6 Ji Hands (of the Bubishi*) Much has been written, filmed and taught publicly in Kyusho recently, mostly on the anatomical targets targets and the affects. affects. But nothing has been written on the weapons of ancient times to best attack them or the way in which they are actually used. We must first remember that Modern Martial Arts is a shadow of the ancient arts through weakening lines of instruction (Lineage, the passing of !"ecret# information information and the ad$ent of "port. %he Arts ha$e gotten more comple& and acrobatic or athletically in$ol$ed. What's more is with the ad$ent of the MMA (Mi&ed Martial Arts, there is far more techniue to study and a nd practice. )nce upon a time the styles were based on fewer techniues, but in$ol$ed more speciali*ed speciali*ed training to aid aid those few techniues. +t was not uncommon to ha$e a style composed of -, -, /0 techniues, as a matter of fact old Katas or forms were named by how many techniues they contained. %hese were names like "eisan "eisan (-, "anseiryu (-, 1o2ushiho (/0 and many others, were used as the the styles source techniues or methods. 3owe$er what they lacked in numbers they made up for training and conditioning for them. %hese old styles would form these particular hand weapons (which can still be seen only in these Katas, but they would spend as much if not more time conditioning them to strengthen, harden or make imper$ious to damage. %hey forged them o$er time time into solid actual weapons by what we would think as e&treme and possibly possibly foolish methods. As an e&le the fingers would be conditioned first by grasping hea$y pottery. %hen slowly increasing the weight by adding water, this de$eloped incredible gripping strength, but more importantly began the hand strengthening for more ad$anced training. training. %he ne&t phase would be to fill a container with sand and repeatedly plunge the fingers and hands in (or in +ron 4alm methods, to slap the sand. %his continued o$er time as they then heated the sand, and then switched sand for fine rocks and later later into larger stone. %hey incessantly struck their fingers into training de$ices for years at a time to yield a tempered weapon that could penetrate the fascia, or otherwise destroy the body parts of their opponents. +n modern times we do not work like this, nor do we need to, as time, health and legal issue will not allow. allow. But by using modern Kyusho (ner$e (ner$e attacks, o$er blood, bone and tissue attacks we can still effecti$ely use these weapons with the same actions to instantly incapacitate the opponent without without obser$able or physical physical damage. +n fact these these old hand
positions and methods are 2ust as $iable today as they were when de$eloped, e$en used in a slightly different way.
Bubishi 3istorian 4atrick Mc5arthy wrote in his groundbreaking book !Bubishi the Bible of Karate# the ideograms break down literally as Bu (Military, Bi (preparation and "hi (record, or what can be called a record of military preparation. preparation. +t is the real information behind the myths and legends passed done and seemingly embellished on, yet we find it is not only rele$ant but a key element in ancient fighting methods. %his once secret and re$ered and held by only pri$ileged Masters of Karate, was a te&t that was passed down to only the most worthy of students or a styles inheritor. inheritor. %his te&t, which was presumed to arri$e on the shores of )kinawa from 6u*hou 5hina in the mid to late 7th century, was the bedrock of )kinawan fighting methods and has no known author. +t is a great book of 3istory, 4hilosophy and "trategy "trategy on par with the great !Book of 6i$e 8ings# by b y Miamoto Musashi, or the !Art of War# by "un %*u whereas it ser$es as a continuous source of inspiration as well as documentation of real Karate. But uniue to this ancient te&t is also e&acting e& acting methods of fighting as well as anatomical locations, times of day to attack them, Actual techniues taken from two ma2or Kata as well as 5hinese Medicine and 3erbal 4harmacology. Also uniue in this te&t are a set of hand positions ( 9i 3ands or :nergy 3ands, that are specified to inflict massi$e physical damage on the opponent, with the specific art of ;im Mak or ;eath %ouch also referred. %hese hand weapons were ideal for attacking the Blood systems of the body causing not only immediate incapacitation, but o$er time internal bleeding lead to delayed fatal conseuence. %hese targets included in this this te&t are also referred to as !Blood 1ates# or o r areas that access to important blood $essels and or blood filled organs are possible. %he te&t includes the most most $ulnerable times of the the day to attack them to cause destruction of the $essels or organs to kill the opponent. 3owe$er as intriguing as these uniue hand han d positions and their affects are, they are not a plausible or e$en practicable method in modern times. %he legal and ethical ramifications for killing, maiming or permanently disabling e$en an attacker, make their use or study impractical. impractical. %hey can still be seen mostly mostly in more obscure styles styles or arts hidden in the traditional Katas or 6orms. %oday though, they are widely misunderstood misunderstood and taught with incorrect information or application as the true intent was not passed down freely, especially to occidentals during occupation of the indigenous societies that held these true ways. %here is hope though, as these 9i 3ands can be and are perfect deli$ery systems for the more modern adaption of Kyusho (
deployment attributes of these ancient weapons are e&actly how the ner$es must also be attacked for Kyusho to actually work and transfer the neurological message message properly. +n fact the same targets depicted in the Bubishi are the same targets for Kyusho, 2ust more superficially, which is the reason that the hand training and conditioning of ancient times are now not necessary. We do not need to physically physically penetrate into the body as far, nor do we need to damage it to gain great affect. %hese targets are also access points into the ner$ous system as $ascular tissue is always accompanied or protected by ner$es ner$es and sensory organs. organs. By attacking these structures, more immediate incapacitation is possible as it was with the ancient ;im Mak method, but with no ill or damaging effects per say. %hese secrets ha$e re$ealed themsel$es o$er decades of research and hands on training utili*ing Kyusho to incapacitate and the refinement of the attacking methods. methods. +t has brought us full full circle to again embrace embrace the ancient ways so that it is not lost to time or by the rule of man. Energy
%o better understand the !:nergy# in the 9i (:nergy 3ands, we must first understand that the energetic transfer mentioned so often in the art of Kyusho (as seen in seminars, classes, $ideo and te&t. We must look to the the actual deployment and action that affects affects the attacked surface in a particular way by adding penetration and torue into the ballistic or manipulati$e action being performed. %o clarify this a bit, we ha$e - main actions (there are others, which are predominantly used in Kyusho> . 4ressure 4ressure on the ner$e, ner$e, it is is not a slow slow or steady steady pressure, pressure, it is is a uick pulsing pulsing action that transmits a rapid and acute electro?chemical reaction in the ner$e manipulated. @. 8ubbing 8ubbing action (actuall (actually y stretching stretching or stressi stressing ng of a particular particular anatomical anatomical sensory sensory receptor is a rapid and deeply cutting action to acti$ate a refle& action. -. "triking "triking action, action, which is a deeper deeper stretchin stretching, g, compressing compressing or $ibratio $ibrational nal kinetic kinetic force to shock the ner$e. %hese types of energetic transfer are accomplished with proper physical and coordinated body actions using these specific hand positions. %he correct action and application of torue or manipulati$e actions for these hand positions (along with some specific targets, can take years of study and practice to fully understand, but can actually be trained uickly to gain successful use and with no physical conditioning that can cause physical damage to the hands such as arthritis or 2oint damage. %here are $ariations of torue in$ol$ed in the hands actions and why the name of energy hands is so fitting. fitting. +n$estigating them in greater greater detail will enable the reader to better understand the specific hands as well as their indi$idual possibilities. possibilities.
1. Iron Iron Bone Bone Hand Hand – twis twisti ting ng transference.
%his hand position utili*es the first knuckle of the thumb for the attacking surface. %he proper way to use this is in a double twisting action where the wrist simultaneously performs two twisting actions. )n impact with the target, the wrist will simultaneously twist outward and downward so that the fingers tra$el (loosely, upward and away from the target. %his focuses the energy down and into the target more readily and sends an acute shock wa$e into the ner$e structure. "ome $iable targets are nder :ye Brow, "%?/ up, "t?/ down, %W?C, "%?7, "+?D, M? 3=?0, M?3=?D, L
2. Iron and !a"# – E$tending (E$%"oding) &ransference
sing the palm of the hand (not the fingers, this is an ideal weapon for harder surfaces where the ner$e is superficial such as in the 1B?5luster of the forehead. %he 1B?5luster 1B?5luster is actually two braches of the "upraorbital ner$e that surfaces from behind the bone of the eye to trans$erse up from the corner of the eye as well as the middle of the eyebrow, up the forehead and into the hair line, 2ust under the skin skin and other tissue. %he method to use this weapon is to uickly e&tend the palm itself (as the fingers withdraw, on impact. %his will cause a shock wa$e into the struck mass mass that is e&pansi$e in natureF think of the ripples ripples in the water when an ob2ect enters it. %his is also well suited for other targets that are found 2ust under the skin on the harder foundation of the skull. %hese other $iable targets are (but not limited to, "%?/, BL?E, "%?, "%?-, M?3=?D, as there are many others.
'. word Hand (ind Hand) – na%%ing na%%ing &ransference &ransference
sed e&tensi$ely in the %op %en ;<; and book, this weapon generates a lot of penetrating force due to the increase $elocity of the weapon. sing the the area called the heal of the palm or wrist bone, as the hand or arm tra$els to the target with a set $elocity, it is then increased by 2erking the wrist bone into the target causing a sharper surface area as well as sharper focal point of energy transfer. "ome specific targets that react well with this attack are in softer tissue such as the neck for 1B?@E, L+?D G "%?7, or e$en on harder surfaces like the back of the 2aw at %W?/.
. ne b"ade of +rass Hand – ,oub"e directiona" transference
%he double direction can be thought of in classical as Hin and Hang, or a simultaneous 4ush and 4ull deployment. As an e&le the bent fingers can act as a pulling or stretching action as the e&tended finger 2abs into the stretched ner$e. 6or e&le, by grabbing the collar bone to acti$ate the "%?E or , this in affect stretches the ner$e in between the strands of the sternocleidomastoid muscle at "%?E or "%?7 for for a sharp penetrating 2ab from from the e&tended inde& finger. %his is accomplished with a torue of the wrist to gain focused and penetrating force with small efficient action.
-. B"ood !oo" Hand – forward rotationa" transference
%his is for more powerful and percussi$e attack for many targets. +t is better suited than the other hands for deeper penetration into the
body targets or ca$ity using the forward rotational motion of the first two two knuckles. 3owe$er we cannot (as in all of the hand positions negate the possibilities for poking, pulling or compressing type actions of the fingertips, or folding action action of the palm. "ome targets such as K?@C 2ust under the collarbone warrant, a deeper rolling (to stretch and compress, action. +nterestingly as the name name depicts !Blood 4ool 3and# it was a tool used in the attack of organs where the blood actually pools. %his could ad$ersely affect or damage the "pleen, Li$er, Kidney or e$en the the 3eart. )r as in the first first target K?@C crucial $ascular tissue to and from the 3eart such as the Aortic or 9ugular Arches.
6. Iron "aw Hand – !u""ing &ransference
%his weapon is not new to most in the arts as it is one of the more common weapons. 3owe$er it is not typically employed as was intended, nor is it typically taught to target Kyusho or ;im Mak in these modern times. 3owe$er this is a $ery $ersatile weapon that originally targeted these weaker anatomical structures, such as on the Wrist, 6orearm, pper arm, =eck, 6ace :$en minimally on the leg. %he correct application is to push surrounding structures away to e&pose the true target as it then compresses and twists to set (the 5laws into the structure. %his single weapon is so $ast in scope that we will de$ote another article and $ideo presentation to illustrate the !"ei*ing# capabilities and affects in more detail. onditioning
5onditioning occurs naturally with practice of the weapon in hands on training and with real Kyusho contact to reali*e real affects. As e&le as you use the +ron +ron 5law by grabbing wrists and other areas, when you use contact and force to solicit a neurological response, you are simultaneously training speed, timing, strength, proper grip and actions of torue along with de$eloping the sensiti$ity sensiti$ity and targeting. =o longer do we need to mangle our hands as they did in ancient times as we now ha$e refined beyond the destructi$e force of ;im Mak into the more subtle and yet effecti$e art of Kyusho. www.kyusho.com I :$an 4anta*i @E
