Tobias_Reece

We teach/learn katas for each weapon at each progressive grade. You still learn bo katas as you are learning kama katas. What style of Okinawan Kobudo did you practice/who was your Chief Instructor/which association did you belong to? I'm going on holidays 2mos, so I probably wont reply until i get bak (1 weeks time)

Epee, eh? U fence?

I've been practising Okinawan Kobudo for several years, and am currently in the process of 'advanced networking' (I like that phrase). What is it u wish to discuss?

IKO 1, 2, 3? Never heard of it.....never heard anyone talk about it.......never seen anything about it........ WHat is it, pray tell?

They are made for people who want to practice with weapons - I know I wouldn't want to fork out £200 for every pair of zai I purchase (maybe for one pair ) Oh, and I did type out a kata list, but I accidentaly pressed the back button and lost it all . Obviously I can't be bothered typing it out again MWHAHAA -

Yeah, sometimes you have to break the bank and buy a wel made weapon, instead of the basic stuff u can buy in the usual places. Thanks for bringing that point up - who does actually use zai now? I thought that the weapon was obsolete now. Cya

Yeah, they are expensive - but they are the cheapest You mentioned you knew x amount of katas - may I ask which katas they are? I'll name mine after you name our LOL

https://www.Kamikazeweb.com I also practice Okinawan kobudo - based on Matayoshi's teaching. May I ask how you managed to pick up a cheap nunti. I ordered one from kamikazeweb and it said it would take 90days You seem to have tried a lot of weapons, considering you have only been doing it for 13 months - whats ure fave? Regards

I was always told I looked like Hilary Swank

Ok then - my turn In my avatar, name that handsome young devil. ....... ...... ....... No, its not YODA, its me!!!!

PDA - Personal Digital Assistant

They can't, IMHO I used to only go to karate competitions, and think it was rediculous that a Wado-Ryu official could judge a Shotokan competitor. I didn't just assume that however - I, and several other ppl, were on the receiving end of it several times. It got us annoyed. One event springs to mind - two ppl were doing Unsu. They both were japanese stylists, and did the kata exactly the same - up to a point. When it came to the jump, they both landed differently. One lad was wrong, and he knew he was wrong, but the judges didn't!!! Why? Because they didn't know the kata. And remember - that was karate - just karate. I no longer attend mixed martial arts competitions, purely because each catagory is dominated by a specific art. The problem arises when the arts are all fancy. I've seen enough of a karate guy perform a strong kata with perfect finesse, only to see a (no offence to anyone here) TKD guy run half way across the mat, cartwheel, flip, downrock then land in the splits. Its crap basically......pure crap I once entered a mixed MA comp with a japanese weapons catagory. Sounds fair enough to me, I thought. Then it came to fact that the judges were either TKD, or chinese weapon practitioners. The looks on their faces were unforgettable when they tried to judge a iaido kata. I did Nunchaku kata to a reasonable standard (it was OK), and I came last. At I overheard one of the judges say my stances weren't deep enough for a japanese stylist. Of course, I was doing Okinawan Kobudo, which basis itself on quick light stances, not deep. Surely thats a bit ignorant on behalf on the judge? But, as long as they exist there will be complaints. Isn't that true about everything?

LOL, sorry Doug, that wasn't a dig at you - I apologise if it sounded like that. You're one of the good guys (a well deserved mod appointment)

"Mastering the Tonfa" - Mikio Nishiuchi I use them as an additional teaching supplement - its hard to remember everything someone tells you, so I check the video.

I can give you a list of moves we use/teach and explain them to you. But no pics......sorry

Ah the "X" block. Very powerful if you can do it properly, but in my opinion, if a staff is coming toward my head at an alarming speed I'd rather get the hell out of the way and hook it LOL (DISCLAIMER: This does not imply that you cannot do it, just implies that I can't Cheers all Tobias

Personally, ATM, I would choose the tonfa. I think that is because the basics of the weapon is very similar to the basics in Karate - so really i have been 'training' with the tonfa for x amount of years, without actually picking them up. Obviously, the two weapons were strong in different ways - I would not like to face a katana with a tonfa in my hand - wood cuts slightly more easily than metal. Yet saying that, with the zai you have to be pretty accurate to block. Oh, and no matter what protection, it still hurts when u block :'( Oh and KSN Doug - congrates on the mod status. Well deserved.

Right, I see - not a krill then

Hey troops.........bak again. Right, another weapon question, except this time dealing withe defence. If you were attacked by a staff (as this happens to us many times nowadays, especially when we are travelling in our sandels to the well to collect our drinking water ), would you rather have in your hands a pair of sai/zai or tonfa/tunkua (etc.) Let explore what the pros and cons of each weapon are..........

I'm not familiar with the term 'live-pole', but, taking a wild guess, does it mean using the full reach of the staff? If so you are too right The reason I asked this question is really for my own mini-research. I can guarantee that when a new person joins my kobudo class, they will swear down that the nunchaku is far far far more powerful than the staff. Only when they start using the staff will they realise its power. FYI, as I'm sure many of you know, the staff IS classed as a FAR superior weapon. I think that ends the Nunchaku vs. Staff - time to move onto another weapon

Excellent........time for a chat Weapon vs. weapon is always a difficult one - obviously the skill of the practitioner matters, but lets just pretend it doesn't. Quite surprising, the nunchaku actually has a long range. Imagine the length of your arm, plus the two/three foot (ish) of the extended nunchaku - that equals approximately 5 1/2 - 6 ft. Now think about the rokushakubo. 6ft long, but it is split into 3 sections, with usually only the end sections used for combat - that equals 2ft. Held closely to the body, this does not give much reach (but a lot of power). Therfore, the nunchaku is technically 'longer'. However, the nunchaku loses the advantage with its lack of strength in defence. The staff can be 'guided' at lot better, meaning that if someone attackes your neck, you can block to your neck. The nunchaku though are a lot more 'scary looking', and dangerous if used properly. However, in our little tests of weapon combat, I find that the best way to defeat nunchaku is actually to attack (sounds dumb, I know). It is extremely difficult to block nunchaku, but its also extremely difficult to block WITH nunchaku. I think that makes sense, but lets see if anything else can be explored. I like the discussion from people who know what they are talking about. Cya

I have to agree with you on that one Jeffin

Hey troops, I think its about time I posted another topic - been a long while. We've seen Art vs. Art - now how about Weapon vs Weapon Ok, to start, how about........... Nunchaku vs Rokushaku bo/ 6ft staff Lets explore......

Doesn't sound like an opinion to me