Samurai Day 2024 with Antony Cummins Date: 30th November 2024. Special offer: instructors who bring five students are free. How to book: Payment to nmayerpainter@gmail.com PayPal. PLEASE MARK AS FRIENDS AND FAMILY. Email contact: nmayerpainter@gmail.com Event address: Bob Aldis bushido Martial Arts, 33801 32 Mile Rd Richmond, MI 48062, USA. Cost: $125 Yelp link Directions - Bob Aldis’ Bushido Martial Arts - Richmond, MI - MI (yelp.com) Samurai day 2024 Join us for Samurai Day 2024 with Antony Cummins, where you can immerse yourself in an authentic samurai experience. The day will be filled with engaging activities such as traditional swordsmanship and Samurai ways. Antony will guide you through the techniques and philosophies that define the samurai way of life. The day will have its foundation in kenjutsu swordsmanship but go on to feature many samurai arts. Whether you are a history enthusiast or a martial arts practitioner, this event offers a unique opportunity to step into the shoes of a samurai and gain insights into their disciplined way of living. Do not miss out on this captivating journey into the past. Book your place. Where to stay Hotels in the Chester field, make sure to be there Friday and Saturday night. Tru by Hilton 45301 Marketplace Blvd, Chesterfield, MI 48051•(586) 949-2000 www.hilton.com/en/hotels/yzrccru-chesterfield-township-detroit/ Hampton inn 45725 Marketplace Blvd, Chesterfield, MI 48051•(586) 948-2300 www.hilton.com/en/hotels/dttcfhx-hampton-suites-detroit-chesterfield-township/ Fairfield inn by Marriott 45800 Marketplace Blvd, Chesterfield, MI 48051•(586) 267-5300 www.marriott.com/en-us/hotels/dtwmb-fairfield-inn-and-suites-detroit-chesterfield/overview/
Hi Antony I think that Samurai swordsmen during the Edo period were just as good as the ones in the Sengoku Jidai. The best example I can give is during the 1860s, the Shinsegumi and other swordsmen of the day were constantly engaging is combat and assassinations and sources tell us that they were just as good : cutting heads off , hands and wrists and defending themeselves and surviving. In other words their sword skills were as prefect and did not decline at all and they were still ferocious and brutal as they dedicated their lifetime to trainining even in peace. So their skills would have been comparable and I think it's all about training and combat experience.
I remember reading a paper that says the swords with intricate patterns actually have weaker properties. Using this as an analogy for swordsmanship. The sweet spot might be the end of the Sengoku era, when the people who went to war were able to reflect on and compile their skills.
There are plenty of actual historical records, including those about failed tameshigiri testing during the Edo period (on cadavers and criminals; back when test cutting was not about testing sword skill but testing the quality of the sword). One of the reasons for this is because of the overall decline in martial proficiency and practical use of the sword. Ask any serious nihonto connoisseur and they will tell you the same. During the long peace, the beauty of hamon patterns, for example, became more important than their implication for function. This frequently resulted in visually spectacular swords that were too brittle and snapped/shattered against bone and bamboo alike. This is not an absolute, obviously, as there were many different schools of swordmaking, including some that specialized in emulating the older koto blades, for example. But the broad trend is there for anyone to see.
This is an interesting topic for debate. Let's put a hypothetical question; Scenario is; it's a no-rules, no-hold-barred fight to the death. Contenders; An Aikidoka, A BJJ practitioner and a guy who practices traditional Jujutsu. One practices a "Do", one practices a "Sport" and one trains to win, at whatever cost. Yeah, I'm biased, but.... Who wins?
May have been in the swordsmen of the British empire, may have been in another book, but I remember reading about a fencing instructor being brought over to India to teach some of the soldiers and being challenged by one of them on the grounds that someone without experience in battle could not exceed actual soldiers in sword fighting, but he beat his challenger and was taken on to teach. I'm sorry I can't remember the details, but assuming I'm not hallucinating it one might suppose there could be an optimal point when people could dedicated enough time to swordsmanship overall, swordsmanship over other arts of war more broadly concerned with field engagements, the proliferation of information being better to some degree and all this while still dealing with street fights enough to still be grounded. This is of course just a mental calculation based on a vague memory that doesn't even concern Japan, so take it with a gain of salt and more.
The trends which emerged during the long peace--prioritizing hierarchy and seniority rather than martial proficiency and practicality; pseudo-religious worship of tradition for its own sake, etc--which became solidified in the modern age have effectively killed meaningful Japanese swordsmanship training today. 99% of every other dojo never ever spar. Just choreographed forms and cutting passive targets. It's becoming more and more a circus act sideshow. Armchair warriors arguing about whose lineage is more legit and whose certificate or scroll is more impressive. It's pathetic. TennenRishin spars and spars seriously; as they should. Some Hokushini-Itto pretend to spar but do so poorly and barely manages to embody the intensity and skill of even mediocre sport kendoka. Swordsmanship, like any combat system, either continues to pressure test its curriculum through vigorous sparring and for the sake of continuous improvement and evolution, or else it becomes a performative dance. Just my honest opinion.
Hi Antony , for what there worth heres my view / experience with the samurai sword . I have owned and examined swords from many eras and certainly among collecters and sword appraisers the general opinion is that in times of war the demand for swords is high so quality suffers , swords made after this tend to be " art swords" made to a high standard by very skilled swordsmiths under no pressure to mass produce them , and as for combat ready samurai would the guys with more experience in battles be " pressure tested " more than the Edo period ? Taking the example of pre " stress fire " training military / police gunmen, people of great skill on the range failed to hit someone across the room due to the stress of actual " kill or be killed " exposure . Cheers Paul
@@AntonyCummins Hi ,yes i totally get that and as you say unless you went through every battle in the Sengoku period it would be hard to pin down the numbers and experience of the Samurai from both periods .Paul
From what I've read the older style swords were better. I would liken it to cars or appliances. The older machines are built to last,easy to repair,focus on functionality and sturdiness. The more modern ones are more bells and whistles,designed around aesthetics,etc. and not as durable as the old ones. Swords and swordsman would probably be the same. Especially around the time Japan was constantly at civil war. An old era swordsman with a Dōtanuki katana would probably be very intimidating to one from a more peaceful era with a katana that has a fancy hamon line.
