Not Applicable
1. Field of Invention
The present invention pertains to the field of martial arts. More particularly, this invention is related to a practice Samurai sword for simulating combat with a safe weapon closely emulating the size, weight and shape of a Samurai sword.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the field of martial arts, it is well know that many forms of combat use weapons of one fashion or another. Many of the martial arts use swords in hand-to-hand combat. However, it is also well known that many of the martial arts are practiced as an art form and not as a means for actual combat. In order to reduce the danger associated with authentic weaponry, it is well-known to use practice weaponry. For example, a Shinai is used to simulate a Japanese sword. A Shinai, from the verb “shinau” meaning “to bend” or “to be flexible”, is a bamboo Kendo sword that allows a Kendoist to practice freely without fear of serious injury to his self or others. The modern Shinai is constructed of four staves of bamboo fitted together into a cylinder and held together by leather and a string.
The first Shinai were made of split bamboo and completely covered in a cloth or leather bag known as a Fukuro Shinai or bag Shinai. Shinai were of many different lengths and weights. Today, the Shinai is made from bamboo that is cut from the bottom of the culm, or stem, about four inches above ground. The stem is split vertically into six to eight pieces. The bamboo is then dried and four pieces are selected, straightened, and then planed and shaped into a Shinai. As will be understood, there are deliberate methods used to produce each Shinai.
In addition to the four bamboo slats, the Shinai includes a leather handgrip called the Tsuka-gawa covering the tsuka, or handle, a leather cup called the sakigawa on the tip, or kissaki, and a tsuba, or hand guard. The tsuba is fabricated from resin or leather and is held in place by a tsuba-dome, which is a rubber disk. The whole is kept together under tension by a string, called a tsuru, connecting the leather parts at each end, and by a leather binding, or Nakayui, around the Shinai marking out the Datotsubu (the valid strike area of the Shinai) or the Monouchi, which is the top part of the blade toward the tip, which is the most effective cutting area of the Shinai.
The Shinai allows full strength cuts to be made without the risk of injuring the training partner as would an authentic sword or a solid wooden dummy sword. The force of the blow is dissipated by the bamboo sections spreading out on contact. However, the force is often painful. A Shinai strike does not feel like a sword and a thrust can be dangerous, as there is no give in the blade.
In Kendo the solid wooden sword, or boken, is still used in the Kendo Kata, and more rarely in Waza, practice in order to gain a better understanding of how the technique works with a sword. However it is not used for free-sparring. The steel Katana, or alloy laito are used by high grades in Kata demonstrations and are the standard weapon used in Iaido.
