WHAT ARE THESE WEAPONS?—Recommended reading for those not accustomed to seeing all these fancy sword names.

Katana—The quintessential primary sword of the samurai, and the primary focus of study for most forms of kenjutsu. Katanas are of a blade length favoring two-handed use but still allowing one-handed use in a pinch, and have grips readily accommodating two-handed use. If you’ve ever heard of a sword described vaguely as a “Samurai Sword”, it’s probably one of these(Or a Ninjato, a sword class of questionable historical authenticity that isn’t covered here). The closest European analogs would be a longsword or a two-handed messer variant.

Wakizashi—A Japanese shortsword with a curved blade and (usually) a handguard. Its shortest description would be as a scaled down katana with a one-handed grip. The most often used European analog would be the knightly/arming Sword, but its typical blade length is actually a much closer match to the Greek xiphos or the Roman gladius.

Tanto—In modern usage, ‘Tanto’ is used to describe a specific type of blade geometry used in modern (usually tactical) knives, but it has its roots in ancient Japanese weapon terminology, where it’s used to describe a single-edged knife, sometimes slightly curved, and shorter than a wakizashi without much of a handguard.

TECHNICAL SWORD TERMINOLOGY-Don’t read this first, you'll just get overwhelmed. Come here if you come across a term that confuses you.

General swordsmanship terms:

Strong and Weak: The strong is the half of the blade closest to the crossguard, while the weak is the half of the blade that is closest to the point. They have these names due to how much leverage they offer in a bind.

Bind: Any period of sustained contact between two swords. Those experienced enough can feel their opponent’s intent(whether they are planning to power through or disengage from the bind) based on how much pressure they put onto their sword.

Covered Thrust: Any thrust where the user is thrusting at their opponent and controlling their opponent’s weapon with their own at the same time, such as while in a bind with superior leverage.

Winding: While in a bind, repositioning one’s own sword (typically to gain leverage, see strong and weak) while maintaining sword to sword contact.

Unlocking The Sword: See the Japanese Sword Terminology section's entry.

Japanese Sword Terminology:

Daisho: Any arrangement of two swords worn in tandem, one big and one small. A katana paired with a wakizashi OR a tanto is the stereotypical daisho, but the specific swords that samurai wore together would actually vary based on the specific time period.

Tsuba: The (typically) disc-shaped handguard between the blade and the hilt in a Japanese sword, especially a katana.

Saya: Japanese term for a scabbard. Usually refers to a Japanese sword’s scabbard specifically, which is traditionally made with lacquered wood.

Koiguchi: Refers to a saya’s ‘mouth’, or less frequently the fitting around the edge of the saya’s opening.

Habaki: Also known as the ‘blade collar’, this is a piece of metal that wraps around the base of the blade, between the edge and the tsuba. Typically, it’s made with a coloration of anywhere from bronze, to brass, to lighter shades of gold.

Unlocking The Sword: Ideally, a katana’s saya should retain the sword so well that it doesn’t fall out, even when held upside down, due to the friction between the habaki and the koiguchi. Thus, it’s considered a best practice to ‘unlock’ the sword by pressing the thumb into the tsuba, moving the habaki free of the koiguchi before fully drawing it. The gesture is vaguely similar in connotation to, say, racking a shotgun, especially for practicioners of iaijutsu.