World Of Swords

For a long time, numerous folks in the West believed that martial arts was only about using the hands and feet for close combat encounters, so they were surprising when they saw karate weapons being used in movies and during tournaments for the first time. Though many had always believed that the most crucial function of martial arts involved training to fight with the hands and feet, a blade or bo staff or any other tool still plays an important role.

Not everyone in the world of martial arts is always all that accepting of these devices and will frequently question their purpose and practicality in training. The central principle in most martial arts classes is the idea that are bodies must be highly trained and our minds disciplined, and this calls for great agility and super fast reflexes. There are few better ways to practice and enhance your speed and reflexes than to be swinging around an almost unpredictable weapon and learning to gain full control over it, and this is why a lot of these tools are still used today.

Like just about anything else you can think of, these items had to come from somewhere, and where they came from is actually a bit surprising to many people. The short answer is that these instruments were created from ancient farming tools to deadly weapons by farmers who didn't have access to the swords and other things that were used by the imperial forces of that era.

They were not Created by ancient martial arts heroes who wanted new tools to perfect their fighting style; they were just tools that were modified by farmers who needed something to defend their selves with. Each weapon had its own purpose, both on the battlefield and out in the crop fields, whether they were used in planting seeds, flipping the dirt, or grinding up fresh grain for use in making food and medicines. The farmers practiced until they mastered these tools and could fight off any surprise attacks from invaders coming to steal their crops or ravage their homes.

At present, these karate weapons are basically just for practicing and for appearances, so you will mostly only see them during training or in martial arts movies. Despite what people believe, these old farming tools still serve their purpose and are also a lot of fun to watch.

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The earliest mention of military swords in human literature appears in Genesis, Chapter 3, Verse 23, which documents that God stationed an angel and a sword of fire at the gate to the Garden of Eden, blocking all paths to the Tree of Life. The Bible further encourages us to turn out swords into ploughshares, an indication that instead of producing weapons of destruction, we should be producing tools that benefit all of mankind. This sentiment appears time and time again, in speeches by former President of the United States, Ronald Reagan, and in songs by the late musician, Michael Jackson.

The first weapons with cutting edges were daggers fashioned from stone. The length of the stone blade is somewhat limited by its fragile nature. Copper and eventually bronze blades were more ductile, allowing for longer and longer blades leading to the development of the first swords.

The first Bronze Age swords (17th Century BC) were rapiers. They had long, slender blades and were intended for thrusting. As blades were made broader, the weapons were also useful for cutting as well as thrusting. Towards the end of the Bronze Age, the leaf shaped blade became popular, particularly in Western Europe and the British Isles.

The Iron Age (12th Century BC) brought mass produced bladed weapons. Iron was more readily available and easier to work with so mass production was possible. Apart from being able to bend slightly, the quality was not much better than those fashioned from bronze.

Eventually, swordsmiths found that adding carbon to molten iron produced a stronger alloy. Techniques such as quenching, followed by the process of tempering, further improved weaponry. Quenching hardens steel, but leaves it brittle. Tempering removes the brittleness. Longer blades were able to return to their original shape if bent in battle and were less easily damaged.

Over the centuries, the weapon continued to evolve all over the world. China, India and Northern Europe all made contributions to the design. Today, military swords are used mainly for ceremonial purposes.

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Basically, military swords are bladed weapons used by soldiers in the military for cutting and thrusting into enemy forces. The sword may have a blade of one or two edges, a hilt, and often times a cross-guard.

At one end of the blade is the tip at the other there is the hilt which consists of the grip, pommel and usually a cross-guard. The pommel will be a heavy metal ball welded on the end of the grip to counter balance the blade. The hand holds the grip and the cross-guard protects the hand.

Often a gauntlet would be worn as well when using a sabre. The gauntlet is a thick, heavy glove made of leather and often chain mail to protect the users hand. The term "take it to the hilt" is directly related to the action of thrusting a sword so far into something, that the blade is covered right up to the hilt or cross-guard, if it has one.

Swordsmanship has stayed very much the same over the centuries. The blades themselves have changed through time and especially cultures, but, the actual technique of using the sabre has stayed relatively constant. The sport of fencing, which has been a part of the Modern Olympic Games since the first one, is based on the concept of dueling. Only now, there is a lot of safety equipment used so no one actually get hurt.

The sword evolved, from the dagger, during the Bronze Age and the earliest fragments date to around 1600 BC. From that point, there have been varying designs throughout cultures around the world but, today are known for their ceremonial value rather than military use. There are many famous swords that on display in museums around the world. These weapons were used in battles to slay human beings during times of war. The evidence of this is embodied on the upper 2/3 of the blades on these swords.

Example of famous military swords on display, are the Wallace Sword used by the Scottish knight William Wallace around the year 1300. It is is housed at the National Monument in Stirling, Scotland. The blade itself is 4 feet by 4 inches and weights 6lbs. Another is the blade of Napoleon Bonaparte. In 1799, he commanded a coup that won him political and military command of France. From there he went on to war with most of the super powers of Europe. In 2007, his gold encrusted sword, that was used in battle was auctioned off for about 6.5 million dollars. It had been in his family since the early 1800's and had been past down through the generations.

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