Читать книгу Modern Hand to Hand Combat. Ancient Samurai Techniques on the Battlefield and in the Street (Downloadable Audio Included) онлайн

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For the samurai, fighting in close-quarters hand-to-hand combat was viewed as honorable, and sometimes even preferred, therefore, close-combat methods for the battlefield were given great emphasis. Understanding that close quarter fighting would occur while wearing armor, these systems would extensively cover fighting with weapons and grappling while wearing heavy body armor. These armed and unarmed combat methods of fighting while armored had many names, such as: Koshi no Mawari, Katchu Bujutsu, Yoroi Kumiuchi, Yotsugumi, and Kogusoku.

Protecting the Body

The samurai wore many different types of armor, depending on the time period and construction. However, two main styles primarily stood apart from the rest: the O-yoroi and the Domaru. The O-yoroi (“great/big armor”) was used primarily for mounted cavalry due to its weight. This armor was worn only by the upper class and higher-ranking samurai.

The Domaru (“around the body”) was lighter and, therefore, worn primarily by the infantry. When reading about these two styles of armor, one who has stepped foot on the modern day battlefield will be reminded of the difference between armor worn while mounted in the turret gunner’s seat and the armor worn by the dismounted service member. In Iraq, generally, the turret gunner had to wear more armor because of his greater risk of exposure. Snipers and improvised explosive devices (I.E.D.s) caused many casualties, due to the exposure of this position. The answer was to provide more personal armor for the turret gunner. Dismounted individuals, although more exposed, have to move on foot while carrying heavy equipment. Thus, they sometimes wore less armor to reduce or balance out the weight on their bodies and maintain some level of agility while conducting urban operations.