This decorative Stick Sword is crafted from natural hardwood and bares an engraving of the Chinese Dragon. Features antique copper fittings and a Stainless Steel Blade. Blade: 27 �" Width: 4/16" Overall: 41 �"
Price: 29.95
The OL300 Baldric is worn diagonally across the chest and has an adjustable frog for use with a wide variety of scabbards, from rapier to broadsword. Shown here with the Black Knight (not included). KEY FEATURES: Will hold most Medieval/Renaissance s
Price: 99.99
The Kungfu Sword or Dao is undoubtedly one of the best weapon-grade sword of its type commercially available. Unlike the many decorative and theatrical versions of this sword, the Hanwei product is a true replica of the original. A brass-mounted scabbard is included. The distal-tapered blade and traditional hand-tied grip make for superb handling. See also Models SH2063, SH2115 and SH2074 BLADE LENGTH: 25 1/4" HANDLE LENGTH: 6 1/2" OVERALL LENGTH: 31 3/4" WEIGHT: 1lb 14oz Another high-quality, authentic replica sword from Hanwei.
Price: 161.99
Long the traditional weapon of Chinas peasant armies, the Dadao, or fighting sword, was used with deadly effect as late as the 1930s in the Sino-Japanese war. Its single- or two-handed versatility, combined with the tremendous slashing power of its weight-forward blade made it the ideal close-quarters weapon. Our Dadao has a high-carbon steel blade and a full-length tang for tremendous strength. Although the originals had no scabbard, a simple carrying case is provided for protection and ease of transportation. BLADE LENGTH: 25" HANDLE LENGTH: 6" OVERALL LENGTH: 31" WEIGHT: 2lb 3oz Hanwei replica swords set the world standard for the replica sword industry. Quality and authenticity define these fine products. High demand does create shortages, so we suggest ordering your favorite sword whenever you find it available.
Price: 114.99
Crafted by Hanwei to a completely different standard of quality than most pieces currently available, this Tai Chi sword is built around a hand-forged Damascus steel blade, profiled to produce a fast, well balanced sword for the martial artist and an authentic piece for the collector of Oriental weaponry. The grip and scabbard are crafted in Rosewood with bronzed steel fittings. See also Models SH2008, SH2009. BLADE LENGTH: 28" HANDLE LENGTH: 9" OVERALL LENGTH: 37" WEIGHT: 2lb 9oz Hanwei is the world leader in quality and authentic sword replicas. Demand for Hanwei products is higher than supplies. We suggest ordering your favorite sword whenever you find it available.
Price: 383.99
The Han Sword is a cavalry pattern from the Han Dynasty (206 BC -- 220 AD), which reunited China and established boundaries very similar to those existing today. The rosewood grip and scabbard are inlaid with silver in an intricate scroll pattern, while the gilded steel guard, pommel and scabbard decorations feature the "crouching tiger" motif. The random pattern Damascus blade, with its ridged central fuller and reinforced point is admirably suited for slashing cuts and powerful thrusts from horseback. BLADE LENGTH: 28 �" HANDLE LENGTH: 9 1/4" OVERALL LENGTH: 37 5/8" WEIGHT: 4lb
Price: 1259.99
The traditional perception of the form of the Tai Chi sword becomes very apparent in the Ching Sword. The last of the Chinese Dynasties, the Ching (or Quing) Dynasty was overthrown by rebellion as late as 1911, by which time the Tai Chi sword had completed its evolution in to the "modern" form. The sword is crafted around a beautifully pattern-welded blade of flattened diamond section with the guard and pommel in gilded steel, both featuring a flying bat design. The scabbard decorations are in gilded brass and the intricate knotword of the tassel is art in its own right. BLADE LENGTH: 29" HANDLE LENGTH: 9" OVERALL LENGTH: 38" WEIGHT: 3lb 6oz
Price: 919.99
In response to requests from Wushu practitioners for swords with ultra-flexible blades, we have developed the Water Song Broadsword. With a spring steel blade, tapering to almost paper thin at the tip, it is very light (barely one pound), extremely fast and surprisingly loud in skilled hands. A tassel (Item 2078-GT) is available separately. BLADE LENGTH: 28 3/4" HANDLE LENGTH: 5 3/4" OVERALL LENGTH: 34 1/2" WEIGHT: 2lb 5oz
Price: 105.99
Butterfly swords are believed to have been developed by Shaolin monks as a concealable defensive weapon, used to disable rather than kill, which was prohibited by their code of conduct. The use of butterfly swords has since been honed to a fine art by martial artists, particularly in Southern China, where precision and two-sword coordination are emphasized. Our Butterfly Swords Set is a high quality set featuring high-carbon tempered steel blades with traditional scroll patterning, leather-wrapped grips and steel guards decorated in a dragon motif. A wall display plaque and a double scabbard are included. BLADE LENGTH: 11 1/2" HANDLE LENGTH: 5" OVERALL LENGTH: 16 1/2" WEIGHT: 1lb Hanwei is the standard-setter in the replica sword field. Demand is high and we suggest ordering your favorite whenever you find it available. Replica swords make a terrific decorator item.
Price: 143.99
Deriving its name from the goose-feather shaped blade, the Yanling Sword was originally developed in the Song Dynasty. This exquisite version by the craftsmen of Hanwei features a beautifully patterned folded Swedish powder steel fullered blade and top quality fittings. The solid bronze "full moon" guard has a flying goose motif in relief on the grip side and traditional good fortune patterning on the blade side, repeated on the pommel and scabbard fittings. The grip is leather-wrapped over sharkskin, which also covers the scabbard. The beauty of this sword belies the fact that it is fully functional, with great inherent strength, balance and cutting ability. BLADE LENGTH: 25 �" HANDLE LENGTH: 6 1/2" OVERALL LENGTH: 32 �" WEIGHT: 2lb 3oz
Price: 1359.99
The pattern of the Ming Sword dates from the Ming Dynasty (1368 AD -- 1644 AD), which ruled China for almost three centuries after the fall of the Mongol Dynasty. The beauty of this delightfully compact sword centers on its superb pattern-welded blade, forged with a ridged central fuller providing the stiffness required for thrusting and the lightness required for speed. The grip is sculpted from brown buffalo horn, which is also used in thin, translucent wafers as a shell for the intricately decorated scabbard. The brass fittings are selectively decorated with oriental designs plated in silver. KEY FEATURES: Authentic replica of Museum Piece Hand-forged Damascus blade Buffalo horn grip and scabbard inlays. MEASUREMENTS: Blade length: 26 1/4� Handle length: 5 1/2� Overall length: 33 1/4� Weight: 1lb Box height: 40 1/4� Box width: 4� Thickness: .200
Price: 1067.99
The Practical Tai-Chi swords from Hanwei have been developed in response to many requests for a quality Tai-Chi sword for everyday practice. The 2008-GT series features three blade lengths, to suit the individual requirements of the Tai-Chi practitioner. All models feature steel guards and pommels, plated to harmonize the color scheme of the sword. The blades are fully tempered high-carbon steel with a flattened-diamond blade section that is moderately stiff while allowing for some flexibility. The SH2008B has a blade length of 30" (see Models SH2008AB and SH2008C for other blade lengths). A tassel (Item SH2078) is available separately. KEY FEATURES: Designed for the T'ai Chi practitioner Fully tempered high-carbon steel blade Scabbard included MEASUREMENTS: Blade length: 30� Handle length: 6 1/2� Overall length: 36 1/2� Weight: 1lb 6oz Box height: 41� Box width: 4 1/4� Thickness: .230
Price: 92.99
The Practical Tai-Chi swords from Hanwei have been developed in response to many requests for a quality Tai-Chi sword for everyday practice. The 2008-GT series features three blade lengths, to suit the individual requirements of the Tai-Chi practitioner. All models feature steel guards and pommels, plated to harmonize the color scheme of the sword. The blades are fully tempered high-carbon steel with a flattened-diamond blade section that is moderately stiff while allowing for some flexibility.
Price: 92.99
The Practical Tai-Chi swords from Hanwei have been developed in response to many requests for a quality Tai-Chi sword for everyday practice. The 2009-GT series, finished in polished walnut, features three blade lengths to suit the individual requirements
Price: 193.99
The Practical Tai-Chi swords from Hanwei have been developed in response to many requests for a quality Tai-Chi sword for everyday practice. The 2009-GT series, finished in polished walnut, features three blade lengths to suit the individual requirements
Price: 193.99
In response to requests from Wushu practitioners for swords with ultra-flexible blades, we have developed the Flexible Long Sword. With a spring steel blade tapering to almost paper thin at the tip, it is very light (barely one pound), extremely fast and surprisingly loud in skilled hands.
Price: 87.99
The Practical Kung Fu (2063-GT) sword is a further extension of our Practical Series. The sword weighs only 1-1/2 lbs, and can be handled by the younger student as well as the experienced practitioner. The textured wooden scabbard is designed with a slotted opening, which makes both for easy sheathing and for graceful lines. In line with other swords in the Practical Series, the Practical Kung Fu is very affordable. KEY FEATURES: distal-tapered high carbon steel blade wooden scabbard black finish BLADE LENGTH: 27 3/4" HANDLE LENGTH: 6" OVERALL LENGTH: 33 3/4" WEIGHT: 3lb 2oz
Price: 176.99
Developed from the Burmese Da, the Banshee is a light, superbly balanced cutting sword for one- or two-hand use. The high-carbon steel forged blade features a rugged full-length tang for power and rugged reliability. A spring clip provides positive retention of the sword in the scabbard and, in combination with the included shoulder strap, allows many carrying options. The ultimate brush cutter! Order your quality replica sword from Hanwei - the leader in replica quality!
Price: 145.99
War is the reciprocal and violent application
of force between hostile political entities aimed at
bringing about a desired political end-state via armed
conflict. In his seminal work,
On War,
Carl Von Clausewitz calls war the "continuation of
political intercourse, carried on with other means."[1]
War is an interaction in which two or more militaries
have a “struggle of wills”.[2]
When qualified as a
civil war, it is a dispute inherent to a given
society, and its nature is in the conflict over modes of
governance rather than
sovereignty. War is not considered to be the same as
mere
occupation,
murder or
genocide because of the reciprocal nature of the
violent struggle, and the
organized nature of the units involved.
War is also a cultural entity, and its practice is
not linked to any single type of political organisation
or society. Rather, as discussed by
John Keegan in his “History Of Warfare”, war is a
universal phenomenon whose form and scope is defined by
the society that wages it.
[3]
The conduct of war extends along a continuum, from the
almost universal
tribal warfare that began well before recorded human
history, to wars between
city states,
nations, or
empires. A group of combatants and their support is
called an
army on land, a
navy at sea, and
air force in the air. Wars may be prosecuted
simultaneously in one or more different
theatres. Within each theatre, there may be one or
more consecutive
military campaigns. A military campaign includes not
only fighting but also intelligence, troop movements,
supplies,
propaganda, and other components. Continuous
conflict is traditionally called a
battle, although this terminology is not always fed
to conflicts involving aircraft, missiles or bombs
alone, in the absence of ground troops or naval forces.
War is not limited to the
human species, as
ants engage in massive intra-species conflicts which
might be termed warfare. It is theorized that other
species also engage in similar behavior, although this
is not well documented.
[4][5][6]
Some believe war has always been with us; others
stress the lack of clear evidence that war is not in our
prehistoric past, and the fact that many peaceful,
non-military societies have and still do exist.
Originally, war likely consisted of small-scale raiding.
Since the rise of the state some 5000 years ago,
military activity has occurred over much of the globe.
The advent of gunpowder and the acceleration of
technological advances led to modern warfare.
Since the close of the
Vietnam War, the ideas expounded by the Prussian
military theorist Carl von Clausewitz (1780-1831) have
come to thoroughly permeate American military writing,
doctrinal, theoretical, and historical. His book
On War, first published (as
Vom Kriege) in 1832, was adopted as a key
text at the Naval War College in 1976, the Air War
College in 1978, the Army War College in 1981. It has
always been central at the U.S. Army's School for
Advanced Military Studies at Leavenworth (founded in
1983). The U.S. Marine Corps's brilliant little
philosophical field manual
FMFM 1: Warfighting (1989) is essentially a
distillation of On War, and the newer Marine
Corps Doctrinal Publications (MCDPs,
c.1997) are equally reflective of Clausewitz's basic
concepts.*1
This is not the first time Clausewitz has been in
fashion. Indeed, On War has been the bible of
many thoughtful soldiers ever since Field Marshal
Helmuth von Moltke attributed to its guidance his
stunning victories in the wars of German unification
(1864, 1866, 1870-71). Nor is it the first time that
individual American soldiers and military
thinkers have been attracted by his ideas: George
Patton, Albert Wedemeyer, and—especially—Dwight
Eisenhower were intensely interested in what he had to
say.
It is, however, the first time that the American
armed forces as institutions have turned to
Clausewitz. While the philosopher had insisted that war
was "simply the expression of politics by other means,"
the traditional attitude of American soldiers had been
that "politics and strategy are radically and
fundamentally things apart. Strategy begins where
politics end. All that soldiers ask is that once the
policy is settled, strategy and command shall be
regarded as being in a sphere apart from politics."*2
The sudden acceptability of Clausewitz in the wake of
Vietnam is not difficult to account for, for among the
major military theorists only Clausewitz seriously
struggled with the sort of dilemma that American
military leaders faced in the aftermath of their defeat.
Clearly, in what had come to be called in scathing terms
a "political war," the political and military components
of the American war effort had come unstuck. It ran
against the grain of America's military men to criticize
elected civilian leaders, but it was just as difficult
to take the blame upon themselves. Clausewitz's analysis
could not have been more relevant:
The more powerful and inspiring the motives for
war,... the more closely will the military aims and
the political objects of war coincide, and the more
military and less political will war appear to be.
On the other hand, the less intense the motives, the
less will the military element's natural tendency to
violence coincide with political directives. As a
result, war will be driven further from its natural
course, the political object will be more and more
at variance with the aim of ideal war, and the
conflict will seem increasingly political in
character.*3
When people talk, as they often do, about
harmful political influence on the management of
war, they are not really saying what they mean.
Their quarrel should be with the policy itself, not
with its influence.
Vom Kriege (IPA: [fɔm
ˈkʁiːgə]) is a book on
war and
military strategy by
Prussian general
Carl von Clausewitz, written mostly after the
Napoleonic wars, between 1816 and 1830, and
published posthumously by his wife in 1832. It has been
translated into
English several times as On War. On
War is actually an unfinished work; Clausewitz had
set about revising his accumulated manuscripts in 1827,
but did not live to finish the task. His wife eventually
compiled all the work and the final two chapters
Clausewitz never finished.
On War is one of the first books on modern
military strategy. This is mainly due to Clausewitz'
integration of politics and social and economic issues
as some of the most important factors in deciding the
outcomes of a war. It is one of the most important
treatises on strategy ever written, and is prescribed at
various
military academies to this day.
Carl von Clausewitz was a
Prussian officer among those baffled by how the
armies of the
French Revolution and
Napoleon had changed the nature of war through their
ability to motivate the populace and thus unleash war on
a greater scale than had previously been the case in
Europe. Clausewitz was well educated and had a strong
interest in art, science, and education, but he was a
professional soldier who spent a considerable part of
his life fighting against Napoleon. There is no doubt
that the insights he gained from his experiences,
combined with a solid grasp of European history,
provided much of the raw material for the book. On
War represents the compilation of his most cogent
observations.
Note: Clausewitz states that Napoleon's tactics were
not revolutionary at all and that Napoleonic Warfare did
not change anything greatly in military history. The
technology of weaponry for the most part remained
static, and new strategies weren't developed, but rather
Napoleon refurbished old ones, mixing them into one
grand strategy.
The book contains a wealth of historical examples
used to illustrate its various concepts.
Frederick II of Prussia (the Great) figures
prominently for having made very efficient use of the
limited forces at his disposal.
Napoleon also is a central figure.
Among many strands of thought, three stand out as
essential to Clausewitz' concept:
War must never be seen as a purpose to itself,
but as a means of physically forcing one's will on
an opponent ("War is not merely a political act, but
also a real political instrument, a continuation of
political commerce, a carrying out of the same by
other means."[1]).
The military objectives in war that support
one's political objectives fall into two broad
types: "war to achieve limited aims" and war to
"disarm” the enemy: “to render [him] politically
helpless or militarily impotent."
The course of war will tend to favor the party
employing more force and resources (a notion
extended by Germany's leaders in World War One into
"total war"—the pursuit of complete military victory
regardless of the political consequences).
Military strategy is a
national defence policy implemented by
military organisations to pursue desired
strategic goals.[1]
Derived from the
Greek
strategos, strategy when it appeared in use
during the 18th century[2],
was seen in its narrow sense as the "art of the
general"[3],
'the art of arrangement' of troops.[4]
Military strategy deals with the planning and conduct of
campaigns, the movement and disposition of forces, and
the
deception of the
enemy. The father of modern strategic study,
Carl von Clausewitz, defined military strategy as
"the employment of battles to gain the end of war."
Liddell Hart's definition put less emphasis on
battles, defining strategy as "the art of distributing
and applying military means to fulfil the ends of
policy" Hence, both gave the pre-eminence to political
aims over military goals, ensuring
civilian control of the military.
"You must not fight too often with one enemy,
or you will teach him all your art of war." –
Napoleon Bonaparte
Military strategy is the plan and execution of
the contest between very large groups of armed
adversaries. It involves each opponent's diplomatic,
informational, military, and economic resources wielded
against the other's resources to gain supremacy or
reduce the opponent's will to fight. It is a principle
tool to secure the
national interest. A contemporary military strategy
is developed via
military science.
[5]
It is as old as
society itself. It is a subdiscipline of
warfare and of
foreign policy. In comparison,
grand strategy is that strategy of the largest of
organizations which are currently the
nation state,
confederation, or international
alliances. Military strategy has its origins before
the
Battle of the Ten Kings and will endure through the
space age. It is larger in perspective than
military tactics which is the disposition and
maneuver of units on a particular sea or battlefield.[6]
Military strategy in the 19th century was still
viewed as one of a trivium of "arts" or "sciences" that
govern the conduct of warfare; the others being
tactics, the execution of plans and manœuvering of
forces in battle, and
logistics, the maintenance of an army. The view had
prevailed since the Roman times, and the borderline
between strategy and tactics at this time was blurred,
and sometimes categorization of a decision is a matter
of almost personal opinion.
Carnot, during the
French Revolutionary Wars thought it simply involved
concentration of troops.[7]
The Battle of Siffin, illustration from a
19th century manuscript by
Muhammad Rafi Bazil.
Strategy and
tactics are closely related and exist on the same
continuum.
