Lockdown : Give Kobudo a go

Lockdown has started in Western Europe from more than 2 Months; in some country we are starting a new phase including more freedom in our daily life. Unfortunately Coronavirus is still there and we need to continue living with it.

New life Key words are now distanciating  and stay safe.

During this period dojo remain closed and in some countries we can start outdoor training & avoiding any contact. As an example in France we can train outside with 4 square meters per person and no more than 1à persons (sensei included).
For Karate people training will be dedicated to Katas, Hojo Undo, internal, …

Another Sport ?

In my previous post I shared my training routine during lockdown with ZWIFT training.

A good alternative to work your karate skills in the period of distancing is to learn a new Okinawan Martial Art Kobudo.

Kobudo 古武道

Litteraly Old Martial Art (古武道 ) Kobudo was created by Okinawan to defend themselves against invaders samurai.
In that time all the weapons were prohibited on the Ryukyu Islands; farmers and fishermen started to use their tools as weapons :

• Bo : six-foot long staff
• Sais : three-pronged truncheon
• Nunchuks : threshing flail
  …..

The Karate advantage for Karate people is the Use of the same stances. Indeed Karate & Kobudo stances are very similar and for some completely the identical.
Doing kobudo training will help you to improve your stance while testing new feeling with a weapon in your hands.

This what explained us Jean Smith (5th degree Kobukai & European representative of Kinjo senssi (Koburyu):

” In Okinawa, kobudo & karate are very linked, most of the dojos are teaching both

Karate do will help you to structure and reinforce your body .

Kobudo will add to the karate work an additional mental dimension with the use of weapon. You need to consider it, trying to find the good way to use it efficiently.

As for the beginners it is alway difficult to find the good weapon to start, Jean advise is the following :
” There is a pre established learning path in Okinawa Kobudo. We always start by the Bo.
Using this long stuff with force you to use our hands in an harmonized way.

Nunchaku work will help you to have more ability to move better your shoulder.
Tunkwa trainig will bring you the circularity in your karate move and improve the way you are kicking.

You see, each Kobudo weapon will bring you new perceptions in the way you are doing your karate exercises.
The best way is to start and discover this great art of Kobudo that is a fantastic complement to your Karate.

I hope these fews advises will help you to understand better the interest of Kobudo in your karate path and why not trying it !
If you want to know more about Kobudo, you can have a look on Kobukai  website (https://kobukai-europe.com) and to Kobukai’s Youtube Channel.

On my side, I am working intensively Nunchuks trying to include this weapon flow in my Uechi-Ryu Katas.