In
the early days of martial arts moving to the West there
were many neat and some crazy ideas. One of the most widely
accepted was the "Yawara" method based on a piece of "electro-plastic"
about six inches long. The Yawara was utilized in striking
at nerve and "pressure" points. "How to Use the Yawara Stick
for Police" written by Prof. F. A. Matsuyama - "The Only
Yawara Man in America"- illustrates this method. Officers
are shown techniques for incapacitating and subduing attackers
and prisoners in cars, on the street, in chairs and all
over the place. Mr. Matsuyama received commendations from
chiefs in Oakland, Berkeley, Colorado, Nevada, etc. But
we seldom see anything as neat as these Colorado State Highway
Patrol Officers proudly displaying their Yawara sticks for
all the world, taught by a Japanese only three years after
World War II.
