Chanbara

Weaponry: The Staff and Spear

These long range weapons, the spear and staff have been consistently used up to the present. The staff has been the weapon of protection among the masses while the warring soldier’s long range weapon of choice was the spear.

Even with the crudest tip the spear was capable of inflicting greater pain and injury from the fact that it could puncture and tear effectively compared with the staff that could only strike or crush. The Samurai warrior would see a staff in battle as a diminished spear with the tip broken off.

The interesting thing about the spear and staff is the combatant’s ability to strike the target at blinding speed wether offensive or defensive. In Chanbara longer range weaponry offers a completely different “game of physical chess”.

The Point
The target areas are all main parts of the body. The head, torso, legs and arms. Stabbing, thrusting and slashing technique receive points. All committed mein, kote, do, tsuki and ashi strikes are legal. The strike has to be clean and swift where the opponent can not make a counter attack