The sword, a long piece of metal with one or both sides sharpened to a cutting edge is one of the oldest weapons known to man and its use has been recorded from the earliest known wars. Reverse blade swords are different from normal single cutting edge swords in that the cutting and blunt edges of the weapon are reversed. When a blow is struck with the standard sword, the sharp edge cuts into the opponents flesh and the amount of injury cause depends on how deep the cut is. When the same blow is struck with a reverse blade sword the blunt edge does not cut the skin and the injury is limited to pain and bruising.

Using reverse blade swords for training purposes allows the trainee to hone his sword fighting skills with risking any injury to the person he is practicing with. Since reverse blade swords can be on any design, they are ideal for getting accustomed to the weight, balance and feel of the standard sword – the reversed blade makes no difference to how it handles. The first documented historical reference to the use of reverse blade swords is of the Sakaba swords of Japan. Sakaba is a word that does not refer to any particular type of sword but merely makes it clear that the blade is reversed.

The Sakaba sword was an integral part of not just sword training but all forms of combat teaching. Since the swords duplicated the feel of a regular sword, the user would be able to train and use it with the same proficiency as he would with a normal sword. And although the chances of serious injury were small, a blow from a reverse blade sword was painful enough to make the trainee realize the injury he could sustain if hit by a normal sword. There is a belief that cannot be proved, that Sakaba swords were also used in real life situations where a warrior wanted to capture an opponent by hurting him enough to cause him to be unable to fight without the risk of killing him.

The popularity of Japanese anime where warriors are often shown as using these reverse blade swords in warfare has made them well known, especially among children. They are used in modern sword training where increased safety concerns make the use of reverse blade swords the best and safest way to practice with real weapons with small chance of serious injury.