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 most others in that they have their cutting edge on the reverse side. With a normal sword is used in combat, the blow from the sword causes the cutting edge to slash the skin of the opponent and the severity of the injury depended on the location of the wound and the force with which is was inflicted. 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.

Reverse blade swords are meant primarily for training and practice purposes to allow the budding swordsman to refine his skills without endangering either himself or his opponent. 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 The first documented historical reference to the use of reverse blade swords is of the Sakaba swords of Japan. The term Sakaba does not refer to any particular type of word but to the fact that the cutting edge is reversed.

The Sakaba sword was an integral part of not just sword training but all forms of combat teaching. Their popularity was due to the fact that using a reverse blade sword allowed the learner to use a sword that was almost the real thing and gain proficiency in its use without risking serious injury to other trainees he was practicing with. Although unlikely to cause serious injury during training, these swords were still hard and heavy enough to cause painful blows and bruising, which was enough to make trainees take seriously the art of avoiding the blows. 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.