h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

it was -11 the other day ... then it warmed up. no snow till mon. or tues. so I'm happy. that and the fact the fact that I got a katana for chistmas ^.^ and my new keyboard that teaches me to play.

about the keyboard.

What's a katana?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/brunel/A364213 here is the h2g2 entry on it
http://img.alibaba.com/photo/11411792/Oni_Forge_Tonbo_Katana_Iaito_Dull_Sword.jpg and an image of one

it was rated the #1 sword of all time on multipule tv shows and stuff too lolz

Do you use it?

(If you do, I know a young lady on h2g2 you really need to talk to - she has a sword, too.)

I don't use the katana but I use shinai which are bamboo training swords

Ah, cool. You should talk to Malabarista. She does reenactments, and has a medieval European-type sword.

I have a couple of medieval type swords too and even a ball & chain. but my style isn't right for that sort of sword so I don't tend to do the medieval reenactment things I tried and didn't quite fit in. I do love the medieval stuff though lolz been a fan of it for forever and 2 days.

I wish they would allow you to use you own style so you can go vs. with the 2 styles. by the way in case you where wondering my style is basically an imitation of kendo(japanese art of the sword). although compleatly self taught and very amature. it is made specifically for use with katana so it's really hard to use with medieval swords .

I am a medievalist - at least, that's what I have a master's degree in - but I confess to knowing next to nothing about swordfighting other than a few fencing lessons in Germany back in the day. I don't even know stage combat.

You really should compare notes with Malabarista, though - she's a whizz at this sort of thing. U1528154

Maybe there should be a swordfighters' club here on h2g2.

I've been offline so much today because I've been doing history editing. I am now thoroughly tired of the War of 1812.

heh kendo is a bit like fencing in it's own way. most people call it japanese fencing. either or I know very little about the actual fighting but I'll pop in and say hi to mal soon

How did you get interested in fencing?

...I liked katanas 1st as they are my fave swords, then I got shinai, then I learned the style, then I found out it was similar to fencing. there are some key differences between fencing and kendo though

Do they teach that where you are? Where do you go to learn about swordfighting?

I wish ... 100% from bits and pieces learned from anime and vids that I look up. so therefor 200% self taught. so um yah

I've been talking to some people on hootoo about how we learn and where we learn it - I have an essay coming up in about history (again).

We concluded that we learn a lot from surprising sources - like anime, or historical novels, or film. Nothing wrong with that.

except that it ain't enough

No, you have to find somebody with some practical experience, I guess.

and kendo just isn't popular here

Maybe video instruction?

What is popular where you are?

... farming lol. there are some karate places martial arts wise but I am stuck in the middle of farm country. bout 20 mins to a decent city(samll city with actual stores basically) and I have no car ... nothing to do in town at all. I think the only lessons of any sort in town are piano and violin I wouldn't mind those piano lessons to go with my keyboard.

Hey, yeah - and you can use a MIDI program to put music on the web.

What do people raise on the farms? Are they big, commercial farms, or family farms?

My grandfather was subsistence farmer in Tennessee - actually, they just called it 'dirt farming'.<winkeye.