I have been out of action for a while due to the flu. It put me flat on my back for two weeks!
Just before that however, I happened to find out about a group of guys who practice one of Japan's oldest martial traditions called the Takenouchi ryu. This is a system that is known for it's very effective jujutsu curriculum along with the fact that it is termed a "so-go bujutsu" or batlefield art that teaches more than 8 weapons systems within it's entire curriculum. One of the characteristics that makes their grappling so effective is that they use a long dagger to insert through the armor and "get the job done"!
These types of systems are known as 'koryu' or ancient systems and they are very rare even in Japan. The fact that i found a qualified foreigner who was licenced to teach this system within walking distance of my house in San Francisco was just another example of "my good luck in the martial arts".
The instructor (Andrew Antis) agreed to let me participate in one of their weekly 3 hr. training sessions held out in a park "rain or shine". Naturally it started to rain as I walked to the park and meet them, but it really wasn't too bad. After the meet and greet, Andrew took myself and two other students through 4 short iai-jutsu (sword draw/cut") kata and explained many of the little details that distinguish why certain things are practiced a particular way. He even showed a "Kill Bill" moment that is preserved in one of their forms. One of the sword forms is translated as "Keep your sword polished'. Andrew said that this had two meanings: First, a very pratical one - take care of your sword so it doesn't rust. Keep it polished. The other meaning is the hidden meaning: Polish your sword so well that if you look at it in can be used as a mirror to see other enemies behind you!
Then we moved on to learning some of the bo (6 ft. staff) movements. The particular form he had us do was a very interesting one that showed how you could be running down a narrow hall (being pursued by a swordsman), turn and attack with the long staff and not get it jammed in the doorway.
Finally we were shown how the kusarigama is used. The kusarigama is a combination weapon that essentialy combines 5 weapon characteristics into one. It is a sickle with a weighted chain at the end. A practitioner would usually hold the stick end (with the sickle blade pointing down) in the left hand and twirl the wighted chain either horizontally above his head or vertically off to his right side. At the appropriate time the weighted chain is released into the enemy causing a strike with the weighted end, an entanglement with the chain and then the practitioner would close in and chop with the sickle to the throat, groin or stomach.
As I was practicing all of these forms I did have the feeling that on the one hand these weapons and movements were completely anachronistic. They just are not applicable at all to the world that I am living in. As far as practical applications go, the Filipino styles that emphasize the stick, knife and hand applications just make more sense in terms of the time it takes to gain any kind of useful skill. Having said that, I also need to point out that the Japanese koryu's real value is not really in learning how to use these archaic weapons. The practice of these systems, have over the last several centuries really isolated many of the attributes that actually make or allow any physical combative movement to work under the pressure of a real attack. Concepts like 'zanshin" or continual domination are practiced through out all of the forms. "Hara" or the sixth sense that is connected to intuition is demonstrated by the master working with the students and "changing" the kata in subtle ways to produce spontaneous changes from the original form. "Aiki"- blending, "goju'-force/yield, and "kiai" - spirit yell are all imbedded into the practice of all of these koryu.
If you ever have a chance to witness one of the koryu, do it. It is quite a unique experience. For more information on the different systems go to : koryubooks.com
Mike "He's that stick guy" Belzer
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Topic: The Takenouchi ryu - A classical Japanese weapons system (Read 985 times)