The Merits of Fashionable Neckwear in Combat
By
Senior Hi-Karate Disciplinarian Dave Shane
For a long time now, men and women alike have worn some form of fashion around their necks. This fashion comes in many forms; ascots, kerchiefs, scarves, bows, or neckties. In western society the necktie is a very common form of attire seen in the professional circles. In fact an expectation of professional and formal dress, the necktie is ubiquitous as form of fashion statement.
However, this seemingly innocuous fashion accessory may also be used to deadly effectiveness in hand-to-hand combat. The necktie is a formidable weapon around the neck of a knowledgeable combatant. Truly, the term for a striking red tie against a dark colored suit draws its name from Hi-Karate legend, the Power Tie. For as long as Hi-Karate combatants have worn a scarf or other neckwear about their necks, those ties have been soaked in the blood of their enemies. The Hi-Karate adept has always worn black and the red tie indicated many a death match ended successfully and indicated the power of the winner.
It may seem counterintuitive to have a loose strip of cloth tied around one’s neck attached by a slipknot during a fight. But, nothing could be further from the truth. The tie when properly worn and used in combat is extremely effective in destroying an enemy. As an opponent reaches for a lapel or the tie itself, the defender moves his body and uses the tie to trap the opponent’s attacking hand. The opponent’s hand is rendered ineffective as a weapon now bound by the tie that is securely anchored to the defender’s axial skeleton. Now should the attacker try to pull his hand back the defender goes on the offensive by bringing himself closer and completing his counterattack. It may seem that by the attacker simply pulling on the tie it would choke the wearer, but this simply does not happen.
The necktie also serves as a form of distraction to the opponent. In a defense situation, the attacker proceeds to harm the Hikarate practitioner, but as our Hikarate hero moves in his defense the tie stays in the same position for a split second. This is just enough time for the Hikarate-ka execute one of millions of techniques developed for use with the world’s myriad fashion accessories. In this type of scenario, the attackers eye is drawn to the tie, to its “power” and loses the initiative of the conflict. And, ultimately, it is this attackers blood that is added to the power of the tie. In a more offensive type of scenario, the Hikarate practitioner will move in such a fashion to cause the tie to remain in a position long enough to pull the attention of the opponent while the Hikararte-ist performs his attack to mystical, magical perfection. All that the opponent ever realizes is, “Hey, that’s a cool tie.”
It is said of one contemporary Hikarate expert’s exploits with the tie in combat. He relates a tale of heated combat and narrow escape from a dangerous foe by use of a necktie. Here is the excerpt from the book, “Hikarate: the mystical, magical art of handheld death” by Harry “Manjack” Kohor.
It was a dark night as I left my apartment to go out for an evening with a friend. I was in a good mood and my home was not in a very bad neighborhood, although a few undesirables have been seen around from time to time. I knew I’d be going out and so I had parked my car on the street near the front of the building and not in the garage, as was my usual custom. It was about 9:30 in the evening and as I left my building it came to my attention that it was unusually dark. The streetlights near my building were out for some reason. I walked down the front stairs and made a turn towards my car, which was about 10 yards away. Approximately 3 steps into the darkness I was surprised by a lone figure approaching from the darker shadows of the street. The attacker came at me with hand outstretched clutching a light colored object making a jingling sound. Next to them was a large rectangular “cart” filled with a sundry of different paraphernalia. As she approached avoiding eye contact, I knew she was feigning disability as she said, “Do you have any spare…”
I flew into action. I know from my decades of Hikarate training, that to hesitate is to die a coward’s death. Master Ki’s voice was in my mind the whole time as if guiding me to victory. “Jink and moonwalk to deceive your opponent”, he would say in regards to using the tie as part of Hikarate’s Element 1. Were I advanced enough, I would have executed Element 5 and immolate the impurity accosting and threatening my life. Yet it was not to be. Instead I deftly sidestepped her feeble lunge at me with her cup. As the distance closed I grabbed the tie I wore and completed my movement by wrapping it around her throat. She almost seemed surprised by the action as she attempted, I believe, to ki-ai, “Ahh, heell…” With the choke applied I finished off my opponent to make sure that she was no longer a threat to my neighborhood and me. Limply she dropped to the street as I got in my car and drove away. Hikarate saved my life that night and so did a simple tie. Never have I felt so confident and sure of myself, and the rightness of my training and its course. Mine enemies are vanquished and I sleep the sleep of the just.
It can then be seen that the proper use of clothing as a weapon in stress situations is not only appropriate by necessary for self preservation but for the very survival of the community.
Accessorize appropriately and save lives.
Dave Shane, Senior Hikarate disciplinarian
