Weapons and Usage Styles

Logan: Alright, thanks, Kitty. Now let's take a look at some weapon styles. Many of the styles we have already spoken about have weapons training as part of their curriculum. But there are also styles that deal ONLY with weapons. We'll talk about a coupla those now.

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Kenjutsu/Kendo: The famous Japanese sword style. Kenjutsu is the killing art which was part of Bujutsu, the art practiced by the Samurai. Kendo is the watered down “sport” version, more commonly practiced today.

Strengths: One of the most powerful and complete forms for sword-work, it can also be easily adapted for use of sticks, bats, pool cues, chair legs or any other long, straight implement.

Weaknesses: Without his weapon, a Kendo/Kenjutsu practitioner is defenseless.

Zen Archery: Similar in origin to Kenjutsu, Zen Archery is seen more as an art form today, rather than a fighting style. Nevertheless, A Zen Archer is extremely accurate and quick to fire his weapon. He can also adapt his skills to many other projectile weapons.

Strengths: Deadly accuracy with many projectile weapons.

Weaknesses: Unarmed, the Zen Archer is defenseless.

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Arnis/Escrima: These Filipino fighting styles use short rattan sticks to attack joints, pressure points and soft tissue groups of their opponents. The style uses short, quick, snapping combination attacks to disable opponents. Unlike some other weapon styles, Arnis/Escrima adapts its techniques for use in unarmed combat.

Escrima weapons

Strengths: This style teaches both armed and unarmed combat. Practitioners are quick and deadly accurate with their weapons.

Weaknesses: Few, if any grappling techniques. Arnis/Escrima relies on fast footwork. If the practitioner is unable to move (as in a grappling or ground-fighting situation) Arnis/Escrima techniques become much less effective.

As we mentioned above, many styles of Kung Fu offer weapons training as well. Chinese weapons include

Chinese spear

nunchaku

butterfly sword

broadsword

half-moon (and double half-moon) swords

steel whip

throwing stars (Shuriken)

Katana (long-sword used in Kenjutsu)

Wakizashi (short-sword), shown with katana for comparison

Ninjato (straight long-sword)

Sai (three pronged weapon)

Bokken (wood sword)

Bo (long staff) and Jo (short staff)

Tonfa (police-style, L-shaped baton)

Kama (scythe) and many others.

The type of weapon to choose is often determined by the unarmed fighting style that the practitioner uses. For instance a Kung Fu stylist will naturally gravitate towards Chinese weapons.

Rigid weapons like swords, sticks, staffs or spears have the advantage of being quick to learn how to use. They are also powerful weapons in the hands of a practiced fighter. The disadvantage of such weapons is in their rigidity… the available techniques and directions of attack are limited by the rigidity of the weapon itself. Flexible weapons, like nunchaku, 3 part staves, steel whips…

Jubilee: Wet towels. (class giggles)

Logan: (with glare) …tend to be tougher to learn to control, but offer a much broader range of techniques. A fighter with a flexible weapon is much tougher to predict than one with a rigid weapon.

That pretty much covers the different types of fighting styles ya might find out there.

Kitty and I have put together a collection of “classic” fight scenes that X-Men been involved in from Professor X's archives. By analyzin' 'em, you'll get a good idea of what to expect out there in a real fight.

Next: Fight Analysis