[BLACK PANTA]

As martial artists we spend countless hours practicing and developing our skills at specific weapons. Swords, knives, sticks etc etc. We learn how to use these weapons efficiently and skillfully. There are those that wield these weapons with great mastery, however they have put in decades of time, effort and sacrifice into honing their skill. When they were/are on the battlefield they are confident, precise and sure of every strike they make. However there are those that may never become proficient, at best they may only have a basic grasp of the art. This could be because they are intimidated by the weapon, they may find the weapon awkward, or simply they may find it to complicated. It could also be said that, they don't have the time or patience to learn and master the weapon.
Now some weapons came about by people finding objects/tools and learning to make them lethal,eg, Sai, Kama etc. But still they had to conform to the shape and create a use for the object/tool.
A view that I have is that it would be easier and more efficient if we make weapons to conform to us, instead of us conforming to the weapon. Make the weapon more ergonomic, in a sense. If weapons were made to compliment our bodies and conform to our abilities, then in theory, it would make the one wielding it more comfortable. Thus making the user more proficient and efficient. Instead of struggling to make our bodies move in a certain way, one can create a weapon that conform to it's users natural movements.

[bamboo]

Your weapon of choice is part of you through hard work and time, just like anything else, that being said, any good weapon meant for real use is crafted to fit the user, this includes swords, knives, guns etc.

So, basically what your proposing has been in practice for a very, very long time.

-bamboo

[BLACK PANTA]

i had a feeling you'd respond with that . What I'm saying is, these weapons i.e. swords wasn't designed for everyone. If it was then it wouldn't take soo long for some to master it.

[BLACK PANTA]

It is my opinion that weapons, especially hand held blade/wood weapons, mostly bladed should constantly evolve. I thought of this after watching 300, and saw that igor, deformed dude.

[dscott]

First of all....long time, no talk!!!!

Ok....I think that you must conform to your weapon. Like you said most weapons were born from simple tools. Weird, different shapes that, once mastered, become lethal.

[Triple T]

If you examine the mechanics of knife attacks using a short blade in the inverted, or Psycho-shower-scene-stabbing, grip; if you watch the behavior of fist mounted weapons like katar; if you dissect the techniques of using a shield, you can see that the development is based along using common, unarmed motions with the weapon augmenting the natural. Certain weapons are simply designed to work in other ways, like the sickle-and-chain or three-section-staff, but each of these were designed to defeat flaws in previous weapon designs - in the cases above, rigidity and confining motions.

As martial artists, like any other artist, we are not forced to conform to the tools we trained with. Examine Monet's adaptation of the painter's brushstroke, and then examine Giger's use of airbrushing as opposed to older artists, like DaVinci. The sword we master is the idea of the sword in our minds. The use of the tool is decided by us using it.

[Hengest]

I think it would actually be very difficult to make a weapon that conformed to a user's every natural movement. As an example, take TTT's katar; an excellent weapon when it comes to attacking, since striking conforms almost exactly with the arm's natural movements, eg, a thrust is a simple punching motion. However, try parrying with one! It's much more difficult than it is with a conventional short sword. This is even more noticable with the pata, the sword version of the katar. Thus, while time may be saved in training to attack with the katar, it takes more time to learn how to defend.

[Bloodybirds]

First, I really like BP's answer to the above question. In most cases, in my opinion, the weapon should conform to each individual's style and application. Just like empty hand forms, the transition from technique to natural reaction involves making it your own. The Chinese believe, along with the Japanese stylists if I am not mistaken, that eventually one's soul inhabits a particular weapon after many years of practice. In addition, in traditional thought one's weapon becomes an extension of one's self after awhile. I have also found the wielding of a weapon not only develops skill in weapon attacks but aids in the development of extension, timing, application, waist action, fa jing, etc. in one's fighting ability and forms practice.

Reading the Book of Five Rings by Musashi, or any good Chinese style book on weaponry, to make a weapon live one must have that weapon become a part of you, until together the sum of the wielder and the wielded become indistinguishable and undetected. My personal belief has always been that the person makes the style, not the other way around. What works for me in a particular technique may be different or unnatural for someone like BP. But that is also the joy of the art! The weapon must conform to the limits, abilities, and understanding of the practitioner, and allow the practitioner to explore and adapt.

[Gazelle]

I understand that some people don't have the time, though, in many cases, i think time can be made if one has a priority higher than doing something else. But, if one doesn't have the patience, then, maybe martial arts, or indeed anyother art, is not the direction for them. Or, on the otherhand, maybe it is, so that they might be able to learn it.

[bamboo]

Bam!!! Gazelle wins.