What the heck is this??

[Ken-Hawaii]

I know this is a Nihonto discussion board, but I this afternoon received the following object from the estate of a former Japanese Sensei, & I'm at a loss as to what it is:

 

http://s1146.photobucket.com/albums/o52 ... sebola.jpg

 

Did the Japanese use bola or something similar? The length is 32 inches, & each weight is about 1.5", & total weight is around a pound. I doubt he would have willed anything to me that wasn't a weapon....

 

Any ideas?

 

Ken

[John A Stuart]

Manrikigusari. A weapon that is illegal in Canada. John

[Curran]

Oh, awesome.

Haven't seen those in a while.

 

Used by sentry to subdue and disarm samurai in non deadly fashion.

I had an excellent book on the history and use of these, including the head (Tokugawa ?) guardsman that developed many of the techniques.

Usually the weights are a little smaller and able to be used sort of as brass knuckles or in a fashion where you can poke, pop, or coerce a drunk samurai that he doesn't want to fight anymore and doesn't need to go through that gate at that time of night...

[Ken-Hawaii]

{Brian, thanks for moving this to the right spot!}

 

John & Curran, thanks for the identification! I tried to search for Japanese bola, & of course nothing came up except bolo ties.... There was nothing in the package except a note than said "Ken-san, fore yu" & I recognized the address. Why are they illegal in Canada? Looks like you could do the same thing with a couple of lug nuts & a rope of light chain?

 

Ken

[John A Stuart]

Or a rock in a sock. Bureaucrats are illogical. Even the kusarigama are illegal while kama are not. John

[Ken-Hawaii]

Yeah, that's pretty darn illogical.... You can probably carry your .45 pistol down the street, eh?

 

Ken

[Curran]

Here is the little book someone gave me long ago:

http://www.amazon.com/Spike-Chain-Japan ... 0804805407

 

Actually an excellent read. Small but informative.

Some very good photo illustrations. I probably sold or gave away my copy since it was almost purely martial, but I can highly recommend this little bugger.

[Ken-Hawaii]

Thanks, Curran - I just got my copy on order.

 

I'm bringing the weapon to jodo training on Sunday. I've brought about 6 different weapons so far to see if I could stump Sensei, but each time he's been able to not only identify it, but also to demonstrate how to use it. I have the pleasure of training under Quintin Chambers, Menkyo Kaiden, who wrote quite a number of books, including http://www.amazon.com/Stick-Fighting-Te ... -1-catcorr.

 

I'll let you know if the manrikigusari stumps him.

 

Ken

[Curran]

Oh, you probably won't stump him with this- but it will be interesting if he can use it well.

The book did visually convey some very effective fluid uses of the weapon that I think would certainly take a fair bit of practice.

 

 

Stick training: highly respected thanks to one teacher, but I never progressed very far.

Some training resonates, and some doesn't.

[CurtisR]

Trough the 'ages' (lord help me yes, ages) I've been told it was a form of "Kusarigami" (love the 'rock in a sock analogy!!) used to 1) ensnare a swordsman's wrist at close quarters OR to use as a weapon concealed in the hands/palms and then the heavy ends are "shot out" to hthe opponent in the forehead, throat, or solar-pleaxis.

 

I could be wrong, but was always told it is was a 'sneaky' weapon designed to be concealed in the palms. The chinese have a 4, 6, 8 or (amazing to see ) 10-sectional "whip-chain" made of connected rods that is of similar principal but for further distance. OH, and the heavy steel pieces on each end do make excellent Garrotte grips.

 

Legal here in the stated unless it's in your pocket downtown :D

 

Hope this may be of some help.

 

Curtis

[Ken-Hawaii]

The chain is too large to make an effective garrote, Curtis; piano wire works much better. Slices & dices as well as strangles.

 

I've been playing with the manrikigusari today & have found a couple of interesting ways to use it. It makes a fairly good bola, & I was able to hit a 2x4 at 10 feet 8 times out of 10, with the chain wrapping around it every time but one. I've had some practice throwing a 3-ball bola to catch emu, & this wasn't much different.

 

The fundo are pretty good size on mine, & my hand isn't quite big enough to completely hide it. Snapping it out sidearm (the way I throw a baseball), I wasn't always able to hold onto one of the fundo, & I think that losing the weapon doesn't make for a good tactic.

 

I'm looking forward to receiving the book that Curran recommended, but rather expect that Sensei will be able to show me a few practical ways to use it.

 

Ken

[Baka Gaijin]

Morning Ken

 

http://www.robertg.com/masakiryu.htm

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q4cNpB_LUkM

 

Cheers

[estcrh]

If you have not seen it already here is good an article on the kusari-fundo/manriki on Wikipedia.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kusari-fundo

[CurtisR]

:D Agreed on the wire, Ken....in RECONDO school (LRRP) long ago, we even used belts in training, but it sure does make it more difficult. Pretty interesting about usig is as a bola, also!! Hmmm....I see a new toy in my future!

 

Curtis

[Ronin Akuma]

Nice little weapon!

 

How about the Kusarigama (chain-sickle)? Anyone have one of those?

http://www.e-budokai.com/weapons/kusarigama.htm

[Ken-Hawaii]

Malcolm, thanks for those two links - very interesting! Is the Masakiryu link related to you in any way? I also trained at the Kodokan in the 60s, but had no idea they were training in so many esoteric weapons.

 

The bola is an amazingly effective weapon, Curtis. I have a friend who raises emu & llamas over in upcountry Maui, & I was wondering how in the heck he could catch a bird that can run 40 mph. He pulled out a 3-ball bola & showed me how quickly it can bring a bird - or person - down. Each cord is about 2 feet long, so as it goes whirling, it covers a wide area. The trick is to not use your wrist to twirl the bola, but rather use your whole arm to keep the cords from tangling. Fairly easy once you've seen it done, & it worked well on my manrikigusari, too.

 

Our jodo Sensei trains our Senior Student in kusarigama & jutte, but my wife & I have a long road ahead of us before we'll be that experienced!

 

Ken

[Baka Gaijin]

Hi Ken

 

Is the Masakiryu link related to you in any way?

 

No link, just a bit of lateral Googling done by entering the words Manrikikusari or Kusari Fundo etc and opting for images instead of web search.

 

Cheers

[Ken-Hawaii]

Well, I brought my newly-found manrikigusari to jodo training this weekend &, not surprisingly, Sensei knew exactly how to use it. He demonstrated by capturing my bokken, & followed that motion by capturing my wrist & throwing me to the ground - didn't take more than 5 seconds. I have a whole new respect now for a weapon that looks so simple!

 

Even better news is that he will consider adding the manrikigusari to our training schedule, although probably not immediately.

 

Ken