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<blockquote data-quote="Izumi" data-source="post: 6029853" data-attributes="member: 6668759"><p>Everybody knows the katana descends from the short, and slightly curved, thrusting sword of the Japanese pikemen called the uchigatana. Mounted Japanese warriors used their traditional sword, a more radically curved one, called a jindachi. Those higher ranking warriors leading these groups of pikemen found the tachi not as suitable in the ranks of halberd and pike, and thus commissioned smaller versions of the tachi (now called kodachi), or shortened the tangs (nakago) of their tachi, which adjusted the swords curvature to the form we know as the katana. The new design became so popular that versions began to be produced in the shape of shortened tachi in some cases, and slightly longer versions of the uchigatana in others (These two different curvatures are still the most popular variations). This Japanese longsword we now call the katana was therefore never an optimized design for combat, but merely an adjustment to be adequate to the changes in warfare. When worn together with the katana the smaller sword came to be known as the kogatana. Much of the assumed finesse in its use comes from 'kata', and is merely the result of the Japanese aesthetic to stylize/beautify. The surviving Japanese martial traditions themselves are descendents of more practical battlefield tactics. After the Period of the Country at War the Japanese began to increasingly katafy (for lack of a better term) their whole existence to an amazing level, and form came to be considered more important than substance in a lot of cases. The sword and the methods of its use were not immune to the trend. The design of the katana continued to be adequate for the ambush tactics of the largely unarmored/underarmored Edo period. The finesse needs to be removed from the katana or given to all swords. Furthermore, the hand-and-a-half bastard sword should be reduced in damage to equal the katana and arming sword. There is no significant advantage between the use and capabilities of these three swords except the skill of the wielder.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Izumi, post: 6029853, member: 6668759"] Everybody knows the katana descends from the short, and slightly curved, thrusting sword of the Japanese pikemen called the uchigatana. Mounted Japanese warriors used their traditional sword, a more radically curved one, called a jindachi. Those higher ranking warriors leading these groups of pikemen found the tachi not as suitable in the ranks of halberd and pike, and thus commissioned smaller versions of the tachi (now called kodachi), or shortened the tangs (nakago) of their tachi, which adjusted the swords curvature to the form we know as the katana. The new design became so popular that versions began to be produced in the shape of shortened tachi in some cases, and slightly longer versions of the uchigatana in others (These two different curvatures are still the most popular variations). This Japanese longsword we now call the katana was therefore never an optimized design for combat, but merely an adjustment to be adequate to the changes in warfare. When worn together with the katana the smaller sword came to be known as the kogatana. Much of the assumed finesse in its use comes from 'kata', and is merely the result of the Japanese aesthetic to stylize/beautify. The surviving Japanese martial traditions themselves are descendents of more practical battlefield tactics. After the Period of the Country at War the Japanese began to increasingly katafy (for lack of a better term) their whole existence to an amazing level, and form came to be considered more important than substance in a lot of cases. The sword and the methods of its use were not immune to the trend. The design of the katana continued to be adequate for the ambush tactics of the largely unarmored/underarmored Edo period. The finesse needs to be removed from the katana or given to all swords. Furthermore, the hand-and-a-half bastard sword should be reduced in damage to equal the katana and arming sword. There is no significant advantage between the use and capabilities of these three swords except the skill of the wielder. [/QUOTE]
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