The Sword

Since the Fall, man has made weapons. Cain created a club or used jaw bone to slay Abel. While these tools have been used to hew or crush our fellow man, they also have been used to hunt for food and defend our beloved ones. A weapon is not evil, it is who wields it that determins if it used for good or ill. We live in golden age of weaponry, we have rifles that can dispatch a target from twelve miles away, chemical devices that can annihilate an entire country and of course we are developing plasma and laser technology. It won't be long before we are waging war like in Star Wars. However, as weaponry has evolved, war has lost its intimacy. Typically when we envision a liberator, it is not someone wielding a AK-47 or a M16. It is the romantic figure of a man clad in plate mail wielding a sword.

I mentioned before the intimacy of warefare has been lost. Gone are the days when men fought face to face, blade to blade. It was different then, you had to look into the eye of the one you intended to kill. It wasn't the mere press of botton or the click of a trigger that ended an engagment. We have prefected the bow, replaced arrows with bullets, and the string with a clip. But what of the melee weapon? All that remains are remnants: bayonats and knives. What became of the sword? The weapon that for Seven Centuries was the weapon of choice among warriors. The history of the sword is vague, few can trace back its origin. Many claim it as the invention of the first recorded civilizations such as Macondians and Egyptians. However, the truth of this wonderious tool's history lies in a more biblical account. According the Book of Enoch, the seraphs or angels were sent to teach the sons of men the ways of God, in the process they taught man how to make swords.

I have always felt that the sword itself was a divine creation; a transcened weapon, one that when in your hands demands awe and reverence.  When I think of the sword, I picture my first love, the Long Sword. For others it might be the Katana, the Saber or the Rapier. But for me it is the version that is in the shape of the cross. I have for nearly six months been learning Italian Long Sword from a renowned sword master here in California. My pre-concieved notions of sword play have since been erased and now I have become a spokesman for the sword of truth. I wish not to dismay lovers of the Middle Ages or swordsmanship, but every movie you have seen is flawed in everyway. Every depiction of what looks like authentic sword treatises is really theatrical and meant to thrill.S ome film makers attempt to be somewhat accurate or martially sound. The most notable would be such films as: Gladiator, Robin Hood, Kingdom of Heaven, The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, and The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. In all of these fantastic masterpieces authentic treatsies are featured if ever so briefly. You can even distinquish if you have been exposed to The European Martial Arts certain guards, strikes, and counters. 

The Long Sword is considered a crude weapon. Romantic but not pragmatic. Great for barbarians but not the civilized. This misconception is apalling! The long sword is as intricate and complicated a weapon as the Rapier or Saber. In fact, it is far more difficult to master. With the Rapier you focus mostly on footwork, lunging and moving your foible to counter and thrust. With the long sword you must master an elaborate set of movements, guards, cuts, and at same time you must endeavor to be offensive defensive and defensive offensive. Let me explain. In long sword you have a cross bar or quillons and blade to protect you. That gaurd and blade are not just meant for inflicting pain, they are meant to protect you from being maimed. When you combat someone with a long sword, the object is not to strike, but to let your opponet make a mistake and walk into your blade. You do cut, thrust, and pummel, but only once you've first ensured your own safety. Each guard is connected with a cut, and each cut with gaurd. The result is you being protected (if all goes according to plan) and you laying a blow to your enemy.

 It's difficult to articulate in words, if I could but demonstrate. Regardless, the long sword is as artful as the rapier, and requires as much skill to wield. You must be a expert multi-tasker to truly become profficent in this weapon. My second love is the Side Sword. Few save for sword enthusists are familiar with this blade. It is essentially the cross between a long sword and rapier. It has the thick blade like a long sword, but intricate quillons and rounded handle like the rapier. With it you can use both long sword and rapier treatsies, making it a diverse weapon. Th most well known wielder of this weapon would be Prince/King Caspian in CON: Prince Caspian. Next in the line up would be the Scrimitar (single bladed or curved bladed sword). I adore single edged swords. The momentum of each stroke is so comfortable and gravity does most of the work. However, they do have their disadvantages. In particular, you must flip the blade over to cut upward after a downward stroke; something you don't have do with a long sword. :) 
     I was once fond of the Kantana or Daito. I even owned several sets of the famous Samurai weapon. However, my love for this weapon has since deminished. The reason is because the weapon is quite pagan. The Japanese swordsmiths would pray over the swords they were forging and often inscribe a prayer within the handle. The blade of the Samurai in my opinion carries a spirit of death surrounding it. In contrast the long sword envigorates and promotes protecting life. I believe the reason for this is that samurai lived by a code that bid them slay themselves if they failed to preform to par, they lived under judgemental god, while the knights of Europe were Christians and they forged the long sword which is in the shape of the Holy Rood, the tool Christ used to liberate us from sin. My Brit Lit teacher Mr. Sandler said it like this "The cross was Christ' sword." I agree! With it he hewed sin in two and pierced himself to give us eternal life.

I would like to express that to me the sword is not an instrument of death, but of liberation, not a tool of carnage but of justice. The sword to me symbolises libety. It as I said before has a spiritual element tied to it. When I hold it a confidence arises within me. I become apprehended by a boldness and courage that is absent when my blade is not slung at my side. Within that steel dwells a power that makes man feel mighty. Its difficult to convey, to articulate. Its as if when you hold this weapon in your hands or if it lies slung by your side, you feel like you can conquer the world and defeat any foe.

In conclusion, I have always been fascinated by the sword. I have been drawn to this weapon, it castes its spell upon me and beckons me to wield. It is a instrument designed to kill, but to me it still retains its romantic feel. If offered a rifle or sword, I would take the sword. For when you empty your clips and run out of bullets, battles become Medieval and you'll wish you had chosen the sword. :)