If I see ONE more add for a movie with some non-samurai person wielding it, I am going to scream! Enough with the katanas! There ARE other swords out there that can do just as good a job as a katana. Give it a break!

Oh, and the adds for some movie called GI Joe (I assume this is playing off the figurines). Why on earth would any modern soldier equipped with the latest weaponry, gear, and flying equipment want to waste half his life learning how to use a sword. HEY.. GI Joe! Go watch Sam Peckenpah's "Killer Elite" to see how functional a sword is in modern warfare.
It's time to put the damn katanas on a rack!

quote:

Originally posted by AZ SIG shooter:
If I see ONE more add for a movie with some non-samurai person wielding it, I am going to scream! Enough with the katanas! There ARE other swords out there that can do just as good a job as a katana. Give it a break!

Oh, and the adds for some movie called GI Joe (I assume this is playing off the figurines). Why on earth would any modern soldier equipped with the latest weaponry, gear, and flying equipment want to waste half his life learning how to use a sword. HEY.. GI Joe! Go watch Sam Peckenpah's "Killer Elite" to see how functional a sword is in modern warfare.
It's time to put the damn katanas on a rack!

What sword would you have them use? Perhaps a Claymore? Might be hard to move that bad boy around so swiftly and artistically though.

Personally, I'd rather see some Nepalese Gurkhas wield Kukris.

You know....I just don't get the hype of Katana's. Yes Hype. They are no better than any other sword and worse than many...European swords were just as good if not better in all respects. OHHHHH and the BS of ANY edged weapon doing the things portrayed....cutting a floating scarf....chopping a maching gun barrel in half....cutting through stuff like a lightsabre...

I think the Japanese just can afford better publicists.

(and i agree,,,i wouldn't take one into combat today!!!)

Cheers
Jaycat

Snake Eyes is a feckin ninja and he doesn't use a katana. He uses a wakishazi or a to.

Don't piss him off either or he'll come around and freak you out with his LIPS.

A Philippine Barung would make an excellent defensive knife/sword. A Kris would make an excellent movie sword..very dramatic and with lots more character than a katana..and they have indwelling spirits that give them supernatural power as well!
The Kukri idea is good too.
I have nothing againsts samurai swords; I collected them for years and even did displays for the Phoenix Art Museum. I'm just tired of seeing them in movies. The katana has become what the snub nose .38 was in movies and television shows of thre 1950's. It's getting boring.

Bayonets just didn't catch on, did they?

quote:

Originally posted by Jaycat:
You know....I just don't get the hype of Katana's. Yes Hype. They are no better than any other sword and worse than many...European swords were just as good if not better in all respects. OHHHHH and the BS of ANY edged weapon doing the things portrayed....cutting a floating scarf....chopping a maching gun barrel in half....cutting through stuff like a lightsabre...

I think the Japanese just can afford better publicists.

(and i agree,,,i wouldn't take one into combat today!!!)

Cheers
Jaycat

I kind of agree with this...

Every melee weapon has a specific use, and katanas tend to be popular due to their versatility and exotic nature. They can efficiently be wielded with one or two hands, and the hype that surrounds them stems from this exotic background. They were forged very differently than European weapons, and the fighting style surrounding them is absolutely in its own world. This doesn't even take into account the spiritual nature that enveloped the katana and was universally accepted by all those within the Japanese society.

With all this considered I can understand the draw by the entertainment industry to use this weapon. However, I too am sick of seeing it portrayed in modern films where the actors/actresses have no idea how to use the katana. It makes me want to cry every time I see it.

I am also sick of these movies showing them as you say a "lightsaber". This is probably one of the biggest myths that is propagated in movies. For their time, the katana was a marvel in blade technology, and was rivaled by very few other weapons. However, this technology was surpassed, and today people have come out with better ways to forge blades. The traditional folded steel can easily be considered obsolete by today's sword standards.

I would LOVE to see some more modern movies with katanas and ACTUAL SAMURAI. In the tradition of the Kurosawa films, I'd love to see these films make a come back. Sword fighting that doesn't take fifteen minutes to complete, no weird wire-fu; just a showing of the mastery of the weapon.

Oh, and I completely agree with the kukri-wielding Gurkhas in movies.

But what do you do about the zombies when you run out of ammo?

gotta have a backup plan...

Zed's dead, baby.

THERE CAN BE ONLY ONE.

Sorry, someone had to say it.

They sure sell tickets and popcorn...

In real life, at very close quarters someone that has a clue on how to use a blade like weapon "can" have an advantage over someone with a gun.

quote:

Originally posted by bruchi:
They sure sell tickets and popcorn...

In real life, at very close quarters someone that has a clue on how to use a blade like weapon "can" have an advantage over someone with a gun.

Awesome avatar. I think my new favorite.

quote:

Originally posted by bruchi:
They sure sell tickets and popcorn...

In real life, at very close quarters someone that has a clue on how to use a blade like weapon "can" have an advantage over someone with a gun.

But a katana would require room to perform its "magic." It's a slicing weapon, requiring long and sweeping motion. Not stabbing or chopping. In very close quarters, a gladius just might be a better weapon.

quote:

Originally posted by parabellum:
Zed's dead, baby.

Haha, yes!

Alright, take the samuri swords out of non-poriod movies. With the exception of the Kill Bill movies.

quote:

Originally posted by Black Majik:


Awesome avatar. I think my new favorite.

what....you don't like mine?....it is so very.....uuummm....original.....yeah, that's it....it is original and well thought-out

quote:

Originally posted by LincolnSixEcho:
What sword would you have them use? Perhaps a Claymore? Might be hard to move that bad boy around so swiftly and artistically though.

Katanas and Claymores are both too long to be useful. Much better for close combat would be a Roman Gladius.

note: Sorry Sigfan91 just saw your post. But I agree 100%.

quote:

Originally posted by Fenris:

quote:

Originally posted by LincolnSixEcho:
What sword would you have them use? Perhaps a Claymore? Might be hard to move that bad boy around so swiftly and artistically though.

Katanas and Claymores are both too long to be useful. Much better for close combat would be a Roman Gladius.

note: Sorry Sigfan91 just saw your post. But I agree 100%.

You just have to know how to use one. Katanas are VERY deadly up close in the proper hands (don't know enough about the claymore to say the same).

I'm still sick of seeing them in movies, especially when wielded by unskilled actors.

quote:

Go watch Sam Peckenpah's "Killer Elite" to see how functional a sword is in modern warfare.

Love that movie.

"I am going out to use the night."