rogue2257

I like it. Simple techniques, and not a lot of the speed-slinging stuff. Nicely done. Thanks for sharing it here with us. Of course, happy to share. It's one of my favorites.

I almost hate to ask, but I'm not familiar with either kisame or gyako zuki. I've never heard those terms before. Would you mind explaining in a little more detail? Thanks, Toptomcat, those are some great suggestions. That nails part of the problem I've been having recently. As I use my combinations and my opponent becomes familiar with them I start fearing to use my best techniques because they've already seen them and I worry they'll be less effective.

Now that would be interesting. I'm not sure I've seen a more traditional style double nunchaku kata. Most of what I've seen tend to be very freeform katas that individuals make up on the spot. Not that there is anything wrong with that, of course, but at least from what I can tell there is often more of a focus on the manipulation of the weapon than any sort of true application for the techniques.

I've never seen that particular kata. If you ever decide to post it, I'd be interested to see it. I'm always curious what katas from other schools look like.

Thanks for sharing, those are great. That's the sort of thing I was looking for, combinations of footwork and hand actions to help mix up the techniques I already use.

So as I've been practicing my sparring recently, I've come the realization that I have a tenancy to over-rely on certain combinations that have worked well for me in the past. I'm feeling like I need to work at expanding my arsenal of effective techniques, so I'm posing the question: "What are some of your favorite techniques or combinations for kumite?"

I have a bokken myself, but its been sitting around here that I've never trained much on how to actually use it. Did you end up getting that book? Is it decent? I've been looking for sources for kata and drills but haven't been able to find much.

One gets very quickly used to the notion that when practicing with nunchaku, hitting oneself is more or less inevitable. Don't let it discourage you though! After you've smacked yourself good a few times, you've learned what NOT to do with the nunchaku.

If anyone is interested, I've uploaded a video of myself performing the version of Kobu Nunchaku that I practice here: Admittedly not the best rendition I've ever done. I'll need to re-tape it at some point, but it's there nonetheless.

So what's different about the version your school does? The videos I've seen online of that particular kata all seem pretty consistently similar.

Generally when working with a bo, the weapon should be approximately as tall as the user. You're closer to 6' than to 5' so I'd tell you to try a 6', unless it ends up feeling unwieldy to you. You'll find that some places that sell staffs also sell "speed" or "tournament" style bos that are typically very light. While they move quick and look pretty in kata, they should never be used for any sort of kumite or bo on bo drills. They're just too light. You can get bos for relatively cheap from awma.com, its a great online martial arts supply store.

It really does take a lot of work. I can't even tell you how many times I've smacked myself with them. To the inexperienced, the nunchaku are more dangerous to the user than anyone else. From what I've been able to discern, there doesn't seem to be any such thing as a "traditional" nunchaku kata. It appears that individual schools have their own katas, which of course makes it all the more frustrating to try to find anything.

Of course, they're very different stylistically, the one practitioner has short (and to me) almost incomplete looking techniques, while the other has an abundance of hip action. Ignoring the style differences of the two practitioners, the individual actions in the two forms are quite similar until they diverge around the halfway point, but then still share actions, specifically the three steps backwards where the leg lifts and one sai is held low and the other held high above the head. The similarities between the two was never really my question though. I'm more curious if they're actually practiced together or not. To me it seems that their similarity would make it difficult to actively practice both. Is there anyone out there that actually practices either of these katas?

True, there are are number of similarities to Chatan Yara there, but the forms are far more similar to one another than anything else I've seen.

I'm with everyone above. In sparring accidents happen, and a black belt, above everyone else, needs to be understanding and keep their cool. Black belts and instructors are examples for the rest of the class, so losing her head like that is a poor example for the rest of the students in a number of ways. Other than a single incident in which I removed my mouthpiece to give a student tips for sparring and he attacked me unprovoked, I personally have never yelled at or punished a student for hitting me while sparring. We don't go into sparring intending to hurt one another, but accidents do happen, comes with the territory in martial arts after all. I'd be more than a little concerned if your instructors are out of control and can't keep their calm. It's definitely something you should be thinking about.

A somewhat problematic student, ignoring our class etiquette, referred to me as "dude" and "man" several weeks ago. Lets just say he was reprimanded.

I've been doing a lot of poking around and looking at different sai kata/forms on the internet. I came across these two, and I'm noticing that the two are extremely similar. From what I can tell, both follow the classic I or H pattern seen in the early Heian or Pinan katas. On that, the first half of the two seem nearly identical, if not exactly identical, changing at the halfway point, but still share several similar actions. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Igyc1mE8WMk Of course, the practitioners in the videos are clearly of different styles, but their similarity is noticeable. What I'm more curious about than anything, is for those of you who actually have these katas in your school syllabus, do you actively practice both katas, or just one? Interestingly, I noticed as well that both kata are listed on the USANKF officially sanctioned kata list: http://karate.teamusa.org/content/index/713

I appreciate the post, but this isn't at all what I was looking for. I see nothing wrong with practicing moves and manipulations, but that's neither what I'm trying to teach or practicing myself.

Okay, I'm looking for new nunchaku kata to add to my arsenal. I know a single kata, Kobu Nunchaku, but I'm the de facto go-to-guy for weapons at my school, so i need to expand. Anyone have any ideas where I could look, or for that matter, feel like contributing one? Any help is appreciated, thanks!

Hm... its interesting. No doubt about that. I'm still bemoaning the fact that I can't find hardly anything on sai kata online...

Punching Detonating Detonator Explosive Explosion

Interesting... I think that that's the kata I know as Tawada. The pattern is too similar. There's a few things that are different in what I do, I assume just the difference between styles. That is helpful though, thank you. I just wish I had a sped up version so I could watch it at full speed. There has to be more out there though... its so hard to find anything. I would be best friends forever with the person that uploads a couple kata onto youtube.

Unfortunately, nothing useful on youtube... bassai dai and jion done with zai, nothing I haven't seen before. Chatanyara is there, but the video is so old that I'm not sure it's useful. I'm gonna keep lookin on google, as suggested. Appreciate the help guys. It would definately still be great if somone could link me to something of substance.

They can't be serious.... can they?

In my unending effort to further my knowledge of all things martial arts, I've recently been working on sai kata. Unfortunately, I'm the only one at my school that practices with them and finding new kata is a pain. I picked up Katsumi Murakami's book Saijutsu, but it didn't help a whole lot. I know that its better to learn from an instructor, but what I'm really hoping here is that someone will help me out and either describe or link me to some videos... I do have a strong grasp on sai usage, its just that trying to find new forms is so very frusterating. And yes, I know I can do any open hand kata with sai, but what I'm looking for here is sai specific kata. Anyway, if anyone can help me out I'd really appreciate it. I'd be more than happy to swap katas with someone if need be...