Skip to main content

Lähitaistelu (Close Combat) Part 2 - Vartalon Hallinta (Body Management) - Stances and Falls



In the work published as All In Fighting, Fairbairn says that there was little point in teaching soldiers how to fall - for their purposes it wasn't worth the time.  In more regular times, however, falling is one of the skills that will genuinely help most people at some point in their lives.  For all the taking of swords and guns I've practised, the thing I can categorically say has saved me from serious injury at least twice is being able to fall well (no doubt I will trip over and hurt myself tomorrow now).

Here a full range of falling/rolling is taught.   Interestingly, getting up is also taught - a weakness of many syllabi is the teaching of falling down followed by lackadaisical getting up -  a practical example of a lack of Zanshin.

Here we start to see the foundation of the system through the 'kamae' which is used for all situations/weapons.  It may be a simple stance but it runs through the entire curriculum - the stance or approach does not really change at all.  Note the forward roll is shown single-handed with the left hand down - this is the same position as if a rifle is held.  Throughout the film, after every action, the demonstrator returns to the default position.

One of the problems of many combative systems is that they will import modules they deem to be missing without modification to match the existing system (probably because there isn't one, or it isn't understood).  The classic example is arts that have been cobbled together from sports realising they do not deal with knives.  They then import a branch of Phillipino martial arts and suddenly have two very different approaches with the end user effectively being asked to change approach completely based on particular scenarios.


Vartalon Hallinta (Body Management)



The default stance:




Getting up, often overlooked:






Falling:












Rolling:










I'd encourage anyone with a knowledge of the unique Finnish language to comment corrections to the translation of the titles in this series.

Popular posts from this blog

Spear (Yari) in Owari Kan Ryu 尾張貫流 (Kudayari & others)

Owari Kan ryū is known for its use of the kuda-yari (tube spear). The e (shaft) is run through a kuda (metal pipe) that’s in the front hand of the practitioner.  Interestingly the school’s students start training by doing shiai (competition) and only after considerable training they learn the school's kata (forms). Most classical schools that practice shiai do so after learning kata. Thrusting using the kuda. Cross-stepping.                           Thrusting attack with kuda. Wide stance.   Shiai. Shiai using a spear with a cross piece. The original demonstration from which these stills were taken is here:

The Structure of the Tenshinshoden Katori Shinto Ryu Syllabus

It should be noted that the current head, Otake Risuke, has commented that not all of the parts of Tenshinsho-den Katori Shinto Ryu survive.  I recall his comments in various documentaries that Archery was once a component, and only some of the spear survives. Through various sources, mostly Otake's book, I have put together this brief outline of their syllabus, however I have little idea of the exact stage each is taught except that I believe the students start with Omote no Tachi.  I will use this as the basis for further posts and may add to it over time. I believe their are important implications when Otake says that one of the main reasons for training all the weapons is to train the swordsman against them. Note in this section in brackets are my own comments and should therefore not be relied upon, those from the written work of Otake are clearly marked. Tenshinsho-den Katori Shinto Ryu -Kenjutsu (Otake lists Tachi, Ryuto and Kodachi under Kenjustsu) --Tachi (Use of the singl

Kendo Shinai Weights & Measures

As a note the recommended length and weight for shinai are: - Women 38 inches 440 grams. - Men 39 inches 510 grams. The Wikipedia shinai page lists the following tables: Regulations In  kendo  competitions that follow the FIK rules, there are regulated weights and lengths for the use of  shinai .  Table A. FIK Specifications for competition use of one Shinai (Itto). Specification Gender Junior High School (12–15 yrs) Senior High School (15–18 yrs) University students and Adults (18yrs+) Maximum length Male & female 114cm 117cm 120cm Minimum weight Male 440g 480g 510g Female 400g 420g 440g Minimum diameter of sakigawa Male 25mm 26mm 26mm Female 24mm 25mm 25mm Minimum length of sakigawa Male and Female 50mm 50mm 50mm Shinai  are weighed complete with leather fittings, but without  tsuba  or  tsuba-dome . The full length is measured. Maximum diameter of the  tsuba  is 9cm. Table B. FIK Specifications for competition use of two Shinai (Nito). Specification Gender Daito (long shinai) Sh