The Isshinryu Bo-Bo and Bo-Sai kumite drills.

 

These drills were originally practiced by the Marines on Okinawa. Sherman once taught a different Bo-Bo drill. He said they were developed by Marines originally, each set done by a different marine pair.

I first observed the Bo-Bo practiced by several seniors in Mr. Lewis' dojo in Salisbury, after class. The classes I attended were for kyu students, the black belts had a separate class on a different night.

When I competed in the Isshinryu tournament at the Sunnyside Gardens in NYC back in 1984, I remember that Dennis Fink and another performed it during the evening show.

The first level of the form is done straight back and forth. The more advanced performance has each performer moving and circling each other as the perform the moves. This is true for Bo-Bo and for the Bo-Sai form.

As I was on my own as a Black Belt in Isshinryu, I was never taught the form. However, in 1990 Reese Rigby shared the following video of the forms.

I worked to learn the Bo-Bo, later teaching it to my advanced students. Then we would at times work it. I never had the time to work on the Bo-Sai version (then again, I always had to much to do in class), never enough time.

I did enjoy what we did.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a6nhie0vsHc