I’ve read that this is included in Tatsummi-ryu and involves group fighting tactics. Does this involve fighting as a group i.e. formations or is it for dealing with multiple opponents? Do any other Koryu include this as an area of study? It got my interest as I’ve been wondering lately if any of the Koryu covers such things. Mainly I’ve been wondering about formation work and mass warfare rather than combat on an individual basis. Thanks
Heki-ryu kyujutsu in Kyushu have kata where archers fire in formation wearing kacchu. Tennen Rishin-ryu have group swordsmanship tactics against a single enemy. (Tennen Rishin-ryu was one of the main schools of swordsmanship for the Shinsengumi, the Tokugawa regime's last special weapons and tactics unit, appointed to assassinate anti-shogunate activists) Shinkage-ryu kenjutsu also have tactics where the individual engages a group of swordsmen. I think there is also a a sojutsu ryuha that also practice group tactics, but I forget which.
Cheers Steve. I remembering reading somewhere that the term aiuchi has it’s basis not just in two combatants killing each other but that it's also related to when a group of swordsmen "ganged up" on another i.e. mutual killing in that they share the kill. Anything to that?
In archaic Japanese, verbs undertaken by a plural subject were often preceded by the prefix "ai-" (written 相). So a single subject sentence might run, "Zatoichi struck/took out the Yakuza" - Zatoichi Yakuza wo uchitari, a plural subject sentence would run, Zatoichi to Sanjuro tomo ni Yakuza wo ai-uchitari. Zatoichi and Sanjuro struck/took out the Yakuza together.
