Saturday, October 11, 2008

Choose Your Weapons


I've never been a huge fan of traditional Okinawan weapons (kobudo). After all, karate - the empty hand way - forgoes the need for anything besides relying on the human body as a means for self defense. Kobudo is a bona fide fighting system unto itself, so when it's taught alongside of karate (as it usually is) at least some of its techniques are going to get short shrift. Most schools simply don't devote the same time, energy and passion into this martial art when you already have your work cut out for you in the equally in-depth (and far more practical) system of karate.

For the kobudo practitioner, the trick is to not regard your weapons as something separate from yourself. There's really nothing mystical about becoming one with, or extending ki into your weapons. There's a story about jiu-jitsu master Sokaku Takeda breaking the ribs of a hooligan with the snap of a wet towel when he summoned ki-energy into his makeshift weapon. In medieval kenjutsu the sword was considered a sacred artifact that possessed a life force of its own.

Some karate styles offer a myriad of kobudo weapons. In Isshinryu karate the predominant weapons that are taught are bo (6 ft. staff) and sai (tri-pronged truncheon). I favor the sai because I feel the techniques are reasonably similar to what I've already learned in karate. I also like the idea that the sai was probably developed to counter larger and heavier weapons, such as the sword and bo. Since I've settled on my weapon of choice I decided it was time to spring for some quality sai. So this past July, I put in my order for a pair of Shureido sai, natural black. A Shureido rep told me this was a hot item and that it would take some time before a shipment came in. Three months to the day - on my birthday, no less - my sai finally arrived. It certainly wasn't planned that way, but I'm happy to say it was worth the wait. It was a sai of relief. Sorry, I couldn't resist.

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9 Comments:

Blogger Charles James said...

Hi, John

Nice post. Isshinryu to day per AJA Sensei teaches in kobudo the tuifa as well. That was the last set Tatsuo Sensei taught officially.

I gave up weapons completely tho I had all of them in my training. I felt the only true and useful form of practice today was empty hand.

Recently I realized that there are two types of training that are useful for today's self defense as they are available in our environment in either form.

The Jo and the Escrima sticks. The jo is about 50" and good escrima start at 24" to 36" while I find 28" ideal for me.

If you have a self-defense situation crop up where you may need that extra edge then any semi-straight implement be it crowbar, stick from a tree, or a broom handle you are there.

Anyway, my two cents on kobudo otherwise the kata and training of other weapons are for traveling the Way and not necessarily combat.

- Charles

3:10 PM  
Blogger Perpetual Beginner said...

Sai are my favorite of the three Isshinryu weapons as well, though I'm learning fondness for the tonfa. My sensei's favorite is the bo, and that's what I've had the most instruction on so far. It helps that my bo is the one piece of quality equipment I have so far and is a joy to work with. My tonfa were made by my husband, and are still being tweaked. I'm thinking of asking for some Shureido sai for Christmas, since I'll be coming up hard on my probably black belt testing date by then.

You could devote a lifetime's study to any one weapon (or to any one form of empty hand fighting), but the cross-proliferation of techniques and ideas created by studying weaponry seems worth it to me. In much the same way that studying boxing, or ju-jitsu can add to your karate practice, even if you never gain the same proficiency.

3:24 PM  
Blogger Savage Baptist said...

Your new sai look great! I'm sure you'll get many years of rewarding practice out of them.

6:36 PM  
Blogger Blackbeltmama said...

They are sweet! I think they make you wait because you appreciate them more. Enjoy!

9:32 PM  
Blogger John Vesia said...

Thanks Charles.

Isshinryu to day per AJA Sensei teaches in kobudo the tuifa as well. That was the last set Tatsuo Sensei taught officially.

I was taught Matayoshi no tonfa, which really isn't Isshinryu kobudo. The official form is Hama higa which nobody around here seems to know.

I did escrima at a work shop years ago, and I must say I was impressed with what I saw. The only experience I had with a jo was during my brief time in aikido. We did a push-pull thing with it to develop haragei, nothing combatively.
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PB:

Sai are my favorite of the three Isshinryu weapons as well, though I'm learning fondness for the tonfa.

Ditto on the tonfa, even though I only know a single basic form. It's taken me a quite a while to get comfortable with them.

It helps that my bo is the one piece of quality equipment I have so far and is a joy to work with.

I have two, one is a traditional wooden type - nothing in the way of quality, though. The other one is rattan which I really like. It's flexible and very durable which makes it perfect for bo-bo kumite.

My tonfa were made by my husband, and are still being tweaked.

Hmm, interesting. Homemade tonfa. Have you ever posted a photo of them? I'd like to check them out.
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Thanks SB! I'm looking forward to plenty of training time with them.
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BBM:

Aren't they? It's a big difference from my cheap set. They're a bit heavier, but they're more balanced, so I can get certain techniques to work better.

10:37 PM  
Blogger Perpetual Beginner said...

No, I haven't posted a photo of them, but I probably should! I'll let you know if I do.

11:27 PM  
Blogger Michele said...

Nice Shureido sai.

I have a pair of Shureido sai but they are terribly banged up. It happened years ago during a seminar I attended taught by Sensei Patrick McCarthy. The focus was on sai versus sai techniques and my sai took quite a beating. It was an excellent seminar but I could not help feeling sad about the damage to my sai.

Enjoy working with your new sai. I find the Shureido sai much easier to work with since they are more balanced and have a narrow guard.

3:22 PM  
Blogger Charles James said...

Hi, John

I have my original shuriedo sai, tuifa, and nunchaku from the time I spent on Okinawa (circa 1979).

They are still in excellent shape even today. I won't bore you with the price but it was cheap, real cheap.

Brought them home in my duffle bag when I rotated back to the states.

;-)

4:16 PM  
Blogger John Vesia said...

PB:

Good. Get back to me.
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Thanks Michele.

Some of our techniques with sai involve some contact between the weapons themselves, but I've never seen a sai vs. sai demo.

Too bad about your sai. I can't blame you for feeling bummed. You should've made McCarthy pay for new ones!
; )
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Charles:

I have my original shuriedo sai, tuifa, and nunchaku from the time I spent on Okinawa (circa 1979).

Nunchaku! Lucky you. All Shureido items too. They were cheap then, you can imagine how much they're worth almost 30 years later.

5:14 PM  

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