Samurai fighting
techniques stem from the
combat methods used by the noble military class of the Japanese
pre-industrial age.
The word “samurai” comes
from
the archaic Japanese word for “to serve”, samorau,
which later became saburau. This reflects the original role of the
samurai, which was to serve a sovereign lord.
This is particularly
significant in the discussion of the various samurai fighting methods,
which draws on many of the honorable disciplines that were practiced
for hundreds of years.
There are actually many weapons in the
arsenal of the samurai, but the one that is the most readily
identifiable with this group is the katana. The katana is a single
edged sword that can be anywhere from 70 to 90 cm. long and is widely
recognizable for its characteristic curved blade.
The katana is undoubtedly one of the most
important tools in samurai fighting techniques. In
fact, the sword is
so identifiable with the warrior class that many people often
mistakenly call the sword itself a samurai.
Many samurai are totally
dependent on the katana for fighting and they often do not even bother
to carry other weapons with them. One of the reasons for this is that
the sword is considered by many warriors to be a living thing. They are
even given names a sign of the samurai’s high regard for
these effective killing tools.
Some of the most common uses of the katana
in combat fighting are for slashing, hacking and chopping. Its
lightweight and balance make it particularity suited for these roles.
There are other weapons that are also
commonly used by samurai, among them: the wakizashi, the Tantō, which
is a small dagger, the yumi or longbow, and the yari or spear.
The wakizashi is often carried together with
a katana, and is considered the “honor blade” of
the samurai. It is said that the samurai always carries the wakizashi
wherever he goes, to the extent of even keeping it under his pillow
when he sleeps.
The yumi is a longbow that actually remained
an important part of many samurai fighting techniques, even with the
advent of firearms during the Sengoku Jidai period of Japanese history.