●Mini Katana’s Website minikatana.com/SHOGO *Get a 15% OFF discount by buying through my affiliate link ●Mini Katana’s KZonlines Channel kzonlines.info ●My recommended katana shop: Tozando tozandoshop.com/letsaskshogo tozandoshop.com/pages/shinsakuto-a-new-made-to-order-katana ▼Who is Shogo? What is this channel about?▼ kzonlines.info/up/oc52lNCtm7Kpqpc/bejne ▼Related videos in this channel▼ -A Day of Training: This is How Katana Trainees Prepare for a Mat Cutting Competition kzonlines.info/up/lOCZfbKno46ifYU/bejne -3 Basic Katana Trainings that Beginners Can Do at Home | Taught by a Japanese Iaido Trainee kzonlines.info/up/gMqjga3ahmljaIk/bejne -5 Real KATANA Recommended by Kyoto's Most Famous Shop kzonlines.info/up/dJqbiZm0jZljc4E/bejne ▼MY DREAM▼ kzonlines.info/up/eM2gqqy7lKORmHE/bejne “To make every Japan lovers’ dream come true, by making Japan a more secure, comfortable, and safer place for everyone to visit, study, and live in” I will be using the profit I gain from this channel at restaurants, hotels, and cultural facilities in Kyoto to introduce them. The more you watch the videos on this channel, Kyoto and Japan will become a more exciting place, and you can support your own and others’ dreams in the future even more. ▼Join our Membership▼ kzonlines.info/level/n7DCb9ttrcw9h3vh9dfnVwjoin ●Membership benefits -Limited behind-the-scene videos -Weekly Zoom call or live stream -Priority reply to comments ▼[Sub-channel] “Shogo’s Podcast”▼ kzonlines.info/level/ZAe1VayWxp5NLO4Net78DA Please subscribe!! The perfect channel to learn about Japanese culture and history in your spare time, during your walk to school or work, and when you are cooking or doing house chores. Not only will I be covering the topics in this main channel, but also some topics that you will only be able to enjoy in the sub-channel, like answering questions I receive, and my opinions towards some of the comments. ▼[Listen to the real voices of the Japanese] "Voices from Japan series"▼ kzonlines.info/wine/PLpIWoYf9KNFXxLyeQa85jDudDKqkwPg-2 ▼[Places recommended to visit in Kyoto] "Kyoto Hidden Gems" series▼ kzonlines.info/wine/PLpIWoYf9KNFU7LIIFB0P_reDt_oMdkCOq ▼Instagram▼ instagram.com/lets_ask_shogo/ *Please ask me questions through the DM here!（⚠I do not use e-mail）

Imagine having this guy as your history teacher.

The info on drawing the katana without your thumb, and how it ties in to the word betray, is mind blowing. I love learning how history, language, and traditional culture align!

7 years…still considers himself a novice. Very Japanese, very humble. You have earned all the respect and more❤️❤️

The move done on time 17:40 (draw,spin,sheath) was very impressive. Very fluid and looked almost naturally instinctive. Very well done *applause*👏👏👏

To the question of oil: commercially sold choji oil is a mix of mostly mineral oil and a small amount of clove oil. The clove oil is just for making it smell nice. You can use pure mineral oil with no problem. Mineral oil is also sold as baby oil because it is so neutral and inert.

About stepping over Katana: my grandmaster (Karate and Kobujutsu) also has a Dan in Kenjutsu. And he once told a story about one of his Dan tests. Another Dan candidate stepped over his own Katana. The examiners saw this. The consequence? No Dan test for said candidate!

I'm a lefty and I started to train iaido through instructional videos. It was easy enough because I just mirrored the video. I did well enough because at tournaments I got compliments on my form. When I started to expand my martial knowledge and started learning Bolognese swordsmanship I became ambidextrous and that throws off my friends when we spar.

As far as the oil. You have to consider the scabbard, if wood, will absorb the oil. If the oil has a bad smell the scabbard will stink. Some mineral oils for guns or machines stink. Cooking oils can go rancid and smell. That is why natural wood oils are used. If you can find a thin mineral oil like sewing machine oil that has no odor you would be ok as long as you weren't to heavy with it. Definitely not WD40.

Thank you, Shogo. I am from Russia, but always wanted to learn Japanese traditional arts(martial arts). You perfectly explained me how to handle this sacral object. Arigato🧘

One of the teachers of Tenshin Ryu Hyoho practices his waza bothe side right and left,he says its important to know how to do so incase you are in a situation that might require it. He showed us during online class .

One of the very first things we teach at my dojo, is to keep your thumb on the Tsuba. We do it from using bokken, because if students learn to do it with the bokken, then by the time they are using iaito, it’s already ingrained into them.

At 17:40 that spinning katana move was so cool 😱. I've seen him draw the katana on may different styles but✋, that was the first time I saw him draw that kind of style. So awesome 😎.

The traditional method of producing steel to make swords in Japan was ingenious despite using poor quality of iron ores (not trying to be offensive, just stating the facts as I know of it). Now with modern science and metallurgy, do traditional Japanese swordsmiths take advantage of that knowledge when producing a modern katana? The folding of steel, for example, was to remove impurities, however with modern fabrication, you can remove most of those impurities without folding. Love to hear your thoughts.

“Only 7 or 8 years” - This guys is very cool, most people would think they’re experts after training that length of time. RESPECT TO YOU my guy!

Their experiment is flawed when it comes to straight vs curved. The weights and length of those swords are criminally different for an experiment as such. The difference between a katana and a European straight sword are negligible.

I have a katana and another way I found to open the katana pretty quickly is to practice putting your thumb to the top right of the tsuba so you don’t accidentally cut yourself and to pull out at the same time of breaking the seal, I decided to try this because I have a relatively smaller tsuba, and I have really big hands, so accidentally cutting my thumb was quite worrying.

I love both channels so seeing you react so positively to Mini Katana is awesome!

Displaying the katana with out saya is actually worth noting for new collectors, because Among collectors of European style swords, it actually pretty common to display swords with out the sheath, among higher end collectors it's actually considered a luxury to have a woodcore scabbard made with your longsword as it's quite expensive and the craftsman who make scabbards for medieval swords usually have long wait times so most people just get use to displaying the swords out in the open with a generous layer of wax to keep them from rusting

Def one of the most humble KZonlinesrs I’ve ever watched. He’s very smart and informative on everything he talks about. Keep it up Shogo!!

I slightly cut my finger just as you described once. Reaching for my katana as it fell out of its saya. Learned that lesson the hard way. I'm glad it was just a small surface layer cut.

The school of Iaido and Iaijutsu that I attend has recently started exploring and trying this, where you set the katana on your right hip and do "mirrored" versions of kata we already know. It's more of an immensely difficult mental challenge than for practicality and is a lot of fun. I encourage anybody who is very comfortable with their Iaido kata to give it a try at least once :)

I initially learned how to draw, hold, strike and sheath the Katana with my left hand from my right hip. Then I practiced with my right hand from my left hip in an attempt to learn and practice the art as intended. I still prefer using my left hand in practice though. The Katana was a gift and I am too poor to afford proper lessons but I hope some day I can afford to take lessons.

Thanks Shogo for show us the japanese culture. Admiration and respect, please take care of it!!

Your humility is refreshing, and as always I applaud your virtuosity. Your expertise is appreciated, and I honestly believe you are one of the best content providers of this type I've ever had the experience of viewing. Peace and blessings to you my friend 😊.

Your videos really make me want to learn Japanese and more about Japanese culture!!!! Amazing videos

Idk why but id trust this man with my life hes just too wholesome

This brings me back to my iaido days during college. Agreed on the left handed part. I am left handed but still had to draw with the right.

I took a semester and a half of Aikido at university (the half was due to covid :P). We got to use bokken (sp?) several times, so I know a little bit about katana etiquette (a little little bit). I've been thinking of buying a piece from Mini Katana, and your reaction to their knowledge makes me feel very assured about the company! Thanks for the awesome and informative video!

This dude somehow makes his videos the most informative and entertaining. Favorite KZonlinesr

Dr. Kacem Zoughari originaly from the Bujinkan is always teaching every techniques both sides (left-right) with hand switching, including sword techniques and iai. His point is that you needed to be able to use both hands to survive in duel or warfare.

I would recommend everyone to buy legitimate Tamahagane steel Japanese Nihonto (Katana) instead of replicas from other countries. Please support the swordsmiths. The industry is hurting 🙏🙏🙏

technically a katana with a bohi has more air resistance so it'd make it go slower, BUT, it also reduces weight so i guess it balances it out.

Great job condensing all the things I have learned over 10 years! Love it!

I think we'd all love to see a video review of your sword collection. They all look beautiful - including the iaito. Great video!

this was a very interesting video, and there was many things I did learn, that I never considered before. You also did a great job explaining the info in the shorts!

Very enlightening video. I have seen fights in Japanese film where they use the back of the katana and where they hit the opponent with the sheathed katana where they don't intend to kill the opponent. I am interested in your opinion as both, to me, would have some problems.

Another way of handing the katana to someone is to hold it horizontally with both of your hands (preferably with the scabbard on) with the blade facing towards you. Doing this shows that you trust and respect the person receiving the katana.

I’ve done a mix of German long sword, fencing, and kendo for 13 years. That channel always makes me smile. And yes even with the small group I trained with I was trained to use my right hand instead of my left. It was my biggest problem I had first starting

funny with the walking around with a katana, my dad has an ornamental katana thats like 20+ years old, so the scabbard is damaged a bit, sadly. When i walked around with it, it taught me to hold the tsuba naturally. Also he had been doing martial arts for 20+ years + teaching karate as well so i kinda grew up with japanese weapons and learnt the basics for wielding most weapons from since i was born

Your studies definitely show and I find it excellent!

As a Sikh ( member of the punjabi warrior region ) Japanese culture is very similar to Sikh culture in weapon respect we call weapons shastar

Love this channel. So informative and Shogo is so friendly 🙏

when i first picked up the katana i made my own style cause im ambidextrous when it comes to swords and bats etc but im mainly right handed and so i decided to try both and i felt very comfortable to wield it in both hands

For the Tsuba thumb thing allow me to verify what Shogo said about it. I have a katana from Amazon (Yes I got this from there because I still am looking for a proper battle ready sword) and it fell out of the sheath. My dumbass instinctively tried to catch the Tsuba with my thumb and cut myself. Thankfully didn't hit anything too important but learned a valuable lesson.

Thanks shogo for another great vid!! I am currently also trying my best to learn the way of the samurai and I am self taught so I always love your advice I always instantly get up and add your ardvice to my training thanks again!

I love your videos. Always so respectful with your views and opinions. Can’t wait to visit Japan and finally buy a real katana!

if this guy was my history teacher i would never ever fall asleep in class

I really love your positive way! Really inspirational!

23:07 makes me picture a rehoming centre for katanas looking for a new home like with cats and dogs with a slogan that says "we never put a healthy katana down" with a picture of a katana running round with a happy family

i dont own a real katana yet but i absolutely want to, and this entire videos was so instructive that i'm gonna watch it back sometime and take some note and also, practice with dull one i do own especially the one about handing the katana to someone else really great video overall

That uragiru tidbits is absolutely interesting! Please make more tradition - language connection story like that

Very funny to see those guys got most of their facts from you and your helpful videos! Always room for education

This guy is a great teacher, if I had to learn I’d like him to teach me

7:06 - Shogo, dude that was slick! Love your technique and your content, have you thought about doing more reaction based videos on subjects in which you are experienced / knowledgeable? I'm sure we'd all love to see more of that! :) All the best from Bournemouth UK

Once I tryed to have the sword on my right and to draw it with my left hand. It wasn't difficult. The most difficult part actually was when I had to sheath the weapon in the saya. Generally it's not difficult at all.

My favorite knives for cooking are knives with dimples or grooves to prevent food from sticking to the blade when slicing. So that is actually a very valid reason for a Bo-hi. Also, I trained from day 1 with a real katana. Let's just say the scars on my fingers and hands make training a lot faster. You really learn from your mistakes. 😅

My family lives in a japanese samurai district so everyone is a descendent of a samurai, some people still secretly practice the old traditions and I myself am one of the strongest and best swordsman in the village😊 but my point is that i really believe u can become one of the best katana users (i can sence it😆)

What are you're thoughts on surface treatment methods for katanas? For example, would you consider getting a nitrided blade? The properties would be similar to case hardening as well as providing corrosion resistance. Or perhaps a Damascus style of blade making?

The sharp one is also great for display. Add to the mental checklist of what house you wouldn’t wanna break into. People also just like seeing a sharp blade I guess. I once had my brother in law over when he was checking out my sword he was surprised that it was actually real.

The "auto-alignment" experiment is a scam, you can see where he pre-tore the cardboard

Yes the curve of the curve of the katana makes edge alignment much easier which makes cutting a lot easier and it'll automatically right itself much more often. But actually curving in the other way like a khukri While making edge alignment much more difficult as it doesn't automatically write itself and it's more likely to mess itself up you message self up gives you a lot more leverage. Meaning you can transfer more of your power into your strike.

and at 2 min in, you have earned my sub. anyone who can understand that different mindsets and theory's can apply differently and thus there can be several correct answers is someone i am willing to fallow

I have always wanted to learn Iaido, but have never had the chance. I have a few katana, and my favorite is one that is in the Unokubi Zukuri blade pattern. I’d love to see a video about different blade designs on katana!

Do you think you would ever review the accuracy in Ghost Of Tsushima? There are fantasy/stylised elements like special moves but from what I can understand from your videos, the base gameplay is quite accurate to how to use a katana despite it not being the correct time period for a katana

The thing about the groove making it so the sword can be more easily extracted after stabbing a body is a myth. A really old myth, too. I didn't think I'd ever find someone who believed in it anymore.

17:12 I wholeheartedly agree with this comment. The same can be said for other types of blades, staff or maces, not necessarily designed for chopping.

This guy is always happy it's so contagious

Just found your channel, I love martial arts, and you are very humble and this is very interesting 👊🙏

Man I love japanese culture

I got a katana for my birthday yesterday. Thank you mini katana and Shogo for teaching me these rules.

I've met a relative of Mini Katana at my brother's mountain biking race. I think she said she was their grandmother. I don't remember why she was there. She recognized the Demon Slayer keychains on my bag and recommended Mini Katana

You can argue that in 二天一流 (ni ten ichi ryu) they draw the katana or wakizashi with the left hand. However that's only when dual wielding, and when they only use a katana they draw with their right hand.

Thank you. Your posts are very insightful. I usually do the historical research you mention in your video's.

I really want you to make a part 2 on this one becouse there are some of the newer videos that are real cool like how they cut a... Actually i'm not gonna spoil that one

I keep seeing their shorts from the same people but have seen them talk about that bit right at the beginning a couple times. I too found it fascinating about how curved swords sort of automatically line up the cutting edge when dropped and that straight-edged (not the hxc type) don't do this

in museums the blade is inside an air tight case where the base and the back are sometimes made from hemp and is protected from anything that would damage the sword we see it with medievil suits of armor too

i love ur content shogo, its always super interesting, and i swear this is not a joke im getting a bit better on understand english, im spanish and i can tell u in my coutry's schools people dont know how to teach a lenguage, all the english i learned in my life it came mostly from videogames, music and series but the thing is that u speak slower then other people i know about, wich is nice to me for listening and understanding what u say a lot better, honestly i still can't hold a long conversation, but at least i think i can make myself understood, i wish u luck and health ill be here waiting for more of ur videos 😃😃😃

My friend tried to catch a $250 "katana" the way you described and ended up with a 2 inch gash in his hand. I can't imagine what a real katana would do.

shogo inspecting a katana looking all wide-eyed like that is so endearing and adorable

From a forging standpoint, the groove in the blade also functions as reinforcement. It provides shape and rigidity to the blade, which can prevent warping and flexing during a swing. Imagine it like an arch way, supporting everything on top of it. Even though you remove material, it actually creates a stress pattern that is stronger than the whole piece was before. This would be in addition to all the other reasons mentioned in the video.

I just saw this and it looked interesting the amount of research this man has and he’s just amazing how u live king and a gud life

The bohi (or fullers) don't just remove weight but also help provide rigidity to the blade despite the reduced marital, it's similar to how in I-beam works. I have two training swords, one with a single fuller and one with a double fuller and the double fullered one is far far stiffer.

I always shop at Tozando, when in Kyoto I love going in their shop.

I've never had a katana on my right waist, but in my own sword training, we do have a couple kata so far that do draw from our left waist with the left hand. They are interesting techniques and give more options for potential scenarios.

I mostly like the history behind Japanese sword fighting. But I feel like the katana gets more attention then other historical Japanese weapons like the wakisashi, and tanto swords for example

Koto Ryu has Left handed draws with saya on the left AND right hips. Their taito allows them to fluidly change to throw off their opponent. A fun video idea would be to interview Noguchi Yukio Sensei, Soke of Koto Ryu.

I said to myself that I'd take every Mini Katana short with a grain of salt till you covered them. Glad to see they get your approval! Thanks Shogo Lots of love from Wales!

An interesting video. I personally carry my Iaito under the protrusion with the edge aimed behind as my teacher told me that we should never carry it in a way that may make us look like we are looking for a fight.

learned so much from this video even though im not training for becoming a swordsman.....yet

I realy like your videos I recently bought my first dull katana from mini katana and still waiting. Hope to see the katana soon.

Another thing with the museum display is usually they are displayed in a glass case that protects from humidity just like the scabbard

Man, this guy is so sympathetic. Really liked him.

You are a humble and wonderful man. I love your videos and how you approach every topic without ego.

Not sure why this came up in my recommend, mayb because I recently been looking up Japanese culture possibly... but I've always had a huge respect for the katakana I even have a set myself (which after watching you video now know their yaitos as their non sharpened) very informative and learned something new along the way... arigato 🙏

I love your videos. I never thought of handing a katana to someone that way. I was taught to fully sheath the blade, then placing my hands at either end at the tip of the sheath and the handle. Then hand it to the other person in the display fashion. So handle to their left. Neat to know there are other ways.

These are great. One of the best ways to learn is to teach. Another way is to comment on others' KZonlines videos! :)

I didn't knew a thing about katanas before watching this video. Now I feel like I'm beginning to get in love with it and might try to get one someday.

I may be left-handed but I hold my bamboo sword with my right hand. Like you said before, it's a huge advantage for me as a lefty in terms of control.

3:41 just like with Equestrianism and mounting on the left side of the horse only! Originally this rule was a thing bcuz of swords getting the way of mounting if you mounted from the right, so traditionally everyone mounts from the left side, and it still is in practice today in Equestrianism despite most people not riding with swords