A fictional axe: is it real-world based?

lordraphael · 2nd September 2005, 10:13 PM

Thank you very much for your help.

The weapon is specifically called an "ono" (axe) in Japanese, and it's specifically a non-Japanese weapon.
The author states it "may come from somewhere around Nepal"... a statement people on this board don't support.

Anyway, it was the author's purpose to make it a weird weapon fit to a weird user. That guy's the leader of a rogue "fighting school/style" strongly contending against the formalism of (peace-time) Tokugawa Japan martial arts, on the ground that "exploiting any effective mean to win is the only true martial art".
Somewhere else in the series, he says something on the lines of:
"This cumbersome axe is not as sharp as a Japanese sword, I agree. However, you don't need to use strength to block it [meaning, I think, that he just lets it fall, then controls it by dexterity alone]. That's a crucial advantage to me, with my skinny arms and slight build."
Pure fancy?

R.

fearn · 2nd September 2005, 11:04 PM

Hi R,

Thanks. I suspected as much, but I thought there's a certain amount of irony in the situation. A lot of samurai favored the kusarigama, or various flavors of kama. By favoring a kama-like weapon, this character is a bit more tradition bound than his creator might have thought.

Actually, however you interpret the response, this "axe" that sounds like a kora, and I think most forumites would agree. While I've never swung a kora, you do hit point-down with the beak, and they are front-weighted like axes. In that sense the character is right. The part that's a little goofy is that you need decent muscles to recover after the swing, so presumably, he makes his first shot count each time?
F

2nd September 2005, 10:13 PM	#1
lordraphael Member Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Italy Posts: 7	Thank you very much for your help. The weapon is specifically called an "ono" (axe) in Japanese, and it's specifically a non-Japanese weapon. The author states it "may come from somewhere around Nepal"... a statement people on this board don't support. Anyway, it was the author's purpose to make it a weird weapon fit to a weird user. That guy's the leader of a rogue "fighting school/style" strongly contending against the formalism of (peace-time) Tokugawa Japan martial arts, on the ground that "exploiting any effective mean to win is the only true martial art". Somewhere else in the series, he says something on the lines of: "This cumbersome axe is not as sharp as a Japanese sword, I agree. However, you don't need to use strength to block it [meaning, I think, that he just lets it fall, then controls it by dexterity alone]. That's a crucial advantage to me, with my skinny arms and slight build." Pure fancy? R.

2nd September 2005, 11:04 PM	#2
fearn Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 1,247	Hi R, Thanks. I suspected as much, but I thought there's a certain amount of irony in the situation. A lot of samurai favored the kusarigama, or various flavors of kama. By favoring a kama-like weapon, this character is a bit more tradition bound than his creator might have thought. Actually, however you interpret the response, this "axe" that sounds like a kora, and I think most forumites would agree. While I've never swung a kora, you do hit point-down with the beak, and they are front-weighted like axes. In that sense the character is right. The part that's a little goofy is that you need decent muscles to recover after the swing, so presumably, he makes his first shot count each time? F