Just Plain
Old Sticks
I originally saw Gushi Shinyu Of Ueichi Ryu doing
kata Mee no Jiffa in a magazine in 2008. It captured my mind, as the movements
were so much like what I did in karate without anything in my hands.
Jiffa
I was aware of a variety of Okinawan ways of defense
with a variety of items which could be held in the hands, from knuckle dusters,
fishing net floats and hairpins.
I have seen their use
in Okinawan kobudo referred to with different names. Tichu,
Tikko and Jiffa. They may mean different things, of perhaps
just different spellings of the same concept, a small hand held stick that may
have had its origins in Okinawan Hairpins.
Tekko Teko, Tikko, Ticchu
My friend Mario
McKenna put it this way.
Tikko is a versatile weapon that really needs no
independent kata of it's own like Maezato no Tikko that we use in Ryukyu
Kobudo. So, using another form like Sesan will undoubtedly work.
The way I learned it from Minowa sensei, you're essentially delivering a vertical
fist strike with the Tikko acting as a force multiplier. The only caveat is
that the strike is vertical and doesn't use the two primary knuckles for
impacting. Because you're using the Tikko, the fist impacts flat onto the
target (a big "no no" in Karatedo) . The other point is that the
thumb rests on top of the handle of the Tikko to stabilize it.
But having no access to such items I began thinking
and developed my own answer. I came up with two sticks to be held in my hands,
and with some hemp wound around them for purchase.
One of my students made a set of sticks for our
group to use. Ones with two holed drilled in them, and then twine through the
holed, the idea was to use them looped over the middle finger. However in
practice that was too complicated and it was easier to just hold them with that
twine for better purchase.
I did studies with my Senior students using those
sticks, we all felt they offered greater striking power. Then in time those
studies were set aside for newer studies. The sticks moved to the bottom of my
bag.
I was not attempting to re-create anything, rather
develop an effective answer for myself. There were things which were much
enhanced, and at the same time there were things which were more awkward at
first use.
The most obvious use would be striking the side of
the head or into the neck.
Or into the arm and even the ribs or groin.
But fate has a role in their use, and in time I
became disabled, weaker, more unsteady on my feet. I had to work to find out
how to do what I already knew. The only range that was sure for me was up close
and personal, but at the same time being slower that made my choices more
difficult.
I could no longer strike with much power, and
increased practice no longer yielded increases results.
Then I remembered those sticks. An old memory and
they were hanging out in the bottom of my equipment bag.
So I observed various ways they were used in
different kata.
I tried those techniques out.
I had a variety of motions from many martial studies
to use too.
Slowly I worked out a training plan.
The use of those sticks meant I could strike with
more power than my former karate technique allowed. For one thing, the sticks
did not feel pain.
I could use them in a wide variety of ways.
1. I could use them with my Yang Tai Chi,
or with my Yang Tai Chi Sword form.
2. I could perform all of my kata with those sticks.
3. I could perform my basic tjimande drills with the
sticks
for greater effectiveness.
4. I could imitate movements from various kata such
as tekko and jiffa.
5. It made my Bando Short Stick available for me to
use.
6. I could even craft short kata using a variety of
strikes.
There was no limit to the ways I could use them.
They can be simply held in a pocket.
When held in your hands are mostly unnoticed.
If necessary a quick flip of your hands allows you
to discard them,
and they are so low cost their loss is negligible.
After all We Must Speak Softly
(and my disabilities make speech a real issue)
And Carry a Short Stick.
