The star shape is the best known of the "shuriken"
Shuriken is a Japanese word that refers to a knife that is thrown as a projectile . The term is not part of the dictionary developed by the Royal Spanish Academy ( RAE ).
ninja star
The best known shuriken is star -shaped. Because this weapon is often linked to ninja , this shuriken is referred to as a ninja star .
These shuriken are characterized by having several points and cutting edges. Its small size allows the person carrying the weapon to easily hide it in their clothing or even in their hand. Furthermore, it is common for the ninja star to have a hole in the central part to improve its aerodynamics and to make handling easier.
Other shuriken have an elongated shape, with one or both ends pointed. In this case the weapon resembles a dart or a needle .
Strategy
In ancient times, when used in combat , the shuriken was usually thrown to gain an advantage in the fight or to distract the opponent. Only in certain cases did the shuriken function in itself as a lethal weapon, especially if its tips were bathed with some toxic substance , such as poison or feces to transmit to the opponent a tetanic infection that at that time had no cure.
This is opposed to the application given to the shuriken in fiction, both in comics, movies and video games, where it is presented mainly as a lethal weapon, but also as the only one that some fighters need to defeat his adversaries. Regarding the distraction that they allowed to cause in the opponent, this was mainly sought on two well-defined occasions: at the beginning, to increase the probabilities of success in full combat; in the end, to achieve a guaranteed escape.
Its use in the middle of a battle is similar to the set of techniques known under the name of metsubushi , which ninja used to blind their opponents , either temporarily or permanently, both to defend themselves and to guarantee their escape. The throwing of the shuriken is crucial for its effectiveness, but the most important thing was the surprise effect, and to achieve this they had to take it very quickly and aim it at the weak points before the opponent could react. The face, feet and hands were the most attacked parts.
Another option was to hold the shuriken and use it as a hand weapon, without throwing it. It could also be stuck into the ground to be used as a thorny fortification or caltrop. Turning it into a flammable object was another possibility. Finally, even taking advantage of its material to reflect sunlight on its surface and thereby confuse the opponent was another effective tactic in daytime fights.
Shurikenjutsu
The martial art based on the use of shuriken is known as shurikenjutsu . Those who practice this non-competitive discipline learn different techniques to use these weapons.
The shuriken was one of the ninja's resources.
Its history is very old and is not as well documented as others in Japanese culture. It is closely related to military groups made up of ninja. On the other hand, thanks to the various oral traditions maintained by shurikenjutsu schools, it is possible to access certain data about its emergence and use.
The fact that there are various types of shuriken used in this art is due to the fact that when it emerged, several people contributed their own ideas to transform everyday objects into weapons. One point that all variants have in common is the importance of stealth and attack speed .