Why, How and When of Kobudo Part 1

 

 

Historically Okinawa likely always had it’s weapons traditions.

 

Those with tuide for the positions held by the Samurai families. Those within other family traditions. Those in village traditions. Those whose work used many things, such as those who fished, those who cared for horses or those who tilled the fields.

 

As tuide became karate, some of those karate traditions also had weapon traditions, and others did not. There was not an apparent kobudo across Okinawan karate.

 

An example might be Funakoshi Ginchin, the karate he taught did not include a kobudo tradition, at the same time in Japan he would demonstrate bo tradigion, too. He got that from is father as a family tradition. And he supported his students acquiring kobudo traditions, being Shinken Taira.

 

As to what the kobudo traditions were encompases a variety of different traditions.

 

In Shimabuku Tatsuo’s studies he leared a bo kata from Kyan Chotoku, as well as sai studies. The chose to receive other kobudo training from Shinken Taira,  And then as his art grew shared some of those studies with his students, apparently different sharings at different times. He very clearly saw the study of his karate including a kobudo tradition.