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GROUPS OF WEAPONS
RYU KYU KOBUDO
Large number of weapons
we register in Ryu Kyu Kobudo:
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Sai - |
Iron truncheon ( +Jutte, +Nunte) |
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Kama - |
Sickle (+Kusarigama) |
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Tonfa - |
Grinder handle (+Tuifa,
+Tongua)
|
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Nunchaku - |
Mace, two sectional staff, Horse bit |
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Sansetsu Kon - |
Three sectional staff (+Sanchaku) |
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Bo - |
Staff of 6 or 5 feet length, (+Kon) |
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Surujin - |
Weighted rope or chain (+Manriki Kusari) |
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Tinbe - |
Shield, (+Tenbei,
+Tempai, +Chinbe) solo piece
as Tatami tempai, art includes small spear - Rochin or machette
- Seiryuto |
|
Tekko - |
Horse shoe (+ Tetchu) |
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Eku - |
Paddle, Oar (+Kai) |
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Kuwa - |
Hoe, mattock (+Suburi) |
Into our Kobudo system, we have adapted Hanbo - half Bo, which is 3 ft
long, Jo - 4ft long, Tanbo - 2ft in length and Tessen, one feet long sticks. Some might say that these are not Kobudo
weapons... Do not forget that Kobudo was also established in Japan
mainland and they developed stick fighting methods on very high level as for example in Kukishin Ryu,
Kukishinden, Muso Shinden ryu etc. There are about 360
fighting styles with the Bo, more than 70 styles with the Jo and Hanbo which is very often included among the Jo.
However the use of the staff is probably also the oldest kind of Okinawa
native weapon. In a book called Okinawa Issennen-shi (one thousand years
of Okinawa
history) is a copy of the (short) staff used by one of the Okinawa
Lord’s in the 13th century. The farmers of Okinawa also often used
staffs against bandit raids. It has also been recorded that beating with
the staff was a punishment for immoral acts. This way is easy to
understand that the staff altered its role from that of an implement of
punishment and defense, to the weapon system of the ancient Okinawa
martial arts.
JAPANESE KOBUDO
In Japan Kobudo refers
to Classical martial arts and they are many. Japanese traditional
schools are treasure of using of sticks (different lengths), Kusarigama,
Tessan and different swords. Among with Kiseru a smoking pipe, rope
technique and others they are unknown or not developed in Ryu Kyu.
However, peasants and others of
Hemin
class were often skilled
in Kobudo. See article Spiritual development.
THREE GROUPS
Anatomical and functional disposition of weapons divide them to 3
groups:
1.
Single, held by both hands
2. Twins, used as a pair by
both hands - held one in each.
3. Combined, a variation
of single and twins, held by both or by one hand
only, sometimes as a pair or as single or combined with different
weapon
Our listing comprises of:
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1. Single |
Bo, Hanbo - Kyu & Dan level program
Surujin, Sansetsu Kon, Jo - Kyu level program only
Kuwa, Eku - not programmed yet |
|
2. Twins |
Tonfa, Sai - Kyu & Dan level program
Tekko - Kyu level program only
Tanbo - not programmed yet |
|
3. Combined |
Nunchaku, Kama, Tinbe - Kyu & Dan level
program
Tessen - Kyu level program only
Yawara - not programmed yet |
THREE VARIATIONS
History reports that Kobudo masters were known as Bujutsu masters of two
weapons mainly, Sai + Tonfa, Bo + Sai, Kama + Bo etc. Only small group
of them mastered three and very few individuals more weapons. That was
the level somebody realistically achieved There are also records about
masters in one weapon only. The middle way of two weapons appears as the
golden rule because the majority can follow it.
Practicing the art of minimum two different weapons each from different
group helps a lot to better understand Kobujutsu. Here is a sample:
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1. Variation |
Single + Twins |
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2. Variation |
Twins + Special |
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3. Variation |
Special + Single |
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