Source: Risuke Otake – The Deity and the sword books volumes 1,2,3.The Shorin-ryu Karatedo and Kobudo Association of America (SKKAA) incorporates the Japanese sword arts at the black belt level. The art of striking an opponent with these throwing spikes is taught within Katori Shinto Ryu to this day. The shuriken taught within Katori Shinto Ryu is effective within a range of around 6 meters (19.7 feet) and possesses the advantage of being able to strike opponents from longer range than polearms such as yari or naginata as well as form narrow spaces.įor this text we follow Otake Risuke’s book ‘Warrior Tradition’. Shurikenjutsu – Techniques for the throwing-bladeīo-shuriken were an integral part of the samurai arsenal. On the battlefields of old, Jujutsu was especially useful when a warrior lost his weapon or closed to grappling range with an opponent. Our tradition’s Jujutsu includes locks, throws, chokes, strikes, and healing. This allows the swordsman to defeat the spear. As a result, the sword is used to close the distance with a polearm, such as staff, glaive, or spear. While the spear is effective in wide spaces such as plains, it is inferior to the sword in confined spaces such as forests. When the kodachi (short sword) is short, correct usage ensures the weapon can be used to achieve the same distancing as the tachi. Kodachijutsu – The secrets of the short sword Training in this portion of the curriculum teachers the practitioner methods of dealing with an opponent armed with Ryoto. While novels note that the art of using Ryoto (two swords) was developed by Miyamoto Musashi, it was part of the Katori Shinto Ryu curriculum some 150 to 200 years prior to his birth. The forms and those that follow are our traditions most secret teachings. These are unarmored forms of swordsmanship that characteristically involve shorter positioning and distancing. Gogyo Kenjutsu and Gokui Shichijo no tachi – Secret sword teachings In addition to these techniques our tradition also still practices the Gokui hichijo no naginata. The naginata must be held mid-shaft in order to effectively deliver cuts with its blade and strikes with its butt. Katori Shinto ryu uses an o-naginata (long glaive) of the same length used by warrior-monks such as Benkei. Naginata were used widely by foot soldiers during the Kamakura era until the rise of the spear in the Nanbokucho era.

Omote no naginata: the basic techniques (4 kata) Naginatajutsu is part of kenjutsu training

Iaido stance names