Practical Martial Arts Association

In his oldest work (Shanghai Municipal Police - Manual of Self-Defense 1915), W.E. Fairbairn includes the following tidbit towards the end of the book in a section that matches situations and techniques (no picture or further description is in the manual): (2) Your opponent attempts:- (A) To strike you with his fist... (3) With baton, strike forearm a smart blow from below. Those of us who practice certain forms of Jujutsu probably understand a number of reasons why the baton may be down in such a position as to allow this strike - most obviously, it is not particularly civil for police to begin many interactions with weapons in offensive positions (the photo below is from the UN Police Manual 2015, showing the sort of position we are talking about). So one reason to have a less than ideal starting position may be context - especially when equipped with weapons one cannot simply get the weapon between themselves and a possible aggressor, let alone cocked into an aggressive position as ...

When talking about Nito, Shinto Muso Ryu must be of interest due to the story of the encounter/s between the school's founder Musō Gonnosuke Katsuyoshi and the most famous adept of Nito swordsmanship Miyamoto Musashi.  I once asked a senior Jodo practitioner about any lore with regards to the method used to defeat Musashi (according to the school) as I presumed this would have been preserved.  The answer I received was that it was the use of Tai Atari , as seen in the Kihon, which is said to have been the technique which overcame the famous warrior (although this, like the story itself, should be considered here-say at best).  We do however see this technique put to use against two swords in the Okuden set. Chudan Kengome Shinto Muso Ryu is interesting as it puts a long(ish) weapon against the two sword style in a few examples.  The Kengome kata from the Chudan set begins with a slow setup, like Kasumi Shinto Ryu, where the Jo user attacks the crossed guard...

The above sequence is the end of the Jodo Kata 'Ranai'.  The Jo having missed and touched the ground, strikes away the sword on the way back up and then strikes the suigetsu from the side. This is a nice combination but I always wonder how good the final hit can be, given the angle. I can say one thing for sure - it would be far more convincing if there was a 20cm right angle blade at the end, as is the case with the Nagae Kusarigama. On observing the use of the Type 4 Kusarigama, being the long handle variant, one cannot help but notice how this weapon encapsulates the features of several weapons in one.  Most obviously, there is the types of Kusarigama, however is also encapsulates the methods of the Jo. On considering the use of the Jo in Jodo in general and Shinto Muso Ryu in particular, I must confess that in my limited experience I would still have selected the sword over the Jo if given the choice. On observance of the companion method of Kenjutsu, Kasumi Shinto Ryu, we...

On close observation of the Kusarigama kata of Isshin Ryu, you can notice something quite startling - there are some movements where the Kusarigama effectively mimics a Jo. I found this a little startling when I first noticed it - even though it should probably come as no surprise.  Isshin Ryu was originally a comprehensive martial art, however the Kusarigama was subsumed in to Shinto Muso Ryu. On first thought you may think that it would be ported across unchanged, however this would make little sense - it does however mean it is hard to draw conclusions about Isshin Ryu as it is to my mind  obviously adapted. I often look at blocking a sword cut with the chain and flinch, and then try to come up with ideas about how this may work - are they attacking the arms in reality, are they smothering etc? Blocking in this manner may of course make a lot of sense with the Jo. If I look at the following items I can clearly see an Shinto Muso Ryu influence - I therefore wonder if they sh...