f strategists, never once failing to win in many contests” (Shambala Inc.). In fact, it is believed that Musahi Miyamoto had won more than 60 swordfights by the age of 30.In addition the samurai practiced armed and un-armed combat. The early Samurai emphasized fighting with the bow and arrow. They used swords for close-in fighting and beheading their enemies. Battles with the Mongols in the late 13th century led to a change in the Samurai's fighting style. They began to use their sword more and also made more use of spears and naginata.Although these warriors were mounted they differed markedly in appearance from the knight. The knights used garb consisted of the following: An Iron helmet, chain mail body armor, long shield of wood and leather that hung from his neck and was gripped by the left hand. In addition he would carry his heavy Broadsword that may be as long as 6 feet on his right waist and on the left he may choose to carry a small axe (Gies, 11). The Japanese warrior on the other hand wore much lighter armor made out of thin metal strips or porcelain bound together with brightly colored thongs. In contrast to the heavy broadsword carried by knights the samurai wore two swords (daisho). One was long; the other short. The long sword (daito - katana) was more than 24 inches. The short sword (shoto - wakizashi) was between 12 and 24 inches. The samurai often gave names to their swords and believed it was the "soul" of their warriorship. The oldest swords were straight and had their early design in Korea and China. The samurai's desire for tougher, sharper swords for battle gave rise to the curved blade we still have today. The sword had its beginning as iron combined with carbon. The swordsmith used fire, water, anvil and hammer to shape the world's best swords (Suino, 45).Another important distinction between the knight and the samurai was in their expectancies of the opposite sex. The samurai code of chivalry simpl...
