Tuesday, September 27, 2011

How To When a Sword Fight - Samurai Style Fighting

According to many popular post-apocalyptic movies (Six String Samurai, for one), someday we're going to run out of bullets. How are you going to survive when Hollywood's not there with Jean-Claude or Mel Gibson? Read on.
Draw your sword before you engage. We've all seen samurai movies where Musashi or his equivalent draws and kills in one slice, but you aren't Musashi and he was just showing off. It takes longer to draw a sword than it does to get hit. On the other hand, if your sword and scabbard are suitable for a quick draw, and you practice, this can be a great surprise attack.
Engage slowly. If you run in like the Baron von Munchausen, your enemy only needs to stick out his sword and wait. By engaging slowly, you are able to maintain control and focus on key positions - your feet, your sword, and your opponent's sword.
Guard yourself at all times. If you don't protect yourself, you'll lose. Keep your sword in position so it runs from the bottom of your torso to the top of your head.
Keep your sword out in front of your body, called putting your opponent "on point". The farther out your sword is extended, the farther away your opponent will stay and the less chance you have of getting sliced.
Measure twice, cut once. In the vast majority of cases, medieval sword fights ended with the first blow struck. If your blow misses, you'll open yourself up to attack. Make sure you see a trajectory for your sword that will result in a positive hit.
Win by not losing. Concentrate on staying alive. Stay on the defensive. Eventually you'll get the opportunity to defeat your opponent with minimal danger to yourself.
Keep distance. If you are out of range of an instant stroke you can take time to plan and maneuver. If you are in range of an instant stroke you should have already started your instant stroke or you will be struck.
Be confident. If you act scared, your opponent will take advantage of your lack of confidence and will attempt to frighten you into making a false move. If you are aggressive and display confidence your Opponent may be intimidated by you instead.

You must learn proper parrying form or you will be cooked...you can not possibly dodge all attacks.
What is important is that you learn to parry while exposing as little of the vital targets on your body as possible.
In defence, when it's enough to only move your wrist, move just the wrist. When the wrist is not enough, move the elbow. When the elbow is not enough, move the shoulder. When none of this is enough, retreat.
Retaliate. When your opponent attacks, he leaves some of his body exposed. Parry his blow, then strike back.
Know the length of your sword. If both fighters are correctly judging length, you'll only ever have the opportunity to hit with the top six inches or so. Keep your eye on your sword and that of your opponent at all times. However, focusing just on the opponent's sword is not advisable, since you can be misled. A skilled fighter should be able to judge the direction of the opponent's next blow by examining his posture.
In fencing (fighting with a stabbing only sword), always keep your sword point directly at your opponent, if you parry (block) exactly to the end of the side of their body they will not be able to hit you.
Overextending yourself (parrying past that point) will leave your vulnerable.
Maintain your balance. Keep your weight evenly balanced on both your feet. Never cross your feet as this will throw you off balance; only the slightest bit of force can knock you over. There is a reason that almost all martial arts stress balance (there are one or two weird ones where your constantly falling and recovering.) It gives you more options to move. But, don't present your legs as an easy target either. If your opponent allows you to take advantage of a leg shot, use it. If your opponent goes down, then the fight is over.
Positioning of the body is important. Keep your body perpendicular and the shoulder of your sword arm
pointed toward your opponent (like fencers do). This makes your torso a smaller target and will
protect many of your vital organs.
If you're using both hands to grasp a sword (as with a so-called "bastard" or a hand-and-a-half
sword), keep your strong hand right under the swordguard and the other hand (the off-hand) right above
the pommel. Keep your arms bent at elbows, with your strong fist in front of your solar plexus and the
sword positioned as described above. When defending, your strong arm should not move far from this
position.
If your sword is properly balanced, it will work as a lever. Use your off-hand to guide it, and your strong hand to lend the force to the attack or parry.
Examination of eyewitness accounts show that many sword duels were won by gashing the opponent's arms or thighs, then waiting until blood loss made them faint, at which point they were at their assailant's mercy. Hands, feet, arms and legs are legitimate and useful targets, and will often be easier to strike than the torso or head.
Watch your opponent carefully. Notice where he is looking - this may be the area where he's preparing to strike.
When your opponent is about to attack, his fists and shoulders may tense for a second. Be aware of the terrain around you and use it to your advantage. Sending an opponent tumbling backwards over an obstacle behind him will surely help. Same as positioning him in such a way so that he is fighting with his face towards the sun (you can identify that by looking at your shadow - it
should be pointing in your opponents direction). Just remember that same tricks can be used against you. "The best samurai is the one who never draws his sword."

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