|
|
Post by Dalaran1991 on Oct 8, 2022 16:12:37 GMT
It's me again with those eccentric weapon matchup. This time we pit the famous Nito against the (in)famous sword and buckler.
About the matchup itself I only know 2 Nito kata whereas my friend is very good at the sword & buckler, so that was a tough fight. The wakizashi by it very nature does not protect you as well as a buckler, and it's hard to actually bring it to use as an offensive weapon, unless you do a really good parry first but the buckler is better at binding.
What I find effective is using the wakizashi to feint and the katana to follow up, you just have to be careful not to expose your wrist/arm.
All in all I still prefer to just have 1 Katana in this situation, or in most situations really. Even Musashi only advocates Nito in very specific circumstances, and even then there are probably better weapons to use.
Or, I guess I can throw my waki at him and then charge with the katana :P I've heard this was actually a legit technique but it's not mentioned in any source.
Thoughts?
|
|
pgandy
Moderator
Senior Forumite
Posts: 10,296
|
Post by pgandy on Oct 9, 2022 15:23:02 GMT
Generally speaking, I find modern man neglects the concept of a shield and only concentrates on the sword. I place as much importance on my shield as my blade. I have three. A commercial heater, the prettiest that must be designed for many engagements, seems to be indestructible but too heavy. A 12” buckler that I like. And a homemade 23” jobby, that’s my favourite. It gives more coverage than the buckler while handling about the same. It wasn’t made to last more than one serious engagement against a machete, the weapon that I’d most likely come up against in a real situation.
|
|
|
|
Post by blairbob on Oct 10, 2022 3:12:05 GMT
I have heard of Koryu that will throw just about anything. Bo shuriken, kozuka, swords, polearms. If it can be thrown, they will throw it.
Back in Okinawan Kobudo, when we trained with sai rather "zai", we would carry a third behind our back which would allow us to throw a sai and have another to spare.
We trained how to throw the sai and in some kata, they are often thrown at the feet.
Yes, it's an Okinawan (peasant) system but the premise is just as valid. Use whatever you've got to win. Besides as a peasant, you don't have to hold back against foreign Japanese who are subjugating your people and think themselves superior.
|
|
|
|
Post by RufusScorpius on Oct 10, 2022 11:23:51 GMT
Throwing things is a perfectly acceptable technique. Watch the video below of a montage I did back in May- I think it was the next weekend after Paris. We specifically wanted to test unlike weapons against each other and we did quite a lot with nito vs. buckler. Nito just seems weak in defense- it's hard to stop a blow since you only have the wrist to hold it and a solid hit will just push right through. I had much better luck using the kats as kind of a pair of scissors in mutual support. See the montage video below. My take away was that the buckler is quite a formidable weapon combination and one that I would like to practice more. I also agree that I would rather have just one sword to think about, but perhaps that is due to my familiarity with the one and my ignorance of the other. There are some things about nito that are analogous to the buckler- I think there's a good technique to nito, but I just don't know what it is. On the other hand, there is a reason why dual wield isn't exactly popular in Japan... sbg-sword-forum.forums.net/thread/67972/sparring-montage-essen-germany-2022Looking at your vid in slo-mo, look at the exchange at 2:05. There is the strength of the dual wield- but you didn't capitalize on it. The off hand had an open to hit the opponent's armpit in an upward strike. To see these openings requires a lot of practice and a different mindset with the nito. It's definitely complicated to think about both hands independently, but with practice I found that defense is done with both swords in support of each other, but when the blow is stopped, then one hand or the other needs to strike. It's not dissimilar to the buckler in which the sword and shield support each other, but then you can separate to strike. |
|
|
|
Post by Dalaran1991 on Nov 4, 2022 23:35:28 GMT
Throwing things is a perfectly acceptable technique. Watch the video below of a montage I did back in May- I think it was the next weekend after Paris. We specifically wanted to test unlike weapons against each other and we did quite a lot with nito vs. buckler. Nito just seems weak in defense- it's hard to stop a blow since you only have the wrist to hold it and a solid hit will just push right through. I had much better luck using the kats as kind of a pair of scissors in mutual support. See the montage video below. My take away was that the buckler is quite a formidable weapon combination and one that I would like to practice more. I also agree that I would rather have just one sword to think about, but perhaps that is due to my familiarity with the one and my ignorance of the other. There are some things about nito that are analogous to the buckler- I think there's a good technique to nito, but I just don't know what it is. On the other hand, there is a reason why dual wield isn't exactly popular in Japan... sbg-sword-forum.forums.net/thread/67972/sparring-montage-essen-germany-2022Looking at your vid in slo-mo, look at the exchange at 2:05. There is the strength of the dual wield- but you didn't capitalize on it. The off hand had an open to hit the opponent's armpit in an upward strike. To see these openings requires a lot of practice and a different mindset with the nito. It's definitely complicated to think about both hands independently, but with practice I found that defense is done with both swords in support of each other, but when the blow is stopped, then one hand or the other needs to strike. It's not dissimilar to the buckler in which the sword and shield support each other, but then you can separate to strike. Damn been away with life and work for too long, but it's good to hear from you Scorpio. Hope the trip to Germany went well :D Yeap, good eye, I missed quite a few opportunities. As mentioned I'm just not that good with Nito, or any one handed weapon for that matter. I need to have both hands on my weapon lol. But I assume Im definitely not alone and this is partly why dual wielding was so rare. It's very unnatural to use both weapons effectively in a fight. Nito/Musashi got way overhyped. Not to say that it didn't work but there was a reason he didn't fight Kojiro with 2 swords, and instead use a long oar stick :D |
|
|
|
Post by RufusScorpius on Nov 5, 2022 1:19:12 GMT
Yes, I'm also very weak with one-hand sword skills. It's simply a matter of not having trained and practiced single hand techniques. Trying to use TWO single hand swords... now that's a challenge. I am getting better (slowly) but I still have significant defects in my technique.
I think Musashi's legend was largely built on the fact that he was very good with nito, and that separated him out from pretty much every body else at the time. I'm not so sure he was the superman that the stories tell but nonetheless he definitely used two swords effectively- and he's in the history books and I'm not, so there's that...
|
|
|
|
Post by treeslicer on Nov 13, 2022 4:48:25 GMT
Dual wielding: How would you use Nito against Sword Buckler? Thoughts? Forget the katana. Gimme a tactical Benelli in my right hand, from my right hip, and an Uzi in my left hand. Now that's dual-wielding!!  
Works better against rock-throwing peasants, too (Musashi lost that one).  |
|
