Kobudo and Karate

[gr455h0pp3r]

I understand the Okinawans had no right for weapons so they effectivley used tools as weapons. I also understand the Okinawans did karate.
Other than that, how is Kobudo training relevant/beneficial to a karateka ?

[TonyU]

Then or now ?

Then, it was what we today would call a force mulitplier. Why fight empty hand when you can have a weapon at your disposal.
Also if you look at some of the kobudo bunkai you see some applications against the sword.

Now, nothing if you're looking for practical, real world self defense. But what most kobudo pratictiones enjoy is a study and practice of a traditional weapons art that has a connections to our Okinawan system.Very much the same way CMA, KMA, PMA prationers practice their weapon arts in their respective styles.
There is also an conditioning and strenghtening aspect of kobudo practice. For example from years of nunchaku training my forearms, while they don't look ike Popeyes', are rock solid. A good Bo kata works the upper muscle areas like the deltoids, pecs,traps, biceps and triceps.
Of course that is if ones has the proper kobudo weapons not the competetion stuff you see out there like the toothpick thin bo's.

[Gene Williams]

There was a period of time, under Japanese rule, when the Okinawans were forbidden swords and other weapons. History/legend has it that they began to use various agricultural tools as weapons (e.g., nunchaku=rice flail, tonfa=rug beater or crank handle, oar=self-explanatory, kama-garden sickle, bo staff=many uses including original use as weapon). Okinawan weapons are fascinating and complex to learn and use. They presuppose some knowledge of karate stances and movement, so you need to find a karate ryu that teaches weapons. Most of the Okinawan ones do so; there are also Okinawan ryu that are strictly weapons, but most of the students also study karate. What use are they? Don't study them with a view to using them in self-defense today.They are valuable in and of themselves and will supplement your karate training greatly. Weapons strengthen your wrists and arms, teach you a different type of focus, make you less fearful of being hit if you do partner work regularly, plus, you are preserving history and tradition. Do not fall into the myth that these weapons were used with any degree of success against the Japanese sword. A trained swordsman is the most deadly warrior in the world before firearms. Even a skilled person weilding these weapons against a swordsman is at a huge disadvantage. I doubt it was done very often, if ever.

[Gene Williams]

Damn, Tony, you're scary. We think alike. :D

[Cliff Hargrave]

You mean the Okinawans didn't use a multi-colored, graphite, bo?

http://www.centuryfitness.com/wcsstore/century/IMAGES/LARGE/12443-LG.JPG

[Gene Williams]

Hey, are you punks old enough to remember Pick-Up Sticks? That's what those look like :D

[TonyU]

Great minds think alike. :D
I'm glad, though, that you did add the part about the trained swordman. After I reread my post about some sword applications I realized that I might have misreprented kobudo and it's uses at the time.

[TonyU]

You mean the Okinawans didn't use a multi-colored, graphite, bo?

No.

Hey, are you punks old enough to remember Pick-Up Sticks?
Yes I remember, and it's not because I'm that old, it's because my children play with them. So there :t2:

[swdw]

In actuality, there are two wepons that can be used effectively-
Cane
Jo.

People forget that canes were used in the orient and that walking sticks are legal to carry and jo's are close to the same length.

As for benefits- besides what Gene and Tony mentioned, bo work has one other benefit. Once a person starts using a bo you see much better synchronization of their hands when doing empty hand techniques. Long weapons like the bo also make a person more aware of their center of gravity if they train properly.

Tonfa help build grip strength. Although not legal to carry, Tonfa are effective weapons. Most people only learn striking techniques, but the tonfa have great come along techniques. This is one of the reason they've been issued to LEO's in some parts of the country.

[Gene Williams]

Agreed, plus you can find a stick just about anywhere. I don't consider a cane a "traditional Okinawan weapon," although you can beat the Hell out of somebody with one.

[Sochin]

Traditional Okinawan weapons are in the category of improvised weapons.

No improvised weapon will ever work as effectively as a dedicated weapon designed for a fighting purpose.

[Andrew Green]

True, some are but...

Bo / Staff are used in just about every culture.

Sai where not an improvised weapon, but a policing weapon.

Tonfa where adapted by many police forces.

Nunchaku where considered by at least a few police forces, and banned in many places.

But none of these are war time weapons, Okinawan weaponry is generally better suited for policing... which makes sense when you consider that many of the old "masters" where of that policing class.

You can really get 2 catagories of Okinawan Weapons. (3 if you like... but we'll stick with 2)

Bo & Sai - Policing weapons, used by a lower level of the upper class. Basically policing weapons.

Kama, tonfa, nunchaku, eku, tecko. etc. - Civillian weapons, improvised from what was around. This being the reason that not much for kata existed, and what does is usually a "modern" creation.

And the 3rd one would be the "real" weapons, but they are not associated with Kobudo as much, although some of the upper class did have and train with them.

[swdw]

Agreed, plus you can find a stick just about anywhere. I don't consider a cane a "traditional Okinawan weapon," although you can beat the Hell out of somebody with one.

And Ted (Sochin) can show you how :D