Kobudo Sparring

[Wastelander]

Karate and kobudo historian, Andreas Quast, recently posted some footage of a kobudo tournament on Okinawa, and it reminded me of the general subject of sparring in kobudo:

https://www.facebook.com/share/v/15EpmMsVYZ/

When I first learned kobudo, I was taught a non-contact version of kumite where you had to make contact with the opponent's weapon, first, and then you would launch a strike at the opponent's arms, legs, body, or head. If it got close enough, you scored a point, and reset, very similar to karate point fighting. Even back then, I liked the idea of actual contact sparring with weapons more, and I thought up all kinds of ways to make it safe to do so, eventually landing on almost the exact same thing you see in the video, although I never got the chance to do it. I'm curious if anyone has done this type of kobudo sparring, or any sort of sparring with weapons.

[Zaine]

I have not, though it looks very fun. It actually reminds me a little of my brother, who quit doing karate because our sensei didn't teach sparring with weapons. In my brother's summation, there was no reason to learn it if he didn't get to use it, so he walked away because he couldn't advance without learning bo. 

[bushido_man96]

I like the idea of weapons sparring.  In the above, it seemed rather fruitless for someone to punch someone in the head who's wearing a helmet.  That aside, I think this is a great thing to work on moving forward.

Just from watching, it didn't appear that they allowed strikes to the legs, or any kind of sweeps.  This is an issue, as the rules tend to lean more "sporty" than realistic, but other rulesets could be implemented.

The closest thing I've done to this has been SCA style fighting in the past.  Lots of fun, although not a true representation of medieval combat.

[sensei8]

Great topic!! Thank you, Noah for starting this topic!!

One of the most fun I’ve ever had with my Kobudo training. You ought to try it without any pads, that’ll get your attention quickly.