Just
one morning, it happened.
My
instructor Tom Lewis was friends with the founder of Amercian Bando Dr. Gyi.
While
I heard stories about their system and training, and met several of their
seniors at Sensei’s summer parties over the years, I never had the chance to
train in the system.
When
I was a brown belt, my then instructor in Isshinryu, Charles Murray, learned
the Bando Staff form , The Horseman’s form (or the Horseman’s Foot soldiers
Form), from another of my seniors Reese Rigby.
Reese
learned it at a Bando summer camp when it was taught, and later competed with
it in the Bando Nationals and won.
After
Charles returned to the USAF and I was alone in my training. On those occasions
when went to Salisbury I would stop in Dover, and also train with Reese Rigby. He
would review my Isshinryu kata, and whatever else I was learning from my
friends, and also help me understand the staff form better. Such as turning the
hand over for side strikes to the hand would be behind the bo for a stronger
strike.
On
one of those visits he also taught me the beginning of the Bando short stick
form, the Hidden Stick.
Of
course I practiced.
Then
from Sensei Lewis I received a form to attend the 1983 Bando Summer Camp, one
weekend in Maryland at a Boy Scout Campground.
There
were others in Isshinryu there, some from Dover I think, Anna Lockwood and some
others from Salisbury, as well as others in Isshinryu. (Don Bohan’s Group). I
was about san-dan at that time. At that time I was then teaching young through
the Scranton Boy’s Club.
The
Bando Camp was an experience. No one wore obi, all the same t-shirt. A wide
variety of training was offered:
Bando stick techniques (including
impact training striking logs),
Escrima stick training.
A demonstration of the effects of different
bullet impacts,
Choking techniques taught by Rick
Nemira
Bando kumite skills
Breaking skills (where Rick wowed all
showing slaps as a breaking technique)
Don Bohan teaching Urashie No Bo.
A Bando Woman instructor teaching a
form
Saturday Night there was a Bando War
Game of sorts
Early morning runs.
I am sure there was more , but this is
all that comes to mind at this time.
During
the Bando Kumite skills (such as leaping knee kicks) I asked a question of one
of the Bando instructors. He replied
something then asked me what would I do. I admit I was far from impressive
looking and as I wasn’t wearing any rank, I replied to his question by throwing
a round kick over his head. He asked me how I could to that and I think I
responded it wasn’t difficult with 15+ years training.
He
remembered me and after the war game he and I talked for a long while, I
explained the diversity of training that I was experiencing and he explained
many details of Bando training as he understood them
The
next morning I was using the time after breakfast to practice those Bando forms
I knew. I ran through the Horseman’s Form then started the piece I knew of the
Hidden Stick. The gentleman from the previous night observed me and asked how I
knew them. I explained. Then he said that his version of the Hidden Stick was
different. As he was going to attend a Bando seniors training session with
Dr.Gyi, something regarding Gukri Knife impact training against rocks, and
cutting stones thrown at oneself or some such exercises) he was going to have
several Brown Belts from his school
teach the form to me.
For
the next two hours two gentlemen from that school, worked to teach me that form
and the meanings of the movements. It went piece by piece. When I took breaks,
having had experience learning forms quickly, I used the time to share the
Horseman’s Form with Anna Lockwood, as she had previously asked me to do so.
The time went quickly. I tried very hard to remember that form.
Shortly
after lunch camp broke up. I then left to drive back to Scranton back up 84.
The entire time I kept going through the stick form. Then when I got home I
went out back and practiced some more.
Then
practice, practice, practice.
A
number of month later, Once again I went on a trip to visit Sensei. This time I
was asked to share with everyone there some of my studies. With the class I shared the Goju Seipai kata, with
Sensei I shared the Tjimande Tiger form I studied, and of course I spent some
time with Anna Lockwood on the Bando staff set.
On
the way home I stopped to visit Reese Rigby in Dover. We compared our versions
of the Bando stick form. After we had each done it, he felt my form was fine,
but he wasn’t going to change his way of doing it. I recall I remarked I felt
the same.
So
practice, practice, practice.
Around
1988 I began to share ½ of the Bando Stick form as a Brown Belt practice. I had
decided that while I wanted brown belts to have some weapons training, I was
going to reserve all Isshinryu Kobudo for Dan training. I felt the students had
more than enough to work on, and that I wanted them to know more about the
system so as Dans they could focus greater intensity on the Isshinryu forms. As
to ½ of the Bando stick form, it was more that enough of a form in it’s own
right.
An
interesting thing occurred, each time we competed in a tournament where we had
not been seen previously. When Young Lee from my program approached the judges you could see
them speaking between themselves, as was the audience audibly remarking that Young did not have a weapon (as the stick in the beginning is up the
sleeve. Then when he stepped back and pulled the stick from his sleeve,
there would be an audible gasp from the audience. As I said this has happened
several times.
From
what I understood the stick was a back up weapon. If the primary weapon (such
as a sword) was lost on the battlefield, the stick could be pulled from the
sleeve and you could continue to fight.
Its primary relevance today still remains the same. It is a subtle
weapon for defensive use on the street. It is not designed or trained for stick
to stick combat as we use it.
The
full form became a optional Dan study (though so far all have elected to do so).
It provides a challenging study for the Dan.
I
have no idea as to how much we vary from the Bando version(s) of the form, as I
do not study with anyone in Bando. I am content with the study as we proceed.
However recently Bob Maxwell (Bando) shared an older Bando Kukri form, and our
stick is very close to the same movement. It is possible that the stick was a
variation on this form, originally. Perhaps a preliminary study to the Kukri
Knife, studied in the Bando system.
