 The Nine Ring Daito is a Chinese broadsword popular in some styles of kung fu. The swords themselves are generally lightweight and the rings offer a strategic shift in that weight. When held upright, the rings point down towards the hilt and shift the center of gravity closer to the user's hand, but when swinging, the rings pull outward, adding mass to the strike. The noise caused by these rings offers an element of distraction. It's like a giant deadly tambourine. Tassels or long banners are attached to the sword to add to the frenzy. Back in ancient times, there were a lot of soldiers to arm and many swords were made extremely cheaply. This resulted in dull and chipped blades after little use. So one theory is that these rings were used and is to assist in wearing down an opponent's blade when parrying or even perhaps catching tips of other swords and spears as they slide down the blade. The quality of the nine rings mirrors the lucky number of nine in Chinese culture.