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 bÅ | å…尺棒 | six foot staff |
| roku | å… | six |
| shaku | å°º | ancient measurement approximately 1 foot |
| bŠ| 棒 | staff or pole |
SÅke KaichÅ KinjÅ believes that the bÅ 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 bÅ hojoundÅ are designed for practice of the combinations found in Shushi no Kon. Diligent bÅ hojoundÅ practice will prepare the student for Shushi no Kon. In addition to bÅ hojoundÅ, 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 bÅ practitioner.
1. Shushi no Kon 周æ°ã®æ£
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 bÅ 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. ChÅun no Kon æœé›²ã®æ£
ChÅun no Kon means “morning cloud bÅ.” SÅke KaichÅ KinjÅ once gave the following origin of the name ChÅun No Kon, but it is unclear whether the tale was meant to be historically factual or just a tale. It is entirely possible that ChÅun no Kon, like the other bÅ 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 ChÅun No Kon was developed was not occupied. Therefore, weapons could be practiced in the open – under the morning clouds.
3. Sakugawa no Kon ä½ä¹…å·ã®æ£
Kanga “Tode†Sakugawa (1733 – 1815), created the bÅ kata, Sakugawa No Kon. Sakugawa was a pechin (Okinawan samurai) in the RyÅ«kyÅ« (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 bÅ techniques.
4. Chiken No Kun æ´¥å …ã®æ£
The bŠkata, 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, bŠand sai.
5. Shiishi No Kun æ·» 石ã®æ£
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 bÅ 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. NichÅ Zai 二ä¸é‡µ
| nichÅ | äºŒä¸ | two long, thin weapons |
NichÅ Zai remains very similar to its roots in Matayoshi kobudÅ. It is the first sai kata that beginning kobudÅ students learn. In Matayoshi kobudÅ, 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, SÅke KaichÅ KinjÅ 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. KÅbu no Sai åæ¦ã®é‡µ
| nobasu | 伸ã°ã™ | to lengthen; to extend |
KÅbu 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 NichÅ 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 KÅbu no Sai, the second kata of Matayoshi kobudÅ is called SanchÅ Zai. The SanchÅ 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 KaichÅ KinjÅ replaced this kata with KÅbu 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ãƒãƒ£ã‚¯ | |
| sÅsetsukon | åŒç¯€æ£ | |
| sÅ | åŒ | paired |
| setsu | 節 | jointed |
| kon | æ£ | canes sticks |
There is only one nunchaku kata.
KÅbu no Nunchaku åæ¦ã®ãƒŒãƒ³ãƒãƒ£ã‚¯
| tonkua | トンクヮー | “side-handled batton” |
1. Tonkua Kata
Tonkua Kata is very similar to the tonkua kata of Matayoshi kobudÅ, 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 kobudÅ for its value as a beginner’s kata. SÅke KaichÅ KinjÅ did modify the style of movement to use both hands in a more balanced and natural manner.
2. KÅbu no Tonkua åæ¦ã®ãƒˆãƒ³ã‚¯ãƒ®ãƒ¼
KÅbu no Tonkua is an advanced weapons kata. It showcases the distinctive upper body movement of KoburyÅ«. KÅbu no Tonkua includes swinging, punching, hitting and even hammer-like pounding. At the time when SÅke KaichÅ KinjÅ created KÅbu no Tonkua he was not going to include kama as a weapon of KoburyÅ«. Therefore, you can find kama-like slicing movements in KÅbu no Tonkua even though the tonkua obviously cannot slice.
| tinaka | æ‰‹ä¸ | “middle of the hand” |
| ティーナカ |
KÅbu no Tinaka åæ¦ã®æ‰‹ä¸
KÅbu no Tinaka is the only tinaka kata. It bears a strong resemblance to the KoburyÅ« karate kata, KÅbuken. 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 |
KÅbu no Kama is the only kata for kama.
KÅbu no Kama åæ¦ã®éŽŒ
KÅbu no Kama was the last kata added to KÅburyÅ« by SÅke KaichÅ KinjÅ. Originally, he included kama movements in KÅbu 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 |
KÅbu no Ieku is the only ieku kata in KÅburyÅ«.
KÅbu no Ieku åæ¦ã®ã‚¤ã‚¨ãƒ¼ã‚¯
Ieku is SÅke KaichÅ KinjÅ’s signature weapon. From the Matayoshi style Tsuken Akachu no Ieku De to KÅbu no Ieku, SÅke KaichÅ KinjÅ has demonstrated ieku for many events through the years.
| nunti | ヌンティー | manji sai affixed to a standard bŠ|
KÅbu no Nunti is the only kata for nunti.
KÅbu no Nunti åæ¦ã®ãƒŒãƒ³ãƒ†ã‚£ãƒ¼
KÅbu no Nunti is a variation of Chiken no Kon, an advanced bÅ kata. The hand switching technique of KÅbu no Nunti is designed to keep the most effective end, the manji sai end, always forward for hooking, pulling and piercing.