A potential student from another style
visited last week. She got on the deck
and we went through some basics to see how similar or different our movements
are. She demonstrated a bo kata for us:
very dramatic with lots of baton twirls and over-exaggerated moves. Very different from Yamanni Ryu and our way.
A day or two later a video circulated
Facebook showing an Okinawan dojo performing bo kata. I recognized it as yet another variation of
Shushi no Bo, with movements more fluid than my dojo, but less intricacy and
subtlety than Yamanni Ryu.
We had our monthly Black Belt class this
past Monday. Of course we studied the
video, reviewed Yamanni Ryu, and our way of performing Shushi no Bo. The question was asked: Which way is right? In all
styles you’re using a wooden bo, or if you will, taking a piece of tree and
smashing your opponent. All
styles work, but the question remains which way is right? All ways are right if
they follow the way your empty-handed Karate moves:
Kobudo is often used to enhance your
Karate practice. A couple of members
reached forward with their hands while doing an overhead strike. This feels natural since you’re further away
from your opponent than fighting empty-handed.
We looked at keeping the rear hand in chamber alongside the body instead
of pushing forward. The bo extends two
feet beyond your front hand; let the bo cover the distance for you. I tugged on the students’ bos with their
hands forward and they were easily pulled off balance. They felt more solid with much more control
when I tugged and their rear hands were chambered on their hips.
Members rotated the bo in front of their
bodies. This affected control, speed,
and power, as the hands were not in any specific position. Just like our folds, blocks, and strikes radiate
from our hips, the bo should rotate close to the body, around your hips, using
your body as a fulcrum.
We do short half-steps down the middle
of Shushi no Bo. It feels like an
awkward move until you look at it. Your
opponent is just out of your strike’s reach.
If you stepped in all the way you would more than reach him, but catch
him with the short arc of the swing. The
half-step allows your bo to hit at maximum arc with the end of the bo for a more devastating strike.
I’m not trying to ‘prove’ that any one way
is superior; I’m simply showing that, if you use kobudo to enhance your Karate
training, the same coordination, principles, and basics should apply to both
practices.
