Regular readers will know that I am fond
of the occasional silly action movie. Pure escapism and sometimes that is not a
bad thing. Some of these movies have a plot where someone (usually with a
history of special forces service!) drops through a dimensional
gate/wormhole/timewarp/magic portal and finds themselves in a medieval/magical/fantasy realm. Now, if I found myself in such a scenario what
weapons might I request from the local armourer or blacksmith?
I would hope there was some local
equivalent comparable to my kukri, of course. A machete or similar short sword
such as a hanger would be welcome too. Many of you will have said a bow, but if
I am honest my skill with one is unlikely to be sufficient. Even if it is, one
is going to need close combat weapons too.
In other posts I have discussed the
merits of a staff weapon of less than my height. Something of about five foot
long, or between armpit and brow height. I have a fighting staff of these
dimensions at home and this would be one of the first weapons I grab should I
need one.
A good solid five foot wooden pole is
quite a formidable weapon in itself if you know what you are doing and have
studied the techniques in my book. It is possible, however, that we can make
the weapon harder hitting.
A number of options suggest
themselves here. One is for a short variety of naginata. Effectively a sword
blade with a pole handle. It is tempting to add a hook or two to the blade to
let us pull an enemy’s shield aside. The blade begins to evolve into something
like a welsh hook or English bill (above). A drawback of cutting weapons, of course, is
that they have to hit a target edge on. Weapons like the naginata have an oval
section haft to orientate the blade correctly. Similar weapons have a groove
cut down the back of the haft to allow the user to determine the correct grip
by touch. My favourite ready position with a staff is a hanging guard, which
means that any blows made start from low down. Making a cutting edge arrive
correctly for me would require some extra movement of the wrists for some
angles of attack, which goes against my usual KISS approach to most things.
Also, if I have to grab the weapon in haste do I want to worry about hitting
the foe with the back or flat of the blade?
Today I am going to explore another
option of “pimp my fighting staff”. Some of you will have encountered the
Japanese weapon known as a kanabo. Kanabo come in many shapes and sizes, the
most familiar resembling studded baseball bats. A while back I came across this
charming image of a samurai.
Wikipedia
describes his weapon as a kanabo. This particular version of a kanabo looks
like a studded fighting staff. It is higher than his armpit but shorter than his
brow. Some sources claim his weapon is all metal but some ambiguity in
translation might exist here since kanabo means “metal stick”. Some kanabo were
all metal, while in some cases the word metal might just allude to the strength
of the weapon, much as we say someone had “iron will” or a “fist of steel”.
A studded fighting staff sounds good
to me. Note that the butt of the samurai’s weapon has a useful short spike. The
shaft also broadens at the butt to so the hand is less likely to slip off. This
allows a weapon to the “darted” through a hand to increase reach quickly. This
part may need to be made of metal to counterbalance the head end of the staff.
The
studded section could probably use some langets to resist sword blades. The
main addition I would like is something like a spearhead or stabling spike at
the top end. This picture of a medieval weapon gives an idea of what is
practical. Perhaps something simple and functional resembling a boarding pikehead with langets and a triangular section blade?
A
crossguard or “arrest” like a boarspear would be prudent, and if one tine is
turned up and the other down like a manji sai /nuntebo I am sure that such a
feature will serve numerous uses, both martial and mundane. Such a hook can be
used like an ice axe to slow a slide down a snowy or muddy slope. We might as
well add a tassel just below the crossguard. A tassel helps divert rain from
running down the shaft and can be used to distract an enemy or aggressive
animal. A small guard or vamplate between the studded and grip section would be
a nice feature too. Among other functions this would help divert rain or blood
from making the handle slippery.
