Hank Reinhardt's The Book of the Sword

by Hank Reinhardt

  Let me go back to Mike Tyson once again. I admired him as a fighter, and one thing that I liked was that I never saw him glare or scowl at any opponent. Instead he was always calm and impassive, and also implacable. He gave the impression that he was there to do a job, and he would do it as if it was no big deal. His opposition found this very intimidating. I do not know if this was planned or that it was simply the way he was, but it worked very well, at least until he met Buster Douglas.

  CAUTION

  But required along with confidence is caution. I do not mean the caution that breeds fear, but rather the caution that fosters awareness. You are the best at what you do. No question, you are the best. The person you are facing is the second best, and is very tricky. If I am not totally aware, he could win, so I must not let my guard down.

  Hank-type fantasy cutting sword. HRC106.

  The problem is not so much overconfidence as in underestimating your opponent. Fights, battles and wars have been lost because someone underestimated their opponent. No better example can be used than WWII. Japan was supremely confident in their fighting ability, and completely underestimated the will to fight of the American people. On top of that they underestimated the industrial capacity of the US. Never, ever, underestimate your opponent.

  I have had people say that this is contradictory, but it isn't. If you do not have complete confidence in what you are doing, you shouldn't be doing it. But having complete confidence in yourself does not mean you have to belittle or ignore your opponent. It means that you will be able to see what is happening, and will be able to counter the attacks.

  This leads to a real striking difference in contest and actual swordplay. (Pun again intended with no shame or remorse.)

  In real combat the action is not finished with just one blow. Instead it continues until the winner is assured that his enemy can no longer function. Dead, in short. We read of fights where many blows are struck. In Egil's Saga, Egil starts a duel dealing so many blows so quickly and ferociously that the guy he is fighting doesn't have time to return blow for blow. There is a break, and then Egil again attacks the same way and kills the other.

  But while this happens in real fights, it is something that cannot be allowed to happen in sparring matches and contests in the various medieval and role playing groups we have today. There is simply too much of a chance for injury. Some may argue that this does not represent real combat, and they'd be right about it. No form of sword "play" can compare with actual combat.

  * * *

  Many many more pages could be written about the required mental attitudes and physical training needed for sword fights, whether real or in play. It is not the purpose of this book to detail all of the concepts, but I hope the above will give the reader who is interested a good idea of what is involved.

  Suggestions for further reading from the editors:

  Liddell Hart, B.H., Strategy. Penguin, London. First published 1954, revised 1967.

  Musashi, Miyamoto, Book of the Five Rings. First published 1643.

  Potter, Stephen, Gamesmanship, first published 1950, Lifesmanship, first published 1951, Oneupsmanship, first published 1952. These books are humor, but also give practical examples of how to get inside your opponent's head and were favorites of Hank's.

  Tzu, Sun, The Art of War. First published possibly 403–221 BC.

  [1] Katas: Martial arts body positions and exercises, as in karate.

  —Jerry Proctor

  Note on Illustrations

  The illustrations were selected by the editor after the author's death; if there are any errors the blame falls to the editor.

  All interior photography is by Suzanne Hughes unless otherwise indicated. "HRC" in the caption indicates that an item is from the collection of Hank Reinhardt, and the number given is the collection number. All interior drawings are by Peter Fuller.

  Measurements of antiques are listed but not that of reproduction weapons. Note that Hank usually refers to blade length in the text; measurements given in the captions are for overall length, following the standard convention for use in identifying individual items.

  THE END

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  Hank Reinhardt's The Book of the Sword

  Table of Contents

  Introduction

  1: Copper and Bronze

  2: Iron and Steel

  3: Design and Geometry of Swords

  4: Wounds and the Effects of Swords

  5: The Viking and Early Medieval Sword

  6: The Fighting Milieu in the Viking and Early Middle Ages

  7: European Swords: The Rapier and the Smallsword

  8: European Swords: The Saber

  9: European Two-Handed Swords

  10: The Katana and

  Other Japanese Swords

  11: Eastern Two-Handed Swords

  JAPANESE SWORDS

  12: Exotic Blades

  AFRICAN SWORDS

  13: Basics of Cutting

  14: Fighting with the Sword

  Note on Illustrations