Spears?

Hold the spear with your lead hand palm up, underneath the haft/shaft. Your hands should be about shoulder width apart, with an approximately equal amount of spear on either side of your hands. Blade your body. Think of a standard right-angle triangle, with your lead foot being the point, and your rear foot being the far-right end of the L. (Well, your rear foot might be a little "steeper", but that's the basic idea.) The spear point should be higher in front than at the butt. If you want to thrust straight forward or even down, your lead hand can easily adjust.

The spear shaft should be smooth enough not to catch, but not too smooth, or you'll get carpet burn and the wood will stick to your skin. You can thrust with one of several motions.

1. Holding the spear, you can advance, thrusting with the body alone.
2. You can thrust just by extending both arms at the same time.
3. You can slide your rear hand back, grasp the shaft, and then let the shaft slide through your lead hand.
4. You can slide your lead hand back, grasp the shaft, and left the shaft slide through your rear hand. This is deceptive, and it's hard to see.
5. You can step forward while using #2, 3, or 4.

Basic kata: the most basic spear kata- and over 90% of what is needed to practice using spear- is pretty simple.

You face a swordsman. Thrust towards his forearm* using 2, 3, or 4. If he doesn't move, stab his forearm and continue to thrust into his body. If he does move, use one of the other thrusts and continue to thrust into his body. Simple and effective. Practice this a few times, and it's a real eye-opener- and fast. Again, this is most of what a spearman needs to know. It can be refined, but it doesn't take much practice at all to be very dangerous. A mediocre spear guy will beat a good swordsman.

Hope this helps.

*Practice spears can be made by cutting open a tennis ball, and putting it over the end of a long rod. Then the last 16" or so of the rod should be covered with thick PVC insulation- multiple layers are a good idea. Cover all of this with heavy tape. You still don't want to hit anyone in the head with this, but it's still much safer than just a plain staff, and is weighted more like a real spear.

RC, I submit that Roman discipline and leadership is what conquered, not the silly little spear. Oda Nobunaga conquered and united most of Japan. One of his innovations was a 14' spear.

John

Is it basically a dowel? Depends the wood, the width, and the length. 1 1/8 to 1 1/4" around is the right width. Length for the shaft before mounting the head should be about 6.5-7'.

Here's a decent video. There are some advanced moves in here, too, but the fluid, lightning-fast thrust (tsuki) should be really obvious. You should also remember that distance is your friend, with the spear. It's like rifle vs handgun. If you have the rifle, distance is your friend.

Well, a sharp stick is a spear. Be careful.

Sure thing. Just remember that some of that video is footage of students practicing- don't lead with your head like that green belt.

In sojutsu Japanese spear techniques, the blunt end would be more likely to be used as a strike, while the pointy end would most often be used for a thrust.

You can thrust with the blunt end, but you probably don't want that sharp spear tip too near you. So if it's not near you (i.e., your hands are still near the middle of the spear), you must not be using the spear's length to your advantage.

John