Are swords obsolete?
Compared to guns, yes.
Tell that to Slade
They are not at all practical for combat but neither are bows and arrows. They probably aren't used for combat they they can still hurt people and are still popular and cool. If I guy is running at me with a sword and I have nothing, I wouldn't be calling it obsolete
Compared to guns, yes.
Tell that to Slade
Wait, are we talking in an actual fight or a comic fight? Because in comics, they are very much not obsolete.
Compared to guns, yes.
Tell that to Slade
Wait, are we talking in an actual fight or a comic fight? Because in comics, they are very much not obsolete.
Exactly.
Gotcha.
Seems like it's really semantics, then. "Obsolete" really has a definiteness (which i didn't think was a "real" word until I looked it up) about it that's hard to shake.
So, are swords obsolete today? No.*
But are swords practical? Under most circumstances, no.*
(*this is my opinion. Your mileage, as always, may vary.)
Military speaking? Yuppers.
In daily life? Carrying my rapier around was a blessing in all fights i've been in.
So you could say it's situation dependant.
When I'm in the field I carry my rifle, a pistol, a fixed blade knife, a folding knife (concealed purposes) and a tomahawk. Then of course my body itself is a weapon.
Point being, in close quarters, if you firearm is knocked away or too confined a space to maneuver, you go to a different tool. So yes, blades are practical.
Frequently used? No. I've never had to use mine on someone outside of training, but we train it.
Swords? Only in fiction. In the CQC of the modern world where a blade may actually come into play I'll take a knife all day every day over a sword.
Can people still be seriously cut by blades?
Yes? I don't think peoples skin have become any harder than the last time swords were commonly used.
Can people still be seriously cut by blades?
Yes? I don't think peoples skin have become any harder than the last time swords were commonly used.
Then I suspect they'll continue to be useful weapons to somebody.
Is any unarmed martial arts obsolete?
If you're holding a gun at ten feet away then, yeah, pretty much. I mean you can devote years of your life towards mastering a martial arts form but if you are being targeted by a shooter that isn't at extremely close range, you would be just as vulnerable as someone with zero fighting experience.
Can people still be seriously cut by blades?
Yes? I don't think peoples skin have become any harder than the last time swords were commonly used.
Then I suspect they'll continue to be useful weapons to somebody.
Ooh. I read your comment in the wrong way, as if you believed people have become impervious to blades.
@bluejay4: The only thing they really have is speed and maneuverability in most cases. I'd still take a certain sword over a knife. The reach makes up for that maneuverability and some swords still have great maneuverability too.
When I'm in the field I carry my rifle, a pistol, a fixed blade knife, a folding knife (concealed purposes) and a tomahawk. Then of course my body itself is a weapon.
Point being, in close quarters, if you firearm is knocked away or too confined a space to maneuver, you go to a different tool. So yes, blades are practical.
Frequently used? No. I've never had to use mine on someone outside of training, but we train it.
Swords? Only in fiction. In the CQC of the modern world where a blade may actually come into play I'll take a knife all day every day over a sword.
I was hoping you would have posted here.
Is any unarmed martial arts obsolete?
If you're holding a gun at ten feet away then, yeah, pretty much. I mean you can devote years of your life towards mastering a martial arts form but if you are being targeted by a shooter that isn't at extremely close range, you would be just as vulnerable as someone with zero fighting experience.
I wouldn't say hand-to-hand skill is obsolete EVEN IF someone had a gun and was standing 10 feet away. Your scenario is just as valid as me saying "Guns would be obsolete against a Krav Maga practitioner in close quarters.". Martial arts isn't obsolete. Nothing in a life or death situation is obsolete.
Is any unarmed martial arts obsolete?
If you're holding a gun at ten feet away then, yeah, pretty much. I mean you can devote years of your life towards mastering a martial arts form but if you are being targeted by a shooter that isn't at extremely close range, you would be just as vulnerable as someone with zero fighting experience.
I wouldn't say hand-to-hand skill is obsolete EVEN IF someone had a gun and was standing 10 feet away. Your scenario is just as valid as me saying "Guns would be obsolete against a Krav Maga practitioner in close quarters.". Martial arts isn't obsolete. Nothing in a life or death situation is obsolete.
Bullet velocity makes firearms more efficient killing tools than bare hands (A bullet leaves a gun much faster than a martial artist's hands move). Superior range is also a decisive factor (unless you're Reed Richards you can't punch or kick people who are hundreds of meters away from you). It also doesn't require as much physical strength to deliver a successful shot as a martial arts technique would (merely pulling a trigger as opposed to delivering physical force with the body's weight).
Furthermore, the Krav Maga technique is mostly effective with the element of surprise (when people don't expect it coming). If the attacker knows of this technique he/she would most likely move to medium range as a countermeasure. The only remaining factor would be whether the shooter can pull the trigger faster than the martial artist can block the direction of the barrel. Even in that case, the bullet velocity puts the martial artist at a significant disadvantage. Guns are objectively more practical, and at a distance universally superior to martial arts.
@makhai: I wasn't going to...but I was compelled to.
Yep. You might look cool holding one but it puts you in an unfair disadvantage against one enemy holding a gun.
Depends on who you're fighting. If you're fighting someone who is unarmed, no way is any bladed weapon obsolete. Against firearms of course.
They are obsolete not because they are so impractical in combat (Would you consider a knife an obsolete weapon? I sure wouldn't.) but because it's so impractical actually carrying them around nowadays.
They are obsolete as a military weapon, because everyone has guns and bombs nowadays, and if they dont have those, they resort to knives that are far less cumbersome to carry around with your gun, easier to use effectively (just stab in 99% of the time), and more practical because of the other stuff you can use it for, like field cooking, checking for mines, scavenging for materials and so on.
But they are not obsolete as a symbol.
When I'm in the field I carry my rifle, a pistol, a fixed blade knife, a folding knife (concealed purposes) and a tomahawk. Then of course my body itself is a weapon.
Point being, in close quarters, if you firearm is knocked away or too confined a space to maneuver, you go to a different tool. So yes, blades are practical.
Frequently used? No. I've never had to use mine on someone outside of training, but we train it.
Swords? Only in fiction. In the CQC of the modern world where a blade may actually come into play I'll take a knife all day every day over a sword.
I used to love my old wood handled entrenching tool, handy for digging (duh) but put an edge on it and its useful for limited chopping.
I think a lot of people are confusing 'can still be used' with obsolete.
I could probably drag my old brick sized mobile phone out and make a call with it, but its still obsolete.
Once gunpowder came onto the scene, swords and blades were obsolete.
and a tomahawk.
Granitesoldier on the battlefield
From a military stand point, yes.
Knives are much lighter, much quicker to draw, better in tight spaces and is a much more stealthy weapon. Swords will often beat a single knife. But gun will beat the sword. Basically, a firearm will in almost every situation, eliminate the need for a sword. In situations where a knife is useful, such as in very close proximity or in a tight space where a sword might hits something.
As for carrying around, a sword can be useful, if you don't mind bringing your katana to a bar. Swords aren't as concealable as say knives.
These days, it's practical for civillian life to learn to use knives and varieties of sticks/staves. That way, knives can be concealed more and are a bit easier to use. Staves/sticks can also be concealable, can be simple to use and have controlled lethality with sufficient skill. There was a swordsman named Miyamoto Musashi who used bokken, wooden swords, to literally kill people in a single hit. One time, he just carved a bokken from an oar before a dual, upset the guy by being late and then killed him in one hit to the temple.
And with a baton, I actually had an instructor who is becoming a police officer. According to him, a hard strike with a baton can break the femur bone (bone of the thigh) which is the single most solid and strong bone of the body. Meaning with a baton, you can break anyone's bone with one good hit.
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