Book recommendation - Soldiers & Ghosts: A History of Battle in Classical Antiquity

This book presents the evolution of warfare methods in Greece and Rome. It depicts battles, campaigns and military practices in detail, while also bringing up interesting topics, such as how the emulation of the glorious past influenced the behavior of troops and leaders in both the Greek and Roman civilizations. I summarized the chapters below:

Chapter 1: Fighting in the Iliad

• Homer's epic poem depicts fights between heroes as one-on-one duels
• competition in excellence between the combatants
• slaying a strong opponent brings more glory to the victor
• the Iliad set the foundation for the spirit of competition among the Greeks

Chapter 2: The Last Hoplite - The Origins of the Phalanx

• the story of the 300 vs. 300 battle between Spartans and Argives, at the end of which Othryades, a lone Spartan survivor, remained standing in his place among the hoplite ranks
• emergence of phalanx combat
• cavalry and archer corps gradually give way to the heavy-armored infantry suited to disciplined fighting in a formation
• holding one's place in the ranks is the supreme display of courage in phalanx combat and a way to compete between each other

Chapter 3: Two Stubborn Spartans in the Persian War - City and Discipline in the Phalanx

• the hoplites' acts of courage or cowardice reflect on the reputation of their cities
• Spartans marched and fought in a calm and disciplined way, without being driven by anger or passion
• Spartan obedience to the laws and commanders was a competition of excellence

Chapter 4: The Guile of Delium - Generals and Tactics in the Phalanx

• focus on the first part of the  Peloponnesian war
• in the battle between Athenians and Boeotians, the Thebans used an unprecedented tactic of a 25 deep phalanx. The Athenians were routed, but Socrates rallied them and led them to safety
• normal conventions of warfare are discarded in favor of more cunning methods with a better chance for victory
• examples of Spartan tricks and deception in battle
• the kings and commanders also fought in the phalanx, being part of the hoplite competition of valor
• cunning on the general's part interfered with the hoplite code of bravery that was implied by standing one's ground in battle
• competition between leaders manifested in skills such as troop deployment, persuasion and stratagems

Chapter 5: The Arts of War in the Early Fourth Century BC - Peltasts, Cavalry, and Training

• focus on the last part of the  Peloponnesian war
• changes in warfare are introduced. Sparta reestablishes troops of archers and cavalry
• emergence of light troops and mercenaries
• in the battle of Lechaeum, the Athenian peltasts inflicted heavy damage on the Spartan hoplites, who were unaccustomed to opponents who used hit-and-run tactics
• description of cavalry tactics, formations, and drills
• instilling discipline to unruly troops by making drills a competition, sometimes with an audience
• competition between cities by the way of hoplite fighting gradually gives way to individual competition between soldiers in their area of expertise
• the military maneuvers that led to Sparta's defeat by Thebes at Leuctra 
• description of the Theban Sacred Band made up of 300 male lovers

Chapter 6: Alexander the Great at the Battle of Issus - Homer and Macedonian Warfare

• Alexander's campaigns and tactics 
• Alexander's fixation with Achylles and the competition with his achievements
• story of how Alexander fought in one of his battles wearing an ancient armor that was thought to have been used in the battle of Troy
• description of how Alexander's army was organized
• the practice of ranking and rewarding merit, in order from the first to the eight, and punishment that implied losing one's position in the army and of the status that came with it

Chapter 7: Hellenistic Warfare (323-31 BC) - Competition, Combat and Innovation

• covers the battles over Alexander's empire
• emergence of various military disciplines in which games and contests were held, such as the games of Samos
• the loose discipline of the Hellenistic troops was compensated by their competition in obedience to commands and precision of execution
• the competition in stratagems and army deployment between generals Antigonus and Eumenes
• the importance of training for armies likened to that for professional athletes

Chapter 8: Early Roman Warfare - Single Combat and the Legion of Maniples

• tales of single combat duels between Romans and their foes
• spoils taken from winning duels granted special honors for a Roman warrior
• the organization of a legion of maniples and its combat methods
• the Romans' conception of their past
• 2 dominant aspects of Roman warfare: virtus and disciplina

Chapter 9: The Wrath of Pydna - Command, Discipline and Courage in the Roman Republic

• focus on the war between Rome and Macedonia
• the connection between war and public opinion in Roman society
• the Romans' aggressive behavior in war and disdain for caution
• the superiority of the Macedonian phalanx against the Romans until the defeat at Pydna
• conflict between the notion of virtus and the need for tactics in warfare

Chapter 10: Caesar's Centurions and the Legion of Cohorts - Military Culture and Greek Influence in the Late Republic

• describes Caesar's campaigns
• the aggressive bravery and high casualty rate of Roman centurions
• the organization of a legion and the cohorts' versatility

Chapter 11: Scenes from the Jewish War, AD 67-70: Fighting, Working and Training in the Roman Imperial Army

• chronicles the Jewish War
• increasingly important role of auxiliaries, supported by the scenes on Trajan's Column
• competition in disciplina for the legions and in virtus for the auxiliaries

Chapter 12: Shield Wall and Mask - The Military Past in the Roman Empire

• Roman combat style switching to the shield wall
• testudo - the tortoise formation
• masks that signified the excellence in horsemanship of the wearer, and the influence of the Greek history and mythology
• tendency to revive Greek traditions of fighting

Chapter 13: Julian in Persia, AD 363 - Triumph of the Ghosts

• description of emperor Julian's campaign in Persia
• Julian's emulation of the past in warfare
• the battle of Adrianople

I found this book an excellent read about the methods and transitions of warfare from the heroic times of the Iliad, through to Alexander the Great's conquests, and Rome's evolution from republic to empire. It also includes quotes and interesting, less known facts (or they were for me). Did you know that Alexander carried the Iliad with him on campaign to have a constant source of motivation and inspiration? Or how the last surviving Spartan hoplite of a 300 vs. 300 battle between Spartans and Argives claimed the right to victory, even though from the Argives there remained 2 survivors? I really enjoyed this book and all the information that it provided, in an easily readable way, and I highly recommend it for others who are interested in the subject.

Check it out here:

Two swords in modern kendo

             Fighting with two shinai is seldom seen in kendo nowadays. There has been a period when it was popular, but it remains a minority now, difficult both to wield and to judge properly. First of all, in the Nippon Kendō Kata, there are seven techniques with the tachi, and three with the kodachi, but none for the simultaneous use of the two swords. As two-sword fighting remained a rare phenomenon in kenjutsu, it didn't bloom to spectacular popularity in kendo either. The kata were chosen from the most representative techniques that would illustrate good posture, proper interval and cutting technique, and there was no place for scarcely used two-sword techniques.

            At the beginning of the Shōwa period however,  nitō kendo was popular in the students competitions. At that time, there was a sole focus on victory, by any means, among the students, and the reason many of them took nitō was to secure the win of the match against the opponent, by confusing him and putting him in a difficult spot, because not many competitors knew how to fight against someone wielding two shinai. As a result, the schools and universities began to train their students in nitō, to be able to confront a dual wielding opponent. The fixation on victory by using tactics that were unexpected by the opponent was so strong, that in 1930, nitō was banned in student matches. Since the students were only using two shinai as a means for obtaining victory, and were preoccupied by winning the match only, they were neglecting the mental and spiritual development that accompanies the practice of kendo. The ban was lifted in 1991, per the efforts of the All-Japan Student Kendo Federation, which feared that nitō kendo would become extinct, with so few opportunities to learn and practice it.

            From the rules perspective, nitō kendo experienced a slow and lengthy development. One-handed techniques were not approved in official matches until 1919, but they remained frowned upon and to be generally avoided. The criteria for the length and weight of the two shinai were only established in 1943, and they have been revised to accommodate the women practice of nitō as well. With being subjected to regulations similar to sports disciplines, nitō kendo could now become a viable choice in official competitions as well. However, it remains a minority in today's kendo. The validity of the strikes is difficult to judge, and the strikes with the short shinai are generally not considered valid. Although there is a stipulation about the short shinai in the rules and regulations regarding matches and referees, it is somewhat vague and hard to judge.  Because of this, the majority of nitō practitioners only use the short shinai for defense.

            Difficulties in nitō kendo popularity growth

            The development of nitō kendo to a large scale has been hindered by historical reasons, such as the student ban and the late and difficult to judge  regulations. But even today, there aren't many practitioners, and it's generally regarded as a negative deviation from the traditional chūdan stance. There are many obstacles for someone wanting to use nitō, such as the scarcity of two-sword fighting  instructors, the general negative view on nitō, and the skill requirements of effective usage. Because nitō uses the long shinai in a jōdan stance and the short one in a chūdan stance, it is necessary to develop physical muscles that would allow one to efficiently wield the weapons in each arm. Being also a more complex way of fighting, it isn't suitable for beginners, but more to practitioners that have already spent some years training in chūdan. Going straight to nitō is heavily frowned upon. Nishikubo Hiromichi, an influential kendo practitioner and politician of the  Shōwa era, took a more radical view and considered all one-handed techniques should be banned. He argued that using one-handed techniques impede the accumulation of the spirit and that one should not begin training with wielding a sword in one hand, but progress through training normally, until reaching a level where one-handed techniques can be used properly. He also criticized the motion of only swinging the sword without following up with the body, and compared it to a general that orders his soldiers ahead, but remains behind. Even though nitō is also a product, albeit a smaller one, of traditional swordsmanship, the fact that it's being considered more as a negative deviation from the ittō chūdan stance than as an individual style can be attributed to the reputation it had among the students at the beginning of the Shōwa era, and to the fact that it may encourage bad habits for practitioners that aren't sufficiently skilled in ittō chūdan beforehand.

Source(s): Musashi Kai

Miyamoto Musashi's two-sword style

Inspiration for using two swords

There are many theories about how Musashi came to use two swords in his style. His father, Munisai, was a master of various martial arts, including the use of jitte. It is believed that he taught Musashi various combat styles, so Musashi's first impressions on the martial arts as a boy must have come from his father's teachings. One way to use the jitte in combat was to pair it with a long sword, and use it to parry the enemy's attack, then strike him with the sword. This theory is endorsed by a story found in the Tanji hokin hikki manuscript, that describes how Musashi left his home after an argument with his father. He criticized his father's jitte technique, and Munisai, in anger, threw a dagger, then his short sword at him, upon which Musashi dodged both weapons and fled the house. This story can also serve as a basis for one theory which holds that throwing the short sword like a shuriken was one of the techniques that Musashi taught later in his Niten Ichi-ryū style.

Another possible inspiration is believed to be the drumstick movement of taiko. As a child, Musashi had the chance to observe the rhythmic movement of the two drumsticks at the Aramaki, or Sanomo shrine, a shinto shrine in the Miyamoto village.

Without ignoring how these experiences must have influenced Musashi in using two swords, I consider his combat experience as the primary factor for his choice of dual wielding weapons. The historical records of many of his duels, including his most famous one, against Sasaki Kojirō, describe him using a single sword. But in The Ground Book section of his treatise, Musashi advocates the use of the long and short sword for fighting against a large number of enemies:

                        It is better to use two swords rather than one when you are fighting a crowd,                                        and especially if you want to take a prisoner.

He also explains about the best use of the short sword, according to the environment:

                      The best use of the companion sword is in a confined space, or when you are                                         engaged closely with an opponent.

These statements hint at the fact that the effective use of the two swords has been tested through his own experience from his many duels. He found the use of two swords beneficial in various circumstances, as dictated by the environment or number of opponents.

Duels where Musashi fought with two swords

Although few, there are descriptions about some of Musashi's duels where he used two swords. One such duel was against Shishido, a master of the kusarigama. During the fight, Shishido arrested Musashi's sword with the chain, but then Musashi threw his wakizashi and killed him. From this story it can be surmised that Musashi was indeed adept at throwing weapons.

Another duel was the one against Miyake Gunbei, when Musashi used two wooden swords, one long and one short. He restrained Gunbei's sword by combining his two swords into a gassho position,  and kept him in check, before eventually winning by parrying one of his blows with the short sword in his left hand and stabbing Gunbei on the cheek with the sword in his right hand.

This way of fighting by using the two swords like a scissors against the opponent's sword was also mentioned in the description of a match held at Tokugawa Yoshinao's request, when Musashi demonstrated his style by fighting against a swordsman from the Owari clan, and nullified all his attacks with his two swords, while leading him in circles around the dojo and not initiating any offensive action himself.

And yet another use of two swords in a match was against lord Matsudaira Izumo no kami Naomasa, who wanted to test how effective Musashi's style really is, and also had to admit defeat against him.

Two swords in the Yagyū Shinkage-ryū techniques

It is interesting to observe the fact that in the Illustrated Catalog of the Shinkage-ryū Martial Arts, there are some techniques that deal with opponents wielding two swords: the korandome (opponent has a short sword in his left hand a long sword in his right hand), and the subete koran uchimonodome (opponent holds a long sword in his left hand and a short one in his right hand).

 So, even though Musashi was the most famous practitioner and founder of a two sword style, another kenjutsu school also recognized the need to know how to fight against an enemy that is wielding two swords.

Source(s):
The Lone Samurai: The Life of Miyamoto Musashi
The Book of Five Rings
The Life-Giving Sword: Secret Teachings from the House of the Shogun