Picture of the Kiem.

The kiem is a double edged straight sword that has no parallel elsewhere in Southeast Asia. Kiem are clearly a direct descendant of the Chinese straight sword, or Jian, and mirror their general shape and design very closely. The Vietnamese kiem however are lighter with thin almost needle-like blades. In some respects the Vietnamese straight sword is reminiscent of European small swords, and at first glance one might mistakenly assume a European origin for this weapon.



Ivory Handle





Pictures of the Dao.

There has been a Japanese presence in Thailand and coastal Vietnam beginning in the 15th or 16th century. In Thailand, they served as mercenaries and it is likely that they fell into piracy as they did in other areas of Asia. In their roles as soldiers or brigands, Vietnamese would certainly have come in contact with weapons of Japanese origin.



Vietnamese Dao. 42 inches overall. Nguyen Dynasty. Tortoise shell covered scabbard. Silver repousse and charred.

So, Vietnamese sword is like influenced from the East to the West eh?

I like the Vietnamese Dao, how do you take it out O_o

I have always thought that "kiem" simply meant sword and "dao" were similar to a falcion, but the one in your picture looks more like a scimitar.

You just pull it out, hahahaha.

Alright Vietnamese swords

There are several different kinds of swords used in Vietnam. One kind is the Dao (butterfly/broad sword or saber). The Dao is of Chinese origin and is a single-bladed sword. it used with wide circular movements for attacks and is meant mainly for slashing and using strength in the shoulders helps. The Dao comes in different looks so not sure how to describe how it looks compared to the Chinese Daos.

Another kind of sword is the Kiem (straight sword). This is also of Chinese orgin, Jian in chinese. This is a double-edged sword that is lighter and thinner than the dao. this sword is used mainly for quick precise attacks and thrusts instead of slashing like the dao. also the attacks are performed mainly with the tip of the sword. not sure if its true but supposedly no other country in southeast asia uses this kind of sword. The Vietnamese kiem looks very much like the Chinese Jian, but there are some differences. one difference is that the blade of the Vietnamese kiem actually comes to a thin needle like tip compared to the Chinese jian which doesnt come to a needle like point.

In Vietnam however exists another sword called the Guom. This is real traditional/authentic Vietnamese sword of Vietnamese origin. (actually this sword can be called Kiem or Guom interchangeably but to keep from getting it confused with the double-bladed Kiem i'd stick with calling this Guom.) anyways the Vietnamese Guom is a thin single-bladed sword/saber. not sure how else to describe it but the blade is kinda like a Japanese blade but not quite. this sword is also typically single-handed handle unlike Japanese swords which favor two hands. Because of the design of the blade this sword is used for both slashing and thrusting. the movements and techniques are somewhat like the kiem as well. There is also a two-handed version of this sword with a longer handle which makes it look similar to the Japanese Katana but not exactly, probably has some Japanese influence. Some of the two-handed versions have handles that are more circular than the Japanese though and look different.

anyways sorry i dont have pics now. I'll try to find pictures some other time. for some reason i have hard time finding decent clear pics.

i like the one in my avatar

i like Ma~ ta^'u the best !!

ah

Got some pics.

The top middle sword is a Dao.


The sword on the left is the Kiem. The two swords on the right are Guom (one-handed and two-handed versions).


here's a nice pic. The top sword is the Vietnamese Guom. you can see Vietnamese martial arts like Vovinam and quankido use swords like this. The bottom sword is a type of Dao.

^dao

^butterfly sabers

^swords used during tay son

http://tribalmania.com/VIETNAMESESHIELDFINE.htm

is that a vietnamese minority shield?

Thanks for the pics.

hehe..what's up with these resurrections, jose? nostalgia?

Don't be like Gatsby now... anyway nice pics.

where's the one of Lê Lợi?

Where is the most famous one by the ancient Yue king in China (Guojian)? You guys saw the movie "Hero" with Jet Li in it? Guojian's sword should look like the ones used in that film. Ancient Yue people made some of the finest swords in China back then. When Chu kingdom conquered Guojian's kingdom after his death, his grandsons surrendered Guojian's sword to the Chu king as a gift. When Chu king died, he buried himself with Guojian's sword. By chance in 1965, some farmer dug open the tomb of the Chu king in Hunan province and found the sword still untarnished after 2,500 years. The blade was so sharp it could still hack through 10 telephone books.

But, to clarify, Guojian is regarded as a "Chinese king."

we have no idea how that goujian's sword is supposed to be like

19th century weapons

King Goujian's sword:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sword_of_Goujian

The Yue people during Goujian's time were not weak. They made some of the finest swords in China. Another southern kingdom, Wu had begun to invade northern China and attacked Jin and Qi states. The northern kings and the Zhou lord gave the king of Wu a hegemon status (ba zhu). Later when Goujian conquered Wu, they also gave this same title to him.