The Omani Sayf. ( The Omani Straight Dancing Sword)

[Gavin Nugent]

Originally Posted by Ibrahiim al Balooshi

Below is another enactment where the participants chuck the sword as high as they can and catch it by the hilt cleanly before it strikes the ground..Doing this with stiff blades would indeed be dangerous...as would be the mock fight and I have not noticed a lot of thumbless Omani men walking about...or worse still lots of dead performers...

The "chucking" of swords in to the air and catching them has been done in many cultures with real swords. Many take it a step further and juggle them without injury.

Based on several quoted texts of old, the description of these swords describe them as being fine and razor sharp cutting edges so I do fail to see how doing this with stiff blades would be any more dangerous than a blade with bend to it, especially IF a bendy blade had these qualities.
A bend in the blade is not active in any manner of "chucking" a sword straight in to the air, it is the edges one must be concerned with, not bends.

For the mock fighting, the same can be said, why were the swords ever credited with being such high quality and razor sharp swords than can nearly hew a man in two, it serves no point in these acts is it is only to be danced with, why would one add danger to their lives and risk loosing a thumb as you say.

Like any act, which the dancing and mock fighting it, it is an act only, it can be done with the sharped or dullest swords.

Neither of these points you make add to the fact that the swords were not fighting swords...in fact they do in ways support the swords were able to be fought with.

[Ibrahiim al Balooshi]

Originally Posted by SwordsAntiqueWeapons

The "chucking" of swords in to the air and catching them has been done in many cultures with real swords. Many take it a step further and juggle them without injury.

Based on several quoted texts of old, the description of these swords describe them as being fine and razor sharp cutting edges so I do fail to see how doing this with stiff blades would be any more dangerous than a blade with bend to it, especially IF a bendy blade had these qualities.
A bend in the blade is not active in any manner of "chucking" a sword straight in to the air, it is the edges one must be concerned with, not bends.

For the mock fighting, the same can be said, why were the swords ever credited with being such high quality and razor sharp swords than can nearly hew a man in two, it serves no point in these acts is it is only to be danced with, why would one add danger to their lives and risk loosing a thumb as you say.

Like any act, which the dancing and mock fighting it, it is an act only, it can be done with the sharped or dullest swords.

Neither of these points you make add to the fact that the swords were not fighting swords...in fact they do in ways support the swords were able to be fought with.

Oh well ..I thought I would add that in support of them being useless for fighting...hugely bendy flat round spatulate tips (not on a stiiff blade they are pretty pathetic as fighting sword...The razor sharpness is a traditional detail copied off the Omani Battle Sword. I can see how outsiders look at this thing... and I have documented about half a dozen visitors who have spouted off about this amazing two handed chop em in half battle sword capable of hewing down or cutting off limbs ...Welstead and the others were hoodwinked. Now the weapon that did the business was of course The Omani Battle Sword...Not the Heraldic Dynasty Dancing Sword ... but that to one side since your point is not with the flexibility of the dancing blade but with the stiff bladed variant which came out of Ethiopia. There is a huge difference.

What compounds the arguement in addition to the mistaken remarks of the earlier visitors is the flexibility of many other swords... I believe the swordmaker from the Shotley Bridge sword company took one of his blades coiled up in his top hat to a sales meeting and unleashed it to astonished guests. I know another sword I think from the Sahara which wraps into a coil and is used like a lashing whip...I understand the concept...but that is not what this sword is about...

Regards,
Ibrahiim al Balooshi.