Throughout history, the combative sciences have always incorporated both empty hand and weapon techniques. In fact, while most schools today teach the empty hand applications of movements first or even exclusively, traditionally this was not the case.

 

The Samurai, Ninja and other famous warriors of old typically trained in the empty hand as initiates, then switched to training primarily with their weapons of choice. From then on they saw the empty hand techniques of their systems as "last ditch" emergency maneuvers.

 

Also, many schools today erroneously claim to teach Kobudo in their curriculum, not realizing that this is in fact a system in and of itself. While it is a system of weapons training, it is exclusively an Okinawan system and by no means constitutes "the be all and the end all" of traditional weapons training, nor does it include every traditional Okinawan weapon.

 

The word literally means "ancient martial way" and refers to the study of specific weapons such as the bo staff, sai and kama, their design, creation and proper use. With this in mind, I collaborated with my student, folk style wood carver Bryce Long, in 2007, to form Long-Payne Weapons, a company dedicated to resurrecting the ancient methods of weapons construction through carefully studies with "old school" practitioners before the knowledge passes away with them.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Long Payne Weapons has since become a division of the Company, though our dedication to this labor of love has never wavered and senior members of Ken-shen ryu International receive not only great discounts on our line of custom, handmade weapons, but authentic training in their traditional methods of construction.

 

While the importance of weapons instruction in a warrior's training cannot be over emphasized, Ken-shen ryu International follows the ancient philosophy which mandates that we should train first and foremost for the worst possible combat situation. For this reason, students are first required to develop a certain degree of proficiency in unarmed combat, including training in empty hand methods of disarming an attacker.

 

For this reason, weapons training is generally reserved for those who have earned admission to the Warrior Arts Renaissance Society. In this way, an advanced student who is attacked and has access to a weapon may use it, yet should that weapon be lost during the fight, the practitioner will still be within their realm of comfort.

 

The decision of when any given student may begin their training with weapons is made by the individual's instructor. This decision is made with the greatest of scrutiny and I am generally consulted on such matters.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

While Ken-shen ryu International teaches that a warrior should strive for proficiency with many weapons and that, in the right situation, any object can become a weapon, the center of our weapons training is the ancient Filipino system of Kali. Considered by many historians of the combative sciences to be the "The Grandfather of Filipino Systems," Kali is the most fluid and universal system I have ever encountered.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I was first introduced to the Filipino arts through the system of Modern Arnis, as developed by Professor Remy Presas Sr, a grandmaster who had learned several of his homeland's indigenous arts before forming his own hybrid version. Later I was introduced to Kali by Sergeant Major Jaquin Borja, himself also a native practitioner, and received still further instruction from Dr. Jason Winkle Sensei, a holder of instructor grades in three forms of kali, and have since sought to research the older system in every manner possible.

 

The system includes such empty hand techniques as slapping, punching, gouging and grappling, then progresses into weapons applications the basic concept being that every movement must be universal, applicable with a stick, sword or other weapon, without being modified from the empty hand version of the same technique. Kali contains many of the "free flow" elements seen in later systems of Arnis and Escrima, however these later methods were also influenced by western fencing techniques during the Spanish occupation of the region, an influence which over time led to the altering of many techniques for the sake of visual ascetics.

 

In order to perfect this modification, practitioners all but ceased to train in the "stop-hit" aspect which had so defined their earlier practice, thus nullifying many previously deadly techniques. I believe that this was a grave mistake on the part of the practitioners and, together with such students as Arnis de Mano instructor Mike McGee, has sought to rectify this error in both their own training and in that of Ken-shen ryu practitioners the world over.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Another major influence on my weapons training and instruction has been the art of Batto Jutsu. Literally translated as "The Method of Drawing and Cutting," Batto Jutsu is the ancient method of drawing one's sword and cutting down the enemy in one continuous motion.

In a real, life and death dual, the understanding of this technique often meant the difference between victory and loss, and between death and survival. Following the disbanding of the Samurai class, this ancient technique came to be regarded as antiquated and was nearly lost for lack of practice which, as with the previously mentioned watering down of Kali, I believe this was a mistake.

 

A pragmatic method of killing, Batto Jutsu was unsuited for transition to the realm of ceremonial sports which "honor" and "remember" the past, without preserving its specific knowledge. As a result, this precious knowledge would have been lost forever, but a descendant of the last Samurai warriors codified a new system of Batto Jutsu from the various ancient schools of thought and taught this system to cadets at Toyama, the military academy which has been called "the West Point of Japan."

 

Upon leaving military service, many officers began teaching the system publicly. By the mid-twentieth century, there had been a rebirth of interest in authentic Samurai methods and Batto Jutsu came to be considered a "crown jewel" among them.

 

I began training in Toyama ryu Batto Jutsu under the tutelage of Robert Leisure Sensei. Leisure Sensei later moved to North Carolina, which has slowed my study of the system, though Leisure Sensei and other seasoned practitioners of the system continue to mentor me in the ancient art and he incorporates the various aspects thereof into every weapons technique I teach.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I realize that times change and that when they do the warrior has to change with them or be left behind, exposed to an attack for which he is completely unprepared. As a result, I have introduced a complete system of firearms self-defense into the Ken-shen ryu International curriculum.

 

With my own firearms background as a basis, I have worked closely with several senior level students to develop a well rounded course of study. These included gang investigator and former SWAT team members Mike McGee and Bob Lemmons, and former US Army Ranger Glenn Hardman.