Katana or European Longsword

[mc_Floyd]

There's no real way to match the two. They're completely different animals. The Katana built around the idea of not getting hit

This, or as Saronsen said, against unarmored unable to fight back people!

The Katana cant be compared with with the longsword. the Longsword is a weapon of war, Katana isnt (the weapon of war counterpart is called Tachi - that later also was called Katana by the colonial powers entering japan -, also the general Sodiers weapon was the Tsurugi, a real sword http://sabakusamurai.com/assets/collecti...Sword1.jpg).
The Katana was the general home defense weapon for everyone, a cheap version of the way longer Tachi, or as said, the weapon for poor mercenaries.

What impressed the colonist and where the most myths were born, was the art of fighting, the precission, the japanese way of warrior, the honor coming with it and so on and that by a time, where europeans and americans already used cartrige guns.
Sadly most european fighting technique (which is a really impressive one) got lost with the inventions of guns and wasn't documented in any way. There are some notes and there are some tries to reconstruct the techniques, but that all is mostly guessing. One in my opinion very important thing is, that there are notes saying a well trained man in an full plate armor was able to move as fast as a man without one (thats the reason why knights were feared that much on the battlefields, invulnerable and deadlier than anyone else). So the art of fighting was imo even as develloped as in Japan, just in another direction.
What also impressed modern world, was the forging of these swords, made out of two different metals using a flexible core and a hard mantle and cutting edge. What less people know is, that from the end of the 14th century the japanese metal manufacturing wans't in any way superior over the european one, the europeans just lost theirs with the invention of the gun. They would have been able to do the same in their forges, but noone saw any reason in forging a 60 cm long knife, that would have been totally useless. Instead they made weapons, able to crush any kind of armors, the best and most expensive of these weapons were longswords.

I could go on like this forever, medieval times in europe seems to be rough and blunt compared to the japanese culture. Maybe they were, but when there was something europeans where masters in: in killing each other, with techniques and weapons and strategies most other countries in the world couldn't even think of.

Oh and to end this up (not that Katana is compareable with a Longsword) if i think about a samurai army fighting an army of knights, the samurais wouldn't stand a chance in any way, maybe running faster, cause of their paper armors.

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[Timmy]

Katana forewer. Looks more gracefully imo.

[Strichev]

Katana graceful?Not at all. It looks like a banana made of steel.

Take that, katana fans!

[Benjamin]

madvillain: aha I didn't mean there was never a fight between two lads with swords, I just meant that, aside from post-Marian Romans with their little 2-foot stabbers, there's never really been any 'longsword army' or 'katana army' going around fighting battles. seems like neither are really that good for fighting.

mc Floyd: European stuff is very much not lost, just people don't make movies and videogames about it. as im sure thyrzul will be able to expand upon, there are a bunch of full illustrated manuals from Italy and Germany detailing all this business.

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[Jihadjoe]

there's never really been any 'longsword army' or 'katana army' going around fighting battles. seems like neither are really that good for fighting.

That would probably be a matter of cost of manufacture and training, rather than the overall effectiveness.

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[Thyrzul]

Sadly most european fighting technique (which is a really impressive one) got lost with the inventions of guns and wasn't documented in any way.

I highly disagree. In my first year I've learnt basics, mostly stuff based on German school of fencing, teachings of Johannes Liechtenauer, written down by Hanko Doebringer, Sigmund Ringeck, Peter von Danzig. Based on the documents written by those three there is an era described as Early-Liechtenauerian era, ranging from 1350 to 1450. Later in my second year I've learnt from this specific school more, mostly about "blossfechten" or "naked fight", fight without armor, tries to aim to hit/cut/stab the quickest way possible, in my third year I've learnt of the teachings of Fiore dei Liberi, Italian master. His book was more thorough and about way more stuff, longsword fencing already included armored combat, so his techniques are different than of Liechtenauer. In the future I'll most probably learn of Marozzo, Joachim Meyer (damn, I've seen his guard stances, like Liechtenauer's but lower and way less comfortable), Thibault, and dunno who/what else.

Research is going on. There are a ton of transcripts and fight books to translate and examine, try out techniques, apply them in combat, master them. The Ars Ensis is about this. The HEMAC is about this. (And also not only longsword fencing, but a ton of other European medieval and historical weapons and fighting styles.)

Katana forewer. Looks more gracefully imo.

Well, then you can die gracefully when wielding one just because looks gracefully yet you can't use it. And a longsword can look gracefully too if you know how to fight with it.

there's never really been any 'longsword army'

There were, not in numbers you had in the world wars of course, but there were formidable armies. This reminds me of one of the techniques I've learnt from my first year, not sure if I translate it properly, but the name of it was along the lines of "running through", and was about as being somebody in the first lines how you disarm/incapacitate your opponent temporarily in a second upon clashing, maybe eventually drop him to the ground and walk past so you concentrate on the next opponent while your buds behind you do nothing more than simply cut down the already unarmed enemy. Something you would use in a battle, yet we didn't practice it to it's full extent for obvious reasons.

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[Caelumaresh]

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This Galaxy is vast; its wonders and beauty are almost unfathomable. But the galaxy also hides dark secrets, some of which have lain dormant since the beginning of time itself. There is a danger in secrets, both in seeking and in knowing. Some things are meant to be hidden from view. Some mysteries defy understanding, and sometimes even the things we think we know are untrue. Some secrets should remain untouched.

Qui desiderat pacem, praeparet bellum

[Benjamin]

there's never really been any 'longsword army' or 'katana army' going around fighting battles. seems like neither are really that good for fighting.

That would probably be a matter of cost of manufacture and training, rather than the overall effectiveness.

they're very expensive yeah (which seems to be half the reason they were used at all, for showoff purposes), but spears beat swords for armies.

genuinely curious about any sword armies you know of Thyrzul. tercio is the other major use of swords (and only in equal numbers with pike and guns) I know about, and they were thoroughly outclassed by straight pike/gun mixes.

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[Thyrzul]

genuinely curious about any sword armies you know of Thyrzul. tercio is the other major use of swords (and only in equal numbers with pike and guns) I know about, and they were thoroughly outclassed by straight pike/gun mixes.

I wonder how many guns there were present during the Crusades. And pikes are rather efficient against mounted units with their ability to negate the advantage of horsemen being swift and barely reachable. Footmen can easily hit away the pikes and you can't really do much with a 3 meter pole ending in sharp metal in closer range.

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