So, what I wrote about katanas has basically become the most popular thing I've ever published here, and the comments have been mostly random fan-boys telling me that I'm wrong or just flat out insulting me. What can I say? Sorry you don't share my sense of humour? I...
Let's play a game, shall we? What is the better sword in a fight: longsword, katana, or rapier?My post about katanas has gotten some pretty interesting discussion, and it seems that my point that a rapier would defeat both a katana and a longsword in single combat is...
I was reminded of this by a post on Facebook: people name their swords. I understand the rationale behind it. The act of naming the sword anthropomorphizes it, so that the act of swordplay becomes a kind of partnership. There is a significance in the name of a sword...
A commenter got me on to this documentary, and I have to say, I am SUPER excited to watch it. Here's the synopsis from IMDB:The Medieval and Renaissance blade, a profound and beautiful object handcrafted by master artisans of old. An object of great complexity, yet...
The Shards of Narsil Edge damage is a big thing among swordfighters. It's a given that any kind of sparring is going to result in your weapon taking a beating. But it's an interesting question to ask - is it possible to break a sword, like they do in the movies? Is it...
It is a truth universally acknowledged, by swordfighters at least, that a curved sword is superior at cutting. But why? Why should the curvature of a blade have such an effect on the effectiveness of its cut? Today I'd like to delve into the physics of swordplay, and...
So I got talking to one of my swordfighting buddies about two-weapon fighting again, and he mentioned that the latest episode of A Game of Thrones had some pretty silly swinging going on in a fight at some place called the Tower of Joy. Of course, I had to go and look...
[EDIT: Apparently I have to be clear about the fact that this is not meant to be serious. I’m sorry you think that an article called “5 Reasons Why Katanas are Stupid” is in-depth academic discourse, but trust me, it isn’t. I just wrote it because I thought it’d be...
So, Season 6 of Game of Thrones has debuted, and everyone is predictably losing their marbles over it. Except for me, of course. My lack of interest in grimdark fantasy continues, and with it, my lack of interest in following along with Game of...
Season 6 is nearly upon us, and now's as good a time as any to look back on one of A Game of Thrones' most prominent features - its armor and costuming. The question everyone likely wants to know the answer to (around these parts, anyway) is whether you really could...
Time to show off something very interesting - my family sword! There's a story to go with the sword, but as to the exact provenance of it - no one really knows. This is basically the result of my research, based on info gleaned from Google, what my father knows about...
Let's have another movie swordfight breakdown! One of my faves is from, I kid you not, the Bond movie Die Another Day. Really! Swordfights show up in odd places sometimes. Now, all things considered, Die Another Day was a pretty terrible movie in most other respects -...