Kyuden Shika

The Speardancer Dojo is larger than one would expect of a kyuden of this size. While many bushi consider the spear a cheap weapon that one can toss to a mob of ashigaru before sticking them in front of a cavalry charge, the Shika’s approach to sojutsu is a thing of beauty. Filled with fancy acrobatic tricks, superior mobility, and a fearsome reach, a trained speardancer can control quite a large area.

The dojo has a wide array of practice weapons, though it certainly has more spears than most dojos. Unique to the lands of the Shika is the tsuno-yari, a crescent bladed spear with two hooks on the blade resembling the antlers of a deer.

In a position of honor rests the second tsuno-yari of Daidoji Kokoro. Having fled from her family and clan with Asahina Takuya so they could marry for love, Daidoji Kokoro spent years in the woods as a ronin. She learned caution and cunning by studying deer, while living in the woods taught her to mirror the balance of the natural world around her.