World Of Swords

Samurai stories are world-renowned and there are an overwhelming number of movies, plays and books that feature Samurai and related fictions. Really Samurai is the name of a strong military caste that existed in feudal Japan. Same as the stories about them, their real history is also enchanting for everyone irrespective of age.

To understand the development of Samurai art we must first understand how this warrior class came into existence. It was in the 12th century when Japan was suppressed in conflicts between two powerful local clans known as the Taira and the Minamato. It was during this time that the Japanese system of governance known as Shogunate with the Shogun on top was formed.

Daimyo who were much the same to the Dukes in Europe were the second powerful authority in the country. Samurai were the soldiers of these dukes. There were Ronin in the Samurai people who became masterless as their masters had committed suicide.

The Samurai class had many special rights. Unlike the commoners who were not licensed to carry any weapons with them the Samurai was allowed to carry two swords with them. They even had the right to behead any commoner who happened to offend them.

There were different ranks within the Samurai class as well. There were three basic classes of Samurai named the housemen who were the administrators, the mounted samurai who were permitted to fight on horse back and the foot soldiers.

Over the years the role of the Samurai changed as they now became independent farmers who were limited to the castles. They were also authorized to a certain percentage of the rice tax based on their ranks. The code of ethics followed by the Samurai class was known as Bushido which meant the way of the warrior. It was based around obedience towards their leader called the daimyo.

A strange custom of committing suicide named Suppuku existed among them. They believed it as a honourable way of death and was performed at the battle field or outside the battle as a formal function. Gradually, the era of battles came to an end and the Samurai class dissolved in the mainstream of the Japanese life.

The term Samurai needs no clarification because of the fame they gained via different kinds of media and fictions. Their history and life triggers curiosity in anyone outside Japan. Their strange customs and the perfect discipline are hard to swallow for the people around the world.

The Samurai life had a great impact on the Japanese art of those times because of the power and position they had in the society. Their life, history and culture had been depicted in the Japanese art works with all the fascination. These arts catch the attention of everyone including those who are not at all familiar with the Japanese way of life.

Japanese Samurai art is an important part of the warrior creed in Japan. To learn more about Traditional Japanese tattoo art please click on the links.

It is a loser as far as weapons go. Thin and underweight, it is not able to take the bashing of force like a full grown sabre would. Having curve only at the tip, it is not able to slice through mighty armor as would a legendary samurai sword.

Yet, in the skinny is the strength. And in the lack of curve is the art. Indeed, the tai chi sword may be the ultimate weapon.

Light and flitting, skinny and delicate, it is more like a knitting needle than a sword. Yet a knitting needle has been known to carve the most beautiful of garments. And to observe knitting needles wielded by a serious and grim-lipped granny is to see the twinkling of art come robustly alive.

At the far end of the length of steel that is a tai chi sword the tip curves, a mere inch of slicing surface. Yet, any person who has experienced the sharp scratch left by the swing of a small needle knows its potency. Indeed, a needle tip can leave a jagged wound that is unwilling to lend itself to ready repair.

The real point here is that such a delicate instrument is not meant for bashing or massive slicing any more than a doctors scalpel. It is meant for reaching in and tipping. It is meant for the delicate move which slides in under, over and past the basher and the cutter.

A delicate insertion of the wicked, little tip, a quick flick of the firm and practiced wrist, and the aims of the warrior are attained. This art, this true art, is an appreciation of the sphere of space surrounding true warrior. This appreciation of space is truly at the heart of all martial arts.

Cutters and bashers are fence painters, splashing indiscriminately, and ruling by force. The wielder of the tai chi sword, however, is a an artist, a sculptor, a doctor. He rules by intelligence.

For he who parries and thrusts with the tai chi sword must hold sway by exercising the intelligence to perceive, and thus undo, the ruthlessness of the cutter and the force of the basher. He must cut under and over brute force with intelligence to prove himself. Therein is the striving of the artist, the accomplishment of the unique individual, and the manifestation of the art.

Al Case has studied tai chi for 3 decades+ years. You can get a copy of his ebook at Monster Martial Arts.

The lights don't click on when you enter your house. You head for the circuit box in the garage, and you find out why the lights don't go on. A mugger flies through the darkness at you, screaming and swinging a club, and you are quickly knocked unconscious.

You think a fight will happen on a good surface with good lighting, so that you can see everything that is happening? You think the mugger is going to ring the front door bell and tell you to take your best karate stance because he want s to home invade you? You've been taking too many drugs, my friend.

The fight will happen on the worst possible surface with the worst lighting at the worst time. The fight will happen on the fresh watered lawn in your backyard under the stars. That mugger is going to pick terrain that gives him the best advantage, and the fight is going to happen when you least expect it

Fighting in the dark is easy, if you're willing to have a little fun. The first thing to do is just move around your house late at night. Turn the lights out, close your eyes, and work on getting past the furniture.

Pretend there is somebody there, shadow box, do your forms, and soon you will have developed an uncanny feeling for moving through the darkness. This matter of developing intuition is at the heart of the matter. You don't want to rely on your eyes, you want to just know where everything is.

Practice climbing a tree when it is dark, moving around your backyard like a ninja, actually building up to rolls and gymnastics. You can also set up obstacles, ladders up to ladders down, climbing over the house, learning how to navigate in pitch dark no matter what. When you get good, have somebody else set up the obstacles, now the game is going to turn unpredictable, and your awareness is going to have to turn up.

Finally, you must get friends to play with. Have the fellows you train with doing this with you, and start having wars. Two teams, both dressed in black, playing in the dark, remember to wear mouthpieces and practice relaxing when you fall.

In the end, it will be no big deal if a fight happens in the dark. You can have a lot of fun, and while becoming more aware and training yourself. You will have fun, be the ninja...and that poor mugger will run right into a box of fur and razor blades without knowing what hit him!