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OhioMike
OhioMike's picture
practical weapons and katas for them?

As part of our current schools expectation it is required that for purple and brown belts that the student learns a new weapons kata for each grading. That means a Shodan canidate will know a total of three. For the most part that means a couple of Bo kata and one Nunchuck. I have always viewed these as a nod to traditional performance kata and not of much practical use. But recently I have rethought that position and wanted to know if anyone was aware of actual practical kata written for weapons that someone in the US could actually carry. 

My first thought was that short knives (Ohio law allows blades under 4" to be carried as utility items) are available, as are canes.  (Did you know that they actually sell tactical umbrellas? They are basically fiberglass canes filled with impact resin with an umbrella attached.) I am not so sure that I could win the claim in court that carring a tactical umbrella was not going armed however.  

I have tried to Google this and have found a lot of good traditional stuff and a lot of trash, tanto kata written for combat with other tanto fighters. Cane kata being performed by older advanced black belts that I cannot imagine teaching to anyone over the age of 50. 

So I put it before the group, do you know of any other weapons that I have missed? Do you know of any good katas that might go with them?

Thanks,

Mike

Kevin73
Kevin73's picture

In all honesty, teach your students to use a short club.  In the US, the truck drivers call them "tire checkers", also little league bats that can be kept in a car.

But, to carry, get a larger magazine like Cigar Afficianado and have it rolled very tight.  It hits like a club and you aren't going to really be questioned why you are carrying a magazine.

This is one of the weapons that many inmates try to use/make while in jail/prison because it is easy to hide in plain sight and doesn't get you punished like a shiv or bars of soap in a sock.

Wastelander
Wastelander's picture

Okinawan kobudo encompasses a wide array of weapons, and several of them can transfer to everyday items or modern weapons. Tekko, of course. Hanbo/nitanbo. Jo. Even bo, to an extent. Kama can fit any T-shaped weapon, including hammers or hatchets. Nunchaku mechanics can be applied to a variety of flail weapons, from rope and chain to a belt.

Dash3
Dash3's picture

Does it need to be a kata specific to that weapon? Otherwise, one thing I like to practice is a normally empty hand kata (especially Heian Yondan) with different weapons in hand to see how that changes the movements. I especially like the strikes and locks a short stick creates in Yondan.

Tau
Tau's picture

OhioMike wrote:

As part of our current schools expectation it is required that for purple and brown belts that the student learns a new weapons kata for each grading...   But recently I have rethought that position and wanted to know if anyone was aware of actual practical kata written for weapons that someone in the US could actually carry. 

My first thought was that short knives (Ohio law allows blades under 4" to be carried as utility items) are available, as are canes...

So I put it before the group, do you know of any other weapons that I have missed? Do you know of any good katas that might go with them?

Taking your specific desires, context and geography into account (as what you're proposing would get you into a lot of trouble in the UK) my advice is look to the Filipino arts. They offer a  multitude of drills, both and solo. In my mind there is great compatibility between Karate and the Filipino arts. Indeed many of us on here have dabbled with higot hubud lubud AKA "the hubud drill." Iain has taught it as an application to a movement in Pinan Godan. Noah calls it the "platform drill" which is a term that I've shamelessly stolen and fleshed out.

OhioMike wrote:
Cane kata being performed by older advanced black belts that I cannot imagine teaching to anyone over the age of 50. 

Tell that to my disabled wife! I encourage her use a walking aid even when she doesn't need it as her health issue isn't evident externally so it provides a visual clue. And makes a handy weapon.

I do know one group that specialises in the cane as a weapon. I admire what they do and their intentions. Unfortunately I see what they do as very much divorced from reality. My opinion is that this is a typical scenario.

Marc
Marc's picture

Interesting. On youtube I found this:

Since I have no gun experience, I don't know whether there's any practical use to it. But it looks interesting.

Certainly police officers will drill the handling and use of their firearms. Any drill is essentially a kata, even if it is very short. You could include verbal patterns in your weapon handling kata ("Show me your hands! Lay down on the floor! Put your hands behind the back of your head! I will handcuff you now."). The handcuffing itself is also something a police officer will train again and again. It's the handcuffing kata, if you will.

OhioMike
OhioMike's picture

Love the idea! Likley couldn't have a student use Yondan for a grading since it is a kata taught as open hand in my system and so would be viewed as dodging the requirement to learn a weapons kata.

But the idea is good and gives me another good thought. My styles katas are definitley aimed at performance and so some of them (Seisan for example) have been modified to the most punch/kick/block version possible.  A more pragmatic version of one of the non-Pidan katas would likely work great for a tanto kata. And since I would be doing a different variation of the kata than is normally used in my style I could avoid the accusation that I was avoiding a requirement.  

More importanly it has potential to be applicable for improvised weapons such as short clubs, rolled up magazines, pens/pencils etc.

I have to admit to giggling at the thought of using the most "martial art" requirement of my sporting style to sneak in a more practical bunkai based self-protection kata. 

The question becomes what kata to go with, Seisan comes to mind but what version would be most knife friendly? This definitely will require more thought and research. 

Thanks for the idea, I will post my result, good or bad.

Mike

Iain Abernethy
Iain Abernethy's picture

OhioMike wrote:
Cane kata being performed by older advanced black belts that I cannot imagine teaching to anyone over the age of 50.

Tau wrote:
Tell that to my disabled wife! I encourage her use a walking aid even when she doesn't need it as her health issue isn't evident externally so it provides a visual clue. And makes a handy weapon.

Under UK law, if the cane was carried with the intention of using it as a weapon, then it would be in breach of Section 1 (4) of the Prevention of Crime Act 1953. Additionally, Section 1 (1) makes it clear that the onus is on the possessor of the weapon to prove they had the “weapon” for benign purposes. Therefore, someone who has no trouble walking unaided could find themselves on the wrong side of the law; especially if the weapon was used.

However, if a cane was carried for its intended use (to help with walking) then that would obviously be OK (no breach of The Prevention of Crime Act 1953) and you’d be in a better position legally if the cane was then used to injure others in self-protection.

So we could learn “cane kata” for interest – just as we do with other weapons – but unless one has legitimate need for a cane when walking then it’s not something you could carry for self-protection without causing potential problems.

A totally healthy twenty something could attract the attention of the police if carrying a cane when it obviously was not needed for walking. If the police deemed it was not carried for walking, but was being carried as a weapon, then it would be up to that person to prove otherwise (hard to do without medical records). A crime has been committed irrespective of whether the cane is “put to use”. Someone older may “get way away with it” as it’s less likely to attract attention. BUT, in either case, if the cane was used as a weapon, then why it was with you is going to be looked at. If there is no reason to have it with you other than for harming people, then you’ve used an “offensive weapon” and that could be used to undermine claims of self-defence. Always worth remembering that the criminal is going to say that they are innocent and you were the aggressor; and if you can be shown to have been carrying a “weapon” with you then that could help their case.

An elderly or disabled person learning to use a cane for self-defence strikes me as very sensible; as well as being easy to legally justify. For those with no need to carry a cane, then learning it for fun, interest, or potential use when older are all fine. Not wise to carry it though.

OhioMike wrote:
But recently I have rethought that position and wanted to know if anyone was aware of actual practical kata written for weapons that someone in the US could actually carry.

In the US things would be different. From what you describe, a short knife or “cell phone” kata may be the way to go?

All the best,

Iain  

Tau
Tau's picture

Iain Abernethy wrote:

Tau wrote:
... my disabled wife! I encourage her use a walking aid even when she doesn't need it as her health issue isn't evident externally so it provides a visual clue. And makes a handy weapon.

Under UK law, if the cane was carried with the intention of using it as a weapon, then it would be in breach of Section 1 (4) of the Prevention of Crime Act 1953. Additionally, Section 1 (1) makes it clear that the onus is on the possessor of the weapon to prove they had the “weapon” for benign purposes. Therefore, someone who has no trouble walking unaided could find themselves on the wrong side of the law; especially if the weapon was used.

However, if a cane was carried for its intended use (to help with walking) then that would obviously be OK (no breach of The Prevention of Crime Act 1953) and you’d be in a better position legally if the cane was then used to injure others in self-protection.

A totally healthy twenty something could attract the attention of the police if carrying a cane when it obviously was not needed for walking. If the police deemed it was not carried for walking, but was being carried as a weapon, then it would be up to that person to prove otherwise (hard to do without medical records). A crime has been committed irrespective of whether the cane is “put to use”. Someone older may “get way away with it” as it’s less likely to attract attention. BUT, in either case, if the cane was used as a weapon, then why it was with you is going to be looked at. If there is no reason to have it with you other than for harming people, then you’ve used an “offensive weapon” and that could be used to undermine claims of self-defence. Always worth remembering that the criminal is going to say that they are innocent and you were the aggressor; and if you can be shown to have been carrying a “weapon” with you then that could help their case.

An elderly or disabled person learning to use a cane for self-defence strikes me as very sensible; as well as being easy to legally justify. For those with no need to carry a cane, then learning it for fun, interest, or potential use when older are all fine. Not wise to carry it though.

Iain knows my situation but I fear that this makes me look like I'm deliberately breaking the law so I feel the need to clarify.

My wife has multiple sclerosis. This can mean different things and there are vast differences in severity, For my wife for the most part it would be considered that she has an "invisible disability." Except for on the worst days, to meet her you wouldn't know that she has a health issue. However there is a disease process going on and she can be quite unsteady at times. Her worst symptom is fatigue. When we're in crowds I have her use a stick. She doesn't usually need it although on a bad day she may do. However it tends to change the disease from being invisible to being visible and she's far less likely to be knocked into and generally gets given more space. Consider that 25% of people with hip fractures die within six months (the reaons why are for another day) and that a side effect of steroid use is (eventually) brittle bones. My wife does need courses of steroids occassionally. If using a stick means she's less likely to be knocked into and she's already more likely than most of us to fall and more likely to experience severe injury then frankly I call it good self protection. That it can be used as a weapon is purely a bonus. Given her vulnerability I'm sure that her use of the stick as a weapon would generally be seen as well justified.

Will she need the stick on any given day? We just don't know. She could be fine at the start of an event but highly fatigued by the end. Her medical notes would make all of this clear.

Marc
Marc's picture

If would like to construct your own cane kata, maybe you could meet up with these guys. They're really fun to watch. Also have a look at their "unarmed" videos.
 

Iain Abernethy
Iain Abernethy's picture

In yesterday’s news, a 78-year-old former England rugby player saw off three men invading his home (one who was believed to be armed with a gun) with a cup of tea: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-37196961

Now there is a quintessentially British kata waiting to be made :-)

All the best,

Iain