Practical Martial Arts Association

When I started Jujutsu in 1992, there wasn’t an easy way to find out what other people actually did in terms of martial arts, especially from the comfort of one’s favourite chair.  Books on the subject, much like today, were either quite general, too specific or a loose collection of drivel that relied on the cover and title to get you in (clickbait for books – readbait?) and best left on the shelf altogether. This is one of the reasons for this blog – I try to give Jujutsu people a small insight into what other people do – and it is for this reason there are not all that many articles purely on Jujutsu on a blog called Jujutsukan. Strangely enough, Jujutsu people are at an advantage over many others when it comes to understanding what other people do – because what other people do is a lot more uniform than what comes under the umbrella term of Jujutsu (especially in terms of Japanese arts). If someone tells you that they do Judo, BJJ, Kendo or the like you can immediately have a ...

There are several key ideas to cover by looking at this single situation - the spear vs the sword through a doorway.  In this post, this simple situation leads us to the following 4 broad points: Obviously, the tactics of the spear vs the sword through the doorway. The often overlooked importance of terrain and how it plays a part in fighting more than one person. Understanding large-scale engagements from small-scale encounters, and vice-versa. Why a syllabus is often only a starting point, so you need to keep looking at the 'other side' in training. A Victorian Account of The Spear and the Doorway The following account relates to what is known as the Indian Mutiny of 1857 and is taken from here . Hodson refers to the well known Brevet Major William Stephen Raikes Hodson (19 March 1821 – 11 March 1858). Colonel Sir Edward Thackeray, V.C., who was attached to Seaton's column, gives a vivid picture of Hodson thoroughly enjoying himself as a Paladin of the olden time.  It wa...

By considering the extreme example of the spear we can better understand the situation of tall fighters who fight long.  By using the spear a short fighter can become tall, and a tall fighter can become short by facing it.  This is one of the reasons to maintain asymmetrical weapons within comprehensive schools who wish to remain relevant, even though they may seem to no longer hold a purpose. The next common tactic is for the spear to retreat to keep the distance.  This is especially true when the spear encounters shorter weapons - I guess that if your advantage is the range, you want to maintain it.  Due to the body position (turned) and the foot position (apart) movement is often linear. There are essentially two components to the retreat: The feet move the body backwards. The hands move the spear backwards. Often when pressed both components are used - the goal of the spear is to: Avoid the bind. Keep the centre. Maintain the distance. Often retreat is assoc...

The work of William de Lange is highly recommended. He produced this short documentary series to accompany his book 'A Life In Arms'.  Update 2019 - people can now view the author's comprehensive website dealing with Musashi here .

A free PDF can be found here - I have only provided a link to the location of the file as I have not been able to determine whose work this is or the copyright status.  If you know anything about this document please let me know in the comments.  The translation I most prefer is that of Tokitsu .