I had my second kobudo grading yesterday! This was another level one grading but this time with the bo. I have enjoyed training with this weapon and wish to continue with it at the higher levels. I think I partly like bo because it is a long range weapon, which makes me feel more secure, and partly because it feels like a 'karate' weapon. The bo just seems to complement karate better than jujitsu,with its strikes, blocks and sweeps. This may explain why it's my instructors least favourite weapon, he prefers the shorter sticks like the tanbo with which one can do jujitsu style throws! However, despite his preference for shorter sticks he is very skilled with a bo and an excellent instructor.
The grading session just had to be on the hottest day of the year so far, so I was glad it was just a short (15 min) kobudo grading rather than a long, intense (2-3 hrs) karate one! The grading officer was Sensei Steve Elliot (7th dan) who is a senior grading officer within the World Jujitsu/kobudo Federation - no pressure then!
The grading session just had to be on the hottest day of the year so far, so I was glad it was just a short (15 min) kobudo grading rather than a long, intense (2-3 hrs) karate one! The grading officer was Sensei Steve Elliot (7th dan) who is a senior grading officer within the World Jujitsu/kobudo Federation - no pressure then!
Unfortunately, the day before grading I decided to do some gardening - without wearing any gardening gloves. Why did I do that? I always wear gardening gloves. Guess what? I developed a huge, painful blister on the palm of my right hand. Just what you need before a bo grading!!! Anyway, I smeared it with Germolene ointment (which contains local anaesthetic) - this stung like hell, then I sprayed some 'plastic skin' over it - this stung even more than hell!
One thing I learnt was that when I handle and manipulate the bo I tend to keep the bo towards the finger end of my palm so it hardly touched the blister, which was more towards my thumb, so the blister didn't really get in the way and I managed okay - lucky, hey!
Back to the grading! I had to demonstrate the following: bo walking, a short stance kata, two-man striking and blocking kata, bo manipulation and then two leg sweeps against a partner. Sensei Elliot was a fantastic grading officer, he was professional and authoritative but also encouraging and positive. He pointed out that I was slightly over swinging the bo during the bo walking (as if I was trying to chop my imaginary partner in half!) and my single hand, figure of eight, bo manipulation was a bit tense - pretend you're swaying with a boat Susan! Apart from that I was alright.
And the result...... passed with honours!
Nunchucks next.
One thing I learnt was that when I handle and manipulate the bo I tend to keep the bo towards the finger end of my palm so it hardly touched the blister, which was more towards my thumb, so the blister didn't really get in the way and I managed okay - lucky, hey!
Back to the grading! I had to demonstrate the following: bo walking, a short stance kata, two-man striking and blocking kata, bo manipulation and then two leg sweeps against a partner. Sensei Elliot was a fantastic grading officer, he was professional and authoritative but also encouraging and positive. He pointed out that I was slightly over swinging the bo during the bo walking (as if I was trying to chop my imaginary partner in half!) and my single hand, figure of eight, bo manipulation was a bit tense - pretend you're swaying with a boat Susan! Apart from that I was alright.
And the result...... passed with honours!
Nunchucks next.
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18 comments:
Congratulations on your successful test, Sue!
I'm a little jealous about how many weapons you're learning to use. We don't officially start weapons training until around black belt.
Congratulations!
Bo is my favorite of Isshinryu's three weapons. It sounds like your training is a good bit different than ours, though.
Hi Sue, congratulations. Haven't visited your blog page itself for a while, like the new look :)
Congrats on your successful grading Sue! The bo is my favorite karate weapon as well - aside from being more practical, it also feels more intuitive to use to me.
Whoo-Hoo! Congratulations, you dangerous woman, you! Tossing confetti and high-fiving the 'puter screen for ya :-)
Thanks everyone! The advantage of doing kobudo as a seperate discipline to my karate training is that I get to pick from a broader range of weapons. To get a full kobudo black belt I will eventually have to train with 10 different weapons! I think my kobudo black belt is a lo...ng way off :-)
Congratulations, Sue!
Doesn't it just SUCK to get injured right before a test? HAHAHA... The day I tested for yellow belt, I was skipping rope in my little home dojo, and came down badly on my left foot, spraining the ankle.
Two hours later, as the ankle is swelling and the pain is really starting to set in, I'm going through charts I & II, and then performing the Seisan kata.
Later, after I knew I'd passed the test, I mentioned the sprained ankle. Sensei said, You should have told me! We could have postponed your belt test!
I thought, NO WAY!!! Hahaha...
Congratulations again. :-)
Congratulations! The bo sounds like fun. It brings back good memories of that one Bugs Bunny cartoon where Daffy Duck is Robin Hood. "Ho, haha. Dodge, parry, thrust, spin."
I have an aversion to hitting things, but if I did train in a striking art, I'd want to learn how to swing sticks both long and short! :)
Frank, not sure I would have graded with a sprained ankle but well done to you for coping with it!
Steve, the only person I've hit with the bo is myself - head and shins usually!
Congratulations Sue!
Bo is my favorite weapon. We practice 13 bo kata. My least favorite weapon is nunchaku which only has one kata in Okinawa Kenpo. :)
Hi Michele, thank you. Our kobudo syllabus is more Japanese than Okinawan in style and is more aligned with jujitsu than karate. This means we spend more time on self-defense techniques than on kata. However, a lot of these techniques involve throws (jujitsu style)and I've been having trouble learning to throw and manipulate the weapon at the same time, so my instructor has put together a little program of selected jujitsu throws to teach me. This means my kobudo lessons are now half weapons training and half jujitsu training. The upside is my karate ippons have suddenly gotten a lot more interesting as I've added in a few wrist, hip and leg throws!
Nice! Your class sounds excellent.
Congratulations!
And the conclusion is....get a gardener!
:-)
On a detail you mention...did the plastic skin work? I often get blisters from running or friction burns from Kempo... Would you recommend it?
Hi Chris, thank you! My usual gardner was washing my car and then cooking dinner - you just can't get the staff these days!LOL
The spray on plastic 'skin' is okay to protect the wound from dirt and a bit of friction but it provides no cushioning and so the blister does remain painful when it's touched or rubbed. If you need a bit of cushioning over the blister you would still need to put a plaster or dressing on top. It has its place but its not as effective as real skin! It also stings like hell when you apply it.
Can you get moleskin? Usually, you can put a layer over the area, with a hole cut out for the blister, and it pads the whole area around the blister, and keeps you from banging against it and making it sting worse... I used a TON of that stuff, in the Army, on my feet.
Frank, don't know, never tried. What kind of shop would you get it from?
Usually, wherever foot care products are sold. Walmart, shoe stores, hiking/camping goods stores...
Frank, thanks for that, I'll keep an eye out.
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