For Bushi No Te Isshinryu I wish to express these thoughts.
In Conditions Extremis,
when your life is on the line,
your first thought must be on striking anyplace that
can preserve your life.
That said recognize that the opponents neck is
itself a likely target of opportunity.
It controls what the opponent sees, is filled with
mechanisms that control their life, and is readily a target. It is a target from all directions, from the
front, from the side and from the rear.
Years ago the US Marines found out the hard way when
fighting in the Philippians Islands that their necks were on the line
literally, and as a result began wearing leather collars to stop slicing
attacks with knives and swords to that area. Hence they earned the nickname
“Leather Necks”.
So looking at the tools available to us, might be a
good idea.
Available weapons:
1. the Vertical fist striking with the first 2
knuckles
2. the Vertical fist canted to 11 or 1 o’clock for a
better fit.
3. the vertical fist as a vertical ridge of
knuckles.
4. the vertical fist as a canted ridge of knuckles.
5. Striking with the little knuckle of the vertical
fist.
6. Grabbing the throat
7. Striking into the throat with the web of the hand
a
nd then grabbing the sides of the neck on the
retraction of the hand.
8. Striking with the sword hand fingertips straight
on
9. Striking with the side of the knife hand into the
side of the neck,
10. Striking with the thumb of the Isshinryu
vertical fist
11. Striking with the index knuckle and the thumb
of the
Isshinryu vertical fist.
12. Striking with the index knuckle of the Isshinryu
vertical fist.
13. Striking with the inside of the ridge hand into
the neck.
14. Striking with the thumb underneath the
ridge hand into the neck.
15. Striking with a ridge hand
where the
thumb is touching the index finger forming an “O”
16. Striking with a ridge hand
where the thumb is touching the middle finger
forming an “O”
17. Striking into the side of the neck with the two lead
fingers extended.
18. Striking into the side of the neck with the bent
thumb knuckle whe the two lead fingers are extended.
19. Striking into the side of the neck,
with the last two knuckles of the hand in the two
extended finger formation. This is tai chi’s ‘secret sword hand’.
20. Striking into the side of the neck with the back
of the hand done in a descending slapping motion, into the formation of the
neck
where that hand naturally fits.
21. Striking into the side of the neck with the back
of the back fist
done in a
descending slapping motion
22. Striking into the back of the neck with a sword
hand
(actualy any
hand formation works to the back of the neck)
23. Striking into the side of the neck with a
descending forearm.
24. Supported Single finger strikes
(such as done with the Eagle Claw Snake Strike.
25. Two finger strikes to the Adams Apple
24. Supported Single finger strikes
(such as done with the Eagle Claw Snake Strike.
25. Two finger strikes to the Adams Apple
Of course there are quite a few other options,
But those discussions are for another day.
It is worth investigating the neck mechanism that
are struck.
From the Hidden Root of Aikido by Shiro Omiya
This is a companion piece to what I wrote concerning
Controlling the Neck.
This is a older analysis of neck control issues and
knowledge,
But it still is appropriate.
Jeffrey Bell
ReplyDeleteGreat article. I would like to clarify one thing: we (Marines) wore the leather collars since the Revolutionary War. Much earlier than our involvement in the Philippines. It was to protect against sword slashes in ship to ship fighting. Again, great article, just wanted the Marine Corps history to be accurate