Kyoketsu Shoge

Shoge shown left pictured in Dr. Hatsumi Soke's Book, "Ninjutsu : History And Tradition", page 136. As I forge some of the metal weapons I wish to study, this appears to have been crudely made, with a plate of iron or steel split and hammered into a kagi (hook). In 1984, I received a catalog from my late friend and mentor, Hank Reinhardt and his company - Atlanta Cutlery, which featured a cache of American Civil War "bridal cutters" which closely resemble the Shoge. Some modern lumberjack tools do, too.

In Hatsumi Sensei's books he mentions that if your taijutsu is not good, your skill in weapons will be poor as well. This is very telling. Your weapons should fit you and your body type as much as my SCUBA equipment, weapons and climbing gear. The Shoge is a Ninki (secret weapon), so I will only touch on the Kihon (basics) on the nomenclature of this worthy defense tool.

This is a very esoteric weapon, and unique to Togakure Ryu Ninpo historically. My reference is from Serge Mol's excellent reference book, "Classical Weapons of Japan : Special Weapons and Tactics of the Martial Arts". Consisting of a double edged dagger with a sharpened hook, a cord made from braided human or horse hair and a heavy iron ring sometimes adorned with sharp points, the Shoge may have some direct influences from the Chinese rope dart weapon. The ring can be used as brass knuckles. All in all, this fighting tool is a combination of a hand held long, medium and short range weapon.

I've interviewed other schools claiming to be from a Japanese tradition of Ninjutsu that included knowledge of the Shoge. They mentioned that they chose to put the Indian Chakrum sharpened disc on the end of the cord, so it could "cut arms and legs off". If you spin (Furi) the ring, you will see that it never stays on an even level. You also cannot use it as a hand held weapon because it's too sharp to do so. An iron ring with sharp points hits harder and does more damage than a chakrum. My Sensei, Dr. Hill, M.D., had a bicycle main gear with sharpened points and a burnished grip on his. A brilliant use of an improvised weapon.

Throughout the 1980's we had many teething problems creating our own training versions. The wood grain always changed direction for the Kagi (hook), and would often break. A friend of mine, a professional guitar tech, created one for me made of plywood. I braided parachute cord to simulate the type of cord used on a real Shoge. Since the grain goes in many different directions, the Kagi doesn't break. I've owned this training Shoge since 1984.

Pictured left is the training version of the Kyoketsu Shoge produced by The Buki Company.

The Shoge shown left was made for me by a student (Kenneth Edelstein) who is a professional woodworker. He created one made from a solid piece of wood, selected with the grain changing direction on the Kagi. It is a work of art! He also made my Hickory Bo (staff) into a finely polished weapon. Kenneth also made me a training version of my favorite fighting knife, the Bowie (shown above). A most impressive effort

After being hit on my right temple with the original metal ring covered in duct tape, I hit on the idea of using a rubber doggie chew ring. Many others figured this out on their own as well. The Buki Co. uses a high - impact plastic version of the hooked dagger, and that completely eliminates the structural problems. This training weapon was thoughtfully provided by Kevin Weiss Sensei.