In the Heian period, shooting arrows on horseback was the main battle style of mounted warriors; after the Jisho-Juei Civil War, a new battle style appeared, in which a mounted warrior crushed into the enemy together with his horse, wrestled the enemy on horseback, killed the enemy by thowing him off from the horse.
騎馬武者の戦闘法は平安時代においては騎射が主流であったが、治承・寿永の乱の頃より馬ごと相手にぶつかり、馬上で相撲を行い、落馬させて首を取るという新たな戦闘スタイルが登場する。