Abir Qesheth and Its Patriarchs: The Tactics & Weapons of Abir Qesheth Part 4

When the Hebrew people were exiled from their own land in 722, we see the culture transplanted throughout all parts of the world. It is illogical to assume that they only traveled north and west, when the most likely route to be followed was the Silk Road toward Japan. Thus we see the martial art of Abir, like the Hebrew language and customs, submerged into many cultures, as indicated by new revelations in Japan that were discussed in previous articles.

Its possible that the Abir style may have influenced other cultures, like Japan’s fighting styles,  and the case can be made through a comparison. Take a look at this video:

It takes an expert eye to determine how the root moves of Abir (moves that mimic the Hebrew Paleo alphabet) are sublimely different from other indigenous martial arts. We see the strong resemblance to many other traditional Asian martial art systems as viewed as outcroppings of arts solely indigenous to their own culture, but could it be the other way around. Keep an open mind and let the evidence speak for itself.

The Tactics & Weapons of Abir Qesheth

There exist a wide variety of weapons in the arsenal of Abir Qesheth System. enough to rival any “Ninja” in feudal Japan. Like we see in many Okinawan and Japanese based martial arts, many of the Abir weapons were essential tools of agriculture improvised for warfare. The study of these ancient weapons today is generally for cultural and historical purposes. What Aluph Abir, Yehoshua Sofer describes as “…an avenue toward self awareness.”

The unarmed looping motion principles of Abir Qesheth are executed the same way for each weapon. Weapons usage correspond to the motions used in unarmed combat. This is not true with the study of all the Israeli combat martial arts (i.e. Krav Maga, Kapap, etc.). MMA and Muay Thai practitioners in Israel are significant in number, and they too do not know what to make of  Abir Qesheth. Many people find it foolish for individuals to seek proficiency in Abir,  just as they see it foolish to  invest in the study of ninjutsu’s  traditional weaponry. “Why bother,” they ask, “given the prevalence of modern guns, grenades, missiles and improvised explosives devices”.

“Why don’t you take a gun and baaang!!!…Settle it? ” Bruce Lee says in Enter The Dragon. I posed this question to Aluph Abir Sofer who responds matter of factly, as follows:

“Prayer and Torah study define our merit as warriors to battle for the glory of The Creator and His Holy Name and is as vital to us as the technical and physical dynamics of our combat. We set the stage for subsequent miracles. Hashem does His part- We must do ours. We are establishing a fusion of the mind body and spirit with a bio-mechanic program combined with development of the senses. The eyes connect with the thoughts, emotions and energy usage levels. We gage these at once and interface with each element used in combat. What a fool doesn’t understand is that we can also apply this schematic to use with modern weaponry. Once the dynamic is achieved it is applied holistically and that means with, or without weapons. All weapons, whether ancient or modern, employ the same internal operating system in Abir Qesheth. There are many of us humans on the planet who do not possess firearms and may not qualify for legal ownership and use of firearms because of varying regulations around the world. It is perhaps best to be proficient with both hot and cold weaponry, and un-armed combat to be a complete warrior. One must also plan as without a plan, one plans to fail. We believe that a man’s plan is a considered folly in heaven. That is why we seek to gain Hashem’s permission, which is what we refer to as being within the Will of Hashem, by performing good deeds and learning Torah. This combined with training while keeping Hashem’s law, provides the merit to be successful in our tasks. This means all of our tasks, which unfortunately may include combat. The Judge Ehud Ben Gera from the third chapter of the Book of Judges (3: 11-29) was as close as could be in his time to being like the King of Israel. Ancient Israelites fought with the conventional weapons of their day and also had skill using agricultural tools. They practiced using those same tools as weapons. They converted the focus of their use from farming to warfare in a jiffy. Ehud had to do this with a very trust worthy group of fighters in total secrecy. Ehud sought to do as much of the major “dirty work” by himself regarding the liberation of our people from the obese Moabite king Eglon. Eglon was the great grandfather of Goliath and King Dawidh (David). So yeah, they were enemies and they were actually blood related cousins. Ehud chose to gain the king’s confidence and perhaps ease the personal security in the palace. Eglon was a satanic worshiper of Khemosh, a false deity represented by a massive fat calf or E’gel in Hebrew with a furnace in its belly where many humans including infants were sacrificed to this false calf god (placed in furnace). So the name Eglon was a humiliating nickname for our obese enemy likened to fattened veal. Once a great warrior, I was told Eglon could slap 8 people to death with one continuous open hand blow to the heads of warriors surrounding him in battle. His obesity ultimately caused him a heart condition that accompanied distinct gastronomic maladies including flatulence and diarrhea. The Moabite summer palace had a throne in the chill out loft that actually had a porcelain toilet that was quite difficult for him to get up from.

Ehud was a great warrior from the warrior tribe of Binyamin. They are represented by the wolf and use that style in battle. They were known for developing fighting skills in both their prominent and weaker hands. They were trained to be ambidextrous in battle. A double meaning was taught by the term people who mastered this as one ‘’with an additional right hand’ (yiter yad yeminoh) . ‘’Yiter’’ means an extra, but also means tied or immobilized. So Yiter yad yeminoh also means one whose right hand was tied. This is literal. Some Rabbinical scholars thought this meant that Ehud was left handed due to some condition that crippled his right hand. In the ancient oral tradition of Abir Qesheth, it is well known that the Binyamini tribe tied their sons dominant hand in training, in order to develop the weaker hand, until he could use both equally in battle were one of his hands injured etc,. So that is my understanding of the term. Binyaminis could hold bows and arrows in either hand and hold a weapon in their left hand while in line to bash a city gate with a pole held in the right hands of the whole unit of warriors. They were able tocut down the city’s defenders with a sword held in their left hands.

Eglon and the Moabites created a federation with the Amalekites and Ammonites to place the Binyamin and Ephraim Tribal region under siege on their way to attempt the conquest of Jerusalem and all of Israel. Neighbors will be neighbors…some things never change. Well let’s assume that in the 18 years of bitter occupation that Eglon disallowed the Israelites possession of conventional weapons like swords, spears, and archery kits. He did demand a royal homage tax of grains, fruit and livestock so, that alone proves Israel’s capacity to produce agricultural tools (weapons). It also means that Eglon never realized that Israelites could and would turn those farming tools they used into tools of lethal war.

Even a noble, especially a leader of stature like a Judge of Israel, like Ehud, absolutely had to be well versed in the art of warfare. Ehud was actually much like myself today since much of Israel’s fighting skills were forgotten by the bulk of the people in Ehud’s era. The people loved him for his battle prowess. Ehud had to single handedly rekindle the faith of the youth and taught a core group of them the system of warfare that was the trademark of their ancestors like Moshe (Moses) and his sucessor Yehoshua (Joshua). He was also able to fashion a unique dagger quietly on his own. Made to be slammed into that giant king’s over sized gut. He made it with a thin enough handle so that it too would enter the king’s large intestine and serve as a cap to prevent a massive gush of blood that would have immediately alerted the Moabite royals that their king was in fact assassinated and that they were about to be attacked by their enslaved victims. Instead, Such a large monster of man who was just that fat enough was a candidate for a fatal heart attack in which such an obese man’s heart would hemorrhage and drain out with excrement through his back side. The wafting odor that traveled the length of the palace convinced the security personnel that when Ehud waltzed calmly out to make his exit that the king was surely ‘lifting his legs’ to release a ghastly payload on his porcelain potty chair.

One thousand of Ehud’s clandestine students smashed a trained and experienced professional army, of ten thousand Israel Haters with a brilliant ambush. Moabites, Amalekites and Ammonites bonded together in a confederation based solely on their mutual hatred of the people of Israel and their desire to claim the land of the same name. Our people hacked those enemies up with farming tools until they were able to confiscate and loot them of their conventional weapons. That is to say although our people began the battle armed with farming tools, they were able to remove the weapons from their foes and continue fighting with their enemy’s spears and swords. Thousands of years later some group of archeologists from an American university with a grant from some organization with an anti-Israel agenda finds some weapons – they say “well…these weapons must certainly be Canaanite, Moabite, Amalekite, samsonite, termite or some finicky Pheonician’s …anyone but those damn Israelites. After all ..they say ‘Jews could never do anything mighty with their own hands

Ehud Ben Gera was a great warrior who applied medical, physiological, and anatomical principles in his brilliant assassination of the tyrannical Eglon. He fashioned his own custom short sword with a special body contoured sheath. He may have been strip searched once by Eglon’s security personnel but went out and retrieved his dagger for a subsequent entrance assuming correctly that the guards in the mid-day heat would settle to pat his clothed body down and pass him into the palace. So I guess we did know how to design and manufacture weapons and did not need to hire outside help. Ehud was a strategic and tactical genius who placed his fighters in perfect position to catch the fleeing enemy at the narrow fords along the Jordan River. We fought and we used weapons. There are indications that we were excellent fighters without weapons, as well. Ehud waltzed in to assassinate Eglon . He announced a personal message from Hashem to Eglon, which caused the king to dismiss his bodyguards and leave him alone with Ehud. Ehud then locked the doors behind him from the inside, rendering his escape an amazing feat in itself that required previous knowledge of the inner most chambers of the palace architecture including the sewage ducts under the floor. ”

The story of the assassination Eglon becomes that much more is fascinating when you are made aware of the aforementioned facts. For example, the possibility of the Jewish AKA Hittite immigration to Japan, that correlates to what the Japanese refer to as Hata clan, with another 300 similar words in Japanese that are Hebrew and the Hata Clan shrines being built to worship the Hebrew God. Whereas, the story of Ehud and Eglon parallels the Japanese folktale described in Nihon Hakugaku Kurabu (2006), Unsolved Mysteries of Japanese History, PHP Research Institute, ISBN 978-4-569-65652-6. That reports there exists the tale of Uesugi Kenshin, the famous daimyo of Echigo province rumored to have been killed by a ninja. The legend credits his death to an assassin who is said to have hidden in Kenshin’s lavatory, and gravely injured Kenshin by thrusting a blade or spear into his anus. However, this fabled account is dismissed, contradicted by historical records that showed Kenshin suffered abdominal problems (that’s symptoms are identical to Eglon) that modern historians attribute to his cause of death. Specifically, stomach cancer, esophageal cancer or cerebrovascular disease.

Qesheth appears in the Book of Samuel 2, 1:18 as Dawidh, King of Israel says that it is written that Qesheth be taught to the youth of Yehudah (meaning to the young warriors of the same name tribe and other male subjects of the Judean kingdom) “Qesheth” means bow as in bow and arrow, or rainbow/elipse, and is related to the bending of the elbow (or knee) of the limb, as the commentaries state there that the king is referring to a verse in הישר ספר /Sefer ha Yashar (Book of Jasher on Parashath Vayahi: 49, where Jacob blesses each of his sons who comprise the 12 tribes that indicates that Judah is known by his hand striking the back of his enemy’s neck. This according to the Aluph Abir Yehoshua Sofer is an attack launched facing his opponent, thereby illustrating a looping or hooking motion like a modern boxer’s hook, only with the intended target being where the back of the head meets the neck.

Aluph Abir Sofer expounding further, the oral history recorded in Samuel 1, chapter 17, verses 4-7 which describe Goliath of Gath and his weapons and armor (17-4): “And there went out a champion from the camp of the Philistines, named Goliath, of Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span.” (17-5) “And he had a helmet of brass upon his head, and he was clad with a coat of mail; and the weight of the coat was five thousand shekels of brass. 17-6, And he had greaves of brass upon his legs, and a javelin of brass between his shoulders.) “Goliath placed his spear vertically along his spine to the height facing the top of his head to protect himself from those hooking Qesheth strikes. He was after all, an experienced fighter familiar with Israel’s tactics. Qesheth as a fighting system is all about striking with bowed limbs. This also refers to looping swipes with various swords. I will one day with Hashem’s Help and Guidance get screenplays I wrote produced that will showcase Abir in a Biblical Action Cinema Genre and write books in detail about our ancient warfare and how it survived until this day. I will include many occurrences of the system’s mention in scriptural texts. I will explain the background and dynamics of these sources.”

The following is a sampling of Abir Qesheth Terminology – Titles & Weapons

Blessings The Nazir – A person of the Nazirite vow, such as Samson, who do not cut or comb their hair, eat or drink from the grapevine, be it grapes, raisins, wine, grapejuice, fruit roll from grape skins or intoxicants. Some Nazirites may not be defiled by the dead and may not even enter burial sites or burry their own family members. As a royal descendant from the house of Dawidh and an Abir, Yehoshua sofer is called a Nazir Malkhuthi or Nazir Shimshon, for a Warrior class of Nazir, which must take for granted that contact with the dead in battle is inevitable.

The Ephrat – One from the Bethlehm city region comprised of many hills that make up agreater area which includes Jerusalem all the way to Hevron and out to Beth El and yeriHo called Har(mount) Ephraim, and the city known as Ephrata or Ephrat. Ephrati means one who is from this region and/or one who is descended from the house of king David whose family name was (Ha)Ephrati=the Ephrati),

Mori – teacher

Yehoshu’a – Hashem is salvation,

Sofer – family name and protector/shield,

Ma’atuf – family name and catalyst, enveloper who is enveloped, wrapped and wrapper,protector and protected, welder or silversmith or one who fuses separated things together, in Yemeni Arabic,

DoHh – family name and one who stamps color patterns onto textiles in Yemeni Arabic

Aluph Abir  –

• Aluph, first, leader, champion,

• Abir – omni-powerful as a mighty bull and royal court guard, meaning grandmaster/head of the system

Abir Qesheth Weapons From Ancient Times

Kovesh sword AKA ‘’Khopesh’’ (Egyptian pronunciation of KOVESH )-hherev kovesh- חרב כובש

Royal Sword – hherev malkhuth- מלכותית חרב Royal sword –

Prince’s long sword- hherev nassikh- חרב  נסיך

Broad sword- hhereb rahhava-   רחבה  חרב    –

Abir swords -straight long and straight short, sickle and broad to name a few – Haravoth Abir אביר חרבות

The Abir Warriror much like an ancient Ninja, Okinawa Karate-do or modern special warfare operative is skilled and trained how to make use of:

• throwing coins  – zriqath matbeoth – מטבעות לזריקה
• throwing  stones – zriqath avanim – זריקת אבנים
• sling shot – qela’a –  קלע
• rock gun – aqdahh – אקדח
• arrow guns – mishager hheyssim –  משגר חצים
• catapult/rock missile launchers/ancient   קדום  ת גדולו אבים תותח – totaHh  qadum nu
• daggers – pigyonot – חרב פיפיות קצרה
• pick – makhosh מכוש
• axe – garzen גרזן
• hoe – ma’ader  – מעדר
• sickles – maghal – מגל
• club – alah – אלה
• staff – shevet – שבט
• spear – romahh- רומח
• pole – mowt – מוט
• walking stick – maqel  halikhah – הליכה מקל
• shepherd staff – mateh ro’iim מטה רועים
• nets -reshetoth רשתות
• javelin -Hhanith – חנית
• spikes – yatedoth – יתדות
• loop rings (to ring around limbs and heads) ‘aghal –  עגל
• many kinds of swords
• throwing sands – zriqath hhol – זריקת  חול
• poison powders – avkath ra’al  – רעל אבקת
• blinding powders – avkoth ‘eewwaron – ןעיוורו אבקת
• also (מצמח הבוצין habotseen   metsemahh
• traps (like for animals set around a fortress) – malqodhoth – מלכודות
• shin guards with nails –  mgane shoq e’em hhod- חוד  םע שוק מגני
• cutting whip –  לחיתוך שוט
• bow and arrow – hheSs wa gashath-(hhetz ve qesheth) – וקשת חץ
• incendiary arrows – hheSSey hatsatah – הצתה חצי
• darts – Hhessim l’zriqah – לזריקה חיצים
• bottles – baqbuqim  בקבוקים
• chairs – kisaoth – כסאות
• stool – shrafraf – שרפרף
• book stands – madaf sefarim – ספרים מדף
• מ air fans – manifoth – ניפות
• comb – masreq – מסרק
• agriculture rakes – magrefoth hharishah- חרישה מגרפת
• shovel  – eyt shefikhah – חפירה את 
• cleaver  – qofeeSs – קופיץ
• trident – קילשון – qilshon-
• pick- qardom – קרדום
• pruning knife- mizmarah- מזמרה 
• rams horn – shofar שופר
• jawbone of an ass – lehhi Hhamor- חמור לחי

Authors Note: Aluph Abir Sofer informs me he is extremely close to the launching of Abir Qesheth Online Training that will elaborate on the usage of each item/weapon aforementioned.

Yehoshua Sofer is presently holding classes in Jerusalem.

Tel: 972-52-672-0333; 
Facebook Community: Abir-Qesheth Hebrew Warrior Arts;

 
Aluph Abir, Mori Yehoshua Sofer email:  sofer@abir.org.il
 The Israel Abir/Qesheth Warrior Arts Association e-mail: abir@abirwarriorarts.com or abir@abir.org.il

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