I like that stuff, especially when they handle the sword not only via the grip, but holding the blade itself too, and using it more like a combat stick, or a spear. I reminds me of a technique that I learned too, and which was meant to enable using a katana even in the narrowest spaces like a lift cabin, that prohibit the ordinary fighting styles. Prefered of course is wide space, especially for a katana that is designed to hack and chop, not so much to stab and slice. but you CAN very effectively fight with such a long weapon in limited space.

Okay, they had not lift cabins in Japan back then, but you get the idea... :lol:

Are you talking about how to properly grip the sword? Or are you talking about the tang/hilt of the sword itself?

He does not talk about a sword or katana, but what in German is called a "Degen" (rapier? épée?) as it is used in sports fencing. "Florett" (foil?) and "Säbel" (sabre) have normal grips in sports fencing, but foils can have normal grips, or things that remind of a pistol grip. Difference between the three sports weapons is that rules allow them to score by touching different target areas of the opponent's body.

Thats a technique called 'half-swording'. You grasp the blunt portion of the blade near the guard to give greater power to a thrust or better control.

This site here is very good, has lots of info on swords and associated techniques

http://www.myarmoury.com/home.html

Yes, I was talking about the "weapons" use in (modern) fencing today. The questions was post because I did some fencing because my father used practice and teach when was young. And the weapons that we used (and still have), from 20 years ago :D have a strait grip, and the ones that are use know in competition have a pistol grip, that enables some moviments more fast if using a strait grip. My father always said that the 2 or 3 last fingers was need to do diffrents moves and know with the modern grips, one can do that more easy and fast.

Never hold a rapier or what we can call the medieval swords( but liked to) but katanas yes and also did some kendo, since my father need some adversary to train, even if I was only doing some poor stuff ( and since my opponent was my father, he could hit me any time and I couldn't argue...:rotfl:).

Of oriental martial arts, I pratice karate, but even if I wanted to practice medieval sword fight, kenjutsu, kendo, ai-do, even fencing I need to go out my home city. And even in major cities here, the first I said, only in the capital.

Ehehehe:up: :lol: