From Leprechaun Jack Murphy: -Scots vs Samurai Redux-----Swords

Daring to risk my rep as the Class Leprechaun here, I have done some game
theory on the Scots Highlanders and their claymores and the Samurai with their
katanas. I am very proud of my Scots heritage, if for nothing than the
Declaration of Arbroath, the world's first declaration of Independence. In part
it reads: "we fight for freedom, which no good man surrenders but with his
life." (After 300 years of fighting for Freedom, you would think my family
would have had enough!) Anyhow, the main weakness of the katana is that, with
a two-handed haft (hold), the samurai was perilously exposed under his arm
pits for a thrust. This was a defect in Japanese armor never fully remedied,
while European knights had chain mail to cover that area by 1000 AD. The
claymore broadsword, however, was used with one hand, the other side protected
by a target (the original of the name, and hence the round '''target''' for
shooters later), or shield. Shields, at least to my knowledge, never
appeared in samurai warfighting. In the early battles of the Rising of 1745, the
Highlanders of Bonnie Prince Charlie terrified the British ""sojers''' with
their claymores, amputating heads and limbs at will--as did katanas. Having
both, the claymore is a much heavier weapon with a wide straight blade, always
at least 36 inches long. The width is never less than one inch. The hand
guard is solid brass--the origin of the ''brass knuckle." It was not until
Culloden in April 1746, the final battle, that British soldiers, trained by "The
Butcher," the Duke of Cumberland, learned to best the Highlanders. The
redcoat would lunge with his bayonet--if memory serves--at the kiltie laddie to
his left, getting him in the exposed right side and arm pit as he raised his
sword at the soldier on the soldier's left. A chara dhil, Jack M.


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Jack-
With all due respect to Scots heritage (a Carson myself), and to the
list for revisiting a weary subject, Samurai versus Highlander, I would
just like to point out that it might not be all that "cut and dried."
Kendo is assumed by many to be the prime example of Japanese
swordsmanship, and since Kendo primarily uses the two handed grip many
have the mistaken impression this is the (only) way to wield a katana.
However during the age of battles the uchi-katana was the sword of
choice for the armies of Japan. Uchi-katana is short for "kata-te uchi
katana", which literally means single-hand-strike sword. The tachi and
the katana were never limited to a two-handed grip and are just as
agile if not more so than a claymore.
If Kendo is your only example BTW, you need only look at the
Kendo-kata and or the Seitei-Iai kata for single hand cuts, blocks and
thrusts...
-t

or niten ryu.. two sword school that Musashi founded.. if your using two swords...then they both cant be held two handed..

Wilson


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--------- Original Message ---------
DATE: Wed, 17 Dec 2003 17:41:21
From: Tom Helm <junkmail@...>
To: samuraihistory@yahoogroups.com
Cc:

Jack-
With all due respect to Scots heritage (a Carson myself), and to the
list for revisiting a weary subject, Samurai versus Highlander, I would
just like to point out that it might not be all that "cut and dried."
Kendo is assumed by many to be the prime example of Japanese
swordsmanship, and since Kendo primarily uses the two handed grip many
have the mistaken impression this is the (only) way to wield a katana.
However during the age of battles the uchi-katana was the sword of
choice for the armies of Japan. Uchi-katana is short for "kata-te uchi
katana", which literally means single-hand-strike sword. The tachi and
the katana were never limited to a two-handed grip and are just as
agile if not more so than a claymore.
If Kendo is your only example BTW, you need only look at the
Kendo-kata and or the Seitei-Iai kata for single hand cuts, blocks and
thrusts...
-t



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