All about Japan and Korea

The katana is a Japanese sword, though in the West the word is used generically to encompass all Japanese swords "Katana. "

It refers to a particular type of single-edged sword, curved, traditionally used by samurai. Its most common size is around a meter in length and weight kilo.

The most widespread type of Katana is now known as "Oda Nobunaga", referring to the shogun creator of the model, curved blade and about one meter in total length.

Origin:

The origin of the Japanese katana back to the X-XII centuries, when the Chinese Song Dynasty in the country introduced a curved sword called "Horse Ripper, "a name given by a weapon used in combat against heavy cavalry gutting the belly or attack the forequarters of a horse. This sword, later known as sable, simply evolved subsequent Japanese katana.

Features:

Due to its curved nature and his single-edged blade, the katana should be considered as a sword. As such it is primarily aimed at cutting more than the thrust. Its curvature arises from the need for efficient cutting while driving from the saddle the horse, the straight blade tends to "embedded"at the time of the cut, while the curve always gets cut tangential to the trajectory of the weapon and This prevents the katana will be blocked.

The katana was primarily used for cutting and because of its ability to produce very severe wounds, was considered a "guillotine hand. " It drew it with an axial movement of rotation, leading edge up and it can wield with one or two hands (the latter being the traditional mode).

Although the art of Japanese sword handling, according to its original purpose has now become almost obsolete, kenjutsu (sword techniques set) gave rise to Gendai budo, a modern martial art. Many techniques of traditional samurai six schools, is still practiced today in Ninjutsu.

Meanwhile, the essence of management persists in the IAID? (formerly iai jutsu), which is the art of "wield cutting" and kendo (way of the sword) which is the art of wielding a sword of bamboo called shinai and used as a protective mask (men) and armor (bogu .) The original schools Koryu kenjutsu still exist and are still practiced, as Niten Ichi Ryu (Kashima Shinto Ryu, Kashima Shin Ryu, Katori Shinto Ryu, Kaze no Ryu).