I am pleased to announce that the Fourth (and final!) Edition of Crash Combat has now become available.
This version has been extensively expanded, being about 50% longer than the first edition.
More content, extra illustrations, more techniques, new techniques and generally much more book for your money.
In addition, much of the book has been rewritten and restructured so information is more easily assimilated and learnt.
While Crash Combat was originally written for a military context, it remains relevant to any individual wishing to learn to protect themselves in this dangerous and uncertain world.
Recently, I have been watching the “Rurouni Kenshin” series of movies. “Origins” was a little slow and melodramatic, but the main ones are great entertainment.
The lead character's gimmick is they use a sword with a sharpened back‑edge and a blunt main edge. He clubs enemies down with the main edge in an attempt to not take any more lives.
This reminded me of a passage in Don Cunningham's book “Taiho‑Jutsu”:
“For such situations, the machi-kata dōshin [samurai police official] carried a special long jutte, usually with a tapered six- or eight-sided shaft, as their primary weapon and arresting tool. They also only wore one short sword in their obi. The dōshin either grinded the ha (sharpened edge) off their wakizashi or carried special wakizashi forged with extra-thick dull blades. The short blunted wakizashi were considered more suitable for making arrests, especially within confined spaces. A resisting suspect could easily be stunned and immobilized with a strike from such a blade without risking a potentially lethal injury as with a sharpened sword.”
I will admit to being sceptical as to whether anyone ever ground the edge off a perfectly good and valuable wakizashi for such purposes. It seems easier and more effective to fit a suitable strip or billet of iron with sword furnishings.
That such blunted weapons were carried seems possible, since the feudal police seemed to have taken considerable lengths to take their suspect alive.
Why did the police officer have a blunted sword when he already had a jutte? Possibly to show that he had samurai rank. Why did he carry a wakizashi rather than a daishō? The following passages should shed some light on that.
Most readers will know that the samurai wore two swords, known as a “daishō”. It would become enshirned in law that a samurai on official business was required to wear two swords.
Daishō means “big and little” and reflects that the two swords were of differing lengths.
In earlier periods, the daishō might be a tachi and a long tanto. By the Edo period, both weapons were katana, which were worn edge up.
In modern usage “katana” is a term usually used to distinguish the long sword. Historically, the term could be used for either of the daishō, and to distinguish them the terms “uchi‑katana/uchigatana” were used for the longer sword (“daitō”) and “chisa‑katana/chisagatana”, ko‑dachi, kogusoku, ko‑katana, wakizashi or shotō for the shorter.
To avoid confusion, I will reserve the term katana for the longer sword, as is common modern practice.
Why Did The Samurai Carry Two Swords?
Part of the reason was probably symbolic. Two swords was the symbol of a samurai and if you were a samurai, you therefore wore two swords.
Practical explanations for the practice are less satisfying. The short sword was a backup for it the long sword was lost in battle. The short sword was for removing the heads of slain opponents. The short sword was for seppuku.
Other than length, the short and long swords are effectively the same in design. Why a short sword would be better at cutting heads from corpses than a longer variant flies in the face of basic physics. Taking heads was also a task attributed to the kubikiri/kubigiri, which is of a very different form to either of the daishō.
Was the wakizashi carried for seppuku? Most samurai movies seem to use the katana with a cloth or paper wrapped around the blade for grip.
George Cameron Stone's book, “A Glossary of the Construction, Decoration, and Use of Arms and Armor in All Countries and in All Times: Together with Some Closely Related Subjects” (p.658) claims the wakizashi was used for seppuku, but its use had declined in favour of a dagger in more recent periods.
Some samurai fought with a blade in each hand, and utilized their wakizashi in their left. This seems to have been an uncommon practice, however.
Some writers have dismissed the wakizashi as redundant and superfluous. And yet, the wakizashi or weapons like it were widely carried for at least six hundred years!
Safety in the Home
The samurai did not always wear both swords. Etiquette required the long sword not be worn indoors when visiting a superior or another samurai. Wearing the long sword in such a situation was disrespectful, if not outright suspicious and threatening.
In his own home, the long sword might be stored in a rack, or entrusted to a servant for cleaning and sharpening.
When indoors, the samurai only wore his wakizashi, or possibly just a tanto. If the wakizashi was not worn thrust through his sash, it would be within easy reach, such as beside him as he knelt on the floor.
If a samurai was attacked in his home, the wakizashi or tanto would be the weapon most likely to be available.
The wakizash/tanto were the weapons the samurai would have to rely on when he was in most need of a defensive weapon. Not surprisingly, there was a considerable body of training on how to use a wakizashi.
Indoor combat might be at close ranges, so the use of the wakizashi and other weapons was studied in conjunction with grappling techniques. Techniques that could be used while kneeling or seated were also studied. Some techniques involved hindering an attacker drawing their weapon, or taking their weapon and/or using it against them.
For example, as a kneeling attacker attempts to draw a wakizashi, a hand on his wrist may prevent him completing the action. The wrist hold and the other hand are used to unbalance and throw the attacker forward, possibly falling on the exposed edge of his own blade.
If he could afford it, a samurai would see that both swords of a daishō would have matching fittings and decoration. Ideally both were made by the same craftsmen. Stone suggests that the wakizashi would often be the more ornately decorated, since this is the sword that would be worn during indoor social occasions.
The wakizashi was also the one of the pair likely to mount accessories and implements such as the kogai and kozuka. This made these items available when the long sword was not being worn. This approach may have also prevented the possibility of the kogai and kozuka interfering with the draw of the long sword. Kogai and kozuka were sometimes used as expedient bo-shuriken, so having them with the wakizashi might have given the wearer another option if attacked indoors.
Something for the Ladies
Samurai women were expected to fight in defence of their homes and persons. The naginata was the usual weapon of choice, but instruction was given in the use of the wakizashi and dagger and include the kusarigama.
The naginata and kusarigama are relatively long‑ranged weapons. If an enemy got too close, or combat was indoors, the wakizashi or dagger were a useful alternative.
For Lord and Commoner
Only the samurai were permitted to wear the daishō. In addition, commoners (non‑samurai) were not allowed to have long swords.
What is not so commonly know is that commoners were permitted to have short swords.
Cunningham notes (p.22):
“While katana (long swords) were prohibited, chōnin [townspeople] and nōmin [farmers] were still allowed to carry tanto (daggers) as well as short swords known as wakizashi. For many years after the end of the Japanese civil wars, though, commoners did not always abide by the laws prohibiting swords. One reason was that the actual measurements used to define katana, wakizashi, and tanto were confusing and often inconsistently applied in many of these laws. Thus during the early part of the Edo period (early1600s), some chōnin, and especially yakuza, or criminal gang members, openly carried long wakizashi that were virtually equivalent to prohibited katana.”
It was not until 1645 that a law defined the maximum blade length of katana as 2 shaku 8 or 9 sun (33.5 to 34.5‑inches/85.5 to 87.5 cm) and wakizashi as 1 shaku 8 or 9 sun (21.5 to 22.5‑inches/55.5 to 57.5 cm). [figures and conversions from Cunningham]
In 1668, chōnin were restricted to carrying ko‑wakizashi of blade no longer than 1 shaku 5 sun (approximately 17.5 inches or 45.5 cm) without official permission. There was no restriction on a commoner wearing a ko‑wakizashi, but it was unlikely for the weapon to be worn when on day‑to‑day business.
Later amendments permitted the carrying of “full‑sized” wakizashi under certain circumstances, such as travel and fire.
A travelling commoner was allowed to carry a wakizashi as a defence against robbers.
Fires were common in feudal Japanese towns. Commoners forced from their homes by the threat of fire were permitted to carry wakizashi to protect what other possessions they had managed to carry with them.
Serge Moll, in “Classical Weaponry of Japan” (p.19) notes an alternate name for a short sword was “dochuzashi”: “Dochu literally means “while on the street” or “while on a journey,” so one could describe a dochuzashi as a short sword inserted in the sash while one was traveling.”
The characters commonly used to spell wakizashi may be read as meaning “insert at the side”. The practice of wearing the daishō was termed “nihonzashi” (“insert two (swords)”)
Moll also gives a definition of ko‑wakizashi as between 30 and 40 cm, and that longer ones (up to 60 centimetres) were called Owakizashi (“big wakizashi”)
Doubtless, a commoner would avail themselves of their wakizashi or ko‑wakizashi in the event of a burglary or home invasion.
The short swords owned by commoners were probably more utilitarian and lower priced than that owned by a prosperous samurai. For every famed Japanese swordsmith, there were probably scores of blacksmiths turning out commoners' blades.
What is in a Name?
Time I addressed the topic of terminology.
Some Wikipedia articles and other websites use very narrow definitions of some of the terms that have been used in this article. A wakazashi is this! A kodachi is a quite different thing and is this! And so on. There is little credible precedent for these narrow and exact definitions, and they may prove counterproductive to your actual understanding.
We are talking a considerable period of history, large geographical area, varying levels of education and often no centralized system of standardization.
The distinction between tantos, kodachi, wakizashi, shotō etc are in practice less distinct and more fuzzy than is represented by some modern writers. Often these terms were used interchangeably or with a degree of overlap.
Moll: “The meaning of the terms “long sword” and “short sword” changed over the centuries. Nowadays, all swords that are shorter than two shaku (approximately 60 centimeters)! but longer than one shaku (approximately 30 centimeters) are called shotō, or “short swords.””
This definition nicely encompasses all wakizashi, but also includes some tantos and other Japanese knives. Moll also notes some ryu define their kogusoku/kodachi techniques as being for tanto and short swords of “up to 36 cm length”. Other ryu consider kogusoku/kodachijutsu to be methods for tanto/knife and/or short sword and it is quite probable in some cases the latter refers to wakizashi.
Some of you will know the “‑to” part of the term tanto actually designates that the hilt has a sword‑type guard. You will see some sources refer to tanto as “short swords” or “swords”. Other identical forms and sizes of Japanese blade, fitted to different varieties of hilt, are never called a sword. This is confusing to a reader not aware of the word's origin, when the weapon is clearly a knife or dagger in form and function.
“Dagger” itself is a problematic term, since it has been misappropriated and misused by the legal systems of certain American states, creating the false impression that the term only applies to double‑edged weapons.
Cameron Stone observes the term seems to be applied to any variety of knife, save a clasp knife. (p.198)
Wakizashi in Combat
We have seen the wakizashi/shotō was used by samurai and commoner, and by both men and women. How effective a weapon is it?
If you have ever handled a real, full‑length sword, be it Japanese or otherwise, you may have been surprised. Length and mass add up to considerable inertia. Keeping such a sword under control needs strength, conditioning and considerable practise.
Fencing swords are a possible exception to the above statement, although it is debatable if those used as sporting equipment should be considered real swords.
A shorter blade, such as a wakizashi or machete, is another thing entirely. They are light and agile.
Moll (p.21) comments that the greater speed of a wakizashi made to more effective than a longer sword against fast attacks by longer weapons such as spear thrusts.
Long weapons such as spears and naginata, tend to have an optimum range within which they are most effective. If one can close within this distance, the advantage of the longer weapon is often lost and the user may be at a considerable disadvantage.
The speed of a wakizashi improved the chances of parrying an initial attack so that distance could be closed. The wakizashi's greater manoeuvrability was an advantage when distance was reduced, since it was easier to apply either the edge or point than with a longer and heavier sword.
If using a long weapon and an enemy attempted to close distance, the wakizashi was also a good choice for a backup weapon to deal with close range threats.
The combination of a long weapon and a shorter one may be seen in some other cultures. The German landsknecht, with his pike, halberd or zweihander wore a short sword called a katzbalger (“cabbage cutter”). The huntsman with a boar spear often wore a long wood knife or hanger.
The wakizashi is short enough to be used for the close‑range fighting techniques of kogusoku/kodachijutsu but long enough to use the daitō techniques taught in kenjutsu.
The lighter weight and reduced inertia made a wakizashi more responsive and effective than a longer sword if used in one hand. Its ability to be used one‑handed and shorter length allowed use of the wakizashi to be combined with strikes and grappling attacks from the other hand. The use of a wakizashi could be combined with weapons wielded in the other hand, such as a jutte, tessen (fan), tanto or manrikigusari.
The wakizashi was also a more practical weapon to use in one's weaker hand. Nitoken was often practiced with the wakizashi in the left hand and a katana in the right (all Japanese swordsmen were taught to fight with their right hand as primary). Figure 1-8 of Moll's book shows nitoken using a kodachi in each hand, an interesting variation with considerable potential, particularly if used with the principles of long har chuan.
Being shorter and lighter, a wakizashi may be drawn in less time than a longer sword. I suspect the wakizashi will often taste blood while the katana is still leaving the station. I have come across references to Japanese bodyguards wearing short blades in full‑length sheaths as a deception.
As we have seen, the wakizashi might be used for combat indoors, and seems well suited for the purpose. Using a katana indoors may not have been as practical and elegant as the movies make it seem. A traditional Japanese ceiling was only 220 to 240 cm high, which must have hindered some of the classic kenjutsu moves. How many samurai embedded their katana in a rafter and fell victim to a wakizashi, one wonders. Not all the walls were paper, so narrow corridors may also have hindered a swordsman too.
One begins to appreciate why the ninja favoured short blades for their ninjato.
This is doubtless the reason why the machi-kata dōshin described above carried a blunted wakizashi and not a katana. There was a good chance he might have to fight indoors, and a wakizashi‑length weapon was superior to a katana in such locations.
This more in‑depth look at the wakizashi has made me think about other warriors that used short weapons, such as the Egyptian with his kopesh, and the Roman with his gladius. The shorter gladius was obviously handier during the close press of massed combat. Did it also over an advantage parrying against spears and longer weapons? Shaka invented the short ilkwa, giving the Zulus a significant advantage over most of their enemies.
I have liked wakizashis from the first time I handled one. The above research and analysis shows my initial gut reaction was not off target.
I have also learnt they have a much broader and significant history than is generally known. It was an important weapon for commoner and noble alike.
The wakizashi is overshadowed by the katana. Short swords don't look as good up on the screen as long ones. The wakizashi is probably a much more practical choice, particularly those of use who do not have the necessary time needed to master the inertia of longer weapons.
I have a replica wakizashi that is of particular interest. It has a 20 inch blade and an eight and a half inch grip.
Not particularly long‑bladed for a wakizashi, but long enough for most tasks I might ask of it. It is longer than many machetes, for example. It only looks short if you put it alongside a full‑length katana. The shorter weapon handles much better.
The eight and a half inch handle is a nice feature. This is longer than is found on some wakizashi, and gives a shade more leverage when using two‑handed techniques.
The Japanese blade shape is widely recognized as an efficient design. There is good reason it changed little for hundreds of years. Slightly curved for a more effective cutting action, straight enough to allow the point to easily be brought into action.
I have a modernized “ninjato” of similar dimensions. Grip a shade longer, blade a little shorter. People who have handled this sword react very positively to it, often surprising themselves. It just feels right!
I have a better quality wakizashi, longer blade and shorter grip. The oval section of the handle is less sharp and more comfortable, but it is the 20+8 that feels right.
A typical single doorway is 28 inches wide. Unless, for some bizarre reason I hold my wakizashi sideways and horizontal, a doorway is little obstruction to me when holding a wakizashi.
If, by some freak of chance that I ever have enough money to have a sword custom made for me, I think I might actually opt for a 20 inch wakizashi with an eight and a half inch grip. It is probably a far more practical and versatile option than a longer weapon.
Many years ago, this blog looked at Marc MacYoung’s suggestion on using a sword for home defence. To the comments already made there, I will add that you pay special attention to length and inertia. The reasons for my saying so should be obvious by now.
In some parts of the world, pointless local laws may prevent you owning a katana unless you are rich enough to buy antiques. Some of these laws permit a blade of 50 cm or less, which ironically may result in you getting a more effective weapon!
Many years ago, I read an article where the author noted that if you did want to own a genuine antique Japanese blade, buying a wakizashi might be the better option, since prices were often more bearable.
Wakizashis are not your only choice, of course. Many of the benefits already described also apply to machetes,barongs, kindjal, goloks, and kukris, to name just a few.
To finish, a rather nice video:
There are several things to note here.
Note how the wakizashi attacks and defences come from a low position. This will be familiar to some of you from the baton, entrenching tool and machete techniques in “Crash Combat”. This is much more useful than waving a weapon around over your head.
Note the wooden wakizashi is gripped a short distance below the guard, protecting the hand from any forceful blows the guard may take.
Also, note how the wakizashi allows one hand to shield the eyes against the sun while the polished surface of the blade would be used to reflect sunlight back at the attacker's eyes.
Recently I was recently reading a science fiction novel. The crew of a spaceship are without power, and have to warn another ship to keep its distance. They can be seen at a window. They resort of pantomiming “pushing‑away” actions. Using Morse code does not seem to occur to them.
How do you use Morse code without electricity? There are ways to do this, and they are possibly not so well known as some other methods.
The first method is taken from this useful website. It has a passing resemblance to semaphore, but uses standard Morse code, which is far more likely to be known by the sender or viewer.
You do not need to have flags to use this system. You can use the motions if your hands are empty. Holding a scarf, bandana or branch in each hand may be used to make your motions more visible. Coloured stuffsacks may be stretched over a flexible stick bent into a racket-shape. Depending on the background, taking off dark‑coloured gloves or wearing lighter gloves may aid empty‑handed signalling.
Back when I was blogging about American Civil War outfits, I read the book “Hardtack and Coffee”. A fascinating book, which finished with a chapter on the pre‑Morse signalling system used during the war.
This system, called “Wigwag” in some other sources, used a single flag (or disc).
This system may also be used with Morse code, and may be still referred to as “wigwag” or “wig‑wag”.
The convention here is a little different to that used with two‑flags. Flag up is “ready” or “word begins” rather than “dot”.
“Dot” (Two) is starboard: to the right of the signaller, to the left of the observer. Easily remembered because we read from left to right in English.
“Dash” (One) is port, as in “a dash of port”.
No flag? You can use the single pole method with a rifle, a hiking pole or a branch. Add a scarf to the end or anything else that makes your signal more visible.
You can also clasp your hands together as though you are about to dive and point your straightened arms up, down, left and right. Point them straight ahead between dots and dashes.
That said, my personal feeling is that the two-flag method is better for empty handed signalling. The shapes made are more distinct and wider or taller.
In these days of electronic warfare and eavesdropping, such simple visual methods of signalling still have a place. Establish a shorthand of one, two and three letter signals.
Non‑Electric Morse at Night
If you want to signal at night, you may flash a light. If your light cannot easily be turned on or off, you may be able to cover it with your hand, hat, map or similar.
This is not so easy if you are using a light source such as a burning brand. When viewed at a distance at night, a single light source can appear to move about even when it is not moving. “Hardtack and Coffee” tells us:
“The services of the Signal Corps were just as needful and valuable by night as in daylight; but, as the flags could not then talk understandingly, Talking Torches were substituted for them. As a “point of reference” was needful, by which to interpret the torch signals made, the flagman lighted a “foot torch,” at which he stood firmly while he signalled with the “flying torch.” This latter was attached to a staff of the same length as the flagstaff, in fact, usually the flagstaff itself. These torches were of copper, and filled with turpentine. At the end of a message the flying torch was extinguished.”
Our spacemen in the book could have used a non‑electric method of Morse signalling. Perhaps a piece of material with a different symbol and/or colour drawn on each side. Later in the book the natives of a planet signal using a pivoted disc painted white on one side, black on the other. It is commented that this is the local equivalent to Morse.
Morse by Sound
Morse signalling with sound was not an option for the spacers.
Often in movies, someone will bang on pipes and a character will identify it as “Morse code”. Morse needs two distinct signals, so most Morse letters cannot be transmitted with a single note such as a tap on a pipe. The code you need for this is POW tap code.
One of the few messages you can transmit with a single note is SOS (…—…). With a signal whistle, you make three short blasts, three longer blasts, then three more short, no pauses between the letters.
If you are drumming against a tree trunk or piece of wreckage, you cannot do this. Instead you vary the interval between the notes: three quick notes, three notes with a longer pause after each, then three more quick.
I have recently updated my blog on learning Morse with some new reference and some new tricks to help you remember certain letters.
Most of a lifetime ago, I encountered the “thrower list” on the then newfangled internet.
The thrower list was about knife throwing and other thrown weapons, and run by a gentleman we will call MJR.
The thrower list and thrower site has long since disbanded, but the knife throwing.info site maintains an archive of some of the valuable information the thrower held.
I was curious about a number of related topics, including Chinese piao/piau. I was to discover that no one on the list knew much about them, so I shared the little I knew. MJR turned my post into a webpage, and the rest, as they say, is history.
Over a thousand webpages, blog articles and several books later, I am still writing.
I also learnt to throw knives.
Recently, I reached out to a number of people I had lost contact with. One of these was Christian, the administrator of the knife throwing.info list.
Christian has asked me to write about “Taylor Power Throwing Technique One”, a derived version of which I call “punch throwing” in my book.
Before I can write about that technique, I feel I need to prepare the ground by addressing some other topics related to knife throwing.
Super Secret Spin‑Less Throws!
Reading an article on the knife throwing.info site, I was somewhat bemused to read the claim that spin‑less knife throwing was a lost art rediscovered in the early 21st Century.
I put a couple of techniques of spin‑less throwing in my first book: “Attack, Avoid, Survive”. The “secret” was there for anyone who brought the book!
Many of the members of the original thrower list, myself included, were using spin‑less methods in the mid-90s.
Kevin She had a very simple method I christened “She-Finger”, which I used. It took about a minute to learn.
I cannot recall how much success I had with the “Shirakami technique” after reading MJR's article on it. It proved relatively easy to learn once I acquired a copy of Shirakami’s book.
I sent another copy of that book to another thrower regular, Ed Sackett. Ed was an enthusiastic, generous and imaginative thrower, and I would be very surprised to learn that Ed had not persisted until he had mastered it. If he had had problems, I would have learnt of it, since Ed and myself exchanged emails on diverse topics a couple of times a week, at least.
Throwers of the World! Relax!
The “new” knife throwing.info pages often emphasise that spin‑less throws need strength or are tough on the joints.
Similar statements are made about gripping knives or other elements of knife throwing in general.
I can only disagree.
With the exception of “punch throwing”/“Taylor Power Throwing Technique One”, needing lots of effort is contrary to my own experience of spin‑less throwing and of knife throwing in general.
Firstly, do not grip your knife any harder than you need. One of the things that will cause problems with your knife throwing is an inconsistent grip. If your grip pressure varies, for example, because your hand gets tired from an unnecessarily strong grip, you will see variable results.
If you use more energy than your projectile can absorb, that extraneous power has to go somewhere else. If you are experiencing joint pain, this may be the cause and you may need to make an adjustment.
To any new throwers or throwers having trouble, I would advise “relax, let the mass of the knife do the work”.
Relaxed body parts may be moved faster, so greater speed is actually produced by “making an effort not to make an effort”. This is the foundation of all the better martial arts and fighting styles, incidentally.
The original thrower pages had some advice along the lines of: “as range increases, throw higher, not harder”. Good advice from MJR, although my recollection (possibly faulty) was that he liked to fastball his knives. My probably flawed, failing memory is that I suggested this might be contributing to problems with mastering Shirakami’s technique. I was lucky enough to meet the gentleman in real life, and we threw a few.
Incidentally, knives and other low‑velocity missiles are never thrown “point blank”, as some authors term it.
Point blank does not mean “close”, as it is frequently misused. Point blank means aimed without an allowance for drop.
Thus, knives are never thrown “point blank”. Their trajectory should always take them above their intended target. Some throwers inherently know this, but it is a topic books on the subject seldom touch on.
Throw Like a Girl?
On the subject of strength, why are there separate male and female sections of throwing competitions?
Knife throwing is a pastime involving accuracy, precision and skill. There is no reason why men and women cannot compete with each other.
If desired, you can maintain separate streams of prizes: Best female, third best male, second best cute Japanese schoolgirl, and so forth. Gender is a Gordian issue these days, however. Only a matter of time before the woke nazis stick their upturned noses in.
Shirakami Revisited
Last night, I took my copy of Shirakami Ikku‑Ken’s “Shuriken‑Do” down off the shelf, and finally broke my “no throwing in the nice house” rule.
I collected a diverse assortment of spikes (thank you, Jason!), and without looking at the book, tried a technique I had not tried in well over a decade.
The first was a “clanger”, but that is to be expected after such a long time, and may have been due to a poor choice of grip on a longer than normal spike.
Second and every other throw, hit and stuck in the target.
I wasn't aiming at a particular mark, but all were within a few inches of each other, despite their varied lengths, shapes and masses.
Yep! Still got it!
This is the first of the techniques called “push throwing” in “Attack, Avoid, Survive”, and is my interpretation of Shirakami’s spin‑less technique.
Shirakami’s book has far less text on spin‑less (“direct” p.42) throwing than you might expect. A single paragraph before moving on to half‑turn and multiple‑turn throws.
Useful range for direct throwing is given as 5.5 metres (which is about 18 shaku/3 ken in old Japanese units)
The contribution of finger brushing/friction is mentioned in the book. MJR actually writes more on this element than Shirakami.
From my experience, finger brushing is a component, but not something I consciously notice or attempt to do. The spike or knife leaves the hand with the hand pronated (palm down) so the rear part naturally slides across the lower surface of the fingers.
The throwing action that I use for “Shirakami-style” is rather like slapping down a card or domino, although with considerably less violence than some card and domino games I have witnessed!
It is an unhurried, relaxed, even lazy looking motion. Follow-through naturally.
I have described the Shirakami technique as “tai chi-style”‑throwing. You need to be able to relax your upper body and waist to use it successful. There is a motion in the shuriken kata (“The First Movement”, p.66) where you raise your arms up horizontally to the sides. I use this motion to loosen up and relax before a throw. Perhaps that is one of the reasons why it is in there?
I have some experience with tai chi and soft martial arts. This, and some would claim, my inherent laziness, made learning Shirakami’s spin‑less throw variant relatively easy for me.
If your method of knife throwing involves lots of sweat and muscular effort, you will probably have problems and may conclude that it cannot be done. It can. It is relatively easy. You need to learn to use less effort!
Recently, it I began to suspect that the battery of my watch was running down.
I ordered a replacement.
When the new battery arrived, I went about changing the battery of the watch for the first time.
This was to turn into “one of those jobs”!
Part of the problem was an oddly shaped O-ring that needed to be exactly placed in position when reattaching the back of the watch, along with another component. (If an object with twelve sides may be called an “O-ring”!)
Another problem was partially of my own making. I managed to drop all four tiny screws on to the carpet.
Given how bad my vision is getting, I was actually impressed I managed to locate all four without recourse to magnification nor magnetism.
Before I had started the job, I had thought about the magnet sitting on a table within arm’s reach, but been too lazy to get it. My set of fine screwdrivers even has a magnetic tool I could have placed the loose screws on, although this might have been on the small side.
Lessons Learnt
So, after the job had been completed, I thought about lessons learned and solutions to problems encountered.
• One problem had been locating the fine screwdriver set in the cupboard where I keep my tools. The cupboard is rather dark, and the search was not helped by the fact that I had placed the kit inside another box and forgotten about it. While little can be done about my ageing and failing memory, I placed some red tape on the black box so it is a little easier to see.
• A larger magnet added to the box would be useful. I had planned to glue this inside the box, but instead attached it to the outside so that it would be more useful picking up dropped items. A second magnet inside would be useful to secure detached components, but I only have one small magnet handy at the moment, so placed it on the outside.
• Handling the tiny screws had been fiddly, and probably contributed to my dropping them. I have several sets of tweezers or forceps over with my modelling tools across the room, but laziness again. Adding a pair of straight and curved fine tweezers to the actual box of fine screwdrivers seemed prudent. None of my current examples would fit in the box, so I searched the web for examples that were short enough.
In the first photo you can see the magnet glued to the top left corner of the closed box.
In the second photo, you see the box contents with the additions below. Curved and straight fine tweezers. An additional fine screwdriver I got with a hard-drive enclosure.
One of the reasons for this is that I have been concentrating on the fourth (and final) edition of Crash Combat. This has progressed quite nicely and is available now in both print and epub format. With lots of new techniques and concepts added, the fourth edition is 50% larger than the original edition.
The business world abounds will all sorts of management strategies, methods and philosophies. Some seem to be well meaning, while others have a whiff of snake oil or butt-smoke about them.
Such systems seem popular with certain companies. Sometimes they are a way to avoid addressing genuine problems, and if things go wrong, “blame the consultant”.
Many of us have managers, or manage other people. A survival situation, whether it is an emergency or long-term, may involve organizing individuals to work together. If nothing else, this book will be useful in that it allows you to “know your enemy”
Unlike most management schemes, “First, Break All The Rules.” is based on actual empirical evidence. The well-known company Gallup interviewed over a million employees and 80 thousand managers, good, bad and mediocre.
Among other things, the book nicely explains why so many management strategies don’t actually work. They are based on false premises.
For example, a person’s abilities are based on their skills, knowledge and talents. Skills and knowledge may be improved, and may contribute to the use of a talent. Talents, however, are inherent. They may be hidden, may be discovered, may be developed, but they cannot be created!
If someone does not have a talent in a particular area, no amount of training, threats, bribes, diversity awareness, personal development reviews or bullying can change this.
Thus, a good manager will allow for this and organize to best utilize abilities and compensate for lacks thereof. They utilize an individual's strengths and talents and compensate for weaknesses and nontalents.
“People don’t change that much.
Don't waste time trying to put in what was left out.
Try to draw out what was left in.
That is hard enough.”
For example:
“Jim K., a full bird colonel in the army—an organization that might be forgiven for emphasizing flexibility and camaraderie over individual excellence—gives this description of team building:
'When I first assemble the platoon I ask each person to tell me what activities he is mostly drawn to. One will say sharpshooting. One will say radio. One will say explosives. And so on. I'll go around the whole group, taking notes. Then, when I build each squad, I try to assign each person to the role he said he was drawn to. Obviously you won't get a perfect match. And obviously every soldier will be required to learn every role on the platoon—we might lose a man in battle, and every soldier must be able to step in. But you've got to start by assigning the right duties to the right soldier. If you get that wrong, your platoon will falter in combat.'
Whereas conventional wisdom views individual specialization as the antithesis of teamwork, great managers see it as the founding principle.”
In a short blog such as this I cannot really do justice to all the interesting information in this book.
In “chapter one” of the Survival Library, I recommended a number of books on the subject. Many of these are available in free on-line editions.
In the subsequent chapters, other books are to be examined.
One of the things I will be looking at is if these additional titles offer supplementary information to that in the books from chapter one, or handle common topics in a more easily digestible form.
For chapter three, I read “Practical Outdoor Survival” by Len McDougal.
I will admit, chapter three has been a long time coming. There are a number of reasons for this:
For one thing, Practical Outdoor Survival is in many respects similar to Bushcraft 101.
Both are mainly written for North American outdoorsmen. Both are essentially “what to do if lost in the woods” books, although other environments such as deserts are dealt with.
I wanted to make a fair review of Practical Outdoor Survival without recent impressions from Bushcraft 101 clouding my recollections.
A second delay was that I acquired two copies of Practical Outdoor Survival, one from 1992 and another from 2008. I wanted to read both editions to give a more comprehensive review.
I will start by saying I do think Practical Outdoor Survival is worth a read. In fact, it nicely complements Bushcraft 101.
The 2008 edition naturally includes updated information. For example, we now know that iodine is not 100% effective against waterborne pathogens.
Information on some new products that have become available since 1992 is also included.
We also see an evolution in techniques: In the 1992 version, Len McDougal was carrying his “survival gear” in an LBE massing around 15 pounds. In the 2008 version it has been realized that a backpack is a better way to carry camping gear. Details of the contents of a “day and a half” pack are given.
I will note that often the initiation of an emergency situation is finding yourself unable to access your LBE and/or rucksack. Then you must get by with what is in your trouser pockets, on your belt and in your coat or jacket.
Shelter
The shelter section has some interesting ideas.
Using leaf litter to “thatch” your shelter is a good trick.
Another interesting technique is to use a fire to melt a shelter into deep snow rather than trying to dig one in subzero conditions.
In the 1992 edition is the idea of digging a “den” or “bunk niche” into the side of a leeward earth bank (p.62). For some reason this technique was dropped from the 2008.
Clothing
Sometimes your hands need protection from things other than the cold and rain. McDougal makes the wise recommendation of adding a set of leather work gloves to your outdoor kit.
McDougal also points out that faces also need protection from dust, sand, wind and cold.
Your outdoor kit should already include keffiyeh, scarves, neck gaiters and/or headovers.
One of the woolly hats in your kit should be a ski-mask or the type of balaclava that covers the nose and mouth.
Hunting and Fishing
The sections on hunting and fishing are very good. Adding a “frog gig” to your outdoor gear is a good idea, since such multi-tined spear heads can also be used to fish.
A fishing float improvised from a foam ear plug is interesting.
Unless you are issued them for free, using an ear plug is actually a relatively expensive option. Any small piece of scrap foam, bottle cork or polystyrene could probably be used. Trim corners off kip mat? Use that foam!
Ideally you want a float some distance above the hook, with room to add some shot to weigh the bait down.
Cut a thin slit halfway through the foam, place the line of snood/trace/leader through the slit. Wrap the piece of foam in a few centimetres of bright coloured electrical tape.
I differ with the author on a couple of points:
Carrying multi-vitamins seems redundant. Problems from vitamin deficiencies take months or even years to develop, so you are unlikely to carry enough tablets to make a significant difference. You can avoid “rabbit starvation” by eating your greens!
As an aside, consequences of hypervitaminosis can be very rapid. You are unlikely to get this from most over-the-counter vitamin supplements. Liver from polar bears or bearded seals is toxic because of high concentrations of vitamin A. Since 100% positive identification (seal of approval?) may be problematic, best avoid the liver of any seal.
Carrying glucose tablets for hypoglycemia detracts from the potential of other sugar-containing foods and drinks that are an equally effective or better treatment.
I don't see the point in carrying a glass heliograph that weighs several ounces when there are cheaper, lighter and larger plastic mirrors available.
Rimfire .22 for Survival
The section on a survival rimfire rifle in the 2008 version is very good, but I disagree with the comment that “first guns should not be semiautomatic”.
Money is tight for many of us, and the first survival rimfire may be the only one for many years to come!
A semiautomatic means less body motions to alert sharp-eyed game. Semiautos are also better suited to emergency defensive fire with a .22. Less fumble factor under stress!
I also recommend that at least half of your .22 ammo be solids.
In a genuine emergency hunting situation, your .22 rifle may have to be used against targets larger than this chambering is generally recommended for. Penetration and headshots are a priority. Hollowpoint rounds for 22s are designed for very small game and will lack sufficient penetration for larger targets.
Hypervelocity loadings such as CCI Stingers or Remington Yellow Jackets and Vipers also need to be carefully considered. Some authors have noted that the performance improvements these loadings shon on paper do not result in a similar;y sized increase in performance in the field. Tissue damage (aka “loss of meat”) may be greater but shot placement still needs to be effectively the same as a lethal hit for a standard high-velocity .22LR. Are a few extra yards of range worth what may be a 65% increase in price? Many hypervelocity loadings are also only found in hollowpoint configuration.
Compass
A comment worth digesting is that “basic orienteering with map and compass can be learned in a matter of minutes”.
The Phillosoph crash course in compass:
1: To find the bearing/heading of a landmark: Point the reference mark of your compass at the landmark. Turn the bezel until the “N” (0 degrees) has the magnetic tip of the needle pointing towards it. The value on the bezel next to the reference mark is the bearing.
Compasses that do not have rotating bezels and reference marks on the body or baseplate are considerably less useful!
2: To find the direction of a desired heading/bearing: Turn the bezel until the desired bearing is next to the reference mark. Move your body until the point of the needle points to “N” on the bezel. The reference mark will be pointing in the desired heading. Pick out one or more landmarks in that direction and walk toward them.
Bonus Lesson: The difference between a bearing and its back-bearing is always 180 degrees.
Method using Arithmetic: If the value of the bearing is less than 180, add 180 to it to get the back bearing. If the value of the bearing is greater than 180, subtract 180 to get the back bearing.
Non-Maths Method: Take a non-ferrous straight edge such as the edge of a map or page. Place the straight edge next to the value of the bearing on the bezel. Make sure the straight edge also passes over the pivot point of the compass needle or card. Where the straight edge crosses the bezel again is the value of the back bearing.
A variant of this technique uses the corner of a page or map to add or subtract 90 degrees from a heading. This may be useful when “boxing” an obstacle.
How to use a map and compass together is another set of lessons. You may like to read my blog on magnetic declination. A number of field manuals explaining how to use a map with a compass are available on-line for free. These include:
I cannot really say which version of Practical Outdoor Survival is better. 2008 is more up-to-date, but 1992 seems to have a few extra ideas and I prefer how some sections are written.
If possible, get both, and read them alongside Bushcraft 101.
Rummaging through a on-line drive the other day and I came across a filename that was just a string of numbers and letters.
This turned out to be a copy of Air Force Survival Manual AFM 64-5. I had not originally paid much attention to this particular work when I downloaded it along with some other military survival manuals.
Unlike most works of its ilk, AFM 64-5 is concise and very readable. It also contains a number of items of information that do not usually appear in many of the survival manuals that will be more familiar to the reader.
One of the many things that interested me was the manual emphasised that a survivor only needed about three ounces of protein a day.
A surprisingly sound and up-to-date piece of nutritional advice in a book that dates back to the 1950s.
It also flies in the face of the current food-fad of boosting the protein content of everything!
For those of you who did not pay attention in school, your daily protein needs are relatively modest.
Even if you are a body-builder, you are not likely to grow more than a few grams of muscle a day.
Having a little extra protein is not likely to harm you. Most of it just gets peed out.
Foods rich in protein have been noted to increase satiation, which is why items such a nuts are sometimes recommended for snacking.
Excessive quantities of protein consumption may have medical effects, however.
Most protein sources also include fats, oils, salt and other things we generally consume too much of already.
I have become more interested in portion control since I was declared diabetic. Like so many of us, I could do with losing a few kilos. This may help me keep the diabetes under control.
Also, on a planet where much of the population is either going hungry or obese, it seems morally abhorrent to deliberately be eating much larger quantities of food than I need.
Portion control has obvious applications for survival, hiking or prepping. It allows you to more accurately judge how much food per day you will need for a journey or a stockpile.
Reading about daily recommendations for protein introduced me to the concept of estimating portions relative to the hands. You will find many websites and illustrations of these. Some differ on the fine details and recommended quantities. My personal take-away may be summarised thus:
Protein
A portion of meat should be about the size of the palm of your hand. This is about the size of a burger, one or two sausages, a small chop or chicken quarter.
Lean meat, and meat cooked by methods that minimise fat content are obviously preferable.
Oily fish has oils and fats, so is treated the same as meat, with a portion about palm-sized.
You may have a larger portion of white fish. A piece should be about the size of your open hand (i.e. palm and fingers, a hand-length). If you like your fish battered or breaded, I recommend baking it in a halogen oven rather than frying it. Quick, easy and delicious!
An old book I have suggests that meat should be used like a condiment, and only consumed in quantity one a week.
I feel that remains sound advice.
Carbohydrates
The carbs that you are most likely to be eating are mainly derived from cereals and grains. This class also includes beans, potatoes, and some vegetables such as sweetcorn. These are all rich in starches, which digest down into sugars. Sugar is also a carbohydrate, but we will deal with that separately later.
The carbs component of your meal should not exceed a cupful.
A clenched fish is equivalent to about a cupful (236-250 ml). The “face” of a fist is about half a cupful.
An alternate/additional approach to estimating a portion is that your carbohydrates should occupy about a quarter of the plate.
Some carbs, such as brown rice or wholemeal bread or pasta are a little richer in fibre or nutrients, but there is more merit in having a variety of types.
Fruit and Vegetables
Or more specifically, plant foods that do not count as being high in starch.
Some fruits are high in sugars, which some readers may need to bear in mind.
Generally, the recommended portion size for the non-starchy veg is two handfuls, or about half the plate. And unlike the above, this is a minimum recommended portion.
If you want to add more low-calorie foods such as vegetables, pile them on.
Have a good variety of vegetables to prevent eating them becoming monotonous.
Fingers and Thumbs
Other meal components such as sugar, salt, oil/salad dressing should be used in moderation.
A fingertip is about the equivalent to a teaspoon (5 ml). A thumb is about two tablespoons (30 ml), so half a thumb one tablespoon/15 ml.
As an aside, I was bemused to see my local pharmacist offering a bag of glucose/dextrose (with a hefty markup!) as “an alternative to sugar”.
Back to school again! Glucose/dextrose is a monosaccharide of glucose. Sucrose is a disaccharide of glucose and fructose. All are digested by the same route and have the same food value. You will see marvellous claims made about honey, but foodwise it is mainly glucose and fructose.
I like a sprinkle of sugar or drizzle of honey on my porridge, but make sure it is only a teaspoon.
Americans tend to write recipes in volumes (cups and spoons), while Brits are more likely to use masses.
If you are a Brit and considering paying more attention to your portion sizing, I recommend investing in a set of measuring cups and spoons.
Very soon you will understand equivalents like that a 40 gram portion of oats is about half a measuring cup, and how much this is compared to your fist.
One of the beauties of the hand measuring system is you always have it “handy”.
Spice is the Variety of Life
It is a good idea to have an assortment of sauces, spices and salad dressings to add extra variety to your meals from day to day.
This recommendation applies to both your home kitchen and your backpack. When you are out in the sticks and may need to eat the same food several days running, a dash of sauce or sprinkle of curry powder or chilli can make a lot of difference.
Snacking
One definition of a snack is eating for entertainment or a non-essential meal. I therefore try to limit my snacking.
Sometimes, however, you do need something quick to tide you over until dinner, or ward off a imminent migraine attack.
The recommended portion for a snack is a handful (about a quarter to third of a cup, or 30-55 mls may be a better measure). This may be a piece of fruit such as an apple or orange, or a handful of nuts, sultanas, cherries or similar.
Protein containing snacks may satiate you better. At other times you may need the carbs and sugars.
A handful of fruit makes a nice dessert to end a meal.
The important point is to stick to the handful portion size. This takes a bit of self-discipline, but you are unlikely to lose weight without this. Self-discipline is a personal property that grows with exercise and practice.
If you are prone to snacking, I suggest you stock up on some dried fruit (apricots, sultanas, etc) and some nuts and seeds.
I found that a plastic sauce container from the takeaway holds about 30-55 ml of nuts, sultanas etc. I keep one with my snacks as both eating bowl and measure.
Packaging and Portions
Actually achieving the above in practice is a little more complex. Often food is marketed in large packets.
For foods such as rice, sugar and porridge that has a long shelf-life, this is great. For other foods, it is problematic.
For example, the recommended serving for a low-fat yogurt (which may be quite high in sugars) is four tablespoons or 60 ml. It is sold in 500 g pots, with the advice to consume within “three days of opening”. Theoretically, for many households, if this advice is followed, most of this yogurt would be thrown-away rather than consumed.
Many snack foods are sold in large packets, and their is a great temptation to finish the packet rather than consume just a handful.
Bread and vegetables are often sold in plastic bags. These bags retain moisture and encourage food to rot or go mouldy. So you throw it away, waste your money and go back to the supermarket for more.
If you find yourself wasting food (or eating too much!) I suggest you invest in a variety of storage containers.
Remove the plastic packaging from perishable foods and store in containers. It is surprising how much better a lettuce keeps in box rather than a bag.
Some foods keep well in the fridge, others do better at room temperature.
Occasionally, inspect the contents of a box and shake out or mop-up any condensation and excess moisture that has accumulated.
This is also the solution to those large bags of snack food. A sealed storage box will keep them from going stale, and let you enjoy the occasional handful over a more reasonable time interval.
Ween yourself onto healthier alternatives such as nuts, seeds and dried or fresh fruit.
Chop Chop
If you have done any Chinese cooking, you will know that food chopped small takes less time to cook and is less likely to be underdone. This applies to the oven, pot and frying pan as well as the wok.
A palm-sized portion of meat or fish goes much further when diced or sliced.
All the ingredients cooked in this fashion may be served mixed together in a single bowl, which I find makes a meal more interesting and varied to consume. Many of my meals involve just a single bowl in one hand, a spork in the other.
If cooking without vessels, divide your food into small pieces before threading it onto sticks for grilling before a fire. Briefly pass the food through the flames or place it on the coals to sear and seal the outside.
Eat the Rainbow
“Eat the Rainbow” is a phrase I only encountered recently, but nicely summarizes something that I have been practicing for decades.
Consider a meal of something like chicken and chips, which is just yellow and brown or orange. Suppose we make it multi-coloured by adding some sliced baby tomatoes, coleslaw, shredded lettuce, a little onion, some mushrooms. Suddenly this meal has got a lot more interesting and more nutritious.
Not only does such a meal look better, it is also more interesting to eat, with a greater variety of tastes and textures.
Tip: Ramekins (or Gü jars!) are useful for one-person oven cooking.
In my recent post aboutthrowing sticks and stones, I mentioned that creating a good spear was not as easy as some survival manuals make out, and that the throwing stick might be a better investment of your time and energies.
I had wanted to link this comment to an article that I had written back in my early days on the internet. However, the throwing weapons group I had originally written it for had long since disappeared, and to my surprise, I had not placed a copy on my otherwebsite.
Since then, I have discovered several of my original articles are preserved on this site.
The spear article, in turn, referenced an article I wrote on throwing arrows, so I have updated that and reposted it here.
Throwing arrows, or at least javelins that resemble arrows, have been used by several cultures, including the Romans and the Plains Indians.
One form of Roman weapon, the plumbata, is described as being about 10 inches long with an iron head, lead or lead‑weighted shaft and tin fins. There are references to legionaries carrying a rack of such missiles on the inside of their shields, at least in some regions or periods of the empire.
The Celts are known to have used a hardwood and iron weapon of about 21 inches length. (These are the weapons termed “Irish darts” in “Slash and Thrust” by John Sanchez. Sanchez claims these were the inspiration for the lead, iron and tin Roman dart. The example of the latter that he illustrates differs from most modern reconstructions.)
By the Middle Ages, such short spears or darts were also popular in other regions, particularly with the Arabs and Spanish (no doubt with the latter due to Moorish influence). “Spanish Darts” were one of the many weapons Henry VIII was proficient with. “Top dartes” were thrown from the rigging of warships.
Hand‑thrown arrows are sometimes referred to as “dutch arrows”.
This article will deal with less conventionally thrown arrows.
In his book “The Art of Attack”, H.S.Cowper refers to a class of weapon that he calls “javelins”, although he concedes the term is also used for conventional spears.
Cowper uses the term javelin to define "“…short pointed missiles flung by the wrist, not propelled straight by the forearm, but twirling in the air end over end before striking the object aimed at”. In other words, something that looks like a spear but is thrown like a knife.
Most of these weapons he describes are between one and three feet in length.
Obviously, this use of the term “javelin” has fallen into disuse.
Cowper suggests such a javelin was the type of weapon Saul threw at David: sitting around the throne room with a full size spear and throwing it a such short range seems to him unlikely.
The Persians used an all metal weapon 2.5 feet long, and sometimes carried two or three in the same sheath. The Arabs used the “mizrak”, which had a 15 inch head, 23 inch shaft and a spiked butt.
The Greek version had a head at each end, but then so do certain much longer Greek spears.
The Knights’ Armoury at Malta had large stocks of sticks with a spear point at each end. These two foot long weapons were intended for throwing from the walls.
Most of the two‑pointed weapons have one head smaller than the other. It is true that this is a feature seen on many double pointed throwing knives, but it is just as likely the lesser point is for close combat or sticking the thing in the ground.
Short throwing sticks with a point at each end date back to prehistoric man.
Two‑pointed examples certainly exist, but the majority of these weapons are single‑pointed, and single‑bladed tumbling weapons seem to have seen very little battlefield use .
Cowper's javelins resemble short spears or throwing arrows, but are thrown end over end like a throwing knife. Pretty obviously, it is hard to tell by looking if a short spear was thrown knife fashion or spear fashion, and in many cases the answer may be either.
I have seen suggestions that the Roman plumbata may have been thrown like a German stick grenade.
The best evidence for such missiles being used that I have found comes from Japan. The “uchi‑ne” resembles a short stocky arrow about 12 inch long with a 4 inch head.
The “nage‑yari” (“thrown/throwing spear”) is a short spear about 17 inch long with a 5 inch head. Often tassels are fitted behind the head, which may aid drag stabilisation.
According to some books, these short missiles are used in the defence of palanquins.
Michael Finn's book “The Art of Shuriken” plainly shows an uchi‑ne being thrown in the same way as a knife, but holding the bottom of the shaft just above the vanes. Finn’s illustration appears to show an uchi‑ne brought up to touch the shoulder and then flipped forward by straightening the arm.
Don. F. Draeger, in “Comprehensive Asian Fighting Arts” lists “uchi‑ne jitsu” as a skill practiced by samurai.
In Shirakami Ikku Ken's book “Shuriken‑Do”, there is also an illustration of uchi‑ne throwing, but this arrow is about two and a half feet long, and obviously thrown as a spear. Interestingly, this illustration also shows a retrieval cord, and the text mentions that some uchi‑ne are fitted with these. Shirakami tells us that for long ranges the uchi‑ne is thrown like a spear, but for shorter ranges it is gripped differently and thrown in a turning style.
Interestingly, Shirakami precedes this description with a few words on more conventional Japanese throwing spears, which he terms “uchine” (spelt without a hyphen).
Most illustrations of uchi‑ne that I've encountered have been of the shorter variety, however.
The uchi‑ne was obviously intended to fly point first, and there is some indication that the nage‑yari was drag stabilized: the shaft appears to be tapered and there seems to be a tassel behind the head.
The question that intrigues me is were nage‑yari thrown like spears or like knives, and did they have enough drag stabilization to fly point first or did they tumble as Cowper assumes?
These weapons pose several questions which are worth investigating.
How long a shaft is needed to get a knife to fly point first? This will of course vary with head length and mass. Could a formulae to predict the length needed be found?
Will adding a shaft to a knife significantly increase its range?
Will adding a shaft to a undersized or too light knife turn it into a more effective missile?
Sadly, I don't have the room nor resources to experiment with these ideas at the moment, but would like to hear from anyone who decides to give them a try.
In addition to wood, a good shaft material may be plastic pipe.
Throwing with Strings
In his book “The Crossbow”, Sir Ralph Payne-Gallwey describes arrow throwing as it was practiced by pitmen of the West Riding region, Yorkshire.
Where the Yorkshire technique differs from most arrow throwing is that it uses a length of string.
This string had an overhand knot tied at one end and this end was attached to the arrow by means of a half hitch. Hitching point was 16 inches back from the head, just behind the centre of gravity. The other end of the string was wrapped around the index finger of the throwing hand.
The arrow was then grasped just behind the head with the thumb and second and third fingers, the index finger keeping the string taunt.
The arrow is thrown like a spear, but the string increases the efficiency/duration of energy transfer. (I'll leave it to a physics teacher to explain this better!)
As the arrow leaves the thrower, the half hitch unties itself and so the string stays with the thrower.
The arrows used were 31 inches long, with an ogival tip and 5/16 of an inch wide at the head end. The arrow tapered to a point 3/16 of an inch wide at the back end.
Centre of balance was 13 inches from the head.
The entire arrow would have weighed only a little more than half an ounce. Usual material was hazelwood with a pith core. This would be dried for two years before being used to make an arrow.
A good arrow was highly prized by its owner.
The purpose of this arrow throwing was for amusement and competition.
An typical throw ranged from about 240 to 250 yards, although the better throwers may manage 280 to 300 yards.
The longest recorded throw was 372 yards.
As an experiment, Payne-Gallwey asked a thrower to use this technique with a flight arrow from a bow. A range of 180 to 200 yards was achievable. Given Payne-Gallwey's other interests, I suspect that the arrow used was a Turkish arrow which would have weighed 7 dr, or 7/8th of an ounce.
The arrows used in Yorkshire were not used for hunting or war, but the technique of throwing a missile further with a length of cord was used in a more belligerent manner by other cultures.
Natives of the New Hebrides, New Caledonia and New Guinea used a device called the “ounep” by Cowper.
The only difference between the ounep and the Yorkshireman's string is that the ounep was used on full‑sized spears and the hitch was tied at the centre of gravity rather than the butt.
The finger end of the cord might have a loop tied rather than just being wrapped around the finger.
The ounep allowed a spear to be thrown further, and theoretically a thrower would not be in danger from a return cast unless the enemy had a ounep of his own.
The principle of the ounep was known to the Greeks and Romans, although they used a loop of cord tied permanently to the shaft. This was known as the “amentum” (thong or strap) to the Romans and the “ankulé” to the Greeks. This device was used by the javelin armed pelasts of the Greek world.
A comparison of hand‑throwing, ounep, amentum and atlatl spear‑throwing would be interesting.
In my recent post aboutthrowing sticks and stones, I mentioned that creating a good spear was not as easy as some survival manuals make out, and that the throwing stick might be a better investment of your time and energies.
I had wanted to link this comment to an article that I had written back in my early days on the internet. However, the throwing weapons group I had originally written it for had long since disappeared, and to my surprise, I had not placed a copy on my otherwebsite.
Below is the original article from many decades ago, with some minor updating and editing.
Since I wrote this, I have discovered several of my original articles are preserved on this site.
A Short Essay on Spears
Sometime ago, I started putting together notes on easily-made weapons and started off with spears since most survival books make this out to be quite simple. Just grab a length of wood and sharpen one end, and off you go!
Not quite!
Assuming that you do have a handy forest nearby, you won't see that many six foot+ lengths of timber of suitable width just growing from the ground, not anywhere I've been, anyhow.
If you do find something without needing to chop down a tree, it probably won't be straight, so you have to beath it.
Beathing involves gently roasting the wood over a fire or in hot ashes to make it temporarily supple. After this, you will probably have to hang your spear up to dry a day or so. Hanging a heavy weight from it may help the shaft stay straight. Bell towers were sometimes used to make and store pikes and spears.
Throwing Spears
For a throwing spear, just sharpening a point on one end and throwing it may not be enough. The spear will probably yaw like crazy and you may miss your mark by at least a foot.
Your spear needs flight stabilization.
Although fletching is sometimes used, most throwing spears are stabilized by drag, for which the front half needs to be heavier than the rear.
For a “self” spear (one made of a single piece of wood), drag stabilization may be achieved by tapering the shaft towards the butt, or better still. selecting a length of wood that is already tapered.
Captain Cook's expedition to Hawaii acquired a very nice example of such a spear (above), which must have been the product of many hours carving, particularly since the owner was unlikely to have had metal tools.
A simpler option is to fit a heavier head or a fit a weight just behind the head.
Most spears that have a separate head have a head that is denser than the shaft material.
Flint heads are well known, but one can also carve a blade from wood, maybe gumming flakes of flint or shell to it.
Fixing a knife as a spear point will do, but the blade length handy for a knife is often too short for a good spear and any cross guard will limit penetration. Traditional boar‑spears penetrated at least ten inches, and bear‑spears more than double this.
A point can be carved from wood, and fire hardened in some cases, but if for a throwing spear, ensure it has sufficient weight.
Fire hardening is a process that is often mentioned, but not described in detail in many survival manuals. Fire hardening is “lightly toasting” the sharpened point of a wooden weapon to drive out some of the moisture. The point is then sharpened further. Fire hardening may make a wooden tip harder, but also makes it more brittle. Sometimes grease, oil or fat is applied to the treated point afterwards.
Other useful construction materials include flint, obsidian, glass, shell, slate, bone, horn, antler or metal, either on their own or added to a wooden head.
Drag stabilization may also be increased by adding cloth streamers or long tufts of grass or hair behind the head.
Thrusting Spears
Sometimes your intended meal will have other ideas and will want to come up and inform you of its differing opinion. In such a situation, a thrusting spear is useful, no matter what other weapon you were using to hunt.
Forward balance is not such a problem for a thrusting spear but penetration still is. In this situation your concern is too much rather than too little.
Some beasties have been known to impale themselves further onto a spear or sword attempting to get the hunter within reach of their horns, tusks, claws or teeth!
The solution to this hazard is some form of arrest, usually a crossbar a foot or more down the shaft.
A number of examples are shown in the illustration above, taken from “Hunting Weapons” by Howard L. Blackmore.
The leftmost uses a boar tusk thrust through the bindings. Several others use plates of bone or horn attached by cordage. Blackmore, p.91: “To start with, in the fifteenth century, the bar was a piece of wood or horn held firmly in position by thonging. It was then realized that if the bar hung loose it was still effective and was not so liable to cause accidental injury to the bearer or his companions. The piece of horn forming the bar, often only roughly shaped, was fastened to the haft by a leather strap passing through a hole in the socket or woven into the binding which normally criss-crossed the head of the haft to provide a grip.”
In some weapons, the arrest is not so obvious, being incorporated into the design of the blade or socket. Examples of this include the partizan and the lugged or winged spears.
Having more than one point automatically limits penetration, as can be seen with the Chinese tiger fork.
Thrusting spears are also used for hunting, usually from ambush.
A thrusting spear should lack any barbs so that it can be easily withdrawn for a second thrust or to be used against another target.
Barbs and Multiple Points
A throwing spear may be barbed, and in a hunting situation this may be done for two reasons:
Firstly, it is done to keep a poisoned blade in the animal's body long enough for the poison to take effect. Often the head detaches so that the shaft (the production of which may have involved quite a lot of work) will not be lost or damaged as the animal escapes through the brush or tries to rub the head loose. Having a wound partially plugged by a shaft reduces the rate of blood loss, but the movement of the shaft will also inhibit clotting, prolonging bleeding time.
Heads are also barbed to prevent an animal escaping from the spear head when the shaft of the spear is held or the weight of the shaft will hinder escape.
The most familiar examples of this are fishing spears (which may be more effective thrust rather well as thrown).
Sometimes the head of a spear will be designed to detach but will be on a line so that the fish/seal/hippo(!) can be hauled in once exhausted.
The drag of the detached shaft through the water may further tire the animal and sometimes a bladder or buoy is added to the shaft increase this effect.
This technique is also used with arrows.
An very nice example (above), taken from “The Art of Attack” by Henry Swainson Cowper. The drag of the arrow shaft being pulled sideways through the water tires the prey. The barbed arrowhead is made from bone and inserts into a socket in the end of the shaft.
Because fish are often hard to hit, many fishing spears (and arrows) have multiple points, and this strategy may also be used on small elusive furred and feathered game too. For ideas for such designs, I suggest browsing Cowper and Blackmore, paying particular attention to the multi‑pointed spear, harpoon and arrow heads made from non‑metallic materials such as antler, wood and bone.
Throwing Cords
A useful trick that can be applied to spears is to tie a loop of cordage to the shaft and slip the first two fingers through the loop when throwing. This increases energy transfer to the shaft and was known to the Greeks as the “ankulé” and to the Romans as the “amentum”. Cowper describes this on p.230.
A variant of this is to tie the cord with a half hitch, either near the centre of gravity or the butt. Using this knot allows the cord to remain with the thrower after the spear is cast. Cowper describes this on p.231, using the term “ounep”.
Miners in West Riding, Yorkshire, used this method to throw 31 inch long drag stabilised arrows, and ranges commonly exceeded 200 yards. Cowper describes this on p.230, the source being “The Crossbow/The Book of the Crossbow” by Sir Ralph Payne-Gallwey.
Conventional arrows can be thrown by the same method and this maybe a useful hunting technique for a bow hunter should your bow be broken.
If suitable materials are available, and the above design principles are borne in mind, quite effective spears can be made.
Spears are also useful as walking and wading aids, as carrying poles, shelter supports etc.
Recently, my computer began to lag, so I ran a chkdsk on it. This took some time, so I decided to read in the more traditional manner.
My choice was a printed copy of Richard F. Burton’s “The Book of the Sword” (1884). I have dipped into this book on occasions, but never actually read it from cover to cover.
Throwing Stones
In the introduction and preamble, Burton discusses humanity’s need for weapons, their disposition to violence and the forms and possible inspirations of early armaments.
I was particularly struck (pun intended!) by the discussion of hand‑throwing of stones.
Various apes, monkeys, kangaroo mice and some octopuses will throw a variety of objects to discourage intruders and predators.
Humans, however, are able to throw with sufficient accuracy to deliberately hit and injure an intended target. Indeed, there are indications that aptitude in this ability may have been an evolutionarily selected trait and have contributed to human sexual dimorphism.
In the Iliad, duelling heroes pick up great rocks and hurl them at each other.
Classical armies are believed to have included units of stone throwing warriors, known as “petrobóloi” or “lithobóloi”. Since these terms mean “stone-thrower”, some of these references may alternately refer to men armed with slings or catapult‑type war engines.
A little later in history, the Roman Vegetius states: “[Legionary] Recruits are to be taught the art of throwing stones both with the hand and sling.”and“Formerly all soldiers were trained to the practice of throwing stones of a pound weight with the hand, as this was thought a readier method since it did not require a sling.”
It is worth bearing in mind that accurate use of a sling is very difficult and requires considerable time and training. Having legionaries lob stones at enemies was much more practical.
Japanese armies also had low-ranking warriors whose speciality was throwing stones (ishinage/ishiuchi/inji/sekisen/tōseki/isi arasoi/isi gassen), the stones known as tsubute. (“Classic Weaponry of Japan”, p.156, Serge Mol)
Burton gives several examples of stones used in hunting or war (p.16): “Diodorus of Sicily (B.C. 44)…says that the Libyans [possibly a generic term for North Africans] ‘use neither Swords, spears, nor other weapons; but only three darts [javelins] and stones in certain leather budgets [bags/sacks], wherewith they fight in pursuing and retreating.’”
He also describes how raiding “Arab Bedawin”, rather than use their matchlocks, will pelt an enemy with rocks, causing him to uselessly expend his ammunition.
Burton also remarks: “As a rule, the shepherd is everywhere a skilful stone-thrower.”
In “The Art of Attack” (1906), p.153, Henry Swainson Cowper notes: “Stone throwing as a method of attack would come natural to our earliest forefathers, like the use of the simplest club. Indeed such use might precede the last named, since no branch could be used without some trimming, while suitable stones lay ready almost everywhere.” and on p.159, footnote 2,“It seems natural for man, when irritable to " chuck " the nearest available object, whether a stone or a decanter, at the offender, whether that be a dog or a relative.”
As well as being a weapon system for hunting and war, stone‑throwing has been used for a number of other purposes.
Stones may be used to bring down fruit and nuts from trees. It is probable that thrown stones have been used to drive predators and scavengers away from a kill, and birds and other animals away from the crops and herds. Thrown stones have been used for duelling, as a means of execution, and as an exhibition of disapproval, discouragement, harassment and religious devotion. I even encountered suggestions that throwing stones could be used for stress relief (other than the obvious option of throwing them at whoever bothers you!).
One might also reflect at the various sports and fun‑fair or carnival games that involve throwing balls or other stone‑like objects.
Stones deemed most effective as missiles were those of 0.5 to 0.75 kg (figure 6). The stones used naturally weathered into spheroids, and diameter of suitable missiles was approximately that of a tennis ball, which would be around 67 mm, incidentally very close to that of an M67 grenade (64 mm).
Another interesting feature of this study was that the simulated target was a 57 kg antelope at 25 metres.
In a genuine survival situation, a thrown stone may be useful for more than just squirrels, rabbits and birds!
Not all stones are created equal, and good throwing stones may not be as readily available in some environments as you may wish.
Cowper (p.150) notes that the natives of Tierra del Fuego carry a little store of stones for throwing in the corner of their mantles. Many other stone throwing peoples also carried stones on their person.
Undoubtedly, stones were often selected for suitable mass, and for regularity and consistency of shape. Shaping and polishing stones to create better missiles is not unknown.
“Ancient Chinese Hidden Weapons” by Douglas H. Y. Hsieh suggests carrying a bag a foot deep and seven inches across to hold suitable “locust” (sharp) stones encountered, or two bags each holding six pebbles. Readers can probably think of other practical uses for a bag of stones.
Hsieh's book also suggests “Anyone who intends to jump down from a height in poor visibility must use a stone to see if the ground is safe”.
Despite this long and broad history, the potential of hand‑thrown stones is often overlooked by survivalists.
In modern times, we associate stone‑throwing with rioters and hoodlums.
Survival manuals that describe field expedient weapons generally ignore the use of stones, other than as ammunition for slings and hand‑catapults/slingshots.
Rubber and elastic perish and break.
While a sling is easily constructed and has formidable power and range, learning to use it accurately enough to hunt with will probably involve weeks and months of practice.
As an aside, if you do have the cordage to make a sling, you may be better off making a bolas! The bolas is a clubbing weapon as well as an entangling one, so is related to the thrown stone.
Bolas are best used in open terrain. Bushes and trees give them problems.
Cords of more than a metre may be used for bolas, and heavier weights than those suggested in FM 3‑05.70 used. Blackmore (p.327) gives a range of 1 to 1.5 lbs for each weight.
Many people interested in survival or martial arts devote considerable time and money acquiring and learning how to throw knives, axes, shuriken, coins, darts or spikes. Stones are far more likely to be available in a defensive or hunting situation.
In his book Shuriken-Do, Shirakami suggest women carry several golf balls in their bags. Hold one in each hand and throw the pair in quick succession.
If you are serious about keeping yourself fed or defended, putting in some practice at throwing stones by hand would be prudent.
A practice range for stone throwing is easily constructed, even when out in the wilds. A tree, post, mound or object hanging from a tree may be used as a target.
Start learning at a range of about three metres. Increase distance and reduce target size as you improve. Cups or buckets on their sides make good targets,
“Shuriken An Illustrated Guide” by Fujita Seiko in the section on stone throwing (Tsubute Jutsu, also known as Ishi Hajiki Jutsu) gives the useful advice: “You should always aim to hit above your actual target while your hand should drop down below your target as you throw. For example, if you want to strike an enemy in the face, your hand should drop down to his chin as you throw…To throw properly you need to understand how to aim, stand with your foot facing your target and throw as if you are trying to impale it”.
In the illustrations a right handed throw is shown with the left foot forward and the left hand pointed toward the target. Hold some “reloads” in your free hand.
Throwing Sticks
Throwing stones may be supplemented by throwing sticks.
Compared to a thrown stone, a throwing stick has a greater chance of hitting a target, and a greater range.
In their very simplest, a throwing stick is a piece of wood picked up off the ground or broken from a tree and thrown at a target. Such simple throwing sticks are useful for knocking fruit out of trees, or casting a bear‑line over a tree branch.
This video shows a very simple baton-style throwing stick made from a length of hardwood timber, as long as the arm and as thick as the wrist. Ideally this should be as free of knots and other non‑aerodynamic projections as possible.
Sharpening each end will increase its utility both as a weapon and as a digging tool. The other end may be cut into a wedge shape to aid in removal of loose soil.
More effective throwing sticks will take a little more fabrication.
Throwing sticks may be dived into those that have an aerodynamic cross‑section, and those that do not.
The latter type (above) are often weighted towards one end, and may resemble a knobkerry or shillelagh.
The next illustration is taken from “Hunting Weapons” by Howard L. Blackmore, and shows hyrax being hunted.
Two hunters would work together, about 50 yards apart. Both would throw at the same time so that an animal dodging one club would be hit by the other. When hunting birds, one hunter cast his club above the bird, the other below.
A knobkerry or shillelagh‑type club may be made from where a branch or root grows from a larger part.
The next illustration shows an alternated configuration of throwing club, cut from the junction of where a minor branch joins a major one.
When it comes to aerodynamic throwing sticks, some mention must be made of the “boomerang”.
In modern usage, the term “boomerang” is generally used for returning throwing sticks. To return, a boomerang needs to be launched in a specific direction, relative to the wind. It also needs to be relatively light, making it impractical as a hunting weapon except against lightly-framed fowl.
Non-returning boomerangs intended for hunting and warfare may be up to a metre long, and may have a range of 150 yards (Cowper, p.166).
The term “boomerang” was originally a name only used in part of Australia, and according to many authors, was originally used for non-returning hunting and fighting weapons!
Burton notes (p.33): “The form of throwing-stick, which we have taught ourselves to call by an Australian name ‘boomerang,’ thereby unduly localising an almost universal weapon from Eskimo-land to Australia, was evidently a precursor of the wooden Sword. It was well known to the ancient Egyptians.”
Survival field manuals such as FM 3‑05.70 tell you to make a “rabbit stick” from “a stout stick as long as your arm, from fingertip to shoulder”(p.8‑26) and from “a blunt stick, naturally curved at about a 45-degree angle” (p.12‑8)
Some sources will tell you that a hunting throwing stick should be widest at the centre and thinner and tapered towards the tips. This is an effective form, but even if we restrict ourselves to looking at Australian designs, other forms may be encountered.
The illustration below shows a “beaked” war‑boomerang (3).
The image below shows an Australian weapon known as a “lil‑lil” besides a more familiar style of throwing stick.
The lil-lil is classed as a club rather than a boomerang, but is also used as a throwing weapon. This design has inspired some weapons that do have an aerodynamic cross-section.
Both the beaked boomerang and lil-lil clearly concentrate mass towards one end rather than the centre.
Cowper shows a wide variety of curved throwing sticks, ranging from gentle S‑forms to sabre, hook and horn shapes.
In other words, you have considerable leeway in the shape of your throwing stick.
FM 3‑05.70 also tells the survivor to “Shave off two opposite sides so that the stick is flat like a boomerang.” which I think is a little misleading.
Aerodynamic throwing sticks often have a cross‑section that is described as “semi‑lenticular”. In other words, the lower surface flat‑ish and the upper convex. The edge formed concentrates the force of impact, hence Burton’s reference to wooden swords or edged clubs.
Cowper notes that some war‑boomerangs have one side flatter, which suggests this may not be as pronounced as seen on “comebacks”. He also mentions an Indian war-boomerang with both sides rounded. There is therefore some leeway in the cross‑section you give your throwing stick, depending on the tools and the time you have.
A practical bow and arrow, or even a good spear take considerable skill to produce in a survival scenario.
Manufacture of a throwing stick is easier and more forgiving. Your chances of bagging a meal with it are also much greater.
Like any other weapon system, you will still need to put in the time practicing!
There are plenty of websites and videos describing how to make and use throwing sticks, so I will not go into further detail here.
Depending on how it was constructed, a throwing stick may serve other purposes too.
Many types are suitable for use as digging sticks. Some knobkerry or shillelagh are long enough to serve as walking sticks, which is handy when traversing rough terrain. Throwing sticks may also serve as hand weapons, useful in dispatching caught fish or trapped animals.
It is a good idea to construct a pair of throwing sticks, providing you with the means to make a follow‑up attack, or defend yourself.
