Sumo is one of the world’s oldest martial arts. Japanese text references date back more than a thousand years. We include Sumo in our book as one of the likely influences in the development of Tori Shogi.
Both disciplines involve immediate conflict. Sumo begins immediately, each athlete charging their opponent to gain control of the center of the ring (tachi ai). Tori Shogi also begins immediately, with a capture opportunity on the first move. It is the only full-size variant of any chess game where this is possible.
Both games aim to get the opponent off balance and backed into difficult positions. Relentless attacks are employed to keep the opponents defensive and confused.
In The Book of Five Rings, Musashi identifies twenty-five strategies for gaining advantages during competition.
Bruce Lee was curious, wanting to research and understand any aspect that would provide him with an advantage. The Book of Five Rings was one of Lee’s studies.
Both Miyamoto Musashi and Bruce Lee were considered unbeatable. Both researched all contemporary martial arts to find the best practices and incorporate them into their own methods. Both developed their own schools, innovative for their times. They employed techniques of observation, adaptation, and improvisation to enhance their well-practiced skills and create advantages.
Tori Shogi follows these practices. Due to the initial capture opportunities, there are limited opportunities for memorizing openings. Rather, Tori Shogi seems to begin in the middle game, where checks, captures, and threats may come quickly, and need to be identified and addressed just as quickly.
Tori Shogi is a martial art form played out on the board.