Rocks commentary by Fred Loese

 

This is a good example of a past discussion of a type that is no longer available. It is between Fred Loese and myself,

 

A brief bio of Fred is at the end of this article, Hopefully it will give you something to think about.

 

IMO most of Fred’s comments are about the Okinawan Eku (Oar) which kata are in several systems. The Eku is similar to bo yet very different.

 

 

Matayoshi Kobudo 又吉眞古武道 | Eku Kata | Gakiya Yoshiaki

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

 

Rocks commentary by Fred Loese

But on a more serious track do the Okinawan arts shift to the use of
environmental weapons? I remember one of Matayoshi's video's with the  Eku where he flipped sand (or did he kick it up with his cross step,
perhaps both).

Here's what I know:

The Matayoshi kobudo forms use a variety of "environmental" techniques.

Various kata have various techniques for flinging sand, some with the weapon, some with the foot: Tsuken Akachu no eku, Sakugawa no kon, Shishi no kon, and Choun no kon. The sunakake is also one of the kihon/hojo undo. Matayoshi also used to plant a hand after a jump and pick up sand to toss, sometimes anyway. I know that is on a number of video. Interestingly enough, he told other people (self included) not to copy him...

Shishi no kon includes techniques for flinging small stones with the foot. This is done differently (different part of the foot and mechanics) than the sand flinging. Guwa also uses the same technique, which with the foot can also be used for mud or dirt.

Kue no ti (Guwa) includes a technique for catching and flinging mud or dirt with the blade of the guwa. Very specific, and interesting in its use of rotational mechanics.

Tonfa dai ichi and ni include foot movements for getting the feet out of mud. They look like jumps in the kata. They also include techniques for flinging mud with the tonfa. They are hidden in the turns.

A couple of kata include techniques for moving on uneven or loose surfaces. These include Sakugawa no kon, Kue no ti, Ufutun bo, Tsuken Akachu no eku di, Tinbe. Mostly they involve cross stepping and weight distribution.

Various kata include techniques for tossing random stuff like pieces of clothing and so on. These include Chikin no kon and Choun no kon. In the kata they look like kamae or sunakake.

Some of the kuden for the kata include uses of the weapon to toss things. These would include scooping sand, water, or dirt with the tinbe, hooking things with the kama, hooking things with the nunti, etc.

In regards to the karate, the Kingai Ryu includes the use of the feet and hands to throw things. In the kata I know, the feet can be used two ways: 1 to flip sand, water, mud or loose dirt up with the whole foot (part of the crane stepping), or the toes can be used to grab small rocks or sticks and throw them. It is amazing the amount of accuracy you can get doing this. I have seen other kata that use the hands- I think there is an example in one or two of the forms Matayoshi sensei did on the dojo vid they put out- but have never done them.

Hope that helps.   cheers,   Fred