bizarre phobias list...!

[SymphonicX]

Here are some of the bizarre phobias that people have been diagnosed with - I'm sure you'll agree that we probably have it much easier than people who've been diagnosed with "Fear of everything"!! Count your lucky stars!!

Alektorophobia- Fear of chickens.
Alliumphobia- Fear of garlic.
Allodoxaphobia- Fear of opinions (but 9/10 people who suffer from this leave before the diagnosis)
Ambulophobia- Fear of walking.
Anablephobia- Fear of looking up.
Anglophobia- Fear of England or English culture, etc.
Angrophobia - Fear of anger or of becoming angry.
Anthrophobia or Anthophobia- Fear of flowers.
Apeirophobia- Fear of infinity. (Does anyone else find that a bit odd....fear of a concept of endlessness?)
Aphenphosmphobia- Fear of being touched. (Haphephobia)
Apotemnophobia- Fear of persons with amputations.
Arachibutyrophobia- Fear of peanut butter sticking to the roof of the mouth. (It can't be pleasant....but still!!)
Arithmophobia- Fear of numbers.
Astrophobia- Fear of stars or celestial space. (how do you become scared of this and how does it realise itself??)
Asymmetriphobia- Fear of asymmetrical things. (must be hard to measure everything just in case...)
Atomosophobia- Fear of atomic explosions. (hardly something that'll shock you whilst you're asleep....)
Aulophobia- Fear of flutes.
Aurophobia- Fear of gold.
Auroraphobia- Fear of Northern lights.
Automatonophobia- Fear of ventriloquist's dummies, animatronic creatures, wax statues - anything that falsly represents a sentient being.
Ballistophobia- Fear of missiles or bullets. (well DUH! Anyone without this phobia surely has a death wish??!)
Barophobia- Fear of gravity. (goddamn Newton....)
Bathophobia- Fear of depth. (Now that's bizarre...)
Belonephobia- Fear of pins and needles. (Aichmophobia)
Bibliophobia- Fear of books.
Bogyphobia- Fear of bogeys or the bogeyman.
Cardiophobia- Fear of the heart. (This one escapes me....)
Catapedaphobia- Fear of jumping from high and low places.
Cathisophobia- Fear of sitting. (sitting!?!? there must be some tired people out there...)
Cenophobia or Centophobia- Fear of new things or ideas. (otherwise known as Tabloid media)
Cherophobia- Fear of gaiety. (otherwise known as "moody c*nt")
Chromophobia or Chromatophobia- Fear of colors.
Clinophobia- Fear of going to bed.
Cometophobia- Fear of comets. (aren't phobias of things which pose no real physical threat fascinating??)
Coitophobia- Fear of coitus. (ARE YOU MAD!??!)
Contreltophobia- Fear of sexual abuse. (Just like the bullet one, if you're aiming to be abused you have issues!!)
Coprophobia- Fear of feces. (bullet/missile phobia yet again...)
Cypridophobia or Cypriphobia or Cyprianophobia or Cyprinophobia - Fear of prostitutes or venereal disease. (again, same thing...if you're not scared of contracting VD when sleeping with a hooker you probably deserve to catch it!!)
Decidophobia- Fear of making decisions. (They didn't really go to town with the scientific name did they?)
Demonophobia or Daemonophobia- Fear of demons.
Dikephobia- Fear of justice. (One for Bush)
Doxophobia- Fear of expressing opinions or of receiving praise.
Dutchphobia- Fear of the Dutch.
Eleutherophobia- Fear of freedom. (no, lock me up, please!)
Enosiophobia or Enissophobia- Fear of having committed an unpardonable sin or of criticism.
Epistemophobia- Fear of knowledge.
Euphobia- Fear of hearing good news. (My baby is dead? BRILLIANT!)
Eurotophobia- Fear of female genitalia.
Francophobia- Fear of France or French culture. (Gallophobia, Galiophobia)
Geliophobia- Fear of laughter.
Geniophobia- Fear of chins.
Genuphobia- Fear of knees.
Germanophobia- Fear of Germany or German culture.
Geumaphobia or Geumophobia- Fear of taste.
Gymnophobia- Fear of nudity.
Hagiophobia- Fear of saints or holy things.
Hedonophobia- Fear of feeling pleasure.
Hellenologophobia- Fear of Greek terms or complex scientific terminology. (look away NOW!!!)
Helminthophobia- Fear of being infested with worms. (bullet phobia yet again)
Heresyphobia or Hereiophobia- Fear of challenges to official doctrine or of radical deviation. (whole nations suffer from this...)
Hexakosioihexekontahexaphobia- Fear of the number 666. (WTF??!)
Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia- Fear of long words. (this one is CRUEL!)
Ideophobia- Fear of ideas.
Iophobia- Fear of poison.
Ithyphallophobia- Fear of seeing, thinking about or having an erect penis. (WHA??)
Japanophobia- Fear of Japanese. (Otherwise known as racism)
Judeophobia- Fear of Jews. (ditto above)
Kainolophobia or Kainophobia- Fear of anything new, novelty.
Kinetophobia or Kinesophobia- Fear of movement or motion.(has good relationship potential with "fear of sitting down" people...)
Kopophobia- Fear of fatigue. (must be quite tiring to have that!)
Kosmikophobia- Fear of cosmic phenomenon
Leprophobia or Lepraphobia- Fear of leprosy.
Levophobia- Fear of things to the left side of the body. (just turn around then!!)
Linonophobia- Fear of string.
Liticaphobia- Fear of lawsuits (michael jackson suffers from this)
Logophobia- Fear of words. (no use in reading this)
Melophobia- Fear or hatred of music. (otherwise known as Backstreet Boys fans)
Metrophobia- Fear or hatred of poetry.
Mnemophobia- Fear of memories - (just forget the name of this phobia, it's for the best...)
Mythophobia- Fear of myths or stories or false statements.
Nephophobia- Fear of clouds.
Nomatophobia- Fear of names.
Novercaphobia- Fear of your step-mother. (not unreasonable...)
Octophobia - Fear of the figure 8.
Olfactophobia- Fear of smells.
Ommetaphobia or Ommatophobia- Fear of eyes.
Oneirophobia- Fear of dreams.
Oneirogmophobia- Fear of wet dreams.
Opiophobia- Fear medical doctors experience of prescribing needed pain medications for patients. (pray to god you don't get one of these doctors...!!)
Optophobia- Fear of opening one's eyes. (who said that??)
Panophobia or Pantophobia- Fear of everything. (That's gotta be a tough one...)
Paraskavedekatriaphobia- Fear of Friday the 13th. (well, it's a good movie...very scary!)
Peladophobia- Fear of bald people.
Pentheraphobia- Fear of mother-in-law. (Novercaphobia)
Philemaphobia or Philematophobia- Fear of kissing.
Philophobia- Fear of falling in love or being in love.
Phobophobia- Fear of phobias. (Is this just getting silly or is it me?)
Plutophobia- Fear of wealth.
Politicophobia- Fear or abnormal dislike of politicians.
Polyphobia- Fear of many things (don't hold back there doc, just give me your best diagnosis....)
Porphyrophobia- Fear of the color purple (I hate Spielberg too...don't worry)
Proctophobia- Fear of rectums.
Rhabdophobia- Fear of being severely punished or beaten by a rod, or of being severely criticized. Also fear of magic.(wand)
Russophobia- Fear of Russians.
Sesquipedalophobia- Fear of long words.
Sophophobia- Fear of learning.
Teutophobia- Fear of German or German things.
Tyrannophobia- Fear of tyrants.
Urophobia- Fear of urine or urinating.
Venustraphobia- Fear of beautiful women.
Xanthophobia- Fear of the color yellow or the word yellow.

[Arcades057]

Ballistophobia- Fear of missiles or bullets. (well DUH! Anyone without this phobia surely has a death wish??!) <--lol wut?


Dikephobia- Fear of justice. (One for Bush)
Sounds more like Hilary, actually; along with the "dike" part.


Japanophobia- Fear of Japanese. (Otherwise known as racism)
Notice you didn't say that about the Germanophobia one. Selective outrage, eh?


Judeophobia- Fear of Jews. (ditto above)
Jewish is not a race, it's a religion.

Judging by your color commentary, I can extrapolate the following: You are most certainly a white male, likely either in college or you have recently attended a school of so-called higher learning. You are most likely from England, though there is a small chance that you are from NEW England, which would not surprise me in the slightest. If you have ever voted, there is a 90% chance that you voted for Nader; if you did NOT, then you wished that you could bring yourself to have.

It's amazing what a single post can tell you about a person.

[DubiousComforts]

It's amazing what a single post can tell you about a person.
Are you really 27 years-old as noted by your screen name?

[MikePizzoff]

<--lol wut?


Sounds more like Hilary, actually; along with the "dike" part.


Notice you didn't say that about the Germanophobia one. Selective outrage, eh?


Jewish is not a race, it's a religion.

Judging by your color commentary, I can extrapolate the following: You are most certainly a white male, likely either in college or you have recently attended a school of so-called higher learning. You are most likely from England, though there is a small chance that you are from NEW England, which would not surprise me in the slightest. If you have ever voted, there is a 90% chance that you voted for Nader; if you did NOT, then you wished that you could bring yourself to have.

It's amazing what a single post can tell you about a person.

What's with the unnecessary outlash, man?

If you're going to take a stab at someone over a post then I figure I might as well do a little bit toward you. Judging by your "Jewish is not a race, it's a religion" comment, you sound like certain people I've come across that hold hostility toward people that are of different race than their own; they were extremely outraged that I said I was "part Jewish" and proceeded to call me childish names after ranting "You can't be part Jew, it's just a stupid religion".

Also: To call oneself Jewish, one immediately invokes a clutch of linguistic, religious, cultural and racial features that are held to be common within each ethnic category.

[Chic Freak]

Polysteirene squeaking makes me shudder and eventually feel really nauseous, and I hate touching it. Other than that I'm not sure if I have a phobia.

Are these real medical terms or just latin words thrown together by an unqualified person to describe hypothetical phobias? I'm not having a go either way, just interested :)

[p2501]

Years ago i worked with a girl that was absolutely terrified of people that had Downs syndrome.

it wasn't as funny as it should have been.

[AcesandEights]

Years ago i worked with a girl that was absolutely terrified of people that had Downs syndrome.

it wasn't as funny as it should have been.

But it's pretty funny to read about it :)

[Yojimbo]

What I don't get is how does someone suddenly realize that they have a fear of infinity? I mean, you see a needle and freak out, or run into a Japanese person at McDonalds and suddenly find yourself wrought with anxiety- these are fears which it is probable that you might suddenly discover that you have. But fear of infinity? Just wondering how you figure out that you have that?

Hell, having neither experienced infinity on my own nor seen infinity, it occurs to me that maybe I have been walking around with the latent fear of infinity all this time and never knew it?

[Arcades057]

What's with the unnecessary outlash, man?

If you're going to take a stab at someone over a post then I figure I might as well do a little bit toward you. Judging by your "Jewish is not a race, it's a religion" comment, you sound like certain people I've come across that hold hostility toward people that are of different race than their own; they were extremely outraged that I said I was "part Jewish" and proceeded to call me childish names after ranting "You can't be part Jew, it's just a stupid religion".

Also: To call oneself Jewish, one immediately invokes a clutch of linguistic, religious, cultural and racial features that are held to be common within each ethnic category.

No particular reason for my post; just felt like pointing a few things out.

When a kid is born, the race is not listed as Jewish. It's just a fact. I could say my race is Christian, or Budhist, but that doesn't make it so.

Also, the racial dig was cute. I'm the rare white guy lacking any sort of white guilt. See into that how you will.

[clanglee]

Nah it was just kind of . . .well. . .dickish. I know it's not a word, but it should be.

[Yojimbo]

Also, the racial dig was cute. I'm the rare white guy lacking any sort of white guilt. See into that how you will.

Sorry, Arcades, this is not meant personally, but rarely are any sort of racial digs "cute" and realistically they are likely to offend folks.

I know you probably did not intend to offend anyone with your post however I can see how your responses could be interpreted as combative towards the primary poster.

[p2501]

But it's pretty funny to read about it :)

true that.

[Mike70]

Years ago i worked with a girl that was absolutely terrified of people that had Downs syndrome.

it wasn't as funny as it should have been.

:lol: funny in the telling though for sure.

[EvilNed]

First off, I call bull**** on alot of those. Second off, Anglophobia and all those things are not PHOBIAS. They are simply "distaste off". Anglophobes strongly distaste english culture, in the same way that Anglophiles like it.

I myself am a Japanophobe (or more like, anti-wapanese), but also a Germanophile. Doesn't mean I "fear" japanese culture. It just means I find it super-duper ridiculous and I roll my eyes whenever anyone talks about Final Fantasy or some new ****ty anime series or film.

[capncnut]

It just means I find it super-duper ridiculous and I roll my eyes whenever anyone talks about Final Fantasy or some new ****ty anime series or film.
<hellsing sharpens Katana> :D

[SymphonicX]

<--lol wut?


Sounds more like Hilary, actually; along with the "dike" part.


Notice you didn't say that about the Germanophobia one. Selective outrage, eh?


Jewish is not a race, it's a religion.

Judging by your color commentary, I can extrapolate the following: You are most certainly a white male, likely either in college or you have recently attended a school of so-called higher learning. You are most likely from England, though there is a small chance that you are from NEW England, which would not surprise me in the slightest. If you have ever voted, there is a 90% chance that you voted for Nader; if you did NOT, then you wished that you could bring yourself to have.

It's amazing what a single post can tell you about a person.

Well, to shoot down your points one by one...

Yes, I am a white male, no I did no higher learning at either college or university save for a BTEC course in media, which lasted two years. I'm sure my profile lists me as being in the UK, if not then yeah, I live in England. And I don't vote....I've no idea who Nader is.

The list was compiled from the official lists of phobias, and the fear of Germans and Japanese is the same thing, I just didn't bother listing a point for each one as I just skimmed the funniest ones. To make some sort of presumption that I am selectively outraged is falacious to say the least, and to be completely honest I detest your suggestion that somehow I am choosing preferences over other races. If you knew me one ounce you'd know differently, but you seem to have drawn your own conclusions so I'll just leave you to deal with that - after all you've done it from just a single joke post on a webboard about phobias, so there's probably not much I can say to lift you from your blind judgment.

[Terran]

When do we all get to hug?

[SymphonicX]

:hug:


awww.....

[MikePizzoff]

:hug:


awww.....

Get off me, man! We barely know each other!

[SymphonicX]

YOU ****ING LOVE IT!! I seen those toilet walls dude....

[Yojimbo]

I myself am a Japanophobe (or more like, anti-wapanese), but also a Germanophile. Doesn't mean I "fear" japanese culture. It just means I find it super-duper ridiculous and I roll my eyes whenever anyone talks about Final Fantasy or some new ****ty anime series or film.

Being a 5th generation Japanese-American, with relatives who are Japanese Nationals, I am saddened to hear that you find Japanese Culture super-ridiculous, though admittedly I too find Final Fantasy and Sailor Moon crap to be intolerable.

I like you and agree with much that you have posted, so I hope that you are not anti-japanese, for this would make me sad.

But, yeah, I have no love for the "wapanese" either, and roll my own eyes whenever I run across one.

Regarding Japanese Culture, though, while I too admittedly find a lot in the culture that I do not agree with, I do know from your earlier posts that you are an intelligent and well read person, so I am sure that you know that there is a lot more to Japanese Culture than weird anime, misongynistic salary men, hello kitty and godzilla.

[mista_mo]

I love everyone here,

Everyone, Fall in!

it is time for HUGZ.

[Andy]

I love everyone here,

Everyone, Fall in!

it is time for HUGZ.
Thats it, play nicely or not at all

:elol:

[clanglee]

I love everyone here,

Everyone, Fall in!

it is time for HUGZ.

I thought the line to be serviced was in the Diary thread. :D

[mista_mo]

I thought the line to be serviced was in the Diary thread. :D

This is not a line for sexual favours!

Now, *cracks knuckles* which one of you sons of bitches requires some physical closeness?

[Danny]

godzilla.

godzilla is all, you are all his quest! :lol:

[clanglee]

godzilla is all, you are all his quest! :lol:

was that a "all your base are belong to us" kind of a quote? Or do I just not understand english anymore? Is this like that Twilight Zone episode with Lithgow where language starts changing on him, and people start saying Dinosaur instead of Lunch, and his daughter has to teach him to read again?

[EvilNed]

Regarding Japanese Culture, though, while I too admittedly find a lot in the culture that I do not agree with, I do know from your earlier posts that you are an intelligent and well read person, so I am sure that you know that there is a lot more to Japanese Culture than weird anime, misongynistic salary men, hello kitty and godzilla.

Traditionalists and conservatism always gets me pissy. So I'm not going to make an exception for Japan. And yes, I know that there's more to Japanese culture than Anime and people who actually believe katanas were the strongest, sharpest and "most well made" sword in history. I am just so effin' fed up with people who believe everything to come out of Japan to be cool.

I have a friend, or used to, we're not that good friends nowadays, that used to walk around at home in kimonos and japanese slippers (tabi? You know the kind). He had several katanas on his wall, he had a mini-shrine/statue of Miyamoto Musashi on his shelf. All this, and what does this tell me? He's not interested in Japanese culture. He just thinks that samurais are cool, and wants to be one. He's not a samurai! He never will be! I don't walk around in togas and pretend to be a greek or roman senator, just because I am interested in that sort of thing.

Augh. And then just the other day I came across a guy who was utterly shocked when I explained to him that Katanas were, infact, just regular swords. They were not divine, super monstrous killing artifacts which could never be broken. Infact, I pointed out, most katanas are heavier than their european counterparts (hand-and-a-half sword) or weigh just as much. And both could be made just as sharp. And both were utilized for the same techniques. Infact, there is little difference between them, except that European (spanish) steel is stronger than Japanese, and thus the european would have been somewhat more resiliant (if it was forged by an adequate smith).

I could go on and on, but I think you get exactly what kind of people I do not like. Essentially, and this goes for anyone, really, people who want to be another culture so bad that they just dress up as them and act like them because they think it's cool. And there's a hefty dose of "wapanese" around, but there's also wiggas. And wannabe-reggae gangsters.

I do embrace the fact that the japanese themselves, on a global/political scale, are some of the most sensible folks around. All they need to do is drop the monarchy. :p

[Yojimbo]

Traditionalists and conservatism always gets me pissy. So I'm not going to make an exception for Japan. And yes, I know that there's more to Japanese culture than Anime and people who actually believe katanas were the strongest, sharpest and "most well made" sword in history. I am just so effin' fed up with people who believe everything to come out of Japan to be cool.

I have a friend, or used to, we're not that good friends nowadays, that used to walk around at home in kimonos and japanese slippers (tabi? You know the kind). He had several katanas on his wall, he had a mini-shrine/statue of Miyamoto Musashi on his shelf. All this, and what does this tell me? He's not interested in Japanese culture. He just thinks that samurais are cool, and wants to be one. He's not a samurai! He never will be! I don't walk around in togas and pretend to be a greek or roman senator, just because I am interested in that sort of thing.

Augh. And then just the other day I came across a guy who was utterly shocked when I explained to him that Katanas were, infact, just regular swords. They were not divine, super monstrous killing artifacts which could never be broken. Infact, I pointed out, most katanas are heavier than their european counterparts (hand-and-a-half sword) or weigh just as much. And both could be made just as sharp. And both were utilized for the same techniques. Infact, there is little difference between them, except that European (spanish) steel is stronger than Japanese, and thus the european would have been somewhat more resiliant (if it was forged by an adequate smith).

I could go on and on, but I think you get exactly what kind of people I do not like. Essentially, and this goes for anyone, really, people who want to be another culture so bad that they just dress up as them and act like them because they think it's cool. And there's a hefty dose of "wapanese" around, but there's also wiggas. And wannabe-reggae gangsters.

I do embrace the fact that the japanese themselves, on a global/political scale, are some of the most sensible folks around. All they need to do is drop the monarchy. :p


Rock on, EvilNed. In complete agreement with you and proclaim that EvilNed Rules!

I detest anyone who- be it out of self-hatred, ignorance, etc - attempts to be something that they are not. I don't mean that if you like J-Pop that you are automatically an idiot - there are always varying degrees and gradient shades - but in a way worshiping another culture to the point where you deny your own culture is just ridiculous. Like J-Pop, Hip-Hop or Sytar music, but embrace who you really are.

Funny thing is, when I was a kid growing up in the barrio, I know that I went through a period where I didn't want to be Asian, but wanted to be Latino or White. This stemmed from a childish desire to fit in, being one of the few asians in my neighborhood. Somewhere along the line, something snapped and I began to feel pride about my culture. So perhaps I should have a little more compassion for the wapanese, though abhorrently misguided they are.

[EvilNed]

Good that you were not offended and that you understood what I meant! As for trying to "fit in", that's a bit different and way more understandeable than someone who simply wants to be cool and thus dresses up as a samurai. Nobody ever dresses up as a samurai in order to fit in, you know... That'd be wierd.

It's just pissy that it's considered "cool" to be something you're not. White people will never be black, yet they think it's cool to pretend as if they are? I do not get it...

[MissJacksonCA]

wow instead of telling people not to touch me i can tell them what my phobia is! noice... I still laugh that there's people who are scared of peanut butter getting stuck to the inside of their mouth... and that there is an actual term for that fear...

[Mike70]

Good that you were not offended and that you understood what I meant! As for trying to "fit in", that's a bit different and way more understandeable than someone who simply wants to be cool and thus dresses up as a samurai. Nobody ever dresses up as a samurai in order to fit in, you know... That'd be wierd.

It's just pissy that it's considered "cool" to be something you're not. White people will never be black, yet they think it's cool to pretend as if they are? I do not get it...

i agree totally. i love japanese culture and have always found it fascinating but i am annoyed as all hell by people in the west who think they are samurai or (even worse) ninja. further, it is irritating when said people try to ascribe "mystical" qualities to samurai. they were a warrior class. period. much like the warrior class of europe in the middle ages/early renaissance whom we call knights. they were just people who devoted their lives to training for and preparing for war under a code of conduct. in the words of poe "simply that and nothing more..."

[mista_mo]

i agree totally. i love japanese culture and have always found it fascinating but i am annoyed as all hell by people in the west who think they are samurai or (even worse) ninja. further, it is irritating when said people try to ascribe "mystical" qualities to samurai. they were a warrior class. period. much like the warrior class of europe in the middle ages/early renaissance whom we call knights. they were just people who devoted their lives to training for and preparing for war under a code of conduct. in the words of poe "simply that and nothing more..."

But mike!!!1!!

Teh Katana Can Cut thru Steal!!1!

[Yojimbo]

i agree totally. i love japanese culture and have always found it fascinating but i am annoyed as all hell by people in the west who think they are samurai or (even worse) ninja. further, it is irritating when said people try to ascribe "mystical" qualities to samurai. they were a warrior class. period. much like the warrior class of europe in the middle ages/early renaissance whom we call knights. they were just people who devoted their lives to training for and preparing for war under a code of conduct. in the words of poe "simply that and nothing more..."

scipio, I too do not understand the "mystical" qualities given to samurai, any more than the word "exotic" being used to describe asian women. But as an asian, I guess I would not find Asian girls exotic. Think that asian men, though find euro-girls exotic, so I guess that it depends on which side of the fence you sit on. The side that is not yours will always be "exotic"

Regarding the European equivalents of the Samurai, I think that the Samurai would have had quite a bit of respect for the Knights, since realitstically they are both pretty much struck from the same mold, with much of the same values.

I have personally seen broken katanas, by the way,, and can swear that you can break one of these if you use them improperly. Some broken blades, in fact were broken in battle while being used to decapitate and skewer folks. They are by no means a magical, mystical blade, though well made they might be. A Kendo sensei once told me that only a properly trained swordsman could use the blade without breaking it, so that implies to me that these are quite easily broken.


But mike!!!1!!

Teh Katana Can Cut thru Steal!!1!

All our base are belong to Mista Mo! :)

[EvilNed]

scipio, I too do not understand the "mystical" qualities given to samurai, any more than the word "exotic" being used to describe asian women. But as an asian, I guess I would not find Asian girls exotic. Think that asian men, though find euro-girls exotic, so I guess that it depends on which side of the fence you sit on. The side that is not yours will always be "exotic"

I believe it was Ahmed Ibn-Fadlan who wrote something about this, how he was complexed by how Iranians always found the arabic lovers to be the best, and how arabs always found the nubian lovers to be the best. He made some conclusion, which is quite logical, as it is more of a "conquest", since these people are rarer than your own domestic women. I can't remember the exact conclusion, and I doubt he was an expert either, but it's kinda silly, yeah. From any side.


Regarding the European equivalents of the Samurai, I think that the Samurai would have had quite a bit of respect for the Knights, since realitstically they are both pretty much struck from the same mold, with much of the same values.

I believe that during the zenith of knighthood, the knights themselves would be much to racist to have any respect for anyone. They didn't like tartars or mongols, and they'd probably view the samurai as such. But this is the 12-13th century. When the first samurai arrived in spain, on a diplomatic mission, during the 16th century, people there were very intrigued by them.



I have personally seen broken katanas, by the way,, and can swear that you can break one of these if you use them improperly. Some broken blades, in fact were broken in battle while being used to decapitate and skewer folks. They are by no means a magical, mystical blade, though well made they might be. A Kendo sensei once told me that only a properly trained swordsman could use the blade without breaking it, so that implies to me that these are quite easily broken.

****, swords used to break all the time. You would never ever see a trained swordsman actually aim at someone's armor, like you do in film. Because it's the sword, not the armor, that's going to get broken. That's what maces were for!

European swords were usually used for thrusting or slashing from horseback. Also, this is why knights always kept daggers and dirks on them. If they were going up against another knight, a sword wouldn't be much good. They were too heavily protected! You'd need that dirk to get in close and thrust into the weak parts.

Even in Japan, the spear was the most popular battlefield weapon. Spear and later arquebus. Japanese steel was much too rare for anyone wanting to risk it when another cheaper weapon would do just as fine! Spears were easier and cheaper to replace. Of course, before Odo Nobunaga reformed the armies, battles mostly consisted of people running towards each other in no real cohesion at all, more like a brawl. I can see the use of a sword in that kind of situation.