Wearing a basket hilt.?.

[ohiopiper]

I am of two minds. Firstly and most important to me, is personal choice. If one chooses to carry/wear a weapon, specifically a historic blade in this discussion, it is their personal choice.

Secondly, it should be carried off well in execution. In other words, make the rest of your attire match the size and configuration of the blade you're carrying. Don't show up to a formal dinner wearing a greatsword belted acros your back. A blinged out dirk is a nice accessory. At the games when everyone is in a much more relaxed and "Let's see what people are wearing" mode, getting all geeked out with the cutlery is appropriate.

Of course the most historically accurate method would be to carry a small blade you know how to use well and conceal it. I believe there was some discussion of the sgian achlais (sp) a while back.

Of course, one must remember the first rule of knife fighting. Everybody gets cut, it's just an issue of how badly.

And as far as swords being a pain, you betcha. I wore a cutlass for years to full dress ceremonies with the U.S.N. Not exactly a petite item. Think two feet of heavy blade and brass handguard similar to a basket-hilt.

[ohiopiper]

Hence the reason why discussion of weaponry,even historical weaponry, gets dicey. This is an international forum and laws vary wildly from one location to another. Our personal biases are often also formed by those same laws we live under and we then deem those conditions "normal", when in fact, there is no "normal". The variety of legal conditions prevent it.

One country and society will eliminate all edged weapons, another will sell machetes at department stores. Such is the global community. The best course of action is to not judge one another by our own standards. They are not the standards of other nations and societies.

[Dale Seago]

Hence the reason why discussion of weaponry,even historical weaponry, gets dicey. This is an international forum and laws vary wildly from one location to another. Our personal biases are often also formed by those same laws we live under and we then deem those conditions "normal", when in fact, there is no "normal". The variety of legal conditions prevent it.

One country and society will eliminate all edged weapons, another will sell machetes at department stores. Such is the global community. The best course of action is to not judge one another by our own standards. They are not the standards of other nations and societies.

I could not be more in agreement with your post.

I am a senior-level instructor ("senior" as in, "In a non-promotable status because I'm maxed out on rank") in a international martial-arts organization (the Bujinkan) headquartered in Chiba Prefecture, Japan. This organization's curriculum is based in 9 martial traditions from feudal Japan's pre-unification civil war period and has as much emphasis on effective use of a very broad array of weaponry (as well as things like explosives, incendiaries, poisons, etc.) as on empty-hand methods.

Many of the traditional bodies of knowledge are illegal to learn or train in, in their "pure" or original form, in any number of countries where instructors and practitioners may reside, and "work-arounds" have to be developed. And they're not all the same for all affected countries. Makes for interesting creative exercises. :-)

(EDIT: And btw, I spent many years as an intelligence and special-ops officer for the U.S. of A. So if anyone thinks they can just ask me for details or tips on "getting away with stuff" that might be illegal where they reside. . .hey, you don't ask and I won't tell, okay?)