Board Thread:Off Topic/@comment-25396609-20170505174118/@comment-25936766-20170531041223

Arkantos95 wrote: I thought the whole thing about them being able to break weapons was a myth. Or was that the jitte? Both, but only in some cases. Rare cases. They were used more to block and parry and trap.

The Jitte itself was used to catch the blade with the hook after blocking it with the main shaft, and could also be used like a baton.

The story behind Jittes is interesting. In Feudal Japan, bringing a sword to a Shogun's Palace was a crime, punishable by death, so guards used non-bladed weapons. Eventually, the Jitten evolved in a symbol of a Palace Guard's exalted position, and in the Edo period it was esentially a Badge.