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Animo
3rd October 2000, 18:25
Does anyone out there have a good answer to why we have fallen in love with the sword? My friends and I desperately need some answers. I mean ones that the rest of the world can relate to. An answer to give your wife when she asks you why you need another sword. And why you are going to use that sword to cut up straw mats in the back yard. An explanation to why you moved all the furniture out of the living room, put in a wood floor, and mounted mirrors on the walls (Okay my friends don't need an answer for that question, but I still do).

Does your family think you have lost it? Do the neighbors wonder why you dress in funny outfits and run around with a sword? Does your mother hope you will out grow it? Do your co-workers wonder weather you will bring a sword or a gun on the day you go crazy?

Some of my fellow sword practitioners are no help. They are also viewed as suspect by the rest of the world. We get together and give each other knowing looks about the telltale scratches on the ceilings and punctures in the walls. They spend hours with me discussing the "feel" of the perfect cut. We sit around looking at swords, while others wonder what is so different from the last time we looked at those same swords. They sit with me and watch "The Seven Samurai" and "Yojimbo" for the tenth time. My family views them with suspicion as luring me down this strange path.

I think my family is getting ready to abduct and attempt to deprogram me. I need answers quick.

[Edited by animo on 10-04-2000 at 09:21 AM]

FastEd
3rd October 2000, 20:05
Good questions!
I recall a very old statement I read somewhere, that when a man has his sword, he is the master of his own destiny. Anyone who changes him must face his sword and demonstrate his skill in order to best him.
Well something to that effect anyway, although in practice this statement is religated to another century. The feeling of mastery over ones destiny I think is what drives us (well me at any rate). The sword (or any weapon for that matter) is the ultimate equalizer, a persons size does not matter so much as skill. Anyone skilled in its use would feel a sense of confidence when confronting others.

Now apart from this wishy washy stuff I also think it appeals to people because it looks cool, its anacronistic and some people dig that in this increasingly technological society, some are nostalgic for the good ol' days, and others are simply driven to be unique trying to impress their friends with esoterica. I'm quite shure the personel list of why's is endless, these are a few of my own reasons, lets hope more people contribute some of theirs!

glad2bhere
4th October 2000, 17:03
Dear Mike:

As I was reading your contribution I remembered myself in much the same spot, and often. What little insight I have garnered in this matter comes less from what I could tell others, and more from what I tell myself.

The people I have in my life are there for a reason and as such work an influence on my decisions. The word I stress here is "influence", not "control". When I rode a motorcycle, there was always at least one person who couldn't understand what the attraction was. When I taught school--- same thing. When I worked in a bank -- same thing. I can save you some time and energy and tell you that the people who are asking questions will rarely understand your answers.And, I suspect that this response won't be very satisfying to you. I will predict, however, that when you get done banging your head against that invisible wall of non-comprehension and get back to training, your life and your art will shine much brighter.

best Wishes,

Bruce W Sims
http://www.midwesthapkido.com

Tom Smyth
4th October 2000, 18:45
Gee I wish I had a reason other than my mom never let me play with knives when I was little....

john mark
4th October 2000, 21:29
Because it's a lot of fun!!!!!

It is the same reason I gave my wife after a 30 man kumite.

PYRO
4th October 2000, 21:32
I've always been intrigued by weapons. To me the sword is just one more in a series of weapons. Guns, Knives, Swords... I love them all :D (all can be very expensive hobbies). My wife has come to accept the fact that I must have these toys (I realize that these are not really toys). She sees that look in my eyes, groans, rolls her eyes :rolleyes: and pretends to understand (and yes, she really is the boss). Once she even talked me into buying a sword.:D

I started out collecting Samurai swords (trying to collect them is a better description). One day a very wise man :shadowmas said, "To really appreciate these swords, you should learn how to use them", Thank You Bob. I've been hooked ever since. Reasons??? I think it is; A more elegent weapon, from a less civilized time (I know, I swiped most of that statement from the movies). Actually I think it is just TOO COOL. It is the cool factor that hooked me.

What do you tell people??? It doesn't matter what you tell them, they will either understand or they won't, most won't. In the end it just doesn't matter, what is truely important is that you understand.

ericDZR
4th October 2000, 21:44
ok i'm 29 and i still love to ride my skateboard. i'm sure all the kids at the skatepark get a kick out of watching the "older" bald guy skate the half pipe. but they know why...because it's just as much fun as when i was 16. i can't see depriving myself of some of the most enjoyable things in life because i look silly to others. this has taught me alot about how i look at others too. eccentric people don't appear as strange to me as they do to others since i realize where they're coming from. now martial arts may be on a much higher level but we wouldn't do it if we didn't enjoy it. then we could get into the whole Camile Paglia male "sexual personae" discusion but i hate long posts.

gmellis
5th October 2000, 01:24
Gee,i just wanted to learn how to kill people in a most gruesome fashion.

hyaku
5th October 2000, 02:24
I shouldnt need to answer living in Japan. But you would be amazed at the number of Japanese that say to me. Why do you want do all that wierd sword stuff? This also applies to kimono.tea and about everything that has traditional roots

A sad state of affairs in the country where these arts came from.

Of course being attached to a cellular as if its an extension of your arm and having orange hair and ten peirces in your ear is all quite normal. On a recent visit to Thailand young people said to me I hope none of these strange Japanese ideas catch on here.

In Asia, Japan is now as wierd as you can get!

Hyakutake Colin

Animo
5th October 2000, 20:59
From the time I picked up that 400-year-old katana, I was hooked. I could only imagine the history of the object I held in my hands. Passed down through the generations. What battles had it seen? What acts of heroism and infamy had it taken part in? It was a thing of beauty that countless others had admired over the years. The start of its history was carved in the tang. The smith had signed it and noted the samurai who had custom ordered it so many years ago. This was an object I had to have. I burned with the desire to own it. Then I asked the price… :eek:

I left the shop with a slightly rusty blade made in 1932. It was the small piece of history that I could afford. It is that other blade that I often think about when I practice. I think of the long thread of history that links us to the past. :)

Okay, all that is true, but I really do it cause I THINK IT IS COOL AND I LOVE IT. :cool: I enjoy slicing up defenseless straw mats. Who cares if it has no practical use? Who cares if it takes up all your free time? Who cares if it sucks up all your money? I'm just a poor sword addict. :smokin:

PYRO
5th October 2000, 21:47
This sounds like the makings of a party.
A bunch of poor sword addicts getting together to slice up defenseless straw mats and drink beer (notice I said slice first and then drink beer, we want to leave with all of the appendages that we arrived with :saw:). :laugh:

PYRO
5th October 2000, 21:50
Ack! My saw didn't work. :saw:

Animo
5th October 2000, 22:12
I remember someone suggesting we all have a few beers before class to loosen up. :toast: But he also advocates lighting you head on fire while breaking cinder blocks and chasing grizzly bears around the woods with a sword. :up: Maybe there are a few training techniques that are a bit too extreme even for us. :rolleyes:

ScottUK
5th October 2000, 22:31
Who knows why we indulge in such an art. I have no idea where the idea of studying Iaidocame from, but i'll tell you one thing - the love of it just won't go away.

Let us all hope it never does - and that people with the same mentality (or lack of?) as ourselves remain around to keep the arts alive.

May we keep the world at large confused and suspicious - it's good for them to scratch their heads at those odd guys (and girls - sorry Fay!) dressing up in weird clothes and brandishing swords. The neighbours need something to gossip about I guess.


Best wishes to you all,


Scott Halls
Iaidoka (un)extraordinaire :karatekid

WillG
6th October 2000, 01:11
most lofty ideals of chivalry and self-improvement drive my desire for sword practice. It is not the satisfaction of hacking things up; rather it is the desire to polish my spirit that inspires me to spike the mats and reduce them to smaller pieces.
For those that find sword arts "cool" and "rad" I say you are merely a thug with his (her) mind on worldly things. You have yet to transcend to that high level of consciousness where I dwell, untainted by vile earthly concerns. Those that think I appear strange in my skirt and sword are simply ignorant of the high degree of spiritual existence I have achieved.

Tell ya what, though. That SCA stuff is BIZARRE!


-Will ;)

Jay Bell
6th October 2000, 01:31
"Tell ya what, though. That SCA stuff is BIZARRE!"

Oh..you mean the groups that swing shinai like baseball bats? :D

I luvit

Jay

jonesnin
6th October 2000, 05:11
:DSwords & Stuff:D

Personally, I like swords for their aesthetics, the way that they have, over the years, blended form and function.
I have begun to learn how to use the katana and wakizashi (both separate and as daisho), as a part of my training, but I don't learn it (as most non-MA believe), to be able to hack any person I want to pieces, I learn it as a part of the art and to provide an extension for the unarmed taijutsu I learn. Your proficiency with a blade is directly related to your proficiency without one.

I have a small collection of bladed weapons, (not expensive ones mind you, but ones I can afford) including a Spanish calvary sword (circa 1850), a british SAS dagger (Sheffield) and a Indonesian kris, which is my favorite because it is unusual. I have no intention of stopping there. I would like to someday acquire a No-dachi, but they are hard to find.

Tim Wilmot
18th October 2000, 14:30
Why do people play golf, hunt, fish, ride horses? The short answer is because it gives them something. Enjoyment. A place and time to get away from whatever they do during the
day. I see my time with my sword as a haven, from the outside. No one there really cares about what you do all day. We would rather talk about swords. This allows me to
go back each day and face my job or whatever.

The real reason is because it is the most fun you can have with your clothes on period.

Tim Wilmot