Month: September 2012

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Phillosoph

On Working Out and Worshiping Boats…

Today is an exercise day. This means that when I managed to drag myself out of bed I waved the Indian clubs around for thirty reps. I then performed thirty wall push-ups in a row. Then it was thirty dumbbell flies while lying on the floor, thirty dumbbell presses and then thirty curls. Depending on how the day goes, I may perform this routine again when I get home this evening.
It occurred to me that there was an interesting analogy here. I don’t work out because I enjoy it. I don’t work out because I want to get particularly good at curling weights. There will be no convention where an adoring crowd surrounds me and cries “Wow, look at him curl!”
I exercise because I want to be stronger. Better muscle tone seems to eliminate some of the random aches and pains I used to get. I look better if I work out, I walk straighter with better muscle tone and project more confidence. Working out helps bring down the beer gut. I am still carrying a little layer of subcutaneous adipose –I will never had a six pack!- but beneath that thin layer of fat is now a very firm wall of abdominal muscle. My stunningly beautiful girlfriend loves the leaner meaner look and she is not the only member of the opposite sex to approve.
Thinking about this reminded me of one of my favourite quotes from Bruce Lee: “A boat is just to take you across a river. Once you are across you leave the boat and proceed on your journey. You do not stay and worship the boat.”
What Lee meant was that martial art styles as you first encounter them are just a means to an end. They are paths to a destination. These paths all go to the same destination if you follow them to the end. To claim that one path is “right” and all others are “wrong” is foolish and immature. Katas, Forms, Stances, Postures and other exercises are just that, exercises to teach you skills or ideas you will need at that time or will need to move on and advance.
I use the weights because they will produce a certain result. Whether you like working out or not is not the issue, it is whether you want the reward. Martial arts are not self-defence, they are one of the tools you can use to get to a state where you can more effectively protect yourself.
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Phillosoph

Polearms: Butting In

Watching this video of medieval fighting techniques and something interesting struck me.
In the polearm combats, notice how often the butt end of the weapon is advanced towards the enemy. Recently I was rereading one of the Black Medicine books and in that text the author recommends if defending yourself with an object such as a broom or long handled shovel to keep the head to the rear. I looked at some contemporary illustrations of combats with pole arms and there were numerous incidences of fighters having the butt towards the enemy. Many of these seemed to occur during what might be interpreted as defensive actions. If you consider a rifle when it is used for close combat, with or without the bayonet the butt is to the rear. However, the rifle butt is the primary striking element of the weapon so functionally the rifle butt serves the same role as a poleaxe head.
If we think about this, defending with the butt end of a pole arm makes quite a bit of sense. The butt end is lighter and therefore more mobile, quicker and more responsive. The heads of polearms sometimes bind together (as can be seen in the video clip), which may not be desirable. Deflecting the head with the butt reduces this. For example one could parry with the butt, riposte with a strike from the butt end and then follow-up with a strike from the head of your weapon.
Following this line of thought, I recalled something I had briefly scanned through recently. In a print out of a Di Grassi manual that used to be on line was the following passage:
http://web.archive.org/web/20081230235358/http://www.musketeer.org/manuals/diGrassi/digrass3.htm
“But because these weapons for the most part are exercised and used to enter through diverse Pikes and other weapons, and to break and disorder the battle array, to which end, and purpose, if it be used, then that manner of managing and handling is very convenient which is much practiced now a days, and thus it is. The Partisan, Halberd, and Bill (but not the Javelin, being in this case nothing effectual because it has small force in the edge) must be born in the middle of the staff, with the heel thereof before, and very low, and the point near a man’s head. And with the said heel, or half staff underneath, from the hand downwards, he must ward and beat off the points and thrusts of the Pikes and other weapons, and having made way, must enter with the increase of a pace of the hindfoot, and in the same instant, let fall his weapon as forcibly as he may, and strike with the edge athwart the Pikes. This kind of blow is so strong (being delivered as it ought, considering it comes from above downwards, and the weapon of itself is very heavy) that it will cut asunder not only Pikes, but also any other forcible impediment.”
In other words, hold your polearm near the middle, with the head back and defend with the lower part of the shaft until it is time to use the head. This position combines elements of both the high guard and the hanging guard. The rifle position with the butt back and the muzzle raised combines the middle guard and the tail guard. Middle guard and hanging guard are good defensive guards, while high and tail guard cock the weapon ready for a wide range of counterstrikes.
This blog post confirms the practice and suggests that on the shorter models of pole arm the fighter gripped closer to the head to preserve enough shaft to defend with.
This explains why many pole arms have always appeared too long or too heavy to me. In the movies halberds etc are always shown advancing point first, like overweight bayonets. Their heads looked too heavy to provide a quick defence and they had little room to generate power for chopping. In fact they were supposed to the held in the middle, head back.
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Phillosoph

Kubotan and Kongo Locks

Stuck in my files is an article on the kongo that I never seem to have time to finish, so today I thought I would post part of it.

Keep It Simple

99% of the time the only techniques you will need for using the kongo are the strikes.
However, the reader is doubtless curious about “fancy stuff” such as locks, so I’ll include some discussion of these in today’s blog, with the caution that it is better to keep things simple but effective in a real fight.
Some of these techniques are “pain compliance” techniques so their effectiveness will vary between individuals and situations.
For information on sensitive areas and “pressure points” a kubotan or kongo may be used against, purchase “Attack, Avoid, Survive”.

Know Your Bones

Most of the locks described here are applied against the bones of the forearm.
The forearm has two long bones, the one on the upper/thumb side being the radius and the lower bone the ulna. You can remember these by knowing they are alphabetical from top to bottom, R above U.
Locks should be applied so that the pressure is applied against either the ulna or the radius, depending on situation.
Force is applied against a single bone rather than distributed to several will be more effective.
Force is applied to these bones at the ends where they joint the hand.
Squeeze around this area with your fingers and you will soon locate where the more sensitive areas lie.

In the following description my main intent is to convey the mechanical principles of how these locks work.
For that reason I’ve generally described the positioning of the kongo/kubotan first. Many of the locking techniques are easier with the longer, thinner kubotan.
In practice, it is more likely that the opponent’s arm would first be gripped by the non-weapon hand and the weapon then brought into position.
To avoid such unwieldy terms as “strong side thumb” or “weak side fingers” the following descriptions will all assume that the kongo is being used in the right hand.

The Pincer or V-Locks

Hold your kongo/kubotan so several inches project from the top of the forefinger side of your hand.
You may have to shift your grip slightly from that normally used for striking.
At the same time, stick out your thumb so kongo and thumb form a sort of “V”. We will call this configuration “the pincer” and use it as the basis for learning the following locks.
The pincer itself is a pretty good technique. Grasp the foe’s thumb between your thumb and the kongo and apply pressure, using the weapon as a fulcrum. This can be performed against other fingers too. Or, use your pincer to take hold of the subject’s ear or other fleshy body part.
There are several other variations of the pincer-based locks. It is possible to hold the wrist, fingers or thumb in the pincer and use the left hand to assist in some other way such as manipulating the foe’s hand or thumb.

J-Locks

Put your right hand in pincer form and slip your right thumb under the foe’s wrist so the kongo passes over the top. Slip the thumb of your left hand over the free end of the kongo and pass your left fingers under your opponent’s wrist.
This is the basic mechanism of the lock but in practice it is more likely that you would first grip the foe’s wrist with your left hand and then bring the kongo into position under the thumb.
This technique can also be applied against the thumb. The opponent’s thumb is clamped between right thumb and kongo and your left hand grasps his wrist and hooks your left thumb over the free end of the kongo.
A related technique against the wrist is performed in the same way but does not place the right thumb under the wrist. The kongo is laid across the bone and the free end taken by the left thumb.
Disadvantage of this variation is that the kongo must not be allowed to slip around the wrist. Maintain the relative position of your hands so the kongo/kubotan lies level across the bone.
The advantage of this technique is it can be applied in situations where the thumb could not be easily slipped under the wrist.
I call this family of locks the “J-locks” since the kubotan forms the crossbar of the J while the fingers of the other hand form the curved section around the wrist.
Depending on the relative orientation of the arm these locks can also be applied against the ulna.

Delta or Gasket Locks

Instead of taking the free end of the kongo with the left thumb, it is also possibly to wrap the left fingers around the kongo and slip the left thumb around the wrist.
You therefore have eight fingers pulling against the kongo and two thumbs pushing into the wrist.
Takayuki Kubota (inventor of the kubotan) stresses that when using this technique the web of the thumbs should form a tight “gasket seal” against the suspect’s arm. The advantage of this technique is that it can be applied to either surface of the arm.
As well as placing the kubotan across the upper side of the wrist and the thumbs underneath, you can place the kubotan under the wrist and push down on the upper surface with your thumbs.
I think of this lock as the “Delta lock” since the two hands and the kubotan form a triangle,

X-Locks

Like the delta-locks, the X-locks create a triangle around the opponent’s wrist.
Hold the kubotan like a wand. This hold is easily assumed from the pincer. Alternately, an “ice-pick” hold may be used with the longer length of the kubotan projecting from the little finger side of the hand. 
Place your arm so the forearm crosses over the opponent’s arm. Hook the kubotan across the end of the radius or ulna on the far side of the arm.
Grasp the free end of the kubotan with the other hand so your forearms cross. The kubotan and your wrists form a triangle around the arm.
Reorient the opponent's arm as necessary and move your elbows apart so your wrists are scissored tightly around the opponent's wrist/forearm. Pressure may be increased by adding a rolling action to the wrists.

Eda Koppō

The Eda koppō techniques are taken from Matsaaki Hatsumi’s “Stick Fighting” (p.56) and he defines the term as “Attacking the bones with a stick”.
Many of the techniques shown in the book are variations of those already described but one is worth dealing with separately
Slip your fingers through the loop of the kongo as though you were going to strike with it and open your hand.
Place this hand on your foe’s forearm near the wrist so that the kongo either crosses the ulna or the radius.
The fingers encircle the wrist and the kongo is sandwiched between your palm and the foe’s arm, pressing onto the bone.
The other hand can be used to assist.
How effective this will be will depend on several factors, including the diameter and shape of your kongo, strength of your grip and the pain sensitivity of your foe.
For this reason my personal inclination would be to use this technique on the ulna if there is a choice, which seems to be the more sensitive of the two bones.
The advantage of this technique is that it can be applied with your kongo in the normal striking position and does not need your grip to be shifted so can be rapidly applied against a target of opportunity.

Suppose you are using a kongo without a finger loop or an object as improvised weapon? Brace it by placing your little finger and thumb under the object and your other three fingers on top (shown above).
You can also brace it between your thumb and second finger with the fore finger on top. This is a good technique for a longer, thinner object such as a pencil.

A final trick. Place your kubotan, kongo or pencil between any of the subject’s fingers, then squeeze the fingers together.
You probably have a pen or pencil nearby as you are reading this.
Try it out on yourself.
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Phillosoph

Tanks, Cybernaughts, Daleks and Diving suits in the Middle Ages

Tanks, Cybernaughts, Daleks and Diving suits in the Middle Ages!
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Phillosoph

Tenouchi

I am a great admirer of the kongo, and once wrote an article on the manrikigusari so it was only natural that the tenouchi would interest me. Tenouchi (“inside the hand”) is a term that has several meanings in Japanese and can mean just a yawara stick or a small hand weapon.
The tenouchi we are considering is a kongo or yawara stick with a cord attached to its middle. This cord is tied so that it forms a figure eight shape.
So I grabbed a bit of scrap broomstick and some paracord and got carving. Here is my first attempt with a kongo beside it.

This particular example has a 6" handle. Most of my kongos area around 5" so I carved a 6" for variety. I am very pleased with the shape of this one but later learnt that tenouchi handles tended to be smaller so that they could more easily slip between the loops of the cord. Serge Mol’s “Classical Weaponry of Japan” gives dimensions as being about 16cm, while Don Cunningham’s “Secret Weapons of Jujutsu” shows a handle that looks to be 7-8". I’ve had no problems with my 6" handle but if you are making your own you should start with a handle that should be just long enough so that there is enough to strike with on either side of your hand.

The cord part was given as 180 cms in Mol's book, which happenes to be my height. If you are significantly shorter or taller than this you might consider using your own height to get the proportions right. The cord was threaded through the hole drilled in the handle and tied in a figure eight. I tied an loose overhand knot in the very centre of the cord, threaded the free ends through it and then tied a fisherman’s knot whose two halves pulled tight against the central overhand. This is a very neat way of making the figure eight.
The first method is to hold the handle in your strong hand, the cord projecting between the second and third fingers. Hold the end of the cord in your other hand. With this hold attacks can be parried with the stretched length of cord. Attacking limbs can be wrapped and manipulated with the cord. See my article on the manrikigusari for some ideas. The cord can also be looped over the head to pull, throw or garrotte. The handle is a kongo, so can strike with either end or can be used to assist in lock or bone-crushing (koppo) techniques.
On the second method the handle is held as before but the far loop is thrown over the strong hand so it rests across the top of the forearm. The loops of cord hang down under the arm. The hanging cord can be slipped over a limb or the neck and the handle pulled through the distal loop. This forms a noose. The rest of the cord can be looped around other body parts to bind the enemy and pull the noosed limb against the torso and immobilize it. One interesting variation is to lower the cord, place your foot on it and pull on the handle to bring your foe down to the ground.

The third method may not be traditional, but is something I came up with in experimentation. Hold the handle as before and slip the distal loop over your first two fingers. Release the handle and twirl the weapon around by wrist action. This makes an impressive noise. With a light wooden handle such as mine this is mainly an intimidation and hazing technique. Possibly the spinning cord could be wrapped around a limb and the free end caught in the other hand. Some tenouchi have metal handles and these might have been more effective striking weapons when flailed. From this hold I found it was possible to slip the end loop over the top of the handle using your forefinger. The hanging loops could then be hooked over an enemy and the handle pulled through with thumb and forefinger to form the noose described in the second method.

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Phillosoph

Flails and Flexible Maces

For this class of weapon we have an ambivalence of terminology. The rather clumsy term of “ball and chain” is possibly the most accurately descriptive. “morning star” or “morning star mace” is another term commonly used but this is also applied to some forms of non-articulated club. The term flail can be used for a “ball and chain” although to some this only suggests the sort of weapon made from two lengths of wood joined by a hinge. This latter class of weapons are sometimes termed “bar flails”.
Flexible weapons such as the flail have several advantages over more rigid weapons. The first is that the end can be swung at a greater velocity, offering a faster strike with considerably more momentum. Both the knight and the common footsoldier found that the flail was a very effective device for unhorsing a mounted enemy. Flails were also difficult weapons to defend against since the head could curve over the top of a shield or weapon to strike the man behind. Chain flails also could be made to wrap around an enemy’s limb or weapon, disarming him or pulling him off balance.
This class of weapon can be subdivided into several parts. Most well known is the ball and chain type weapon most commonly associated with the medieval knight, although in the west it appears to have remained in use up to the 18th century. This weapon has a relatively short handle and one or more chains with weighted ends. Some models have an enlarged link or ring as the final part of the chain
Most well known of the bar-flail type weapons is the numchukas, which is essentially the agricultural tool used for flailing rice throughout the orient. Many bar-flails have distinct striking and handle sections and on many the handle may be of staff proportions, creating a weapon of polearm dimensions. These weapons are very similar in form and size to the tools used for threshing wheat in western agriculture. Such weapons are also found in China, though I don’t know if these originated in the north of China where wheat growing is more common. In the West the striking section (termed a “swingle”) was often enhanced with spikes or bands of iron. Another feature encountered was a hook between swingle and shaft to prevent it swinging about when not needed. Long handled bar-flails were a foot-soldier’s weapon and seem to be more commonly used by common soldiers and peasants than knights.
The Chinese Three-Section staff can be regarded as a relative of the long shafted bar-flails.
A flexible weapon of note is the Japanese chigiriki. This resembles the ball and chain mace used in other cultures but differs in both the handle and the chain are at least two and a half feet long each. These increased dimensions offer some interesting capabilities. The weapon can be used single handed but a two handed grip is likely to be more common. The handle is essentially a short staff or jo and can be used for various offensive and defensive Jo-jitsu techniques. A pointed ferrule or spear-point placed at the butt of the shaft would seem to be a useful addition, but I have no evidence that this has ever been attempted.

 

As well as being swung in a conventional manner several other techniques are known to have been used with this weapon. The length of chain is sufficient that the weight can be taken in the hand and thrown directly at a foe like a rock. Alternately the weight can be twirled like a bolas/ lasso and cast at an enemy. Both these techniques cause the weight to travel in a line rather than an arc. By coordinating such attacks with footwork and position of the handle a target several metres away from the fighter can be hit. By a sharp pull on the chain the weight can be recovered for another attempt or alternate technique.
Another interesting technique is to grasp the chain and strike the enemy with the handle section of the weapon. This would be useful in a situation when it was undesirable for the weapon to entangle with a target. This might occur if fighting multiple opponents. It might also be a good strategy against a mounted opponent. The handle could be struck across both the horse’s forelegs then the weapon employed conventionally against the thrown rider.

In Sid Campbell’s “Exotic Weapons of the Ninja” we are informed that the chain and staff of the chigiriki are proportioned so that it is highly unlikely that the weight can swing into the fighter’s hand when it is taunt. If we look at flails from other cultures we often see a similar design feature, but this is no means universal. Some flails were doubtlessly used when wearing stout plate gauntlets, but this was not true for all cultures or time periods. It seems odd that there appear to be no designs of flail with any form of hand protection, such as an open-topped knuckle bow. This feature is seen on some kusarigama.

Some forms of kusarigama can be regarded as flails with blades added. Serge Mol’s “Classical Weapons of Japan” shows an example with a stabbing point in addition to the side (kama) blade.
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Phillosoph

Feet and Kidneys

I guess in twenty or so years time the internet will be full of blogs by middle-aged men detailing their medical problems. This is not intended to be one of them and my reasons for straying to this topic should become clear later.
A few years ago I managed to snap the tendons in both my legs. Nothing to do with martial arts practice, just something that happened one day. I discovered it was quite possible to limp with both legs at the same time. Fast forward a few years and the tendons don’t heal straight because I am naturally flat-footed. Now the flat feet are bothering me because my tendons are not straight. It does have a certain symmetry!
Recently the left foot has been getting worse and I have been troubled by pains in the kidney region. In a previous post I related an amusing incident while I was at the urology department. A letter arrived recently telling me that while my kidneys had stones and cysts it was unlikely these were responsible for the pain. The specialist had noted my limp and leg problems and wondered if these may be putting pressure on my spine.
Then the other night, reading a martial art related book I came across the following diagram:

Nearly kicked myself for not making the connection before! The Acupressure Kidney Meridian starts on the sole of the foot. That blue dot is right where I usually experience pain from my foot.
Could it be the reason I have been experiencing pain in the kidney region is because my foot problems are adversely stimulating my kidney meridian? My podiatrist had told me to rub the sole of my foot more often. I am going to try this and see if the back pains are reduced.
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Phillosoph

Hazing again

Returning to the subject of hazing (kasumi) I came across this rather nice article by  Don Rearic. This includes a couple of tricks I missed out, such as using a flashlight. Some good advice on the use of pepper sprays too. In Black Medicine IV N.Mashiro offers similar advice and also suggests sprays can be used held over the head to keep them out of reach of attackers.
Kasumi means hazing or obscuration, while metsubushi means “eye-crusher” or “sight destroyer”. I tend to think of kasumi as the tactic and metsubushi as the devices, but effectively the two terms are interchangeable as far as I am aware.
I also came across this rather nice video.
These are obviously very high level ninja judging by their very effective disguises as young boys. Joking aside, quite a few posters on youtube could learn from these two. The speak clearly and concisely with no excessive um-ing and ah-ing and no long tedious preamble. And they are experimenting and trying stuff out, so good for them! -but perhaps wear goggles next time, lads.
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Phillosoph

Friday (the 13th) Fun.

Taiwan launches serial killer franchise…

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Phillosoph

Scrapboard Survivor Kukri.

In my blog post entitled “Why a Kukri?” I promised a more in-depth look at my favourite kukri once I could get some more current photos taken. Having just taken such photos, here they are.

This is the plain vanilla kukri as it arrived from Nepal. I call this the "Scrapboard Survivor" after my website. This is actually a custom item from KHT. The grip was made slightly longer than they usually fit on a sirupate-style blade and the half-guard was combined with a traditional-style grip. KHT offered a number of modernized grips with guards as an option but I wanted a traditional style since it is actually the optimum for a kukri blade. KHT now offer the half guard and traditional style handle on some of their models. A sirupate blade is narrower and more slender than a standard kukri blade, although such distinctions are relative since this blade is still thicker and more substantial than many knife blades costing five times as much. The result is a lighter, fast and agile weapon that still has considerable cutting power. The sirupate can handle most combat and survival applications without weighing the user down excessively.

KHT very thoughtfully provided a cord channel in the grip and the other night I decided it was time I fitted a retention cord. Note the use of a fisherman’s knot, which allows the cord to be easily tightened or loosened depending on whether gloves or other clothing is worn. The loop is proportioned so that it can either be slipped over the wrist or hooked over the thumb and passed over the back of the hand, “nightstick” fashion.

The handle wrap was done in two parts, both parts being done with “decored” doubled paracord. Some PVA glue was painted on to help keep this in position. The handle wrap provides additional cushioning for when this kukri is used for heavy work.

Kukri in sheath, ready to travel. Note the retention loop has been wrapped and tucked so it cannot catch on branches and other protrusions.