Saturday, May 27, 2023

Why do you study and practice weapons kata.

 


 

Albert Madyto Kata Exchange

 I do because: it is part of the Isshinryu system as I've been taught.

: I enjoy it


: I like learning more about and developing further in my system


: it's a challenge

 


But I have done it and do it because of how I think about martial arts, from my weapons training I can take the lessons from these traditional weapons skills and pick up almost anything around me, which I have, and use to fight with. Practical.

 

Victor Donald Smith Of course I do it because I do Isshinryu. But over the decades I saw there was far more value than learing ancient weapons. I saw how the study was also a force enhancer to develop karate skills, and once the decades moved by those developed skills could replace some of what age withers. I also observed the same from a friend in the Chinese Arts who also did a huge number of weapons form. It did make a difference.

 

Todd Olson Weapons training also deepens and reinforces all the principles that apply to open hand as well. Many Okinawan schools taught the weapons first and then open hand.

 

Victor Donald Smith And while each weapon develop different forces, that does not mean you must study dozens of different weapons. For all practical purposes a few are enough to add force enhacement. More does offer value, but realistically few have the time to make such study. Time and effort count more than numbers with not enough time for deep practice.

 

Albert Mady For me, Bo, Sai, Tomfa, Baton ASP, Katana (Toyama Ryu Iaido). A few others at seminars, I like knives.

 

Michael Demeter Bo, Nunti Bo, Eku, Sansetsu Kon, Yari, Sai, Nunti Sai, Tuifa, Tekko, Tichu, Tinbe, Gusan, Kama, Chizi Kon, jifa.

Robert Welch I do it for the reasons above, but mainly just because i enjoy it.

 

Victor Donald Smith For my efforts, I taught Bo, Sai, Tonfa, Bando staff & short stick. For instructors I taught Kama and tanto, For private practice I worked with short hand held sticks, Tai Chi Sword.

 

Dojo TokyoMushinkan as I really don't need karate/kobudo for "fighting" per se, to me weapons training allows a connection to the warriors of the past, allowing them to live on through our Kata, whilst imbibing us with their understanding of proper combative biomechanics, just in case we do ever need to "fight."

 

Bruce Johnson I think we all have the same philosophy on weapons. I enjoyed learning them in the beginning of my Okinawan Kempo training but as I progress I realized that the weapons were actually giving me a better understanding of my Katas and an even greater understanding of my body and movements. Weapons training has honestly made me so much more sharper and enhanced my techniques.

Bottom of Form 1

 

Richard William Morgan

When I look at a kata and I start to consider applications within the kata, I focus on motion or movement more than the techniques themselves. When i define a technique, I define it as motion applied to a target. What this does is allow me to broaden my horizon and not be confined. Example being Gedan Barai, I can use this motion in a number of different ways. But by only changing my target I get a different outcome each time. Something to think about and play with.

Bret Gordon Exactly. Bunkai is the analysis of kata and it's movement. Things are not always what they seem, and oyo has many layers.

 

Victor Donald Smith Before the term was being used in the states by no one I associated with in any karate system in the northeast, I learned the word through an Indonesian Shotokan instructor, following his own families Shotokan tradition. His use of the term bunkai followed a very different paradigm than anyone else uses, but that was what it came to me, very powerful bunkai thei are, As the term came into use I realized that what other were doing had nothing to do with the way I was shown, I was not in that tradition but those teachings influenced my karate. Personally as later I spent the rest of my life on this study, I adopted the term application analysis, for bukai had a very different, quite clear meaning to me. Along the way I realized application analysis was only part of the picture, There were other layers to this to reach application realization.

 

Charles B. Stanley The word Bunkai means different things to different people. What some people call the Bunkai from their kata is to me nothing close to what I think of as Bunkai. The word is over used and often misunderstood.

 

Victor Donald Smith A Japanese English teacher and author of English/Japanese dictionaries in Japan (for students) explained to me in Japan most people would not know what you were talking about, as the term is most used in the context of a mechanic would bunkai a car to determine what was wrong. Using bunkai in a very different context. I had to explain the term to him, and while he studied Shorinji Ryu in college, they did not do 'bukai'. He further explained it was a specialized term used by specific karate systems.

 

Originally Mabuni Sensei shared the concept of bunkai in his first work on Karate in the 1930. When Mabuni expressed the idea of bunkai for his book containing his kata Seiunchin he used the term ‘bunkai’ to mean


Both I and McKenna Sensei have done translations. Mine from a French edition, and his from the Mabuni original. I questioned Mario McKenna Sensei about the use of the term ‘bunkai’ in ‘Goshin Karate Kempo’ and he described it’a use as "breakdown/apart and explanation" from his translation efforts on Mabuni’s book.

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