Kobudo Stances 1
For the next few blog entries, I am going to talk
about Kobudo; a practice I am equally passionate about. When I reflect on my
Kobudo practice, it seems the older I get, the more I enjoy Kobudo. I have yet
to be able to put my finger on to a specific "why", but know the
answer will come to me with time. Suffice it to say, Kobudo practice is
thoroughly enjoyable and opens up a completely different avenue and perspective
into the history, traditions, culture, and technique of Okinawa fighting arts.
For today's entry, I will talk a little bit about stances. Like Karate, stances
in Kobudo set the foundation upon which our technique is built physically and
psychologically. You can think of it as being analogous to the frame of a
house, or the undercarriage of a car. Without it, even the lightest touch would
collapse everything.
In Japanese stances are usually referred to as "Tachigata".
"Tachi" of course means "stand" . "K(g)ata"
however does not refer to "form" as we would use it with respect to
solo practice drills, but uses a different kanji and refers to
"method". From these two characters we have the general meaning of
"how to stand". However, when we think about this term, isn't it
quite an odd thing to write? Common sense would tell us that we all know how to
stand, and how to walk for that matter. Why would I have to learn how to stand
when it is something that I do each and every day? The answer is quite simple,
you have to learn to stand within the context of using a weapon, and more
specifically within the parameters of a specific system of weaponry. This of
course is something quite different from what we ordinarily do in our daily
lives - at least for me.
When a new student to Kobudo learns how to stand, it is important to concentrate
on the size of the stance. Like Karate, stances in Kobudo are not viewed as a
"one size fits all" or "cookie cutter approach". That would
simply be approximating the outward appearance of a stance. Indeed, many new
students in Kobudo may be able to approximate horse stance (shiko-dachi) or
rooted stance (suegoshi-dachi), but do not have the right size in their stance.
Remember, we are learning "tachigata" a method of standing.
Kobudo Stances
2
In Ryukyu Kobudo, as in
Karatedo, there are a wide range of stances such as zenkutsu-dachi,
kokutsu-dachi, neko-ashi-dachi, and shiko-dachi. One stance is somewhat unique
and was referred to as suegoshi-dachi by my kobudo instructors. Suegoshi-dachi
roughly translates as "rooted stance" and in my mind is the most
fundamental and important stance in Ryukyu Kobudo. It is also the most
predominant stance used in bo-jutsu. In the Taira lineage Kobudo that I learned
from Minowa sensei and Yoshimura sensei, the majority of strikes and thrusts
using the staff finish in suegoshi-dachi.
When learning suegoshi-dachi, beginners should focus on their posture, keeping
their backs straight and dropping their hips (hence the rough translation of
"rooted stance"). This ensures the efficient transfer of energy when
striking with the staff. As the student progresses to intermediate and advanced
levels, sinking the hips and straightening of their backs becomes second nature
when moving and striking. In other words, they are able to find the right size
of their stances.
One of the biggest differences between suegoshi-dachi and shiko-dachi when
using the staff is your position relative to the your opponent. As a general
rule, in shiko-dachi the opponent is positioned in front of you. That is the
opponent is in front of you relative to the position of your torso. In
contrast, when using suegoshi-dachi we should think of the opponent being in
front of us relative to the position of our lead leg.
That is the toes and knee of our lead leg point towards the opponent and toes
Let's continue on with Kobudo
as our topic of interest. When attacking in Ryukyu Kobudo it is imperative that
the toes of the lead foot be facing the opponent. This is especially true when
moving on a straight line such as thrusting, and this point holds true whether
you are using bo, sai, or tikko. This allows you the means to generate
sufficient power by "releasing the knee(s)" and directing it towards
an opponent. To that end, it is important as well that your knee cap face your
opponnent as this will help in aligning your toes. I'll talk about the concept
of "releasing the knee(s)" in the next post.
One of the peculiar ways of
using the body in Ryukyu Kobudo is “releasing the knee(s)” and is a direct
translation from Japanese of “hiza wo nuku”. This movement uses gravity to
quickly drop in order to generate power, and for a brief moment you feel as if
you are “floating”. Of course this does not mean that the body is continually
“floating”, but rather for a very brief moment you have a feeling that you are
“floating”. This sense of floating comes about by relaxing the knee(s) and
allowing the body to naturally fall. This falling action generates and
transfers energy. When releasing the knee(s), the centre of gravity is moved
slightly over a short distance which occurs early on in the movement. The end
result is that a small movement generates a large amount of power.
For example, in the Taira lineage kobudo that I practice, the basic overhead
strike (jodan uchi) originates from a high cat stance (neko-ashi dachi) and is
completed in rooted stance (suegoshi dachi). From the initial position of cat
stance, the knee of the lead leg is relaxed which momentarily shifts the centre
of gravity forward and allows the weight of the body to move forward and down.
The completion of the strike in rooted stance allows the full power of the
person’s body weight to be transferred into the strike. As an aside, the
experienced kobudoka will notice that this is very different from how a basic
overhead strike is performed in Matayoshi or Yamane style kobudo.
I may offend some readers with what I have to say and I apologize if I do.
However, unlike some of the other branches of Taira lineage kobudo, Minowa
sensei did not emphasize turning or twisting the waist to generate power – this
was an artifact to him (interestingly enough, my Tou’on-ryu teacher held the
exact same idea). It may be a method used in the initial stages of learning,
but not in the long term.
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