Kōburyū Kobudō Kata
Kobudō is the study of the weapons of ancient Okinawa. These are not the sword and spear of the samurai of Japan. Most of the weapons of ancient Okinawa were farming and fishing implements.
You often hear the claim that karate is more practical than kobudō because you can’t carry your weapons around with you. True, the martial artist does not carry his weapons but in a pinch anything can become a weapon: a rock, a cane, an umbrella, a walking stick, a pen. A martial artist should think how he could use the objects around him as a weapon, and how he would defend himself if the objects were used against him.Ie
| roku shaku bō | 六尺棒 | six foot staff |
| roku | 六 | six |
| shaku | 尺 | ancient measurement approximately 1 foot |
| bō | 棒 | staff or pole |
Sōke Kaichō Kinjō believes that the bō kata are not ordered by difficulty, so they can be taught in any order. However, it is recommended to teach Shushi no Kon first. Many of the bō hojoundō are designed for practice of the combinations found in Shushi no Kon. Diligent bō hojoundō practice will prepare the student for Shushi no Kon. In addition to bō hojoundō, the repeating combination of Shushi no Kon can be practiced in an exercise called “six count.” Since the movements of Shushi no Kon are quite repetitious, memorizing the order of movement of the kata can be easy for the beginning bō practitioner.
1. Shushi no Kon 周氏の棍
Shushi is a man’s name. Not much is known about the origin of this kata. Because the movements of Shushi no Kon are repetitious, the bō practitioner choosing this kata for a demonstration should beware. Many a nervous demonstrator has become lost in the repetitions – some even ending the kata with their backs to the audience!
2. Chōun no Kon 朝雲の棍
Chōun no Kon means “morning cloud bō.” Sōke Kaichō Kinjō once gave the following origin of the name Chōun No Kon, but it is unclear whether the tale was meant to be historically factual or just a tale. It is entirely possible that Chōun no Kon, like the other bō kata, was named after its creator.
Because of the Japanese occupation of the island of Okinawa, both karate and kobudo were practiced in secrecy, usually at night. The island of Okinawa is actually just one island in an archipelago. Not all of the islands of the archipelago were occupied by Japanese. The island where Chōun No Kon was developed was not occupied. Therefore, weapons could be practiced in the open – under the morning clouds.
3. Sakugawa no Kon 佐久川の棍
Kanga “Tode” Sakugawa (1733 – 1815), created the bō kata, Sakugawa No Kon. Sakugawa was a pechin (Okinawan samurai) in the Ryūkyū (ancient Okinawan) capital city of Shuri. He was sent on a mission to China by the Okinawan king. There he became fascinated by the martial arts of China. He remained in China for ten years to study the Chinese martial arts before returning to Okinawa. He is remembered for his skills in both karate and bō techniques.
4. Chiken No Kun 津堅の棍
The bō kata, Tsuken No Kon (Chiken in Okinawan dialect), is named after the island where it was created. It is said that the island got its name from a man named Tsuken, who took refuge on the deserted island to escape a samurai bent on revenge for an accidental killling. Tsuken is remembered for his skills in karate, bō and sai.
5. Shiishi No Kun 添 石の棍
Shiishi no kun is Okinawan dialect. The same kanji are pronounced Soeishi No Kon in standard Japanese. Shiishi is the name of a man who lived in the 1600’s. Shiishi is remembered for his skills in both karate and bō techniques.
| sai | 釵 | the name of the Okinawan weapon |
Use the sai as an extension of your fist, in line with your arm. The blunt end is used to punch, adding longer reach and concentrated power. In the flipped or extended grip the pointed end is used to stab, adding even more length plus the advantage of the point
1. Nichō Zai 二丁釵
| nichō | 二丁 | two long, thin weapons |
Nichō Zai remains very similar to its roots in Matayoshi kobudō. It is the first sai kata that beginning kobudō students learn. In Matayoshi kobudō, the kata is performed with just one arm at a time with the other arm stationary in hikite position. This plus the repetitious nature of the kata makes it easy to learn. However, Sōke Kaichō Kinjō has modified the kata to use both hands in a more balanced and natural movement.
While the order of movement is easy to learn, there are stance, grip and targeting changes to be mastered as the core combination of the kata moves from block to punch to block to stab.
2. Kōbu no Sai 孝武の釵
| nobasu | 伸ばす | to lengthen; to extend |
Kōbu no Sai takes advantage of the longer reach and more devastating potential of a sai used in the extended grip. There are no grip changes like you see in Nichō Zai. Once the sai is extended it remains extended, stabbing rather than punching. With the sai in extended grip the second sai can be used to add support to a block.
Unlike Kōbu no Sai, the second kata of Matayoshi kobudō is called Sanchō Zai. The Sanchō Zai practitioner carries a third sai in their obi. One sai is thrown at the imaginary opponent. The defender then pull his spare sai out of his obi and turns to face a second opponent. He again throws a sai, leaving him to finish the kata with one sai and one fist. Soke Kaichō Kinjō replaced this kata with Kōbu no Sai. Possibly he didn’t think it was a good idea to lose control of your weapon. The practicality of carrying a third sai in the obi is also questionable, having had a sai fall onto my heels more than once.
| nunchaku | ヌンチャク | |
| sōsetsukon | 双節棍 | |
| sō | 双 | paired |
| setsu | 節 | jointed |
| kon | 棍 | canes sticks |
There is only one nunchaku kata.
Kōbu no Nunchaku 孝武のヌンチャク
| tonkua | トンクヮー | “side-handled batton” |
1. Tonkua Kata
Tonkua Kata is very similar to the tonkua kata of Matayoshi kobudō, from which it was derived. Like Nicho Zai, Tonkua Kata uses just one arm at a time with the other arm stationary in hikite position. This plus the repetitious nature of the kata helps to make a difficult weapon easier to learn.. Indeed, Tonkua Kata, like Nicho Zai, was retained without much change from Matayoshi kobudō for its value as a beginner’s kata. Sōke Kaichō Kinjō did modify the style of movement to use both hands in a more balanced and natural manner.
2. Kōbu no Tonkua 孝武のトンクヮー
Kōbu no Tonkua is an advanced weapons kata. It showcases the distinctive upper body movement of Koburyū. Kōbu no Tonkua includes swinging, punching, hitting and even hammer-like pounding. At the time when Sōke Kaichō Kinjō created Kōbu no Tonkua he was not going to include kama as a weapon of Koburyū. Therefore, you can find kama-like slicing movements in Kōbu no Tonkua even though the tonkua obviously cannot slice.
| tinaka | 手中 | “middle of the hand” |
| ティーナカ |
Kōbu no Tinaka 孝武の手中
Kōbu no Tinaka is the only tinaka kata. It bears a strong resemblance to the Koburyū karate kata, Kōbuken. However, most karate kata could be adapted for use with tinaka. Try it. What needs to be changed to take advantage of the different points of the tinaka?
| kama | 鎌 | sickle |
Kōbu no Kama is the only kata for kama.
Kōbu no Kama 孝武の鎌
Kōbu no Kama was the last kata added to Kōburyū by Sōke Kaichō Kinjō. Originally, he included kama movements in Kōbu no Tonkua. Only later, because the kama was such a ubiquitous part of Okinawa’s history, did he decide to include a kama kata. For safety, the kama blade is usually dulled for training purposes, though for demonstration purposes the performer often (rather dramatically) slices something to show that the blade is sharp.
| ieku eku | イエーク エーク | boat oar |
Kōbu no Ieku is the only ieku kata in Kōburyū.
Kōbu no Ieku 孝武のイエーク
Ieku is Sōke Kaichō Kinjō’s signature weapon. From the Matayoshi style Tsuken Akachu no Ieku De to Kōbu no Ieku, Sōke Kaichō Kinjō has demonstrated ieku for many events through the years.
| nunti | ヌンティー | manji sai affixed to a standard bō |
Kōbu no Nunti is the only kata for nunti.
Kōbu no Nunti 孝武のヌンティー
Kōbu no Nunti is a variation of Chiken no Kon, an advanced bō kata. The hand switching technique of Kōbu no Nunti is designed to keep the most effective end, the manji sai end, always forward for hooking, pulling and piercing.