 The sword is probably one of the most widely recognized symbols in historical combat. In this episode, we're going to explore some innovations of sword history and examine one of the top five coolest swords. This is just a personal favorites list. I'm sure you all will have different opinions and I would love to hear them. I'm also not really looking at variations of the standard sword either. There have been many blade shapes, makes, styles, scimitars, and ornate decorations. But rather in this video, we're going to take a look at a few swords and derivatives that try to go past the standard form and attempt to think outside the blade with unique innovations. So we now present the top five coolest swords. We're going on sheer creativity here. The effectiveness and efficiency of the following weapons is definitely up for debate and there are some historical contexts to go along with them as well. So here we go. The Nine Ring Daito is a Chinese broad sword popular in some styles of kung fu. The sword pretty much looks standard at face value except for the set of nine rings embedded in the spine of the blade. There are many discussed and debated reasons for these rings. The first is, the swords themselves are generally lightweight and the rings offer a strategic shift in weight. When the sword is held upright, the rings point down towards the hill and shift the center of gravity closer to the hand, easier to move it. Now in contrast, when swinging the sword outward, the rings will swing outward adding additional striking power to the swing. Now there's also the element of distraction and those rings make an awful racket when swinging it around. It's like fighting against a giant deadly tambourine. The sound is often accompanied by tassels or long banners that are attached to the sword offering further distraction. Another debated reason is back in these times there were many many soldiers to arm in China and a lot of the swords were made generally pretty cheaply. Now this would result in dull and chipped blades after little use. So one theory is that these rings would assist in wearing down an opponent's blade when parrying or even perhaps catching the tips of other swords and spears as they slid down the blade. And then we have the nine. The significance of nine rings mirrors the lucky number of nine in Chinese culture. This Egyptian weapon resembles a sickle and dates to as far back as 2500 BC. They aren't terribly large and a few varieties exist, but these swords are typically swung in a hacking motion similar to an axe. Only the outer edge of the curved blade is sharpened and can cause powerful and deep lacerations. The rest of the sword is dull but good for blunt striking and shaped to be effective at hooking. Many pharaohs are depicted in records and art as possessing these blades, possibly suggesting ceremonial or honorary applications of the copesh as well as combat. And as an interesting note in my research I came across a lot of videos online if people forging their own versions of the copesh. So it seems to be quite popular among sword enthusiasts and blacksmiths. It's a compact and creative choice. As we fear far away from the standard metal blade, we come to the Aztec tool of war, the Makawidl. The sword is far from your traditional variety. It is made primarily of wood and instead of sported in a metal blade is embedded with a dozen or more sharpened obsidian stones. Now obsidian is volcanic glass and it can be sharpened in high quality razor blades. So this stands on the line of qualifying for a sword or not, but regardless there's no question of its nastiness. Wheeled like a sword but swung like an axe, the Makawidl was designed to inflict several wounds in a single swing. Unlike a traditional sword which leaves a straight single clean and deep gash, the obsidian teeth of actually bury themselves with the opponent and then rip away as it's pulled along the skin. As a result wounds were not clean but often jagged and torn, often past the point of treating. These cuts weren't always as deep as traditional blades but there is no question of the damage it could inflict upon bare skin. The hook swords, often called the tiger hook swords, are a Chinese weapon traditionally associated with northern style kung fu but has also popularly spread to southern styles as well. History and usage on the sword is debated. The lack of records documenting its use among military personnel suggests that the sword was primarily a civilian weapon. Now its sports are rather unique and intimidating design. The elongated spine of the weapon is used traditionally as a sword would be, while the hooked end is effective at catching limbs, hooking armor, as well as catching and tripping an opponent. The hilt extends to a sharpened blade and the hands are protected by a crescent shaped design. Even more unique is that the swords are often used in the pair and sometimes they are hooked, loosened together at the end, and swung around extending the combatants reach an additional few feet. It's a very unpleasant thought when remembering that sharpened hilt. So the hook swords definitely are a cool and stylish mark that are left in the martial arts history. Finally we come down to the arumi, one of history's coolest and most unique type of swords in my humble opinion. The first thing one will notice is the blade or rather the lack of one. Instead of a typical rigid metal structure, the arumi consists of a soft whip-like metal blade. Now this weapon is an advanced part of several styles of Indian martial arts and it requires a lot of skill to use properly. Resembling both a whip and a sword, practitioners are required to master the skill of both and the arumi is typically reserved for advanced students. It is often worn in the coil around the warrior's waist like a belt with the hilt positioned at the side like a traditional sword. When in use, the sword is swung around like a flail but the weight and momentum of its metal whip is enough to inflict significant damage. Now different varieties of the arumi exist, sometimes just a single blade but other times it sports multiple blades giving quite a dangerous display of metal of storm. Quick to use, hard to see and effective at 360 degree combat, the arumi is often effective against multiple attackers and in my opinion the coolest entry on this list. I would also like to throw out an honorable mention to the Japanese Seven Branch Sword. Now this sword consists of a long center shaft with six protruding bladed branches. There's a strong debate as to the effectiveness of this weapon and its question of if it's ever used in combat or if it was just strictly honorary or ornamental is up for debate. Now in any case it's definitely worth a quick nod of acknowledgement to its ingenuity and creativity even if specimens that they have are brittle. So there we have it, the top five coolest swords. Thank you so much for watching and I would love to hear if you agree with this list or if you have other suggestions that you feel I left out. So please be sure to share and subscribe and we'll see you next time.