Howdy all, I've held a friend's polypropylene katana, about a year ago. He's a beginner, but he's huge, so I was surprised at how small the sword was. I'm not beginning kendo anytime soon—I've just dipped my toe into swords at all, and I'm a curious fella. I have a 29"-blade training dao, the one in my profile photo, that I call the butter knife, and a Chinese straight sword that's intentionally a bit oversized for me, with a 37" blade and space for both hands on the handle. Do you have a rule of thumb, a principle, or a good resource for sizing a katana? I know, you match the tool to the job, and for a beginner, the job is training. Even still, I'd love to hear how you select a sword when you can choose based on feel. Much obliged 🖖

Welcome to Nami ryu Kenjutsu online. I'm excited to have you here, and to share your passion for learning Japanese swordsmanship. ⚔️ Please take a minute to introduce yourself and share what motivates you to learn kenjutsu. Maybe you're into Kurosawa movies, the samurai, or Japanese swords, or maybe you've wanted to learn Japanese swordsmanship but don't have a place to train or a community to support you. We'd like to know what brought you here!