I have never seen it practised outside of the Bujinkan/Ninja groups. It's a rather clumsy tool for the job, like the Kusarigama, although even less easy to use which would probably explain somewhat it's absence from other ryuha's curricula... Just a Ninja tool as far as I know...Although who can say what lurks at the higher levels in some Ryuha, it may turn up there somewhere...But it's not talked about in public, and not demoed, and not mentioned outside the Ninja groups...So my guess would be no. Regards.
No extant ryuha uses this weapon. This weapon wasn't used outside of contemporary systems. The Kyoketsu Shoge (距跋渉毛 or 距抜渉毛) is a variant of the kusarigama. It's very similar in morphology to an Indian ankus (elephant goad) The only other kusarigama variant that comes close to the Kyoketsu Shoge is the Nito Shinkage-ryu kusarigama, which is basically a kama with a spear head and chain attached. [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CSMrS9irNfo]Nito Shinkage-ryu (二刀神影流 )[/ame]
The short-handled ankus (shoge) was used as a weapon throughout East India and Mongolia. The inside edges were not sharpened, it was not a kama nor a variant of one. The ankus (tool) is only for controlling, not cutting. I mean, what is the point of slicing off the elephant's ear? The points were mildly sharpened, anough to penetrate human flesh, but only cause pain to a pachyderm. (The working ankus is smaller than the fighting ankus) (Egerton, 1880. Pg 100, Item #349) We also know that the chakram (quoit) was also in use. (Egerton, 1880, Pg 129) We know that Vedic people migrated to Japan from India and these weapons, along with many others such as the asymmetrical south Indian longbow (yumi), they would have brought with them. (Along with an entire culture) It may have been the Japanese who came up with the idea of connecting a chakram to an ankus with a length of rope. Many "ninja" weapons consist of one or two items connected this way. As for it's clumsiness, All I can say is Soke never looked anything but graceful to me.
