My first kris :)

[migueldiaz]

Originally Posted by Bill

I guess that by mid 20thC the "traditional" warrior culture was going through a dramatic change in weapons & the wearing of swords was shifting in populous areas to limited special events or even wall hangers. So one would expect to see the flash & not the wear.

Hi Bill,

I agree of course with your observation.

Occasionally however, blade combat still happens in the battlefield, at least in Mindanao.

I myself found it strange, but please see this blog article .

On the pic [below] showing the soldier [one Sgt. Prado] holding a kris and a "ginunting", a commenter said:

"The kris pictured was one captured from a rebel who went blade to blade fighting with Sgt. Prado and lost not only his kris but his life to the [Phil. Marines Force] Recon Panday [bladesmith] meaning this man not only makes the Blade but has used it in modern day combat and in a Blade to blade duel with the spoils going to the victor. The Ginunting you have pictured is the recon version whose evolution was created from the tests of true combat. it is quite different than the civilian type Ginunting ..."

I don't personally know Sgt. Prado but I have friends who know him. Apparently he is well known here in the Philippines.

Makes me just wonder how exactly such sword fights transpire. Like did they both ran out of bullets first and then a challenge was made? Or was it spontaneous? It's for sure a very intriguing event.

And I also wonder how often such sword battles happen in the battlefield say in present day Mindanao