Hank Reinhardt's The Book of the Sword (37 page)

Antique sword with oval grip, Caucasian kindjal, 25 inches overall length. HRC551.

Another problem is the failure of the grip to be aligned with the edge. This is also a problem that can occur easily. The wood of the grip can gather a lot of moisture from sweating and the atmosphere, and then when it dries it can shift position very slightly. This will throw off the alignment.

I cannot stress the importance of this enough. Failure can result in two things, both bad. One, you can ruin a really fine sword by cutting and having the edge not hit properly. If it fails to cut into the object, then all of the energy generated is transferred to the front of the blade, and the sudden force can cause it to bend. Second is more embarrassing: the sword slips, and the cut you make is lousy. This is really bad when giving a demonstration. I've had it happen and it upset me and the audience. In retrospect, I think the audience was more upset when I fell on the floor screaming, kicking my feet, and then holding my breath. Rather than repeat this embarrassing episode, I now always try to make sure the sword I cut with is properly aligned.

A kilij with box grip.

As you can see, the grip of the sword must indicate the location of the edge. Most European grips are oval, with the long axis in the plane of the edge. There are many Middle Eastern swords with boxlike grips, with the long axis at right angles to the plane of the blade. This is very true with many kilij, shamshirs and kindjals. This is not hard to get used to, and there is no chance of mistaking the edge, for then you can easily see you are holding it wrong. The worst is a round grip. This will not tell you where the edge is, and it can easily turn in the hand. Al-Kindi, in the Arabic work on the sword, warns against this, and rightly so. So always beware of a round grip. It's okay on a mace, but not on a sword.

Modern mace. HRC50.

To begin practice I would suggest tapping a piece of balsa wood to make sure you are holding the sword correctly and hitting the edge squarely. Balsa, being quite soft, will register the cut, and you can see if one side is indented more than the other.

Before going into the physical mechanics of cutting, let's look at what is available for cutting. The Japanese use a reed mat for cutting practice. These mats come in various sizes and can be purchased from several companies. These mats are soaked in water for a specified time, allowed to drain for a period, then cut. Sometimes a wooden dowel is inserted to represent bone.

Since starting Museum Replicas, Ltd., I have used cardboard tubes in my cutting. The ones I use at present are the cores for large paper rolls. They have a wall thickness of about a quarter inch. They are tough, but not too difficult to cut. Still, I would caution everyone in cutting cardboard. Do not use a highly polished sword, or a blade whose finish you value. Small bits of silica are common in cardboard, and they will scratch the blade. I use blades with a satin finish, which I prefer, and they rarely show any scratches. But a highly polished blade is likely to be marred by the cut.

One item that is quite tricky to cut is a kid's toy plastic tube. These are long tubes of plastic foam, and are popular toys around swimming pools. They have almost no rigidity, and the sword has to be quite sharp to cut cleanly. It also has to be moving fast. A slow cut or a dull blade will cause the tube to bend or the cut to change direction as the tube bends under the impact.

I have often heard complaints about swords being damaged when cutting into trees. Swords were made to hack the limbs of men, not the limbs of trees. For that you can use an axe or a tough machete, but not the usual European or Japanese sword. Small saplings can be used. I don't recommend it, but they can be used. Nothing over two inches in diameter should be attempted. Soft pine is preferred, and try to avoid all hardwoods. Live saplings are much like bone: when alive they are relatively easy to cut, but when they dry out, become quite tough.

Rolled newspaper is an excellent cutting material. It is cheap, plentiful, and its level of difficulty can easily be adjusted by the size of the roll attempted. Each individual will have to adjust the roll to his ability and the difficulty desired. A very loose roll, and the paper will likely bend as it's being cut, and will usually tear. The tighter the roll, the harder it is to cut, so that you can make a very tight and very large roll, and no one can cut it. Since it is so cheap, I would suggest experimenting until you find the right combination. I always used masking or cellophane tape to keep the roll together. Depending on the thickness of the roll, you can use small cans or tubes to put the paper in, and this usually works just fine.

Newspaper has one advantage over other materials. It is easy to tell just how sharp the sword is. Once you have cut through the roll, examine the two sections. If the sword is full sharp, you will not see any tears on the edges. Even a good sharp sword will usually tear the last couple of sheets of paper, so it takes a
really
sharp sword not to leave any tear (and also a very good cut).

Let's quickly get into some safe practices here. No, I am not a politically correct namby pamby type. But—I have a very good friend, an expert with knife, axe and sword. While he was cutting one day the axe flew out of his hand, straight at my head. I moved aside, but had I not seen it, or been a little less quick, it could have been right unpleasant. (No, he didn't do it on purpose. I know because I owed him money at the time.)

So, first, when attempting to cut through something, make sure you know what is on the other side. It's very similar to shooting a pistol. You need to know where the sword is going to end up. Having someone watch who is standing just a bit too close can be quite messy, and really hard to explain to the police.

Second, always have a loop around the sword and your wrist. Losing your sword while in the midst of a cut makes you look really silly and incompetent. It can also be dangerous. But even if no one is there but you, you will still feel silly and incompetent. After all, Conan never lost his sword.

Third, when cutting in front of an audience, always cut with the audience in front of you, with your sword ending up pointing in the opposite direction. Gasps of awe at your performance are much better than gasps of fear while ducking flying swords.

In any martial art what you need first is a firm foundation. Therefore it follows that the stance is of great importance. (I am given to bad puns. No, I'm not sorry.) When delivering a strong solid blow, it is necessary for you to have your feet firmly planted, and to be able to put your whole body into the blow. The exact spread and position of the feet will vary from person to person, but above all, you must be comfortable. Later you will learn to cut with the arms alone, but that is in the future.

Cutting with a katana.

For example, when cutting with a katana, the whole body will move. The arms and shoulders start the action. While the body bends forward at the midsection, the knees bend slightly as well as the hips. The whole force of the body is put into the blow, and as your blade encounters the object to be cut, the arms, shoulders, and even the hips will rotate slightly back and down so that the blade is pulled through. The force generated by this action can be quite awesome.

Very similar movements will also be done with European blades, both one- and two-handed weapons. Unless the sword is slightly curved, the drawing movement is not used. Although it will work, it will not work quite as well.

Would you get an opportunity to actually use this movement in a real fight with swords? Suppose you were transported back into time, could you use this technique then, and would it work? Sure it would work, but you probably wouldn't get a chance to use it in a real fight. Real fights were quick, and that is why you also need to learn how to lash out with just arm power and still inflict a deadly cut.

I have to confess, there is another secret. That secret is practice. Like most human endeavors, the more you do something, the better you will be at it.

My suggestion is to first use rolled newspapers. (I use the
Wall Street Journal
, as it is heavy reading, and not frothy like many newspapers.) Start with a roll about 1-3/4 inches in diameter, and of medium tightness. Roll it so that the folded sides are on the outside. Once the roll is completed, use some tape and tape the edges about every 5 inches. If you roll the paper along the long dimension, you should be able to get about 4 cuts per roll. Stand the roll upright, and proceed to cut. The tube can be secured several ways; I often use a small soup can and add some padding to make the tube fit tightly.

If you like a katana, then practice this cut to start with. The drawcut utilizes the whole body, and while it is slightly more difficult to learn, once you have mastered it, other cuts are easier.

Remember the drawing motion. The whole body properly moves when the cut is made. Whatever the results of your first cut, it will improve with practice.

The snapping cut is also a move that works very well with a katana. It is not particularly impressive in any sort of demonstration, but it worked pretty well in combat, and you can score points with it in a tournament with padded weapons.

Hank cutting mats.
Photo by Peter Fuller.