Category: Sword/Ken

Hiki-giri 引き斬り is a pulling cut in Japanese swordsmanship. It’s a Japanese sword-cutting technique in which the blade is drawn through the target with a pulling action. Rather than relying solely on the force of a swinging blow, the movement…

Katana (刀) literally means “sword” or “blade,” but today the term most commonly refers to the curved, single-edged Japanese sword associated with the samurai. Developing from earlier Japanese sword forms, particularly the tachi, the katana became widespread during Japan’s medieval…

Chiburi 血振 is a term used in Japanese sword arts to mean “blood-shaking,” the motion of flicking or casting off blood from the blade after a cut. In iaido, kenjutsu, and many koryū systems, chiburi refers to the ritualized action…

Japanese swords developed in many different forms, each designed for particular periods, methods of use, and martial traditions. Terms such as katana, tachi, wakizashi, and tantō describe different types of swords, while others identify practice weapons, military swords, or historical…

A Tachi (太刀) is a classical Japanese curved long sword predating the katana that is worn suspended edge-down from cords on the belt. It was developed for mounted combat (samurai on horseback) and used primarily before the 15th–16th century. The…