Melee preferences

I remember that leaf shaped dagger... But that thing was in the machete type blades though... A zweihandler?! Upon hearing that, it reminds me of the german teutonic knights... Seriously, the zweihander (or BIG BLADE is the translation?) was known because of a certain swordsman, using his customized zweihander was able to decapitate five men in a single swing... I dunno who the hell could do such a feat but he must have been pretty strong to hold a zweihander coz that blade is similar to a claymore but the claymore wasnt known to decapitate heads but to sever limbs or to slice a person in two....

Actually, katar isn't a combat weapon. it is an assasination weapon. it is designed so it can leave fatal wound in the abdomen area, since it is easier than the chest, which is covered by ribs. to use one, you just need to stab it to your adversaries, pull the handle and the blade will split open to reveal the third hidden blade. then you just need to twist it and pull it out. the wound inflicted by this weapon is really hard to close and prone to infection. a bit of an overkill, i say...

I am well aware of how to use one and what it's for. :P I own a pair myself, got them last summer. Despite that though, they are still my preferred weapon for close combat.

I really want it T_T

I got a katana at home, a pair actually. one is about 90 cm and the other is 60 cm or so. i also got a rapier and main gauche, a spear (a trident), and a belt-like sword that about 1,5 m long. the next one i want is a kukri, if i can find out where to buy it...

I have my Katars, 4 katanas (not sure on their sizes), 2 normal daggers, 1 main gauche, 1 cat of nine tails, and last, but not least, a baterang xD (boomerang blade in the shape of the batman symbol.) I must say though, a trident sounds awesome. Must be the next thing I try to find. =o

If i'm not mistaken, isn't cat o' nine tails designed to inflict more pain than damage? that's why it's usually used as torture devices. how long is it anyway? and that batarang, did you make it yourself? or it is some bladeless replica, like mine?

Indeed the cat o' nine tails is a torture device more than a weapon, but it most certainly inflicts quite a bit of damage. As for it's size, I've never actually measured it, but off just looking, I would say about 3 ft long. The batarang is bought, but it itself is a blade. It doesn't unfold or anything, it is made out of stainless steel and the sides of it are very sharp.

I see. the one i've got is made of fiberglass? i think, and it has no blade. it's more of an novelty item i guess.

Speaking of boomerangs, can you use one? i've tried using it once but it's really hard to hit the target. the one i use is a traditional 2 bladed wood one, not the three bladed fiberglass/carbon composite that's been used on the olympics.

I tried once.. It didn't go well, at all. Let's just say it ended up with my friend having to get stitches. >_>

It seems both of us isn't gifted with ranged weapons ^_^

Back on topic. what weapon did you prefer, based on looks, not practicality? i prefer rapier + main gauche myself. it just looked cool to me.

Based on looks? Most definitely Kusarigama. I love those things to death. Trying to get one, but I'm afraid I'll end up trying to use it if I do and put myself in the hospital. xD That would be 100x worse trying to use one than a boomerang is, lol.

Agreed. something with chain or joints is really hard to use. i remember at one time i tried to use a nunchaku. take a guess how it's end ^_^

You hit your groin or ur head? Nice swinging! ^^

Ah, yes. I believe his name was Pier Donia, forgot the middle name. He used a seven foot long Zweihander that weighed fourteen pounds.

Now i know his middle name.... I think it was glofs...

You know I resent the kusarigama because when my cousin and i spar, my nodachi, katana, claymore, kodachi or short blade would be tangled up along with my hand with the chain and he would either pull me close to him to hack me with the sickle (by the way, the practice swords are made of wood and are almost identical to the real thing except for the chain and sickle weapons as the chain is metal and the sickle is wood) or pull the blade away from me... Unto this day i still dont know how to counter that annoying at the same time cool weapon....

It was Pier Gerlofs Donia. he is a legend with the greatsword, which is more tham 2 metres long.

incidentally, to defeat kusarigama, just use an offhand weapon, like main gauche.

Or a shield. @_@

The Kusari-Gama was only so effective because the kendo disciplines emphasized the use of a sword model that could use one or two hands. Shields in Japan were a rare thing, which is why the Kusari-Gama excelled so much in the right hands. Against a shield the weight would hit the front and deflect off rather harmlessly.

Tried the shield thing already. Used a Roman legionnaire shield, a Macedonian round shield, and equipped myself with a gladius, falcata/falchion, xiphos and short blade variants and still he can defeat me by either:
SCENARIO 1
- i used roman legionnaire shield with short blade (spears dont work on me, though tridents do) and used the shield as a ram towards him, but sadly he vaulted over my head and strangled me with the chain.

SCENARIO 2
- used a big round shield and falcata, went defensive and held my ground. After five successful repulses, i got sickled because when i tried to counterattack, the shield was weighing me down and got hooked in the right shoulder.
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Also Pier used a zweihander, which is equivalent to a claymore in many ways except:
(based on what i found out)
The blade was narrower and thicker than the claymore
It sometimes did not have a fuller
The handle was stuffed to make it heavy and the basis of the swing will be in the handle and less in the blade

Try making some kind of custom glove that will go over the hilt of your sword so that he cannot pull it away from you. When he gets the chain wrapped around, if you can overpower him, pull the sickle away from him. If you're worried about pulling too hard and having it hit you, this is a way a shield could effectively be used against it.

I think your mistake is you're using falcata. try using the roman basic sword & shield one on one fighting method, which is using the shield to cover your sword arm (and your sword, a gladius would be best) and stab him using your sword. he wonn't be able to see the sword coming, thus making it harder to block / evade. a dagger would work just as fine, but it must be short enough so your shield can hide it from the enemy vision and it have straight pointed edges.




Better yet, use a rapier with wire guard. or a staff. those would be hard to get tangled with the chain.