A soft sword (a), a soft spear (b), and a soft rod (c), as shown in FIG. 23, have been used for sport chanbara, which is rapidly spreading as the art of self-defense (fencing) in recent years, in order not to require a protector.
In the prior arts, for example, a soft sword consists of a stem 91, urethane 92 rolled round the stem 91, a bag 93, which is made of cloth or leather, and covers the urethane 92 as shown in FIG. 24.
Thanks to the elasticity of the urethane 92, this soft sword is free from hurting the opponent, therefore, it is very favorable.
However, this soft sword has the following problems:
(1) The irregularity of the quality of the urethane and others makes the performance of the soft swords irregular, so it may cause much unfairness in a match.
(2) The urethane must be exchanged for new one once in six months or so, because it becomes stiff while used. However, in case the user does not exchange the urethane for new one and uses the soft sword long, an accident may happen.