Motsugai was trained in eighteen styles of martial arts, both armed and unarmed, and his feats of strength included moving heavy rocks, uprooting trees, winning tug of war competitions against masses of people and breaking wooden boards with his bare fists.
[5] Once while he was walking around the city, Motsugai spotted an open training hall where the Shinsengumi were sparring with their shinai swords and stopped to observe them.
Motsugai accepted the duel, but he stated a monk shouldn't use weapons and instead wielded two wooden begging bowls.
[6] When an infuriated Kondo attacked, Motsugai trapped his spear between the bowls and, releasing him with a loud kiai, threw him to the floor over his backside.
[5] According to sources, Motsugai's most renowned opponent wasn't a man, but a woman, the onna bugeisha Shuei of the Matsudaira clan, which the Fusen-ryū would serve in the future.