GN #24 Jan 2009

~~)
tj~>
GAMBA TTE NE
Newsletter for the advancement of Bujinkan studies - Takamatsu den
January 2009, Volume # 24
No Dojo Politics...No Hype...No Bull
.,
.~
-
..
-
...
"oJ
1
"
1~'l
Inaue Masatada, a retainer of Uesugi Kenshin fires a large calibre matchlock gun.
.....
2
1
Top sketch shows desired killing range (50m), effective killing range (200 m), and maximum
wounding range (500m) for Tanegashima.
Bottom sketch shows desired killing range (30m), effective killing range (80 m), and maximum
wounding range (380m) forYumi.
This month
Welcome to 2009! Man I can't believe we've
made it this far, year #3! This is mainly through
the help and support of the various readers,
authors, etc... I would like to thank all of you,
as this newsletter is yours and made/supported
by you. Without your help this newsletter would
be much shorter, less informative and probably
boring (hopefully it isn't now).
I hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas and
Happy New Year.
Apparently Hatsumi Soke hasn't chosen a theme
for this year, so the various Shihan will decide
what they think is best to cover for the year. I
(my point of view) think maybe Soke did this for
a good reason, perhaps with the idea of forcing
people to think for themselves and start being
more independent instead of just waiting to see
what he will do. I think it will cause many
Shihan to go even further into the techniques and
reach new levels not yet seen in Bujinkan
Bujutsu. It will be a great year in by my
estimation. I could very well be wrong, but I
hope not. This I see for our many Shihans.
3
Many will awaken and it might be something
awesome.
Many of the Shihan, actually all of the ones who
receive this newsletter and contribute to it are
actually all nice, knowledgeable and pretty cool.
A few I've met a number of times and I can
honestly tell you inspire me to work harder.
This issue will be based upon one of the little
practised Samurai and Ninja arts of firearms
known as Teppo or Tanegashima. I have also
included a basic break down of how to use
modern firearm types in this issue. I wDuldlike
to dedicate this issue to my Sensei, Shihan Dean
Rostohar who is one of the most skilled
Instructor/shooters I have had the experience to
train with. He has various life experiences and
travels all over the world offering seminars in a
modern combat art known as SPECWOG as well
as the Bujinkan arts.
http://www.specwog.bujinkan.hr/
Peace man!
Soke speaks
"You are all improving nicely. There is no
for talk. Training
only.
'No think.
need
No talk.
Train'."
Soke Masaaki Hatsumi
-
Taken from "Quotations From Soke Part IV"
by Benjamin Cole
Expose
In this section we will introduce you to many of
the Bujinkan's top (and a few of the lower
ranked) instructors. Sensei you might not have
heard about and individuals you might want to
know a little more about, as well as historical
figures from our different ryu.
Koto Ryu Koppojutsu
(Knocking down the Tiger School)
Nevin Zeljko Broz
Shidoshi-ho
Bujinkan Seishin Ronin Dojo
(Ko'
to
Ryu)
nindja _dude@yahoo.com
It is thought that the Koto Ryu came from China
via Korea, brought by Chan Busho, a Chinese
warrior, in the form similar to koshijutsu. Yet it
would be many hundreds of years before the
4
style was shaped into Koto Ryu Koppojutsu.
The exact origin of the style is not known, but
the techniques of this ryu were organized and
formulated into a proper ryuha by Sakagami
Taro Kunishige in 1542. He was also a Soke of
Gyokko Ryu Koshijutsu. The two systems share
many similarities, including the Sanpo Gassho
(Gassho Kuji Kiri in Gyokko Ryu).
It took two generations more until Toda Sakyo
Ishinsai formally formed Koto Ryo Koppojutsu
as a ryu. Sakagami Taro Kunishige was
considered as the first Soke in Koto Ryu. Bando
Kotaro Minamoto Masahide, the one who was to
become the 2nd Soke died in battle 1542. The
ryu then went to Sougyoku Kan Ritsushi who
also was the Soke of Gyokko Ryu. From this
point Koto Ryu was to follow the same family
lineage as Gyokko Ryu. The difference as
apposed to Gyokko Ryu was that Koto Ryu was
only taught to the person that would become the
next Soke.
Koppojutsu means to destroy the bone structure
of the attacker. What differentiates the Koto Ryu
techniques is that distance is created by moving
along with the attack, then moving forward with
a strike then move quickly to a safe distance
once again. This is done so as to come in with a
strike at exactly 90 degrees against the bone
structure of the attacker creating the most
damage. Doing this demands good timing and
rhythm in the defensive attack, often done along
with Yoko Aruki (moving with the legs crossing
each other). Another important part of the
footwork is to strike the attackers toki (the top of
the foot), by kicking or stepping on it to control
his balance.
Through its history a great number of ninja, and
samurai trained in the methods ofKoto Ryu.
Momochi Sandayu is one of the most famous of
all ninja (after Hattori Hanzo). One of his most
famous students was Ishikawa Goemon (Japans
robin Hood), the infamous ninja who spent most
of his life as a criminal. Momochi always denied
that Goemon was a member/ex-member of his
school. Goemon was said to have been caught
and boiled to death in a cauldron of oil. Some
historians, including Toshitsugu Takamatsu,
believed that he wasn't caught, and that the
Shogunate was too shamed to admit such. In
some cases, history handed down through
generations can be more reliable that the written
word.
Koto Ryu contains one of the complete Kyusho
(pressure point) scrolls of the Bujinkan Systemthe other coming from the Takagi Yoshin Ryu.
It should also be noted that the starting distance
should be rather large from the start. The
attacker should be forced to make one big step or
several steps to reach the defender. This states
clearly that Koto Ryu was developed for the
battlefield and not inside a house or castle. The
Koto Ryu student should look right between the
attackers eyebrows, so that the attacker cannot
read his intentions from his eyes. The attacker
will also believe that he has eye contact, which
will be confusing for him. Other typical methods
ofKoto Ryu are the use ofMetsubushi, different
ways of blinding the attacker or attacking the
eyes directly. Metsubushi could be powder
thrown at the attackers eyes, but also reflections
at the eyes from the sword or other metal blades.
Koto Ryu had a unique and unorthodox method
ofkenjutsu, handling the sword in a way that
gave the observer the impression that the
swordsman was unskilled. By changing their
grip on the sword or stance at will. The ryu also
has a kamae, unique to the Koto Ryu, called
"Mangetsu no Kamae", in which the sword is
held above the head and the blade is used to
reflect sunlight into the eyes of the opponent.
Alternately, if it was raining, the blood groove
(hi) was used to catch the rainwater, which was
then flicked at the eyes of the enemy.
Because of the hard character of Koto Ryu
techniques it demands hard discipline and
training to harden the body. Takamatsu
Toshitsugu started his training in Koto Ryu when
he was nine years old, and was considered a
Koto Ryu master when he was 13 years old. In
his autobiography he wrote that he conditioned
his fingers and toes by hitting stone and gravel
until the blood came through the fingertips and
toenails. Shako Ken (claw hand) is one of the
strikes that is used in Koto Ryu. There are stories
about Takamatsu Sensei in the 1960's when he
convinced Koizume Shizuo, a journalist from the
Tokyo Sport Newspaper of it's effectively by
literally drilling five holes through the bark of a
tree with his Shako Ken finger strike.
The ryu is known for its specialization in
koppojutsu, which has been a mistranslation for
decades. Koppo means, "bone method", which
involves controlling an opponent using his bone
5
structure and yours, not bone breaking as is
commonly thought.
..
..
.
Kata of The Ryu
KmaiDori-5kwmae
Shoden No Kata 18 kata
Chuden No Kata 12 kata
-
OkudenNo Kata - 12kata
-
Hekito No Kata 8 kata
Kurai Dori
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
- 5 kamae.
Migi Seigan no Kwmae
Hidari Seigan no Kwmae
Hira Ichimonji no Kwmae
Hoko no Kwmae
Bobi no Kwmae
Shoden No Kata
1. Yokuto
2. Ogyaku
3. Koyoku
4. Shuto
5. Hosoku
6. Hoteki
7. Setto
8. Keto
9. Sakugeki
10. Batsugi
11. Tangeki
12. Shato
13. Shihaku
14. Kyogi
15. Kakko
16. Ura nwmi
17. Ten chi
18. Katamaki
Chuden No Kata
1. Hida
2. Hisaku
3. Hicho
4. Hito
5. Kappi
6. Nonpi
7. Suito
8. Go Hi
9. HeHi
10. TekiGaeshi
11. Koto
12. Kakuhi
Okuden No Kata
1. Santo
2. Santo
3. Koto
4. Shinsen
5. Kompi
6. Sho Setsu
7. So Setsu
8. Soto
9. Ko no Ki
10. Kimon
11. RanSetsu
12. UraKimon
Hekito No Kata (Unarmed techniques
against the sword)
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Soku Boku
Boku Hen
Dwmara
Shuto / Shmuki
Kibo
Batsu Yo
Kuahi/ Kahi
Sako Ryoku / Seki Ryoku
Soke of Koto Ryu
(Last nwmefirst, Japanese tradition)
-
1. Sakagwmi,Taro Kunishige (1532)
2. Sakagami, (Bando) MinwmotoMasahide
(1532)
3.Sogyokkan,Ritsushi-(1532)
4. Toda, Sakyo Ishinsai - (1532)
5. Momochi, Sandayu I - (1532) (died 1581)
6. Momochi, Sandayu n - (1573)
7. Momochi,TanbaYasumitsu (1595)
8. Momochi, Taro Saemon - (1615)
9. Toda,SeiryuNobutsuna (1624)
10. Toda, Fudo Nobuchika - (1658)
11. Toda, Kangoro Nobuyasu (1681)
12. Toda, Eisabmo Nobumasa (1704)
13. Toda, Shingoro Masayoshi (1711)
14. Toda, Daigoro Masayoshi (1736)
15. Toda, Daisabmo Chikashige (1804)
16. Toda, Shinryuken Masamitsu 1824-1908
17. Takwmatsu,Toshitsugu Doh (1909) 18871972
18. Hatsumi, Masaaki (1968) 1931-
-
-
-
-
-
6
Tanegashima
The matchlock gun was introduced to Japan in
1542 by Portuguese traders. History records a
ship that was blown off the coast of China and
across the sea to the islands of Japan. Ancient
scrolls speak of firearms that did exist in Japan
prior to the arrival of the Portuguese, but these
were crudely made and mildly effective Chinese
sleeve guns and cannon. They were of the
quality that very few were used or even
acknowledged. The Portuguese brought with
them a much higher quality, more reliable and
certainly more effective fireann.
·
The place where the Portuguese first introduced
this implement of modem warfare was a small
island known as Tanegashima. Tanegashima
Island was part of the domain of the Daimyo of
Shimazu.
Sbimazu, Takabisa
Notably it was Shimazu, Takahisa who has the
honour of being the first Daimyo in Japan to
effectively use firearms in warfare to any affect
in the year 1549 at the battle of Kajiki in Osumi
province. Notice the year of the battle. It was
seven years after the introduction of the gun.
Why do I call it a gun and not a rifle? A rifle is a
fireann with a rifled barrel. Rifling is a series of
grooves cut into the barrel in a spiral pattern,
which causes the bullet to spin, allowing it great
accuracy. The Tanegashima or matchlock gun
(also known as an arquebus) had a smoothbore,
as rifling was still unknown at this time. My
belief was that rifling was developed by someone
who was an archer. Many cultures which used
archery (bow and arrow) found that by mounting
the fletching (feathers) on the arrow shaft with a
twist would cause the arrow to spin when it was
shot. This spinning allows far greater accuracy
for the shooter over long distances <note: a
crossbow bolt (arrow) has it's fletching mounted
straight not canted. This is because of two
reasons, (1) a single feather sits in a groove
aligning the bolt with the crossbow, (2) the
crossbow is accurate to a much shorter distance
than the long bow so spinning of the arrow really
doesn't change anything>.
The matchlock gun was a revolutionary idea for
its time. By having the Portuguese land at
Tanegashima (either by a twist of fate or by
careful planning) speed of introduction was
introduced. Tanegashima is well known as an
island with high quality iron ore sand needed for
weapons manufacture. As well the sword smiths
and craftsman of this area to this day are famous
for their metal fabrication quality. Originally
swords and knives, then guns today they are still
recognized, but for kitchen knives and bonsai
shears. The sword smiths disassembled the guns
acquired from the Portuguese then quickly
developed ways to mass-produce them. One of
the disadvantages to the firearms from Europe
was that there was very little uniformity from
gunsmith to gunsmith. This meant that you had
guns with different size bullets from gun to gun.
You would have to mold your own bullets for
each individual gun before battle. The Japanese
tradesmen decided to standardize the guns to a
few calibers. This way one bullet mold could
produce bullets for hundreds of guns; the bullets
could then be carried into battle by a samurai
bullet carrier allowing for access to bullets in
case you ran out of ammunition during battle.
This concept is still in use today. I can by a rifle
here in Canada and buy bullets in Europe or
anywhere in the world ifI need some of the same
size.
The Christian daimyo were the first samurai to
really embrace the tanegashima and had better
access to them through the Portuguese. One case
7
in point was of the samurai general known as
"Don Juan" Ichibu Kageyu. He was a vassal of
the Daimyo ofHirado, Matsuura clan. He used
firearms to fight the battle of Aiko no Ura in
1563. He also used his guns against pirates in
battle when they came to plunder his island
known as Ikitsuki. After the battle the tally was
in his favour. His samurai had sunk two pirate
ships and when they examined the pirate's
bodies, all had died ftom gunshots, not one by an
arrow.
preference?). A big problem with the guns was
when the match struck down on the fine powder
the explosion would many times blow the match
out of the serpentine. The Japanese remedied
this by placing a small bamboo wedge between
the two effectively solving the problem.
The guns introduced to Japan were light enough
to be held in the hand and placed near the
shoulder. The larger hand cannon versions were
introduced and created later in history by the
Japanese.
One idea to help eliminate problems caused
by rain was to build a box around the firing
mechanism and match as seen in the scroll
"Geijutsu Hiden Zue".
Small Edo period tanegashima with
Tokugawa clan mon-sho on barreL
By looking at the small pistol above we can see
the working mechanism of this type of firearm.
The small bent arm (known as a serpentine) was
where the match (really a rope soaked in various
chemicals when lit would smolder slowlyjust
like a cigar) was mounted to the gun. There was
a small hollow in the serpentine to hold the
match. The rest of the match was then wrapped
around the wooden stock of the gun. The long
guns were designed to be held in the hands and
fired as such. Why they eliminated the shoulder
stock seems to have escaped everyone (personal
A drawing from a Meiji period scroll of a
samurai (ashigaru). He has a rifle resting in a
leather pouch on his belt, it is also around his
chest held by a sling. His left hand holds the
8
long rope like match and his right hand is resting
on a cartridge box.
Another problem with types of firearms which
would later be known as muzzle loaders (because
they are loaded ITomthe muzzle - end of the
barrel) was that of something known as fouling.
Basically a low ranking officer who was
immediately responsible for the shooters on the
firing line. He doesn't carry a gun but a bamboo
pole, which was, lacquered red. Inside the pole
was an oak ramrod, which was used to push the
bullet into the gun while loading. He carried this
as an extra in case one of his shooters broke
theirs during battle. Wrapped around his left arm
we see he also carries the rope like match. From
the scroll "Zohyo Monogatari".
-I,~
,\
Modern shooting of an antique tanegashima
in England.
After a number of shots the residue left over
ITomthe burned powder would get stuck inside
the barrel making it difficult to load a new bullet.
A bullet must sit on top of the gunpowder to
allow for maximum effect of the expansion of
the burning gases ITomthe explosion. If a bullet
was loaded and not seated on the powder you
would have a hollow pocket (air bubble
effectively) between the powder and bullet. The
exploding gases would expand in this space and
blow the gun barrel, if not killing the shooter he
would be seriously wounded. After so many
shots a barrel had to be cleaned to allow proper
seating of the bullet.
..
Samurai officer known as a Teppo ko gashira.
~~I,.'I
...
~.
,
..
I
.
An ashigaru with extra ramrods placed in a
pouch behind him like an arrow quiver.
From the scroll "Zohyo Monogatari".
An ashigaru with an ammunition box on his
back. He would carry bullets to the shooters
if they ran out. From the scroll "Zohyo
Monogatari".
Shooting the Tanegashima
9
same can be seen in the next print from an old
scroll (view from right to left - Japanese way)
Shooting the tanegashima was more
advantageous to a Daimyo than having archers.
It took more time and money to train a decent
archer than it did to have someone learn to
operate and fire a gun effectively.
A really good archer would take approximately I
year to develop the strength, muscles and skill to
become a really effective killing implement,
whereas a shooter (gun) could be trained
effectively in 6 months or less.
Picture from a scroll showing the use of
elevated sights.
--
Re-enadors firing replica tanegashima.
':;i'
~
~
~ 4
~~
.
.,
- -,~
Here we see the stages in preparation for firing a
matchlock. A measured amount of gunpowder
was poured into the barrel. The bullet was then
placed into the end of the barrel (normally a
cloth patch was placed first then the bullet on
top. This would help with sealing the bullet and
getting maximum power behind the bullet from
the explosion of the powder.) The ramrod was
then used to push the bullet down to seat itself on
top of the powder. The next picture shows fine
powder being placed inside a pan, which had a
removable cover (which would prevent an
accidental discharge when in place as well as
offer some form of protection from weather
while in transport.) The gun was then aimed and
the trigger was pulled firing the matchlock. The
Elevated sights allow one to shoot more
accurately qver farther distances. Regular sights
would be used for closer ranges of up to 100 m.
100m being the usual distance troops were used
in engagements. After this the killing power of
the shot was diminished, especially against a
samurai in shot proof armour.
;- p'
A picture from the scroll "Geijutsu Hiden Zue".
It shows how one may train to fire a gun
accurately during the night when sights were
useless. This was accomplished quite
ingeniously. A rope of a fixed length was tied to
10
the end of the barrel and butt stock in pre-set
locations (grooves). Two knots would be tied in
the rope signifying where the foot was to be
placed, and the gun was then held against the
body at the hip. By preparing in such a way a
form of conformity was created with minimal
chance of error. The Kurosawa samurai epic
known as "Kagemusha" which was about the
destruction of the Takeda family and the battle of
Nagashino depicts an interesting way of shooting
at night as well. It was allegedly how Takeda
Shingen was shot by a sniper during the night.
During the siege of Nod a castle (not Noda-shi
were Soke lives but a different one), the besieged
forces were running out of food and were slowly
having their spirit broken. Two things that kept
the defenders in the castle going (allegedly) were
a great amount of Sake and during the evening
after the days fighting had ended one of the
defenders would climb to the top of the ramparts
and play his shakuhachi (Japanese flute). He
was so skilled that both armies would stop
everything and listen night after night to the eerie
sounds of the flute. One ashigaru noticed the
Takeda samurai setting up a curtain in an area
close by. This type of curtain was placed around
an area where a daimyo would set up court and
receive his general staff and confer or view
heads after a battle. The ashigaru placed his gun
in one of the triangular holes in the castle wall
against two sides of the triangle effectively
anchoring it. He then took aim with his eye.
From here he let a rope drop with a weight
attached to it so the rope hung down at 90
degrees (plumb line). Around the weight he
placed a number of rocks helping locate its
position. By doing this he could duplicate the
accuracy without looking during times of night.
He set the proper height, depth and width,
eliminating all axis. When his daimyo
(Tokugawa, Ieyasu) asked him to show how he
had accomplished the feat of shooting Shingen
during the night, the ashigaru demonstrated and
shot a small tree about the same distance. How
much artistic liberty hat was used in the movie is
truly unknown, however the technique used for
sniping would have been very effective under
modem times.
Look at the lower picture on page 2 of this issue.
It is a modem depiction of the battle of
Nagashino where Oda, Nobunaga defeated the
Takeda army of Takeda, Katsuyori. The Oda
shooters are lined up in three rows, front line
shooting, middle line readying, and third line in
back reloading. This type of volley firing had
maximum effect with minimum downtime
between shots; one army could constantly keep
shots being fired instead of stopping to reload.
We will cover this in another issue later on.
Soke speaks
"Go ahead and let 'em have it..lfyour
opponent is a fifth dan or above, really try to
punch them... The dynamics for both of you
will change. "
Soke Masaaki Hatsumi
-
Taken from "Quotations From Soke Part IV"
by Benjamin Cole
Survival technique
Here we will run a monthly survival feature,
which can be used in case of emergency or to
enhance your ninjutsu skills while training in
nature.
This is the sight picture seen from standard iron
sights found on most firearms. The U shaped
black image is the back sight which is found
close to your face and the small square is the
front "blade" sight found at the end ofthe barrel
where the bullet exits. The grey circle is the
target you plan to destroy. Notice how the two
black pieces are level along the top of both. The
target is placed on top of this leveled line for
accurate shooting. The longer the barrel the
better the accuracy.
The picture is not blurry because of a mistake but
this is how you will actually see the sight picture
and target when accurately sighting for shooting.
II
Because of the distances between the three the
target and rear sight will be blurry and the ftont
sight will be sharp. The ftont sight is the most
important one as this is where the bullet exits.
We also added a few clips ftom his shooting
videos so you can see how it is done with a real
gun against targets.
With Dean Shihans experience ftom real fighting
in war, and also ftom his time in the police force
in Croatia he certainly know what he is doing."
A
BCD
E
F
G
Various kinds of iron sights
Book I video review
Here we will review books and videos/movies on
the ninja and samurai arts.
This month we will feature a short review on the
DVD titled "Shinken Kata - Knife & Pistol" by
Shihan Dean Rostohar.
H
Two DVD set, NTSC, Region Free, playing time
is 230 minutes
Mats Hjelms
Shihan Rostohar did a great job on this video
which was filmed in Mats dojo in Sweden.
Entirely in English and region ftee DVD anyone
who gets a copy will be sure to enjoy it.
You can order a copy here:
https://www.budoshop.se/store/deanrostohar-shinken-kata-vol-2-knifeand-pistol.html
My opinion: Awesome set, very informative and
easy to follow. If you think you know a lot
about knife fighting and shooting think again.
This video will open up your eyes and mind.
Five-shuriken rating.
Rating:
+++++
Five-senban shuriken!
Seminars
Here is the description ftom Mats Hjelms
website where the DVD video can be ordered.
"Quick Overview"
Here we will keep you informed of upcoming
seminars, as well as reviews of those attended.
If you want to advertise your seminar here
contact us at: nindja_dude@yahoo.com
"Dean Rostohar teaches unarmed defence against
knife and pistol. He also taught how to use the
knife, and how to use pistol ftom close distance.
If you learn how to use these weapons you can
also learn how to defend yourself against them.
He also showed many tactic manouvers how to
take out a guard, and also how to avoid the same
situations. Also how to act as a bodyguard...
Kacem Zoughari
12
weapon is shown only certain ones, but what
must be understood is that by learning the basics
of each type you can pick up any firearm,
anywhere and quickly understand how to use it.
This is only for information purposes and does
not replace professional instruction. If you are
really interested then please seek out quaIified
individuals such as Shihan Dean Rostohar and
his "SPECWOG" group. They hold seminars
anywhere in the world and are highly qualified
with any kind of firearm as well as bladed
weapons etc...
Long arms
31 January
- OI.February
Novi Sad, Serbia
Info:
sc.crni@gmail.com
srle@bujinkan.org.yu
Assault weapon (AK 47 and variants)
Soke speaks
"The flow I saw in Europe was impressive.
People do not get stuck on only the techniques.
They keep changing and did very welL.. Many
people get stuck on the technique and don't feel
the flow, and that is too bad... "
Soke Masaaki Hatsumi
Taken £rom "Quotations From Soke
by Benjamin Cole
- Part IV"
Modern firearms
During our modern times using a tanegashima
would really be kind of a historical oddity. They
have so many faults that using one really is for
historical purposes, to see how it was done, if
you will. A ninja was always advancing his
skills and weapons so that he and his clan or lord
would survive. During the feudal area the ninja
and samurai used then what was state of the art
weapons, so why wouldn't we? No it's not the
way they did it, but they would have if they had
access to automatic weapons and such.
Following is a basic breakdown of all types of
modern firearms in use. Not every type of
This is known by people in the west as the "Cold
War" bad boy rifle. It is one of the most
commonly encountered rifles anywhere in the
world.
Magazine/clip: The half round clip under the
rifle holds the bullets. To know what size caliber
bullet to use look on to of the receiver (top of the
rifle/gun) most manufacturers stamp the
information here. About 95 percent of all
magazines/clips are removable; look for a lever
near it or a button that releases it. About 5
percent of mags either pivot out of the way or a
fixed to the weapon.
Safety: Look for a lever, button etc... which is a
safety. When engaged a loaded weapon will not
fire, however don't ever trust this as anything
mechanical can malfunction... TREAT EVERY
SINGLE FIREARM (EVEN BB OR PELLET
GUNS) AS LOADED AND NEVER AIM AT
SOMETHING YOU DON'T WANT TO
DESTROY...PERIOD!!!!)
Bolt: the way to load the weapon is to pull the
bolt back, which will remove a round (bullet)
£romthe mag and place it into the barrel. The
bolt on this weapon is the silver piece above the
magazine on the right side. This weapon is
known as an assault rifle.
13
The break open action is controlled by a lever,
which allows the barrels to unlock and hinge
open. Rounds can then be loaded by hand and
the weapon snapped shut. No magazine.
Assault weapon (M16 and variants)
This is the other most commonly found weapon
in the world. It operates in a similar way to the
AK shown above. Every weapon is a little bit
different but understanding the above principles
one would be able to quickly figure out the
operation.
''Note: all of the above types can be found in
either a rifle configuration or a shotgun form."
Pistols (side arms)
Bolt action
This weapon operates by raising the bolt (which
can be seen right above the trigger on the side)
and pulling it back to load a bullet then returning
it in a similar manner, forward and then down. It
usually has a fixed 5 shot mag. This one has a
removable optical scope.
Semi-auto pistol
The mag is found in the handle, the mag release
is the button next to the trigger. This weapon
works by pulling back on the slide by grabbing
the serrated area above (vertical lines) and
pulling back which loads a round. The slide is
let go and an internal spring will return it to its
position. This pistol has numerous safeties. (Not
all do). If someone points one at you and you
can grab the pistol while he is still holding it he
can still fire a shot. By not letting the slide move
back and forth only one shot can be fired.
Pump action
The magazine on this weapon is the tube where
the handle slides back and forth with the barrel
located above it. Loading the mag is either from
below or from the side. Every time you slide the
handle back and forth a shell is either loaded or
ejected.
Double action revolver
Break open type
The old police wheel pistol we all grew up
knowing. Usually 6 shot. The round cylinder is
where the ammo is held. It can either be
removed for loading or a small door will be near
the back where empty cases are removed and
new shells are loaded. This weapon allows you
to simply pick it up, pull the trigger and shoot. If
grappling with an assailant who has one of these
you can either grab the cylinder (allowing him
one shot only). Press down on the hammer (little
14
lever on top to the back (no shots) or if the
hammer is cocked (pulled back) jam something
like your hand between the receiver and the
hammer (no shots but hurts as firing pin will
pierce your hand)
All content published here is for the exclusive
use ofBujinkan students. We will strive to be as
accurate as possible. If anyone feels that they
have anything to contribute please e-mail it to
me and it will be considered for publication.
Any comments or questions will be welcomed.
The author or any contributors assume no
responsibility whatsoever for any misuse of the
information found in these pages.
This is NOT an official Bujinkan newsletter.
Single action revolver (cowboy pistol)
Looks the same as above, but operates
differently. The pistol above can work the same
as this one but this one can't operate as the one
above does. The main difference is that to fire
this weapon you have to pull the hammer back
first then press the trigger to shoot.
By learning all of these kinds of actions you
should be able to pick up any firearm ftom a .177
calibre pellet gun to a .50 calibre machine gun
and figure out its operation within a few minutes.
Nothing can replace quality instruction ftom a
licensed/qualified instructor. Please don't play
with any guns and don't point the barrel at
anything you don't want to destroy. Proper
firearms courses can be found through Hunting
clubs and Governmental licensing bureaus or
through private groups such as "SPECWOG".
Don't play with your life or anyone else's!!!
Disclaimer
It is highly recommended that medical advice be
sought before following any of the suggestions
written in this newsletter. It is also highly
recommended to seek out a qualified, competent
instructor to guide you safely before attempting
this or any other potential knowledge.
The purpose of publishing this newsletter is to
help serious students of the Bujinkan advance
their studies through a community effort. This
concept is reflected in the name of our
newsletter, "Gambatte ne", which means, "Keep
going". Please feel ftee to pass this information
among other Bujinkaners.
Please watch who and what you
teach.
Peace!
Nevin Zeljko Broz
Shidoshi-ho
Bujinkan Seishin RoDinDojo
Copyright 2009
Bujinkan Seishin RoDinDojo