I remember when I first got my blade.
Pretty "cool" since I was young, but never realised how serious it was.

I had never really done any real training and was already swingin it around all over the place.

After a couple of years, I finally see how to use it, when to use it and I am dramatically better

Did you teach yourself then? I wouldnt recommend that to anyone.

Self teaching is something that, depending on what the subject matter is, can be either a good or a bad thing.

In the case of a Katana, I would consider that to be extremely dangerous. I find your use of the phrase "was already swingin it around all over the place." particuarly harrowing.

I've always maintained a Katana shouldn't be available to anyone below a black belt in the arts that use them. As the whole point of live blade training I have always thought was to further an already proficient level of knowledge and skill in an art which is known for it's discipline and sensibility.

I have no training in any of the japanese arts and wouldn't touch a samurai sword without a good year of training purely on the basis of unfarmiliarity.

Buy a bokken if you wish to be Uma Thruman for a day.

By the way I checked out your forum. It is well laid out, however your users strike me as the kind of martial artists who have little understanding of the martial philosophy, and piss all over the image of those who work hard at our arts.

So with that in mind, I'd say apart from genocide, there's little to improve on your forum. But thanks for posting.

Couldn't agree with you more, LiuShuiDao.

I've got quite strong views on people owning a long blade designed to slice off people's extremeties. Personally I think if you want to practise a sword-based martial art, learn in a registered dojo with a bokken until you are a black belt, then apply for a licence from the police (who would of course conduct a background check) in the same way you would a gun. It's a weapon just the same as any other offensive weapon.

now now, is this a live blade we are talking about?
because i cant see some young person going out and spending a few hundred quid on something purely because they think it seems cool.

but yeah even with one of those crappy £30 pieces of metal you can buy from those gift shops, not only are you getting the wrong idea of the sword and the arts surrounding it. you are also giving out all the wrong messages to other like minded individuals (no offence)

if you have taught yourself to a level where you believe you are good, i recommend going to a proper school to see how wrong you are.

now you may just have worded your post wrong so please come and prove us wrong

Thanks for your comments everyone.

Yeah, I see how stupid I really was.
Reflecting back, I put the sword down and have used a bokken ever since. I don't even take my sword out now, just leave it in a display.

Robert Kelso wrote:
Thanks for your comments everyone.

Yeah, I see how stupid I really was.
Reflecting back, I put the sword down and have used a bokken ever since. I don't even take my sword out now, just leave it in a display.



thats good to hear, out of interest was it a live katana or a replica?

Also Geoffrey, u need to get a picture on there and fill in your profile. You can link into Martialpoint from there too if you like.

It was a live Katana.

And Admin dude, sure I'll fill out my profile now

i dunno if somone is smart and careful, and knows the stuff self teaching somthing could go well (im my humble opinion)

but perhaps using somthing like a LIVE katana is unadvisable for beginer (self taught or not) although the risk may pay off its still some high stakes your gambling with (i.e your fingers or worse)

Robert Kelso wrote:
It was a live Katana.

And Admin dude, sure I'll fill out my profile now

I know this is an old post but it caught my eye when this dude said he had a LIVE blade and swinging it about....

I just wanna say that the discipline in Iaido can't be self taught AT ALL. No samurai just picked up a sword and started using it. If your already a skilled MA you would probably have a respect for the katana but in this case if that was true you certainly wouldn't swing it about.

LIVE blades are DANGEROUS and you should train under instruction for years and years before even considering getting one. Real LIVE blades are so sharp that if it were to fall out the saya and glide across your hand, it would be gased open. Shinken blades are not for begginers or intermediates. They are for experianced Sensei's only and even then you have to be dam sure you know what your doing.

I have a blade I practise with but its only got an edge but not sharp that is acceptable to practise with but you should seek a teacher because you won't ever learn the real secrets thinking you can do it alone.