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A Flexible Sword - Urumi (lemmy.world)
submitted 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago) by FireTower@lemmy.world to c/forgottenweapons@lemmy.world
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An urumi (Malayalam: uṟumi; Sinhalese: ethunu kaduwa; Hindi: āra) is a sword with a flexible, whip-like blade, originating in modern-day Kerala in the Indian subcontinent. It is thought to have existed from as early as the Sangam period. [~600BC-300AD]

The urumi is handled like a flail but requires less strength since the blade combined with centrifugal force is sufficient to inflict injury. As with other "soft" weapons, urumi wielders learn to follow and control the momentum of the blade with each swing, thus techniques include spins and agile manoeuvres.

These long-reaching spins make the weapon particularly well suited to fighting against multiple opponents. When not in use, the urumi is worn coiled around the waist like a belt, with the handle at the wearer's side like a conventional sword.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urumi

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[-] FPSkra@lemmy.world 41 points 7 months ago

While Urumi did exist, this is not a picture of one. This is a Celtic sword likely bent when placed in the grave of a dead soldier. Ancient celts would bend the swords before burying the soldiers with them so, they couldn't be used again.

[-] FireTower@lemmy.world 24 points 7 months ago

Updated the image. Had seen the original one labeled as such elsewhere. I'm far from sword expert but I recognize there's a big number of sword fans here so I try to share when I come across odd ones.

For anyone curious this was the original:

[-] itwasawednesday@lemmy.world 3 points 7 months ago

Ok seeing this now, wouldn't the flailing action not land the the cutty bit on the soft bits the right way?

[-] phdepressed@sh.itjust.works 7 points 7 months ago

As with pretty much all weapons it depends if you know how to use it, and the armor available to your foes.

[-] Blue_Morpho@lemmy.world 9 points 7 months ago

Thank you because I was having trouble seeing how the sword in the picture could possibly work.

[-] EdibleFriend@lemmy.world 30 points 7 months ago

It's supposed to be like that

-Some drunken blacksmith.

[-] ogmios@sh.itjust.works 6 points 7 months ago

It's not a bug, it's a feature!

[-] j4k3@lemmy.world 5 points 7 months ago

... A sword made for an older man.

[-] EdibleFriend@lemmy.world 5 points 7 months ago

ITS NORMAL AT THAT AGE

[-] Kolanaki@yiffit.net 8 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

I tried making a build around this weapon in Elden Ring but... Whips are shit. Even if they're swords too :(

[-] stoi@lemm.ee 2 points 7 months ago

Its pog w/ thunderbolt and high dex. Shield whip is also pretty fun.

[-] Kolanaki@yiffit.net 2 points 7 months ago

Shield whip?

Is that a weapon that is a whip but also a shield the way the urumi is a whip and also a sword, or do you just mean using a shield along with a whip and I'm overthinking it? 🤔

[-] stoi@lemm.ee 2 points 7 months ago

Shield in offhand. Specifically I'd recommended a sheild with the no skill ash of war so you can use lightning bolt. The range and damage on the counter attack are pretty good. The urumi also has a unique charged heavy that has basically spear range for poking.

[-] bigboig@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 points 7 months ago

Really? I was looking forward to doing a whip build

[-] Kolanaki@yiffit.net 3 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

To clarify my position on whips: I primarily play for invasions and PvP. The whips suck in PvP mostly because it's rare to run against someone using a shield, which is where the whips really shine. In PvE everything is decent enough to beat the game, and there are way more NPCs with shields than actual players in my experience.

[-] gullible@fedia.io 7 points 7 months ago

Given that spears and halberds exist, what’s what’s the utility? Hidden for assassin shenanigans?

[-] Shirasho 10 points 7 months ago

Same reason cannons exist when guns also exist. They serve different purposes by having different profiles.

[-] gullible@fedia.io 4 points 7 months ago

I mean, if a military were to have the financial means to offer a cannon to every soldier, they would. Economics are the backend of every war. In 600 BC, a flexible sword would be both far more expensive and less effective than a spear, which is the crux of my question. I only read the wiki after my comment so I take back halberds. 7355608 proposed an interesting use case in a casual carry belt that feels reasonable.

[-] Anticorp@lemmy.world 7 points 7 months ago

But if they did that, a light infantry squad would grab their rifles, run around to the side of the cannon squad, and completely destroy them.

[-] gullible@fedia.io 3 points 7 months ago

“Thaddiffer, I do say, what are those Frenchmen doing across the hill?”

“My dear Billiam, I believe they’re attempting to flank us. Shall we preemptively prepare a ceaseless 500 grape shot barrage to render them, the landscape, and everything else within a quarter mile into an unidentifiable vapor?”

“No, no, we shan’t be rude, we simply must offer them first volley. Anyone for tea in the meantime?”

*raucous agreement*

(Yes, I know what you’re referencing but this is magic “everyone gets a cannon” canon)

[-] GiveMemes@jlai.lu 3 points 7 months ago

It was basically a weapon so that when you got in a bar fight, you could grab the band saw off your waist lol

[-] 7355608@lemmy.world 9 points 7 months ago

You could use it as a belt maybe?

Like the canesword, it's a belt first and when hooligans are up to hooligan things you can give them what for. . .

. . .as your pants fall down.

[-] GiantRobotTRex@lemmy.sdf.org 6 points 7 months ago
  • Easy to carry
  • Easy to conceal
  • When slashed around, creates a very dangerous bubble around the user that can keep multiple enemies at bay
  • Can be several meters long, giving it more reach than most polearms
  • Effective against shields since the end can wrap around the shield to hit the enemy
  • Look badass

It's not meant to be a mass produced weapon that gets distributed to everyone in the militia. Spears are far and away a better choice for that. It takes years and years of training before a fighter should even consider learning how to use one. But in the hands of an elite warrior they can be incredibly deadly.

[-] agent_flounder@lemmy.world 5 points 7 months ago

Well, I'll be damned...

https://www.cbr.com/demon-slayer-kanroji-whip-sword-inspiration-urumi/

[-] Dagnet@lemmy.world 3 points 7 months ago

Second best hashira so far!

this post was submitted on 15 Mar 2024
146 points (98.7% liked)

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