Martial Hero

[GhostDancer]

Several Medieval Japanese Weapon Notes

During the war of the Heike (the middle ages) one master archer sunk two boats with one shot of his massive bow. 

In those days bows were measured by how many men were required to string it, the average being a three man bow, this monster that sunk two boats being a seven man bow! 

 

A kodachi (小太刀 or こだち, shield-sword, pictured above), literally translating into "small or short tachi (sword)", is a Japanese sword that is too short to be considered a long sword but too long to be a dagger.

Category:

weapon (melee)

 

Since this sword was only about 70 cm (28 inches) in length, it did not exceed the blade length limits of non-samurai during the Edo period and could be worn by merchants.
A kodachi’s length is similar to that of the wakizashi, and though the blades differ greatly in construction, the kodachi and the wakizashi are similar enough in size and technique that the terms are sometimes (mis)used interchangeably. While the kodachi was a set length, the wakizashi was forged to complement the height of its wielder or the length of the katana it was paired with, and thus varied. The kodachi also features greater curvature than a wakizashi, and typically has a longer handle.
The kodachi has also been said (Rurouni Kenshin vol. 4, by Nobuhiro Watsuki) to be a medium length sword, shorter than a katana but longer than a wakazashi, with easy manueverability making for higher defensive capacity. It is known as the ‘shield-sword’, the o- (long) wakazashi, or naga- (long) wakazashi.

The prefix “ko-” means “short,” and can be attached to any of the names of specific types of swords to indicate something shorter than “normal.” As the prefix “ō-” can mean “great” or “long,” it follows that the opposite end of this length spectrum of the tachi is the ōdachi.  Here is a link beautifully describing the master craft kodachi pictured above - http://new.uniquejapan.com/a-moriie-kodachi/

 

The yoroidōshi (鎧通し "armor piercer" or "mail piercer" were one of the traditionally made Japanese swords (nihontō) that were worn by the samurai class as a weapon in feudal Japan.

 

Description

The yoroidōshi is an extra thick tantō (Japanese dagger-like sword) which appeared in the Sengoku period (late Muromachi). The yoroidōshi was made for piercing armour and for stabbing while grappling in close quarters. The weapon ranged in size from 20 cm to 22 cm, but some examples could be under 15 cm, with a "tapering mihaba, iori-mune, thick kasane at the bottom, and thin kasane at the top and occasionally moroha-zukuriconstruction". The motogasane (blade thickness) at the hamachi (the notch at the beginning of the cutting edge) can be up to a half-inch thick, which is characteristic of the yoroidōshi style of tantō. The extra thickness at the spine of the blade distinguishes the yoroidōshi from a standard tantō blade.

Yoroidōshi were worn inside the belt on the back or on the right side with the hilt toward the front and the edge upward. Due to being worn on the right, the blade would have been drawn using the left hand, giving rise to the alternate name of metezashi (馬手差), or "horse-hand (i.e. rein-hand, i.e. left-hand) blade".

 

Manrikigusari (萬力鏈) meaning ten thousand power  (weighted on each end) chain, useful when carrying a sword was not allowed or impractical, and samurai police of the Edo period would often use it as one of their non lethal arresting weapons.

 

Kaginawa (鈎縄) is the combination of the words kagi meaning hook and nawa meaning rope.  The kaginawa is a type of grappling hook used as tool in feudal Japan by the samurai class, their retainers, foot soldiers and reportedly by ninja. Kaginawa have several configurations, from one to four hooks. The kagi would be attached to a nawa of various lengths, this was then used to scale a rather large wall, to secure a boat, or for hanging up armor and other equipment during the night. Kaginawa were regularly used during various sieges of miscellaneous castles. The nawawas attached to a ring on one end which could be used to hang it from a saddle.

 

 

[GhostDancer]

Kung Fu Hustle

In the film, during the last fight with Beast, Sing uses the Buddhist Palm leaving a massive palm-shaped hole in the building. In the real Buddhist Palm fighting style, however, the fighter delivers powerful punches using his palms. A relatively modern Southern Shaolin style of Kung Fu, Fut Gar Kuen, or the “Buddhist Family Fist,” utilizes mostly punches, palm strikes, low kicks, and evasive footwork to beat the opponent.

 

[megaplayboy]

Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines, Korea, Burma/Myanmar and India also have their own martial traditions and legends.  

[Lawnmower Boy]

On 11/17/2017 at 10:09 PM, megaplayboy said:

Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines, Korea, Burma/Myanmar and India also have their own martial traditions and legends.  

Pfft. My hometown has a martial tradition. It involves getting really drunk, and then taking wild swings until you collapse on each other, at which point the guy with the most in his stomach wins in ways that I don't want to explain here. 

Beat that, wuxia guys!

[megaplayboy]

 

[GhostDancer]

10 minutes ago, megaplayboy said:

 

Very nice!  My Dark Champions character, The Kraken, is ethnically Vietnamese, and impressed with his scissors kick.

[GhostDancer]

Thanks again, megaplayboy.  Your post prompted a free library loan of the The Rebel dvd!

[megaplayboy]

Watching The Villainess.  It's like a "What if John Wick was a pissed off Korean woman?" film.

[AlHazred]

To contribute, I worked up the maneuvers of the card game Lunch Money as if it was a martial art. A prefab can be found here, and it's also on the Surbrook's Stuff page here. There was a thread here that I started about it, but it's gone into the ether...

 

In the brawls that spring up in the yard over the lunch money each kid brings to school, it is the girl who fights with the most savagery, the most viciousness, who wins. The little girls, who have practiced their craft, develop the maneuvers and techniques that make up the essence of this art. They tend to be the ones walking away with a jingling purse while their opponents lie bleeding and unconscious on the asphalt behind them.

[GhostDancer]

Yay!  I remember this!

[GhostDancer]

I seem to recall a note somewhere about how Flying Dodge was designed for Speedsters.  Can anyone point me to that reference?  After watching another martial arts movie yesterday, where some of the characters would back-flip away from an attack, it seems that could be a Flying Dodge too.  As our local George King says, "I bust a flip!"

[steriaca]

1 minute ago, GhostDancer said:

I seem to recall a note somewhere about how Flying Dodge was designed for Speedsters.  Can anyone point me to that reference?  After watching another martial arts movie yesterday, where some of the characters would back-flip away from an attack, it seems that could be a Flying Dodge too.  As our local George King says, "I bust a flip!"

It is. Don't forget the Saotome Secret Technique.

[GhostDancer]

The same martial arts movie made me think of something weird, a Presence Damage Shield, Fascinating Injury, whereby your attacker is so interested in the blood spray from your mouth or the crunch of your rib or such that s/he may miss a beat.  Ha!  Perhaps your foe turns their back to you, and shakes their fists in the air to an audience.  You're kinda like Moon Knight, wearing opponents down by being their punching bag.

[Ninja-Bear]

1 hour ago, GhostDancer said:

I seem to recall a note somewhere about how Flying Dodge was designed for Speedsters.  Can anyone point me to that reference?  After watching another martial arts movie yesterday, where some of the characters would back-flip away from an attack, it seems that could be a Flying Dodge too.  As our local George King says, "I bust a flip!"

I don’t think that Flying Dodge only for Speedsters was an official rule. When Flying Dodge has come up, I remeber people staring that they would only let speedsters take it.

[Lucius]

Custom Perk: Speedster 1 pt.

 

Lucius Alexander

 

The palindromedary asks how one defines "Speedster?"

[Hyper-Man]

Re: Flying Dodge

 

The only examples of it in any of the various books and editions is in speedster martial arts writeups and other supers stuff. It doesn't show up in any real world examples.

 

HM

[dmjalund]

45 minutes ago, Hyper-Man said:

Re: Flying Dodge

 

The only examples of it in any of the various books and editions is in speedster martial arts writeups and other supers stuff. It doesn't show up in any real world examples.

 

HM

i thought footballer had it

[Hyper-Man]

44 minutes ago, dmjalund said:

i thought footballer had it

 

I don't know the character but the easiest question is what MA does he have? That is, is it a real world art or a super one?

[dmjalund]

i thought there was a 'football' martial art with the flying dodge (I know it had a flying tackle)

[Ninja-Bear]

7 hours ago, Hyper-Man said:

Re: Flying Dodge

 

The only examples of it in any of the various books and editions is in speedster martial arts writeups and other supers stuff. It doesn't show up in any real world examples.

 

HM

I see what you’re saying but that still doesn’t preclude any other art from taking any other maneuver in a list. The list are guidelines and a GM can approve or not a maneuver. I’ve allowed Shotokan Karate, which doesn’t have a true maneuver, to take legsweep defines as a strong front push kick for knocking down opponents.

 

Btw, using the custom martial maneuver rules, I think flying Dodge is really the only variation of Dodge you can really build that is worth the time to buy.

[Hyper-Man]

Oh it's one of the best buys in the game as not only is it better than the free Dodge but it also gives all the benefits of a DFC with no roll or being prone afterwards.

[pinecone]

I know I got some static when I tried to build "Defensive Dodge" :))

[Ninja-Bear]

I noticed but haven’t built it yet, but you can put abort on Escapes.

[IndianaJoe3]

On 4/6/2018 at 12:04 PM, Hyper-Man said:

Oh it's one of the best buys in the game as not only is it better than the free Dodge but it also gives all the benefits of a DFC with no roll or being prone afterwards.

 

Yeah, it's the classic, "too good" maneuver. I've fiddled with ways to tone it down, but they either make it useless (removing the FMove element), or only make it slightly less effective (+3 DCV instead of +4) and cheaper too. Removing the maneuver's ability to abort to movement makes sense from a balance standpoint (and has some precedent in the rules), but feels wrong.

[Ninja-Bear]

Btw I’m not arguing that everyone should have access to Flying Dodge. However the basis the Hyperman asserts its limitation, is fine for an GM to choose but not as a RAW interpretation.