How much does a Thai sword weigh?
Anyone who deals with the topic of Thai sword or sword fighting in general knows that the choice of the training weapon for regular sword training can have a serious impact on the type and quality of the acquired movement patterns.
If the weapon is too heavy, there may occur unintentional injuries (for oneself and others). If, on the other hand, the exercise weapon is too light, it can happen that movement patterns are learned that are not practicable with steel swords.
Rapid changes of direction and frantic movements from the wrist can work excellently, for example with bamboo, rattan or polymer sticks, but not with heavy bladed weapons made of steel.
For stage fencers, cosplayers, LARPers and show fighters (see Krabi Krabong), the use of lightweight replica weapons and rattan sticks may therefore be perfectly sufficient. The same applies, of course, to all those whose training does not necessarily aim to wield a heavy war sword sooner or later (e.g. stick fighters from Escrima, Kali or Arnis).
However, when it comes to authentic Thai sword art, we recommend to not use rattan or bamboo and resort to something heavier instead.
For a better understanding of the different weights, we have created two comparison videos. The rattan sticks are on loan from the FMA section of the Kampfkunstschule Neukölln.
Weight comparison at a glance
Rattan Stick (light)
A thin rattan stick came to 200 gramsin our measurement.
Rattan Stick (heavy)
The slightly thicker version of the rattan stickwas 291 grams.
Training sword (DAAB, without guard)
The lightest DAAB training sword had a weight of 409 grams.
Training sword (DAAB, with guard)
A typical DAAB training sword for beginners had a weight of 491 grams.
Training Sword (DAAB, steel)
A DAAB training sword made of steel (for advanced practitioners) weighed 799 grams.
War Sword (DAAB)
A Thai war sword made of steel (DAAB Ayutthaya design) reached a weight of 964 grams.
War Sword Scabbard (DAAB)
The corresponding sword scabbard brought it to 470 grams.
Overall comparison
Tutorial: Training swords for DAAB
The training weapons used in the Pahuyuth School for the discipline DAAB (Thai Sword) consist of round wood wrapped in fabric tape. We show a turorial on how to build them in this video (details in the video description):
Learn more about sword fighting
On our DAAB page you will find more information about sword fighting and training.