Sword Sunday #38: The sword that thinks its a bullwhip: the Urumi

Sometimes called the 'most dangerous sword in the world' the Indian Urumi lives up to its reputation by not only threatening anyone that gets within its daunting range (up to 5 yards in some cases), but also being a serious and ongoing risk to the user themselves if they are not vigilant every moment it is deployed. The Urumi's origins data back over two millennium, with its origins believed to be as far as 3rd or 4th centuries, BCE. 

Training for use of the weapon is daunting and time consuming, with the expected regiment for mastership being up to 12 years, or even longer. The art  it is called Kalaripayattu, and is a system of armed and unarmed fighting that was used on the Indian subcontinent by mercenaries, soldiers, law enforcement, and the wealthy (and their guards). 

During the British colonial period, the Urumi, as well as most of the weapons and training weapons of Kalaripayattu were banned, and its practitioners jailed. The decline in the art has resulted in it's almost complete loss, though it is experiencing a resurgence in resent years after a handful of remaining instructors have started teaching again. 

The weapon itself uses a single handed grip, and a hand covering hilt. The blade is described as long, and very thing, allowing the weapon to loop over on itself easily. Contemporary reports to the times indicate it was easily concealable under a person's belt, and at several points in history it was more common to see women with belts than men, making the item idea for women with both protective, or clandestine objectives. 

The sword's most basic methodology is to keep it moving and swinging around the user, forming a protective bubble that will severely cut  anyone who is caught by its swing. Some records indicate that there were weapons fielded with ten, twenty, or even thirty blades built into the hilt. These were more than enough to disembowel or lacerate an opponent who got within reach of the weapon 

The technique is both acrobatic and aerobatic, demanding good if not exceptional physical conditioning on the part of the user. 

His Lordship Ivo Blackhawk
Kingdom of Ansteorra
"Long Live the King!"