Martial arts weapon techniques refer to nonballistic weapons. Historically, the earliest known weapons were simple clubs (wood, bone, stone); the individuals with clubs discovered they had an advantage over their unarmed adversaries. This led to armed conflicts in which both parties carried weapons. With both opponents armed, it became necessary to develop weapon techniques to defeat the opponent—small differences in technique and timing could spell the difference between life and death. The various archaeological ages (Stone, Bronze and Iron) ushered in weapons that were increasingly intricate, efficient, sharp and deadly. More complex weapons often required more advanced training methods: thus the arms race was on.
As martial arts weapons evolved, so did defensive tactics. Specific defensive weapon techniques included blocks, parries, using an object (i.e., shields) and, of course, running.
Offensive tactics were devised based on whether a weapon was bladed/pointy (swords, knives, daggers, axes, pole arms and maces), nonbladed (simple clubs, hammers, pole arms) or projectile (hand-thrown and device-assisted missile weapons). Offensive maneuvers mostly centered on out-swinging, -thrusting, -slicing, -poking, -clubbing, -bludgeoning, -slashing, -twirling and -shooting your opponent. Many of these striking techniques resembled empty-hand movements, thus inspiring the philosophy that weapons are an extension of the hand.
– October 26, 2011
Eyal Yanilov and his krav maga defenses against variations of the front kick were featured as the cover story for the March 2011 issue of Black Belt (which happened to be the third of five special 50th Anniversary issues leading up to the June 2011 50th Anniversary Collector’s Issue, all
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– October 24, 2011
Consider these two scenarios:
Scenario No. 1
It’s late at night. You’re walking to your car in a parking structure. Your mind is occupied, and you’re obviously not as aware of your surroundings. Without warning, a man steps out of the shadows. You can’t see his face, but you can see the
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– October 19, 2011
You’re out for a walk in the city at night and a man approaches you. Before you know it, he comes at you for a knife attack. What do you do? In a martial arts magazine, self-defense experts could suggest a variety of counterattacks — some from the traditional martial
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– August 18, 2011
For the last move in our jujitsu techniques series, check out the very first jujitsu weapons technique George Kirby learned.
Here is what the jujitsu master had to say about it:
“Believe it or not, this was one of the first techniques I learned under Seki and it was for a knife
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– July 26, 2011
Rob Pincus is an internationally known firearms trainer who teaches both end-user and instructor-development self-defense courses. In this exclusive self-defense video, this close-quarters-combat expert shows you how to use a technique called “duck under to side control” in a situation when you have a handgun and an attacker with a
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– July 22, 2011
If you’re a student of self-defense, learning how to wield ancient weapons and defend against them is impractical. Why? Because it’s unlikely you’ll face a Greek spear or a Japanese katana outside the dojo. It’s much more practical to acquire a working knowledge of edged weapons and firearms and concentrate
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– July 14, 2011
With the release of George Kirby’s Jujitsu: Basic Techniques of the Gentle Art Expanded Edition, we asked the jujitsu master to show us a few of his favorite techniques that can be found in his book.
George Kirby is a 10th-degree black belt in jujitsu as well as an internationally
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– July 5, 2011
In this exclusive video, Julius Melegrito takes you through 10 basic knife strikes from the Philippine martial arts. This kata-like sequence of knife techniques starts slow and builds momentum, culminating in Julius Melegrito executing all 10 moves with lightning-fast speed and catlike precision.
The knife strikes are based partially on the
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– July 5, 2011
Japanese weapons master Masayuki Shimabukuro takes you to the next level of samurai sword mastery in this three-disc samurai DVD set! In Advanced Samurai Swordsmanship, Japanese sword master Masayuki Shimabukuro and his senior student, Carl E. Long, delve deeper into the elegance of body-and-weapon movement that defines personal mastery of
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– May 10, 2011
In addition to being a self-defense expert, James Williams is the founder of Bugei Trading Company, a renowned source for quality swords and armor. Williams runs his own school in Encinitas, California, and oversees a network of instructors and students who carry on his nami ryu system around the United
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