How I see the Sword

M

Matt B

Joined
Oct 16, 2000
Messages
118
"So what, So I Love swords, Big deal"
That's the sentence I have had to repeat to my family endlessly when they constantly ask me why I buy them. It was considered a pretty weird interest in my circle of friends, but I didn't care. In fact, to be honest with you guys, no one I know personally understood why I like them. I'm not some kind of recluse who sits in a room and plays videogames all day (like many sword lovers are stereotyped)I played Football and Wrestled in H.S., and I know how to have a good time...that's why nobody understood quite why I like swords, cuz people who like swords are supposed to be strange according to most people. I guess they haven't seen the HI forum yet, which has some of the nicest and most knowledgable people I've ever seen.

After seeing and reading so much, I can finally give people a good answer when they ask why I like swords...it's because of what I see when I look at them. I see not only the art of the steel and the soul and workmanship of the craftsman, I see everything the sword has done, everything it has represented for thousands of years all at once. Why is it that a sword is viewed and personified as no other weapon? why is it that most people (even those who have no serious interest in them) get a tingly feeling inside at the movies when they see a sword stuck in the ground waiting for a hero?

I think I know why. The sword represents so much, it gives the the power to protect those you love and ward off blows intended to destroy the things you care about with a clang of defiance, although it may be used for good or evil, it brang the wielders own perception of justice to fruition. Because it brought about these things it represents these things...protection, justice, valor, courage..

And the core question, why does the sword represent these things like no other weapon? After all, you can fight back with a gun or an axe or whatever.
It is because the sword is the most personal and direct of weapons. The power of it's blade is so close to your hand that's it's virtually a part of you. That is why when knights and samurai wielded the blade, they were holding much more, to the point where the sword became just a much a part of their courage and strength as their own flesh and blood. Holding a sword to me isn't so much holding a physical object as it is holding all of your valor in a tangible form capable of enforcing your will, whether it be good or bad.

That, my friends, is what the sword means to me, and my folks and friends think it's a pretty good reason
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regards

Matt
 
Nobody understands why I like them either. I'm not a recluse who plays video games although I do play a lot of guitar and piano, but I am pretty excentric.
Matthew
 
Well said, Matt B! Most of my acquaintences consider me a bit strange because of my khukuri addiction and a few other "abnormal" interests, but I take pride in not fitting into a mold. The bottom line here is: Yes, by God, I'm weird and ever so grateful to have been so blessed!
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It's the normal ones you have to worry about!

I think the sword is a fundamentally honorable weapon assuming your opponent is also armed. It must take substantial courage to do battle with steel. Modern warfare is impersonal by comparison(not that I know from experience,I actually got to the gulf but the war was pretty much over.) thank God!
 
Indeed, "Normal People worry me" is the motto labeled on the back window of my car in the form of a bumper sticker ;-)

Im a sword/khukuri fanatic too... on top of that I enjoy reading far more than watching TV, doesnt know or care about most celebrities, plays 4 instruments, listens to classical/jazz (even though Im 23), versed in classic Chinese literature, and has a rather interesting Renaissance wardrobe.

Weird is good.

J
 
For the record, I'm 17, so you can imagine what my friends though before they learned to accept that I like swords alot.
 
I too think the sword has the potential to be a honorable weapon. I know I qualify as weird but swords have facinated me since I was three. They were just sticks and dowels back then. But now I can afford the real things when they are available. We sword lovers need to stick together. And it is my belief that this is important enough to leap from the lurker's shadows to say so.
 
Why do people like swords?

For that matter, why do people like classic cars? I personally think that classic cars are antiquated, ugly, clunky, boxy, smelly and come in a wide variety of colours that range from "puke" to "gangrene green".

I look at a nihonto and see the graceful curve, the purity of its hamon, the well-carved bo-hi, the breathtakingly detailed horimono, and the splendour of its koshirae.

Then you find people who think that a sword is the tool of the Devil (next to the gun), and that it represents barbarism, death and bloodshed. They simply do not see the beauty and quality inherent in a fine sword and gloss over such things to focus on its intended function.

They won't understand, and probably never will.

Just as a sword can be appreciated as an art object, so can a car be used to kill people.

One more thing to think about:

The warriors of Japan appreciated fine swords in the same way we do today, and surely not all of them are eccentric geeks with no life.
 
Rationalize all you like.....Blade people are a strange lot. They are a minority, consequently they are the abnormal folk.
Isn't it fun being a freak!
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Dan
 
:
I have a couple of t-shirts with a pic of some ndns sitting around a drum singing. At the top it says, "It's an Indian thing" and at the bottom, "You wouldn't understand."

That's true for many of us here about a lot of different things. Most people wouldn't understand. And if the truth be known they probably wouldn't want too.(VBESEG)
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>>>>---¥vsa---->®

"I would rather have a bottle in front of me than a frontal lobotomy."

........unknown, to me anyway........

Khukuri FAQ
Himalayan Imports Website
 
Now I don't know whether to be ashamed or proud of the fact that I fit into the stated "mold" of a sword / blade lover. On my days off I sit in front of my desk and can be readily found surfing the info hiway at length as well as reading a good book at the same time. I have played and still do on occasion play Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying. That is probably where my yearning for swords and blades of honor came from. It started with the typical european knight (pronounced - Ka-NNNN-iget) and gradually progressed to the katana of the samurai and now into the kukhri of the gorkhas. My parents were always concerned that I would be some whacked out nutjob who hacked his family up with an axe because of that game. But I always replied with, "You have nothing to worry about. When I start coming home with an axe or a sword...THEN you can make me stop playing and start to worry." Luckily they haven't remembered that statement of 10 years ago and my kukhri kollection is doing nicely so far.
I was never into sports like some of the others on this post were and I'm still not. I have a monstrous collection of books available to me and have seen several countries during my naval service. I've also learned to play over 3 dozen musical instruments; some of which haven't even been invented yet; using only the power of my mind. I don't know why I keep rambling on and on like this sometimes but I think it has something to do with too much radiation from that darn reactor. Oh well, off to conquer the galaxy with a keyboard under one hand and a kukhri in the other.
 
What is normal?Who is normal?
I stopped trying to be normal when I realized that being myself is normal for me.Normal for me is not normal for you,but that is normal.
I was once asked why do you have so many weapons why do you need them?
My answer is that,need them or not(and I hope I never do)I like them.The way they look ,feel,act in my hands.The craftsmenship,the design of the blade the design of the handle both,to accommodate a specific or general task and the personal touch of the maker,all of which attract me like moth to a flame.I can go on and on and on.
Some people collect,dolls,toys,stamps,rocks foil,string,shoes.I don't under stand any of that.
Weapons and their use,have been the focus of my life since I was 7yrs old and that is normal for me.
AND I AM NOT ALONE.

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Ray

[This message has been edited by RayC (edited 10-18-2000).]
 
The Japanese martial culture spoke of "the sword that gives life" and "the sword that takes life." I look at the blade and ask myself where do I stand? The "edge" forces one to think and choose one or the other. The concept applies to all aspects of one's life.

sing
AKTI #A000356
 
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