Editing Sword (section)

=== Carrying a sword ===
	
For some reason, everyone in fiction carries their sword on either the left hip or on the back, from the right shoulder to the left hip. The latter we will come to in a moment, first we will discuss the hip-holstered sword.
	
While it is certainly true that carrying a sword on the hip opposed to one's sword arm, one has plenty of room to dramatically unsheathe their sword. In the Middle Ages and earlier though, this was not always done like that for a few practical reasons. First up is the shield: when one is in formation and wants to draw their swords having a raised shield in one hand means that one has to keep their shield hand out of the way when drawing their sword, compromising their defense, or by turning it so the tip is pointed to the side, and drawing it to one's sword arm side, though this could risk hitting someone else's leg with the scabbard, or in the face with the pommel if in formation. If one is mounted on a [[horse]] (like a [[knight]]) however, the sword is not carried on the opposing hip for a different reason: drawing one's sword form the opposing hip would mean either pulling the sword past the reins or the horse's neck, which might very well result in cutting the reins or the animal's neck. These two problems for both mounted and pedestrian soldiers was solved in a very simple way: the sword was carried on the same hip as one's sword arm. This limits one's drawing distance, but unless one is a [[C.S.Goto|deformed munchkin]] you should be perfectly fine drawing a one-handed sword from the same hip as the sword arm. Romans for instance always carried their swords on the right for this reason. The katana on the other hand were always carried on the opposite hip, but this was because the Katana was a slashing weapon as such you could turn your draw motion into a cut.
	
The second point is back-mounted sheaths. Useful for carrying, not combat. Unless you are Dhalsim from Street Fighter or are armed with knives you are not going to be able to draw a single-handed sword from your back. Doing so would involve over-stretching, pulling the sheath down with your shield arm (giving up your defence, a big no-no) and a short sword. Go watch a movie featuring someone with back-mounted swords: you never see them draw their weapons on-screen. And two-handed weapons are right out. Carrying a sword on your back is for hiking across open country, NOT marching to the battlefield. Soldiers armed with large two-handed swords carried them into battle much like their [[spear]]-wielding colleagues: [[Dwarf|held over the shoulders as the soldiers sung songs of war and victory.]] Though that doesn't mean that fantasy or sci fi settings can't have any back-carry, period. A commong way of addressing this in sci fi is to have essentially have some form of magnet on the back which engages when the sword makes contact (this is oftentimes also used to carry long guns), though the precise practicality of this method is questionable. In fantasy then this may be achieved through specialized back scabbards; the Middle Earth games, for example, feature a type of scabbard where part of the flat is exposed; and then there's the finned scabbard design as popularized by the content creator and fantasy novelist Shad Brooks. Another feasible means of doing a ''type'' of back-carried, back-drawn sword is to carry the sword on the side of a backpack, and then draw the sword in the same motion as one is removing the backpack.