Anbo - jyutsu Anbo - jyutsu was a type of Human martial arts practiced in the 24th century . It took place in a circular arena , where two opponents would compete against each other . Both competitors wore light protective armor and a helmet that had a solid visor , which effectively blinded the competitor . A staff was used as a weapon , with a proximity sensor on one end and a small spherical cushion on the other . With the help of the proximity sensor , a player could detect , by means of an audio signal , where his / her adversary was . Kyle Riker began playing with his son , William T . Riker , when he was eight years old . William used this game in 2365 as a means to settle long - held grudges against his father . Kyle considered anbo - jyutsu to be the ultimate form of Human martial arts . Katherine Pulaski considered it highly dangerous . The move called " Hachidan kiritsu " was illegal in the 24th century and would give a competitor using it an unfair advantage . When William turned twelve years old , Kyle knew he could not defeat him by conventional means , so he began defeating his son with this move , until as an adult William Riker discovered his father had " cheated " him . Kyle defended his attitude by explaining he had to keep the boy interested in anbo - jyutsu by not letting him win . ( ) Appendices . Background information . " AN - bo JUT - su " was the pronunciation for this martial arts ' name , according to the script pronunciation guide for " The Icarus Factor " . This sport was derived from Japanese martial arts . Evidence of this is that competitors speak Japanese phrases before , during , and after a match . The fight between the Riker father and son was devised by Robert L . McCullough , who was credited with co - writing the teleplay of " The Icarus Factor " . " " I was studying karate , so I just used all that , " " explained McCullough . " " I knew the karate philosophy , and I wanted them to have an ultimate confrontation and then reconcile . That ' s how it evolved . " " ( " " , issue 187 , p . 55 ) The writing on the ring and armor are references to Japanese culture . One reference is to the animated series " Urusei Yatsura " , the name of which is also used as the name of the . The large character in the center , 星 ( " Hoshi / sei " , star ) , is used in the title . The words next to 星 , in katakana are ラム ( " ramu " ) and アタル ( " ataru " ) , the names of the main characters . The phrases " Uru " sa " i " ( うるさい , loud / obnoxious ) and " Yatsura " ( やつら , people ) are written on the back corner , which are what the title is said to come from . Another is probably to , a classic martial arts text . On the front of Will Riker ' s armor , 地 ( " chi " , ground ) , 水 ( " mizu " , water ) , and 火 ( " hi " , fire ) are written while on the front of Kyle ' s 水 , 火 , and 空 ( " sora " , sky ) are visible . On the back of Kyle ' s helmet is 空 ; 水 and 火 are also on the side of the ring . These are names of four of the five chapters of the book ( the missing one is 風 ( " kaze " , wind ) ) . In addition to these references , ユリ ( " yuri " , lily ) is also written on the ringside . One banner in the corner reads 忍耐 ( " nintai " , perseverance ) . The Japanese spoken by the Rikers during their fight in this ring is poorly pronounced . What they were trying to say from the text in the script was " " Yoroshiku onegaishimasu " " ( which is a standard " first meeting " phrase in Japanese which literally means " " please treat me gently " " ) which , in this situation could be taken to mean " " Well met , please do your best . " " ( Instead of the words being romanized , closed captioning says , " ceremonial chant , " which is untrue . ) When knocked to the ground , the competitors would shout " " Matte ! " " which means " " Wait ! " " The illegal move " Hachidan kiritsu " , when written in kanji as 八段規律 , could be translated to mean " eight steps rule . " Costume Designer Durinda Rice Wood created the outfits of the players by using different types of motorcross suits after she saw them in a motorcross magazine . ( " Departmental Briefing Year Two : Memorable Missions - The Icarus Factor " , TNG Season 2 DVD special features ) Apocrypha . Anbo - jyutsu has popped up in a few instances in " Star Trek " literature . Will Riker spars with Christine Vale in " A Time to Love " , and B ' Elanna Torres with Kes in " Distant Shores " .