Japanese katana are not only legendary but sharp! You have to know what the hell you are doing.
These experts most certainly do. But while practicing, they’ve cut up their fair share of successes — and failures.
Before we look at their fails, here are over nine minutes of katana cutting perfection, courtesy of YouTube user shachiNT.
I think we can all agree, however, that this is the greatest katana cutting success:
And now here are the fails:
Hang in there, Japanese swordspeople! This is no laughing matter.
抜刀試斬稽古 失敗集 [shachiNT@YouTube]
日本刀試斬 成功集 [shachiNT@YouTube]
Comments
48 responses to “A Collection Of Japanese Katana Fails”
Jesus, imagine the carnage one of those things would do if it flew out of someones hand mid swing. No way I would be standing in a room full of students wielding razor sharp instruments of death.
This is why I always shake my head whenever somebody says that if a zombie apocalypse were ever to happen, they’ll be fine using a Japanese sword. Not knowing that they’re hard to use, most likely will fail using them, and are easy to break. Under the impression that they’re cleaving 3 zombies per swing and are lucky enough if the sword can make it half way through their stomach (which won’t stop a zombie) and might be unlucky enough to shatter the thing.
People say that? Forget the fact that it will break and probably won’t even be sharp for long, I’d rather not be within arms reach of a horde of zombies.
People do, its surprising the stupid and almost suicidal ideas people have for combating zombies.
Personally, I’d get my hands on a Pole Pruner asap.
One of the first thing I’d do would be stealing one if the suits used when training police dogs to attack
Duct tape over card board would be the first armour I’d be acquiring while not nearly as good as what your going for it will be way way easier to get. Or do you know where they train Police attack dogs? I assume the collapse of society means no power so no internet.
That’s right people plan your looting now, and no how to get there.
And remember surviving zombies is based on avoidance rather than having a bad arse weapon.
Coincidentally I actually do know and it’s only an hour or so drive, but the way I see it when the time comes it won’t be like in The Walking Dead etc. We know the signs to look for and the second we see that story of the crazy sick guy attacking and biting a doctor or w/e I’m bolting for my zombie survival plan placed behind the don’t break unless zombies glass, throwing down all my valuable stuff into my fully stocked shelter (that may or may not exist yet, back off its mine!) to prepare for that initial wave of looting that we all know inevitably occurs, meanwhile also hammering some specially sharpened nails through a wooden baseball bat to use as a weapon until something better comes along. The only real problem would be is I can’t get the suit early on during the initial incubation period as I’d probably get arrested, however waiting too long would make it difficult to get there safely………and I’ve put way more effort into thinking about this than I had previously thought.
Nails in a bat is a bad idea. Will get stuck in the skull.
I think if nothing else, the World War Z movie did demonstrate that phone books haven’t become completely useless
Most people would likely end up giving themselves a fatal wound in the process. I have used my shihans katana recently (not his ceremonial, just his training, the ceremonial is worth 7k, training is worth 1.5k not allowed to touch the ceremonial katana, ever lol).
What I took away from holding a real katana, was that they are incredibly light, incredibly fast when swung correctly and incredibly dangerous to both the victim AND the user. We weren’t using bamboo mats or reed mats, we were a side of pork at his house (local club, local dogo, we hang our together) for him to demonstrate to me (and a half dozen others from the club) the danger the katana presents. It’s pretty damn nasty to say the least.
Also I’m in no rush to use it to be honest, as cool as it was to hold one, to be honest it scared the crap out of me once I considered what I could do, could accidentally do and accidentally have done to me… (A master swordsman would never do that, I’m talking only of novices here).
I regularly handle katanas all the time, those things fall apart real easy. You can’t even tell half the time, sometimes they fall apart on the inside. The blade is also very easy to chip and wear down, most swords from WW2 are almost blunt.
Still, when I’m alone I like to unsheath them and swing them around a little. Just a little.
If you’re talking about the swords the low level grunts used in ww2, they were mass produced in factories for the soldiers and well known to be garbage in comparison to a professionally made sword. The steel they were made from was impure and known to be brittle as hell. However, they’re still great collectors items! I’m not telling you anything you don’t know though. Just anyone else who reads it.
I’ve never swung at one of those mats so I don’t know what it’s like, but interesting to know they’re very fragile. It didn’t freak me out, but it did surprise and creep me out a little when I sliced into the side of pig and it sliced it right open. Shihan went into detail about how the bowel would come out etc. Was rather enlightening.
I really do feel jealous when I see his katana up in the case at Shihans place though. It’s in a locked glass case on his cupboard, it’s beautiful that’s for sure.
Not just mass produced swords, but more better designed katanas and shin guntos used by NCOs and other high positions worth several thousand bucks. I don’t even think they’re the most expensive weapons I’ve handled. I think the most expensive was a British Ceremonial Sword worth 10,000. But every now and then we get some weaboo who wants to look at a Japanese sword that’s only worth 200 bucks. Looks upon it in awe at the craftsmanship, probably not aware that I can snap it with my knee.
But it’s always the less informed that usually skew opinions on stuff like this. It’s why I really hate that “Katana versus Long Sword” video on Youtube. Even if I don’t have a full knowledge on weaponry, history and armour, I could tell it was clearly biased.
The katana vs longsword argument is pointless (pun not intended). Both are spectacular weapons but completely useless in the wrong hands. A katana in the hands of someone skilled in the art of Bushido, is a deadly weapon capable of removing limbs in a single slice, severing a head etc.
The same exact thing can be said for a long sword. The long sword in the right, skilled hands, is an amazingly devastating weapon in it’s own right capable of doing either the same things or alternate things of equal devastation.
Then we have the rapier, the naginata, and on and on and on…
Point is: No weapon, as you know, is truly ‘better’ than the other if the hands it rests in aren’t skilled enough to use it and those videos never take that into account…
You two gentlemen just made my day.
Rapiers weren’t really used because they where deadly they where used because they weren’t meant to be deadly. It’s a fencing sword, your just trying to stab him a little to make him apologise. These where weapons of gentlemen used to settle the matter of who bumped into whom.
Indeed but the rapier was more about getting around armour or piercing organs etc and creating long term death. A very nasty weapon in the right hands.
As the old saying goes. The greatest swordsman in the world does not fear the second, he fears the worst.
It’s true that people greatly over estimate the abilities of Katana, but it also sounds like you are at the other spectrum of undervaluing them. A well made blade from a reputable forge, made of modern high carbon, spring or tool steels is extremely hard to break. It’s not invincible, but can take a fair amount of punishment.
I run tests quite often on pig carcases and my main blade has yet to take significant damage from solid bone aside from a good re-polish every year. (Though as you mention, experience plays a part)
Even with the ability to cleanly take a limb or head from a body though, it wouldn’t be my go to weapon in a zombie apocalypse, quick consecutive kills will drain the stamina of even the most fit. I would keep it near though, something is better than nothing in a pinch
Sadly most people watch a few movies and cartoons, buy a crappy $20 wall hanger from Amazon and suddenly think they can cut trees in twain.
In a zombie apocalypse, praticality is more important. You need something with weight that can also be used to break stuff, but easy to handle and store. An axe is a good idea, but usually requires two hands and a good swing. I’ve actually read about how a machete is probably your best go-to weapon. Sharp enough with the weight behind it for most situations.
A machete would be a top idea, as well as some sort of bludgeoning weapon you can use up close. Max Brooks ‘zombie survival guide’ and his ‘world war z’ novel (gah I hate the movie…) went into amazing detail on how effective they were.
A good spade will do you well… and you can use it to dig too, in an absolute emergency.
Especially useful for those cases of mistaken zombification.
They’re not hard to use at all! The only difficult thing is if you want to get into all those specific ritual Bushido moves.
Katanas are the easiest blades apart from machetes to use: nice long chopping blade with only a slight curve so you don’t miscalculate where the point is like with a cavalry sabre or scimitar; long, even, open hilt with a teeny pommel so it’s easy to use one handed or two and easy to switch hands on the go; tiny little guard so it doesn’t get in the way if you want to do clever spinning movie stunts; the long hilt gives it a lovely balance too, you can get a lot more speed out of them than most European swords.
They’re nice, strong, durable blades, perfect for amateurs in zombie fantasies.
Realistically any sword, any at all is tricky to master for actual fighting- not against zombies, cardboard boxes, watermelons, or bamboo.
-Easy for an amateur to go out and start chopping and imitating their fave movie scenes, not easy to become an expert fighter with.
I shake my head when people talk about zombies full stop. The truthful answer for 98% of people who talk about it when asked what they’d do in reality would be “Piss myself and attempt to hide”.
Oh no, but not me, I’d be out there carrying 42 AK’s, 16 katanas, a shotgun and half a dozen grenades…
ugh
that’s nothing compared to my AK shotgun that shoots out katanas
Machete, always go with the Machete.
I can see you’ve given this a lot of thought…..
and I don’t even want to. Especially considering that I believe a zombie apocalypse can never happen, even if zombies could be real.
If someone said that to me, I probably wouldn’t care that much because it’s a fictional scenario.
I always shake my head (well, mostly, I scoff a lot too) when someone thinks they can go hand to hand with a zombie, as though they’ll never fatigue, swinging that sword, club, etc all day or that they would be somehow immune to the fluidic and bacterial contact with a Zeke.
What I’m finding really weird about this is how much it looks like playing with a skateboard. The whole ‘I knew I’d screwed up the instant I started moving’ look is dead on.
Makes me wish I never gave the sword up 😐
Then buy a couple from me!
Ohh I still have a large collection of weapons, swords and other wise.
I just stopped training years ago, I was part of the world ninja society…..mind you my kids got me a knife throwing class for Xmas, that was heaps of fun and good to meet like minded ppl.
What does that involve, exactly?
http://www.realultimatepower.net/
That’s what that involves.
The first rule of ninja club, tell everyone about ninja club.
Member recruitment was important, the bigger the clan the better, we did displays etc. I was part of clan Tengu, there were 6 clans if I recall and we competed in survival games.
We learnt how to pour tea, fold swords, meditate, some history and Japanese script, forms of survival including trapping and camouflage….. but the main purpose was to learn how to kill.
I really don’t want to step on your time with the club, but you are aware they have a rather terrible history and reputation? Learning combat techniques under the banner of modern Ninjutsu is one thing, but the fact remains that no existing form of Ninjutsu is considered Koryu and many claims of history and lineage cannot be proven or are simply debunked by existing history
Well aware, hence why it was a society and not called a martial art. I will not mention everything I have learnt or seen nor the reason for my leaving but you are right.
The whole “ninja” thing is a cult, in where they fleece westerners for money, and continue selling them continual books as “the art is an ongoing, and mysterious one”.
Once you get to the middle tier its hard to leave without constant harassment to come back sadly. Maybe I’m cynical now but I believe all martial arts organizations soul purpose is profit.
They must get a good bulk-buy deal on straw training rolls.
The comments on the youtube video of the girl… creepy white guys, creepy white guys everywhere.
This post should have highlighted the first vid, not the fails. First vid is amazing.