The primary requirement for the use of weapons on horseback is a horse trained for the use of weapons and a rider with restraint. The way a staff weapon or sword is wielded from horseback is completely different from how it is wielded on foot. On a horse the use of the boken or baton is limited to certain arcs that will reach targets while staying clear of the horse. Most important however is knowing how to move the horse into an application of force in a way that keeps its head clear of the action. This requires a horse trained to side pass and shoulder in as well as to move exactly off of the heel. In using the horse as a weapon of intimidation Several important things must be remembered.
(1) The first target is going to be your horse.
A single criminal will think that they will get in less trouble for
injuring your horse than they would for injuring you. A group in riot is
going to see the horse as a representative of an upper class system and
seek to destroy it. The most important thing to remember when using the
horse in crowd control is that the crowd genuinely believes that it is
right. This may be the mass impulse of a moment but for that moment they
all support each other in the belief that they hold and are ready to
commit felonies for. This places the horse into a position of great danger
as the crowd is likely, for social and psychological reasons, to pay more
attention to a horse than a tank. Both in reacting fearfully and in
retaliation. This same advantage to the goals of the moment put the horse
at the greatest risk. Therefor the officer has a duty to protect that
horse while engaged, with an active defence. This is done by weapon
deployment and by proper maneuvering of the horse.
(2) The human on foot is more afraid of the back of the horse than the
front.
It is relatively easy to teach a horse to kick on command and very easy to
teach it to move backwards. The proper attack mode with a short weapon is
to stop the movement of the fore hand and pivot the hind quarters toward
the target. This does several things at once. It pulls the horses head
away from the threat. It moves the target zone of the staff weapon to the
front of the movement. And it makes the horses own weapon of choice
readily available if the threat requires a withdrawal movement. Who can
fault a horse that kicks pursuers.
(3) Side passing is the most valuable skill of all.
A shoulder in of ten degrees is the proper way to enter a field of
conflict. The ancient knight with a shield on his shoulder and a lance
across his horses neck rode his jousting pass with the horses left
shoulder slightly forward and its face pointed slightly away from the
oncoming opponent. With a sword like object the horses right shoulder is
slightly forward and its head slightly to the left. When the lance hit the
knight pivoted his horse to the left forcing the weight of the horse into
the impact. When the boken or baton is used the horse is maintained with
its right shoulder forward and when the weapon is used the head is pulled
away from the action and the hindquarters driven toward it. If the horse
is ridden into an application of force in a straight line the first object
that enters the danger zone is the horses face and it is unprotected. The
horse must then enter the zone of conflict before the weapon can be
deployed. When a shoulder forward move initiates an application of force
the weapon can lead into the zone of conflict. The easiest way to disable
the horse/rider is to seize control of the horses face. The most sure
defence against this is by shoulder forward and side passing type of
movements into and out of contact. The pivoting forward of the
hindquarters makes the big horse even bigger and closes in a defensive
line with a wider front and a weapon forward.
The actual deployment of the boken or baton is limited in that most striking patterns would hit the horse. Follow throughs and curcuits of motion become impossible. The pommel of the weapon is also capable of injuring the horse. All the appropriate striking motions are in low lines of contact as the targets are on foot. This further exaggerates the risk of hitting the horse. The weapon must never be waved about casually as this looks bad and risks horse and rider. . To communicate the movement of the sword the basic moves must be defined. We start out by defining the parts of an ideal circle. Take your boken and swing it in a complete circle. Cut down in front of you then bring the weapon back up behind you and repeat this. The front part of the circle is the "cut". In this part of the circle the hand is firm and the edge is kept true to the direction of cut. At the bottom of the circle is the "break" . Here the wrist is turned to begin the return. At this point the edge is no longer a factor and rapid reposition of the wrist is crucial. As the blade is brought back up the "return" portion of the circle brings the blade back up where it is "aimed". So you have -aim-cut-break-return-aim-cut-break-return- etc. there are two kinds of returns, The round return as discussed and the direct return where the weapon is stopped at the break and brought back up along the same path with the hand in the same position. This is much harder than the round return. However most of the strikes possible from horseback require the direct return. In all cases the point of break on round returns must be distorted to avoid hitting the horse. These circles and other deployments are organized according to types.
(1) A cut- The classic samurai slice. The point is allowed to trail slightly behind as the hand pulls the hilt into the direction of the strike without pivoting the wrist. The effect on contact is that of a knife cutting meat. This is the most efficient transmission of force. The locked wrist transmits body weight into the impact. The edge is drawn toward the wielder as it contacts
(2) A chop- The wrist pivots and the point comes down. Ax like movement. This is the most natural and easiest application of force. However the broken link of the loose wrist makes the transmission of impact energy strictly limited to weapon weight and velocity. The edge strikes perpendicularly to the target with no slicing movement.
(3) A rap- A tricky move where the hand is thrown forward as the wrist is pivoted. Like trying to swat a moving fly with a hammer. The effect is almost the opposite of the slice. Once again this is a weak strike and only the weight of the weapon and its velocity are a factor. The weapon is actually thrust past the target and the edge moving forward as it contacts the target.
(4) A back cut- The back edge is used in a sickle like cut either forward or backward.
(5) A thrust- The point is directed toward the target and the arm extended rapidly to effect impact.
(6) A flanconade- The weapon is swung in an arc to gain velocity that ends in a thrust. This is much much more powerful than a simple thrust. For example an individual attempts to pull you from your saddle by grabbing your left leg. You swing your boken over your head and bring the point straight down on their head. The flanconade is absolutely the most effective technique when reaching across the horse. It allows the right hand to deliver blows across the reins without interfering. It allows defensive moves to the left of the horses head without hitting the horses head.
there are several basic positions to hold the boken that allow quick deployment while maintaining an appearance of strict discipline. These are called guard positions
(1) High center.
In this position the boken is held over the head with the arm bent and the
blade at ninety degrees from the direction of the horses travel. The point
is held to the left (if right handed) and the pommel to the right. This is
overtly threatening and is used only in active conflict but it is the most
powerful position. From the high center position the boken is available
for; thrusts to the left, chops down to the direct right , cuts down to
the front right and rear right, and wide sweeps from front to rear.
(2) Low center.
The boken is held out to the right with the arm about thirty degrees down.
The wrist is bent down and the pommel held against the wrist. The blade
being an extension of the line of the arm with the back edge straight up.
This position looks very formal and with a little sidepassing skills is an
excellent defensive position. A unit that lines up one horse length apart,
then pivots their hindquarters right creating a solid wall of horses then
sweeps their batons from low center deployment to high center deployment
on a command can cause more gut reaction in a crowd than tear gas. From
the low center position the boken is available for; thrusts to the front,
rear and side, back cuts forward or to the rear followed by return cuts
back to center, and flanconades over the reins to the left side of the
horse.
(3) charge.
The boken is held forward over the horses head and slightly angled to the
left. This position is good for running thrusts which is its principle use
but it also is a good position to maintain for maximum defence of the
horses face. From charge the boken is available for; cuts to the right
front and right as well as back cuts and thrusts to the left.
(4) Attention.
Like the classic marine corps pose. The elbow is pulled back till the
wrist is almost against the waist and the boken is parallel to and
slightly in front of the body. This position is deceptive. It appears
unthreatening but rapid deployment is possible in all directions. The
boken is available from the attention position for; raps to the front
right and rear made possible by a punching movement with a lot of wrist,
thrusts and flanconades cover the left.
(5) At ease.
The boken is held almost casually but still in this extremely deceptive
position. The hand is rested on the thigh or stomach with the point
crossing over the left shoulder. The boken is kept tight to the body to
avoid interfering with the reins. From the at ease position the boken is
available for; cuts to the right in all three zones as well as thrusts to
the left. However strikes from this position can threaten the horse more
than from the others and more care is required.
(6) In the ring.
It is assumed that the boken is carried on a belt or saddle ring on the
left side with a quick release strap to keep it from falling out at a
gallop. As long as the right hand reaches over the reins to grasp it, the
boken is available in this position for; cuts to the right and thrusts to
the left directly from the ring. However it is easier for an assailant to
take your weapon from your belt than from your hand.
The overall usage of the boken on horseback is made easier and safer by one basic rule. "Begin and end all movements with a guard position." >From the instant you take the weapon in hand either strike with it or assume a guard position. The instant you are done hitting return to a guard position.
The use of the weapon hand to rein is questionable and only an emergency measure. When done the boken must be maintained at ninety degrees from the horses neck.
Special care must be taken to avoid hitting the horse with the pommel of the boken.
The horse can have one of only three understandings of the boken.
(1) They don't care what or why (for not real bright horses)
(2) The boken is a threat like a quirt or crop. This makes things much
harder for both of you and is inevitable if the horse is hit in error.
Sometimes one bad experience from a trusted rider can wreck a horse that
is used to frightening conduct from others. To use a weapon from a horse,
absolutely requires absolute trust.
(3) The boken is a friend that protects the horse from threats. This is
actually easy to teach using a simple trick. I swear this works really
well with a lance and can be adapted to a hand weapon.
Pick a windy day and take fifteen or twenty plastic grocery bags and have
a confederate release them into the wind and into the horses pen or
paddock. All horses spook at flying plastic bags. Let a few go by till the
horse starts to snort and prance. Then as they enter the pen you get real
aggressive and widely moving as you hunt down and kill each bag. Your
confederate releases the bags where the horse can see them approach and
then see the handler kill and disappear each bag using the boken. Any
smart horse will immediately associate. I had an Appaloosa that had
basically been beat over the head with an iron pipe by a previous owner
and was afraid of everything. By gaining its trust and using the plastic
bag trick (with a lance) this fearful horse became an excellent jousting
horse. However it would not go any where or do any thing till the rider
had a lance firmly in hand.
Two things are absolutely required for the martial use of the horse.
(1) The trust of the horse
(2) Training, training, training, for both horse and man!
Mathew Cross