New Katana -- Help Me

[Mongo the Mutterer]

Help!

My fiance and I decided to purchase a "real" Katana to decorate a spare bedroom. Well, as usual, I dived in, did a bunch of research and purchased one.

I need some references for basic practice drills, and inside drills have to take into account that you can't swing a dead cat around my home without hittiing a live one...

Thanks,


Mongo

 

[Third_Rail]

Well, first off, which did you buy?

What's the tsuka length? Blade length? Do you have any iaito training?

 

[Mongo the Mutterer]

Well, first off, which did you buy?

What's the tsuka length? Blade length? Do you have any iaito training?

Paul Chen Practical Katana, tsuka 11 3/4", 28" Blade, No Iaido training...

 

[Boom-stick]

Help!


I need some references for basic practice drills, and inside drills have to take into account that you can't swing a dead cat around my home without hittiing a live one...

Thanks,


Mongo

Watch Star Wars episodes I-VI many, many times, then Kill Bill, then Highlander, that should give you a good grounding.

 

[walking arsenal]

There are several good books out there that will show you the basics but that is no substitute for a good instructor correcting the small flaws in your form. Go find a good martial arts school that teaches what your looking for, it'll be worth the price to learn to use your sword properly and safely.

Put another way, with the sword youve got if you fool with it without instruction you could easily cut and arm or leg to the bone. Not fun.

 

[hso]

You should get some personal training in the basics.

Contact these folks in your area and ask them if the can refer you to a school for the basics of handling the katana.

http://www.stlki.org/

 

[kid_couteau]

First either place yourself or your cats outside

Be mindful of significant other who might wander into the room.

Remember to hold onto the non-pointy end

Thats about all i know

Kid

 

[Mongo the Mutterer]

Thanks for the good and advise guys.

Mongo

 

[Third_Rail]

Okay, I wasn't sure if you had any formal training. I'd go ahead with hso's advice.


Also, see if you can pick up a book or two on iaito.

 

[Roundeyesamurai]

OK, I am going to wade in here and (hopefully) not burst too many bubbles.

Firstly: Instruction is a good thing; however, unfortunately, the number of legitimate Japanese swordsmanship instructors in North America is extremely small. The overwhelming majority (I'd say more than 90%) who claim to teach Japanese swordsmanship, made up their curriculum without any competent instruction themselves.

Likewise, many whose credentials are legitimate, don't train with live blades, and have probably NEVER actually done any work with a live blade. They train with iaito, which are blades that can't be sharpen. For lack of a better description, it's a butter knife in the shape of a katana.

Therefore, there are very few instructors whose credentials are legitimate AND who are competent to teach live-blade material. They're scarce, and the few of them are mostly concentrated in New York and California.

However, if you go to http://www.swordforum.com , register (requires actual first and last name), and inquire, you'll be extremely likely to find a good instructor who can teach you relevant material.