What is it that makes the Katana so sharp? It's just a steel blade, and usually made from scrap steel at that! The most common lamination method of manufacturing the Japanese sword blade is from a combination of two different steels: a harder outer jacket of steel wrapped around a softer inner core of steel. This creates a blade which has a unique, hard, highly razor sharp cutting edge with the ability to absorb shocks in a way which reduces the possibility of the blade breaking or bending when used in combat.
Forged steel, hadagane and tamahagane, are folded transversely and longitudinally. At each folding stage, it is heated and cooled down by water again and again. This procedure oxidizes the steel surface and removing these oxidated layers greatly reduces the content of impurities inside steel.
Beginning in the 10th century, Japanese were discovering the methods of producing fine steel blades from iron ore panned from rivers. This panned ore was smelted in a wood coke furnace and the crude metal was broken up into pieces, forged flat and stacked into billets. These stacks were forge welded together and forged to length. Then it was folded, first length wise and after welding and forging again, folded sideways and welded again. This process was repeated from 8 to 16 times in order to refine the impurities out of the steel and to remove excess carbon. 16 folds provides 65,536 layers of steel if you start with one single layer. But swordsmiths did not always start with only one layer. Starting with an 8 layer stack, 16 folds will give 524,288 layers. One more fold and there are easily over a million layers of steel in one blade!
The folding does several things:
- It provides alternating layers of differing hardenability. During quenching, the high carbon layers achieve greater hardness than the medium carbon layers. The hardness of the high carbon steels combine with the ductility of the low carbon steels to form the property of toughness.
- It eliminates any voids in the metal.
- It homogenizes the metal, spreading the elements evenly throughout - increasing the effective strength by decreasing the number of potential weak points.
- It burns off many impurities.
- Because of all the layers, a micro-serrated edge is formed on the blade; making it very sharp.
Ok, Mark. What's with the history lesson?
Well, as I said, I am a student of Karate. I've heard our instructors relate stories of how training in the martial arts is much like the manufacturing of a Japanese sword. We are heated in the fires of our own bodies. Driven physically until we are near breaking. Then we are taken from the fire and "hammered" into shape further; learning the finer points of punching, kicking, grabbing, and throwing techniques. We practice these techniques over and over until it is ingrained in our muscles. Eventually, with enough practice, we will do the techniques with barely a thought! This is where the mental training takes form. Our instructors tell us that we are much stronger physically than we ever imagined. It's our mental training that requires the most work. It's mental toughness that makes us warriors. The stronger we are mentally, the more we can do physically. The more we can prove to ourselves that we are physically strong, the better we become mentally. It's a wonderful cycle that feeds on itself.
It's a great visual when it's told, and we are worked very hard in the dojo. I "got it" when it was told, it's a pretty easy concept to understand. Work hard = fire, training in technique = hammer. And I thought I had a real taste of "it" while training. Little did I know the real lesson had to be learned the hard way.
Welcome to the 1st BMAA Winter Camp...
The camp was held last weekend in the Outer Banks of North Carolina. I went there expecting two days of good, hard, workouts and a dose of inspiration. My expectations were so vastly exceeded that it's hard to find the right words to explain it all.
The day we arrived, the winds picked up to a steady 30-35 mph with gusts up near 45, the temperature dropped to a high of 50ish and lows in the low 40s. Yes, many of our activities were outside. We were pitted against the wind, cold, and darkness Saturday morning on Jockey's Ridge; large sand dunes. Pushups, break falls, crawling on hands and knees up the dunes, front rolling down, carrying partners on our backs back up the dunes. A good start to the day. We head back to the hotel to do another hour, followed by a workout in the ocean.
The waves and wind are tremendous. We punch the sand. We get in stance and practice punches and blocks. We stand together against the ocean. The cold of the water starts to take it's toll. You don't feel it until you get back inside, but the morning activity wears on you. The breakfast break feels good. Ready for more...
By 9:00 AM, we're back at it. More than 2 full hours of non-stop activity. Kicks. Punches. Blocks. Throwing. Being thrown. More pushups. More everything. When it's over, you think your spent. But you know the day is just getting started. You set your attitude accordingly.
Physically, you think you're spent. But it's just a thought, it's not real. After lunch, the lesson of fire and hammer and folding - repeated over and over - is about to take place. Only we don't know it.
"Be ready to go at 2:00," was the call. "If you're early, you're on time. If you're on time, your late! If you're late, you're in trouble!!" Everyone was "on time."
The afternoon workout starts like nearly all workouts. But 20 minutes in, it gets intense! The instructors don't let up. AT ALL. Their intensity grows. They demand more. And more. And then more. Faster! Deeper stances! 45 minutes into the workout and you're exhausted, you think...
The sweat is, quite literally, a constant stream, soaking your Gi through and through. The instructors are still not letting up. Your muscles are nearly depleted - or are they? A strange thing begins to happen. You take notice of the group of students there with you. You aren't alone. Everyone is struggling. You can't stop. If you stop, the whole class might slow down or stop with you. You're not a quitter! You can't let them quit!
Your mind takes over. Mentally, you find strength in the spirit of the rest of the class. You're Ki grows. You will your muscles to keep up, and they do!
Your mind controls your body. Your body can do amazing things. It's our minds that are the weak link. Just as you're figuring this out, you're sent to the beach. Quality time again with mother nature.
Can't quit. Gotta keep going. The other warriors depend on me! I depend on them! Gotta keep my spirit up, my strength - for them as well as myself. Giving up is not an option.
Amazingly, we all stick it out. Not one of us gives up. Our spirit and camradery hold the afternoon. But the day isn't done. After the beach, it's back inside.
Normally, this would be where we start to wind things down. Not this time. There's more. Much more! Now I must "defend" myself against multiple black belts at the same time. Of course I cannot. I don't have the experience. I'm working on 5 hours sleep and my heart is still pounding from the most difficult workout I've ever been through. My muscles ache. But I don't give up... Again, my mind takes over. My mind demands my body to react, as best I can with my current skill set. My body listens!
Like the Japanese sword, I am being folded. What an unbelievable lesson. One that can only be taught this way. We were driven to to brink of exhaustion, to exactly the point we needed to be so that we could learn by example.
Mike, John, Suzanne. Thank you so much!
If you were there with me, you know exactly what I'm talking about. You felt it just as I did!
We are being folded to razor sharp, hard, warriors! Our minds are strong and only getting stronger!
Our journey is just beginning. And I am loving every minute.
I'm going to wrap this up with my favorite quote of all time. It is very appropriate for this occasion. Enjoy.
OSU!
