizeable collections. One of the mods on the Katana Swords subs has at least 27 katana with more on the way. The actual general sword sub has some pretty knowledgeable posters too. There are several on the sub linked and the general sword sub who post here regularly and there are others (under different user names) that you would recognize. The post linked does have some good basic vids for beginners in it,some not so great, but people will sort the cr#p from the good stuff.Not everyone has the training and experience that some here have and trying to help others seems a good thing,even though others may disagree on or disparage the source.
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tera
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Post by tera on Jun 18, 2021 16:26:22 GMT
Without getting personal about that particular individual, my "one man's opinion" is that videos are ok as supplemental material. I have one by Roger Wehrhahn Shihan to help me remember the Iai I studied ages ago.
Of course, ages ago I studied under a couple of his direct students and it was both amazing and humbling how many tiny details mattered. I was very fortunate to have that hands-on correction and definitely believe going off videos alone "You won't know what you don't know" as there is no system of feedback.
Not that videos are worthless, they are great reference resources and if you have no access to a Sensei in your chosen art and are bound and determined to cut stuff you may learn at least some basic safety. For example, don't cut toward your forward leg, or you my injure yourself with an over-swing. At least, use that as a guideline until you have gained skill and break the rule only if your Sensei has trained you specifically how to do so safely.
Another piece of advice. Just like I used to tell students of firearms use, don't practice alone. You can bleed out quick and may not be in the best condition to phone for help. A basic IFAK (individual first aid kit) and a pair of practitioners trained in its use stand a better chance after an accident than someone alone at a range/back yard. It goes without saying to keep means of calling for aid close at all times. This is something backyard cutters may forget if wearing gi and hakama as they lack pockets. If wearing kimono or haori, you could use the sleeves for storage, which was traditional, but who wants the weight of a phone in their sleeves while cutting, even if they are secured with sageo?
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Post by RufusScorpius on Jun 18, 2021 17:24:37 GMT
Yeah, well. In the big picture of things you have to ask a very important question: "does it really matter if I learn historically accurate sword fighting, and does it matter if I learn anything at all?". Let's face the truth, none of us are ever going to get into a life or death sword fight in which our particular technique will be the deciding factor in the victory. Nobody is going to mull over our (non-existent) sword fight and examine every move in exacting detail to glean every last ounce of speculation out of each movement of the blade.
I have a low opinion of all this mall-ninja training. I think that if you are going to spend your time and money, then you should learn things that are practical and useful. But with that said, if people are out and about, exercising, staying active, and having fun, then what of it? If they learn mall-ninjutsu and later on want to learn "real" sword fighting, then good on them. Many of us on this forum walked that same path in one way or another.
On another thread we discussed this guy being a "fraud", yet he is providing what he is advertising. While his techniques may be dubious, I would certainly not call him a fraud. Would I pay for lessons from him? No, I would not. But if somebody else wants to, and if he is the only provider of the service, then I won't stand in their way.
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Post by MichaelRS on Jun 18, 2021 19:33:53 GMT
One place I would never get sword advice is reddit. It's like they watched an episode of forged in fire and that's all of their knowledge [,,,br] How would that be particularly worse than getting advice from people on THIS, or any other, forum? Also, for anyone, so he's a little commercially, is what he is teaching WRONG? I mean especially from the perspective of a new person starting out? That's not a particular defense of the guy. I don't know enough to defend him or not. I'm just trying to figure out where everybody is coming from.
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Post by Lord Newport on Jun 18, 2021 21:28:16 GMT
One place I would never get sword advice is reddit. It's like they watched an episode of forged in fire and that's all of their knowledge [,,,br] How would that be particularly worse than getting advice from people on THIS, or any other, forum? Also, for anyone, so he's a little commercially, is what he is teaching WRONG? I mean especially from the perspective of a new person starting out? That's not a particular defensive a guy. I don't know enough to defend him or not. I'm just trying to figure out where everybody is coming from. There is so much wrong (based on my training in Toyama Ryu/ Mugai Ryu) I don't even know where to start. The guy comes off a bit like a moron, can't cut worth a crap and swings the katana like its a baseball bat. If all you want to do is swing at water bottles and chop wood in the back yard.. this guy is your man! If you want to learn the Art of the Japanese Sword and "train", find a dojo / Sensei. Its usually a lot less expensive than most people think. Regardless, be careful as noted above.
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tera
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Post by tera on Jun 18, 2021 22:25:02 GMT
Yeah, well. In the big picture of things you have to ask a very important question: "does it really matter if I learn historically accurate sword fighting, and does it matter if I learn anything at all?". Let's face the truth, none of us are ever going to get into a life or death sword fight in which our particular technique will be the deciding factor in the victory. Nobody is going to mull over our (non-existent) sword fight and examine every move in exacting detail to glean every last ounce of speculation out of each movement of the blade. I have a low opinion of all this mall-ninja training. I think that if you are going to spend your time and money, then you should learn things that are practical and useful. But with that said, if people are out and about, exercising, staying active, and having fun, then what of it? I'm not stuck on Reiho, I meant more about basic safety. How to properly grip a katana, how to make basic cuts, how much pressure in the hands (when and where), consistency of cut angle, now to turn for a reverse cut, those kinds of things. As an analogue, I've run into lots of Youtube trained gun experts with NO muzzle discipline or common sense. I've literally had a guy draw from concealment, aim his muzzle at me, and ask, "Can you help me find a better holster for this?". Yes. Yes, I can, but secure that illegally brandished weapon first.... I've also kicked people off of ranges before for flagging others with their muzzle. So, a Sensei is both an instructor and a safety officer. They can help prevent problems before they occur. Transmission of the art is included, but safety first.
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Post by pvsampson on Jun 18, 2021 22:31:22 GMT
[,,,br] How would that be particularly worse than getting advice from people on THIS, or any other, forum? Also, for anyone, so he's a little commercially, is what he is teaching WRONG? I mean especially from the perspective of a new person starting out? That's not a particular defensive a guy. I don't know enough to defend him or not. I'm just trying to figure out where everybody is coming from. There is so much wrong (based on my training in Toyama Ryu/ Mugai Ryu) I don't even know where to start. The guy comes off a bit like a moron, can't cut worth a crap and swings the katana like its a baseball bat. If all you want to do is swing at water bottles and chop wood in the back yard.. this guy is your man! If you want to learn the Art of the Japanese Sword and "train", find a dojo / Sensei. Its usually a lot less expensive than most people think. Regardless, be careful as noted above. Backyard bottlegiri and noodlegiri practitioners are exactly the audience OP of this thread and OP of the reddit thread seem to be aiming at. I do not understand why,whether elsewhere or here (especially) there is so much hate for people trying to help others have some fun. I never see any instructional vids on basic safety or cutting advice coming from you or anyone else here.(EDIT:That I can recall) Just lots of criticism.
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Post by MichaelRS on Jun 18, 2021 23:51:08 GMT
There is so much wrong (based on my training in Toyama Ryu/ Mugai Ryu) I don't even know where to start. The guy comes off a bit like a moron, can't cut worth a crap and swings the katana like its a baseball bat. If all you want to do is swing at water bottles and chop wood in the back yard.. this guy is your man! If you want to learn the Art of the Japanese Sword and "train", find a dojo / Sensei. Its usually a lot less expensive than most people think. Regardless, be careful as noted above. Backyard bottlegiri and noodlegiri practitioners are exactly the audience OP of this thread and OP of the reddit thread seem to be aiming at. I do not understand why,whether elsewhere or here (especially) there is so much hate for people trying to help others have some fun. I never see any instructional vids on basic safety or cutting advice coming from you or anyone else here.(EDIT:That I can recall) Just lots of criticism. Oh man, you beat me to it 😄 Yes, If somebody knows better or can do better, please SHOW us. A practitioner with a little experience does not have to be a master sensei to teach BASICS to beginners. So far, to have some FUN, I'm "learning" to cut water bottles and pool noodles by watching videos of people cutting water bottles and poodles noodles...with very little in the way of actual technique instruction involved. So if this guy from my OP is full of crap, and I don't have the chops to judge that one way or the other, then a basic video or two by some of y'all who seemed to know better would be great. But if someone's position is that THE only way to learn anything about anything and enjoy it is through in-person instruction, well then I don't know what to say to that other than I disagree. And YouTube might as well take down ALL their instructional videos.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 19, 2021 0:45:08 GMT
One place I would never get sword advice is reddit. It's like they watched an episode of forged in fire and that's all of their knowledge [,,,br] How would that be particularly worse than getting advice from people on THIS, or any other, forum? Also, for anyone, so he's a little commercially, is what he is teaching WRONG? I mean especially from the perspective of a new person starting out? That's not a particular defense of the guy. I don't know enough to defend him or not. I'm just trying to figure out where everybody is coming from. ... Yes? Yes, here is much much better. The majority of people on that website don't know anything. There is a few decent people but I bet they frequent forums for their knowledge, and share it on reddit. Reddit is a bunch of people who only read a synopsis level article on stuff they are interested in. Over here you have actual smiths and people who actually study history, as opposed to just watching snap jelly on YouTube
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tera
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Post by tera on Jun 19, 2021 0:45:35 GMT
I am in a martial arts instructional video as the designated throw-dummy, but that was back when I was younger and not sword related. I don't consider myself expert enough to make said videos. I am not trying to disrespect anyone, I am just trying to put videos in perspective. I have seen and heard bones break, watched someone rushed off to the ER with head trauma, and I had a friend die on the mat during his Shodan test (actual cause, cardiac failure due to a lifetime of diabetes. The coroner said martial arts probably added 5 years to his life). Those are memories I have from many years in hand-to-hand systems. Martial arts are inherently dangerous. As a newbie to these forums, I am not here to lecture anyone on form. Just be safe, folks. A knicked femoral is no joke. Have fun but please seek some level of qualified, basic instruction for safety reasons. I want to see everyone contributing to these forums for many, many more years. Edit: In an effort to be more helpful, here is a link to a Toyama Ryu dojo website that has fairly clear explanations and diagrams of basic kata and even videos of tameshigiri: www.toyamaryu.org/Tameshigiri_Basics.htm#Sayuw%20Kesa%20GiriI humbly ask that you note their disclaimer in red text.
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Post by RufusScorpius on Jun 19, 2021 1:09:32 GMT
I never see any instructional vids on basic safety or cutting advice coming from you or anyone else here.(EDIT:That I can recall) Just lots of criticism. I've posted some videos here from time to time. I believe in putting my money where my mouth is. The problem with videos is finding them; we don't have a special place to store them on a thread or whatever, so it makes it very hard to know if there is one that you would be interested in by topic or not. And I'll do it again. I'm going to Germany next month for a few weeks and I"ll be meeting up with forum member Markus313 and hopefully some of his HEMA buddies. I promise to make a few videos on basic safety and cutting dynamics. Again, putting my dumb face on camera for everybody to mock. But at least I can make you feel better about yourselves in the process, so I think of it as a Public Service.
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Post by pvsampson on Jun 19, 2021 2:32:13 GMT
... Yes? Yes, here is much much better. The majority of people on that website don't know anything. There is a few decent people but I bet they frequent forums for their knowledge, and share it on reddit. Reddit is a bunch of people who only read a synopsis level article on stuff they are interested in. Over here you have actual smiths and people who actually study history, as opposed to just watching snap jelly on YouTube Which forums would they be learning from? There are only two active sword focussed forums on the entire web. Also,if you actually check out some of the threads on Swords,you will see there are some experts there and plenty that know history. Also some smiths as well. Katana sub has well known craftsmen and even members from here that post . This place is not the be all and end all of knowledge regarding sword related subjects. Samurai sub, Arms and Amour sub, Koryu, Iaido, Kendo all have experts,experienced and knowledgeable members that will answer any questions asked and many that are very studied in history.Most are quite civil as well. Swords sub has over 77,000 members with average of around a couple of hundred that show as online at all times. Out of 77,000 people one would think that there would be someone there that has a knowledge of what they are talking about. The mods there are what I would consider experts and have large collections in the genre of their choice. As with any online forum,there are some that have no idea what they are talking about. Everyone was a noob at one stage,which can be seen here often as well. As to training vids (sorry I couldn't figure the multi quote)... Rufus I remember seeing your vids training in Germany. Yet they could not be considered instructinal,though I did enjoy. It would be great if there were members here with various training techniques showing some basic "how to" vids. Like safety,stance,how to hold a sword etc. But I cannot remember ever seeing one,only cutting or of people training.
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Post by MichaelRS on Jun 19, 2021 3:52:34 GMT
... Yes? Yes, here is much much better. The majority of people on that website don't know anything. There is a few decent people but I bet they frequent forums for their knowledge, and share it on reddit. Reddit is a bunch of people who only read a synopsis level article on stuff they are interested in. Over here you have actual smiths and people who actually study history, as opposed to just watching snap jelly on YouTube Which forums would they be learning from? There are only two active sword focussed forums on the entire web. Also,if you actually check out some of the threads on Swords,you will see there are some experts there and plenty that know history. Also some smiths as well. Katana sub has well known craftsmen and even members from here that post . This place is not the be all and end all of knowledge regarding sword related subjects. Samurai sub, Arms and Amour sub, Koryu, Iaido, Kendo all have experts,experienced and knowledgeable members that will answer any questions asked and many that are very studied in history.Most are quite civil as well. Swords sub has over 77,000 members with average of around a couple of hundred that show as online at all times. Out of 77,000 people one would think that there would be someone there that has a knowledge of what they are talking about. The mods there are what I would consider experts and have large collections in the genre of their choice. As with any online forum,there are some that have no idea what they are talking about. Everyone was a noob at one stage,which can be seen here often as well. As to training vids (sorry I couldn't figure the multi quote)... Rufus I remember seeing your vids training in Germany. Yet they could not be considered instructinal,though I did enjoy. It would be great if there were members here with various training techniques showing some basic "how to" vids. Like safety,stance,how to hold a sword etc. But I cannot remember ever seeing one,only cutting or of people training. 👍 👍
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Post by RufusScorpius on Jun 19, 2021 12:13:29 GMT
As to training vids (sorry I couldn't figure the multi quote)... Rufus I remember seeing your vids training in Germany. Yet they could not be considered instructinal,though I did enjoy. It would be great if there were members here with various training techniques showing some basic "how to" vids. Like safety,stance,how to hold a sword etc. But I cannot remember ever seeing one,only cutting or of people training. I have other videos. This just goes to show how difficult it is to find them. In any event, I also like seeing demonstrations and "how to" threads. I really want to do more, but I am very time limited when it comes to making anything like that. If i could, I would make one every week and post it for examination and discussion. I share my videos not just to teach others, but to get feedback so I can self-improve. Oddly, I will have time when I go to Germany next week. You gave me a good idea of what you want so far, anything else?
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Post by MichaelRS on Jun 19, 2021 19:12:22 GMT
As to training vids (sorry I couldn't figure the multi quote)... Rufus I remember seeing your vids training in Germany. Yet they could not be considered instructinal,though I did enjoy. It would be great if there were members here with various training techniques showing some basic "how to" vids. Like safety,stance,how to hold a sword etc. But I cannot remember ever seeing one,only cutting or of people training. I have other videos. This just goes to show how difficult it is to find them. In any event, I also like seeing demonstrations and "how to" threads. I really want to do more, but I am very time limited when it comes to making anything like that. If i could, I would make one every week and post it for examination and discussion. I share my videos not just to teach others, but to get feedback so I can self-improve. Oddly, I will have time when I go to Germany next week. You gave me a good idea of what you want so far, anything else? Looking forward to it. Should be easy to find on YouTube, particularly if you have some clever search word title like "Katana water bottle cutting instructions"😉😄... or whatever the subject matter of the video. But yeah, basic "how to", in whatever area, I think a number of people would find useful. Some basic iaito drawing and sheathing and water bottle or pool noodle cutting stuff. Such as blade alignment and economy of motion. Just basically whatever you think would be helpful to somebody starting out.
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tera
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Post by tera on Jun 19, 2021 19:33:17 GMT
Basic maintenance and inspection would be good, as well. How to clean a sword during and after cutting. How to inspect and replace mekugi. Pros and cons of brass or delrin mekugi options. As I am unranked in the sword arts I'e studied I both don't feel qualified (nor have the liability insurance) to post "how to" in sword arts.
One example of something you may miss in a video. Many schools teach using the left thumb to push on the tsuba to release the habaki from a tight saya. DO NOT do this with your thumb in the 12 o'clock position. You may accidentally over extend the thumb and cut yourself on the blade. The people I trained with recommended pushing from a 1 o'clock position, off-line of the cutting edge.
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