Defending – Traditional Martial Weapons
2008
How to Successfully Defend Against Traditional Weapons
For the purpose of this post, let’s first rule out guns and cross bows and other items that fire projectiles. These can be defended against but only under optimal circumstances. I am writing about defending against single or double knives, swords, batons, nunchaku, three sectional staffs, kama, spears and the rest of the pack.
It occurred to me while watching a “chop socky” movie the other night, where rival schools were fighting with martial arts weapons of all types and using combinations of one or two weapons, something my first karate teacher taught me 32 years ago. He told us “never watch the weapon/s – watch their hands.”
I was mortified – being a novice – to see him invite a Black Belt up to the front of the class and toss him a pair of nunchaku and tell him to swing them in a standard figure eight pattern (full speed), while he calmly stood so closely that they were almost touching him. Before I could think “what the…”, he had snatched them out of his Assistant’s hands, cleanly and with purpose. No cat and mouse stuff. He just reached in and disarmed him.
This all flashed through my memory in a second or two but I hung onto the thought and recalled all of my years of training defenses against various opponents with single and double weapons. It all made sense in an instant!
Having been privileged to study under a few true Masters over the years, without echoing my first Sensei’s words, the best of them taught the exact same thing, as do I now in their stead. Don’t get caught fighting the weapon – you’ll die or wish you did. Fight the hands and “check” the limbs that are wielding them. Concepts like yielding, shadowing and mirroring come to mind as do entering deeply, control of the opponent’s limbs – not just at the wrist or hands but deeply – shoulder to shoulder as in Small Circle J.J.
I don’t know how many times as a visiting teacher, I’ve been asked to teach “disarms” – more than I care to count. And in only one school, have I ever had a Black Belt instructor block or disarm me with a rubber knife without first losing his fingers, then his wrist and his life. Sound arrogant? In all humility it isn’t – it’s the truth. I stab low toward the bladder and receive an “X – Block” defense, very fast and right on my knife wielding wrist too! What is my response? Why to simply withdraw the blade, while rolling my wrist in a clockwise direction and my training partner’s wrists are both cut through the ligaments and tendons – right to the bone. He fought the rubber knife, being ignorant of my intent.
My next training partner is given a Bo and makes a few side to side smacks against his Gi, I am impressed and ask him to enter and bust my head with a right or left stroke to the side of the head. He asks “are you sure”? “Yes sir, I’m very sure” I reply. He has to “close the gap” since I don’t advance. I am aware of his intent but he is not aware of mine. As his foot lifts and before the Bo can be swept into my temple, I have stepped into the gap and met him with my chest against his hands. Whatever side the Bo started to move from (let’s say his from his right side to my left temple) I shadow or mirror him. His hands are now tangled up with his weapon and my body and forearms, checking or ”lightly touching” him and I help him complete his counter clockwise maneuver. With one difference, my hands are free and he is sent flying to the floor and usually leaves me with his own weapon on his way to the mat.
Be smart and ponder this, “never fight the weapon, fight the arms and hands that are wielding it.” There are few “armed” counter-fighters, so we can almost always read their intention instantly but they can never read ours. Think I’m off base or have something to add? Give us a “Reply” shout out and we can discuss it!
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