The lowest ranking police officers were the jomawari-doshin and rinjimawari-doshin who patrolled the streets of Edo with several non-samurai officers. Full-time assistants (komono) and part-time assistants (goyoukiki) patrolled the various precincts, often with local volunteers (otokodate). In addition, doshin also often employed former criminals (okappiki) as informants and low-level assistants. The low-ranking samurai officers and their non-samurai assistants often borrowed martial arts techniques from many different armed and unarmed military fighting styles, including Takenouchi-ryu, Kito-ryu, Shibukawa-ryu, Yoshin-ryu, Kushin-ryu, Tenjin-shinyo-ryu, Shinto Muso-ryu, and Jittetohri-ryu (the latter founded by Miyamoto Munisai, father of Miyamoto Musashi, the famous swordsman.)
This course will cover basic tessen and jutte techniques. The tessen, literally "iron fan," was either an actual folding fan with metal ribs or a non-folding solid bar made of either iron or wood and shaped like a folded fan. The tessen was considered a symbol of authority as well as a common self-defense weapon for extraordinary situations. The jutte was an iron truncheon carried by feudal era police officers and their assistants. Essentially a defensive or restraining weapon, the jutte was popular because it could parry the slash of a razor-sharp sword and disarm an assailant without serious injury.
Participants in this course should be familiar with the basic uses of the Japanese sword. The course will focus on disarming techniques against an opponent armed with a sword as well as unarmed defensive and restraining techniques. Emphasis will be on the basics and underlying concepts of using short arms such as the tessen and jutte.
Requirements: Participants will require loose clothing and wooden practice swords or shinai (bamboo swords). A short staff, approximately one foot long, is also required. (Wooden tanto or or 1-inch thick wood dowel rods are sufficient for practice. Metal jutte generally available from commercial supply houses may also be used.)
About the Instructor
Don Cunningham
Don Cunningham first began judo practice as a teenager and continued as an adult when his career required frequent and lengthy visits to Japan. He has since practiced and competed in the United States, Canada, Japan, Singapore, Scotland, and Germany. His judo competition highlights include: Bronze medalist, 1996 AAU Judo National Tournament; Gold medalist, 1995 Chicago Open Judo Tournament; Two-time Gold medalist, North Carolina State Games Judo Tournament; and numerous regional and local judo tournament titles. He also practiced kendo for a short time with the Fujitsu company kendo team.
He currently holds a 2nd dan license from the Kodokan Judo Institute in Tokyo. Other martial arts ranks include: Sandan, Shudokan Martial Arts Association; Sandan, National Sport Judo; Nidan, United States Judo Association; Shodan, Nihon-ryu Jujutsu, Jujutsu America; and Sankyu, Kendo, Southeast United States Kendo Federation. He also received instruction in Taiho Jutsu as a special guest of the Kanagawa Prefecture Police Department in Yokohama.
Don Cunningham became interested in jutte during the mid-'80s in Japan
and has been researching feudal police history and techniques for more
than 15 years. He recently wrote and published Secret Weapons of Jujutsu,
the first book to appear in English offering a detailed introduction to
exotic defensive weapons like the tessen and jutte as well as other hibuki,
or “concealed weapons.” Topics include the history and development of such
weapons, as well as the philosophical and practical reasons for employing
non-lethal alternatives.
Last modified June 6, 2002 by Kim
Taylor
| Sei Do Kai Iaido Homepage | Kim's Big Page of Stuff | Canadian Kendo Federation | EJMAS |