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Copyright © 2003-2004 Phil Elmore, all rights
reserved.
The Sword for Serious Home Defense
By Phil
Elmore
I
remember the first time I read discussions of swords and swordsmanship online.
It was on the old Usenet newsgroups, though I don’t remember the group.
I do remember thinking, “These people have all seen
Highlander
a few too many times.” Some contemporary online discussion of swords is
still like that — a manifestation of unrealistic dueling fantasies.
Can the sword be considered a “serious” weapon in
contemporary times? Is its time past? In a world in which handguns
and shotguns are the preferred tools of home defense, is there any reason one
would choose the primitive implement of bygone eras? If you’re going to
equip yourself with a sword, why not fortify your home with boiling oil and a
team of pikemen?
Only the arrogance of our technologically advanced age
prompts us to dismiss viable tools as “too old.” We carry defensive
knives whose basic design concept has not changed for centuries. We tote
handguns based on designs that are decades old. Close to a century has
passed since the first 1911 Colt .45 pistol saw service in the battlefields of
the day. The sword is an ancient weapon, yes, but it remains an
effective one.
Let’s be clear about something: I’m not talking about
any form of sword versus sword dueling, nor am I bastardizing arts such as
Kendo or Iaido. The former has no place in contemporary self-defense
unless you’re a sword-toting loon among loons. Iaido and Kendo have
their places, but outside the dojo you have more pragmatic concerns. The
sword forms of the Chinese martial arts have their relevance, too, but
stylized and flowing motions are not our goal in this case.
To choose the sword for self-defense presumes several
premises. First, you are unwilling or unable to keep a firearm for home
defense — and you recognize the disadvantage at which you find yourself if
facing an invader armed with a gun. Second, you are using the sword
specifically for home defense. You are not carrying it in your
car or in an interdimensional
portable hole at the small of your back under your trendy black duster.
Third, anyone invading your home will be armed with anything other than
a sword, unless
Duncan MacLeod of the Clan MacLeod has come calling to settle a
centuries-old grudge.
Among all possible “melee”
weapons (For we will borrow Dungeons and Dragons terminology in recognition of
the unconventional nature of the home-defense sword concept), why the sword?
Flexible weapons like whips and chains are out of the question in the close
confines of a house or apartment, unless they’re
quite short. Sticks and collapsible
batons will work — but the sharp point and edge of the sword give it a degree
of power (and lethality) lacking in sticks and batons. Knives have great
power and are perfect for close quarters, but the sword has longer reach.
There is also a certain amount of psychological intimidation value associated
with the sword (though a defender can never count on this).
Would you be crazy to select the sword for home defense, then?
Probably, if a shotgun or a handgun was an option. If not, turning to
the solutions of ancient times just might be what you require. Keep in
mind that you will be seen as some kind of nutjob when the police come to
collect the slashed corpse of your would-be home invader. If you injure
someone with a sword, you’re going to get sued and the “victim’s” lawyer is
going to bring up your Miyamoto Musashi fantasies in painting you as a crazed
duelist who should be paying out millions of dollars in pain and suffering
damages. There are those among you, however, who are desperate to find
some sort of advantage, some sort of leverage, in defending your homes against
violent intruders. Given the limitations we have stipulated, the sword
becomes a possibility.
WARNING! Swords are
inherently dangerous and can cause injury and death even in training.
What’s more, I’m not a lawyer. Don’t buy a sword and don’t use it to
defend yourself unless you have proper training, understand the risks, and
have no choice but to use potentially lethal force. You’d better be
able to explain your actions to the police and you’d better be able to
separate sword fantasy from grim reality. This article cannot be
construed as encouragement to go out and DO anything. It is for
information purposes only.
Proper
care must be taken in selecting your sword. Avoid wall hangers, fantasy
swords, movie reproductions (unless you’re willing to shell out the big bucks
for, say, a near-reproduction from a custom smith) and anything made of
440-series stainless steel. These are not, generally speaking,
functional swords. Avoid blades that are too long to wield indoors;
stick to shorter blades, like wakizashi and other machete-length
cutters.
You want a cut-and-thrust sword, not a rapier, small sword, or
other point-only implement. At close quarters the ability to slash as
well as thrust, particularly from an underhand posture, is vital.
One consideration specific to home defense with the sword is
moving with it. Most of the time, if you’re out investigating a bump in
the night, you won’t be engaging in mortal combat with brigand hordes or
black-clad ninja, so you’ve got to learn to navigate your home without
smashing your knick-knacks or putting a blade through your television screen.
I recommend carrying the sword reversed behind your body, edge
out. From this position an underhand slash can be executed, if need be,
and your living room won’t take heavy casualties as you creep through it in
the dark.
I generally find the underhand sword grip more awkward than a
conventional grip, primarily because I use
the sword in much the same way I would use a stick (though there are
differences in technique that come naturally when cutting with the edge).
I recommend you do the same, save for that underhand slash for extreme close
quarters. You will have to keep your movements tight to avoid getting
your blade lodged in obstacles or in your ceiling, should someone actually
invade your home.
Okay, that’s the mechanics and logistics of using a sword for
home defense. It is possible. But how advisable is it?
Just how ridiculous an idea is this?
I remember first seeing the idea in print on that old Usenet
board. A poster theorized that the sword was great for home defense
because A) if you use a sword it implies the attacker was close enough to be a
threat; and B) the attacker might think twice about approaching someone “crazy
enough:” to be wielding a sword in home defense.
A
sales representative with whom I once worked, who had a high opinion of his
martial prowess (he boasted of kicking the throat of a coworker who insulted
the rep’s wife) told me the following story. He was in his apartment
sleeping when he heard a disturbance and took up his katana. (I believe
he was a karateka and preferred Japanese weapons.) He discovered a man
in his apartment. The interloper froze with the blade of the rep’s sword
poised near his throat. The intruder turned out to be a maintenance man
who’d let himself in for some reason.
I’m fairly certain it is a violation of one’s lease agreement
to behead a member of the maintenance staff. Still, the scenario is
something to consider. I don’t believe you can afford to make any
assumptions about the legal outcome if you use a sword (or any weapon) to
defend your home — other than the assumptions that you will be charged
and you will be sued.
Speaking purely pragmatically, however, only a fool would
dismiss the power of the sword as a weapon. I believe it is an effective
and efficient tool, if not particularly politically correct and despite the
disadvantages of using a contact weapon in a projectile age. Think about
it: when wielding a sword you are holding a couple of feet of sharpened
steel that tapers to a point. Place this before you and there is a
formiddable barrier between you and an opponent.
Test-cutting on rolled mats, cardboard, or even pumpkins
(Halloween recently passed us by, for example) demonstrates the lethality of a
sharpened, tempered carbon steel blade. Your sword can do grievous
injury to another person. It’s not a toy and it’s not a fantasy
accessory. It’s a real weapon and must be treated with the respect you
afford a firearm (though it’s harder to kill yourself cleaning it).
Remember
Indiana Jones?
That big guy with the sword could not dodge bullets. Neither can you.
A home invader armed with a firearm will make quick work of you and your
sword. Know the risks if you choose the blade over the bullet.
The sword would not be my first choice for home defense, but
within a given set of restricting parameters it is a viable option. It
is unconventional and it will seem strange and threatening to law enforcement
officers. Know its limitations and its liabilities if you take it up.
Don’t lose your head.