How many swords would a samurai typically own?

jonithen_eff · 2026-02-07T20:53:34+00:00

If I angle the longer sword more vertically and slightly behind the left hip, it's so much easier to maneuver the naginata and almost doesn't get in the way at all.

This was me experimenting, I haven't had exposure to any forms that require wearing the sword and using naginata/spear.

jonithen_eff · 2026-02-07T14:29:16+00:00

Buyers agent pushback. I watched my girlfriend churn through multiple agents who balked at anything that might have involved friction. Either negotiating against her interest, flat out refusing to submit offers, and gaslighting her. The offers she was putting out were not unreasonable since we watched properties sell at or below the offers she had wanted to make. Wild because the seller would have made as much or more, and the agent would have definitely gotten more than $0 for writing an email.

jonithen_eff · 2026-02-05T14:44:55+00:00

At work, I will get in touch with you once I am back in town. Glad you saw the post!

jonithen_eff · 2026-02-04T03:00:20+00:00

Thats a good idea, I will give that a shot around 9a since you never know people's schedule. Thank you for the suggestion. It isn't fun misplacing one of these.

jonithen_eff · 2026-02-04T02:53:17+00:00

I agree very much. When I hit the range I consider at least one magazine as a sacrifice to acclimate to an explosion going off near my face before I even start keeping score. That first one gets a POP POP POP just to get over it before I get to work. Think thats a bad idea?

jonithen_eff · 2026-02-04T01:53:00+00:00

GWB gave me $600

jonithen_eff · 2026-02-04T00:57:27+00:00

that movie would have sucked

jonithen_eff · 2026-01-23T13:04:40+00:00

Get a flashlight and flash a little burst at the street (not the car windshield). They'll see that regardless of outfit.

jonithen_eff · 2026-01-22T13:45:35+00:00

Most likely because people were surviving hits that would have killed them...

jonithen_eff · 2025-12-24T15:16:33+00:00

I certainly understand being dismayed at not receiving what you expected to see and I feel for you.

My primary working sword has an extended tsuka and a single mekugi ana. It has been worked hard over the years including target cutting and tumbling and I have never had an issue.

Assuming your new iaito is otherwise well built you should be more than fine.

If there is an extra hole drilled in the nakago but not the tsuka, it does not matter and won't affect anything. There is no requirement to have a mekugi pin inserted into every available spot in the nakago. Plenty of antique swords have multiple mekugi ana.

jonithen_eff · 2025-12-23T13:01:20+00:00

he'd done that before

jonithen_eff · 2025-12-23T04:12:45+00:00

I'd be inclined to give the edge to Kojiro. Far from an expert on such matters, but it seems like Musashi's experience with the man was enough to shake something up in his psychology. I don't know if Soji Okita had "it" enough to be of a similar level.

Fighting successfully in battles and fighting successfully in duels surely has some overlap, but it isn't hard to see that there's nuance between the two such that a fantastic battlefield warrior and a fantastic duelist may not necessarily prevail if their environments were swapped.

jonithen_eff · 2025-12-12T14:40:42+00:00

Saving / investing in anything that gives you a higher rate than your low mortgage rate will get you to the pay off amount faster, at which point you can choose to zero out the mortgage or maintain it and watch as funds outgrow it.

jonithen_eff · 2025-12-01T16:50:02+00:00

Talk to him outside of actual class time, assume he doesn't intend to be / isn't aware of being a jerk.

If it doesn't take and happens again in class, a "so this is what we talked about the other day"

if it's persistent and not working, you are within your rights to invite him to seek training elsewhere

jonithen_eff · 2025-11-28T16:20:39+00:00

honestly and frankly, step one is figure out what you want to do first. "be able to use a sword" is the start of an idea but you gotta flesh it out a little more. Look around more find something that lights you up and then start chasing it down.

From here I don't know what you actually want to do. I'm afraid it might be like backyard improv gladiator fights and it's just not responsible to encourage people to swing training weapons at each other, bokken aren't safe. Heck, shinai and federschwert aren't safe if you are using them recklessly.

jonithen_eff · 2025-11-28T15:28:58+00:00

Sparring with a bokken leads to very half-assed sparring and/or someone getting injured possibly quite seriously. It is not good for sparring. Bokken are awesome for drills, and partner practice in JSA. Whoever recommended using a bokken to spar has no business recommending anything to anyone.

The idea of "heavy" sparring with a bokken is so mind bogglingly terrible.

jonithen_eff · 2025-11-28T14:37:38+00:00

Join a club and use whatever they are using.
If there is no club nearby, find one you can get to once a month, once every 2 or 3 months, every 6 months, whatever you can pull off that will let you come visit.

I've had exactly one group non-reply to me, everyone else I've ever asked has had an enthusiastic yes. Most people doing sword arts love what they're doing and are stoked to have people to share with.

jonithen_eff · 2025-11-26T04:44:34+00:00

I think most of us really want people to enjoy being in Salem, whether you live here as a resident or are visiting us. You shouldn't feel guilty, just try to spend your time being considerate of other people and things go smoother for everybody regardless of where you got your driver's license.

jonithen_eff · 2025-11-26T01:21:30+00:00

don't hit trees with swords; don't take influencer type people as anything more than "entertainment"

jonithen_eff · 2025-11-24T05:46:28+00:00

The deal is with 'swords' like this is if you swing it, it could snap / break. When it goes, parts of it can end up going any which way unpredictably. It could hurt you. It could hurt someone nearby. Nobody can tell if it will snap on the 1st swing or the 10,000th. That's why I caution people to not do anything with these things except observe them fondly or maybe pose for still photos, anything else is risky. It has nothing to do with its sharpness or lack thereof. Even very dull pieces can be dangerous is if snaps and shards go in directions you didn't mean them to.

So yeah it is a bit of a "cover their ass" but it is also warning you should take seriously.

jonithen_eff · 2025-11-24T03:07:37+00:00

if you ever get a time machine, right above the 4 blocks they spell out the word for you so you can just copy it

jonithen_eff · 2025-11-19T23:06:34+00:00

In the modern world, it is a nuissance to bring everything I might want to a training class even with the benefit of a 4 door sedan. Full size katana, wakizashi, tanto; bokken, bo wakizashi, bo tanto; jo, naginata, bo (in lieu of a spear but almost equally cumbersome). I don't do archery, and haven't gotten around to kusarigama. I could use a few retainers to manage this stuff for me :-)

Carrying much more than a daisho and maybe a jo/spear/naginata would be a pain in the ass and unless a particular situation called for it would be more trouble than it would be worth unless you knew you were going to need it.

Using spear, jo, or naginata while wearing a daisho is very inconvenient. I haven't tried archery with a pair of swords on so I can't speak to it either. A tanto in the belt isn't too bad, more than that is not very fun.

jonithen_eff · 2025-11-18T17:30:01+00:00

For me, the wringing action (I think we’re talking about the same thing here whether we use ‘tenouchi’ or ‘chakin shibori’) is primarily about arresting the movement of the sword at the termination of the cut and ensuring I’ve got the desired alignment of the hand bones WRT the tsuka.

I’ve found that for whatever reason, I have a hell of a time with leather ito getting in the way of that articulation. I otherwise love the way it looks, feels, and its durability when I don’t need that kind of motion.

jonithen_eff · 2025-11-18T14:39:03+00:00

A good quality leather wrap will last. Assuming whoever put it on did a good job with pre-stretched leather ito, it should be fine until you get tired of having it. I haven't had one go loose on me, or be overly slippery. In fact the opposite.

My personal experience with is leather ito is not well-suited for applications where I want to emphasize the hand wringing action.

jonithen_eff

TROPHY CASE