What exactly is kobudo?

Kobudo

What exactly is kobudo? I have been training in kobudo for the last two and a half years and I’m still not exactly sure what kobudo is. The basic description of kobudo that I would give to a layman would be ‘weapons training’ but that is very simplistic. After all a gun is a weapon but training to use a gun is not kobudo!

There is a distinction between the terms kobudo and Okinawan kobudo. The word ko-bu-do  breaks down to mean ‘Ancient’ (ko) ‘Stop War’, meaning ‘Peace’ (bu) and ‘Way’ (do) i.e. the ancient way of peace ( sometimes also known as ancient martial way). Some of the weapons used in Okinawan kobudo are based on ancient farming and fishing implements, such as tonfa, nunchuku and kama, whereas some were designed to be weapons such as the sai which was used by the domestic police for crowd control purposes. However, most of these types of weapons were used widely in much of Asia before they ever reached Okinawa so why they are referred to as ‘Okinawan’ weapons I don’t really understand.

The term Kobudo actually refers to the ancient Japanese arts, i.e. those that pre-date the Meiji restoration of 1866 -1869 and include battojutsu, ninjutsu, jujutsu, naginatajutsu, bojutsu, kenjutsu and many others. The term kobudo is synonymous with the term koryu, meaning old school. In this interpretation, kobudo includes some empty hand arts such as jujutsu and ninjutsu so to describe kobudo as ‘weapons training’ really is incorrect!

So can Okinawan kobudo and kobudo (koryu) be mixed together? It would seem strange to do so because the Japanese arts were used by professional warriors on the battlefield whereas Okinawan kobudo was used by civilians as a means of self-defence or civil-defence. Samurai would have had no use for a pair of nunchuku or tonfa on the battlefield and Okinawan civilians were banned from using bladed weapons such as swords.

Here lies my confusion……

I am learning kobudo in a jujitsu club. So far, so good. I have trained with a sword (actually a bokken) – a Japanese ancient art. Still so far, so good. I have also trained with a bo which is used in many cultures around the world, including Okinawa and Japan. My other two weapons are nunchuku and tonfa, both from Okinawan kobudo BUT I am not learning to use them in an Okinawan kobudo way, I am using them in a Japanese way. Basically I am doing jujitsu using tonfa and nunchuku.

In Okinawan kobudo, which is a precursor to karate, both tonfa and nunchuku are used pre-dominantly as blocking and striking weapons, whereas I am using them for locks and throws as well. Want to know how to do a reclining leg throw with a pair of tonfa? – I’ll show you. Want to do a half-shoulder throw augmented with a pair of nunchuku ? – I can show you that as well.

But is it kobudo? Or is it a hybrid? Or is it a form of weapons cross-training? Does it matter? After all, it’s effective….

What is your understanding of the term Kobudo?

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Grading Weekend Over!

At last my stressful grading weekend is over! As I mentioned in a previous post I was grading for karate (2nd kyu) on Saturday and Kobudo (level 1 tonfa) on Sunday.

Karate grading: This turned into a long and tiring 5 hour marathon grading session. Not that we were grading literally for the whole 5 hours but there were so many of us grading at once, over 5 different grading levels, that it just took that long for all of us to get through our syllabus, bit by bit. The most difficult part of grading in this way was keeping warm in between being graded and maintaining concentration and enthusiasm for the grading. However, the positive thing about it was that there was plenty of time to practice the next element whilst standing at the back of the hall!

I managed to put in my usual level of performance - nothing went catastrophically wrong and nothing was exceptionally brilliant. I generally score between 66 and 70/100 which is respectable (pass mark is 55). This time I got 69, so no surprises! I was pleased with this score but for some strange reason I felt extremely flat and despondent after the grading. I don't know if this was just a reaction to the stress and tiredness of it all or what? but I couldn't shake off the feeling of negativity that I felt for the rest of the evening and much of Sunday as well. Not like me at all to be like that so I don't quite understand it.

Anyway by Sunday afternoon I had to put all thoughts of karate out of my mind and start focusing on my kobudo grading which started at 5pm:

Kobudo grading: There were lots of unknowns for me in this grading. I'd never been to the hall where the grading took part before. I'd never met the grading officer before and I didn't quite know how the grading would be run - so I was a little nervous! When we arrived we were told that the kobudo gradings would be done last after the jujitsu gradings. I looked around the hall to see at least 25 children and half a dozen adults preparing to grade in jujitsu and realised there was going to be lots of waiting around again! There were only 3 adults and 2 children taking kobudo gradings and I was the only one doing tonfa.

Finally I was called to grade along with my husband who was grading in level 1 Jo. We partnered each other. The grading officer first asked me to demonstrate a series of blocks which I had practised against a series of empty handed strikes. However, the grading officer wanted me to demonstrate them against a series of jo strikes. This foxed me a bit and I got a little confused about what was an inside/outside block against a jo strike! He saw my confusion, explained it to me and let me demonstrate them again. Not a good start then!

Next I was asked to demonstrate 4 locking techniques - these went well until one of the tonfa flew out of my hand, across the mat and landed at the grading officers feet! I'd never dropped the tonfa at that point in the technique before. I apologised to him and he handed the tonfa back.

The two enbos and separate hand techniques went well and defenses against bo and jo strikes were okay. Then I had to demonstrate defenses against 4 different attacks (front kick, side kick, roundhouse kick and back fist strike). These went well (apart from a slight error on one which I think I hid well) then he asked me to do some with a single tonfa. My face must have dropped when I said I hadn't learnt any single tonfa techniques for this part. He looked at me, smiled and said just do the same techniques but with one tonfa in your right hand. I thought ' in for a penny, in for a pound', just get on with it and see what happens! Anyway, it clearly went quite well - I seemed to impress him with my ability to adapt the techniques slightly on the spur of the moment - perhaps this grading wasn't going so badly after all?

I finished the grading by demonstrating my kata which I had to do twice, "bit faster this time...", what did he want, blood? Anyway, he called us to a bow at the end, looked at us and said, "You two do karate don't you?" I don't think this was intended as any kind of compliment! He pointed out that our stances gave us away as well as the fast, hard way we did the techniques. Apparently our stances need to be a bit more natural and our movements a bit softer and more flowing.

Everybody lined up for the presentation ceremony. I was called out first: "S.Wharton, tonfa level 1, pass with.....(despite cocking up the blocks, throwing a tonfa at the grading officer, not knowing any single hand techniques, doing the kata too slowly and committing the 'crime' of also being a karateka)... pass with HONOURS!

What can I say? My weekend ended on a high!

P.S My husband also passed is level 1 Jo with honours - well done! And his 2nd kyu karate with a mark of 74 (I'll catch ya next time).

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Feeling the Pressure

I have two separate gradings coming up on the weekend of the 5th and 6th December. On the Saturday I am grading for 2nd kyu in karate and on the Sunday I am taking my level 1 grading at tonfa at my kobudo club.

This will be my first karate grading with the new syllabus since we joined the SSK in August. It is quite different to the previous style of syllabus with a lot more partner work, including a locking drill, escapes from headlocks and defences from kicks on the ground. I feel I am only just getting to grips with these new aikido and jujitsu techniques that have been added to our karate syllabus. However I do like doing them and find them more useful additions to our self-defence applications.

These extra things are of course in addition to the usual karate kicking and punching combinations, kata, pad work and kumite that I will also be tested on.

Though the karate grading will be quite tough and comprehensive I at least know what to expect and how it will be conducted. I also have a one day course coming up which will focus on the syllabus. I am much more worried about the tonfa grading - this is much more a black box to me. Obviously I know what is on the syllabus but I have no idea how the grading will be conducted or who will be testing me. This is making me much more nervous than I'll be for the karate grading.

My kobudo sensei insists that I am ready for grading and is trying to be reassuring about it but there have been so many different techniques to learn (who would have thought two sticks could be so complicated!) I'm convinced I'll get them mixed up! I'm also concerned that my nerves will mean I don't have full control of the tonfas and my partner will get a bit bashed up. Fortunately my partner will be my husband - so I know he'll forgive me!

I have decided to squeeze an extra training session in tonight. I don't usually go to the Tuesday class because I go to an 'Am Dram' group but I decided to reassess my priorities - I need my tonfa training more than I need my play rehearsal (play's not until April)!

I'm definitely starting to feel the pressure......




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Training with Tonfas

I have decided to start my kobudo training with the tonfas. I have chosen the tonfas partly because I have already had a little go with them and have some idea of what they are like to handle and partly because I can directly see their relationship to many karate techniques that I already know, such as blocks and strikes.

In my usual way I decided that before my next lesson I would find out a bit more about what training with tonfas involved and where this weapon originally came from. First, here's some video of a tonfa kata from YouTube:





There seems to a bit of confusion as to the origins of the tonfa. Some sources suggest that tonfas were used as weapons in China and Indonesia way before they were used in Okinawa. However the 'favoured' history, and my preferred one, is that the tonfa was a farm implement, derived from the grinding handle of a millstone, that could be quickly detached and used as a weapon. When weapons were banned in Okinawa during the 15th - 17th centuries and the Okinawans were often under siege by the the Samurai or Western travellers, the beleaguered peasants developed many farm implements into secret weapons, including the tonfa.

I love the idea that that these poor peasants, living in poverty and constant fear of attack, would suddenly jump out of the fields with various farming implements and fight off their attackers with their secretly developed weapon's techniques. I bet that took them by surprise!

Presumably the tonfa would have originally been a single weapon - I assume a millstone only needs one grinding handle! When it became a twinned weapon I don't know.

So what can you do with a tonfa? Clearly it lends itself to some formidable blocking. If I'd been holding a tonfa last week when I blocked by partner's kick I wouldn't still be nursing a big bruise on my forearm.

The tonfa's original use as a grinding handle means that its design, with a side handle, makes it ideal for performing rotating strikes. Twirling the tonfa around at great speed adds a lot of power to a strike. It can also be used to block or parry another weapon and the blunt ends used to thrust or strike.

By using the long part of the shaft in conjunction with the side handle, the tonfa can be used for arm locks or to control an opponent. We tried a technique where the tonfa was held by the long shaft, the side handle hooked around the back of the attacker's neck and the hand holding the tonfa then slid up the shaft until the neck was sandwiched between the side handle and the hand in a vice like grip. The free hand could then do a palm heel strike into the face. Nasty!

From a defensive point of view, when holding the side handle, the shaft protects the forearm and hand from blows, and the knob can protect the thumb. By holding both ends of the shaft, the tonfa can ward off blows and when holding the shaft, the side handle can function as a hook to catch blows or weapons.

Other attacks include using it like a hammer by holding the long shaft and striking with the side handle or using it as a club by holding it the other way around.

It sounds like a very versatile weapon! So what specific skills do you need to be able to use the tonfa effectively? The fundamental skills that needs to be learned is to be able to switch from different grips very quickly and to be able to rotate the tonfa at speed.

Obviously the tonfa is not a legal weapon to carry around (unless you're the police) so what advantages will tonfa training give me?

Hopefully it will improve my karate skills by:

• speeding up reflexes and manual dexterity


• conditioning me for the impact from other weapons


• Develop my timing and distance


• Strengthen and improve my blocks and stances


• Develop my coordination and ability to defend from all angles and with both hands

Do you have any tips for tonfa training? I would be particularly interested in tips on what to look for when buying a pair of tonfas.




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