Anybody know a good place in th UK to buy good quality martial arts weapons from i m after nun chucks a sword and fighting sticks

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교사 Yidan kumdo, Ildan taekwondo

CelticTiger wrote: I make the majority of my martial arts related purchases online, mainly because there are few places that sell martial arts related things in stock in stores.  I am not particularly versed in nunchaku or escrima sicks, but I am highly versed with regards to swords.  Two very important questions for you:  1)What type of sword are you looking for and 2)what kind of use will you be giving it?  Daniel

A katana and  a straight medieval knight european style sword but i want one thats battle ready, i want them just to practice with maybe some light cutting of random stuff branches things like that, what sites do you use and do they ship to Uk cheers

I'll preface with this: swords should never be used to cut random stuff, such as tree branches; buy a machette for that.  If you are interested in true cutting exercise and technique, cutting mats for tameshigiri (cutting) can be obtained from this site: http://www.tameshigiri.com/  If you are not receiving formal training, I strongly suggest it, either from a kendo school or an iaito school.  Since you're in the UK, this link may prove helpful.  http://www.kendo.org.uk/pmwiki.php/Main/HomePage

As for good sources of blades, check out these sites:
http://imperialweapons.com/swords/LastLegend.html
http://www.bugei.com/index.htm
http://www.casiberia.com/

I have dealt with casiberia for a very long time, but be careful of wallhangars.  Anything from Bugei will be superb.  They don't do wallhangars, but they're expensive.  Lastlegend is where my sabumnim, Master Choi, gets his blades. 

If  you want a katana for practice, get an iaito blade.  They tend to start in the three hundred dollar range.  They are unedged, well ballanced, and most importantly, the tang is real and the handles have two pins and are made traditionally with traditional materials.  The problem with cheap, wallhangar blades is that the hilt construction is flimsy and frequently, the tang is often spot welded to the blade, and actual use of such a sword presents a safety issue.  This link is to bugei iaito blades and should give you an idea of what to look for.
http://bugei.com/subcategory_115.htm

As for the european blade, please keep in mind that the term 'battle ready' is thrown around an awful lot.  But here are a few tips.  Avoid anything stainless and like the katana, avoid anything with cheap tang or hilt.  This link shows a typical 'battle ready' sword and even offers a description of what they mean by 'battle ready'.  Note that nothing regarding the sword's construction is mentioned; it only applies to the blades material.  http://www.swordsofhonor.com/clmesw.html  This blade is probably a better choice: http://www.casiberia.com/product_details.asp?id=SH2034

Please keep in mind that a sword is first and foremost, a weapon.  Carelessness with an edged weapon can result in injury or death to either yourself or others. 

Best wishes,

Daniel

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교사 Yidan kumdo, Ildan taekwondo

cheers mate very helpful that austrian sword is exactly the kind of thing i was looking for but its out of stock ill have to find another one will search the site now
thanks for the links