This is an interesting response.
European fencing places the sword the furest away from the body than any
other sword art. Therefore it styles are modified for more straight in
attacks. Scoring with the tip instead of the side of the blade so to speak.
Sheild and sword can also be straight in however there differences. The
sheild is used to block and also deflect to the side for a return side of
blade cut. When this happens the body dynamics are more side to side or
obleaque than straight in. The sheild colaspes or moves way left, either way
protect the heart from side and forward attacks. It also prevents other
forms of damage coming from your opponent. The opponents are in very close
to each other. Unlike fencing where it is difficult to reach out and place
your hand on your opponent you can use grabs, shoulders, stepping on feet,
thigh kicks with the knees in sword and sheild. If you want to strike your
opponent, the sword arm comes forward for the strike. Hence, the heart is
protected. It needs to come past the sheild to do this. If the sheild is
still in front of you then you are facing your opponent square on. Sword and
sheild have been used as a means of fighting alot longer than the refined
fencing styles.
However, the point is to compare to japanese sword arts. The katana is a
side of the blade weapon more so that a tip type blade. It attacks are close
in and more from a side angle than the up in the face, high over head, open
your belly style. Both hands tend to come into use for in feild combat
purposes. This would place the attack perpendicular the the opponents
center. When enterening or leaving the current attack, youe generally can
switch to a single right hand to create or remain in contact with the
opponent. The handle of the katanas in the 15th through the 18th century
were longer for more leverage and srtength with the blade. The strengh was
needed for close contact. If you move up to later time frames, the length of
the handles were shortened for style reason more than combat reasons. The
gentleman were bumping into things with the longer blades and handles being
word in their belts. This lead to single hand style iaido. The blades were
also lightened with grooves.
All of this become apparent when you have these different blades in hand and
can try them out.
No disrespect but arguing about right and left handed practioners of the
sword arts is of no value. The dogma of any ART lies within the practioner
and their understand of its application. There are excpetions to everything.
Some things are better to do one way and others not. But if the practioner
can make a ART work for them using nondogmatic ways than so be it. Lets not
get started on exceptions. The Japanese made rules for everything. This is
a way to control a society. The rules and teachings of sword arts are
created for specific reasons. Ask a swordmaster this question for his
understanding. Each one you ask will have a different reason. Ask Toshiro
Obata at www.shinkendo.com or James Williams at www.bugei.com.
If anyone needs to have this go further, I suggest take lessons in multiple
sword arts, read about blade combat tatics, and move on.
I have a whole lot more but I think you get the point.
Heijoshin
> > In European Swordsmanship, the right hand is used for the sword because it
> > places the heart furthest away from the attacker. Safer place to have
> it.
> > The left hand was used for a shield to protect the heart.
> >
>
> Sorry, this is horribly false.
>
> The sword was in the dominant hand. I've fenced with many a lefty.
>
> For the record, sword-and-shield combat is the opposite of fencing. In the
> former, the shield side is in FRONT (because the shield is BETWEEN you and
> the opponent) and if you're left handed that puts your "heart" closer to
> the
> opponent, and the sword farther back. In fencing, your sword is out in
> front
> because you want the maximum distance between you and the opponent. If
> you're
> a lefty, your left side faces; if a righty, your right side faces.
>
> There have been left-handed rapiers and so on, so it's pretty clear that
> there were lefties fighting in Europe.
>
> Tony
Scott Erickson
Heijoshin@...
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