User blog:SPARTAN 119/William Wallace vs Sasaki Kojiro

William Wallace, the Scottish Highlander who challenged the might of the English

VS

Sasaki Kojiro, the master of the nodachi who only lost one duel

WHO IS DEADLIEST?

=Combatants=

William Wallace
Sir William Wallace (1273-1305) was a Scottish knight and landowner who is known for leading a resistance during the Wars of Scottish Independence and is known today in Scotland as a patriot and national hero. Wallace's father and brother were killed by a English knight. William Wallace began his fight for independence by killing the son of the English governor of Dundee, who had been bullying Wallace and his family. In 1291 or 1292, he killed the son of an English noble, named Selby, with a dirk. However, Wallace's most well-documented early combat occurred in 1297, when he killed William Heselrig, the English Sheriff of Lanark, supposedly to avenge the murder of Marion Braidfute, a young maiden Wallace had courted and wed.

On September 11, 1297, Wallace's forces won the Battle of Stirling Bridge. Although vastly outnumbered, the Scottish forces routed the English army by funneling them across a narrow bridge, which would collapse later in the battle, sending many English soldiers to a watery grave. After the battle, Wallace was knighted, possibly by Robert the Bruce (who later become King of Scots), and was named "Guardian of Scotland and Leader of its armies." In the months that followed, Wallace led a raid on Northern England.

The following year, Wallace was defeated at the Battle of Falkirk, but managed to evade capture until August 5, 1305, when a Scottish knight loyal to England turned him over to the English. He was transported to London, where he was convicted of treason. On August 23, Wallace was hanged, drawn, and quartered, strangled by hanging but released while still alive, eviscerated and had his bowels burnt before him, and was finally beheaded while his body was cut into four parts.

Sasaki Kojiro
Sasaki Kojirō (佐々木 小次郎?, also known as Ganryū Kojirō) (1585? – April 13, 1612), often anglicised to Kojirō Sasaki, was a prominent Japanese swordsman widely considered a master of his craft, born in Fukui Prefecture. He lived during the Sengoku and early Edo periods and is most remembered for his death while battling Miyamoto Musashi in 1612. He went by the fighting name of Ganryū (巌流 lit. "Large Rock style"), which was also the name of the kenjutsu school he had founded. It is said that Kojirō studied the Chūjō-ryu of sword fighting from either Kanemaki Jisai or Toda Seigen. Toda Seigen was a master of the kodachi. If Kojirō had indeed learned Chūjō-ryu from Seigen, he would have been his master's sparring partner. Due to his master's use of the kodachi, Kojirō used a nodachi, or a long katana, against him, therefore eventually excelling in its use. It was after defeating his master's younger brother that he left and founded the Ganryū. The first reliable account of his life states that in 1610, because of the fame of his school and his many successful duels, including once when he fended off three opponents with a tessen, Kojirō was honored by Lord Hosokawa Tadaoki as the chief weapons master of the Hosokawa fief north of Kyūshū. Sasaki later became skilled in wielding a nodachi, and used one he called "Monohoshizao" ("The Laundry-Drying Pole") as his main weapon.

(From Wikipedia)

=Weapons=

Dirk (Wallace)
A dirk is a type of dagger used primarily as a thrusting weapon. The weapon is best known as being used by the Scottish Highlanders, being worn as part of traditional Highlander clothing. The highlanders would often wield the dirk with a small shield with a spike in the center known as a targe. The weapon was also used during the age of sail as a close-range weapon for fighting on board ships, and later, in World War II, the Imperial Japanese Navy produced single-edged officer's dirks with a tanto-style point, and dirks are still carried by junior officers in the British Royal Navy as ceremonial pieces.

Tanto (Kojiro)
A Tanto is a Japanese dagger with a blade of about 15-30 centimeters in length. The weapon has a straight, typically single-edged blade with he cutting edge curving up to the point. The weapon was used extensively by the Samurai during the Heian (794-1185 AD) and Kamakura (1185-1333) periods, as well as being carried as a personal defense weapon by civilians. The tanto began to fall out of favor among samurai after the 1300s, being superceded by the longer wakizashi short sword, though tanto would be forged for other purposes. During the 20th century, tanto would be forged prior to World War II, and some would be used as combat knives by Japanese officers. Tanto production dropped dramatically due to restrictions on sword forging in Japan after WWII, however, in the 1960s, tanto forging restarted due to demand from martial artist both in Japan and abroad. More recently, American knife companies started producing tactical knives with tanto-style points, though these tend to have a more angular point than a traditional tanto.

Claymore (Wallace)
The Claymore is a large, heavy Scottish greatsword typically used with two hands. The weapon had a length of four to five feet, and is typified by forward-sloping quillions and a quatrefoil decoration at the end of the crossguard. Claymores were often used on foot as anti-cavalry weapons, capable of making wide slashing attack capable of severing the legs of a horse, before delivering a finishing blow to the rider.

Nodachi (Kojiro)
A nodachi is a large Japanese sword, similar in shape to a tachi or katana, but much longer, up to five feet in length. While the weapon was often used as a cavalry weapon, allowing the user to easily strike infantry for horseback, it could be used effectively on foot, as Kojiro did. Like the katana, the nodachi has a single edged curved blade, making it most effective for slashing attacks.

119's Edge
I give a slight edge to the claymore for its larger, heavier blade

Targe (Wallace)
A targe is a small buckler used by the Scottish Highlanders, often with an iron spike in the middle. The weapon was often used along with a dirk or a single-handed sword. The spike in the middle of the shield meant the targe could be used as a thrusting weapon as well as for defensive purposes.

Tessen War Fan (Kojiro)
A tessen is a Japanese war fan with iron spokes. The tessen was typically used for signalling, however, the iron spokes meant that it could be used like a buckler, to block attack. The tessen's metal design also meant it could be used as a club, particularly when folded.

119's Edge
Wallace's targe, for its greater defensive and an offensive capabilities. =X-Factors=

Explanations
Kojiro was a master swordsman who studied the art of kenjutsu for most of his life, and honed his skills to perfection, perfecting the Tsubame Gaishi, or Turning Swallow Cut technique, an sword technique involving a swift downward strike followed immediately by a rapid upward cut. The strike was named both for mimicking the movement of the tail of a swallow and for supposedly being fast and precise enough to cut down a bird in mid-flight. While Kojiro was a faster striker, Wallace no doubt had greater levels of physical strength, given his large size. This would allow him to strike with much greater force than Kojiro. =Notes= This battle will be a one-on-one duel on a road through a forested area. Neither side will have any knowledge of the terrain.