Woah, relax there... your first response was much better...
What was wrong with my response? You were talking about how Taekwondo doesn't have Japanese weapons. I was clarifying that I'm not just getting a katana for "Taekwondo", but for use at my school.
Then why make the comment about Taekwondo in general?
You did see where I said that these things are brought in (from outside) with varying levels of success and knowledge or skill, yeah? That means there are some who a decent, some who know the weapons, and a number of others who are little more than playing with toys they don't understand... I never indicated that your school was in one place or another on that list... however, if you're going to get that defensive, other than the mention of a kendo Nidan ranking (which isn't that high, honestly, and is well before the study of sword [as in kata] is done in earnest in most dojo...), all the hallmarks of not having much real basis are in your posts... the desire for "light weapons that look good"... a "lacquered handle" (which, frankly, means it's just more likely to fly out of your hands)... the idea of taking a TKD form and adding a weapon, and thinking that is anything close to the actual way of training the weapon, and more indicate to me that there is a reasonable chance that the weapon use you do is not really based in anything like the actual usage of the weapons... I mean... you also do Escrima? What is your teachers knowledge and experience with that? What line did he study? What rank did he achieve? Or does he just teach paired short sticks, and refer to that as "Escrima"?
Look, if you're interested in weapon work, great. And if you're enjoying what you do in your class, awesome. But you really should be aware that it really isn't anything like actual sword training... and, while there's no rule that you can't learn weapons from other sources (arts, cultures etc), there's a world of difference between adding weapons without basis and actually studying them.
Because I'm used to on this forum whenever something isn't exactly as someone else expects it to be, that their immediate assumption is that my school is a terrible school. I mentioned that me and a couple people were dealing with injuries, and "it must be a bad school if everyone is getting the same injury" (when it was 3 different injuries, one with a freak accident, one with an old injury, and me who's not sure how I injured it). I mention that we do the Palgwe forms instead of the Taegeuk forms and the veracity of all of the black belts at my school is questioned.
I wasn't trying to present my Master as a Kendo master. He is a Taekwondo master, who at least knows a bit about the sword. I was trying to dispel the notion that I'm just learning how to use swords from someone who learned a few moves on YouTube. He's not a Kendo master, but I'm confident in his knowledge.
And where did I say we "take a Taekwondo form and add a weapon?" I compared the sword form to our Taekwondo form, in that both involve blocks and strikes against an imaginary opponent. It's not like we're taking our yellow belt Taekwondo form and then doing the same moves and steps with a sword in our hand.
One thing to keep in mind is that I understand we are not learning how to swordfight. We're learning the very basic motions of blocks, parries, and strikes with the sword. This is something that's part of our Taekwondo curriculum for our black belts, and consumes maybe 5% of our class time each month. It's more like a sampling than anything else (the same with our eskrimas and others).
This is why I have specific things I'm looking for. At my next test, I have to perform our sword forms. I specifically want a sword that will make me look better performing these forms. I'm looking for something to do the demonstration with.
Not a sword guy, but your specifications of what your looking for immediately have me questioning why.
- Lacquer finish (or similar) on the hilt, with no cord wrap---You intentionally want something with less grip as your hands gets sweaty?
- Dull/unsharpened blade----understandable
- Lightweight, preferably with a half-tang----You want a blade between 27-29" long to be supported by about 6" of tang? To save weight? Do you not think the balance of the sword may be more important?
@Chris Parker can and has gone into more detail about what you are looking for, I'm just having trouble following the logic of intentionally looking for inferior product.
I have no problem holding onto the bo staff (either finished wooden or fiberclass), the nunchaku (I use polished metal nunchaku for demonstrations and tests), or the eskrima sticks (finished wood that we're slamming against each other). Why would I have trouble holding onto a sword with a similar finish, especially if I'm not actually hitting anything with it and if I'm going after a lighter one? Heck, I have no trouble holding onto the bokken, which doesn't have a wrap. Why is the sword suddenly different?
Okay, so maybe a lighter blade with a full tang. But I definitely need something lighter.
Who is this message aimed at, and what is your goal in posting these links?
Skribs, I'm no swordsman - not even kinda-sorta - so I'll pitch in with all the expertise that statement indicates.
I second the comments others have made about full tang and wrapped hilt. Those are things you want - they'll make your kata easier, and you'll look better doing it. I fully understand (though I don't participate in) the fun of what I call "flash kata": kata that aren't being performed so much for learning effective combat, but for the aesthetics of them. While Chris is right what you're looking for isn't technically an Iaito (because you're looking for something less accurate to a combat weapon), that's what I'd call it (incorrectly), and a name you might find used for it on some of the mass-market MA gear websites.
The full tang will balance the weapon better, likely making it faster, in spite of the added weight (weight at the far end - actually, proportion of weight at the far end - matters more than total weight). A wrapped hilt will make your grip much surer, which should make your transition moves smoother. Get those things, and look for lighter weight (similar principal to the fiberglass staff) overall, and you'll probably be happier with it. I'd probably even put those three items as more important than the overall length, though that might be a mistake, since I haven't even seen the kata you're planning to use it for.
Personally, I find the wrapping to be annoying for a variety of reasons:Added width to the handle
- It's uncomfortable on my skin, especially in the transition moves
- I think of the wrapping kind of like finger grooves on a gun - great if you have the same grip the grooves are designed for, and your hands are the same size the groove is designed for. It's just uncomfortable otherwise.
As to my reasons for length: I want the overall length to be such that it will fit into the case I have for my weapons already. And the blade length to be a little bit easier for me to draw. I'm short (5'5") so an easier draw would be preferred.
