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Advanced Training with the Hanbo: Grappling with the Weapon
Dr. William Durbin
When it comes to bludgeon type weapons that are actually handy for self defense,
there is none better than the Hanbo, or half stick. Known actually by many different
names, this weapon is one of the best all around, practical items of self defense.
Some styles refer to it as the Tanbo, short stick, and among police officers
who train in Japanese law enforcement tactics it is known as the Keibo, simply,
police stick.
Primarily, weapons such as this have one main emphasis, the striking of an opponent.
In too many situations people try to go into advanced grappling skills without
realizing that if a person is not stunned or disabled before hand, they will
be able to fight a grappling attempt off fairly easily. It takes a lot of precision
to enter into a grappling technique, without having first loosened up the opponent
with some type of strike.
Even when one has mastered such grappling skills, it is still best to weaken
an opponent first with strikes, but they can be directed at the limbs, rather
than the body. However, if there is any question as to whether or not a person
can be handled, then strikes to actual vital points should precede any grappling
attempt.
One other point that needs to be definitely emphasized is that grappling techniques
with the Hanbo should not even be attempted in a multiple attack situation.
Rather the person should practice avoidance techniques and seek to deliver strikes
to vital points on each person that comes in range. To attempt a grappling technique,
when another person could move in on you while you are engaged with another,
is suicide.
Grappling techniques where designed more with the police officers in mind, or
in ancient times, when it was necessary for a Samurai to make a prisoner of
a spy or criminal. Thus they were designed for a one on one situation, or when
your partner could watch your back while you put all your effort into bringing
an assailant into an immobilized position, either to be handcuffed, or in ancient
times tied up with Hojojutsu techniques. Hojojutsu being the special rope tying
techniques which put a person in a completely helpless position by tying together
the hands, arms, and possibly, feet.
Since some of the skills practiced with the Hanbo are designed specifically
with the police officer in mind, thus making them very much Keibo techniques,
many of the skills start with the weapon on the left hand side of the body,
since most people are right handed and would thus have their gun hung on their
right side and their baton in a ring on the left. Obviously, readers who are
left handed just need to reverse the instructions in the article in order to
be able to use the techniques. In all honesty, it would be best for both right
handed and left handed people to seek to be ambidextrous when it comes to dealing
with weapons, because in combat you never know what is going to happen, and
if one hand is injured, you want to be able to still respond in a defensive
manner.
One of the absolute best moves to use when holding a baton in a ring at your
side, is to dodge out of the way of an attack, while sliding the weapon out
of the ring in the Gyakute Mochi, reverse hand grip, slamming the butt end into
the solar plexus of the attacker. This can be used to precede many different
strategies, but it can in and of itself be a finishing technique, in that a
light blow can drop a big person when it lands directly on the solar plexus.
However, keep in mind the serious damage that can be done by such a blow, and
if the person looses consciousness or begin to bleed from the mouth, then you
know internal damage has been done and they will need immediate medical care.
In the case of a police officer, it would be best to take the person to the
hospital before delivery to jail. The average citizen being mugged will want
to vacate the area and call the police giving the location of the suspect, so
that the police can take care of the situation.
When the strike is light, it will still weaken the person making it easier for
the defender to apply a jointlock of some sort so that the person can be taken
to the ground and put into a control situation. Another very important point
to keep in mind, is that if you are in a situation where you are attempting
a jointlock and suddenly there are other people joining the first in attacking
you, the move can go from being gently applied for control, to being executed
explosively, breaking whatever joint you are locking. Thus if you have locked
the elbow and are using pressure to bring the person down, if you suddenly move
explosively, so that the person's body mass keeps them from keeping up with
your motion, their elbow will snap easily. Then it is possible to move on into
a defense against the other assailants. Always be prepared for that eventuality,
thugs travel in groups, generally speaking.
The value of the Hanbo, in basic self defense, is in it's length. Therefore
it is important that at the first opportunity, or in the eventuality you have
the option, to hold the weapon in the Honte Mochi, regular hand grip, which
means to have the long end out. This is especially important when dealing with
bladed weapons or a much larger person, so that you have the length, hence distance,
of safety.
One of the best strategies to use when engaged in a combat situation, especially
when you are trying not to severely injure the attacker, is to strike the attacking
limb. When an assailant throws a kick, slamming the weapon against the kicking
leg will work wonders for dropping a person to the ground. There is the story
of a New York police officer who while on duty one day ran up against a local
tough, who as the officer declared your under arrest was told by the young man,
watch out man, I'm a black belt. The young hoodlum then threw a kick at the
officer, who slammed his baton into the shin of the man dropping him to the
ground, where the officer handcuffed him. It turned out that the young bruiser
was not a trained martial artist, just a tough guy who had watched a lot of
martial arts movies, but the police officer was a fourth degree black belt who
had been trained in Keibo techniques by his instructor.
Because of the danger of serious injury, brain damage, or death, police officers
have been told not to strike the head unless absolutely necessary. Thus when
an assailant attacks, a safe response for an officer is to strike the punching
arm itself. If the arm is stunned and the person hurt, it is then very possible
for the defender to whip into a jointlock, using the stunned arm as the point
of focus.
One very important consideration one must reflect upon, is that it is only possible
to be effective with grappling skills with a Hanbo, is the principles behind
grappling are properly understood. In a day where most people practice specialized
arts designed to be used in one type of competition, much has been said about
strikers going to grapplers to be more effective, and grapplers going to strikers
to be more effective. The truth is, all ancient combat arts were comprehensive.
A person in combat never knew what kind of situation they would be in, thus
they needed to be able to perform three types of skills. A true martial artist
in the classical sense of the word, needed to be able to use a variety of weapons,
needed to be able to strike effectively, and needed to be able to grapple. This
was just considered good training. Most Koryu, ancient systems founded before
the Tokugawa era, were complete in this regard. Modern Goshinjutsu, self defense
arts, sometimes referred to as the Shin Bujutsu, new martial arts, that are
actually and properly geared towards self defense, rather than Shin Budo, new
martial ways which tend to be geared for sports, usually include a full range
of skills.
It can be easily seen in the pictures, that the grappling techniques for use
with a Hanbo are the same as the grappling techniques of Jujutsu. Techniques
such as Udegatame (arm lock), Udegarami (arm wrap), and Hijijime (elbow crush),
are all staple techniques found in nearly all forms of grappling from Kempo
Jujutsu to Aikijujutsu and the derivative arts of Judo and Aikido. With just
slight modification these same techniques can be applied with the Hanbo, as
well as, many other weapons.
Never try to use skills that are not designed for self defense in those kind
of situations. Make sure that the underlying principles of whatever it is you
are attempting, such as grappling, are completely understood. The Hanbo is an
excellent weapon of self defense. As a bludgeon weapon it is excellent for everyday
defense and with proper understanding of the grappling principle and skills,
it can be used to subdue and control a person without injury. But these concepts
must be properly understood and developed for successful application of the
advanced skills of grappling with the Hanbo.
