The Mystery of The katana

[Wicht]

Not a very good one though. Sure, if you've got the shield anyway, you might bash a guy with it from time to time, but if you don't need the shield for defense, you certainly wouldn't keep it around for the offense.

Not unless it had spring loaded blades, or a hidden spear-chucker, with which to catch the enemy off-guard. Though for that sort of thing, I understand baby carriages work better in battle.

Sorry couldn't resist. This is actually a fascinating thread and I've enjoyed reading it very much.

 

[billd91]

Not a very good one though. Sure, if you've got the shield anyway, you might bash a guy with it from time to time, but if you don't need the shield for defense, you certainly wouldn't keep it around for the offense.

Just to continue the tangent: You might want to consult how the Roman legionaires were trained. Using the shield as a weapon was a integral part of their training and a significant element in their success against the Celts. Of course, it was also an important part of their defense, so they weren't inclined to ditch it for either defense or offense.

 

[The Shaman]

Not unless it had spring loaded blades, or a hidden spear-chucker, with which to catch the enemy off-guard.

I think you're talking about one of these bad boys.



I actually statted this up for my Flashing Blades campaign

 

[El Mahdi]

I am happy to admit to absolutely no expertise on the subject...

That's cool. I hope you don't think that I'm purporting to be any kind of expert on this either. I've just done a lot of reading on this in the last couple of years.

Now [MENTION=77019]Galloglaich[/MENTION] ...I see him as an expert (he might not, but that's his problem). He's really opened my eyes to a lot of this with his thread. He's got some really awesome info in there.

 

[Klaus]

I think the obsession with Katanas began in the late 70s/early 80s, when the economic boom of Japan gave the impression that everything made in Japan was better/more efficient. This is about the same time as the rise of the ninja in cultural awareness, and movie ninja wielded katanas. The "folded a thousand times" thing about katana-making probably made way to a movie or some other cultural element (without the accompanying explanation "to make up for the poor quality of the steel") and presto, the Myth of the Katana was created.

Of course, then Highlander came along and made it all worse.

 

[Plane Sailing]

So, why are Katanas so popular?

Are they still so popular?

I kinda thought that boat had sailed, landed at another port and been decommissioned by now!

Cheers

 

[Korgoth]

As an aside, since shields were mentioned, plate armor basically makes a shield redundant. They were largely abandoned by the HYW by those who had access to plate.

 

[Dausuul]

I think the obsession with Katanas began in the late 70s/early 80s, when the economic boom of Japan gave the impression that everything made in Japan was better/more efficient. This is about the same time as the rise of the ninja in cultural awareness, and movie ninja wielded katanas. The "folded a thousand times" thing about katana-making probably made way to a movie or some other cultural element (without the accompanying explanation "to make up for the poor quality of the steel") and presto, the Myth of the Katana was created.

Of course, then Highlander came along and made it all worse.

Ironically, the use of katanas in Highlander made perfect sense given the rest of the movie. If your goal is to decapitate an unarmored foe, katana and battle-axe are probably your two best options for weaponry.

(That said, it's a little bewildering that the immortals of Highlander didn't wear gorgets. Since they could be temporarily disabled if not slain by "fatal" wounds in other areas, a helmet and breastplate would not have gone amiss either... but a gorget seems like an absolute necessity. And if you can hide a katana under your trenchcoat, a metal collar should be no problem.)

 

[Plane Sailing]

I recently re-watched '300', and it was a good advert for the spear and large shield Seriously though, I've often thought that the spear was under-represented as a suitable weapon in D&D.

Although my favourite individual weapon is probably the quarterstaff, inspired by the contemporary writeup of Richard Peeke vs the spanish, recounted here Quarterstaff vs. Rapiers: Peeke’s Three to One | Martial History Magazine as well as other historical english martial arts sources.

Is talking about wooden sticks far enough away from Katanas yet?

 

[Diamond Cross]

Samuri sometimes practiced with a wooden version of the Katana.