It is really meaningful to explore the yari as a sports. With the exception of missiles, no other swords have achieved such an exclusive performance as the yari has done. Characterrized by its simple, direct power, it used to contribute to battles to a great extent in old times. Nowadays, you can still find in traditional houses a kakeyari on nageshi, which explains samurai's prosper-ous past. The yari was so much familiar to people of that time.
If swordsmanship is three times as advantageous as unarmed combat, spearmanship could then be three times as advantageous as swordsmanship is. Despite its excel-lency, the art of yari only remains in some old martial arts, and otherwise does not attract attention. Taking care of the yari as a sports would be part of our reponsi-bility, which we have so far failed to do. In the Olympic Games, one can only find it used in Javelin. In Japan, it would be more familiar for us to hold it with two hands.
We need, as learners of sports chanbara, to recognize this linear, elaborate, and powerful sports.
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