I wanted to learn how to sword fight, but i still need to work out my body :( i even bought a 68 inch seperoth* sword and 4 wood blades to practice :)

*Spelled wrong - from FF VII

Not really... I'm too weak to try it seriously, though, I'd gladly train myself anyway, especially if I could get my hand on a good katana. It would not be a bad thing, if I could defend myself with something like that, and I like katanas anyway, too.

Entarul

man Ironlynx your so lucky to have pll to spar with my closest sparing partner lives a few hundred miles from me I have tride to find more people to spar with but I live in a very small town I use a peace of PVC hanging on a rope to practice but you jest cant beet sparing with a real person.

Yeah, it's true that I was lucky to have people to spar with often, but in the last few years we've had fewer and fewer chances to get together and do anything. The guy that joined the army has been back in town recently, though, and we where able to get together again this week. Ahh, good times. ^_^

Good I believe that a skilled swordsman always learns winning or learning that he depends on that has razonpara to confront its truth nocreen although a gained fight does not mean that haigas learned but of one fights lost for esotendria that to haver analyzed later it

RubyMoon

Oh, i use swords! I do Martial Arts (Kung Fu). I started learning when i was five years old. I use the longsword and sometimes the broadsword! Yep, eventhough im a female, i can wield a sword!

Woah! I really envy you T_T How did you start? Although I'm quite old to begin (I'm 17 and haven't wield a sword in my life), better late than never...I only have a bokken and I practise alone, this way I can get used to it but can't improve my skills...

I'd love to practice some Samurai arts, I love katanas.

Actually, the other day, my sensei brought his sword to the dojo. It's insured for eleven thousand dollars, and it's also two hundred years old. Then he let me hold it and train with it. For another hour he showed me and this girl like, five different ways to draw and kill with a bokken. IT WAS SWEET!

I am fanatic of the swords, my favourite ia the Katana, is cool.

The thing I have learned is that you have to start before you can learn and practice alot to get anywer at all I hope to learn kendo and iaido in the futer but I dont know if Ill be able to.I try to follow bushido but I realy wish that I new more about it.

I got intrested in swordfighting when I read a book on the legendary samurai master of the sword Musashi Miyamoto. Started training with books and videos using a broom stick but now I got a real sword to practice with. It's fun to learn and get a good excercise but would never use it in a real life fight. The Highlander movies are fun to watch because they show good sword fighting action.

Sabaku-no-Leti

Woah! I really envy you T_T How did you start? Although I'm quite old to begin (I'm 17 and haven't wield a sword in my life), better late than never...I only have a bokken and I practise alone, this way I can get used to it but can't improve my skills...

Don't ever think you are too old! Although I played with swords as a kid, I didn't take it up seriously until I was 20 and I didn't begin martial arts training until I was 25. While reactions can degrade a bit as you get older, you can continue to get significantly stronger up and into the late 50's and beyond. One of the competitors in the 2006 World's Strongest Man Competition semi-finals was 56!

If you are practicing alone and want something simple to improve your skills, you can work on body balance. As you know, almost everyone is right or left side dominant, which causes a person to gravitate toward one side when fighting. This is an extreme liability when fighting, be it open handed or with weapons. To fix this, a good fighter needs to develop equal balance and reactions on both sides.

As an example, if you do a right hand over left two-handed grip with right leg forward for an initial stance and then step->slash->parry if you are right handed, you should shift to left dominant and do your form twice as many times. Over time, you will develop body balance and should you ever experiment with fighting with two weapons at once, learning will be MUCH easier. Of course, left handed people would do the above but opposite.

Over the years, I've developed modified ambidexterity. By modified, I mean that in some skillsets such as fighting, I can used both side equally, and in fact, to such a point that I switch back and forth without thinking.

My friend Angela is teaching me how to use a sword. She's been in training for quite a few years now and recently she learned of my interest and decided to give it a go. We're only using bamboo sticks for combat at the moment, but the art is extremely exciting to learn and practice. I still have a long way to go, but I'm getting better.

I want to take Tameshigiri classes, but I don't think there are any around here.

theironwarrior

Don't ever think you are too old! Although I played with swords as a kid, I didn't take it up seriously until I was 20 and I didn't begin martial arts training until I was 25. While reactions can degrade a bit as you get older, you can continue to get significantly stronger up and into the late 50's and beyond. One of the competitors in the 2006 World's Strongest Man Competition semi-finals was 56!

If you are practicing alone and want something simple to improve your skills, you can work on body balance. As you know, almost everyone is right or left side dominant, which causes a person to gravitate toward one side when fighting. This is an extreme liability when fighting, be it open handed or with weapons. To fix this, a good fighter needs to develop equal balance and reactions on both sides.

As an example, if you do a right hand over left two-handed grip with right leg forward for an initial stance and then step->slash->parry if you are right handed, you should shift to left dominant and do your form twice as many times. Over time, you will develop body balance and should you ever experiment with fighting with two weapons at once, learning will be MUCH easier. Of course, left handed people would do the above but opposite.

Over the years, I've developed modified ambidexterity. By modified, I mean that in some skillsets such as fighting, I can used both side equally, and in fact, to such a point that I switch back and forth without thinking.

All right! You've given me nothing but good news. I'm 20 and I was starting to think I was getting a little too old to get started. Now I don't feel like I've missed out entirely on the martial arts.

Also;
It's so good to finally get some confirmation that I've been practicing the right stuff. I also have gotten to the point where I have "modified ambidextarity." I'm not as well developed in it as you though. I can use a one-handed sword in either hand just fine, but I still feel wierd when using a two-handed sword in a left-handed stance. I'm working on that.

Anyway, until your post I wasn't really sure that there was any point in my efforts to use a sword as easily on the left as I can the right. It just seemed like good motor control practice to me. Now that I know how important this is, I'm going to seriously focus on further improving my ability to switch to my left. Thanks for all the help. I love you man... ^_^

I had a sword fight with knitting needles once, it was me and my cousin and I wound up with 2 stitches in my hand. I bled so much, and the knitting needles were round on top so it shouldn't have happened. But it did and it hurt, I spent like 10 hours waiting in the hospital before they saw me.