Weapon check...

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"Someone set us up the bomb!"

 

You are correct in saying they were samurai only. The ashigaru, who were poorer and not as well equipped, did not form permanent units. One could compare them to a European peasant army, and so I don't cound them as the lowest level of foot soldier.

The samurai were the only real standing troops during times of peace (to my knowledge).

 

Actually, the Samurai were high class warriors. There were relatively few Samurai when compared to the number of regular army. Samurai were like officers. There were also bands of Samurai that could be compared to Spec. Ops. units of the modern world. But one must remember that in feudal Japan, one regiment of troops was comparable to several dozen regiments of modern units when looking at size.

The highest ranking foot soldiers (below Samurai) in the feudal East bore spears and the like. No, (in case anyone is wondering), although I said my favorite Eastern weapon was a glaive, they were not carried by armies. The glaive's shaft was constructed of rattan (similar to bamboo) and could be easily hacked in two by a katana.

Oh yeah, and a katana takes about twelve years to make and has anywhere from twenty to a several hundred thousand layers in it.

 

Aye, the katana is definately a superior weapon. But for my style, only the rapier or short sword would do. I'd love to learn to fight with a katana. I always watch the class next to mine placticing with katanas while I deftly disarm one of my classmates with a rapier-like weapon.

 

Hey, don't forget the mace!

It's a very intimidating, but very effective weapon too.

A thick, sturdy shaft and a massive flanged head. Aah....savor it's feel, it's weight in your hands...

Don't you feel powerful as you wield it?

 

i dont like swords or maces or the like, i can handle them easily but i prefer grace, style, speed and beauty for my weapons.

i like small daggers, switch blades, hunting knives, tantos etc
i like the slahsing motion of knives, the way they feel, i especially like throwing knives, i am accurtae within 10centimeters up to 36 metres.

i like the speed and grace of small weapons, they just feel good in my hands.

 

though I know that I'm probably in a minority I actually like a good sling, just love to grab hold of a couple of balls and fling em at high speed then listen for the gentle thud as they hit my target square in the eye muhahaha! (or lower if i'm feeling particularly nasty) they are terribly under rated...
and herf, dint your mumsy tell ya not to play with knifes? i must admit that i favour the dagger as well, being a graceful female i feel no need to weild ungainly lumps o metal about not that i mind a good strong male who knows how to handle his weapon...

 

This may seem strange...I live part of the time in africa and I dont have much to do there. I have an extremely large collection of weapons. I practice them on all sorts of things like trees...cacti...my dog j/k. but anywayz what Im trying to get at is this: you can get more power out of using a katana 2 handed than you can out of a big heavy 2H sword. why is this? well, its because, in the words of some old samurai dude "sharpness comes from the user, not the blade" you can use the katana with more finesse than you can w/ the 2H sword, so, with training a katana can slice right through armour that would stop a 2H sword. As for missile weapons...BOW ALL THE WAY! I can hit a 5" diameter circle at 100 paces with a good longbow.

 

my weapon of choice would be a yoshiyuki +7 "quick death", with a crystal blade, ruby hilt with emerald stones imbeded in it, and a dragon wrapping around the bottom end of the blade, with no mid blade support, and a diamond seathe with rich medieval engravings of emeralds, with high-quality fur inside

 

Mine would be dual desert eagles.50
To blow the kneecaps off people who simply stare at me the wrong way.

 

good idea egg, you can sell it and with the proceeds you can pay a mercenary troop to protect you

 

Call me old fashioned but I like the staff.

 

Bel! You're in Tang Soo Do? I've been in it for a little over 5 years. I rarely hear of anyone else in it.

By the way, my weapon would probably be a staff or a katana.

 

i have a real sword, it's not like some yoshiyuki, but it is a bastard sword made of real metal that weighs about 60 pounds, pretty hard to wield, bought it at a renaissance fair about 2 years ago

 

I'm currently training in Kenjutsu. Not formal as I do not have the time to seek out a dojo due to my impending national service.

I'm learning the basic stances and strikes from a book using a wooden katana. Boy do my blisters and shoulders hurt from a thousand swings a day...and I know I'm still under-training....

 

Dang it. My posts aren't showing up.

[This message has been edited by Vile (edited April 05, 2001).]

 

Katana vs Two Handed sword.

I've taken my inspiration from Duncan McCloude on this one. As an ignorant punk, he used a two-handed blade, but as his skill grew, he used the katana. (It ain't easy being cheesy!)

Personally, I like using the saber. There aren't many magic ones out there (unless you have a very forgiving DM), but it adds a certain flair. Dual weild that with a sword breaker, and you can stand very well against most thugs!