Is a "Chinese Star" really a weapon?

Most of the junk I seen for sale would have trouble sticking into a cardboard box . I belive one again movies overblow something and silly laws get passed . Switchblades were the assualt rifles of the 1950's Must ban these evil weapons Blood running in the street choice weapon of the gangs Just like today. Mothers AND POLICE CHIEFS in Washington telling congress these horrible stories about a little folding knife Same tactics used by antigunners today.

Hey, don't blame China for shuriken, those are Japanese in origin.

Shuriken aren't meant to kill, but are for distracting your opponent and possibly disabling him. They could buy you time to escape, prevent an opponent from drawing his weapon, distract multiple enemies, or buy you some time to draw your weapon, etc. They're just like throwing sand or pebbles into your opponent's eyes -a dirty trick to help you set-up whatever you are planning.

Blame it on movies to turn them into death devices.

The shuriken was used primarily by the Ninja and the tips had stuff on them that was poison or an irritant.

Hey, don't blame China for shuriken, those are Japanese in origin.

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Most "ninja stars" are made in China now so I guess "chinese star" can be accurate lol

But CWL is right, they are a weapon of suprise meant to stun and distract. Even a shot in the skull probably wont kill you. But throw it at someone's face/neck and I doubt they would chase you anymore. Or you can throw it from a distance where you can not be attacked by sword, while closing the distance and attacking while your target is stunned. Think flash grenade of fuedal Japan.

vicdotcom,

yeah, I was thinking the same thing as I was typing... although the majority in existence around here probably came from my metal shop class.

I believe the senban, or whatever they are called, are meant to stun and distract.

The Venn circle for people most likely to arm themselves with throwing stars overlap with the people most in need of laws restricting what tools they can bring to the fights they start.

An often overlooked use for senban shuriken is to throw them into the ground so that they stick up like caltrops would. A pursuer running after you and stepping on them would be slowed considerably. Unlike caltrops though, they do serve a multitude of purposes. A shuriken thrown from a place of hiding won't kill anyone, but it will make them think twice about just where it is that they should be going.

Tools of distraction, confusion, and delay.

Unless one is sticking out of my eye socket, I am really going to do nothing more than point and laugh at the use of a throwing star in combat. They are pretty fun to fling at trees and plywood and stuff, I guess, but they are severely lacking as a weapon of any substance, at least in my opinion.

Answer me this, martial arts dudes: Wouldn't you have to have Thor-like strength to actually fling a star at someone and cause any real damage? Also, wouldn't the accuracy required to hit a spot that would cause any real damage with any degree of repeatability be near mystical to attain? I can see the use of the spike, because I assume it has a pretty good amount of mass behind it (I am envisioning something like the Cold Steel Torpedo), but I just can't see the star being useful at all.

Is a "Chinese Star" really a weapon?

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Authentic senban or "star" shuriken are pretty thin, sharp, & made of decent quality metal. A stack of ten could easily be the thickness of a deck of cards or less, and could easily cause serious injury or death if thrown with sufficient force & accuracy.
A bo-shuriken is DEFINITELY a real weapon, being very sharp and weighing upwards to 5 ounces or more.

Cold Steel makes some big heavy stars, looks like they would do some damage.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9NPy4P213eE
I like watching the Cold Steel videos, they are fun to watch!

As a young teen I designed and built an atlatl for shuriken. It took some practice to throw them accurately with the atlatl, but the velocities obtained were impressive. Much more plywood penetration was achieved. Of course, while shuriken may be carried easily, an atlatl is less so, unless perhaps disguised as a walking stick.

Duke of Doubt said:

...while shuriken may be carried easily, an atlatl is less so, unless perhaps disguised as a walking stick.

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Why, how very ninja of you!!!


BTW, when I finally got serious about throwing, a little synchronicity happened & someone turned me on to Ralph Thorn's No-Spin Combat Throwing method.
http://www.combatknifethrowing.com/
Check out his DVD. The book is decent too, but a lot of filler in both. He's spent a lot of time having to convince people that it actually works, so the dvd had TONS of crazy throws by him, sticking throw after throw after throw, often w/o cutting scene, just to show that consistent sticks are achievable with his method.

At 13, I suppose everyone was a "ninja" of one sort or another. Especially in 1983.

Growing up in 50's and early 60', we carried a knife and 3 or 4 lug nuts or ball bearings, never used either.

The only thing that makes throwing stars Chinese is the fact that most are made with a copyright owned by a Chinese Kung Fu Master with a degree in Engineering who produces them....In the late 1800s The Chinese did throw razor sharp coins, small darts (dipped in poison) steel balls etc... Previous to this time Chinese weapons were never thrown without a way of being able to retrieve it. The now known Chinese throwing star is nothing more than a toy.....Doc

How did throwing stars ever become classified as weapons? I mean, how much mortal damage will a 2" puncture wound really do to an angry attacker. Maybe if you got him right in the eye ball? Does anyone know what the real-world effectiveness of the throwing star is?

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In all of my research I have never heard of them being used by themselves for the purpose of killing someone.

The real ones are not very heavy, but heavier than the ones you see in Chinatown. If you got hit with one, it would be a minor injury. Not something you would just shrug off. Probably like getting hit with a thrown Spyderco point first with more weight behind it. While it would not go deep enough to kill someone without a very lucky shot, it could open someone up for something else, and the guys that used them usually had something else with them that could kill.

If you had a spear, and got hit with one, you probably would be out of it just long enough for a swordsman ready for it to slip past your point and then your length advantage is gone.

If you were chasing an intruder full out and got hit with one, you would probably stumble and let out a scream or something. And then not only would a few people stop chasing the guy to take care of you, but the rest of the guys that kept it up would have to slow down a bit to watch for more of what you got. That gives the guy running a bit of a head start.

The ninja of Japan were famous for using them because they were not interested in killing people when discovered. All they needed was for people to not be too eager to chase after them. The samurai used them to mess enemies up from a distance while they got ready to use their sword for the lethal blow.

Anybody remember The Master? He once took two throwing stars, one in each hand, threw them simultaneously and blew out both front tires of an approaching car.

O.K.!
Now that we got that settled:

How about Oddjob's hat?

rc

I think Oddjob's hat could easily kill someone, whether by blunt-force if it was dull or by slicin and dicin if it were sharpened.