Paul Chen Wind and Thunder Katana

hi, im selling my personal sword 'cause i want to buy another one. just click on the link below to check out the e-bay auction. e-mail me if u have any questions or IM me @ mjr1038 via aol instant messenger. ttyl.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...e=STRK:MESE:IT

Hello Michael, although I am not in the market to purchase another sword at this time I can attest to the cutting ability of the wind and thunder blade. One of the gentleman that practices with me has one and I have had the pleasure of cutting with it. Wonderful blade.

it's a great sword, but has very little sori (curvature) and doesn't suit my cutting style, but it its a nice blade and it's great for beginners due to the thickness of the blade itself, its very forgiving to inexperienced cutters.

Hi Michael,

Not that I'm interested in purchasing the sword, just curious. You mentioned it was used to cut only twice. Is cutting practiced so rarely that a sword is used only twice in the hands of one owner? Do not accept that as a distrust in your words, I have no experience with swords at all. I'm just curious and if that's a usual thing then I'm surprised why people do not lease swords to cut sometimes instead of buying a sword for a lot of money?

Thanks,
Suren.

A lot of people use the sword for iai as well as cutting. The one sword group I am familiar with (Yagyu Shinkage ryu) only cut about twice a year...sometimes a little more, but they do iai with many of the same blades year round.

Ron

Thanks Ron,
I did not realize some schools practice with real swords...

What the sword is for isn't Aikido rather, but Iaido, Iaijutsu, Kenjutsu, and Battojutsu or

Art/Way of drawing the sword and cutting

Art of the sword it's self (proper cutting techniques and handling, movement, attack, defense, tameshigiri)

and

The art of drawing, and cutting (killing in a sense) in one move

Suren Baghdasaryan wrote: Hi Michael, Not that I'm interested in purchasing the sword, just curious. You mentioned it was used to cut only twice. Is cutting practiced so rarely that a sword is used only twice in the hands of one owner? Do not accept that as a distrust in your words, I have no experience with swords at all. I'm just curious and if that's a usual thing then I'm surprised why people do not lease swords to cut sometimes instead of buying a sword for a lot of money? Thanks, Suren.

hi, sorry for taking so long to answer, i actually cut quite often, but i bought the sword when i was not that good and was worried about bending the blade due to a bad cut, now that ive gotten a little better i want a different style of sword, because my technique has changed alot.

Suren Baghdasaryan wrote: Thanks Ron, I did not realize some schools practice with real swords...

Yes they do. i can only speak about my ryu though, i am a member to the North American San Shin Kai, under the direction of Shihan Roger Wehrhahn, the style is called Muso Shinden Ryu. we use both Iaito's (practice katans with non-sharpened zinc-aluminum blades although the kisaki or tip is pointy and quite dangerous) and shinken (live katana). generally speaking lower ranking students use iaito's and higher ranked students (sandan and up) use shinken. as a practical matter though its a safer idea to use an iaito in group situations and a shinken ,if you wish to use one, in private practice, remember the katana is essentially a 3 foot razor blade and deadly even when handled ineptly.

Thomas Dixon wrote: What the sword is for isn't Aikido rather, but Iaido, Iaijutsu, Kenjutsu, and Battojutsu or Art/Way of drawing the sword and cutting Art of the sword it's self (proper cutting techniques and handling, movement, attack, defense, tameshigiri) and The art of drawing, and cutting (killing in a sense) in one move

You are correct, an iaito or shinken is almost never used in aiki-ken, although it is possible, after all a bokken is used to allow for non-fatal mistakes.

As for a definition if Iaido-
I = to exist, to be present
Ai = to pull together,to concentrate
Do = a way

so one possible definition of iaido is "A way to concentrate and be present."
Yes the forms can be used for combat, but the main purpose of Iaido is a way to better yourself and be more grounded in the present.

oh and incidentally, due to the lack of sori (curvature) and the o-kisaki (extended tip) of the Wind & Thunder although it is a great cutting sword it is not well suited to the techniques of Iaido.

Some Good Iai links.

http://www.mountainteachings.com/index.html
(My Senseis website)

http://www.sanshinkai.org
(the Iaido group i belong to)

http://www.aikidoschoolsnj.com/
(my home dojo in roselle park, nj )

http://www.goldmountainforge.com/
(website for David Goldberg Sensei, maker of some of the finest katanas and Iaito's ive ever had the pleasure of seeing)

http://www.aikidoseishinkan.org/
(Goldberg sensei dojo in Norristown, NJ)

http://www.kingfisherwoodworks.com/
(the FINEST wooden weapons u will find anywhere)

Yeah, I just used the common definition of Iaido

Theres a style of iaido here called Daito Mushin, which is Eishin i think and Muso Shinden merged...(the guy didn't want to dishonor either style when incorperating techniques of each into his teaching)

Michael Rodriguez wrote: http://www.goldmountainforge.com/ (website for David Goldberg Sensei, maker of some of the finest katanas and Iaito's ive ever had the pleasure of seeing)

http://www.goldmountainforge.com/gallery/katana1.jpg

That picture from David Goldberg's site is of my grandmother's katana. She just had it made a few months ago and it is beautiful. Luckily I get it after my mother.