Treebranch Posted December 20, 2003 Posted December 20, 2003 Do you think weapons training helps your unarmed skills or not? Please give examples why or why not. "It is easier to find men who will volunteer to die, than to find those who are willing to endure pain with patience.""Lock em out or Knock em out"
Drunken Monkey Posted December 20, 2003 Posted December 20, 2003 depends on what kinda weapons i guess. i think the best thing about learning to use the long pole in wing chun is that it showed me that i could do with getting stronger. my knife training taught me a lot about the finer aspects of position, distance and precision+dedication to using a technique. i hear a lot of people say that training in traditional weapons is a waste of time cos we can't use them. now i can't speak for other arts but in wing chun, the weapons follows the same priciples as the hand forms except that you have even less room for error. also, our weapons forms also serve as a tool for strength training. after all, it takes more skill/strength/control to move a heavy weapon smoothly, cleanly and accurately. think back to the first time you used a weapon, let's say a sword, and you did a downward slash. remember how 'wobbly' the end of your slash was? how clean and tidy is the same move now? i always say look beyond what you are doing with your hands (or weapon) and look at the reason WHY you are doing something. post count is directly related to how much free time you have, not how intelligent you are."When you have to kill a man it costs nothing to be polite."
battousai16 Posted December 20, 2003 Posted December 20, 2003 drunken monkey nailed it. not that i've messed around with that many weapons, i'm sure there's some utterly useless one around, but in the end, if you're having fun and no one's getting hurt, who cares? "I hear you can kill 200 men and play a mean six string at the same time..."-Six String Samurai
Drunken Monkey Posted December 20, 2003 Posted December 20, 2003 and well, trust me, i'm really looking forward to the day that i can find a make-shift three section staff lying on the ground... post count is directly related to how much free time you have, not how intelligent you are."When you have to kill a man it costs nothing to be polite."
battousai16 Posted December 20, 2003 Posted December 20, 2003 good luck with that. i'm just looking forward to the day i can learn the three section staff... such a cool weapon... "I hear you can kill 200 men and play a mean six string at the same time..."-Six String Samurai
SaiFightsMS Posted December 20, 2003 Posted December 20, 2003 and well, trust me, i'm really looking forward to the day that i can find a make-shift three section staff lying on the ground... Maybe not a recognizable three section staff but how about a belt, rope or chain. All can be swung in similar patterns as a three section staff but it would require the skill that only a lot of practice can bring.
Drunken Monkey Posted December 21, 2003 Posted December 21, 2003 well, it's all really a variation of staff techniques really. oh, latest report on my three section staff training. my sifu has got me back to doing staff excercises cos he said i need to improve my body positions. he says it will save my knees from further battering from the three. sigh, i know it's good for me but i feel like i've been demoted... post count is directly related to how much free time you have, not how intelligent you are."When you have to kill a man it costs nothing to be polite."
Shorinryu Sensei Posted December 23, 2003 Posted December 23, 2003 Yes, I think that kobudo (weapons) training helps enhance your karate (empty handed) training quite a bit. Try doing about 2 hours straight with a bo or pair of sai's. You'll feel it from your fingers to your toes if you're working it hard and heavy. I use a heavy, hardwood bo, not one of those lightweight broomstick kind. My sai's were also made in Okinawa and are real steel, as opposed to cheap pot metal that you can by from most catalogs. They are nearly unbreakable, whereas I've broken a number of the catalog kind. Oops..got sidetracked...sorry. Basically, most weapons training will strengthen your techniques and body in some way or the other, plus also give you betyter balance and body control from the swinging of the weapon. Drunkenmonkey..I disagree on the "obsolete" weapons theory of yours. Once you learn the basics of most traditional weapons such as the bo, sai, tonfa, kama and nunchaku, you can pick up just about anything and use it as a weapon because you have learned the basic mechanics of weapons use. In my class, we frequently have students bring things to class and we see how they can be used as weapons. We try to find both offensive and defensive applications for those objects, such as ashtrays, lighters, books, pieces of paper, cell phones, telephone handsets, wooden or wire clothes hangers, fork/spoons, objects from a usual car trunk, radiator cap, picture frames, plastic/glass jars (like aspirin comes in), baseball hats, loose change, a small feather, clothing (including socks)...like I said..just about anything. My nightly prayer..."Please, just let me win that PowerBall Jackpot just once. I'll prove to you that it won't change me!"
Bdaze Posted December 25, 2003 Posted December 25, 2003 I absolutley think weapon training improves empty hand skills. a knife technique can be performed with a pen, which can but substituted by a boshiken or shitanken. Also i think working with weapons gives you a better understanding of the weapon in general which makes it much easier to defend against. if you know the most crutial part of a grip on a sword is the last three fingers, you can aim your attacks there for maximum efficiency. also you can gauge the limitations of a weapon if you've trained with it. then you can make descions about calculated risk like "i've used this kind of bolo before and i know a slice to my arm wont disable me and it would put me in a possition to slash his femural artery. is it worth it?" If in your journey you encounter God, God will be cut ~Hatori Hanso (sonny chiba)
battousai16 Posted December 25, 2003 Posted December 25, 2003 are people attacked with swords and bolos that often? "I hear you can kill 200 men and play a mean six string at the same time..."-Six String Samurai
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