Japanese Spear Fighting

Famous among the former was the ancient hozo in ryu named after the hozo monastery where spear fighting was widely practiced.

Japanese spear fighting. The ancient chinese said long spear is the king of cold weapons. The kind used by women was called ko naginata. The naginata is the iconic weapon of the onna bugeisha a type of female warrior belonging to the japanese nobility. In times of war it was a primary skill of many soldiers.

Today it is a minor art taught in very few schools. Sōjutsu 槍術 そうじゅつ is the japanese art of fighting with the spear yari. Since the naginata with its pole is heavier and much slower than the. Art of japanese spear fighting naturally there were many ryuand many senseiof bujutsu who specialized often exclusively in the use of the spear in combat.

For most of japan s history sōjutsu was practiced extensively by traditional schools. The martial art of wielding the yari is called sōjutsu. The naginata is a pole weapon and one of several varieties of traditionally made japanese blades. Yari 槍 is the term for a traditionally made japanese blade in the form of a spear or more specifically the straight headed spear.